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I love how dark raiden isn’t even bad. He’s just mercilessly good.

I just realized Ermac is such a side character that you can tell the entire story of MK without mentioning him.

Raiden every 10 seconds: May the elder gods protect us. Elder gods: No

I really dont know why but I just love this deep and complicated story.

One major story point missed, Shang Tsung originally had won 9 tournaments until he was defeated by the great kung Lao, shao Kahn sent goro to participate and goro become the new champion who killed the great kung Lao and won 9 tournaments until he was defeated by lui kang in MK1

Midway/Netherealm Studios handled the reboot in the best way possible: performing a full reboot back to the beginning and still preserving the storyline from all the previous games. Thank you for putting this all together!

I like how if the Liu Kang ending becomes canon for MK12, the story essentially becomes full circle with the Great Kung Lao being trained to become the Earthrealm champion who defeats Shang Tsung in the first place 500 years before the events of MK1

Things to know to avoid the world's destruction 1. The elder gods are useless 2. Don't touch Shinnok's amulet

YOU MISSED A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO PUT KOMPLETE IN THE TITLE

After watching this video, I now realize that, despite the Elder Gods creating the tournament to keep the realms in check and avoid ressurecting the Great One, they allow outworld to break the rules a LOT

15:14 "Raiden tries to defeat the deadly alliance but the duo is too powerful even the thundergod" *Shows picture of frost*

Boy, they’re really good at resetting this franchise every few years and keeping it interesting. Can’t wait to see what they do with this new era with MK1.

Man what a time coming home from school playing MK Deception and Shaolin monks.

Just saw the new cinematic trailer for the next MK game. its funny how they decided to call it MK1 instead of MK12 but I'm probably still gonna call it 12 for posterity's sake lol. Definitely excited and thanks so much for this timeline. Its always nice to be refreshed on MK info. Been a fan since MK SubZero days. That and MK 3/4 were my first MK games so its a big part of where my love for fighting games came from. Good times.

36:53 I wish that was true, but is not that Sindel didn't get her memories back, the writers deliberately chose to change Sindel whole personality from the original games, in the reboot she was always evil from the start, a two dimensional power hungry evil empress, a female version of Shao Khan, a total mockery of her original timeline version, a strong mother who fought through horde of enemies to rescue her daughter from brainwashing

The writing and cinematography in these games is super underrated, especially mk9-on MK will always have a special place in my heart

I'm gonna need the gang to get together and hold an intervention for Raiden. His addiction to the rage has caused too much trouble lol But seriously Great video and even better telling of the timeline. Even someone like myself (a self proclaimed MK junkie since I was a toddler) still find somethings in the story to be confusing at times. This was a very well done presentation on everything especially the filling in on some of the spinoffs I never played (special forces & shaolin monks). Great Job Leaderboard!

It's great to see this again! I have been playing every single games except spin-offs.

Reading through these comments. There is not a single mentioning of Reptile. I'll always stay loyal to the first secret, and personally the coolest, character in the MK series. It'd be awesome if he reappeared in the new game as a part of the new timeline. Maybe he'll finally be able to revive his lost race. Just give him a win. Please.

Mate that was a great timeline of MK. Seriously the best IP out there. Can’t wait for more content through the games and movies 😊

They could honestly make this into a series.

Shang Tsung was the original Mortal Kombat champion when Edenia was defeated until the great Kung Lao defeated him in the tournament for the Earth. Then, he reappeared the next MK, older and bringing Goro with him. Goro defeated the great Kung Lao and became the new champion, enabling Shang Tsung to seize the tournament, stripping control of Shaolin monks. There's when Goro starts his winning streak before the first MK.

Mortal Kombat 1 the reboot came about explaining essentially that the battle between Fire God Liu Kang and Shang Tsung caused a severe rip in timelines and now the universe Liu Kang created and the one SHang Tsung created now exist along each other as well as multiple other timelines where each of the characters from MK 11 defeated Kronika and took her crown. Kronika is somehow revived or rather, Shang Tsung shapeshifted into Kronika and infiltrated Fire God Liu Kang's timeline to manipulate the fate of the Shang Tsung and Quan Chi from Fire God Lui Kang's timeline into working together to destroy Fire God Lui Kang's timeline to make it easier to merge his (Shang Tsung's) timeline into Fire God Liu Kang's own and make it one. Fire God Liu Kang made Geras the keeper and protector of the hourglass and So Geras warned him that someone was messing with Shang Tsung's and Quan Chi's fate but the hourglass would not reveal the identity of who this person was until very late. Fire God Liu Kang finds out eventually via Shang Tsung (the one with his own alternate timeline) that he was the mastermind behind the whole ordeal and that he manipulated the Shang Tsung and Quan Chi from Fire God Liu Kang's timeline and that they were just pawns for his grand design. This forces Quan Chi and Shan Tsung (from Fire God Liu Kang's timeline) to unfortunately team up to defeat Shang Tsung from his timeline. This is so fkn confusing with so many turns but if you read this far stay with me babe. So they fight, evil Sindel from Shang Tsung's timeline fights and defeats most of the people from Fire God Liu Kang's timeline and literally repeats a variation of the line she did from MK 9 (which was infuriating and a cheap cop out cause Sindel is MY GIRL FR FR) "Come forward if you dare, I will finish what Shang Tsung could not".......Like really NRS??! Y'all couldn't think of any other creative line?!? Anyway, Sindel gets defeated by Fire God Liu Kang's Sindel. FG Liu Kang and everyone retreats and Geras tells FG Liu Kang that he stored some serious power away for FG Liu Kang centuries ago that can help FG Liu Knag to scan the universe for other timelines, in case he needed to use it. But if he does use it, FG Liu Kang cannot go back to the timeline that he created. and so Liu Kang used the power to gather everyone from all the other timelines to help defeat Shang Tsung from his timeline and Shang Tsung's timeline comes crashing down. I hope that wasnt too confusing...its a lot to digest and I hope I explained it correctly

MK1 was announced after this and the canon ending was Liu Kang's

Loved this video, even if it scrambled my brain a bit with all the information! I played MK11 but that was back when it first came out mostly, so it's good to have a refresher (and a summary of Aftermath since I never played it) with the impending announcement of the next installment. Speaking of the next game, the characters I'd loved to see make returns from the older games would undoubtedly be Havik, and Hotaru to go with him since they're polar opposites! Above even them though, I'd absolutely love to see the return of Onaga; we've had Shinnok and Shao Kahn make their returns, I think it's high time to let the one true King rule once again ;]

It's genius really. I hope they make new movies the last one was awesome imo

As someone who has played Mortal Kombat since i could hold a controller, even i learned some things from this video. Ed Boon and gang really did an amazing job expanding on the story over the years. And now it's for another reboot.

Damn I must be the only person on this planet that has owned every MK game and never played campaign mode ! This video has caught me up to speed and also made me wish I did the story mode !!😢

00:00 🎮 Overview of Mortal Kombat's deep story and history. 00:52 🌌 Origin of Mortal Kombat's universe with the one being, Elder Gods, and Realms. 01:47 ⚔ Creation of Kamidogu to shatter the one being, forming the main Realms. 02:39 ⚖ Elder Gods create Mortal Kombat tournaments to maintain balance and order. 04:01 🔥 Shao Khan conquers outworld, initiates tournaments to merge Realms. 05:17 🏆 Liu Kang wins the first Mortal Kombat tournament, defeats Shao Khan. 07:13 💥 Shinnok's escape, invades Earthrealm, defeated by Raiden and warriors. 08:32 🥋 Deadly Alliance between Quan Chi and Shang Tsung, facing Earthrealm heroes. 10:19 🔥 Onaga's return, chaos with revived Dragon King's Army, quest for kamidogu. 12:08 🔄 Shujinko manipulated by Onaga, Dragon King's Army threat. 14:19 🔪 Deadly Alliance's internal conflict, Onaga's return, Raiden's blast, corruption. 16:08 🌐 Onaga's plan to merge Realms, shattering kamidogu, shujinko's role. 18:01 🚪 Scorpion's revenge, Sonya's kidnapping, Liu Kang vs. Shao Khan, and impending apocalypse. 18:55 🔥 Taven and Dagon must defeat elemental Blaze to save the world from Armageddon, but rivalry emerges between them over who kills Blaze. 19:51 👑 Shao Khan reclaims emperor throne, wants to kill Blaze for ultimate power, Raiden sends message to his younger self to prevent apocalypse. 21:11 🔄 Timeline reboot in 2011, Earth realm heroes prevent Goro's victory, Raiden receives cryptic message, strategies to prevent Armageddon. 22:36 ✝ Raiden understands he must win consecutive tournaments, Liu Kang blames Raiden for friends' deaths, Earth realm warriors fight to save realms. 24:28 👫 New generation, older Johnny leads young fighters, resolve civil war in Outworld, Cassie takes over as Special Forces Commander. 26:17 🌀 Titans, elder god betrayal, chronicle wants to rewrite history, new timeline, Mortal Kombat 11 events unfold. 30:21 🔥 Fire god Liu Kang emerges, Raiden helps, Special Forces locate artifact, final battle against chronicle and her allies. 33:01 ⏳ Time manipulation, Raiden, Liu Kang, Shang Tsung form alliance to retrieve crown, confrontations, saving history from chronicle. 35:19 🌐 Cetrion's involvement, Shang Tsung's motives, sindel's return, challenges to retrieve crown, facing betrayals, preparing for final battle. 36:48 ⚔ Sindel and Shao Khan refuse chronicle, seek control of crown, join forces against her, confrontations, warnings of potential betrayal. 37:17 💥 Sindel under Shao Khan's control, Katana battles her mother, Xiao Khan's influence revealed, Katana loses. 37:42 ⚔ Shang Tsung betrays, wears crown, absorbs souls, confronts cronica, defeats titans, confronts fire god Liu Kang. 38:11 🌐 Two endings in Mortal Kombat 11 Aftermath, Shang Tsung's rule or Liu Kang's new era, upcoming Mortal Kombat games announced. 39:04 🎮 Mortal Kombat Onslaught and Mortal Kombat 12 announced, Onslaught a team-based collection RPG, Mortal Kombat 12 continues the story. 39:32 🗨 End of the Mortal Kombat story, ask for favorite combatant, like and subscribe for more gaming content.

I wish Netherealm would explore the idea that Mortal Kombat occurs every 50 years. The tournament in the first game occurred in 1992, which means Earthrealm had a tournament in 1942, during World War 2. I want to see THAT tournament. There's also a ton of potential for tournaments in eras like the Old West, Victorian England, and the Golden Age of Piracy.

The biggest issue with this video is the "He must Win" line. It's not that shao Kahn needs to win 10 tournaments, shao Kahn needs to successfully conquer earth realm by bypassing the mortal Kombat tournament. Only then will the elder gods destroy intervene and destroy him. That's what he must Win means

Great work with many questions cleared up

Just picked up mk11 ultimate edition and i havent played since mk shaolin munks. I am freakin loving it. And the combos and all that are coming back to me pretty quick. Story mode is awesome too.

BEST RECAP VIDEO FOR MORTAL KOMAT

Best recap I’ve seen, 😊

I think it's safe to say the ending where Fire God Liu Kang wins is cannon since he's on the cover of Mortal Kombat 1.

Since the new Mortal Kombat game is on its way and it'll be my first experience with the series, this video was great for helping me get up to speed with what's going on. I had no idea the story for Mortal Kombat was so involved.

We need an updated version of this. After the release of MK1, it's safe to assume the Liu Kang ending in the Aftermath is canonical.

Who’s here after Mortal Kombat 1

It’s the guy from the amagi!!

I remember playing deadly alliance, deception and shaolin monks. Crazy my younger self didnt realize the storyline, just enjoyed fighting games lol

Needed this video.

Now with MK one out, the conclusion of this video is funny to me, as not just both endings are canon, but all the other ones as well xD

Wow this explains a lot thanks

shoutout man growing i knew the story was deep because i just randomly started from deadly alliance

I love that both endings to mk11 are Canon

good job man!🤘🏻

I loveeeee these type of videossss

tbh I like the new origin in MK1 a bit more, story feels like it will gel together much smoother in future games given the current plot....Mileena being a normal sister to Kitana who gets a decease just makes more sense, along with Scorpion and Sub-Zero being brothers who have different morals

Keep going you doing best job ❤️❤️🐐🐐🔥🔥🔥

I was playing Ultimate Mortal Kombat when I found this video (not a favorite, but definitely a guilty pleasure) 👊

You should name the title "The Komplete Timeline of Mortal Kombat".

Mortal Kombat 1:allow me to introduce myself

Great vid, love the history of MK.. Thank you.🙏😉 Just this one line i thought was a bit odd : 21:17 "Everything from the previous games doesn't really exist anymore" But...most of it still exists as it did in the first tournament as you mentioned immediately afterward, its just rebooted , so a few changes .

What if MK1 is both MK11 endings merging into one timeline and we see a conflict between the forces of powered up Shang Tsung and Fire God Liu Kang. With all the time-manipulation going on, it opens the door for potential splits and merges even more.

Thanks for updating the title on this video

Something about his voice makes these videos great but it’s nice to know the new world Liu Kang made has endless possibilities for the story

Turns out both endings are Canon, possibly every arcade ending too.

This is so interesting good job

Shaolin monks is one of the most unique entries🙌🏾

Who else is here after they announced mk1 instead of mk12

I think it's safe to say from the mk1 trailers that liu kang's aftermath ending is canon lol

Holy moly.... you did a great job.. Omg 😲

well now its confirmed that Liu Kang actually won the fight.

This is awesome!

Omg the answer to which of the 2 endings is canan in mk11 is awesome

Really enjoyed this, that’s for creating this video! Although I had it rewind so many times because the story got confusing. I think I prefer the original timeline. Less confusing and Sindel wasn’t a villain. Not sure why they made her evil in the new timeline.

Gotta love biggest threat against godlike beings and dimension conquering tyrants is bicycle kick.

Here as soon as the Mortal Kombat 1 trailer dropped for a story recap.

A bit too quick for me to catch the first time but i love it. My first game was Deception. Then in between that and mk9, or mk 2011, ive only played a small peice of mk vs dc. Then after 2011, i now have MKX, only played mk11 once, not the story. Now they got MK1. Cant wait tbh. But also, not a SUPERfan so probably could wait.

I’ve watched this way too many times in preparation for mortal Kombat 1.

You misspelled "Komplete".

Fun Fact: The word Shujinko means “main character” in Japanese.

It’s good to hear Kegan again after he left “top 5 scary” nd “top 10 central dark”

That sub-zero mythologies game was cool and had a good idea but the live action scenes were hilarious lol and the extras shows the bloopers and outtakes lol

Thanks for the recap as im prepared for the Imminent reveal for mortal kombat 12 um i mean 1

Holy crap, I don't think I'd ever seen those live-action scenes from MK Sub-Zero before! Had to rewind the video and rewatch that part -- I was laughing too hard to pay attention the first time through.

10:08 ah more than two decades later and this still gets me every time XD

I didnt understand the whole story but I like how complicated it is.

Can’t wait for you to review the mk1 news, Liu kang definitely won

This was pretty dope

The movies failed us but this would be an amazing TV show Series

After seeing the new MK trailer it seems the Liu Kang ending is cannon.

man i love the narrator from amag- i mean theleaderboards

Need that update 🔥

Well done

Kabal lmao but yeah the stories of each game is really good tbh you explained it perfectly 🔥🔥🔥

This is so convoluted 😂 After finishing the MK1 Story line (my second MK since the first in the 90's), SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED. MK 1 makes everything both simple and complicated. And Im here for the whole chaotic ride.

I haven’t played a MK since Armageddon and just got MK1 so I needed this lol. I didn’t even know Armageddon was a spin-off

With the mk12/mk1 trailer now out, its proven that the canon ending is liu kang defeating shang tsung

Man I love MK ever since I played Shaolin Monks and have been following the lore but I cannot for the life of me ever get behind the retcons and rewrites for some of the characters and events in the game. Also hang on! Is it just me or the comic stories not mentioned? If I recall correctly it had a part to play in the whole story of the NRS timeline pre-MK1. Like about the Kamidogu now being daggers instead of relic looking objects back in Deception and explaining how Sub-Zero was "un-cyborged" in X.

I don't even fw mortal kombat, but the story is immaculate. Looking forward to playing the first game.

Both endings cannon🤯🤯

this video needs to be in a history class not just for video games

Omg I can’t wait 😫😫

YES MORTAL KOMBAT!

This is good mortal Kombat storyline

" enter mortal kombat armageddon " that game was my introduction to mk and is still my fav til this day 😭

Awesome. Cool storyline. Cant wait for MK 1 to launch. Well no MK12 then since there's a reset from God Liu Kang