Even funnier about the violence was that at the time, DC's actual comics were already starting an increasing trend of being over-the-top gory, violent, and gritty
@@oh-not-the-bees7872 I think this game came out around the same time that Black Adam killed Psycho Pirate by gouging his eyes through the back of his skull, which was preeeeetty brutal
It’s actually funny because the whole “kids will be exposed to MK” goal really worked for me. I was pretty young and MKvsDC is how I found out about Mortal Kombat. Now I love the franchise dearly 💀
I really hated how complicated it was to actually get one of those off in a match🤦🏽♂️ spent a lot of time just kickin people off buildings or just using the environment so I didnt get bored with the game
I was REALLY into this at the time, and followed the news about it every so often, but seeing the story mode, fatalities, brutalities, Sonya's see-through, no bra, nip showing shirt, were... Weird. Now with this explainer, it makes SO MUCH more sense now, the game was rushed and bare boned. The moment it died, it paved the way for a brighter future, because another one of these might've killed MK.
The way I see it, if MK vs DC never happened, we would not have gotten MK 9 and Injustice. I guess they liked that Joker fatality so much they added it to Shang Tsung in MK 9.
@@jeremyriley1238 I'd doubt MK would of died forever. Someone was bound to pick up the rights for the game, but I'd agree MK9 probably wouldn't of happened when it did.
The silver lining is that MK vs DC gave way to Injustice 1 and 2 as well as MK characters making cameos in said games (and vice versa with Joker being added to MK 11).
Absolutely. I get that MK v. DC was not the crown jewel they intended, but it really did lead to stronger development of both franchises. A classic "learn from failure" moment.
If i'm being honest, when i was a pre teen this game having dc characters in it is what got me to buy the game, so that marketing gimmick worked on someone
4 года назад+1
I was a bit too young but I definitely always wanted to play it as a kid
It worked on all of us. Who puts his head in the sand now - “mr. grown-up” and “I didn’t fell for anything” Justin Bieber - and pretends he didn’t do it, is a big Pinocchio.
What I find weird is that one of Green Lantern's Brutalities might as well be a fatality since he crushes all of your bones, further exemplified by the fact that the opponent lays there still unlike other Brutalities where they writhe in pain.
To be fair to MK vs DC... The idea of non-fatal fatalities was actually a pretty neat idea. If it was executed within a normal Mortal Kombat game, being able to see what certain characters would do to non-lethally (and likely still violently) incapacitate opponents would be really interesting. And I like to think that even though the premise was overall a bit head scratching, it still had *some* potential. But the lack of time, as well as DC looking over Midway's shoulder and demanding a T rating, put them in a massive bind that it couldn't quite recover from.
6:22 to be fair, it worked. I was a 7 year old when I played this at my cousin’s house and was like “oh cool Joker and Flash in a fighting game” and then I started playing as Sub Zero and now Mortal Kombat is my favorite fighting game franchise.
It was kinda similar for me. I was actually more into MK than DC at the time but I knew very little about either side, so I started with the DC story mode, of which had more characters I recognized, and soon enough I became interested in the MK characters I knew nothing about outside of Yellow Ninia use Spear and Blue Ninja use Ice
Yeah I didn't get his criticism that that was a "stupid" idea. The MK characters were way more niche and obscure. It makes sense to give them a platform boost next to DC' timeless heroes that most people recognize even if they've never picked up a comic
Yeah Matt's definitely really into the FGC community... which probably skewed the perspective that not everyone would really be interested in MK. Certainly not as many people who can recognize Superman or Batman; these are cult icons and getting Scorpion next to them would definitely increase exposure like in your experience.
I guess everyone's story different. I played the earlier MK's, and Captain Marvel's the only character I wasn't familiar with in this game. I knew the other DC heroes from cartoons.
I'm happy that worked for some people? But like I said in the video, this game didn't sell any better or worse than previous MKs...so on a mass mainstream level, it didn't really work.
Matt McMuscles I agree. Not to mention the whole reason for this game existence is bullshit to begin with as the Mortal Kombat series (especially during the “Dark Age of Fighting Games) already has huge child audience at the time. Namely edgy elementary and middle schoolers who unironically buy every games Midway pops out because of all the violence and (sometimes) sexiness; thus becoming the main source of the franchise income. Oh God, did I just described my own childhood with that sentence?
@@BigK13372 Yeah, I find it ironic because the game was rated T(so not for kids technically) and the first time I played MK was when I was 7 years old and Sub-Zero has been my favorite video game character since then, Captain Marvel was actually the only character in the game I never heard of.
"Kids today have no idea who characters like Scorpion are and we want to change that" hol up Edit: when i made this it was more aimed towards "trying to remind children about this ultra gorey m-rated game" though in hindsight that reeks of pearl clutching and i'm kinda glad it didn't get taken that way
To be honest, I ultimately didn’t know about MK until this game came out. I even got Armageddon on the old Xbox & unchained on the PS2. Then I got MK 9, X & now 11. This game practically made me a fan of the franchise.
Even in that mid-late 2000's era, DC comics tended to be really gory. I remember reading an issue of Teen Titans where Beast Boy defeated Brother Blood by turning into a tapeworm and tearing up his internal organs, and the issue ended with Ravager cutting her own eyeball out to match Deathstroke's missing eye.
My favorite memory of this game was watching the A.I. play against itself using the Flash VS Scorpion. It started spamming teleport and juggles like crazy. Looked so cool and funny I still want a live action version one day.
This game was so broken. The worst offense I can remember is the scorpion vs flash match up, flash had exclusively melee attacks and scorpion could use a fire shield that damaged and blocked melee attacks indefinitely. Basically a free win by holding a button.
Just another example of why Batman related stuff is the only true reason DC is still relevant to a lot of people, they are allowed to do whatever works with him. You start adding superman, wonderwoman etc. and it just makes everything more boring over time.
I'm very curious how Doomsday would've worked. Almost every character has a very similar body type, so seeing how they handle a massive beast like Doomsday would be interesting.
Minus the blood and violence, I think MK vs DC was pretty solid game, I loved the campness of the story. Also it saved Midway as Warner became interested in the team which let to the creation of Netherrealm. Edit: It also made the Story Mode a must have in FGs nowadays.
that game was in production forever (6-8? years) at like $1M a year, and really never had anything to show for it. It was Midways most expensive game, and it never made it to market.
Great choice. Ffny had so much potential in a sequel but they had to throw the joystick gimmick in and get RID OF SUPERS. Insane decision. Can You imagine a new def jam with custom supers and rap star dlc? Would you pay money to play as Busta Rhymes? You could have bundles of legacy character. With modern graphics and an updating soundtrack. Thats A lot of 💰
This is a great idea! I actually forgot about this game. FFNY was a game I went back to constantly when I was younger. Vendetta too! Icon..... yeah I played through that once.
Same here, I remember very vividly when I played this game with my friend at his house. I was really bad at the game lol. This was my first introduction to a fighting game on console. Never really considered it bad too. Though like I said it was my first fighting game I was introduced to and it holds a special place in my heart.
This game introduced me to mortal Kombat . I found it at Dragon Con’s gaming room, and it’s T rating meant I could play it, unlike the other games. I loved it, and it got me into the rest of the series. For that, I will always love this game.
I'm just going to say it: I freaking LOVE this game. Being a longtime fan of both Mortal Kombat and many of the DC characters, I thought this game was a great way to combine both universes. Yes, it has its shortcomings, but what game doesn't? For me, it just does not get any better than Superman vs Raiden.
But thank God it led to Injustice though. Great game series and the comic series it sired is now one of my favorites to this day. Where else can I see Constantine proclaim that he's, "going to kick the Man of Steel in the bollocks." For anyone interested in comics who hasn't read it, I highly recommend. Great balance of humor, action, and genuinely emotional moments (mostly sad) while including SO many characters from the DC Universe, even more if you're willing to spring for the Injustice 2 series that takes place between the first and second games.
I don't like injustice, the games have terrible writing and awful animation. The comics have better writing but they were held back by having to stick to the games, and Injustice 2 directly contradicted the comic but then expected you to have comic information to understand Green Arrow and Black Canary. That said I did like a few specific moments, like Alfred kicking the shit out of Superman and then hitting him with the "I'm not mad, I'm disappointed"
Honestly for a non competitive player I always found this game really funny to play, kinda sad that it probably never will see the light again in other platforms
I feel like a Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor episode might be warranted in the future. Just a prime example of how not to do motion controls. If you’re still doing movies on this show, I’d like to see an episode on The Snowman, in all honesty. Just... everything went wrong with that production. It’s almost hilarious.
@@MattMcMuscles Dunno if this is credible, but I found this page: amp.thisisinsider.com/the-snowman-michael-fassbender-director-bad-movie-reviews-2017-10
Matt McMuscles Quite a few things went wrong with the production. According to the director, they waited for several months to get the funding for the film, until the studio basically called him out of the blue telling him they had the money, and that he needed to get to London to start filming, giving him little time to prepare. And then for some reason, maybe the money ran out, maybe a schedule mistake, maybe just incompetence, the filming was cut short, resulting in about 10-15% of the screenplay not being filmed. They brought in two Oscar-nominated editors to help salvage the thing but with 10-15% of the movie not there, it was pretty much impossible. It was also weird to adapt this movie first considering it was actually the seventh in the series it was based on. And there’s the “Dear Mister Police” marketing campaign which was more hilarious than anything, and one of the weirder changes from the book. There’s also the fact that Val Kilmer has gone through a battle with throat cancer at the time, so all of his lines had to be done in ADR... in a manner that doesn’t match his lip movements at all and voiced by someone who didn’t remotely sound like Kilmer. And the studio was banking hard on this movie. They already had plans to adapt the other books in the series but judging by how poorly this movie performed, it likely isn’t going to happen for a long time.
Yeah, apparently this game served as the humble beginnings of MK9 and Netherrealm Studios in general. In spite of its flaws, it got WB eyes on Ed's crew and also apparently was one of the first to get UE3 to run at 60fps or some shit compared to everything else locked at 30 lol
Honestly , his idea with adding more known characters to try to reach a wider audience was smart , it worked for me cuz I remember seeing the flash and Batman and wanting to play more
*The Plot:* "Hey, you look like that guy I don't like! This makes me really angry for some reason! I'm gonna' beat you up, you big doo-doo head!" Raiden: C'mon guys. Knock it off. "... okay." Roll credits.
Mortal Kombat can have it's own "Wha Happun?" wing dedicated to itself at this point. This is coming from someone who enjoyed the 3D games. They definitely weren't perfect lol
I'm going to say they wanted to make 7 different games but refused to abandon the trainwreck universe of MK out of fear. That's how we get a sidescroller, 3d shooter/beatemup, mini-kart game, 3d action adventure, and even a card game all shoehorned into the same grungy brown retcon world of hell portals.
Hey Matt, I appreciate your use of Satie! Very nice choice. That particular piece, 3 Gymnopédies, No. 1 has been appearing in my dreams since childhood and I feel like I have some special connection to it. Great video as always.
@@MrRuano825 they never scrapped what they worked on they just halted it. Harada is the head now and he's torn between supporting Tekken 7 more Making Tekken 8 or continuing on TxSF.
I was actually first introduced to mortal kombat as a kid playing this game. It was pretty fun. I did not know mortal kombat was actually super gory before this though.
5 лет назад+38
7:00 as idiotic as that sounds when this game came out I was like 8 and a lot of my friends did exactly what that guy said
Honestly, we do need to thank this game. Because if we did get the original MK game they had hoped to get, it might've not as done as well as the the eventual MK9 did and the franchise might have been completely different than it is now
Wait I thought they still do, just under the Neatherrealm banner (yes I know the company merged under the Warner Bros banner, but they still have rights/control of their series they’re still developing).
@@pandaboi551 In the form of a disgusting microtransaction ridden mobile game grindfest. If that's the future of MK from now on then let it remain dead. Boon's writing team is also the worst it has ever been and it doesn't look like it will get any better.
It's been talked about to death but Street Fighter x Tekken would be a fun video. Also, Capcom Fighting Evolution. I don't even need context for that one, just 15 minutes of game footage and Matt saying "okay so this is what a real video game looks like"
Okay, but MKvsDC introduced me and ALL of my friends to mortal Kombat. And we were saying shit like "who's that ninja in the back, he's cool" just like Ed Boone wanted. The real kicker was when we figured out all the other MK games were hyper violent M rated games, we lost our shit when we went onto RUclips and found the fatalities from previous games.
This game was literally my introduction to the MKU and I would have never had the opportunity to play it if it wasn't T for Teen. Yes, their plan worked. Not for the short-term sales, but for the long-time fan acquiring.
Full discourse: MK VS DCU was actually the very first Mortal Kombat game I ever played. I wasn't familiar with the MK franchise before, so I bought it for the DC characters. I thought it was fine enough.
Honestly, I wasn't really put off by the lack of MK's trademark blood, and gore with MKvDCU. I was perfectly content with just having a solid fighting game featuring the two franchises. Really all MKvDCU did was make me want SFIV that much more.
I honestly loved this game when I was younger. I can't think of many other fighting games besides MK9 and Injustice that my friends and I played INTO THE GROUND. Like every weekend, every day after school, every time we had the chance, we would play Super Smash Bros, or MK Vs DC. We had a video game club at school and one of the most frequently played tournaments we had was MK Vs DC. It tore the house down every time. It was just a game that was easy to pick up and play and everyone had fun with. Plus as a kid who LOVED Mortal Kombat and would also watch Justice League RELIGIOUSLY, the idea of the two sides battling in one game with a STORY MODE was like crack cocaine to me. I even have a video saved from back in High School with our gaming club where I played against my friends older brother who was like my CONSTANT rival and kind of bully as a kid. It was such a passionate match with such a satisfying ending and I think back to it every time this game comes up because those moments are what I associate with the game. The MK movie didn't have tons of blood and violence but it was those characters and the lore that kept me invested, and MK Vs DC maintained those characters, so i was willing to sacrifice the violence at least once, in the interest of fun. ruclips.net/video/Tade96QztjA/видео.html
In a lot of ways, this game paved the way for both the modern day MK games as well as Injustice. And even though I do not own this game, I won't lie, I found myself enjoying it everytime I did play it at a friend's or elsewhere.
I mean the idea of introducing kids to mortal Kombat by colliding it with DC kinda worked I mean this was the game that introduced me to mortal Kombat . And I was about 7 years old when it came out
Another part not mentioned here was that this game marked the beginning of MK trying to appeal to the wider tournament scene. One of the new mechanics they heavily touted in MKvDC was “Pro Moves”, which were similar to what are known as “just frames” in other fighters. These were followups to special moves that had a very small input window (3 frames IIRC). The game also had one of the original tournament organizers as a playtester: Jason Wilson, of Midwest Championship fame. He would frequently post on the various fighting-game forums of the time (Shoryuken & Dustloop) to promote the game and tell us Midway was learning from their past mistakes. In practice the game’s not completely unplayable, but it has a limited meta. Green Lantern and the Flash are absurd, with the bosses being the only other characters who can maybe compete with them. And Raiden, but he actually takes execution so why bother?
The core gameplay was what laid the foundations for MK9 though, stripping out all the gimmicks of the 3d era and going back to just trying to get the core fighting right. Only for them to of course return to the gimmicks in later titles but hey.
The idea that kids didnt know about MK at the time was bizarre, the MK 6th gen entries were big. I grew up on PS2 and me and all my friends played tons of deadly alliance, deception, and armageddon, and most kids I knew did too, MK was very much still "cool".
This game is actually like a part of my childhood, my younger brother and I would play this. I would usually lose cause I was just botton mashing. I think this was only MK game my family owned.
Mk: Deadly Alliace and MK:Deception are my favorite games in the series. It's frustrating that because they where not "For the tournament scene" and more for "casual fun" that people trash these games. They are super fun and deserve a spot on the shelve with the good MK games.
Agreed! Honestly i don't like that a lot of people trash them for no reason! In fact my first mortal kombat game was Deadly Alliance so it holds a special place in my heart
@@MichaelVarcade agreed, honestly it doesn't matter where you get your start, but once you became a fan and joined the fandom. That to me is what really counts
I thought it was kind of weird that he put down the PS2 Trilogy (yeah Armageddon was pretty weak but not terrible) but then mentions that MK had been Midway’s bright spot prior to MK vs DC and how the lack of features from those games contributed to the lackluster MK vs DC package
@@darklinkinfinite I have been a mk fan since 1992. I have seen so many people say the "3D games suck" with a tone like every one agrees. The truth is the 3D games brought in so many new fans. Hell I often us MK4 to teach new players MK because it is so easy to pick up. I think it stems from those games not targeting tournament players. But in the early 2000, people did not buy fighters with Hope's of becoming a E-sports champ.
This game is the textbook example of Mistakes into Miracles If it wasn’t for this game, we wouldn’t have had -Injustice 1 and 2 -Hellboy, TMNT, Darkseid, etc in a fighting game -MK9, MKX, and MK11 -Cary Fukunaga reprising his role as Shang Tsung -Peter Weller reprising for Robocop -return of Friendships It just goes to show, sometimes it’s best to commit to making something if you’re passionate about the process and you love the universe you’re working in.
Can we get episodes dedicated to failed game consoles? I would like to see the history behind consoles that flopped. The Dreamcast and the Wii U are two good ones to look at, as they came from big-name console developers of their times (and not from obscure or dying developers, like Commodore's Amiga CD32 or the Atari Jaguar).
Midway wanted to continue the story-line from the movies for this game. For one, Johnny Cage nor Mileena were in the game, as they died in MK Annihilation LOL (No Kung Lao Either because he was not in none of the movies). The opening intro from Story Mode was Shao Kahn right after his defeat from invading earth. I remember clearly that the developers said this game takes place right after MK2, so the MKII game or the movie? There were lot's of hints at the previous movies, rather than the games because they thought people would recognize the characters from the movies instead.
Well, Warner Brothers did end up owning MK and Netherrealms studios was born. MKvsDC was very ambitious in terms of cinematics and was pretty much the basis of where tons of stuff we saw in Injustice and MK9. It was a silly mash up, but lots was leant from it.
Does anyone else hear the ropes moving in the intro and think it's the sound of Matt wheezing with laughter every time? Is that just me and my crazy ears?
6:30 Say what you want, but I was one of those kids. Had no idea what MK was, but I saw a game where I could play as Batman & the Joker, Flash & some cool-looking characters I didn't know. One half-baked story mode later, I was a MK fan
I actually really liked MK vs DC and played it a lot at friends' houses. Wish I got a chance to own it, but I'm primarily a PC guy and my newest console is a Wii. I was stoked to get a MK9 port, at least.
Played this with my brother around the time it got released. Honestly, I think it's about as good as you could realistically expect this clash of franchises to be. In other words, not amazing, but the decision to keep what gels between MK and DC's respective visions and drop whatever doesn't is probably the only way this could have come to shelves for us to behold, for better or worse. Of course I prefer the recent MK or Injustice games, but still, it was a fun little curiosity. Also, years later, I smiled a little when Dragon Ball FighterZ used the same "everyone's power level is in flux" plot device MK vs DC inserted to explain how normal humans can go toe-to-toe with nigh-invincible gods.
I was in middle school when this came out and I remember enjoying playing this with my friends. I would be really happy to see them make another run at this with mortal kombat vs injustice
So hear me out, MK vs DC was my first MK game since I had strict parents that didn't let me play M rated games. so it has a special place in my heart and introduced me to MK. I played it a lot on PS3 back in 2009-2012ish. But I've definitely realized as an adult, that game sucked, but it was my only MK I had.
Even funnier about the violence was that at the time, DC's actual comics were already starting an increasing trend of being over-the-top gory, violent, and gritty
And now we have a Harley Quinn +18 show full with violence and a coming Deathstroke +18 show. Jesus, DC changed a lot.
@@wesleym95 Dude, the Harley Quinn show already out. It's on the DC streaming service. The first episode on RUclips.
That's a lot of hyperbole. They're kinda bloody at that era sure, but a lot of things still prevented them from full of blood and guts everywhere.
@@oh-not-the-bees7872 I think this game came out around the same time that Black Adam killed Psycho Pirate by gouging his eyes through the back of his skull, which was preeeeetty brutal
@@Red_Lanterns_Rage Holy crap. The stupidity, the cringe. I'll just quote Harley herself: "Fuck off, kid."
It’s actually funny because the whole “kids will be exposed to MK” goal really worked for me. I was pretty young and MKvsDC is how I found out about Mortal Kombat. Now I love the franchise dearly 💀
Me too
I was thinking about that too. I knew of the series from having a couple games, but bought this to get back into the franchise.
same this was the game that exposed me to the franchise as well.
Same here, I’m not a big mortal kombat fan outside of couch coop with my friends, but this is one mk game that I love
Same
The Joker's fatality is actually genius though, gets me every time
That's why they reused it in MK9 lmao
i hope it will be a brutality in mk11
Are you 6?
I really hated how complicated it was to actually get one of those off in a match🤦🏽♂️ spent a lot of time just kickin people off buildings or just using the environment so I didnt get bored with the game
@Jon Tap Wait until you graduate, man.
I was REALLY into this at the time, and followed the news about it every so often, but seeing the story mode, fatalities, brutalities, Sonya's see-through, no bra, nip showing shirt, were... Weird. Now with this explainer, it makes SO MUCH more sense now, the game was rushed and bare boned. The moment it died, it paved the way for a brighter future, because another one of these might've killed MK.
Yes, a brighter future: MK X and MK11
Maybe we were better off before.
@@zyxluz4645 what’s wrong with MKX and MK11?
@Ed Corona No. MKX is trash, 11 is legendary
@Ed Corona I never bothered with 11 yet. I'm still playing X
@@billybollockhead5628 the fact that that was even a complaint got me 🤣🤣🤣
The way I see it, if MK vs DC never happened, we would not have gotten MK 9 and Injustice.
I guess they liked that Joker fatality so much they added it to Shang Tsung in MK 9.
@@jeremyriley1238 I'd doubt MK would of died forever. Someone was bound to pick up the rights for the game, but I'd agree MK9 probably wouldn't of happened when it did.
Tbh I'd prefer if we never got Injustice.
@@milkmonstrosity you have horrible taste in games and stories then.
@@cajunbatmaninjustice is not that good.
@@insertedgynamehere game sales numbers, a top selling spin-off comic and animated movie says otherwise.
The silver lining is that MK vs DC gave way to Injustice 1 and 2 as well as MK characters making cameos in said games (and vice versa with Joker being added to MK 11).
Plus it really feels like they learned from mk vs dc how to make mk9 onwards into actually great fighting games
Absolutely. I get that MK v. DC was not the crown jewel they intended, but it really did lead to stronger development of both franchises. A classic "learn from failure" moment.
@@SilkyLew Armageddon just was badass. Wish they left the chess kombat and kart kombat for a better konquest mode with open world like deception
Plus joker's fully realized fatality sneaking I to mk9
@@SilkyLew what, armageddon was fun to play at least
Imagine an intro where Matt kept his arms crossed and nothing happened
15min of arm crossed
We made him upset.
No talk, he angy.
Nothin Happun
Subverting my expectations.
If i'm being honest, when i was a pre teen this game having dc characters in it is what got me to buy the game, so that marketing gimmick worked on someone
I was a bit too young but I definitely always wanted to play it as a kid
It worked on all of us.
Who puts his head in the sand now - “mr. grown-up” and “I didn’t fell for anything” Justin Bieber - and pretends he didn’t do it, is a big Pinocchio.
And I’m talking in general.
What I find weird is that one of Green Lantern's Brutalities might as well be a fatality since he crushes all of your bones, further exemplified by the fact that the opponent lays there still unlike other Brutalities where they writhe in pain.
To be fair to MK vs DC... The idea of non-fatal fatalities was actually a pretty neat idea. If it was executed within a normal Mortal Kombat game, being able to see what certain characters would do to non-lethally (and likely still violently) incapacitate opponents would be really interesting. And I like to think that even though the premise was overall a bit head scratching, it still had *some* potential. But the lack of time, as well as DC looking over Midway's shoulder and demanding a T rating, put them in a massive bind that it couldn't quite recover from.
6:22 to be fair, it worked. I was a 7 year old when I played this at my cousin’s house and was like “oh cool Joker and Flash in a fighting game” and then I started playing as Sub Zero and now Mortal Kombat is my favorite fighting game franchise.
It was kinda similar for me. I was actually more into MK than DC at the time but I knew very little about either side, so I started with the DC story mode, of which had more characters I recognized, and soon enough I became interested in the MK characters I knew nothing about outside of Yellow Ninia use Spear and Blue Ninja use Ice
Yeah I didn't get his criticism that that was a "stupid" idea. The MK characters were way more niche and obscure. It makes sense to give them a platform boost next to DC' timeless heroes that most people recognize even if they've never picked up a comic
Yeah Matt's definitely really into the FGC community... which probably skewed the perspective that not everyone would really be interested in MK. Certainly not as many people who can recognize Superman or Batman; these are cult icons and getting Scorpion next to them would definitely increase exposure like in your experience.
I guess everyone's story different. I played the earlier MK's, and Captain Marvel's the only character I wasn't familiar with in this game. I knew the other DC heroes from cartoons.
You’re just in the majority
Weirdly this game did introduce my child self to the MK franchise.
Mine was armageddon
Damn, so young. MK1 on Mega Drive (Genesis) for me.
Oh same here!
This was the second MK introduced to me as a kid . I was like wtf .
Yeah mine too. Also, I'm your 100th like. Remember me when this has 200.
Mortal Kombat vs DC, is how I learned about the MK characters. So that guy was kinda right
I'm happy that worked for some people? But like I said in the video, this game didn't sell any better or worse than previous MKs...so on a mass mainstream level, it didn't really work.
Matt McMuscles I agree. Not to mention the whole reason for this game existence is bullshit to begin with as the Mortal Kombat series (especially during the “Dark Age of Fighting Games) already has huge child audience at the time. Namely edgy elementary and middle schoolers who unironically buy every games Midway pops out because of all the violence and (sometimes) sexiness; thus becoming the main source of the franchise income.
Oh God, did I just described my own childhood with that sentence?
@@BigK13372 Yeah, I find it ironic because the game was rated T(so not for kids technically) and the first time I played MK was when I was 7 years old and Sub-Zero has been my favorite video game character since then, Captain Marvel was actually the only character in the game I never heard of.
Same here actually
Same here
"Kids today have no idea who characters like Scorpion are and we want to change that"
hol up
Edit: when i made this it was more aimed towards "trying to remind children about this ultra gorey m-rated game" though in hindsight that reeks of pearl clutching and i'm kinda glad it didn't get taken that way
I'll be honest, I never knew the MK Franchise until this game so I thank MKvsDC for that.
We know kids watch porn, but you shouldn´t say out loud "WE ARE TRYING TO INTRUDUCE PORN TO KIDS". Same with MK over-the-top gore.
@@map04wormhole this game was awesome
edfreak9001 honestly I learned about MK by playing this game
To be honest, I ultimately didn’t know about MK until this game came out. I even got Armageddon on the old Xbox & unchained on the PS2. Then I got MK 9, X & now 11. This game practically made me a fan of the franchise.
MKVDC: "No gore cause DC!"
DC, 2020: *Harley bites Penguin's nose off.*
MKVDC: "No Gore 'cuz DC!"
The Joker: Allow me to introduce myself...
Well I think they meant because it features characters like Superman who isn’t an R rated character
Even in that mid-late 2000's era, DC comics tended to be really gory. I remember reading an issue of Teen Titans where Beast Boy defeated Brother Blood by turning into a tapeworm and tearing up his internal organs, and the issue ended with Ravager cutting her own eyeball out to match Deathstroke's missing eye.
It was a different time
"Baraka never gets his chapter in any Story Mode"
MK1: *Allow me to introduce myself*
I was a comic fan who discovered Mortal Kombat through this game so maybe Ed wasn’t that crazy after all…
7:29 September 19th, 2023 Baraka finally got a chapter in a Story mode
I played it once and spammed the same move with Flash until everyone watching made me stop. Probably a good summary of the game.
My favorite memory of this game was watching the A.I. play against itself using the Flash VS Scorpion. It started spamming teleport and juggles like crazy. Looked so cool and funny I still want a live action version one day.
This game was so broken. The worst offense I can remember is the scorpion vs flash match up, flash had exclusively melee attacks and scorpion could use a fire shield that damaged and blocked melee attacks indefinitely. Basically a free win by holding a button.
The irony is when it comes to really disturbing T-rated "Tell, don't show" deaths, the Batman: Arkham series has them beat by a mile.
Just another example of why Batman related stuff is the only true reason DC is still relevant to a lot of people, they are allowed to do whatever works with him. You start adding superman, wonderwoman etc. and it just makes everything more boring over time.
@@plasmaoctopus1728 No. You can do different things with the other characters as well. Same thing with the Marvel universe.
I'm very curious how Doomsday would've worked. Almost every character has a very similar body type, so seeing how they handle a massive beast like Doomsday would be interesting.
Minus the blood and violence, I think MK vs DC was pretty solid game, I loved the campness of the story. Also it saved Midway as Warner became interested in the team which let to the creation of Netherrealm.
Edit: It also made the Story Mode a must have in FGs nowadays.
"Sold 1.5 million copies."
Yah, I think I own about half of those...
Wow I forgot about “This is Vegas”. I was hyped for it when it was announced but after the news dried out I forgot all about it.
that game was in production forever (6-8? years) at like $1M a year, and really never had anything to show for it. It was Midways most expensive game, and it never made it to market.
Just awful mismanagement all around. Such a shame.
I vaguely remember hearing of it then poof, nothing. Kind of a shame really, it sounds like it could've been a bit entertaining at least
If it wasn't for this game, we wouldn't have got Injustice so it was kinda like a trial run. So.. yea.
Def Jam: Icon-What Happened?
for real. Fight for NY was like one of my favs of the PS2 era
I actually liked Icon but never returned to it like I did with FFNY.
Great choice. Ffny had so much potential in a sequel but they had to throw the joystick gimmick in and get RID OF SUPERS. Insane decision.
Can You imagine a new def jam with custom supers and rap star dlc? Would you pay money to play as Busta Rhymes? You could have bundles of legacy character. With modern graphics and an updating soundtrack. Thats A lot of 💰
This is a great idea! I actually forgot about this game.
FFNY was a game I went back to constantly when I was younger. Vendetta too! Icon..... yeah I played through that once.
FFNY was one of my favorite games. I don't know how many times I played through that story mode. I was so pissed when I played Icon.
I remember playing this game when I was much younger, and until today I had no idea it was considered bad
Same here, I remember very vividly when I played this game with my friend at his house. I was really bad at the game lol. This was my first introduction to a fighting game on console. Never really considered it bad too. Though like I said it was my first fighting game I was introduced to and it holds a special place in my heart.
This game introduced me to mortal Kombat . I found it at Dragon Con’s gaming room, and it’s T rating meant I could play it, unlike the other games. I loved it, and it got me into the rest of the series. For that, I will always love this game.
HE MUST WIN
Your HORSE must LOSE!
Then raiden died. The end
Hey past me, let Shao Khan win and the Elder Gods will punish him.
8:57
Baraka: "Aight, I'm bout to head out"
He literally did: 16:02
I'm just going to say it: I freaking LOVE this game. Being a longtime fan of both Mortal Kombat and many of the DC characters, I thought this game was a great way to combine both universes. Yes, it has its shortcomings, but what game doesn't? For me, it just does not get any better than Superman vs Raiden.
cringe
@@Dhampire1976 he is not wrong. This game got positive reviews and most people liked it. The hate started years later.
For me, it's Shao Khan vs Superman. Just wish Khan and Darkseid had fatalities
But thank God it led to Injustice though. Great game series and the comic series it sired is now one of my favorites to this day. Where else can I see Constantine proclaim that he's, "going to kick the Man of Steel in the bollocks." For anyone interested in comics who hasn't read it, I highly recommend. Great balance of humor, action, and genuinely emotional moments (mostly sad) while including SO many characters from the DC Universe, even more if you're willing to spring for the Injustice 2 series that takes place between the first and second games.
wowz , you typed alot for a first reply
Logan Chase interesting thank you for the information. I will when I have some spare time have a wonderful day take care and stay awesome.
Press X to doubt
Plastic man and The Butlering are my personal highlights.
What a great and crazy AU.
I don't like injustice, the games have terrible writing and awful animation. The comics have better writing but they were held back by having to stick to the games, and Injustice 2 directly contradicted the comic but then expected you to have comic information to understand Green Arrow and Black Canary. That said I did like a few specific moments, like Alfred kicking the shit out of Superman and then hitting him with the "I'm not mad, I'm disappointed"
Honestly for a non competitive player I always found this game really funny to play, kinda sad that it probably never will see the light again in other platforms
Actually it kinda can if you consider how DC has been so gory nowadays.
I feel like a Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor episode might be warranted in the future. Just a prime example of how not to do motion controls.
If you’re still doing movies on this show, I’d like to see an episode on The Snowman, in all honesty. Just... everything went wrong with that production. It’s almost hilarious.
Oh? What's the skinny on that? I had heard the movie was just bad. But is there a story behind it?
@@MattMcMuscles Dunno if this is credible, but I found this page:
amp.thisisinsider.com/the-snowman-michael-fassbender-director-bad-movie-reviews-2017-10
@@MattMcMuscles I heard that 10 to 15% of the screenplay was unfilmed, which led to rushed edits
Matt McMuscles Quite a few things went wrong with the production. According to the director, they waited for several months to get the funding for the film, until the studio basically called him out of the blue telling him they had the money, and that he needed to get to London to start filming, giving him little time to prepare. And then for some reason, maybe the money ran out, maybe a schedule mistake, maybe just incompetence, the filming was cut short, resulting in about 10-15% of the screenplay not being filmed. They brought in two Oscar-nominated editors to help salvage the thing but with 10-15% of the movie not there, it was pretty much impossible.
It was also weird to adapt this movie first considering it was actually the seventh in the series it was based on. And there’s the “Dear Mister Police” marketing campaign which was more hilarious than anything, and one of the weirder changes from the book.
There’s also the fact that Val Kilmer has gone through a battle with throat cancer at the time, so all of his lines had to be done in ADR... in a manner that doesn’t match his lip movements at all and voiced by someone who didn’t remotely sound like Kilmer.
And the studio was banking hard on this movie. They already had plans to adapt the other books in the series but judging by how poorly this movie performed, it likely isn’t going to happen for a long time.
I love how Batmans special moves in the Injustice games are almost like fatalities it just "doesn't kill the other person"
@Matt McMuscles / please keep this series going. Been a long time fan and I love the knowledge you have of the gaming industry , we appreciate you!
A precursor to MK9 and the DC fighting games style. All tested on this game
Yeah, apparently this game served as the humble beginnings of MK9 and Netherrealm Studios in general. In spite of its flaws, it got WB eyes on Ed's crew and also apparently was one of the first to get UE3 to run at 60fps or some shit compared to everything else locked at 30 lol
I think Injustice is also precursors to MK games. All tests for Mortal Kombat games lol.
Honestly , his idea with adding more known characters to try to reach a wider audience was smart , it worked for me cuz I remember seeing the flash and Batman and wanting to play more
"Baraka will never get his own story chapter."
*Baraka gets his own story chapter*
*spits out cereal*
*The Plot:*
"Hey, you look like that guy I don't like! This makes me really angry for some reason! I'm gonna' beat you up, you big doo-doo head!"
Raiden: C'mon guys. Knock it off.
"... okay."
Roll credits.
Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Käsi or Ehrgeiz: God Bless the Ring
Mortal Kombat can have it's own "Wha Happun?" wing dedicated to itself at this point. This is coming from someone who enjoyed the 3D games. They definitely weren't perfect lol
I'm going to say they wanted to make 7 different games but refused to abandon the trainwreck universe of MK out of fear. That's how we get a sidescroller, 3d shooter/beatemup, mini-kart game, 3d action adventure, and even a card game all shoehorned into the same grungy brown retcon world of hell portals.
@@thefonzkiss the reality : The MK 3D era with DA, Deception and Armageddon, was a trilogy of masterpieces, and MK jumped the sark in 2011. (:
@@thefonzkiss More like 1997
Hey Matt, I appreciate your use of Satie! Very nice choice. That particular piece, 3 Gymnopédies, No. 1 has been appearing in my dreams since childhood and I feel like I have some special connection to it. Great video as always.
Want a suggestion? Street Fighter x Tekken. Throw in Tekken x Street Fighter for good measure,
It only happened in 2012. The salt has not subsided.
I'd wait to see if Harada was actually serious about restarting development on TxSF first.
@@MrRuano825 they never scrapped what they worked on they just halted it. Harada is the head now and he's torn between supporting Tekken 7 more Making Tekken 8 or continuing on TxSF.
I was actually first introduced to mortal kombat as a kid playing this game. It was pretty fun. I did not know mortal kombat was actually super gory before this though.
7:00 as idiotic as that sounds when this game came out I was like 8 and a lot of my friends did exactly what that guy said
Honestly, we do need to thank this game. Because if we did get the original MK game they had hoped to get, it might've not as done as well as the the eventual MK9 did and the franchise might have been completely different than it is now
Last time I was this early Midway still owned Mortal Kombat
Midway killed the franchise, Warner Bro brought it back to life
@@pandaboi551 no, midway didn't kill it.
Wait I thought they still do, just under the Neatherrealm banner (yes I know the company merged under the Warner Bros banner, but they still have rights/control of their series they’re still developing).
Ole 1995
@@pandaboi551
In the form of a disgusting microtransaction ridden mobile game grindfest. If that's the future of MK from now on then let it remain dead.
Boon's writing team is also the worst it has ever been and it doesn't look like it will get any better.
Yo, that concept art looks sick, it would be very cool if we could have that, like, Raiden looks =chef's kiss=
This was actually my first Mortal Kombat game and it’s the reason I ended up checking out the series
I was rather late discovering your channel, Matt, but I'm glad I did. You're a delight, and I love these essays.
Wonder woman would absolutely have a fatality. She snapped a mans neck on national tv.
It's been talked about to death but Street Fighter x Tekken would be a fun video. Also, Capcom Fighting Evolution. I don't even need context for that one, just 15 minutes of game footage and Matt saying "okay so this is what a real video game looks like"
Wha Happun idea: The initial launch of Final Fantasy XIV.
Problem is noclip already did the ultimate wha happun on that phoenix
Your editing is hilarious
6:33 that was me years ago when mortal kombat vs dc was my first fighting game and honestly I loved it.
Okay, but MKvsDC introduced me and ALL of my friends to mortal Kombat. And we were saying shit like "who's that ninja in the back, he's cool" just like Ed Boone wanted. The real kicker was when we figured out all the other MK games were hyper violent M rated games, we lost our shit when we went onto RUclips and found the fatalities from previous games.
This game was literally my introduction to the MKU and I would have never had the opportunity to play it if it wasn't T for Teen. Yes, their plan worked. Not for the short-term sales, but for the long-time fan acquiring.
Full discourse: MK VS DCU was actually the very first Mortal Kombat game I ever played. I wasn't familiar with the MK franchise before, so I bought it for the DC characters. I thought it was fine enough.
Honestly, I wasn't really put off by the lack of MK's trademark blood, and gore with MKvDCU. I was perfectly content with just having a solid fighting game featuring the two franchises. Really all MKvDCU did was make me want SFIV that much more.
I honestly loved this game when I was younger. I can't think of many other fighting games besides MK9 and Injustice that my friends and I played INTO THE GROUND. Like every weekend, every day after school, every time we had the chance, we would play Super Smash Bros, or MK Vs DC. We had a video game club at school and one of the most frequently played tournaments we had was MK Vs DC. It tore the house down every time. It was just a game that was easy to pick up and play and everyone had fun with.
Plus as a kid who LOVED Mortal Kombat and would also watch Justice League RELIGIOUSLY, the idea of the two sides battling in one game with a STORY MODE was like crack cocaine to me. I even have a video saved from back in High School with our gaming club where I played against my friends older brother who was like my CONSTANT rival and kind of bully as a kid. It was such a passionate match with such a satisfying ending and I think back to it every time this game comes up because those moments are what I associate with the game. The MK movie didn't have tons of blood and violence but it was those characters and the lore that kept me invested, and MK Vs DC maintained those characters, so i was willing to sacrifice the violence at least once, in the interest of fun.
ruclips.net/video/Tade96QztjA/видео.html
In a lot of ways, this game paved the way for both the modern day MK games as well as Injustice. And even though I do not own this game, I won't lie, I found myself enjoying it everytime I did play it at a friend's or elsewhere.
the like to dislike ratio is crazy! matt is killing it with how high quality these videos are
This game was what introduced me to the mk franchise, so it worked, I'm now a huge fan ever since I was little
I mean the idea of introducing kids to mortal Kombat by colliding it with DC kinda worked I mean this was the game that introduced me to mortal Kombat . And I was about 7 years old when it came out
Without this we wouldn’t have got injustice
Baraka finally got his chapter
Another part not mentioned here was that this game marked the beginning of MK trying to appeal to the wider tournament scene. One of the new mechanics they heavily touted in MKvDC was “Pro Moves”, which were similar to what are known as “just frames” in other fighters. These were followups to special moves that had a very small input window (3 frames IIRC).
The game also had one of the original tournament organizers as a playtester: Jason Wilson, of Midwest Championship fame. He would frequently post on the various fighting-game forums of the time (Shoryuken & Dustloop) to promote the game and tell us Midway was learning from their past mistakes.
In practice the game’s not completely unplayable, but it has a limited meta. Green Lantern and the Flash are absurd, with the bosses being the only other characters who can maybe compete with them. And Raiden, but he actually takes execution so why bother?
I actually loved this game as a kid & still do, it holds a special place in my heart ❤
07:28 aged like milk
*MK1 has entered the chat*
I love that MK 11 references that Joker has been to Outworld before.
“Uh, hey, can you do Marvel Infinite?”
... but for real. Tattoo Assassins. It’s time. You can’t keep running from it forever.
The core gameplay was what laid the foundations for MK9 though, stripping out all the gimmicks of the 3d era and going back to just trying to get the core fighting right. Only for them to of course return to the gimmicks in later titles but hey.
The idea that kids didnt know about MK at the time was bizarre, the MK 6th gen entries were big. I grew up on PS2 and me and all my friends played tons of deadly alliance, deception, and armageddon, and most kids I knew did too, MK was very much still "cool".
To be fair. Many of the mechanics and story mode structure went on to be injustice one and two, and all of the modern mk games
This game is actually like a part of my childhood, my younger brother and I would play this. I would usually lose cause I was just botton mashing. I think this was only MK game my family owned.
*" IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE. YOU.... WILL.... FIGHT!"*
-Dark Khan
Also Wonder Woman's spin kick is S tier 😂
Mk: Deadly Alliace and MK:Deception are my favorite games in the series. It's frustrating that because they where not "For the tournament scene" and more for "casual fun" that people trash these games. They are super fun and deserve a spot on the shelve with the good MK games.
Agreed! Honestly i don't like that a lot of people trash them for no reason! In fact my first mortal kombat game was Deadly Alliance so it holds a special place in my heart
@@deepakdeodathbasdeo1672 to think if it was not for those games, there may have been one less MK fan out there.
@@MichaelVarcade agreed, honestly it doesn't matter where you get your start, but once you became a fan and joined the fandom. That to me is what really counts
I thought it was kind of weird that he put down the PS2 Trilogy (yeah Armageddon was pretty weak but not terrible) but then mentions that MK had been Midway’s bright spot prior to MK vs DC and how the lack of features from those games contributed to the lackluster MK vs DC package
@@darklinkinfinite I have been a mk fan since 1992. I have seen so many people say the "3D games suck" with a tone like every one agrees. The truth is the 3D games brought in so many new fans. Hell I often us MK4 to teach new players MK because it is so easy to pick up. I think it stems from those games not targeting tournament players. But in the early 2000, people did not buy fighters with Hope's of becoming a E-sports champ.
This game is the textbook example of Mistakes into Miracles
If it wasn’t for this game, we wouldn’t have had
-Injustice 1 and 2
-Hellboy, TMNT, Darkseid, etc in a fighting game
-MK9, MKX, and MK11
-Cary Fukunaga reprising his role as Shang Tsung
-Peter Weller reprising for Robocop
-return of Friendships
It just goes to show, sometimes it’s best to commit to making something if you’re passionate about the process and you love the universe you’re working in.
Can we get episodes dedicated to failed game consoles? I would like to see the history behind consoles that flopped. The Dreamcast and the Wii U are two good ones to look at, as they came from big-name console developers of their times (and not from obscure or dying developers, like Commodore's Amiga CD32 or the Atari Jaguar).
Or the Ouya
Midway wanted to continue the story-line from the movies for this game. For one, Johnny Cage nor Mileena were in the game, as they died in MK Annihilation LOL (No Kung Lao Either because he was not in none of the movies). The opening intro from Story Mode was Shao Kahn right after his defeat from invading earth. I remember clearly that the developers said this game takes place right after MK2, so the MKII game or the movie? There were lot's of hints at the previous movies, rather than the games because they thought people would recognize the characters from the movies instead.
IT HAS BEGUN
the non-cannon crossover aspect of this game for me is like the nostlagia critic 's bat credit card
Matt, please give us a Wha-Happun of Dead Rising 4, is still December and it's the season to be bitter
Well, Warner Brothers did end up owning MK and Netherrealms studios was born. MKvsDC was very ambitious in terms of cinematics and was pretty much the basis of where tons of stuff we saw in Injustice and MK9. It was a silly mash up, but lots was leant from it.
Does anyone else hear the ropes moving in the intro and think it's the sound of Matt wheezing with laughter every time? Is that just me and my crazy ears?
I actually thought it was a great game lol. Me and my boys use to play eachother online all day ! Superman was my main
6:30
Say what you want, but I was one of those kids. Had no idea what MK was, but I saw a game where I could play as Batman & the Joker, Flash & some cool-looking characters I didn't know. One half-baked story mode later, I was a MK fan
I actually really liked MK vs DC and played it a lot at friends' houses. Wish I got a chance to own it, but I'm primarily a PC guy and my newest console is a Wii. I was stoked to get a MK9 port, at least.
Played this with my brother around the time it got released. Honestly, I think it's about as good as you could realistically expect this clash of franchises to be. In other words, not amazing, but the decision to keep what gels between MK and DC's respective visions and drop whatever doesn't is probably the only way this could have come to shelves for us to behold, for better or worse. Of course I prefer the recent MK or Injustice games, but still, it was a fun little curiosity.
Also, years later, I smiled a little when Dragon Ball FighterZ used the same "everyone's power level is in flux" plot device MK vs DC inserted to explain how normal humans can go toe-to-toe with nigh-invincible gods.
Matt! You’ve been uploading like a mad man! Love it keep it up! :)
I remember being 11 watching my cousin play this game and being like "woah". It started my interest in mk haha
You uncovered deep memories I had forgotten about Me and my brother used to play this game when we were 5. 😅😅
13:42 Dude why! why show that! Too graphic!
I actually loved this game it’s the game that got me into MK when I was a kid 😂😂😂
I was in middle school when this came out and I remember enjoying playing this with my friends.
I would be really happy to see them make another run at this with mortal kombat vs injustice
So hear me out, MK vs DC was my first MK game since I had strict parents that didn't let me play M rated games. so it has a special place in my heart and introduced me to MK. I played it a lot on PS3 back in 2009-2012ish. But I've definitely realized as an adult, that game sucked, but it was my only MK I had.
"15:10 Danks, Peter MacNichol."
I love this series so much. Its nice to finally understand the issues with lack-luster games