It’s inevitable that Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe will be hitting shelves this fall. I’ve ranted and raved along with some of the most diehard Mortal Kombat fans, but we must accept our fate. With the promise of hitting the reset button for the next MK title totally smashed and the release of a true horror among horrors just beyond the horizon, I tend to rub my chin and think, “What could have been released this fall instead?”

I believe it’s fair to say that not every fan of the series was enjoying the idea of getting rid of every loved MK character and starting from scratch. While they were welcoming the idea of starting over with the fighting system, fans didn’t want to see such great characters as Sub-Zero or Raiden go the way of the dinosaurs. So what way could the MK team keep their promise of starting over but give the fans one last chance to say goodbye to their favorites in a game that doesn’t completely suck? The answer is a prequel.

Most fans are going to immediately think to themselves that all Mortal Kombat prequels have been fairly terrible. While I’ll give you that Mythologies was unbearable and the first Konquest from Deception was worthy of beating with a pole, Shaolin Monks was a fun prequel that retold the story of Mortal Kombat II in an interesting and compelling way. Another previous Mortal Kombat game could easily be retold in such a manner – like Mortal Kombat III. The third installment of the series would be great grounds for a retelling since the actual story was added to so many times thanks to the release of both Ultimate MK III and MK Trilogy. Seriously, the game was bad enough that it deserves this kind of apology.

The actual gameplay could be a nod toward Shaolin Monks since many MK fans and fans of beat-em-up style games enjoyed the title so much. More combos and special moves could be added to the original system to make way for new characters that either didn’t make the cut for Shaolin Monks or simply didn’t exist at the time. I believe that fans would love to see characters such as Kabal, Smoke, Nightwolf, and possibly even Stryker come to life in the 3D environment that Shaolin Monks offered and beat some tarkatans to a bloody pulp. Each character’s special moves from the original MK III could be used to create some interesting combos like we witnessed in Shaolin Monks. From Kabal’s Rapid Flash move to Stryker’s grenades, anyone with an imagination can begin to see the possibilities.

I certainly can’t forget the fatalities while I’m dreaming up such a game. The biggest problem I can see with bringing the MK III fatalities to this style of game is that they were silly and very little people cared for them to begin with. I don’t see the need to bring them to the 3D world. It would probably be best to ignore some of the more stupid fatalities that appeared in MK III(Kabal’s Unmasked fatality comes to mind) and focus on some of the replacement ones that appeared in later MK titles. There are also a lot of possibilities when one thinks of the multi-fatalities that appeared in the previous installment. Wouldn’t it be cool to see Kabal rush past a tarkatan with the Rapid Flash and cause the enemy to spin so fast that other enemies are sucked in for a massive, explosive, gory multi-fatality? I’d love to see that. Or maybe Stryker could pull the gun out and shift around in a circle while shooting slugs right into the heads of his enemies. You probably see where I’m going with a lot of these, but they’d be great to see in action.

The coolest thing I could imagine when I think of this fantasy title is the boss fights. Fighting Baraka was fun as was the secret fight with Ermac, but there are so many other cool characters to square off against in this installment. There could be boss fights against Sektor, Cyrax, Sheeva, Noob Saibot, Motaro, and possibly even Chameleon. Every character mentioned would be great candidates for boss fights, but Motaro would definitely be the tough cookie to handle. He was hard as hell in the original arcade games to beat, and he could be even harder in a 3D environment where he can teleport all over the place and throw fireballs like a douchebag. Now there’s a true boss fight.

Fans could say their last goodbyes to their favorite characters in not only a badass game that allows them to kick nonstop ass, but also with sleek, new graphics with this generation’s consoles. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed with the graphics that were presented in Shaolin Monks, but I really didn’t feel that Deadly Alliance, Deception, or Armageddon were exactly eye candy either. I’d rather see these characters get new, impressive models in a game that doesn’t blow rather than in a game that will definitely blow.

I know that it’s too late, but at the same time I can’t shake my head enough. I know that I’m not the only person who thought of such a sequel for Shaolin Monks – well, maybe the spin on MK III does put me in a different category. I promise that it would have been a much better game, everyone wouldn’t have to compile lists of DC characters that they hope make the cut of a game that is probably going to flop, and Midway wouldn’t come out looking like complete douchebags for lying to the fans – I’m sure it was just an excuse for Armageddon anyway. But what’s done is done. If only Midway had come to our friendly neighborhood Debaser first.