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Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks Storyline Differences FAQ:
VERSION 1.02
-Created, Edited and Compiled by: Psychochronic
(Brettdude in Gamefaqs) of Shoryuken.com
Another form of Psychochronic Literature!
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Last Update: November 24, 2007
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Notes before reading this document:
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1) This document is NOT a list about moves, combos,
or any advanced tactics. This is a point-out of storyline
comparisions in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks for XBOX
and PlayStation 2 so don't expect anything answered like
"Why is this character good?" and "How to defeat certain
bosses". If this is not the information you are looking for,
please close this text now.
2a) This document is protected by US Copyright Law, and
the Berne Copyright Convention of 1976. This document
is for private and personal use only--it cannot be reprinted
in part or inwhole or reproduced in any way or in any form
(written or otherwise). It is a free document that cannot be
used in any sort of commercial transaction, including selling
it or giving it away as a gift. Although I am...the author in
the majority of the text, please respect the other authors
whose work I have included in this guide.
2b) This document cannot be hotlinked to any other forums/
sites other than Gamefaqs, MortalKombatOnline and
Shoryuken. To kinda repeat point #2a, this guide cannot
be referenced, altered, or used by anybody (including
webmasters, publishers and magazine staff) without my
express written permission. This guide is created and is
owned by me, Brett "Psychochronic" Navarro (aka.
"Brettdude" in Gamefaqs) of Shoryuken. Plagarizing is a
crime and is punishable by law.
3) This document is better read on Notepad with the Font
set on "Times New Roman" on Regular setting, Size "10"
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easy mobility.
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Table of Contents:
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1) Version Changes
2) Storyline Points
-Shaolin Monks vs. Mortal Kombat II
-Controversial/Questionable
3) Contact
4) Credits
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Version Changes:
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1.02 - November 24, 2007:
Various points were updated thanks to Vultyrex.
1.01 - September 10, 2006:
Added a Goro, Scorpion, Mileena, Shao Kahm and Sub-
Zero point.
1.00 - August 29, 2006:
Compilated on August 29, 2006 around 2:01am EST and
finished around 4:46am EST.
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Storyline Points:
*Split into two seperate sections: Shaolin Monks vs.
Mortal Kombat II and Controversial/Questionable.
Shaolin Monks vs. Mortal Kombat II:
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-The official Mortal Kombat II comic book is canon and
written by John Tobias himself.
-Kung Lao's story told in Mortal Kombat II is was said that
he did not want to be the Champion of Mortal Kombat and
was more of a quiet, brooding, reluctant hero who only
fought when he had to. Instead in Shaolin Monks, Kung
Lao is depicted as being arrogant and shows resentment
towards Liu Kang for winning the Mortal Kombat
tournament and desires to be Champion himself.
-Kung Lao was not present in the original tournament
(Mortal Kombat), explaining that he didn't want to be
the Champion of Mortal Kombat. But in Shaolin Monks'
story, he sneaks into Shang Tsung's island and poses as
a guard of his troops which obviously never happened.
-Liu Kang was not present when the Tarkatas attacked
the Shaolin Temple as it is clearly stated in his Mortal
Kombat II biography. In Shaolin Monks, he is present
and helps fight off the Tarkata around the premises of
the Wu Shi Academy.
-The Mortal Kombat II comic in its entirety is contradicted
by the story as presented in Shaolin Monks. While the
fundamental basics remain the same (Shang Tsung's island
crumbles, the Shaolin temples are destroyed, Shang Tsung
regains his youth, the Earthrealm warriors are lured into
Outworld etc...), the details and order of many events and
whom fought whom are largely different between the two.
They are two wildly different versions of the same basic
story.
-The Elder Sub-Zero (seen in Mortal Kombat) was
originally killed by Scorpion at the end of the first
Mortal Kombat tournament. In Shaolin Monks, they
both survive the tournament itself, and Scorpion
doesn't kill him until the tournament's aftermath.
-In Shaolin Monks, Kitana is shown having had full
knowledge of what Shao Kahn did to her family for
quite a while (and, thus, have been fighting against
his rule during that time), and is put under a holding
spell by Mileena and Jade (herself under the same spell)
by Shao Kahn to gain her loyalty. In Mortal Kombat
II, it is only recently that she learned the truth, having
grown up completely loyal to Kahn and ignorant of her
past, and only feigns loyalty to the Emperor during the
tournament, with absolutely no spell or magic involved.
-Kitana hints at a relation between Mileena and Reptile,
saying that if Mileena is around so is Reptile. This is
most probably taken from the non-canon Malibu Comic
series, where both characters are portrayed sharing a
love-hate sort of relation but in the actual storyline,
it's really Baraka that has a love-hart sort of relation
with Mileena.
-There is no mention of Sub-Zero's mission to complete
his brother's failed assignment to assassinate Shang
Tsung, though it could be argued that just because it
isn't mentioned doesn't mean it's been invalidated as
it's never contradicted, just noticeably not brought
up. More of an oddity than a difference.
-Originally, Goro was supposed to have been thought
killed in the original Mortal Kombat tournament. In
Shaolin Monks, he survives the first tournament as
seen in the opening FMV, but is "killed" shortly there-
after in Outworld. The Canon plot points out that Liu
Kang defeat's Goro, and the Prince is 'lost', only to
return during the events of Mortal Kombat Gold.
There's a bit more story beyond that. Johnny Cage,
Sonya and Kano all fought Goro on the pit's bridge
right as Liu Kang was about to defeat Shang Tsung.
When Shang Tsung escaped and the island started
to crumble, the bridge fell apart and Goro fell down
off the bridge and was never seen until his return
in Mortal Kombat Gold. The reason why he waited
so long was that he was embarrassed that he lost
to a human.
-When the player meets Reptile for the first time on
Shang Tsung's island, Reptile states that he doesn't
serve the sorcerer, but his Mortal Kombat II biography
states that he served as a bodyguard to Shang Tsung
during the first game, and only came into Shao Kahn's
service fully after the second game.
-In the game's mythology, Sub-Zero does not know
about his brother's whereabouts and believes that he
has "mysteriously disappeared", until he finally meets
his brother as an undead wraith in Noob-Smoke's Mortal
Kombat: Deception ending. However, in Shaolin Monks,
Sub-Zero knows that Noob Saibot is his brother, and
warns Liu Kang and Kung Lao that he will kill them
should they try to harm his brother.
-In Shaolin Monks, Kitana reveals that Mileena is
created by Shao Kahn. In Mileena's Mortal Kombat
II ending, it's known that she was created by Shang
Tsung.
-In Shaolin Monks, Shao Khan does his upward rush
attack and fireball moves. Those moves were intro-
duced in Mortal Kombat 3 as his projectile in Mortal
Kombat II was an arrow throw and only had a ground
rush attack.
-Quan Chi getting the amulet at the end of the game
spurred a huge controversy among fans of the series.
It is believed that Quan Chi had it since the end of
Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero as Sub-Zero
snatches it from Shinnok. Here, it is rather strange
that Shao Kahn has it and Quan Chi gets it from him.
This would've been assumed that Shao Kahn stole
it or defeated Shinnok for it which obviously never
happened in the timeline since Shao Kahn was first
introduced in the events slightly before Mortal Kombat
II and that Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero
took place before the first Mortal Kombat tournament.
-Shaolin Monks shows in a FMV in the Soul Tombs as
Shang Tsung restoring his own youth with a combination
of fresh souls and powerful magic, however in Mortal
Kombat II, Shang Tsung's biography and the Mortal
Kombat II comic clearly state that Shao Kahn restores
Shang Tsung's youth and strength when he convinces
Shao Kahn to grant him a second chance instead of
facing execution for his failures and apparent death of
Goro.
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Controversial/Questionable:
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-The reasons behind Scorpion's boss battle has been
highly criticized by fans, who felt it was out of character
for Scorpion to just go after Liu Kang and Kung Lao all
of a sudden. This made it look like Scorpion had an evil
alignment, even though Scorpion is meant to be a neutral
character throughout the course of the Mortal Kombat
timeline. It's noted that in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
that Scorpion's alignment is neutral and throughout the
timeline, has had feuds with Drahmin, Moloch, Sub-Zero
and Quan Chi.
-The location of the Warrior Shrine has been changed.
Originally, the shrine was found on Shang Tsung's island,
but now it's located near the Shaolin Temples which
clearly doesn't make any sense.
-It's known in the Nintendo 64 version of Mortal Kombat
Trilogy that uppercutting the opponent from Goro's Lair
leads to The Armory and from there, leads to the Kombat
Tomb. The locations are different in Shaolin Monks as
Goro's Lair is in Shang Tsung's island, The Armory is
in The Foundry and the Kombat Tomb is near the Soul
Tombs.
-Jax's ability to open portals to Earthrealm, contradicting
the whole reason why the Outworld Investigation Agency
was created. If Shaolin Monks takes place during the time-
frame in between the first and second Mortal Kombat
tournament, then Jax was a member of the Special Forces
and the Outworld Investigation Agency did not exist until
Mortal Kombat 4 (hinted in Sonya's Mortal Kombat 3 ending).
The technology to create portals from one realm to another
didn't even exist, during that time, and Jax only entered
Outworld through his accepting of the invitation to Shao
Kahn's tournament and through Raiden (who opened a
portal from Earthrealm to Outworld) in order to find Sonya
who was missing during the events of Mortal Kombat II.
True story (based on Special Forces) is that Jax was able
to enter Outworld through the portal in the city of Sian
Kiang. It was the portal that Kano used once before to
escape the Special Forces before but he failed and the
portal was never destroyed. It wasn't said how the
portal appeared in that city.
-The ability to create portals is also something that is
never seen by Mortals, only Gods, sorcerers, deities and
through use of other magic.
-Reptile appearing like a lizard even before starting his de-
evolution in Mortal Kombat 4. This is more of an oddity
than a real change. It clearly looks like the middle of it
seen as his Mortal Kombat 4 character. His de-evolution
is that he is in human disguise (Mortal Kombat II), he
has a human structure with near-half amphibian features
(Mortal Kombat 4) then becomes it with full amphibian
features (Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance).
-Sub-Zero gets the scar on his face when Kung Lao slices
his hat in Shaolin Monks. Sub-Zero's scar is one of the
most falsely explained things out in the Mortal Kombat
story but the 100% proven truth as said by Tobias and
Boon. Sub-Zero and Scorpion finally found each other
during the Mortal Kombat II storyline, however, Scorpion
was the victor but couldn't kill Sub-Zero. During the battle
between the two, Sub-Zero got the scar by Scorpion's
spear when it grazed his head. Scorpion decided to grant
him mercy and leave him alone. Sub-Zero's bio for Mortal
Kombat 3 was completely misinterpreted. It did indeed
say that he was marked for death but the actual term
for Sub-Zero being 'marked for death' isn't true. Its more
or less... He's now the target for the Lin Kuei's cyborg
assassins.
-Scorpion is seen in the opening FMV doing his backflip
kick to Sub-Zero. He didn't get that move in his movelist
until Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. Just thought I'd
point that out.
-Kano's death but at the wrong time of events and the
only character of the list of boss deaths compared to
the others. Although it's believed Kano was thrown
off a building by Sonya, though this occurred during
the events of Mortal Kombat Trilogy, the real story is
Kano did not die from the fall off the building during
the Trilogy story. Motaro found his body clinging to
life and had Shao Kahn revive him.
-Jade's death didn't make sense. Nowhere in the Mortal
Kombat II storyline says that any earthrealm warrior got
Mileena's sais by stabbed it through Jade's eyesockets
while she was under the spell seen in Shaolin Monks.
The storyline indicates that she works undercover
(most likely it's Shinnok) and sides with Kitana and
Sindel to save Edenia from Shao Kahn's wrath.
-Reptile's death. He didn't die by bashes to the face and
a strangling. Remember that Reptile's timeline is to go
back into his reptile homeworld before it was destroyed
by the hands of Shao Kahn (Mortal Kombat II ending)
and that he became Onaga due to the Dragon Egg
(Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance ending).
-Baraka's death. He didn't die by explosion from skull
fireballs. After Mortal Kombat II, Mileena was killed
and Baraka was sent away to the low-life sections
(possibly Wastelands) of Outworld as he comes back
during Mileena's resurrection during the events of
Mortal Kombat Trilogy.
-Goro being killed by Johnny Cage (much like in the
first Mortal Kombat movie). Everyone expected that
to happen so my guess is it's a reference for kicks-
and-giggles by Midway.
-Quan Chi already bearing his tattoos - he gained them
during Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. However, Quan
Chi's tattoos (which were gained when Quan Chi magically
burned them into his skin before the discovery of Onaga's
grave) could be an indirect reference to the Dragon King's
existence.
-On the pause menu, a map is displayed. The map shows
the locations of all places previously/currently visted by
your characters, and is clearly not a map of Earth or any-
where in Earthrealm, so it is assumed that this is a map of
Outworld. Despite this, it displays locations of places you
have visited in Earthrealm, such as the Wu Shi Academy.
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Contact:
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Contact me! Here are the following e-mails and internet
forums you can find me at:
E-Mails:
MSN Messenger/Hotmail: b_unit905@hotmail.com
Yahoo!: psychochronic2004@yahoo.ca
Internet Forums:
Gamefaqs.com: brettdude
Shoryuken.com: psychochronic
MIRC (channels on EFnet):
#Capcom (The main channel for Shoryuken.com)
#Gamecombos (The main channel for Gamecombos.com)
#Srkgd (The General Discussion part of Shoryuken.com)
#Srklive (The XBOX Live part of Shoryuken.com)
My Fighting Game Site:
www.geocities.com/psychochronic2004
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Credits:
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Props to those who made this guide possible:
Me for writing down this guide so Mortal Kombat fans
will know what's canon and what's non-canon in the
storyline while playing Shaolin Monks and Vulytrex
for pointing out corrections in this FAQ.
Peace.
-Psychochronic
ps. Damn, I typed this guide up fast!
Copyright (c) Brett Navarro 2005-2007
