So, since the release of MKX I've tried to get into it every now and then, but usually come out feeling a little bored. Tracing back to the things I enjoy and what part of the game might not be satisfying, I realised that I actually don't like the way combos are performed. The simple action of playing the game doesn't feel right to me.

So the basics of the system is that combo strings and cancels out of the string are supposed to be performed as fast as possible, too slow and it won't come out properly if at all. That makes combos a little easier to do than other games by removing some of the timing element and forces you to generally commit to a string before you know it's going to hit. That is all fine and dandy, that's intentional after all. I don't take issue with the system itself.

However, in other games that I know I enjoy like SFIV, a combo is performed by connecting individual moves that all look the same when peformed individually as well. It feels like I'm in full control of my character, I'm doing the moves and I'm timing them to create a combo. It's engaging and feels like I'm the one in control. But with the dial system I always feel a bit disconnected. I'm memorizing a sequence of arbitrary buttons, that don't correspond to anything aside from that specfic string and when I'm done with the sequence I watch my character do something cool. I don't feel like I'm in control anymore, I feel like I'm just a spectator. And personally, the memorization aspect of a combo has always been the least interesting to me, so increasing the length and variety of things to memorize is not tickling me in the right spots. Overall it's kind of a minor thing, but it really heavily affects my enjoyment of an otherwise cool game.

So guys, how do you feel about the second to second gameplay of MKX? Is it exactly what you wanted? Does it feel compromised? What are your previous experiences with the genre when it comes to this stuff?

I think its a bit disingenuous to reduce the kombo system in MKX to "dial-a-combo". It's true that's where many combos start, but in most situations you're going to be utilizing multiple strings, some individual hits, and a special or three before your combo is actually "komplete". For SF characters, most hitconfirms are around 2-3 hits followed by a special. Basically four distinct inputs. In MKX, if you think of each chain as a "normal", on average you're looking at chain to special to chain to special. Again, four distinct inputs.

Memorizing your strings is only the most basic komponent (bahahahaha) of execution in MKX. Most of the challenge comes from juggle timings which, depending on combo and character, can be just as frame-precise as the hardest links in SF (1-frame). If you can perform the following Hellfire Scorpion vortex sequence and tell me that memorizing the inputs was the hardest part, I'll eat my hat:

You really should try hitconfirming your special cancels instead of just mashing them out as fast as possible, since most specials in this game are punishable on block. Might make you feel a bit more in control of your character. If you think about it, it's not much different from using target combos in SF.

@starvinggamer: Well this is pretty much the answer I expected, and completely missing the point. It's not a complaint about dumbing down or difficulty at all, and yes hitconfirming is absolutely a big deal, and yes juggling is a lot closer to what is fun in a combo. I'm not even talking about full combos in all their glory, just the strings themselves. The elusive game "feel" of doing one. It makes a bit more sense to think of the combo string as a single normal, but that doesn't change the "off" feeling I get by performing one. And memorization is totally one of if not the biggest component of a combo. That is true for every game that wants you to combo, I just think MK leans more into pressing a lot of things in a long sequence than I'd like. It's the difference between 4-6 deliberate inputs in one game, to the 15+ in another.

EDIT: To clarify, this was never intended as a SFIV vs MK thing to begin with. I can't do the hardest combos in either game, so complaining about difficulty is pointless at best and hypocritical at worst. I'm just expressing my preference of execution the parts that make up a combo rather than the combo itself. The feel of doing moves in the game. Also for the record, SFIV has the same thing, but call them target combos. I don't like that either, but at least they aren't a primary component for most characters.

For contrast, Bayonetta is one of my favorite games of all time and undisputably a stronger game than DMC 4. But when I want to lab up a combo or just play around with things, I go back to DMC first. In this example, Bayonetta is the longer tappy combos of MK and DMC4 is the pieced together moveset of SFIV. I'm not putting down the quality, or the skill of the players or the game on either side. I just don't feel connected or "immersed" in the same way when I play MK.

@tobbrobb: You must not be the biggest fan of any 3D fighters either then, I'd imagine.

Other than "they're target combos" and "think of them as normals" I don't have much else to offer you. Maybe try hitconfirming strings themselves? Certain 3+ hit strings have multiple enders that can either be safe or unsafe on block. Honestly, though, it sounds like this simply isn't the game for you. To touch on the other question in your OP, I spent a fair bit of time with MK9 but never found it that enjoyable either to play or to watch. That disinterest carried over and stopped me from picking up Injustice when it came out. Despite this, the seemingly small changes they've made to MKX have caused me to do a complete about-face. The run mechanic has significantly opened up the space for creativity and improvisation in combos (which is where I live), and the tweaks they've done to frame data and damage and scaling make the moment-to-moment gameplay feel significantly more fun and balanced. I haven't been this excited about a fighting game since UMvC3.

And out of curiosity, iIf you were expecting people to misunderstand your point... why didn't you just clarify it in the OP to begin with?

So my first real interaction with that type of system was in Injustice and I didn't much care for it. I thought it was a lot to learn and it was sorta overwhelming, but also I felt somewhat similarly in that I felt like I was just memorizing weird strings of input for individual characters. When I tried MKX I don't know what it was, but I think it was just sorta how they fed it to me in more bit sized chunks (or more than Injustice did I thought) made it easier to digest. Now I kinda like it. I personally find it a bit easier to manager than some of the stuff in SF like charge attacks.

@starvinggamer: Minor hope that I wouldn't have to expand on it too much since I didn't want to create a wall of text. Now I manged to both make a wall of text AND not being clear enough. XD

Yeah it's definitely a case of the game likely not being for me. Which is just a bummer. I'm kind of prodding the waters with this thread to see how many feel similarily or not. Like the poster just above here. ^

I understand your feelings when it comes to long and strict input strings. I'm someone who really doesn't like them either, I generally detest repetition and executing long strings and juggles bores me just as much as being on the receiving end of them. That being said I still enjoy multiple games which rely quite a bit on long strings such as Tekken or MKX. That's because my love for fighting games resides in other aspects of these games.

Needless to say, fighting games which rely heavily on long combos/strings are worse for me than others. MKX is a bit too reliant on 50/50s being converted into massive 30-40% damage combos for my liking but I can still get some enjoyment out of it when it works. (As someone playing the horrible PC version and living in an area with no offline community I admit interest in the game has diminished a decent amount.)

So if the thing you like about fighting games is the combo system and you don't like MKX' take on it I'm afraid you're out of luck.

I totally understand what you're getting at. While I'm definitely more on the MK side of the fence than I am for something like Street Fighter, I do acknowledge that Mortal Kombat feels unsatisfyingly janky if you attempt to input normal after normal without following a character's preordained combo strings. If a player is coming from a game that offers more freedom to link individual normals together improvisationally, I can imagine Mortal Kombat's system feels a bit on the stifling end.

For me, Mortal Kombat's style is comfortable. Applying the strings in real time definitely benefits from some rote memorization, but I feel like that sort of fundamental sequencing is fairly commonplace in fighting games, regardless of style. And just memorizing the strings is a small dimension of successful play.

As @starvinggamer says the longer combos for most characters are much more difficult and precise than they were in MK9 or Injustice. Though if you back to MK vs DC there's some frame precise type of stuff in that, nothing as hard as the MKX stuff but they were trying at least. I do think this game is essentially the new Marvel until a better alternative comes around, but it's possible it will be bigger than that.