The Forgotten Mode of Mortal Kombat 9

People fondly remember MK9, but a lot of people likely know very little about the 2v2 Tag Mode that it came with.
At a high level, Tag is beyond broken and an incredible laugh to play. However, it wasn't really played competitively on the mainstream and this video covers why.
This is a complete deep dive into Tag Mode in MK9.
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[@PNDKM]

This video took a week to make thanks to learning all the tech. But as always, I hope you enjoyed! Tag is sick. Would love to play it offline once lockdown ends.

[@mikeackworth1871]

great video and thanks for inspiring me to play tag

[@Johannes00]

To anyone who don't know but still play MK9 You should try the still updated fan version, Mortal Kombat Trilogy Edition Balance Mod Fixes broken characters and tag combos. Discord: discord.gg/b4dxuJ KZbin Trailer: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qX-pfa2Id8l5gs0

[@glenny6216]

@5:43 You can see CLEAR here are some cheats/hacks active! That hit shouldn't connect!

[@PNDKM]

@@glenny6216 cheap cheating AI

[@K.Adamsan]

Why didn't you talk about the player 1 advantage and how it affected this mode?

[@genescallops9794]

Whoever made Noobs assist the block disabler knew exactly what they were doing.

[@kennynguyen4984]

Gene Scallops Free neutral

[@powering_star8099]

If you had your partner as sub zero and did noobs block disabler you could do an unblockable combo repeatedly until the effects wore off. The move I’m talking about, is the one sub zero does around 1:20 the pimp slap into the dagger then repeat, your Opponent couldn’t do anything but stand there.

[@edp445sjuicyphatass9]

@@powering_star8099 until they use the breaker.

[@horizonfan]

Powering _Star15 breaker ;)

[@justsayin._.]

@@powering_star8099 "if u use his block disabler, he can't block" U should be a detective. Nothing gets passed u

[@munem939]

This mode certainly wasn't forgotten... Everyone and their grandmother are asking NRS about tag mode, even for the Injustice games lol

[@almightygenius1763]

Tag mode can give MK11 combo depth

[@dabossman5650]

@@almightygenius1763 they have it against AI in the towers

[@Riggs_The_Roadie]

Dude, the Injustice games are the perfect fit. Batman and Robin, Green Lantern and Flash, Harley and Joker, Etc.

[@dingdong1989]

@@Riggs_The_Roadie Damn, I didn't even think of it that way, you're right haha

[@noelleholiday61]

It certainly was forgotten at the time

[@jonnyboy0127]

Mk9 tag mode is very broken with the assists. *cries in umvc3

[@damiangallo4185]

Mk9 Is argueably More broken bc in umvc3 at least the loops required crazy execution, AND in mk9 you can do unescapable combos bc scorp fire Is unblockable

[@tafua_a]

"One of the reasons why Tag never got any competitive play is that it's very broken" Like it has ever stopped anyone before or since...

[@JacobSteakfries]

It's a small thing but I like how everyone has their own unique animation for tagging out. It adds a lot of personality.

[@Jorge-wg9tq]

The "Everyone has the touch of death" mode

[@jerekaneplaysthings7755]

It's Mahvel baybee

[@augustojacques2145]

Kof 2001 entered the chat

[@chichobar1705]

yes

[@tbone2416]

DBFZ:Heard you taking

[@taitos00]

As Syndrome said: ...when everyone's a super, nobody will be."

[@zSilverEye7]

Tag was definetely amazing, I'd love to see it again honestly. MK11 kind of has the system. With a few tweaks, I think it'll be great.

[@thepowerofthegodhand7003]

11 is boring

[@zSilverEye7]

@@thepowerofthegodhand7003 Speak for 30% of the community.

[@jeremiahbriney4899]

@@zSilverEye7 so wait do you agree 11 is boring? I think it is

[@TopKnight77]

Jeremiah Briney it gets boring fast, everyone mashes pokes, grabs 24/7 and fatal blows

[@zSilverEye7]

@@jeremiahbriney4899 With my original comment, would you think I hate MK11? I hate the braindead mashers, yes, but no.

[@ninjakinryu1382]

I never got more hate mail than when my brother and I played this together. He played ermac I played scorpion and after going to the lab we quickly figured out he could jail into scorpion assist which was unblockable then charge up his unblockable into lift combo rinse and repeat. :D

[@ICY-HURR]

Oh yeah! I remember that kombo. Literally nothing you could do but eat it. Sit the controller down and wait for the next round lol

[@goldensans115]

Name a more infamous duo, I dare you lol

[@nevikbrutalk9441]

@@goldensans115 Kabal & JC infinite kombo meterless

[@icecoldtruth3478]

Tag, where your friend teaches you a few good moves and then does the rest of the work. MY buddy was a smoke player and told me to play scorpion and do spear, b2, jump kick air grab, best 13% combo I ever did.

[@filmsofficial8712]

13% :)

[@Riotmagg]

I’ve never heard a comment more true. I played smoke my friend played Liu Kang. He taught me one combo and he just waited for me to die for him to do his work

[@sasquatch.8]

Bruh

[@SynysterProjects]

I played Smoke/Sub-Zero and Smoke/Cyber Sub-Zero, and I swear Smoke was the most broken Tag character 😂🤣🤣 I literally never lost online or local.

[@iMorands]

Forgotten by some, but not me. I miss tag.

[@tuttiman55]

If you want to have a tag mode you could play dragon ball fighterz, you play with three characters and can combo through them and use their assists and you can play with two others on a team in a raid mode

[@jasperwilliams9619]

@@tuttiman55 FighterZ is fun, but the style and personality of MK with tag will be greatly missed. Some things just can't be replaced with a different brand.

[@moisesfranca4661]

I always return to MK9 just to play with my friends in this mode. Too bad MK10 and 11 didn't have 4 player modes.

[@khrashingphantom9632]

Moises França True if they did with the way modern gaming is it probably will be 4 players with 4 separate consoles. Lol.

[@GeorgeWockington01]

Everytime j visit my dad we still do tag ladders together in mk9. He uses raiden and I use cyrax

[@jasperwilliams9619]

You and me both. What a missed opportunity for an amazing couch co-op experience between friends.

[@MaskedGuyCh]

Every time I see footage of this game I miss it more. The best MK game.

[@RJ-rp8yd]

*broken

[@jonnyboy0127]

@@RJ-rp8yd broken but still the best

[@RJ-rp8yd]

@@jonnyboy0127 That doesn't even make sense.

[@jonnyboy0127]

@@RJ-rp8yd did you play the game back when it was up?

[@MaskedGuyCh]

@@RJ-rp8yd The single player content and aesthetic of the game is better than mk11. It's also a lot more fun to play, and has an amazing roster.

[@randomguy2402]

So… MK1 happened lol

[@rdg1065]

I just came to say the title could not be more wrong. Everyone who played this game loved tag. And speak of it whenever the game is brought up.

[@TheFightingGentleman]

yea i was just talking about this with my brother the other day..this along with heroes and heralds mode in umvc3 were modes that could have been interesting if actually balanced to some degree

[@kujo4388]

I just noticed something. The mk9 classic scorpion didn’t have his white eyes and no one said a thing. The mk11 classic scorpion also doesn’t have white eyes and there was a lot of complaints...

[@superslatthowsway5447]

it’s 2020 people hate everything, will complain about anything & no one is ever happy

[@iiirdvii840]

Dude have orange reptile eyes, that was cool.

[@idontcare3315]

MK9 had a MK1 Classic Scorpion skin; MK11 has a MK2 Classic Scorpion skin; In MK1 Scorpion had pupils in his eyes, but in MK2 his eyes were all white.

[@F0NAT0]

@@idontcare3315 Mind = blown

[@Kn1ghtborne]

Back then I still said his eyes shouldve always been white The classic suit looks stupid with pupils

[@keen4listerine]

4:16 Have casual what with more than one person?

[@PNDKM]

Casual SETS. Get your mind out of the gutter buddy boi

[@daddysaso]

@@PNDKM Perhaps he/she is new to the term lol.

[@huleyn135]

@@PNDKM ruuuude

[@daddysaso]

@Beastly Pug Never said I knew, it's simply an assumption.

[@daddysaso]

@Beastly Pug Okay... Whatever floats your boat bud.

[@lucasschultz7490]

Tag was the reason my friends and I didn't give MKX a full chance. Not being able to play as a team ruined it for us. We'd spend too much time getting mad at each other over vs and that isn't fun!

[@JTawesome92]

This shows that the Kameo idea isn't a new thing.

[@majin_solomonsolomontestma8266]

It's a shame that the 'Kameo Assist' was picked over a 'Fully Functional Traditional Tag Team Game Mode' in Mortal Kombat 1[2023].

[@oki790]

I remember playing Tag with my friends and my cousin :(

[@kujo4388]

Me and my favorite cousin always did tag mode. Sub zero and kitana team.

[@hibob4209]

YT has jokes. This popped up for me after the MK1 gameplay reveal.

[@mortalkombatant8771]

Mk11 should add this mode back at the very least for offline play there's no reason it shouldn't come back as a fun mode and mk11 definitely needs more modes my God P.s ( I know we sort of have it but it's only really used for the boss battle towers) and not really used to it's fullest potential

[@necromancerguy2991]

Yeah I've been playing for a while and it gets boring really fast

[@gr33nriver77]

They literally can't add it to MK11 without completely reworking how variations work sadly

[@user-hg4hz1lx2h]

No NRS just don’t listen

[@TurcoKeremit]

Video starts at 7:00

[@donstarplayz]

I never quite explored Tag Team Mode in MK9. But looking back now, it’s uncanny how similar this is to Kameos in MK1.

[@imtoolazyforaprofilepic4961]

MK1 has a scrapped Tag mode in the files, there's even videos online on how it could have worked

[@MrLachapell]

Yeah when it was announced people made the comparison immediately

[@Kdot..F]

Huh no wonder some people say it feels unfinished they should put it in at some point

[@captaindisabled8378]

Aged very well

[@Wazminator]

This is so sick, Tag actually looks really fun althought I've never really tried it.

[@SLX_632]

Anyone watchin this after MK1??

[@kaijuslayer3334]

I hope they add a proper Tag Assist for MK1 post launch. It seems like the perfect match given the kameo system and how the story mode showed that they could work in the kameo system with base roster characters, with things like the generic fatal blow moves they used in story mode fatal blows for characters that aren’t kameos in the normal game. A system where you could tag in and out while using your buddy’s cameo when it’s your turn could be a fun dynamic.

[@dice9270]

Kameos would probably stay kameos though no way their gonna make all those characters fully playable unless it's a hefty costing expansion

[@majinflaco8353]

This mode would bring alot of new players to the genre. Working as a team is what makes fps games so great. Put this in a fighting game done correctly is a game changer.

[@filmsofficial8712]

Mvc and dbfz

[@gabrieltejada1697]

films official yeah and why should those games be the only fighting games to do that? MK could use this feature as well.

[@dp055]

Tag mode was more related to tekken tag I guess, around the time of launch of mk 9

[@CaptainProx]

Me seeing the Tag Mode trailer is what made me ultimately want this game which made me a life long MK fan

[@d3aDsH0T_xxX]

3v3 is basically endurance

[@Cezkarma]

I'm about to enjoy 25 solid minutes of pure quality content. I absolutely loved playing this mode with my friends

[@thefish6235]

Kontent* :)

[@stipedjuran8141]

man i miss vman, used to watch alot of his videos, it's been months since his last upload.

[@daddysaso]

MK9 Tag tier list: A+, S, S+, SS+, God, God+, God++

[@FreedomsResNovae]

I knew Tag was IMPLICITLY broken. But somehow in Mk9 if you got the Momentum in your favor anything could happen

[@chadcarroll550]

Me: laughs in cyrax

[@annihilator5494]

Lie

[@DarkSnake78990]

Those tag out animations were ultra sick

[@chadcarroll550]

Ultra

[@chadcarroll550]

Fr

[@wronowaty69]

Looks like KAMEO was in MK9

[@reyblader3693]

Forgotten? Heh, this was all I played!

[@Wiki1184]

Those combos are absolutely disgusting to watch. I love it.

[@Xevnar]

I'm still baffled by NRS's reasoning for removing the tag team mode from the first Injustice onward, which is "To focus more on 1v1 gameplay"

[@cosmickairu1219]

Well it's kind of back with MK1?😅

[@SLX_632]

🤣😂🤣

[@GeorgePivtorak]

What mk 1's cameo system should have been

[@Esch88]

i know right, sad times........sigh

[@BCbear551]

The good old days of playing this with my homie in middle school with our god slayer team of Kratos and Scorpion. My favorite fanfic non cannon duo ever.

[@gabrieltejada1697]

Given how both characters have grown and their similarities in life I’d say they would make a great team if they met in the right circumstances heck Scorpion takes direct inspiration from Kratos in his ladder ending on MK11 😆

[@purpseatpeeps8641]

Interesting how this morphed into the Kameo system we see now.

[@Мясникхохолов]

I absolutely loved Tag mode

[@connhal1283]

They just need to bring this mode back, me and my sister would play against the AI all the time and it was one of the best gaming memories I have.

[@xalba5245]

Same here, bro. Me and my cousin had our best time playing fighting games with MK9 tag mode,. Even if it was broken for competitive mode, just put it in the game, without tag combos if it was necessary, but put it at least for regular towers against IA. MK11 was great and had massive content, but only putting just one tower for tag cooperative mode is a dissapointment and a missed opportunity. Just put it in the game as a free tower option, for gods sake, NRS .

[@kilometer5082]

I WANT TAG TEAM IN MK11 PLEASE FOR GODS SAKE ITS SO AWESOME

[@Jean_Pierre_Wehry]

You say it's forgettable because you obviously never played side by side with someone. Me and my brother were both very good at MK9 and played equally good players online about 10 years ago. It is some of the greatest fun I had playing video games. This video made me miss 2v2.

[@jimmyjohnson1351]

Great memories of tag mode. Wish they had it around for casual play. None of my friends ever commit enough time to play MK at a higher level but this was and still would be a great middle ground IMO.

[@breathlessdynasty9928]

We need 2v2 free dlc I’m mk11

[@bwilson774]

4:18 kinda misheard that one at first.

[@younglingslayer6683]

Even tho mk9 was the most broken its the one we enjoyed the most because of the shenanigans and fast pace

[@ThalesAcm]

a broken 2v2 doesnt work cuz once first character is gone the match is over, this mode should have been 3v3 with xfactor

[@loxxhart]

Mahvel?

[@elfabulosogd4596]

This mode is ridiculously fun, I always play this mode when we are many and we want to play all of us at the same time and we all always have a blast playing this mode. This mode should definitely come back. PD: it's not forgotten I still play MK9 and this mode is one of my favorites

[@Goobergal8705]

"Very old footage" "2012" Make me feel so old.😢

[@lucianobattistoniromero4618]

I used to have a blast with my friends playing this. They would come over to my house bringing their controllers and we would play 2v2 for hours. Good times

[@ttv_2toxic-_-595]

Is there a chance of us getting a remastered MK9?

[@sheageeknami]

Yeah the expiring licenses really makes it harder to get a fully remastered experience which makes me sad as my PS3 no longer works and I can get back to this game again.

[@Felipera_]

Why tho? It is perfectly playable on PC.

[@kujo4388]

There’s a chance for any game to get remastered . The question is do the devs care to? You see saints row remastered sr3 even though fans have been begging for the first 2 to be remastered.

[@RaikouRosario]

@illuminati confirmed You can still buy steam keys for the game though

[@Felipera_]

Great video bros, love when you cover THE BEST MK GAME.

[@lukelaser5397]

Mkx best mk

[@RoyArkon]

All MK games are amazing each in their own way, except maybe a couple but still great.

[@RedForeman]

Lol who forgot mk9 ? My favorite tag team was Baraka x Cyrax

[@marthreenez]

You can’t invite your boys over to game anymore. With all these 1 player games. I used to invite my boys over to run some 2v2 in MK. Packed my crib regularly. Also rocked Star Wars battlefront 2 offline 4 player. Now these games are unplayable offline. Suuuuuper trash. Games really have taken a dive over the years

[@SourRobo8364]

My problem was how they used it in the campaign. They expected me to beat 2 characters with 1 I barely understood. It was worse than Dark Souls.

[@happifish4661]

and now there's MK1

[@paularies5276]

Tag mode is there in mk11 but only in Ko-op tower and only against AI

[@gabrieltejada1697]

And it’s not even real tag since it’s 2v1 and there’s no option for 2v2 for both offline and online modes.

[@rhythmmandal3377]

Thats why i still have mk9. Me and my m8's still play tag team (well we used to before covid that is)

[@jumpenormousgaming8811]

I loved tag team matches, i was hoping to see it back in mk11

[@josht6375]

With every new mortal Kombat game I foolishly expect and hope for tag mode 💀

[@henrycrabs3497]

Me too Josh. Me too

[@huleyn135]

Mustards cyrax as clean as ever. I remember watching his mk10 runs constantly.

[@Flashbang_TV]

I played a bunch of tag back in the day with some buddies. I remember finding Scorpions Assist allowed for enough time to do a full b2 charge on Subzero for the unblockable freeze, which just didnt cause any scaling at all for scorpion to juggle in

[@hawkswordzero2206]

Tag was literally the only reason me and my friends played MK9 in highschool. We used to laugh and purposely sacrificed a friend to eat an X-Ray. 10 and 11 would have definitely benefitted from it.

[@smorgborg]

Mk9 was the best because it had fun modes like this that the new games are just missing. Also the challenge tower was great

[@devilpupbear09]

So basically if you play tag, you're IT! xD

[@Xalraroz]

Tag has never Forgotten, Everybody wants it

[@robertscarbrough3412]

Crazy cause now in MK1 its basically all tag mode.

[@Nerwesta]

Not at all, I wish though.

[@angelicsoulz]

Took more skill to win tag matches. People loved to watch you pick you character on 1vs1 then pick who could counter them best but 2vs2 made fights more unpredictable. Pros and dudes who were really only good with 2 or 3 characters hated it.

[@WutTheDeuceGaming]

Nobody played this mode in general. This mode died out quickly online. I tried to play this with a friend and we couldn't find a single match and the game was still relatively new. I think it was maybe a month or two in when we tried.

[@Kn1ghtborne]

I got matches all the time but I admit everyone in my friends group hated fighting me in Mk9

[@WutTheDeuceGaming]

@Beastly Pug I'm sure you did, I'm just saying ONLINE it was dead pretty quickly

[@gabrieltejada1697]

Offline is a different story altogether since it’s impossible to tell who plays the mode and who isn’t when playing games in general offline.

[@thomasthetrain3942]

Tag Mode is the reason why MK9 is my favorite MK game. My friends and I would play tag mode online for hours!! It was a great feature and I wish MK11 also had tag mode! My cousin and I would always try the craziest team combinations and see how we could make it work online.

[@blackoozaru1916]

i have mk9 installed for this mode only, not that i play it well but its definetely unique and fun

[@sadsuitcase]

Tag mode was great! Idk why they took it off from MKX and MK11

[@notrdy4thisjelly546]

I’ve been so disappointed that they haven’t had this in the games since 9. It was the best mk feature since just creating the franchise.

[@kevinhudson9190]

I rarely played the single mode tag mode was my favorite way to play mk9

[@A1Steaksauce58]

Never played at a competitive level. But I had tons of fun playing tag with friends and do ladder tag on expert with my brother.

[@Loneadmin]

Honestly the fact that tag is not in the new installments is a spit on every mk fan

[@SomeoneThatIsHappy]

I remember when my friend had a ps3 and when i used to go to his house we used to play tag a lot, i miss playing mk9 so much what a fantastic game

[@ElectricNikkiGames]

ya know, for some reason "even more busted mk9" sounds pretty cool to me

[@chuckyzrevenge]

Wdym forgotten? I dont think anyone played without tag mode

[@almightygenius1763]

Damn I wish MK11 had swaggy combos maybe Tag in MK11 could fix the Combo itch that really lacks in 11 compared to MK9 and MKX.

[@jpjp280]

Mk9 was the greatest mk game

[@stevea1708]

I'd love to see a resurgence. Maybe a remastered with good net code.

[@4LoreReasons]

Tag Mode was my favorite thing I'm MK9. and it makes me sad that this feature has never returned in the later games. especially sense MK11 came out around DBZ Fighters and MvC Infinite. and sense MK11 was centered around tournament play.

[@Hunnybun_Band1t]

remember playin tag ladder with my cousin when we were younger it’s sad they didn’t bring it back

[@andrew.01x4]

One of my favorite combo with Ermac and Rain in mk9: "Starting with Rain, enemy in corner" B2, 1+2/ B2, 1+2/ Tag/3, 1/ DB 1/ FDash/ B1, 1, F2/FDash/ B2, B1/X-ray Dang... Love tags combo. Want in mk11 :/

[@hethedon9850]

One thing I loved about tag that no one seems to be mentioning is that you could play it co-op with 3 or 4 controllers . Me and my 3 cousins played this alllll the time .

[@frozennoodles4179]

I loved the tag mode for both playing with my mates against Expert ai's and Just playing in general, also as a Tekken tag tournament player I enjoyed this

[@Cafetos0777]

They should release mk9 again for ps5 and xboxsx with rollback netcode, instant buy

[@lorenzotrinidad384]

Tag mode was one of reason why I find Mk 9 so fun to play. Mk11 or NetherRealm studios should bring it back like now!!!

[@aidenbrown3970]

My brother and I loved the tag feature. when mkx came out I was kind disappointed that it didn't have it.

[@cambalache9139]

I was so young and didnt apreciate this game as I do now

[@skr_skr1]

Tag team was sooo fun tho! I don't think anyone was even bothered when it was broken.

[@frostkazuya666]

Co-op tag would be awesome in MK11 including online co-op 2v2 rank