I've struggled to find the right words to express how Mortal Kombat's earlier design didn't feel like fighting and I think I may finally have it.
If you just tap one of the punch buttons repeatedly your character does this "HU HU HU HU HU..." thing and to me this is endemic of the flawed design of Mortal Kombat and why they didn't really care how the game played as long as it delivered on the aesthetic they were cultivating.
How is this fighting? Even in real life combat sports you see people get in, get out, throw light strikes, and try to open up their opponent as they attempt to break through their guard. Other fighting games (that weren't just riding Mortal Kombat's coattails like the shit from Incredible Technologies or Way of the Warrior) do try to replicate that. Basic moves are single strikes of differing strengths, giving players an opportunity to decide which is the best to use at a given time. You can go with a light attack to perhaps interrupt someone or to feel them out while heavy attacks can be used to punish recoveries or capitalize on openings. Avoiding overcommitment and using good timing to place strikes effectively is the design ethos of Mortal Kombat's competitors but MK always felt like it just needed the combat to sell its gimmick of being the "mature" alternative. The combat itself had little going for it and coming from a mindset of someone who plays fighting games because they actually like the fighting, it took MK a long time to finally sell itself to what I was looking for in the genre.
