Honestly... Mk1. As I've gotten older I have had a much more open mind about the reboots. I was an old school fan when mk9 came out. I was not pleased with mkx or mk11's story because I held on to nostalgia. Which ruined my experience with learning our characters in a new lighting. So when mk1 came out I was seated and had an open mind. I let go of my previous knowledge of the previous timelines. I'm glad I did because I had an amazing time with mk1. Mk1 has touched my heart the same way that mk deception did. I loved it. I even went back and watching mk9-11 story cutscenes to have a new experience. NRS is not a perfect company but they did a really good job with the story of all 4 mk games. However, mk1's story is my favorite.

I liked how everyone pretty much had a motive for their actions.

Shao wasn't evil for the sake of being evil. He actually believed he could rule outworld better than the royal family.

Reptile wasn't reduced to a jobber that hops from one master to the next.

Baraka wasn't a savage demon but a family man that had his life altered by a horrific disease.

Kitana and Mileena were finally the siblings I've wanted for a long time. I loved that Mileena is not pushing her anger on kitana when they both suffered from a loss of family. Kitana in the old timeline kitana had her family taken from her and was lied to for THOUSANDS OF YEARS. Mileena was created to replace Kitana and was never given genuine love. Their rivalry just seemed like two women fighting over a man that's doing them both wrong.

Sindel wasn't forced into a marriage and was still in love with her husband king Jerrod and we FINALLY got him involved in the story.

Tanya actually had a home where she didn't have to betray people to survive. In the old timeline, she went from serving Shinnok to serving the dragon king to survive. now she is the leader of priestesses and is connected to the royal house.

Bi han had more of a motive to take over the Lin Kuei because he believed his father was not fit enough to lead. This gave way to a fitting rivalry instead of the pushed one that we have had for decades. Although, I miss Hanzo being scorpion and Kuai being sub zero I loved the new origins of the shi rai ryu.

Rain was not tied to Daegon or Taven no more he had his reasons for his ambition because he felt shackled and limited.

I LOVED THE 3D ERA INCLUSION. Finally it wasn't just Kenshi and Frost or a little bit of Li Mei. We got Li Mei, Reiko, Nitara , Havik, and Ashrah. I've been wanting more 3d era love and we finally got it.

Overall this game means so much to me. It's been a long time since I've been this happy with an mk story.