Id say so, i havent played mk since i was a kid, mk1, 2 mk3 all those years ago. The ones inbetween 3 & 9 just didnt do it for me. mk9 has all the old characters and feel to it and in tag team mode 2-4 player its a blast. I think the story mode is excellent even my gf wanted me to keep winning to see the next part of the story. Some parts of the it are unbelievablely hard....eg. sub-zero vs goro & kintoro also raiden vs jax, kabal & nightwolf. 3vs 1 is hard. Then theres shao kahn, its mental but very addictive. Its basically garanteed to have you swearing and your hands in pain but i love it. Gets a 9/10 for me.