What Mortal Kombat character is your favorite of all time?
One of the greatest aspects of the bloody fighting series has always been it’s absolutely incredible character design. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that the Mortal Kombat series has the best designed, most unique and most carefully crafted characters in the fighting game genre. Obviously, many would despute that claim, but you can’t deny that Mortal Kombat’s characters have reached a realm of icon-ism that is unparalleled within the fighting genre, and arguably even within the videogame industry. The only other fighter that comes close would be Street Fighter.
Of course, the fact that both of them got big budget films in the 90s helped tremendously to put the series in the spotlight on a whole new level, but it was really all the notoriety and mass attention that the Mortal Kombat series recieved due to its blood and gore and the ability to finish off your opponent in brutal fashion that cemented the game in the minds of people young and old.
But behind the gore, behind the veil of adult cynism that came from those non-gamers who took one look at the series and found it to be nothing more than a shockjock gorefest meant to lure impressionable young minds into their twisted world, was a well-developed, well-thought out, intricuately designed world with a surprisingly deep backstory and cool characters that found its way into gamers hearts (via a blood-soaked fist, of course).
While it is true that all the blood and guts and gruesome Fatalities and comedic Finishing Moves garnered the attention of young gamers, who stayed to learn the simple-but-complex fighting system and master the ability to pull of a Fatality and memorize the steps it took to get there, they also stayed and continued to fawn over the series due to its deep backstory and great character development; an aspect that continued in game after game. Each time you thought the developers and series creator Ed Boon couldn’t possibly top the characters of the previous game, they somehow did so.
From Sub-Zero and Scorpion, to Sony and Jax. From Reptile, Baraka and Katana to Shang Tsung, Gorro and Shao Khan. From Smoke and Cyrax to Motoro, Rain, Kabal and Noob Saibot; every game in this long-running fighting series brought with it impressive characters, each with their own agenda and their own carved out reality within the realm of Outworld. Whether your favorite game is Mortal Kombat 1, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat 3, Mortal Kombat 4, Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, Mortal Kombat Gold, Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, Mortal Kombat Deception, Mortal Kombat Armaggedoon, Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe or Mortal Kombat 2011, there is no shortage of amazing characters to choose from.
So choose your destiny…. which Mortal Kombat character is YOUR absolute favorite?
Here is the awesome Mortal Kombat: Armageddon intro video to get you started! Here you can see all the MK characters face off with each other in glorious CG!
PS: Here’s a funny commercial for the new Mortal Kombat game.
Index of Retro Mortal Kombat Fatality Guides: