Six Kharacters We Want To See In Mortal Kombat 1

Look, this hardly needs explaining at this point. A new Mortal Kombat game looms – and with it, an ancient discussion – who do we desperately WANT to be in the game.

The series has a roster of roughly 77 unique characters that span over 31 years on this Earth of ours, so each game has the impossible task of deciding who gets a spot (apart from Armageddon, I guess) and who is relegated to angry fan discussions. For some, they have actually cleverly aligned their favourite character with someone who they thought was rock solid and guaranteed, only to get blitzed in the 11th hour by a shocking omission. Christ, some characters appear in a game but remain unplayable! RIP in peace to my Baraka homies for Mortal Kombat X, and my Cyrax and Sektor dudes for Mortal Kombat 11.

But that doesn’t stop us fans from enjoying the initial speculate-a-thon in the leadup to a game having its full roster revealed. So, WellPlayed’s resident Kombatants Ash and Adam present to you the six deadset legends that we want to punch on with in Mortal Kombat 1.

Why?
So I missed a healthy portion of the 3D era of Mortal Kombat games – the most egregious of which was apparently Mortal Kombat: Deception. Personally I found a ton of the character designs from that generation to be overtly silly (Hsu Hao) or just blatantly derivative (Darrius). But among them was one that always caught my eye, because she was both visually interesting and her actual character bio was not what I expected. Ashrah, dressed entirely in white, looks so unlike any other body on the roster – and if I was to guess, I would pin her as perhaps another Elder God like Raiden. But no – she is a demon! And she is not really aligned with either the forces of good OR bad, just sort of floating between them on her own personal quest. So much of this has the DNA of being an awesome modern-era character, and I want to see where her journey takes us.

Full roster – or just a kameo?
Full roster. Get her up to scratch with a modern visual update and a killer moveset, and she will feel right at home amongst all the other HD heroes that exist in the NetherRealm Studios game series. 

Why?
Now hold on, put the pitchfork away. There is a lot of justified anger levelled towards the bug lady – and many would actually argue that her time in the spotlight is over, having been in the last two games. But hear me out – narratively, she has a lot to answer for. A shocking part of D’Vorah’s narrative impact is the outright slaying of big-name characters during story mode. And not even in goofy nebulous ways where they pop straight back up in the next scene; lady D has just outright murdered folks and ended their time in the Mortal Kombat narrative for that game. So, I would like to see her return in MK1 to perhaps flesh out her past (she is apparently part of a larger hive of bug creatures) and to maybe get her just desserts. That, and the bug motif is pretty hardcore for fatalities.

Full roster – or just a kameo?
Ooh, a toughie. Appearing in the storyline of MK1 doesn’t necessarily mean she needs to be a fully fleshed-out fighter – so a kameo could work. On the other hand, her concept and kit has reliably been cool as heck. Then again, she has appeared in both MKX and MK11. Let’s say kameo – with some cool bug-themed assist shenanigans. 

Why?
I bet y’all are rolling some eyes right now. “Oh, he is just Goro – BUT FURRY!” Brother, let me tell you something. The Tigrar Shokans are their own thing, and this poor bloke keeps getting the shitty end of the stick. The usual four-armed homies like Goro and Sheeva are part dragon – but Kintaro comes from a lower class of ‘Tiger’ Shokan that are absolutely considered to be peasants. Goro flat out called him a commoner in Mortal Kombat X – surely this would give him some neat narrative beats and probably explain a moveset that isn’t boss-level powerful. Appearance-wise, he was a boss in Mortal Kombat 9 – but since then he has only appeared as a kameo in Mortal Kombat 11 where he is one of Shang Tsung’s fatalities. Failing Kintaro, why not get another Tigrar on the roster? To quote Marge Simpson – “I just think they’re neat.”

Full roster – or just a kameo?
Look, I firmly believe that every Mortal Kombat game needs a four-armed mega monster presence. It’s as iconic as the game’s blood-soaked action – and any MK game without such an entry just feels lacking. With the new era, perhaps Liu Kang has elevated the Tigrar Shokan, giving Kintaro a little more status and pizazz. So let’s absolutely see some stripes on the roster. 

Why?
With Fire God (and bicycle kick enthusiast) Liu Kang’s universe reset, we’re not only seeing old and dead faces re-emerge but also remixed. While it seems like Edenia has been restored, with either Kitana or Mileena on the throne, and Earthrealm seems to be doing just fine with Raiden training as a normal dude and Kung Lao tending to crops, someone still needs to rule over Outworld. While many would be quick to have the skull-faced menace Shao Kahn take the reins or the far less homicidal Kotal Kahn, I say we all bow to the one true Dragon King, as we once did. Onaga was only ever playable in one overly stacked game, but a return to his kingdom would still be a homecoming worth celebrating.

Full roster – or just a kameo?
While it makes way more practical sense to include Onaga as a kameo fighter, due to his enormous size alone, I would prefer the once-ruler of Outworld to take centre stage in this soft reboot. Every entry needs a hulking presence, and I can think of none better than the wielder of the Kamidogu.

Why?
I’ll keep this one nice and simple: she’s a wicked vampire chick with wings and an eye patch. Thank you for listening.

Alright fine. Over the past few entries into the series, we’ve seen some of the more obscure and lesser-known characters reappear, having gone through something of a rework, both mechanically and visually. It’s worked wonders for Scarlet, Tanya and Tremor, so I think we should return to the well again. Admittedly, her stock isn’t at an all-time high, with her appearance in the Mortal Kombat film ending in rather quick, bloody fashion, but that’s all the more reason to build her back up into a legitimate badarse with a sweet new design.

Full roster – or just a kameo?
No more backseats, no more being fodder for ‘more popular characters,’ it’s time for Nitara to become a series staple. And, for that to happen, she can’t sit around on the kameo roster, she’s gotta be playable.

Why?
When we’re talking Mortal Kombat realms, everyone is quick to name Outworld, Earthrealm and Netherrealm, with the odd few being able to straighten their tie and proclaim to know about Kitana’s home dimension of Edenia, but what about the oft-forgotten Chaosrealm, huh? Sure, it’s only ever mentioned in passing here and there, but we know of one Chaosrealm resident, and it’s high time he made another appearance. Havik isn’t likely to be anyone’s favourite fighter, seeing as though he was only ever playable in Deception and Armageddon, but he’s somewhat of a blank canvas with a standout design, and that’s precisely why we should bring him back in some form.

Full roster – or just a kameo?
That form is a kameo fighter. Yeah, look, I like the guy, but there’s no chance of him making the full-fat roster cut, so I’ll settle for an assist from the Chaosrealm cleric.

So there you have it. Some Mortal Kombat mainstays that perhaps deserve a spot in the new era – if Fire God Liu Kang is feeling generous. Bubbling deep in the pot of speculation, we can only wait and see exactly what rises to the top courtesy of Ed Boon and the NetherRealm crew. That, and eagerly wait to see the vitriolic reaction that comes from a community (kommunity?) of die-hard fans that react with OH WTFFFFFFFF when it’s announced the obscure character ‘Nimbus Terrafaux’ didn’t make the cut.

Of course these are characters that have already had one foot planted in the blood-soaked soil of games past – don’t even get us started on what could be done with GUEST fighters.

Then again…that might be worth a look.