For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. There is a yin for every yang, a heads for every tails, a Bubsy for every Gex. This really became obvious in the fighting game world, with the two biggest franchises practically stuck with one another in the same time frame. Seeing as I’ve talked about the Street Fighter series, it’s time for the dark side of the coin to get equal time. Spooky season is right around the corner, so let’s talk about the series that never leaves the Spirit Halloween store. Who is your favorite Mortal Kombat character?
After seeing the crazy success of Street Fighter 2 in arcades, Midway games gave full approval to Ed Boon and John Tobias to create their own fighting game. What originally started as a licensed title to a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie, the game spun into an original sci-fi/fantasy fighting standout that we know today. The game set itself apart from the competition by using realistic digitized characters, in-game secrets, and over-the-top blood and gore, and the fight-ending Fatalities. Mortal Kombat is basically the reason we have the ERSB for game ratings. It certainly made history, but possibly for the wrong reasons.
In terms of characters, It’s a mixed bag. I like the older games a little more, because the character select screen looks like someone just cut up a bunch of comic books and picked the characters they liked the most. You have a lot of ninjas, some robots, some creatures, and whatever the hell Motaro is. And while I like the ideas and detail of the newer characters since the reboot in 2009, there was something cool about the massive character selection with such a 90s aesthetic. I know, nostalgia bias, so sue me.
The only rule I’m placing is you can’t select any guest star characters. So no Robocop, no Terminator, no Freddy or Jason, nothing. Those are cool and fun fanservice choices, but it’s not like they stick around in the canon or anything like that. I know it fits the season, but not for this case.
For me, Erron Black is a real standout. Debuting in Mortal Kombat X, Black carries this cool, turn-of-the-century cowboy outlaw look. Even though he’s a human, he helps all of the bad guys. It’s a real Boba Fett thing going on. Second place for me is Jax, the cybernetic soldier with giant robot arms. Although he started off looking really cheesy, the newer games gave him this tired, weathered old soldier look, which gives off real “I’m getting too old for this $%*#” vibes.
So what about you? Who is your go to for Mortal Kombat? Let us know on the Boss Rush Discord.
Featured Image: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
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The Boss Rush Podcast is the flagship podcast of Boss Rush Media and The Boss Rush Network. Each week, Corey, LeRon, Stephanie, Edward, and their friends from around the internet come together to talk their week in games, entertainment, and more while also bringing topics for conversation, answer listener and community questions, and cover major news and events happening in the video game industry. Watch The Boss Rush Podcast live on Wednesday Nights on Twitch at 8:30PM ET / 5:30PM PT or on Friday mornings at 7AM ET on YouTube and podcast services everywhere. Thanks for listening! You can also get this episode one week early on Patreon.
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