Skip to main content

The Goro VS. Kintaro Narrative

Mortal Kombat certainly has a couple of characters. I remembered the first three entries of the game and there were two sub-bosses that seemed to compete a lot for the top spot. Goro was first introduced in Mortal Kombat and Kintaro in the second game. So, why did Goro become more popular than Kintaro? It baffles me to a certain extent. One reason is that the first game just didn't click as much as the much-improvised Mortal Kombat II which I think is just overrated. Kintaro himself appeared to be stronger, more agile and he vowed to avenge Goro for the latter's supposed death. Later, that plotline just got conveniently ignored in both Shaolin Monks and the reboot game Mortal Kombat (2011) or MK9.

Kintaro appeared as this large, intimidating sub-boss. I thought his tiger features made him even cooler than Goro! Goro himself was already difficult. Kintaro himself was able to leap higher (something that was given to Goro in later games), shoot faster fireballs, and grab you in mid-air. He's supposedly stronger than Goro (physically) and he's from the long line of royal bodyguards. However, Goro himself had a stronger backstory of being Outworld's champion for nine Mortal Kombat tournaments. The Mortal Kombat 11 krypt also has Shang Tsung say he misses Goro the most. Goro was the turning point. Liu Kang eventually defeated Goro becoming the new champion.

Kintaro's storyline was at first, interesting. Kintaro was from a lower-tier Shokan lineage. In the original timeline, Liu Kang defeated Kintaro in the second tournament. Kintaro's loss resulted in Shao Kahn bringing in Motaro as the new general. In the reboot, Motaro was just rightfully excluded (presumably for balance reasons) and I always hated that guy. Kintaro's storyline in the reboot removed his "must-have revenge for Goro" since Goro made it safe and sound to Outworld for the second tournament. The Shaolin Monks retcon (if ever) also diminished his storyline to another added character. Goro was made boss in Shaolin Monks where he played a more prominent role while Kintaro was just an add-on. Also, the original timeline had Kintaro missing after Mortal Kombat Trilogy and only Goro returned for Mortal Kombat 4/Gold which both are lackluster. Goro eventually returned in Mortal Kombat X as downloadable but never had involvement in the story mode.

Goro had a lot of backstory in the MKX comic book storyline. It was interesting to see Goro get a backstory more than Kintaro. Goro was involved in the Osh-Tekk massacre as ordered by Shao Kahn. Fair enough, Kotal gave Goro a fate worse than death by sawing off the latter's arms. Goro was disqualified from his claim to the Shokan throne due to his injuries. Sheeva would become the new queen. Meanwhile, Kintaro was there to be there and what, he can't swim? Kintaro could've been given more backstory but no, the writers didn't. I wish Kintaro could've been given that closeness with Goro. Kintaro's lack of backstory really ticks me off since he was a badass character. Also, Kintaro died at Sonya's hands while the latter was under Havik's influence. Sheeva did mourn but reassured that Kintaro died a warrior's death. Kintaro would later make a cameo in Shang Tsung's MK11 fatality called "Shokan Reborn".

What would be interesting is that the now-discontinued MKX comic book series ends with Goro wishing to get his arms back. In dialogues in MK11 - one can see that Sheeva mentions Goro. Some dialogues with Noob Saibot and Sheeva mention that Goro became a vessel for Onaga. Goro was actually planned to become Onaga's new vessel in the comic book series? Sadly, I wish that Onaga, not Kronika, was the final boss of MK11. What was also interesting was that Sheeva was supposed to be Onaga's bride -- presumably due to Onaga being in Goro's body. The plans went defunct and sunk into developmental hell. For that, we never got see what happened to Goro after he went to Daegon hoping for his arms to return. Too bad the comic book series was discontinued. Sigh!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Daimos' Ending?

I remembered the time I saw the Filipino-English dub of Tosshou Daimos on GMA-7. I really wonder did Richard (Kazuya) die in the end? It seemed to be as Erika wept as Richard closed his eyes. Yet, he didn't spit out blood or what? then there's the narration that follows... If you've noticed - it says that "The devotion of Kazuya and Erika who risked their lives for love and peace led to a new era for the future for the people of Baam and Earth." Then the narration says that the new era is left to our imagination. The Telesuccess end narration says, "Richard and Erika, through their love for one another form a BOND not just between themselves but also to the people on earth and their cosmic neighbors, and as a new race rise its birth, the universe resounds it's welcome" So it's possible that the narration implies Kazuya was simply just tired and Erika was crying tears of joy.  So, what's the interpretation? It has an open-ended end

My Thoughts Why "Tekken 8" Has No Arcade Release

My gaming vibes are GOOD AS SUNK. So far, I only enjoy playing mostly old-school games while embracing new technology. I guess the generation gap really happens like I'm more interested in replaying Super Mario World than any of the newer Super Mario Bros. games. That's why I haven't had a Nintendo system and I'm outdated on it too. I Googled for " Tekken 8 Arcade " and found this out from Hardcore Gamer: There are changes with Tekken 8 that are worth noting and it starts at the core. For the first time, the game will not be released as an arcade cabinet prior to release. This game will be no arcade port, but rather built from the ground up on the Unreal 5 Engine for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series and PC. This is showed off in the visuals as environmental lighting and textures look to be miles above any other game in the series, and overall potentially some of the best visuals period. The battle concept and the direction of battle are the other main driving force

Movie Thulsa: An Adaptational Decay Of Most Adaptations Of Thulsa Doom And Thoth-Amon?

Sure, I can use Conan the Barbarian to berate Conan the Destroyer any day. Here's a review on Movie Thulsa - a beloved villain that's probably overrated. A careful analysis of Conan the Barbarian (1982) would reveal that Movie Thulsa was a Dirty Coward. Maybe, it's because the actor James Earl Jones wasn't an action actor. Cast any action actor such as Frank Langella (who portrayed a more evil Skeletor in Masters of the Universe ) and get a Thulsa who could actually battle with Conan. Instead, Movie Thulsa was reduced to a Dirty Coward. A careful analysis will show that Movie Thulsa is a coward   At the beginning of the film, Movie Thulsa is shown to prefer to show up ONLY LATER. Movie Thulsa doesn't participate in the whack-a-villager game. Instead, you see his Rocksteady and Bebop minions namely Rexor and Thorgim do the job. Speaking of which, I wonder if Tang Lashor and Rattlor from She-Ra were partly inspired by them. Rexor would later become his high priest whi