The Struggle Against Kintaro From 1993-2015

I feel I'm among the minority who think that Kintaro is cooler than Goro. Sure, Goro was the reigning champion for nine generations (which probably explained the character's popularity) but Kintaro took it to a whole new level. I was thinking about how Kintaro's biography introduced him as a character stronger and more agile than his predecessor Goro. However, I applaud Kintaro's addition. I feel Kintaro deserves more respect (and fortunately, the Mortal Kombat X comic gave him a warrior's death and more expansion) to which he truly is - a vicious sub-boss. 

If my memory serves me right, I saw somebody in the arcade who was already skilled enough to reach Kintaro. However, the moment when the player reached Kintaro, it was very tough. The player was using the second Sub-Zero (Kuai Liang) but ended up getting hammered by an uppercut, teleport stomp, and RAN OUT OF TOKENS. Kintaro practically had the stats of an SNK Boss. After playing Mortal Kombat II via the Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks game - I really feel the frustration. I did manage to get rid of Kintaro by using TIMED JUMP KICKS. Spamming the jump kicks without timing can result in him GRABBING YOU MID-AIR. That ability was later modified for Mortal Kombat (2011) when Kintaro could do an air throw movie against your jumping character. I feel Kintaro was even harder than Shao Kahn back then because he was D*MN unpredictable. 

I still remember Mortal Kombat Trilogy - a game that I no longer long to play. Granted, I dumped all the first eight games because the reboot is so good. I finally got to play as Kintaro and he was more fun than Goro. Goro lost his stomp ability from the first game in Mortal Kombat Trilogy. Kintaro made me cheese through the game though Shao Kahn was pretty much a cheater. Heck, it took me some time before I beat Shao Kahn WITHOUT the cheat menu. I even had to turn on "normal boss damage" later to win. Kintaro was also a very hard opponent himself. Then for some reason - Kintaro just disappeared. It wasn't explained what his true fate was. 

Kintaro did return in Mortal Kombat Armageddon as a playable character. So, even the "boss types" were anything but THAT OVERPOWERED. Facing Kintaro here was anything but a super chore. Though, I was disappointed that his teleport stomp was removed for a reason when it was ICONIC. Even Ed Boon admitted the teleport stomp was his favorite. Was it an unfortunate oversight? Granted, I don't even want to replay Mortal Kombat Armageddon either.

Mortal Kombat (2011) was very much the badly needed reboot. What I always liked about it was how more balanced it was. It was a RELIEF not to see Motaro at all. Sure, the bosses are still bosses with SNK boss stats. The boss version of Shang Tsung (who could morph into any character minus the bosses, FORTUNATELY) still rendered heavy damage but nowhere near the first game's insane difficulty. Kintaro was back and so was Goro. However, I felt both Shokan bosses, hard as they are, weren't that hard. Kintaro was still difficult and his X-Ray move was the most powerful in the game. Yet, Kintaro lacked the overly beefy stats that made him too powerful like the previous games. It was simply set that he was too powerful for regular play but NOT TOO FRUSTRATING either. Ironic that I now prefer fighting Kintaro over Goro these days. 

I still felt it was sad that Kintaro only made ONE APPEARANCE in the reboot. After that, he practically disappeared except for a cameo in Shang Tsung's Mortal Kombat 11 "Shokan Reborn" fatality. I guess I'll always be in the minority that feel he's one badass cool character.