Mortal Kombat has a cast of good characters. However, every fighting game has to have some mistakes. Some characters for me are just an utter mess or I just hate them plain and simple. Some of these are unplayable boss characters. I wouldn't include inside-joke characters like Mokap (who was just a gimmick) or Meat. Instead, I'd focus on characters I'm glad are no longer around.
MK3 was a rather broken game. The updates Ultimate MK3 and MK Trilogy were even more broken. I remembered MK Trilogy was the most broken one since the bosses (with SNK stats) were playable. Motaro is practically one character I say I'd hate. This is one boss that would probably put the likes of Geese Howard and Rugal look tame. It's because of how freaking imbalanced Motaro gets.
I remembered how Motaro had the following issues. He had highly reflective skin (bouncing back projectiles though the ability was somewhat decreased later). He could juggle with fireballs more than Kintaro would in MKII. He had his ANNOYING LONG TAIL. The boss was just incredibly crazy. Heck, I remembered using cheats in MK Trilogy (the cheat menu) just to defeat him! The guy is just one incredible bastard.
The storyline goes (as far as the original time) that Goro and Kintaro were defeated by Liu Kang. A rare bio suggested that Kintaro was vaporized by Raiden at some point. If Kintaro was ever vaporized by Raiden - it must've been during the Outworld invasion. Motaro entered the scene and the Centaurs are enemies of the Shokan. The guy also had a very irregular body shape that made him VERY HARD to implement in later games. Heck, MK Armageddon even had to turn him into a Minotaur.
I remembered how Motaro had the following issues. He had highly reflective skin (bouncing back projectiles though the ability was somewhat decreased later). He could juggle with fireballs more than Kintaro would in MKII. He had his ANNOYING LONG TAIL. The boss was just incredibly crazy. Heck, I remembered using cheats in MK Trilogy (the cheat menu) just to defeat him! The guy is just one incredible bastard.
The storyline goes (as far as the original time) that Goro and Kintaro were defeated by Liu Kang. A rare bio suggested that Kintaro was vaporized by Raiden at some point. If Kintaro was ever vaporized by Raiden - it must've been during the Outworld invasion. Motaro entered the scene and the Centaurs are enemies of the Shokan. The guy also had a very irregular body shape that made him VERY HARD to implement in later games. Heck, MK Armageddon even had to turn him into a Minotaur.
MK Deception was certainly a huge turn. The Gamecube version revealed that Shao Kahn survived and so did Goro. Shao Kahn healed Goro and the latter faked his death. It was revealed in MK Deadly Alliance's Konquest Mode (using Kano) that Sheeva killed Motaro. Later, Shao Kahn decided to re-hire the Shokans. Personally, I'd still use Shokans over Centaurs if I were Shao Kahn. I've always loved the Shokan characters.
In MK (2011) or MK9 - Motaro became The Unfought. I think Motaro could still be implemented IF they could make him immune to x-rays. I guess programmers do have a Motaro draft somewhere. Possibly, the game testers yelled in too much frustration after they decided to test a possible battle with Motaro. A boss immune to both x-rays and projectiles? Well, that'd break the balance. That's why I'm glad he's been left out. Never liked him anyway for too long. Besides, MK11 even went as far as to make his head nothing more than a cameo - something I deeply enjoyed!
MK4 is one game I regret even owning. The gameplay mechanics are badly defined. The weapon system is near useless. Heck, I'm glad the weapon system got removed by the time of the best reboot ever. Some people than think Kai was a bad character. I think Kai could've been more used. If there's any character I really hate right now - it's JAREK. Jarek is just a cheap knockout of Kano. Not even his new moveset in MK Armageddon even saved him.
Jarek's first game appearance made him a bland copy of Kano with a body slam move. Heck, the fatalities were very much copies of Kano. Nothing is explained about his laser vision. I'm simply glad that MKX decided NOT TO give us Jarek. Instead, good old fan-favorite villain Kano was in MKX instead. Kano's one of my favorite villains. Jarek is just a cheap knock-off.
Hsu Hao
The Red Dragon seems to be nothing more than a plot device. A plot device to make Kano look cooler. Hsu Hao practically is the worst of the Red Dragon. I think Mavado and Kabal are okay. I think Mavado and Daegon of the Red Dragon are potentially cooler. Heck, Mavado having established a rivalry with Kabal in the original continuity was a good idea. Though, Kabal (corrupted by Havik to become evil again) defeated Mavado. Heck, I think the Red Dragon had potential but it seems Netherrealm Studios hates them that much. Just think of how Mavado was easily killed by Jacqui. Just think of how Hsu Hao was even pathetically killed by SCORPION as well. Those two events are from the MKX prequel comic.
Hsu Hao ends up rather bland and uninspired. I could say that the guy has a boring moveset. Boring fatality. The guy just ends up as a huge mistake. I could take Mokujin as a joke character. This guy? Well, he's just there to be there. Heck, he was even disposed of like any regular henchman by Jax himself. How in the world did he return for MKA isn't even explained.
The character became so bad of a joke. Think about it how Erron Black in MK11 has an entry with Hsu Hao's HEAD. Scorpion killing Hsu Hao in the MKX prequel comic is really proof of hatred. This is one bandwagon that I'm probably not willing to abandon. At least Mavado had good screen time before getting killed off. Not this guy. I feel Mavado and Daegon have potential though.
The character became so bad of a joke. Think about it how Erron Black in MK11 has an entry with Hsu Hao's HEAD. Scorpion killing Hsu Hao in the MKX prequel comic is really proof of hatred. This is one bandwagon that I'm probably not willing to abandon. At least Mavado had good screen time before getting killed off. Not this guy. I feel Mavado and Daegon have potential though.
Drahmin
Perhaps another character worth mentioning how BORING he is. Sure, one can go ahead and talk about Bo Rai Cho. However, I've warmed up to Bo Rai Cho since MK Deception and enjoyed playing as him in MKX. However, this guy is just plain boring. The guy seems to be nothing more than a rehash of the joke character Meat. TBH, I think Mokap (a joke character) still has more depth than this zombie. This guy has little to no combos, a boring fatality, and you know...
Well, Quan Chi did do a lot of justice for fans. The MKX comic had Quan Chi also kill Drahmin. Personally, I think this guy is best left for good.
Moloch
After Motaro, we've got to contend with another heavily imbalanced boss. I felt Onaga was more balanced for MKD as a boss character. This boss character is one horrifying cruel, NO INCREDIBLY EXCRUCIATING EXPERIENCE. Sure, Kintaro did waste a lot of quarters. However, once you know Kintaro can be defeated by WELL-TIMED JUMP KICKS -- one can say that Moloch was overly broken. The stumbling mountain that's Moloch was horrifying.
Moloch became playable in the game meant to end the series for a reboot. I did use him at times but boy IS HE F***ING BORING. I felt both Goro and Kintaro in MK Trilogy or in MKA were more interesting. Kintaro lacked his stomp in MKA but he was better than Moloch. Moloch just sucks both as a boss (too difficult) and when he was toned down for playable reasons. Yeah, Moloch really, REALLY SUCKS.
Moloch became playable in the game meant to end the series for a reboot. I did use him at times but boy IS HE F***ING BORING. I felt both Goro and Kintaro in MK Trilogy or in MKA were more interesting. Kintaro lacked his stomp in MKA but he was better than Moloch. Moloch just sucks both as a boss (too difficult) and when he was toned down for playable reasons. Yeah, Moloch really, REALLY SUCKS.
This is probably why Moloch has such a short role in the MKX comic. It's not enough to see fan-favorite Quan Chi kill Drahmin. Fan-favorite Kitana (as a Revenant) killed Moloch as well. It's even funny how Quan Chi brings Moloch's head in his intro in MKX. Shinnok and Quan Chi probably never liked him anyway. I bet King Yama (assuming he retook his rightful place as the ruler of the Netherrealm) probably threw Moloch off at the 18th level of Hell for being a lame character. I bet the Jade Emperor hated Moloch as well.
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Meanwhile, there are still characters that are hated but otherwise, I'm still neutral about it. I mentioned earlier how I think Daegon and Mavado are okay but not cool. I think Shujinko from MK Deception has a great storyline BUT his gameplay sucks. If only Midway knew how to make the old man's gameplay more interesting. I feel Shujinko only sucked gameplay-wise. Meanwhile, I think Kobra and Kira needed more personality. I think Taven was okay except he'd never be Lars from Tekken 6. I think the Orderrealm characters were just okay but not much to write home about.
Other characters I'm glad got fleshed out in the comics are as follows Reiko was once a bland replacement for Noob Saibot. Reiko was later given his really cool story of Blood Magic in MKX comics. I also felt Havik should've returned as a playable character in either MKX or MK11. Instead, it sucks how Havik has been demoted to an NPC in the endings. I did enjoy the ending where the Joker teamed up with Havik. Instead, Havik has become nothing more than a footnote.
There you have it. Characters I felt had ruined the franchise to a certain extent. Which Mortal Kombat characters do you really hate instead of love to hate?
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