It's no secret that Shao Kahn is what I'd call the most popular Mortal Kombat villain. Why do you think Mortal Kombat 11 gave us what could be Netherrealm not liking him? The beginning is one bloody torture scene where Raiden beats up a helpless Shinnok and beheads him. The ending in Mortal Kombat X gave us Shinnok tossing Raiden's severed head. Then, MK11 gave the biggest obvious "FU SHINNOK!" promotion - the ability to play as a depowered Shao Kahn! Shao Kahn becmes a regular character in MK11 for fans to play. I do love playing Shao Kahn in MK11 whenever I feel stressed and wnat to feel EEEEEVVVVVIIIILLLL. I could say I just love how MKX gave us Goro as a pre-order bonus but hate how he's NOT in Story Mode. Shinnok was fun to play as also.
Though, everything may have started with Mortal Kombat 4. I agree with all the criticisms that he was practically a lazy Shang Tsung. Shinnok was only the Great Imitator in that game. Even worse, I felt Shinnok being beaten by Liu Kang was stupid. Shinnok is an ELDER GOD for crying out loud! I find it stupid that Quan Chi's ladder ending reveals that Shinnok became dependent on his amulet. I think Raiden should've been the one to defeat Shinnok in EVERY GAME. The ancient rivalry between the two is pretty much like Thor and Loki. Loki's a fan-favorite villain as well.
In MK Armageddon, Shinnok was seen leading the Forces of Darkness. After all, he is the Satan of Mortal Kombat. He did have the backstory where he overthrow Lucifer (who I'll refer to as King Yama) who was most likely not even a villain. Shinnok got rid of King Yama and decided to occupy the Netherrealm. Shinnok, however, didn't make it far to the pyramid. Shinnok's ladder ending even reveals he sent a CLONE of himself. Eventually, in true FU fashion, Shao Kahn won the Battle of Armageddon. Originally, it was intended that Taven's victory over Blaze created a third unforeseen outcome. Instead, it was retconned that Shao Kahn defeated Blaze. See just how Shao Kahn gets so popular?
MK9 does have that interesting ending. I could remember how I was hyped playing Story Mode. Right now, I even want Nostalgia Critic would probably have a good time making fun of it. The final scene did hype Shinnok up. Just imagine the development that Shinnok got. Quan Chi's presence in the game was no mere fanservice. Shinnok, like Palpatine, planned it! Shinnok manipulated Shao Kahn into trying to merge the realms WITHOUT VICTORY IN MORTAL KOMBAT. Breaking that rule would render the wrath of the Jade Emperor and his fellow Elder Gods to intervene. I was hyped thinking about what Shinnok could do. That's until MKX practically dropped the bridge on him AGAIN.
MKX can be best described as "Great game, not-so-good story mode." I think the story is pretty rushed as gameplay was more of the focus. I think my biggest beef (if ever) against MKX is Shinnok as the almost absent main antagonist. Shinnok only shows up at the beginning and at the end. I still think him being beaten by the normal characters is something. Liu Kang? Johnny Cage? Cassie Cage? It'd be more acceptable if a goddess defeated him than Cassie. Shinnok just sucks out bad as he's not even developed in the story mode. Spending 25 years in his own amulet? Getting released only to get captured again? I'm really feeling bad about what Shinnok became.
It was fun to play as him and use the Bone Shaper variation. I had fun playing as Shinnok after he was given a better personality. Though, the ground spark move was clearly ripped off from Shang Tsung! I always felt like an Evil Overlord when I was playing as Shinnok. The Bone Shaper variation gave a long-range projectile. I also love the Bone Shaper exclusive combos and moves. I didn't like how goofy the Necromancer variation was. The Imposter variation was a blatant reminder of Shinnok's lack of personality back then.
We also had Corrupted Shinnok. It was nice to have an unplayable final boss version of Shinnok. Corrupted Shinnok was just one round. Potentially, Corrupted Shinnok could be harder. Man, that chest beam he had would be hard to avoid because it's 2D gameplay! That chest beam was almost as annoying as Jinpachi Mishima's unplayable debut in Tekken 5. Fortunately, it was blockable but it had considerable chip damage. Still, I felt it was weird that Cassie should simply wrap up what her father did 25 years ago via Green Energy. Corrupted Shinnok was plain wasted without any real explanation whatsoever. It seemed like Netherrealm Studios felt it was mandatory to bring Shinnok back (because he was no Hsu Hao) but didn't like him as much as SHAO KAHN.
MK11 even has Shinnok roasted aside in intro dialogues from the insult-to-injury. Sure, Shao Kahn is more popular but Shinnok does have his potential. Shao Kahn even said, "Shinnok failed because he schemed!" Think about how MK9 could've potentially made Shinnok more of a greater threat. Shao Kahn practically became a victim of his own karma. Shao Kahn deceived Onaga. Now, Shinnok deceived Shao Kahn to his own demise. Shinnok should've been given more room for development also because he's a fallen Elder God. Shinnok has so much potential. Yet, I feel like Shinnok, while not becoming like Hsu Hao, is still a character that doesn't get enough appreciation.
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