Make a Musou: Mortal Kombat

 Hello everyone, and welcome to another addition to StoryArc’s Make a Musou series! While our friendly writer Skeith is usually in charge of this series, considering she knows way more about Dynasty Warriors and the Musou genre than I ever will, I stepped in to make this list for a special occasion. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Mortal Kombat, the splatterfest fighting game series that paved the future for video games everywhere, and only continues to push boundaries. I’ve been a huge fan since I was a child, playing Deception on the original Xbox since I was a kid, and I wanted to put this out to mark this special time.

Now the trailer for Mortal Kombat 1 dropped while making this, and while it’s clearly still connected to the events of MK11, we still know nothing about the story or anything. From MK9 to 11, the series’ story has gotten kinda… ridiculous, and the canon roster size seems to be dwindling more and more with each game. Thankfully, I had it set up that this Musou would follow its own timeline and hypothetical story. Even then, this is, after all, the same series that involved convoluted time travel shenanigans in the last game; so technically, anything still goes.

How we’ll be designing the movesets!

Before we move on, we must discuss how Musou Movesets typically work if we are going to create a wide variety of them. If you have already read Skeith’s pieces on making a Batman Musou, Pokemon Musou, or Sakura Wars Musou, or have played one before, you may skip ahead to when we start talking about how many characters our roster will have. First, let’s go over the basics of each character’s normal attacks. You all likely know how Musou movesets work on a basic level; you string together combos consisting of light attacks and heavy attacks. However, there is a pattern that movesets typically follow that I feel need some explaining.

Pressing light attacks once and then heavy will knock enemies directly in front of you in the air, allowing for a juggle or for you yourself to transition into an attempted combo.

Pressing light attack two times and then a heavy will perform an attack that while not super powerful will hit enemies close to you, generally on your left and right.

Pressing light attacks three times and then heavy will perform an attack that, while not your strongest, will hit a wide range of enemies.

Pressing light attack four times and then a heavy will perform an attack that is either straightforward or will move you slightly forward

Finally, pressing light attack five times, and then triangle will perform an attack that does plenty of damage in a short range, the perfect attack for enemy officers.

These are the foundations of a basic Musou moveset; however, there is more to explain and think of for our roster.

The bar you have been seeing below or next to the health bars in this footage is the Musou gauge. Once it is full, you are able to unleash your most powerful attack: a Musou attack. So we’ll need to think of a Musou for everyone.

Finally, we’re going to incorporate something that main modern Musous and Musou clones have, skill attacks. Holding down a button will give you an option of activating a skill. Most of these are just buffs like increased attack or speed; however, many Musous gives characters extra moves via skills. As we want to make this hypothetical game seem as appealing as possible, we shall come up with 3 skill attacks for each character.

And that’s everything! 5 Normal combos, a musou attack, and 3 skill attacks for each character. As we go into this, I won’t describe what each and every character’s individual combos will be but rather just how we imagine them playing with a few combo examples. I will mostly focus on describing every Musou, unique, and skill attack we come up with. A fair warning as well that I won’t talk about some characters as much as others, thinking of a variety of different movesets is difficult

How Many Kharacters?

Now, when deciding the roster size, typically Musou games have more or less 15 or so characters to choose from. But modern Mortal Kombat games tend to have ludicrously high budgets, and lots and lots of iconic characters. I’d have to shaft some from this roster, but ultimately I settled on 21 characters.

Of course, it can’t be a Mortal Kombat title without the good ol’ Fatalities! For those somehow unaware, a Fatality has been a mainstay in the franchise since its conception; a cartoonishly gory finishing move that is performed on your opponent after you win the match, a perfect way to humiliate them after their defeat. Whether it means ripping out spines, showing your opponent their heart before crushing it, or kicking them in the balls with enough force that their entire skeleton flies out, Fatalities have gotten zanier and more ridiculous as the series went on. It more than warranted Mortal Kombat’s notoriety and helped pave the way to it becoming one of the most important and iconic franchises in gaming history. Just about every Mortal Kombat game gives at least two Fatalities per character, so let’s do that. Of course, not every enemy should have a Fatality performed on them, otherwise you could see the same one or two Fatalities a thousand times in one sitting. I suggest we keep Fatalities exclusive for bosses or rare enemies. Now, I won’t come up with new Fatalities for every character because that’s too much unnecessary work. Besides, they don’t really affect the characters’ playstyle anyway. Just a fun series staple to throw in. They could just be like Glory Kills from Doom that reward health or XP or whatever.

With everything about how we will go about this explained, let’s move on.

Scorpion

First up… well, obviously; Scorpion is the mascot of the series and has appeared in just about each and every entry in the series. He’s Ed Boon’s baby, and just about the most pivotal face in the whole series.

Much like how he is in the games, Scorpion would be a very good starting character. He has a little bit of everything to be a versatile character, but he’s not really a master at anything either. A great character for people to help people zone into the game and learn.

Scorpion’s first heavy combo will have him perform a flaming uppercut, knocking enemies in front of you in the air for further combos.

For his second heavy combo, Scorpion will pull out his flaming katanas and spin around, knocking enemies away, and lighting them on fire to boot.

His third heavy combo has Scorpion punching the ground, with fire erupting all around him. It won’t knock enemies away, but stuns them and lights them on fire.

The fourth heavy combo sees Scorpion teleporting forward in a ball of fire, eventually exploding, hitting everyone he passes through and causing a fiery mess.

Finally, Scorpion’s fifth heavy combo has him spinning his spear around multiple times, causing major damage and leaving fire everywhere it hits.

For his Musou attack, Scorpion summons a fire tornado that rips through the area, killing everything it touches.

Scorpion’s special skill has him igniting fire from his body, which causes him to do extra damage for a short amount of time until the fire disappears.

Scorpion’s first attack skill has him shoot out a massive fireball that slowly rolls through enemies until it eventually explodes in a fiery mayhem

Scorpion’s second attack skill is his iconic speak; he pulls a random enemy with his spear, and the player can follow-up with a quick punch that hurts enemies ahead, knock them in the air, or slam them on the ground which causes other enemies to fly up into the air.

Scorpion’s third attack skill has Scorpion teleporting to up to four random nearby enemies, causing heavy damage around all of them.

Sub-Zero

If we have Scorpion, we must have his rival-turned-cohort Sub-Zero. These two have butted heads for years, going from a deadly rivalry to a respected partnership. Sub-Zero is just as much a series staple as Scorpion is, so we have go put him in.

As you can imagine, Sub-Zero will utilize a variety of ice-based moves, while Scorpion was all about fire. Sub-Zero can create weapons out of ice, including axes, swords, or shurikens.

Sub-Zero’s first heavy combo has him stomping the ground, causing ice to break out from the ground and throw enemies around him into the air.

Sub-Zero’s second heavy combo has him throwing out ice axes that hit all enemies around him.

Sub-Zero’s third heavy combo has him punching the ground, causing icy spikes to pop out from the ground and knock away enemies, freezing them.

For his fourth heavy combo, Sub-Zero performs an ice slide, knocking away multiple enemies during his slide.

For his fifth heavy combo, Sub-Zero throws out a massive Ice Ball that explodes upon enemy contact, knocking away all enemies and freezing them.

For his Musou attack, Sub-Zero creates an Ice Ball and slams it into the ground, turning the entire area around him into ice spikes that impale and freeze enemies.

Sub-Zero’s special skill will have him turn his arms into ice, which increases his defense and improves the power of all ice-based moves for a short while.

The first attack skill of Sub-Zero will cause him to summon hail all around him which severely hurts all enemies.

The second attack skill has Sub-Zero throw out frozen shurikens, freezing the enemies they hit and stunning everyone nearby.

As for the third attack skill, Sub-Zero summons a freezing mist that slows down enemies, and provides freezing damage to anyone Sub-Zero hits while the mist is active

Raiden

By the Elder Gods, we have Raiden, the God of Thunder. Raiden has been a central character for decades, the old god as wise as he is deadly. Well, not too wise, as his increasingly idiotic choices and chaotic impatience has more than caused calamity for the past few games’ timeline. But that’s neither here nor there.

Unsurprisingly, Raiden will have the power of thunder. Thunder will be able to electrocute enemies and chain said electricity to other enemies. These would stun enemies for some time, or turn them to ashes if their health is low enough.

Raiden’s first heavy combo is a quick bolt of lighting that hits him that knocks away everyone close.

Raiden’s second heavy combo has him shoot lighting out from his side, hitting everyone beside him.

Raiden’s third heavy combo causes him to fly up into the air and slam the ground with his staff, hitting everyone in front of him.

The fourth heavy combo has Raiden do his iconic Electric Fly, with the move ending in an electric explosion that electrifies enemies.

Finally, the fifth heavy combo has several bolts of lightning strike the area around him, knocking away enemies and leaving a few stunned that chains lighting to others.

Raiden’s Musou attack has him casting down a powerful bolt of thunder on the battlefield, the player able to move the lightning around to cause absolute mayhem.

Raiden’s special skill has him power his fists with electricity, adding electric power to his attacks for a short time.

The first attack skill has Raiden affect an enemy with electrical energy, causing them to glow blue. Once the enemy is killed, they explode in an electric blast, electrocuting nearby enemies.

The second attack skill has Raiden summon a lightning cloud that slowly moves around, striking random enemies with lightning.

The third attack skill has Raiden leave several electric traps around him, causing groups of enemies to be shocked when someone steps onto the trap.

Liu Kang

Liu Kang is a noble warrior and the strongest fighter in all the realms. His control of fire and ability to shape-shift into a dragon will be his greatest assets, though he’s more than capable in his skills at kung-fu.

Liu Kang’s first heavy combo has him perform a fiery flip kick that knocks enemies into the air.

Liu Kang’s second heavy combo has Liu kick to his sides, knocking away enemies beside him.

The third heavy combo sees Liu Kang performing a fiery punch that explodes enemies away.

The fourth heavy combo has Liu performing his Bicycle Kick which can hit multiple enemies at once.

Liu Kang’s fifth and final heavy combo is a Flying Dragon Kick that causes severe damage and leaves other enemies on fire.

Liu Kang’s Musou attack has him turning into a fire dragon that sets ablaze to the whole area, killing everything around him.

Liu Kang’s special skill is a powerful counter that causes Liu to build up fire, making his next attack skill all the more powerful. This can be stacked for an even more powerful move. Think Incineroar’s counter in Smash Ultimate.

Liu Kang’s first attack skill has three balls of fire orbiting around Liu Kang, hitting enemies that come near him up to three times.

Liu Kang’s second attack skill is performing a one-inch punch that disintegrates the enemy and knocks all other nearby enemies away.

Liu Kang’s third attack skill has him shooting out three fireballs that hit enemies at a distance and explode in fire.

Kung Lao

Next is the other Shaolin Monk, Kung Lao! Though arguably more unskilled and cocktail than his friend Liu Kang, Kung Lao still knows his way around a fight, thanks to both his combat and his bladed hat.

The bladed hat, of course, will be his greatest weapon out in the battlefield. Though he’ll of course have his hand-to-hand expertise, his hat will be an important tool against his foes. He’ll have his teleporting abilities, as well, which gives him a wide variety of attacks and escaping from enemies.

For Kung Lao’s first heavy combo, he performs a flurry of punches that knocks his opponent up into the air.

His second heavy combo has Kung Lao spin his hat around to his sides, cutting up those beside him.

Kung Lao’s third heavy combo has him perform a dive kick that knocks enemies in front of him away.

The fourth heavy combo has Kung Lao perform his Spin move, launching him forward, pulling in enemies and slicing everyone he touches.

The fifth and final heavy combo for Kung Lao has him throw out his hat, which spins around him multiple times, spreading out and hitting far-away enemies as it spins around before eventually teleporting back to him. Kung Lao can freely move and still strike enemies as the hat is on the move.

Kung Lao’s Musou attack has him spin his body around, sucking in all enemies around him. He then groups them all together and he rapidly swings his hat around them, cutting them to pieces.

For his special skill, Kung Lao throws out his hat and the player can freely control the movement of his hat, slicing enemies apart, until the player cancels out of the ability. The move will be in slow-motion for ease of control. This leaves Kung vulnerable, however, and the player will lose control of the hat whenever Kung Lao is hit.

Kung Lao’s first attack skill has him toss his hat out and begins spinning and orbiting around nearby, following his movements and cutting anyone who touches it. This can help cover more ground, while also limiting Kung Lao’s attacks as the hat is active elsewhere.

The second attack skill has Kung Lao teleport in place, allowing the player to follow-up with either a horizontal slice of the hat, a powerful kick, or throwing a nearby enemy at other enemies.

The third attack skill has Kung toss his bladed hat out in front of him, then is called back to him, slicing everyone it hits. The attack skill can be pressed in sequence for three quick throws consecutively.

Johnny Cage

Johnny Cage has had one of the biggest glow-ups in fighting game history, going from a womanizing, brainless, self-centered action star to a caring father/husband and a responsible military leader. Johnny is just as much of the series’ identity as any other character. In a series that takes itself very seriously while still having room for camp, we need a funny guy who’s a straightman to it all, and Johnny Cage perfectly encapsulates that with his dry wit and snarky cynicism. This wise-cracking Hollywood star isn’t a joke, though, as he has proven to be capable of defeating ninjas, monsters, and ancient gods. Literally in his MK9 ending, Johnny becomes the most powerful warrior in the series. But Johnny Cage is a perfect opportunity to bring some personality to the game.

Johnny’s attacks will consist of punching, punching, and more punching. Along with some kicks, Johnny is a very up-close and personal character, racking up combos easily. But he also has his Shadow Powers that allow him to perform slides and shoot projectiles.

For Johnny Cage’s first heavy combo, he performs a flashy flip kick that knocks an enemy in front of him in the air, while causing others to blow a bright green, slowing them down.

The second heavy combo is Johnny Cage pulling out a golden trophy and swinging it down like a hammer, hurting those in front of him.

Johnny Cage’s third heavy combo has him perform a cartwheel before slamming on the ground, causing his shadow energy to make enemies float in the air.

The fourth heavy combo is Johnny Cage’s Shadow Kick, knocking enemies away and sending out a shadow blast that slows enemies down.

Finally, for his fifth heavy combo, Johnny spins around, kicking everyone nearby and shooting out a barrage of Forceballs all around him.

For his Musou attack, Johnny Cage shoots a barrage of Forceballs into the sky, then the sky turns green and a hellstorm of Forceballs crashes down on the battlefield, destroying everything.

Johnny Cage’s special skill has Johnny glow green, making him completely invulnerable for a short time, while also increasing his attacks and speed.

Johnny Cage’s first attack skill is his ever-iconic Nut Punch. This move stuns the opponent for a short time, while also intimidating all nearby enemies, leaving them weaker and less willing to attack.

Johnny Cage’s second attack skill has him tossing out his $500 sunglasses, which explode upon contact with an enemy.

For his third attack skill, Johnny Cage summons a stuntman who fights alongside Johnny until he is killed or called away.

Sonya Blade

Sonya Blade, reporting to duty. As the leader of the Special Forces, Sonya Blade is an expert hand-to-hand combatant and has access to a variety of military devices.

For her first heavy combo, Sonya performs a roundhouse kick that hits multiple enemies at once.

Sonya’s second heavy combo has her grabbing a nearby enemy and tossing them behind her, barreling through enemies.

Sonya’s third heavy combo has her perform a quick energy blast that hits opponents in front of her away.

For the fourth heavy combo, Sonya launches the enemy and herself up in the air, performing a flurry of punches before piledriving them back to the ground and knocking back other nearby enemies.

For the fifth heavy combo, Sonya blasts the ground with energy, doing insane damage and knocking all enemies away.

For her Musou attack, Sonya calls for an air strike, sweeping the area with missiles and leaving remaining living enemies on fire.

Sonya’s special skill has her call for support, summoning a drone that distracts enemies behind her. It can either electrocute enemies, ignite them with a flamethrower, or shoot bullets at enemies behind her. The drone eventually flies back off.

Sonya Blade’s first attack skill has her blow a kiss that passes through enemies, charming them to fight on Sonya’s side for a short time before exploding.

Sonya’s second attack skill has her summon a sentry gun that fires all around her before eventually shutting down and exploding.

The third attack skill has Sonya call for support, with a slow heat-seeking missile following a random single enemy.

Jax Briggs

Thanks to his cybernetic arms, Jax is a powerful soldier with immense strength and durability. He’s a famed grappler in the games, so I wanted to incorporate that into his moveset through his attack skills.

For Jax’s first heavy combo, Jax performs a deadly uppercut with both his arms.

The second heavy combo sees Jax flex his arms, hitting those beside and behind him.

His third heavy combo has Jax perform a powerful forward punch, knocking enemies back and barreling through groups. If the player holds the attack button, Jax builds up a much more powerful punch.

Next, Jax’s fourth heavy combo has him punch the ground, leaving a long earthquake rupture out in front of him that knocks back enemies.

Finally, Jax’s fifth heavy combo has him jump up into the air and slam his fists down on the ground, leaving a crater that knocks back enemies all around him.

For his Musou attack, Jax claps his hands together, creating a powerful shockwave that destroys everything.

Jax’s special skill has him pound his fists together to make his arms red-hot, increasing the damage of his punches and throws, with a touch of fire to boot.

Jax’s first attack skill has him pull out an RPG and shoot it ahead of him, blowing everyone away.

The second attack skill has Jax perform his “Gotcha” Grab, allowing Jax to either beat the enemy to a pulp or hit other enemies by slamming them to the ground multiple times, before eventually throwing the enemy at others or doing a fatal finishing move.

For Jax’s third and final attack skill, he grabs an enemy in front of him and performs a deadly suplex, stumbling other enemies close by.

Cassie Cage

Next up is the first of the Kombat Kids! Cassie is pretty unique in Mortal Kombat X and 11 in the sense that she takes a lot of moves from Johnny and Sonya – they’re her parents, after all. I wanted to really bring out her athleticism and uncanny ability with guns, so a lot of her moves with be gun-focused. In a sense, I really just wanted her to feel like she was a super-powered John Wick. I didn’t want to put in too many characters with guns, so I thought Cassie would be the perfect representation of that playstyle. I love Erron Black to death and he’s a big fan-favorite, but if I were to choose one gun-focused character, it’s Cassie.

For her first heavy combo, performs a quick kick that knocks an enemy up in the air, with Cassie following it up with shooting them while airborne.

Cassie Cage’s second heavy combo is her rapidly firing her guns at her sides, hitting those beside her.

The third heavy combo sees Cassie performing a cartwheel while shooting her guns, shooting all around her and kicking those in front of her.

The fourth heavy combo has Cassie perform a slide on her knees as she’s shooting all around her.

Cassie Cage’s fifth heavy combo has her spin in the air, shooting all around her rapidly, before spinning around on the ground and firing even more shots.

For Cassie Cage’s Musou attack, she brings out BLB-118, her robot companion from MK11, and shoots it with bullets charged with Shadow Energy. After enough energy, BLB-118 transmits a green explosion that destroys everything around them before flying away.

Cassie’s special skill has her power up her guns with Shadow Energy, making her bullets more powerful for a short time, plus the ability to pierce through multiple targets.

Cassie’s first attack skill has her do a selfie, her phone flashing so bright it stuns surrounding enemies for a short time.

Next, for Cassie’s second attack skill, she shoots out a barrage of ricochet bullets that bounce from one enemy to another.

For her third attack skill, Cassie blasts an enemy with shadow energy and then shoots them, causing them to explode, damaging groups of enemies.

Kung Jin

Next, we have possibly the first surprise on this list. Kung Jin isn’t exactly a fan-favorite character to a lot of people, but I think that’s why I ought to add him in. He hasn’t had a lot of time to shine and prove himself in MKX, and wasn’t even in 11 outside of a few references in pre-fight banter. I wanted to add him in here just on the basis that I think a Musou would really bring out his personality and redeem him in the eyes of many. Plus, I just think an archer character in this Musou would be slick.

For his first heavy combo, Kung Jin slams his staff on the ground, causing the enemies he hit be launched up in the air.

Jin’s second heavy combo has him spins his staff around him, hitting those around him multiple times.

Next, Jin’s third heavy combo has him perform a back flip that knocks enemies upward, then shoots some arrows that hit other enemies.

The fourth heavy combo sees Jin grab an enemy with his staff, roll forward, and throw them ahead of him, barreling through groups of enemies.

Jin’s fifth heavy combo has him shoot a fire arrow to the ground, setting the area around him in flames.

Jin’s Musou attack has him shooting out a barrage of arrows to the sky, causing a storm of arrows that rain down on swarms of enemies.

Jin’s special skill has him filtering through different types of arrows with different abilities: black regular arrows, yellow arrows that fire in a spread, slow white arrows that fire in bursts, red arrows with fire effects that require a cooldown, and slow blue arrows with heavy stun damage.

For Jin’s first attack skill, he shoots off one powerful arrow which detonates with explosive magic

Kung Jin’s second attack skill slows down time, and the player is able to aim where to shoot three arrows. Uses the arrow type that you have equipped. Headshots do critical damage.

Finally, Kung Jin’s third attack skill has him firing a glowing arrow straight ahead of him, able to pierce through multiple groups of enemies at once.

Jacqui Briggs

Next up is another fighter of the new generation, Jacqui Briggs! With cybernetic arms, Jacqui has access to a variety of tools, including bullets, rocks, and plasma beams. She’ll be another gun-type character, but I’m sure her access to different types of firearms would give her some good fighting variety.

Jacqui’s first heavy combo has her perform a powerful uppercut that stuns enemies around her.

For her second heavy combo, Jacqui shoots bullets at her sides, hitting everyone to the left and right of her.

Next, the third heavy combo has Jacqui shooting ahead of her with a flamethrower, igniting everyone in front.

The fourth heavy combo has Jacqui shoot a powerful shotgun blast in front of her, decimating everyone it hits.

Finally, for her fifth heavy combo, Jacqui punches forward with an electrical blast, knocking back whoever she hits and shocking everyone behind them.

Jacqui’s Musou attack has her jump up 30 feet into the air, then crash down, punching the ground, destroying everything around her.

For her special skill, Jacqui charges up her gloves, her bullets able to fire incendiary rounds for a short while.

Jacqui’s first attack skill has her shoot a missile out in front of her, exploding upon contact of an enemy.

Jacqui’s second attack skill has her create an energy wall around her, trapping enemies with her.

Finally, Jacqui’s third attack skill has her do a charging punch, running forward and performing a powerful punch that knocks back and stuns opponents.

Takeda Takahashi

We have reached the last of the Kombat Kids. I know there’s a lot of debate in the Kommunity about how much we accepted the Kombat Kids, but I still wanted to incorporate all of them here, as I enjoyed how they were utilized in Mortal Kombat X but didn’t like how they were shafted to make room for the veteran characters once again. They need far more representation in this series, and considering how MK1 is looking, I’m worried they’ll be a distant last.

Anyway, Takeda! Son of Kenshi and apprentice of Scorpion, Takeda has a sharp tongue and even sharper whip to slice opponents to pieces. With a variety of other weapons at his disposal, Takeda will be a decently long-ranged fighter.

Takeda’s first heavy combo has him perform an axe kick that slams the opponent on enemies behind them.

His second heavy combo is hurling kunai to his left and right, hitting everyone beside him.

For his third heavy combo, Takeda spins his whip around him, hitting those around him.

The fourth heavy combo has Takeda spin his whips ahead of him, slashing his opponents and the ground multiple times.

Finally, Takeda’s fifth heavy combo has Takeda slamming the ground with both his whips, knocking everyone up into the air.

Takeda’s Musou attack has him lasso a group of enemies with his whip, proceeding to them slam them around everywhere around him, hitting other opponents near him, before one final devastating slam.

Takeda’s special skill turns his whips a bright yellow, increasing his damage.

The first attack skill has Takeda throw his laser katana forward, before being called back, hitting everyone when returning.

The second attack skill has Takeda grab an enemy with his whips, and the player can choose to reel the enemy towards him, or have Takeda reel himself towards the opponent.

For his third and final attack skill, Takeda throws out a set of kunai that explodes after a short amount of time.

Kitana

Next we have the queen of Edenia herself, Kitana! She’s a deadly fighter, her bladed fans able to cut through her opponents with ease, also giving her the ability to levitate opponents in the air. 

For Kitana’s first heavy combo, she twirls her body around, slashing forward multiple times.

For her second heavy combo, Kitana spins her fans around her, cutting up everyone near her.

As for her third heavy combo, Kitana throws one of her fans forward, leaps back, then throws out her second fan as she calls the first to return.

For Kitana’s fourth heavy combo, Kitana teleports above her position and dive kicks down on enemies.

Finally, Kitana’s fifth heavy combo is her twirling her fans around her, the fans spreading out to a larger radius as it spins around her.

Kitana’s Musou attack has her levitating in the air, then spinning her body around continuously. The spin sucks in enemies as they begin to orbit around her like a tornado. Kitana stops and spreads her fans out, cutting everyone apart.

For her special skill, Kitana can teleport away from enemies, allowing her to retreat from a tough situation or change her attack.

Kitana’s first attack skill has her levitate enemies ahead of her with her fans, leaving then vulnerable.

Her second attack skill is a gust of wind escaping her fans, blowing enemies back for some breathing room.

For her third attack skill, Kitana throws out some sai, stunning and bleeding out opponents it hits.

Jade

If we have Kitana, we should add her loyal cohort Jade. Jade will be a rather acrobatic fighter, her staff able to help her maneuver around the battlefield. Thanks to that and some bladed weapons, she’ll be another long-ranged fighter on this roster.

For her first heavy combo, Jade swings her staff upward, knocking enemies up into the air.

For her second heavy combo, Jade retracts her staff to her left and right, hitting enemies beside her.

Jade’s third heavy combo has her jab her staff forward multiple times, continuously hitting enemies before being knocked back.

For her fourth heavy combos, dashes forward with a kick that knocks enemies back.

Finally, Jade’s fifth heavy combo is her jumping up and slamming her staff on the ground, knocking everyone around her into the air.

For Jade’s Musou attack, she slams the ground with a powerful force that causes everyone to float in the air. Then, she throws out multiple blades that pierce through all enemies before everyone falls back to the ground.

Jade’s special skill has her active her Shadow form, making her resistant to damage for a few seconds.

Jade’s first attack skill has her throw out three blades that spin around her, hitting enemies.

For Jade’s second attack skill, Jade swings her pole around her three times while moving her body forward.

The third attack skill is Jade teleporting to a random nearby enemy.

Shang Tsung

It’s about time we bring in some big baddies here, and Shang Tsung is possibly the most famous in this series. He’s a conniving and devious sorcerer with a big variety of magical abilities, and his shape-shifting power would also be a classic trait we’d need to include in a game full of enemies that need their souls sucked.

For Shang Tsung’s first heavy combo, he summons a skull from the ground that knocks an enemy upward.

His second heavy combo has Shang Tsung summon three skulls from the ground to his left and right, knocking enemies beside him upward.

The third heavy combo has Shang Tsung emit a powerful blast from his hands, hitting enemies all in front of him at a short range.

For his fourth heavy combo, Shang Tsung turns into Reptile and performs a quick, deadly slide attack.

For Shang’s final and fifth heavy combo, he shoots out a giant flaming skull that explodes upon contact.

For his Musou attack, Shang Tsung opens up a portal that unleashes a swarm of demons that attack all enemies, tearing them apart and flying off with them until they all disappear.

Shang Tsung’s special skill is him summoning three flaming skulls thar orbit around him. They hit enemies that come up close, or he can shoot the skull forward.

Shang Tsung’s first attack skill is his most iconic and obvious trait: shape-shifting. He steals his opponent’s soul and can control use their moves for a short time, with enhanced moves and their own set of combos.

For his second attack skill, Shang Tsung turns into Smoke and dashes in any direction in a puff of smoke. This can be used to get out of a sticky situation.

Finally, the third attack skill had him turn into Rain and trap enemies in a giant bubble, leaving them vulnerable.

Shao Kahn

Shao Kahn, the greatest enemy to not only the Mortal Kombat universe, but to gamers themselves. Shao Kahn will be the slowest fighter in this game, but makes up for it with raw, intense strength. Imagine the satisfaction of bulldozing through waves of enemies with Shao Kahn’s immense hammer.

For his first heavy combo, Shao Kahn kicks forward, knocking enemies back.

For his second heavy combo, Shao Kahn performs a upward sweep with his hammer, knocking enemies upward.

Shao Kahn’s third heavy combo has him hurl a spear that can impale multiple enemies at once.

The fourth heavy combo has Shao Kahn perform a shoulder charge that crushes opponents he hits and knocks back enemies around him.

For his fifth heavy combo, Shao Kahn jumps up in the air and slams the ground with his hammer, doing extreme damage. The distance he travels in the air can be controlled by the player.

For his Musou attack, Shao Kahn slams the ground with his hammer, causing hellfire to erupt from the ground and blast everyone away.

Shao Kahn’s special skill has a spirit bless his hammer, increasing his speed, strength, and durability for a short moment.

For his first attack skill, Shao Kahn throws his hammer, which barrels through a crowd of enemies before it teleports back to his hands.

His second attack skill has Shao Kahn jump in the air and throw his hammer at enemies below him, exploding upon impact.

Finally, the third and final attack skill has Shao Kahn charge forward with a spear. If he hits an enemy, Shao Kahn spins them around, hitting other enemies, then hurls the enemy that can knock others away.

Mileena

Another fan-favorite character is Mileena, and we’d be crazy to not add her in. Just really let her savage side be let out here. In a game with thousands of enemies on-screen, it’ll just be a buffet to the eyes of Mileena.

Mileena would play rather similarly to Kitana, as she is a clone of her. However, Mileena will have more maneuver abilities such as teleporting and rolling, as well as her sai and equally sharp teeth that will make her a terrifying force of nature.

For her first heavy combo, Mileena swings her leg downward, bouncing an enemy up in the air.

Mileena’s second heavy combo has her shoot a sai blast at her sides, hitting enemies to her left and right.

The third heavy combo has Mileena shoot a heavy blast from her sai forward.

The fourth heavy combo has Mileena roll forward, knocking enemies upward. The heavy attack button can be inputted again to have Mileena roll once more.

For her fifth heavy combo, Mileena performs a flurry of sai slashes that hits all in front of her for heavy damage.

Mileena’s Musou has her jump up into the air and perform a roll attack to the ground, exploding upon contact and obliterating enemies.

Mileena’s special skill has her reveal her monstrous face, allowing her to cannibalize one enemy instantly for health.

Mileena’s first attack skill is a counter. She seduces those around her, and an attack from an enemy has her bite off a part of their body.

For her second attack skill, Mileena pounces forward. If she lands on an enemy, she bites off their throat. 

Mileena’s third attack skill has her throw her sai forward, causing bleeding damage to anyone she hits.

Baraka

Another classic character and my favorite character in the series, we have Baraka. He’s far too iconic to leave out, and I think he’d be a rather fun character to mess around with. He’ll be a savage like Mileena, but he’ll be stronger and more durable fighter as he cuts up his opponents.

Baraka’s first heavy combo has him jab his claw upward, impaling through an enemy’s head.

For his second heavy combo, Baraka spins in place, cutting up everyone around him.

Baraka’s third heavy combo is a flurry of forward slashes that cuts an enemy up, ala his Gutted move.

The fourth heavy combo has Baraka perform a deadly leap, stabbing an enemy upon landing.

His fifth heavy combo is Baraka shooting spikes out of his body, shooting everyone around him.

For his Musou attack, Baraka runs forward with his blades out, slicing several enemies in half.

Baraka’s special skill is a slight callback to the old 3D era of games where Baraka can retract his blades at any time. Baraka’s fists have more power and force, while his blades are generally stronger and deadlier. Heavy combos and attack skills remain the same regardless.

Baraka’s first attack skill is a forward Blade Spark that is shot at enemies.

Baraka’s second attack skill has him summon another Tarkatan into the battlefield that’ll fight to the death.

For his third attack skill, Baraka performs a blade charge that moves him forward and can impale through enemies.

Kollector

Kollector is such a dope character that had so little to do in MK11 that I just had to put him in for prosperity. His multiple arms would make him a rather unique character, able to incorporate a variety of bladed weapons and magical artifacts all at once. He’ll be a nimble fighter, but a deadly one at that.

For his first heavy combo, Kollector casts fire to erupt in front of him, catching those caught in the blaze on fire.

Kollector’s second heavy combo is him using his back arms to spin around with knives like a propeller while walking forward, slashing those beside and behind him.

For his third heavy combo, Kollector snaps his mace forward, knocking enemies I’m front of him away.

Kollector’s fourth heavy combo are some squick slashes as he’s dashing forward, hitting those ahead of him multiple times.

Kollector’s fifth and final heavy combo has him emit a blast from his vial, blowing away everyone around him in a radius.

Kollector’s Musou attack has him hold out an idol in front of him that shoots out a huge laser that disintegrates everyone it hits.

For his special skill, Kollector unleashes a soul from a lamp that emits a poisonous gas around Kollector, slowly draining enemies’ health.

Kollector’s first attack skill has him throw out some bolas that ensnare enemies for a short time.

Kollector’s second attack skill has him hold up an idol that shoots out a blinding blast of light, disorienting enemies around him.

Kollector’s final attack skill has him setting a trap in front of him that grabs enemies and drains their life-force, giving it to Kollector in turn.

Ermac

Next, we have a fan-favorite who hasn’t seen the light of day in a while: Ermac! He’ll have a variety of magic projectiles, but I think his ability of levitation will make him a rather unique fighter. Let him lift enemies and smack them to other enemies, among other magical abilities.

For Ermac’s first heavy combo, Ermac lifts the enemy in front of him, leaving them dangling.

Ermac’s second heavy combo has him shoot out a shockwave around him, pushing back enemies.

Ermac’s third heavy combo has him shoot out a wall that pushes away enemies ahead of him.

Ermac’s fourth heavy combo has Ermac fly forward, grabbing the first enemy, performing a loop, then slamming that enemy to the ground, blasting away other enemies around him.

For his fifth and final heavy combo, Ermac levitates a wave of enemies in front of him, leaving them in the air for a decent amount of time.

Ermac’s Musou attack will have him sending out a shockwave that levitate every enemy on screen. Ermac himself floats in the air, shooting out a barrage of energy balls that blast through everyone.

For his special skill, Ermac levitates in the air, keeping him away from enemies for a short time. He can also shoot out shockwaves at enemies below him.

For his first attack skill, Ermac grabs an enemy and the player can control where he throws them.

For his second attack skill, Ermac causes a group of enemies to turn green, causing them to explode after some time.

Ermac’s third attack skill has him shoot out a green blast of energy that explodes upon impact.

D’Vorrah

Our last fighter on this list won’t be a huge surprise, but we need D’Vorrah here. Though fans are dubious of her, considering she has a tendency to canonically kill off beloved characters, the fact she is so strong and important to these games is the exact reason to keep her. She’ll have a variety of bugs at her disposal; just make her as gross and creepy as possible.

For her first heavy combo, D’Vorrah ensnares opponents in a cocoon, leaving them vulnerable for a long time.

D’Vorrah’s second heavy combo has her shoot some muck into the ground beside her, causing insects to fly out of the ground in a kind of insect geyser on her left and right.

For her third heavy combo, D’Vorrah pukes out bugs that disorient opponents ahead of her 

For her fourth heavy combo, D’Vorrah flies forward, charging through everyone in her path 

Her fifth heavy combo has D’Vorrah stab her giant claws out multiple times, jabbing opponents.

D’Vorrah’s Musou has her summon a giant spider from the ground that rampages through the area, eating as much as it can find.

D’Vorrah’s special skill causes a poisonous gas to emit from her, stunning and hurting opponents caught in it.

For her first attack skill, D’Vorrah sends out a swarm of bees that slow down groups of enemies. Enemies killed by the bees create a sort of bee landmine that triggers another swarm as enemies go near it 

For her second attack skill, D’Vorrah flies up and can attack opponents while in the air.

And finally, D’Vorrah stabs her claws out all around her, hitting and affecting others with poison. 

Konclusion
While there were hardly any real “shockers” on this list, I think that’s more to say about just how iconic and beloved all these characters are. Writing this gave me an even bigger appreciation for the cast of Mortal Kombat and its universe as a whole as I was trying to capture the feel of these characters to the best of my ability. I’ve loved this series since my childhood and I hope it prospers and matures for the next years to come. Hopefully Mortal Kombat 1 will fix the errors Mortal Kombat 11 made and enhance the stuff that did work. Here’s to the future, fellow Mortal Kombat fans!