The rollout of new information on Mortal Kombat 1 is continuing in the lead-up to its launch on September 19, and a host of new details recently dropped on the fighter during Gamescom week. From new additions to its rosters of main characters and Kameo fighters to an entirely new single player mode, there’s plenty of new details that have emerged on the fighter over the last few days. Here, we’re going to talk about all that new information.
GENERAL SHAO AND SINDEL
When you think of Mortal Kombat, you think of Shao Kahn, and there was little doubt in anyone’s mind that he would inevitably be revealed for MK1’s rebooted universe. The most recent trailer for the game revealed him as General Shao, while another longtime fan-favourite character in Sindel was also revealed alongside him. Both, of course, will be part of the main roster, and as is the case with pretty much every character in the game, MK1’s rebooted universe will also put quite a unique spin on both of them.
SINDEL STORY DETAILS
A native of the realm of Edenia in both previous Mortal Kombat timelines, in the New Era, Sindel seems to be native to Outworld. After she ascended to the realm’s throne and became Empress, she married Jerrod, an Outworld noble in this timeline, eventually giving birth to twin daughters in Kitana and Mileena. Things took a turn for the worse, however, when Jerrod was murdered, in the aftermath of which rival factions began plotting to overthrow her. Her story in Mortal Kombat 1, it seems, will focus on her dealing with that brewing rebellion.
GENERAL SHAO STORY DETAILS
For the vast majority of the Mortal Kombat franchise’s life, Shao Kahn has been the Emperor of Outworld, though that’s not the role he’s playing this time. Shao was born into a proud military family on Outworld, though it was discovered quickly after his birth that he had an infirm, sickly body. His father, however, was nothing if not stubborn, and spent years training him to build up his strength and endurance. Eventually, he was transformed into the perfect soldier through years of toiling, and after winning countless victories and become known for his shrewd tactical mind, he was named Outworld’s General. Now, General Shao owes his allegiance to Sindel- which is an interesting twist to put on the character who, in previous renditions, conquered Sindel’s realm, killed her husband, took her captive, and married her.
KRONIKA AND SHANG TSUNG
Other key characters are also returning in Mortal Kombat 1. Thanks to gameplay and footage for the opening section of the story mode having been released in recent days, two more that have been confirmed are Kronika and Shang Tsung. They haven’t been confirmed as playable fighters or Kameos, but it’s clear that they will have an important role to play in the story. And what exactly will that be?
SHANG TSUNG STORY DETAILS
In this rebooted Mortal Kombat timeline, it seems Shang Tsung has none of the powers that we have always associated him with. But even though he’s not a sorcerer who can consume people’s souls, he’s still a shrewd conman. In fact, that’s all he is. As MK1’s story kicks off, we can see him selling a fake miracle cure to unsuspecting people. Kronika, however, has different plans for him, because later, we see her approaching him with the promise of great power. Presumably, this means Kronika is well aware of the events of previous timelines – which isn’t surprising, given the fact that she is, well, Kronika – and is trying to use Shang Tsung and his predictably evil and selfish ways to achieve her own ends.
WHERE ARE SONYA AND JAX?
There’s no shortage of Mortal Kombat mainstays that have been confirmed for MK1’s roster, though there are a few notable names that haven’t joined that list yet. For instance, where are Sonya Blade and Jax Briggs? Both characters have been around since the series’ inception, but neither is part of Mortal Kombat 1’s playable roster yet. So will they be showing up at all?
NetherRealm Studios’ narrative director Dominic Cianciolo was recently asked the question in an interview with IGN, and his answer was an intriguing one. “I know some people are worried in this new universe that, ‘These characters no longer exist. They’re gone forever.’ It’s totally not the case,” he said. “Whether they appear in this game or in future games, obviously that’s TBD, depending on where the studio wants to go and everyone wants to do, but they’re around. And as you play through, you sort of see where they are and where they’re coming from.”
So it does seem like Mortal Kombat 1’s story will, if nothing else, pave the way for those two to show back up in future instalments (unless they end up making an appearance in this game itself, that is).
MOTARO AND SHUNJIKO
Pretty much every Mortal Kombat 1 character reveal has gone hand-in-hand with a new Kameo reveal, and that was the case at Gamescom as well. Alongside Sindel and General Shao being revealed for the main roster, a couple of new Kameo fighters were also revealed. For starters, there’s Shujinko, who appeared in Mortal Kombat: Deception and Armageddon (and continues the trend of the series’ 3D era being represented strongly in the upcoming instalment). Also revealed as a Kameo fighter was Motaro, who isn’t exactly a fan-favourite or the most prominent character in the franchise, but has certainly been around in varying capacities since his debut in Mortal Kombat 3.
SCORPION
Since Mortal Kombat 1 was revealed earlier this year, we’ve known that Scorpion and Sub-Zero are going to be brothers by blood in its rebooted timeline. Both are members of the Lin Keui clan, with Sub-Zero being the Grandmaster and Scorpion, his younger brother, a loyal soldier. Scorpion, however, won’t be Hanzo Hasashi for the first time ever in a Mortal Kombat game. Instead, Kuai Liang – who has been Sub-Zero since Mortal Kombat 2 – is going to be Scorpion in this universe, while Bi-Han – the original Sub-Zero, who becomes Noob Saibot – going back to taking the mantle of the ice ninja. What does that mean about Hanzo and what role he will play in MK1’s new timeline? That remains to be seen.
INVASION MODE
Every new Mortal Kombat game is pretty much guaranteed to have an experimental new single player mode, and in Mortal Kombat 1, that will come in the form of Invasion. On the PlayStation Blog, Invasion is described as being “based around different enemies and factions invading other realms in an attempt to conquer them, such as a Scorpion from a different reality invading the new era.” Invasion will be presented in the form of a board game, and will see players travelling across unique maps with a party of characters.
INVADERS
Invasions will involve a lot of random encounters, with Invaders emerging all over maps. Different maps (or boards) will have unique themes, and their fights will be similarly themed as well. Each Invader, meanwhile, will also come with unique challenges to take on and unique rewards to unlock. More on that in a bit.
INVASION RPG MECHANICS
Being a board game would have been enough to set Invasion apart from your regular Mortal Kombat experience, but the mode is also throwing in RPG mechanics to make things even more interesting. As you find and win fights, not only will you unlock new areas, your characters will also level up and become more powerful, something that you’ll also be able to double down on by equipping them with loot and gear.
OTHER REWARDS
In addition to leveling up and earning new loot, Mortal Kombat 1’s Invasion mode will have other rewards for players to work towards as well, likew new items, concept art, and in-game currency (which, of course, is written as kurrency). That last one, of course, is one that raises an eyebrow, because presumably, WB Games being WB Games will use that as an opportunity to bring microtransactions into the mix. If that does happen, hopefully, it’ll be better implemented than what they did with Mortal Kombat 11 when it first launched.
INVASION MINIGAMES
Mortal Kombat’s single player modes have always liked having their fun with enjoyable little minigames, and it seems Invasion will continue that tradition. On the PS Blog, it’s described as “a love letter to the entirety of Mortal Kombat“, which means travelling through the maps, you’ll find minigames like Test Your Might and even classic Arcade Towers.
INVASION UPDATES
Unsurprisingly, NetherRealm Studios intends to keep updating Invasion for plenty of time after Mortal Kombat 1’s launch. The studio has, of course, done that with Mortal Kombat single player modes in the past as well, and it says it will be constantly updating Invasion throughout the game’s lifespan. That will come in the form of seasons, which, presumably, will bring new boards, Invaders, rewards, and the like.
COULD ADD POST-LAUNCH GUEST KAMEOS
WB Games and NetherRealm have already confirmed that Mortal Kombat 1, in true MK fashion, will be adding cross-media guest characters as DLC in the form of Homelander, Omni-Man, and Peacemaker, but it seems like Kameo versions of guest characters will arrive as well. Recently, official promotional material emerged for the game from Brazil, which mentioned guest characters being added to the game’s Kameo roster after release. Whether that means the aforementioned DLC guests will get Kameo versions or NetherRealm will add completely new guest characters as Kameos remains to be seen.
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