Summary
Any good video game, movie, TV show, or comic book needs a good set of heroes to drive the story forward and get audiences to care about their plight, but it’s a great villain that can really elevate a narrative. While the video game industry has plenty of genericmonster-of-the-week villainsthat are solely there to spew some dialogue and get shot at in a final battle, it’s the more nuanced, intimidating, and complex villains that tend to stick out in players' minds. Fighting games aren’t exactly known for their fleshed-out villains, but there’s a chance forMortal Kombat 1to change that.
Set inFire God Liu Kang’s new universe,Mortal Kombat 1will see players return to the very beginning of theMortal Kombatstory, though this time a great deal has changed, from character backstories to major world events. With no character quite being the same as fans know them to be, there’s room for plenty of twists and turns, potentially taking some traditional heroes, and turning them into villains. Since it has such a vast roster,Mortal Kombat 1shouldn’t just focus on one villain alone, but play to the strengths of the fighting game genre.
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Mortal Kombat 1 Shouldn’t Focus Solely on One Villain
Right now, it’s still a little unclear whoMortal Kombat 1’s villaincould be, though fans have plenty of theories. But rather than fall into franchise tradition,Mortal Kombat 1should embrace one of the biggest inherent benefits of the fighting game genre, its big roster.Mortal Kombat 1is set to have 24 fighters at launch, all of whom will presumably show up during the game’s main story mode. While fighters like Liu Kang, Raiden, Kung Lao, Kenshi, and Johnny Cage are all already destined to be heroes in this rebooted timeline as well, that still leaves a good portion of the roster open to villainous twists.
TheMortal Kombatfranchise has had plenty of villains in its 30-year history. Characters likeShang Tsung, Shao Kahn, and Shinnokare all iconic and beloved all-powerful foes; however,Mortal Kombattends to work better when the heroes have to face off against an ensemble of villains, encompassing practically half of the roster. Pitting so many characters against one another paves the way for some truly engaging and entertaining match-ups, with each character having their own motivations and their own relationships with one another.
Mortal Kombat 11did this fairly well. Though Kronika was the big bad ofMortal Kombat 11’s story, she had plenty of allies, ranging from new characters like Geras and Cetrion, to classic foes like Kano and Kabal. What setMortal Kombat 11’s rogues' gallery apart was that it also brought a number of past versions of classic characters to the game, paving the way for countless fun interactions between past and future selves. ThoughMortal Kombat 1probably won’t be dipping its toes into time-travel too much, its fresh takes on classic characters could still provide a similar feeling.
Based on the first few minutes ofMortal Kombat 1’s story modethat was released a few weeks ago, it seems as though Kronika may be making her return. Kronika was a fairly lackluster villain inMK11, and bringing her back forMortal Kombat 1might prove controversial, though NetherRealm has a chance to make it much more exciting. Based on the footage, it seems as though Kronika is going to be traveling across the realms, recruiting those who have been shunned by Liu Kang in his new universe, such as Shang Tsung, who is now merely a snake oil salesman. This could pave the way for a similar ensemble-like face-off inMortal Kombat 1, pitting all of Kronika’s allies against Earthrealm’s warriors, and that would undoubtedly make for some thrilling character dynamics and interactions.
Mortal Kombat 1will release September 19th for PC, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S.
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