Fighting Games Friday: The New-Old Kombatants

Mortal Kombat 1 is set for release one week from Tuesday, and the initial roster of Kombatants has taken shape… before NetherRealm Studios was ready for it to. There was still one more character to reveal as part of the 23-strong starting cast (sorry, but I’ve already run out of energy to keep the “k” thing up). But the last face was leaked after a Reddit user got ahold of the Switch version nearly two weeks before the street date. I feel a little bad for Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon and the development team, but perhaps they should have anticipated this happening.

The character which hadn’t been revealed yet was Nitara, returning after missing from the previous set of games from the last timeline. It’s far too difficult to discuss her without addressing that she’s voiced by actress Megan Fox this time, reprising the role of a vampire from Jennifer’s Body, and is also her face model. Fox’s presence in this game was actually leaked on Reddit back in May, alongside Travis Scott in some form. Several Twitter users pinpointed Nitara’s resemblance to Fox before the official character reveal later in the day, only for others to deny them. Those replies aged like milk in record time.

Fox’s performance as Nitara is… well, I’ll just say it’s an improvement over Rhonda Rousey as Sonya Blade in Mortal Kombat 11. It does not sound great from the clips in the video, but perhaps she’ll be better in the main game.

The initial lineup for MK1 is interesting, though not for entirely good reasons. It’s nice that early 3D era characters like the aforementioned Nitara, Li Mei, Ashrah, Kenshi, and Havik have returned to the starting roster. Younger fans who grew up with the likes of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance and Deception in the early-to-mid 00s (serving as another example that makes those of us who’ve been with the franchise since the 1990s feel really old) finally got their wishes fulfilled. They’re getting the chance to see unappreciated favorites again outside cameos (and not Kameos) in recent games’ story modes.

There are surprising omissions in the roster, however. Sonya Blade is one of the biggest, alongside Kano, outside of their Kameo appearances. I figured that everyone from the original Mortal Kombat would return in this title for nostalgia’s sake, given its name, but that’s clearly not the case. I’m aware that several vocal fans are tired of the Special Forces crew after their immense focus in the last three games, but it’s still a shock that both characters are missing. There’s a good chance they’ll come as eventual downloadable content, maybe in their own Special Forces pack. But if that happens, they’re over a year away.

The roster is also stuffed to the brim with normal (and boring, really) human and humanoid characters. Somewhat out-there characters like Goro, Motaro, Cyrax, and even Moloch are relegated to Kameo appearances if they’re included at all. Even Nitara herself looks more like a traditional human compared to her appearances in games released during the PlayStation 2/Xbox era. Reptile kind of counts, but the real Reptile form is only one of his appearances during battle.

The playable female character roster is surprisingly low. Kitana, Mileena, Li Mei, Ashrah, Sindel, Tanya, and Nitara make for seven out of a 23-character roster — 24, if that question mark on the character select screen is for another character. The ratio of male-to-female characters is lower than in Street Fighter 6, and, if the leaks are accurate, Tekken 8 (it’s very likely accurate despite producer Katsuhiro Harada’s claims to the contrary). The first downloadable content season will also consist entirely of male characters, further skewing the ratio. Not to mention how nearly all of them are fighting in heels. They appear to be baked into the character model skeletons, meaning alternate outfits will have to keep them. Someone at NetherRealm has a little fetish.

An even bigger surprise? The lack of new characters. I’m having trouble remembering the last brand-new fighting game that didn’t introduce any new characters to the roster. This is, to be fair, a timeline reboot game. The last game this occurred with, Mortal Kombat (2011), didn’t introduce its sole new character, Skarlet, until downloadable content came around. But it’s still surprising to see them doing this again. The most we’re getting here is character identity shuffling, like with Liu Kang being a god, Raiden being mortal, and Kuai Liang being Scorpion this time around. There’s an opportunity for new characters to be introduced through DLC again, assuming NetherRealm doesn’t heavily favor guest characters.

Speaking of those guests: At least Jean Claude Van Damme looks cool enough as an alternate skin for Johnny Cage. His face isn’t a 100-percent copy of Bloodsport-era JCVD, but the voice is on point.

I don’t mean to be too negative with MK1’s roster here, because I know full well that NetherRealm is dealing with new cutthroat leadership atop Warner Bros. Discovery these days. But it’s tough to overlook the disappointment here. The next characters the development team will detail will be the six coming as part of the first DLC season, including MK legacy characters Quan Chi, Takeda, Ermac, and guests Omni-Man, Homelander, and Peacemaker.