to ThePredator151:

ya im not so sure either if i liek that either kuz for one his hat isnt metal or anything and i would think it break easy always failing on it or watever...UNLESS they just have it rematerialize on his head like kung lao...wat u think about that??

Nah.. rather they didn't.

I'm perfectly happy in life right now believing some "magical God fairy" holds his hat on his head at all times. lol

I know, it's completely illogical.

Really now, I just attributed it to him being a god and never really gave it much thought after that. idk...

To ThePredator151:

lol fair enough then...i can live with that :)

Raiden's Story Element

Mortal Kombat 1:

Raiden was a very confident (probably a bit cocky or overzealous) God of Thunder back in MK1. His personality seemed to lean forward more, coming off as being alot more willing to combat anything that would bring harm to EarthRealm.

When we start to find out what MK1 is all about, Raiden is being invited to attend the Mortal Kombat contest as a contestant by Shang Tsung. Someone who Raiden seemed to view as slightly more than a peon, or mere nuisance. In this meeting, we can tell they also knew each other, making the interaction seem more like a civil confrontation.

Raiden approached the situation knowing there was likely an ulterior motive, but he takes the "bait" anyway. What made sense to me, but is not clearly stated, is as a condition of the invite, Raiden sacrifices his God Form for his Human Form to participate fairly amongst the other mortals.



At this point in Raiden's story he doesn't have the mentor thing about him quite yet. He's entering the contest like it's nothing more that a chance for him to prove a point. From what we've learned about Raiden so far come MK9, I can see this being true since Raiden is the centerpiece behind why "Mortal Kombat" the contest, exists for EarthRealm in the first place.

Relationships:

We obviously know Raiden had a kind of stand-off-ish relationship with Shang Tsung. We also know he knew about Goro and Shao Kahn before the contest started. In MK1 though, it's not exactly clear whether Raiden has any personal relationships to any of the roster characters. I know that in the first movie "Mortal Kombat", they establish these characters with a simple meeting on the boat but, no such thing is spoken of between Raiden and the rest of the cast in the first game.

As far as I can tell, Raiden has probably just been watching them, even though they do come to meet, and know each other through the games tournament eventually.

At the end of MK1:

Liu Kang is the champion at the end, what'd you expect me to say? What's important to note is that these endings are not the canon:




Although, from them we get bits of how Tobias would have liked us to perceive Raidens character. Raiden wasn't impressed at all with the likes of Shang Tsung or Goro, and so he viewed them as less than he is. I think that's perfect because as a God character....tah dah... Raiden should have a "God Complex" to some kind of degree. It should be an insult for mortals to challenge him. Even if he is in mortal form.

The other little interesting thing from Raiden's MK1 endings here is how it states he gets bored, and invites other Gods to participate in the contest. I think it leaves room for Fujin to show up in MK4 but, I'll digress there for now.

"Have a nice day"

Personality then vs his personality Now:

As I mentioned, Raiden was a "hotter color" as far as his personality back in MK1. He was more brash... hotter tempered. As a fan, I got the same sort of sense from his "Dark Raiden" period, as I did with his MK1 self. Now, he did seem to have the compassion that he has now for mortals, but it was nowhere near as prevalent as it is now, and you can forget about there being a heavy "mentor" role for him too. Back in MK1 I got the sense that he was actually more concerned about EarthRealm than the roster. Which is one good way I think he actually should be.

He didn't necessarily enter the contest with the intent to involve the other characters first, and guide them through it. He entered the thing to kick the crap out of the bad guys himself, all while proving that those same bad guys could never match up with any of Raiden's mortals either. As a result to me, in MK1, Raiden stood out more as "the boss of the good guys."

The Raiden we have now isn't undesirable but, he's definitely a cooler color than the MK1 Raiden. Even with the Dark Raiden thing having just passed, he's still a lighter tone in personality to me because as I'll get into later, they really didn't do a whole lot with his Dark Raiden persona. Taking the Raiden from MKA, he's got the mentor thing going, he has disobeyed the Elder Gods once or twice, and lost at least one huge fight already. That is not MK1 Raiden at all in my mind. However, a wiser God is what I want from this character and, how could that come about for me if he doesn't win and loose, eh?

===========

MK2 Coming up next..

Raiden is my most favorite character and here's what I have to say:

Appearance wise, I probably wouldn't change this look. It's fitting for him and this game. The only thing I'd add, is his lightning effects, since in that blurry shot of him, he doesn't have it in his default. I'd make that universal in all his costumes. I would also like him to look younger. I'm glad his footwear is like that of MKvsDCU's, and not like it was in Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks. I would like his boots to not have that toe divider thing also.

For his alternate, I want Dark Raiden. Bring back the samurai like elements and his hair being visible. The tattered cape is a must.

For his classic costume, I want an upgraded MK styled costume, as opposed to his MK2 look. His primary look enough like they MK2 look, and I really despise that look.

As far as gameplay and special moves go, he needs his staff. Bring back the reverse lighting also. His lighting needs to be MK style with the bolts, and not the ball.

Lighting
*Enhanced- Shocks the opponent, rather than a slight push back.

Reverse Lightning
*Ehanced-See above

Static Teleport
*Enhaced-Increased speed, or add another hit, such as a punch or a kick, that can lead to a combo

Torpedo
*Enhanced-Make it faster and do more damage

Shocking Touch
*Enhanced-It does more damage and knocks the opponent farther away from.

Utilize his staff into his specials.


Xray: As a reference to his MK2 fatality, Raiden can punch the person in the chin, breaking it and knocking them in the air, then teleport and do his torpedo to bring the opponent to the ground and break their back, or ribs.

His intro could have a aingle bolt of lightning strike, and his eyes glowing with energy, gazing at his foe, saying 'Do not test me!'

His mid-round win pose can be similar to his MK4 victory and his match victory should have him pucnh the air a few times, conjour lightning in his hands, and raise his right one and have lightning strike down.

His get up should be very similar to his one in MKD.

For his fatalities, they can bring back his Thunder Punch, and have his grab the opponent's head while it's falling.

The other should have him impaling the opponent in their chest with his staff, raising them up, then having a single bolt of lightning strike the staff, and more when the inital lightning strikes.

His classic fatality needs to be his original one. Make it where the other person's eyes open wide and they're screaming in agony until their head explicitly explodes in a violent manner.

In the story, I want to see his motivations for his changes. I want them to express his visions are the reactions of his allies. He is making things worse, so they should briefly show how.

Vignette. It should explain his origins, the creation of the Mortal Kombat Tournament, and briefly mention his knowledge of Armageddon. Give Fujin, and the other Earthrealm gods a small cameo.

Ending. I don't expect one similar to his MKT ending. I expect to see him thinking everything's better.

Anybody remember Tavens attitude in MKA? Thats how Raiden should be in the MK1 part of the story, IMO.


Also, why are people saying dark Raiden isn't canon. Evrything from MK4-MKA all happened. Even if he changes them, they still happened once, making it canon. Even if he changes it and we never see it again, it still happened once, and when it did it was the reason we got MK2011.

MK4-MKA Canon. And always will be.

I've never seen anyone say those things didn't happen. Raiden lost the fight in the MKD intro, sacrificed himself, and became Dark Raiden during the intermingling of his, Shang Tsung, and Quan Chi's souls in the EtherRealm.

That all happened.

What makes you say that?

Well aside the fact that everyone says MKA now isn't canon (it is) there is even a post in here stating dark raiden isn't canon anymore (he is)

hm...

I think a few people would like MKA to be non-canon but, I'm sure there isn't much dispute that it is canon material.

I personally like the Dark Raiden story arc, I just wish they did more with him than they did. For all the folks out there thinking Dark Raiden meant "Evil Raiden"... he certainly didn't do very much to justify being evil. They really just changed Raidens costume.

heh

I thought they should've made his lightning red.

So in terms of personality, which Raiden do people want to see more? The serious style that's usually seen in the game. The Christopher Lambert impression of a more goofy, light hearted version in the movie and MK Conquest. Or the balance between the two in the Defenders of the Realm cartoon? As much as I like the Lambert version, I think the DOTR version is the one I'd really like to see.

I watched some of MK Conguest on Youtube and I really hated the way Raiden was porttrayed.

I'd prefer how he was in the games, or maybe the one in MKDOTR.

I far and away prefer the Lambert/Meek version of Raiden to the one in the games.

For one thing, Raiden in the games literally HAS no personality. There's no sense of definition to his behavior at all, he is made of cardboard, he literally does NOTHING but explain exposition and give the heroes orders with a stern face and a flat, or sometimes slightly angry at best, tone of voice.

That sarcastic attitude and that sense of "No I'm not going to spell out what you need to do for you, I'm going to tease you into figuring it out for yourself so you'll actually LEARN something" from the movies and live action show is SO much better a way to depict any mentor figure, and it actually makes Raiden an interesting and likeable character.

It gives you insight into where he's coming from and what it's like to be the protector of a world that's constantly on the verge of being lost. There's a sense of cynicism and hopelessness like he's about to say "fuck it" and give up on the whole thing 'cause he's seen how the tournaments always end 9 times in a row and it's always a downer...while at the same time you can see that he DOES care, he's just trying not to show it because maybe he doesn't want to get attached to people who could be a few hours away from getting their internal organs ripped out or their souls stolen.

I think the episode called "Resurrection" from Defenders Of the Realm shows the perfect image of Raiden, especially when he's talking with Jax.

That episode is probably what embodies most of how I envision his personality to be. It's really close actually. In that episode, he actually expresses the sort of irony in being weakened to the level of a mortal that I'd imagine for Dark Raiden, had someone been able to effectively stop, and punish him for the odd behavior.

He carries what I like about Lambert & Meeks, has that really dry sense of humor, and is authoritative without overdoing it. His voice is similar to the games' interpretation too. Which is something I welcome.

To agree with Razor for a second, Raiden in-game is a bit flat. At times, I feel like they under-play him too much. He's the guy in the game on the side of good that's supposed to stop the bad-guys indefinitely, if everything else fails. But has not.

I would think that somewhere in his personality or attitude, he should exemplify winning these sorts of battles before, and therefor give us a reason to have some faith in the character. That's part of my peeve about Raiden though too.

You've got the uber bad guys that loose all the time... and then the uber good guys that loose all the time too? O-k... I can swallow that it may be about the mortals/regular joe's winning the fights. But at the same time, what good's a supposed "end-all be-all" good guy, if he isn't really that?

Instead of getting rid of him, I want them to make him stronger, and make his personality reflect that strength.

After seeing Shao Kahn's size in the Challenge Tower video, I hope Raiden is somewhere near that height and somewhat near that build.

Well I know Raiden's 7ft tall.

I'm not sure, but I thought Shao Kahn was actually 12ft tall or something like that? Anyway, no. I would not like to see Raiden bigger. His inferior size to characters like Kahn plays into him taking a human form to participate in the Mortal Kombat contest.

Plus... it's inherently more gratifying when the "little guy wins" against the big guy.

He should be taller than most, if not all, the humans from Earthrealm.

Yea, theoretically. But again, I like the contradiction in making him inferior. I feel it makes him stronger based on how ironic it is that he is short like Shang Tsung or somebody, but he's also a God despite being physically inferior to Shao Kahn.

That's Raiden humor for ya. lol

What do you all think of Raiden'sStance and my post earlier about Raiden(not the one about his height)?

His stance is great, but the mouth hanging open like that throws me off. I'd prefer it more if his extended hand only had his index and middle fingers pointing up and his facial expression was more serious. His lightning effects werebette in Deadly Alliance, they should be very similar to that.

I can't wait to see my favorite character's Vignette and Gameplay Video!!!

I wish they'd get rid of that ninja-esque tabi design and not how some of his toes divided. It would do alot for this costume.

yeah the mouth thing is wierd, but did anyone notice how thin Raiden looks. I thought he was a bit buffer?

Usually, in official art and in the games, he is depicted as being a larger build. He should be bigger, just not Kahn, Shokan or Onaga sized.

I think the whole thing except for the pupils in the wallpaper is great. I took Jaded_Raven's edited version and made it my wallpaper.

The stance looks good and, I think as far as mouth hanging open like that, it's just the angle we're viewing him from. He looks pretty angry otherwise, which is something I've been soliciting to them for quite some time now. I love it.

They changed his stance a little bit too. The animation shows him blinking, and hands are constantly moving. Looks like he comes to the traditional stance for only a couple of quick frames and repeats. That's fine with me too.

I can't wait for some gameplay. The electricity being back around his body has me psyched!! I don't think I like the Deception version of the same electricity effect better quite yet. I'm gonna hold out judgment on that til we see more. The thing I didn't appreciate about it in that game was that it looked like they had to make an invisible layer around his whole body. Using something like Maya or 3DsMax.

I like how this electricity arcs and such throughout the animation though. It's alot better, I think.

I'm gonna enjoy beating the crap out of people with Raiden and Humiliating them with a Friendship or Babality 9asuuming they're in).

Y'know, as much as i don't like the notion of those things coming back, I have to admit that seeing kid thunder would be out of this world awesome.

I am curious though, what kinds of , animality, babality, and friendship would you give him in this game?