Teasing characters by their footwear is old hat for Ed Boon, but in the latest hint for what's coming to Mortal Kombat 11, we're pretty sure we've got a good idea of what to expect. Nightwolf is coming to downloadable content soon and an eerie new screenshot teaser could be the first hint of a trailer. Check it out:
The new image appears to show DLC sorcerer Shang Tsung standing opposite a new challenger. The mystery warrior brandishes a small hand axe and is outfitted in distinctive foot and leg wear with feathers around the ankle. The red and blue palette suggests Nightwolf, whose trademark weapons have long included mystically charged tomahawks!
Identifying the boot is a lot easier than past cases. Nightwolf was one of three additional Kombat Pack characters announced in the Shang Tsung reveal trailer. The teaser screenshot is the first official glimpse, but we've also seen a sketch icon for the announced fighters.
The image could be an in-fight intro, but its black void seems in keeping with the style used in reveal trailers for Mortal Kombat X's Kombat Pack 1 and Kombat Pack 2. That could suggest we'll see a Nightwolf or dedicated MK11 Kombat Pack trailer soon!
Do you think the mystery fighter is Nightwolf? If so, what do you hope to see from a trailer? Tell us all about it in the comments below and join the discussion on the Mortal Kombat 11 forum!
Nothing sets the mood for battle quite like good music and Mortal Kombat 11 boasts a notably cinematic score! Fans looking to immerse themselves in the sounds of kombat, away from the game, can now look forward to streaming or downloading the official soundtrack through most major platforms! Listen to four preview tracks:
Esquire released four unlisted tracks via the Mortal Kombat developer channel. They feature composer Willbert Roget II's main title theme, heard every time you navigate the main menu, as well as three atmospheric pieces that underscore moments of story mode and gameplay.
Mortal Kombat 11 is the latest major gaming franchise to be scored by Willbert Roget II. He's also worked on Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and Indiana Jones and the Staff of Fire. The MK11 soundtrack fuses dramatic orchestral score with sharp tangs of MK's classic Eastern influence, and sweeping, Middle Eastern epic vibes inspired by the plot. Long time kombat composer Dan "Toasty" Forden can still be heard, credited with the Sea of Blood stage music. You can find it now on Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes Store, Deezer, Napster, and Tidal.
Mortal Kombat 11 (Original Game Soundtrack) Track Listing:
1. A Matter of Time (Mortal Kombat 11 Main Theme) - Willbert Roget II [4:01]
2. Raiden's Wraht ~ Family Business - Willbert Roget II [3:35]
3. Netherrealm Incursion - Willbert Roget II [3:42]
4. Broken Blade ~ Kronika Revealed - Willbert Roget II [2:09]
5. Timequake - Willbert Rogert II [2:00]
6. Fallen Masters - Willbert Roget II [1:10]
7. Fire & Ice - Willbert Roget II [1:44]
8. Black Dragon - Willbert Roget II [3:03]
9. Edenian Loyalty, Osh-Tekk Heart - Willbert Roget II [1:18]
10. Strongest Jade - Willbert Roget II [3:00]
11. Sins of the Father - Willbert Roget II [2:36]
12. Matinee Idol - Willbert Roget II [2:13]
13. Coming of Age - Willbert Roget II [3:04]
14. Clash of Kahns - Willbert Roget II [0:55]
15. Kitana Kahn - Willbert Roget II [2:19]
16. Cage Match - Willbert Roget [1:15]
17. Geras, Servant of the Time Keeper - Willbert Roget II [1:15]
18. Shang Tsung's Legacy - Willbert Roget II [2:32]
19. Deathly Shadow - Willbert Roget II [1:11]
20. Cetrion, Paragon of Virtue - Willbert Roget II [1:41]
21. D'Vorah, The Scourge - Willbert Roget II [1:23]
22. Anagnorisis - Willbert Roget II [2:14]
23. Showdown - Willbert Roget II [2:10]
24. Fire God Ascension - Willbert Roget II [2:49]
25. Immortal Kombat - Willbert Roget II [3:29]
26. The Hourglass - Willbert Roget II [2:27]
27. The New Era Begins - Willbert Roget II [2:52]
28. Rise - Super Square, Mega Ran, Willbert Roget II & A_Rival [3:31]
29. Kytinn Lost Hive (Stage) - Nathan Grigg [4:43]
30. Koliseum Bestiary (Stage) - Armin Haas [4:17]
31. Black Dragon Fight Club (Stage) - Nathan Grigg [4:35]
32. Special Forces Desert Command (Stage) - Nathan Grigg [4:39]
33. Shang Tsung's Island Ruins (Stage) - Matthias Wolf [4:20]
34. Kharon's Ship (Stage) - Rich Carle [4:17]
35. Sea of Blood (Stage) - Dan Forden [6:08]
36. Kronika's Hourglass (Stage) - Nathan Grigg [4:51]
What did you think of the MK11 soundtrack? Got a favourite piece from the album? Tell us all about it in the comments below and join the discussion on the Mortal Kombat 11 forum! Or find and discover more products in the Media & Merchandise forum!
We learned four of six Mortal Kombat 11 Kombat Pack characters with their official announcement in the Shang Tsung reveal trailer. As we await the next character reveal, these sketch teasers give us a taste of things to come! Watch:
Shang Tsung is now available for individual in-game DLC purchase, or as part of the six-character Kombat Pack that also includes early access to Nightwolf, Sindel, long anticipated comic book guest character Spawn, and two more as yet unannounced crossover guests!
Early access and official render art have given fans a vivid look at Shang Tsung. For the rest, click the links above to load mugshot teasers that offer a small glimpse of what's to come!
Who's next? Share your thoughts in the comments below and join the discussion on the Mortal Kombat 11 forum to share your feedback on Kombat League and more!
Storm Collectibles were at Toy Fair earlier this year to showcase some of their upcoming Mortal Kombat Klassics. We recently featured the upcoming 1:12 Scorpion action figure. Now we take a closer look at the much anticipated Baraka!
With their Mortal Kombat II inspired Baraka, the Hong Kong toy maker takes a break from the monotony of commonly produced icons like Scorpion and Sub-Zero. The result is an exciting, game-accurate recreation of one of MKII's most unique characters!
The 1/12th scale figure comes with 2x interchangeable heads for opean and closed tooth-baring, 2x interchangeable forearm blades for different degrees of extension, 4x pairs of hands for various kombat poses, and a spark effect and 2x blood effects for interactive display with other figures in the series! Click the thumbnails above to see the versatile positions this Baraka can also assume!
With an official release in this quarter, sadly the MKII Baraka is no longer available for order via Storm's online store, but you may be able to find it in the wild. Let us know if you got one in the comments and dive into the Media & Merchandise forum for more offering!
1995 was a massive time for the Mortal Kombat franchise. Dubbed the "year we make contact', '95 saw the much anticipated release of Mortal Kombat 3 as well as the Mortal Kombat movie! Both items were of feature at the Williams ACME event, which has recently resurfaced online thanks to an archival video by John Vogel! Check it out:
The footage is a glimpse into another time in gaming and arcade commerce, when excess and pageantry offered a unique blend of art and irony to the promotional space.
The presentation of "masterpiece" games in the Midway and Williams library is accompanied by comedic sketches, models, and slick videos. Pinball wizard and voice of Shao Kahn, Steve Ritchie, even shows off gnarly battlescars, before riding onto stage on a dirtbike. It all culminates in a tour of the floor, with the latest arcade cabinets and actors from the game in full costume.
Kerri Hoskins, Richard Divizio, John Parrish and Anthony Marquez reprise their roles as Sonya Blade, Kano, Jax, and Kung Lao. As well as walking the convention floor, the quartet take part in a dramatic martial arts demonstration you can skip to with the applicable link above. At the risk of spoiling it: Kano ties Sonya to a gong, choreography ensues. You can see another version later in the video.
Series co-creators Ed Boon & John Tobias also appear to present live demonstrations of the Mortal Kombat 3 cabinet. Arcade vendors are offered a free ROM upgrade to add more characters, as well as difficulty modes and the code system -- familiar elements to players who remember the third installment and its various iterations.
The full 2 hour clip is an all around nostalgic trip back to an exciting time in Mortal Kombat history and its behind the scenes business. You can find more clips like this on duncanfbrown's YouTube channel. Special thanks to MK Online User Shinnokxz for forwarding the find. Be sure to discover and discuss more retro gaming in the 2D Kombat Klassics forum!
When Shang Tsung was first announced back in March, he appeared to be the wisened old sorcerer once more. As is so often the case, though, appearances can be deceiving! The first Kombat Pack fighter has shed his skin and revealed the movie-inspired likeness of Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa in official new character art! Check it out:
Shang Tsung (Influence) Soul Sorcerer and historic host of the Mortal Kombat. Born in Earthrealm, Shang Tsung’s relentless pursuit of powerful magic led him to Outworld, where Shao Kahn offered him a dark power that no sorcerer on Earthrealm could. Shang Tsung pledged his eternal loyalty to Shao Kahn in exchange for this evil magic, but he is no faithful servant. He dreams of the day his sorcery will overtake Shao Kahn’s, and he’ll pay any price to get there.
The sorcerer's new clothes reference a casual-formal look once found exclusively in the world of Paul Anderson's 1995 feature film. Shang Tsung is all business in three-piece layered leather, most notably identified by a long black coat that ties it all together. Fan-favourite actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa lends his likeness and voice to the role, which is full of movie flashbacks in intro dialogue and more!
The design has been given a little bit of a rock 'n' roll update for Mortal Kombat 11,, adding long armored knuckle rings to the black fingerless gloves that cast a familiar green glow. It's just one of the customizable design options you'll find in the game. That is if you aren't transforming into your opponent or a host of klassic ninjas!
Watch the trailer for a taste of things to come and check out the latest tower to get a playable preview! Be sure to tell us what you think of the design in the comments below and join the discussion on the Mortal Kombat 11 forum! Pick up the Kombat Pack for access to Shang Tsung, as well as Sindel, Nightwolf, and Spawn!
When Mortal Kombat took the world by storm in 1992, one figure in particular loomed largely over the entire arcade! The legend of Goro created one of the game's most iconic images, but as John Tobias has revealed with original concept art -- that image could've been different in one significant way!
The mythology of the reigning Shokan Champion was as important as his in-game presentation. This ultimate sub-boss was an ancient half-man, half-dragon promising to pummel players into coinless submission. As we can see in the original artwork shared to Twitter, that iconic four-armed silhouette almost included another appendage: a dragon tail!
The series co-creator remarks, "I thought I remembered at one point we considered giving #MortalKombat ‘s Goro a dragon’s tail... found some old sketches circa 1991..." He went on to add, "BTW... I’m glad we did not give Goro a tail ..."
The sketches show the familar, powerful visage of Goro with different expressions, and the addition of the tail. [It's] a small change in the scheme of things, but one that could've had a ripple effect on the series, which eventually came to include a more literal, tailed dragon boss in the form of The Dragon King - Onaga.
In an interview with MK Online, Tobias explained drawing inspiration from legendary stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen in the creation of Goro, noting: "We wanted to have a brutish character as our boss and I remember thinking of the old Ray Harryhausen films like Jason and The Argonauts and their use of stop-motion animation as being the perfect remedy. I thought it would work well for us because our characters already had limited sets of animation, so a stop-motion puppet would fit right in."
What do you think about Goro with a tail? Share your thoughts about the iconic sub-boss in the comments below and telestomp into the 2D Kombat Klassics forum for more retro rumblings!
Hong Kong toymaker Storm Collectibles is world renowned for their high quality collectible action figures. Scorpion is set to join their Mortal Kombat Klassic line with a 1:12 scale offering coming later this year! Come here and take a closer look at the throwback fighter and his features:
Inspired by designs first seen in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3: the klassic Scorpion action figure references nuanced details to allow for recreations of iconic stances and fight poses. This is achieved with four interchangeable hand sets, an alternate skull mask, iconic "get over here" Spear accessory, and a battle axe similar to the one seen in memorable combos and short attacks!
At $70.00USD this collectible figure will be best kept displayed with other coveted merch. Three sculpted "blood effects" mean you can stage Scorpion with other figures from the series for a brutal combo!
The 1:12 Scale Scorpion is available for order from the Storm Collectibles website with a release date of October, 2019. Made a purchase? Tell us all about it in the comments below and find & discuss more toys on the Media & Merchandise forum!
A new online mode is coming to Mortal Kombat 11 in the next downloadable update! Kombat League will give players the chance to play a new ranked mode in seasons to unlock new customizable cosmetics for characters. Watch the official announce trailer:
Four week seasons will test players through nine tiers of gameplay, challenging them to master the skills of Apprentice through Elder God. These ranks will only be part of the experience, which will utilize optimized matchmaking to pit players against their perfect match. A new meter will predict chances for victory before every battle. Fight your way to godhood and you'll unlock exclusive in-game items! You can also check-in to daily and seasonal quests to earn bonuses based on unique challenges.
The Kombat League officially begins June 18th when The Season of Blood soaks kombatants in customizable crimson! Watch the trailer above to check out modified looks at Skarlet, Kitana, Erron Black, and Scorpion!
Players who've purchased the Kombat Pack can also look forward to getting early access to the first downloadable fighter: Shang Tsung! Watch the Shang Tsung gameplay trailer and join the discussion about all these things on the Mortal Kombat 11!
After skipping last year's event; NetherRealm Studios returned to E3 with Mortal Kombat 11 and the first fighter from the upcoming Kombat Pack! A playable demo wasn't the only place you'd find Shang Tsung and MK11 konsumables, though. He was also outside the expo on a working Ice Kream Truck!
The Mortal Kombat 11 Ice Kream Truck was soft serving sweet relief under the hot Los Angeles sun, touring the grounds throughout the E3 extended weekend. Social media shared locations and pictures [above], but the black truck with Shang Tsung on the side wasn't hard to spot!
The summer fun was all in the name of promoting the Kombat Pack and its first fighter, who bears the likeness of Mortal Kombat movie favourite Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. The sorcerer's smooth style was already sprinkled across a double scoop of official trailer and developer stream.
It isn't the first time MK has offered cool refreshment with a black label. In 2016, Sound Brewery released a range of Mortal Kombat themed beer! They weren't serving in the WB Games MK11 area at E3, but they did have big screens, playable demos, and a Fatality win pose booth!
Kombat Pack early access for Shang Tsung begins June 18th, with klassic skins and more coming soon! Click here for full details and join the discussion on the Mortal Kombat 11 forum!
Survival Saturday has officially been given the green light to move to our MKO Twitch channel this coming Saturday, leaving it's beta state one show earlier than expected! It's a spiritual successor to our normal Fatal Friday program. Hosted by our very own Fatalkade, the hype factor on this show goes up an even bigger notch than Fatal Friday. The show is all about the players, and bragging rights!
It's a forced competitive Survivor King of the Hill, where your health carries over to your next match. This makes win streaks harder to earn, and makes the players work harder to achieve success while also creating more exciting moments on our competitive show. The highlight reel is gone, replaced by a "Player Spotlight" that focuses more on the player and who their main was, as well as their win streak. Like Fatal Friday, Survival Saturday is broken up into seasons. Season 1 is starting on XBOX ONE, with the current leader being MKUniverse with a streak of 8 wins! To join the competition, simply join the room titled "SURVIVAL SATURDAY" around 7 PM CST when it goes up to get invited to compete and test your might!
This new show has a much more 'esports' vibe, and is set to air this Saturday at http://www.MortalKombatOnline.com/Twitch at 8 PM CST. The schedule for Survival Saturday will be consistent with that of Fatal Friday, which airs every Friday at 8 PM CST. Be sure to catch the latest Fatal Friday, where TotalMK will be our special guest host! We're excited to continue bringing you fun and interactive ways to compete and show off your skills on MKO, and we assure you, there is much more coming soon!
Shang Tsung will be the first character to join Mortal Kombat 11 via upcoming downloadable content updates. Early access begins for Kombat Pack owners on June 18th -- but later today everyone will get a taste of things to come in a live developer stream! Watch the magic unfold with us right here:
The Kombat Kast will go live at the standard time of 3:00PM CDT and should illuminate more details about the sinister sorcerer.
Shang Tsung was announced with a wisened character render and officially revealed last week in full spotlight trailer! The trailer also named three more of the final six Kombat Pack extra fighters, as well as a raft of other goodies!
Be here at broadcast time to watch the Shang Tsung Kast in the embedded player above. Don't forget to share your impressions with us in the comments below and join the discussion on the Mortal Kombat 11 forum! Shang Tsung will be one of the characters you can review in the next 2019 Supreme Mortal Kombat Champion poll battle!
By and large Paul Neimeyer has been one of the unsung heroes of the twenty-seven year legacy of the first Mortal Kombat! As Logo Artist and Designer, he helped bring to life the lasting image of the first Mortal Kombat arcade cabinet! He recently unearthed original concept art sketches from his personal archive, perfectly preserved to give fans a glimpse into MK's arcade origins!
Series co-creator John Tobias originally provided the pencil sketches and color marker comps for development of the arcade coin-op cabinet's design. The drawings detail the now iconic Johnny Cage jump kick side panel, and red and gold dragon, as well as control panel colors and detailing. From these drawings, Paul Neimeyer "did all of the finished line art and color film prep for screening", according to a tweet shared by Tobias.
One image shows the iconic text logo in an earlier iteration as "Dragon Attack" -- a title considered during the game's development. Tobias noted this as "the coolest part of the find" while tweeting about the discovery, adding "I forgot we came this close to actually using Dragon Attack!"
In an interview with MK Online, Tobias explained further, "We would write ideas for the game's title on a marker board in Ed's office and there were a ton of them and some were god awful. "Dragon Attack" and "Ultimate Kumite" were two that were actually considered. I laugh now about how close we came to using those names."
Speaking in the same interview about the iconic dragon design used on the cabinet, Tobias went on to explain, "The dragon icon actually came from a small dragon statue that our general manager, Ken Fedesna, had on his desk. I believe John Vogel, who constructed our background graphics, digitized and used it in the backgrounds. I used it as reference for the dragon that appears on the coin-op game's side cabinet artwork. That dragon's head became the circular dragon symbol that is still used today."
Mortal Kombat was recently inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame. John Tobias, John Vogel, and Ed Boon appeared with several klassic arcade cabinets at NetherRealm Studios, offering thanks for the honor.
What do you think about the perfectly preserved treasures of this unearthed lost kontent? Share your thoughts in the comments section below and keep it respectably retro by joining the discussion in the 2D Kombat Klassics forum!
Shang Tsung is back in the first Kombat Pack character reveal trailer! He's got a bigger bag of tricks than last time, harnessing the powers of some very interesting fighters throughout the trailer. The trailer also delivers confirmation of more characters and features coming to Mortal Kombat 11! Watch:
Cinema's Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa lends his likeness and voice to the character he portrayed in the now-classic movie. Although he enters the battlefield as the wisened sorcerer seen in an announcement render, his youth is soon restored for an updated MK3-style yellow pants homage. The klassics don't stop there, though!
NetherRealm has found a way to overcome the limitations of hardware, restoring Shang Tsung's klassic ability to morph into other characters! He becomes Raiden with a mid-fight soul steal that mirrors his opponent's attack, but the real surprise is his arsenal of shape-shifting special attacks. He turns into palette swaps of missing fighters Rain, Ermac, Smoke and Reptile to execute a range of familiar moves: roundhouse kicks, telekinetic slam, teleport, and slide kick! He even finishes the fight by rendering Sub-Zero and Scorpion slaves under his power, with an MKII referencing Kintaro morph to finish them!
Shang Tsung's return is replete with fun nods to the 1995 theatrical blockbuster. His intro quotes the dinner scene's promise of "a taste of things to come". Just like Liu Kang's fevered vision, Shang points directly at the player in victory, claiming your soul as his!
Other souls Shang Tsung may be claiming in the Kombat Pack are: Nightwolf, Sindel, Todd McFarlane's Spawn, and two additional unannounced guest characters who'll crossover from other series. A chainsaw buzz suggests Bruce Campbell got it wrong when he denied Ash Williams of the Evil Dead franchise won't be included. Music cues also support expectations of a Terminator crossover.
Fans hungry for more still can look forward to a Klassic Skin pack for pictured fighters Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Noob Saibot. Purchase of the Kombat Pack will get PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC players early access starting with Shang Tsung on June 18th, with subsequent releases in the following months. Shang Tsung will also be playable at the Warner Brothers booth during this year's E3, June 11th-13th.
Komplete Kombat Pack Details:
Spawn will join the Mortal Kombat 11 roster as a new guest character, along with two other guest fighters to be confirmed at a later date
Todd McFarlane's Spawn is one of the world's best-selling and longest-running monthly comic books, with hundreds of millions of copies sold worldwide in more than 120 countries and 15 different languages. The Spawn comic book tells the story of Al Simmons, an elite government assassin who was betrayed and killed by the CIA. Instead of dying, he sells his soul to Hell for a second chance at life, and becomes Spawn, an unstoppable soldier fighting the underworld. Spawn is voiced by Keith David, the original voice actor from 'Todd McFarlane's Spawn,' the Emmy award-winning HBO animated series.
Three Klassic Kombatants return as DLC characters: Shang Tsung, Nightwolf and Sindel
Shang Tsung is the soul-stealing sorcerer and historic host of the Mortal Kombat Tournament. Shang Tsung pledged his eternal loyalty to Shao Kahn in exchange for a dark power, but he is no faithful servant. He dreams of the day his sorcery will overtake Shao Kahn's, and he'll pay any price to get there. Actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa is lending his voice and likeness to the popular character he portrayed in the classic 1995 'Mortal Kombat' film. Additionally, Shang Tsung will be available for consumers to play before release during the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) from June 11-13 in the South Hall at the WB Games booth (#1023)
Nightwolf, formerly known as Grey Cloud, was chosen by the Great Spirit to become the Matoka's champion and protector. Grey Cloud proved worthy when he laid down his life to prevent the Black Dragon from plundering what remained of his tribe's sacred artifacts. As Nightwolf, Grey Cloud possesses extraordinary magic granted by the Great Spirit to fight for the Matoka's future and defend all of Earthrealm.
Sindel is the former Queen of Edenia and will stop at nothing to keep her place. Threatened with the loss of her throne when Shao Kahn conquered her realm, Sindel betrayed her husband, and her people, to keep her privileged position. Now, as Shao Kahn's wife and Queen of Outworld, she enjoys power and wealth beyond most people's imagination.
Character skin and gear sets for each DLC character
Bonus Johnny Cage Ninja Mime character skin and gear set
18 bonus character skins for existing Mortal Kombat 11 characters*
One-week early access for all content listed above
What do you think of Shang Tsung's return? What are you most eagerly anticipating from the rest of the Kombat Pack? Head to the comments below to tell us what you think and join the discussion on the Mortal Kombat 11 forum!
