But there was reasoning for the Cyber Ninjas to look the same. I don't think that the Lin Kuei would have given them all unique looks.

Storyline wise, they have just as much reason as some of the others, the real reason is still saving space.

I completely agree with this guy.

I loved the ninjas and made a huge contribution to making mk what it was. the ninjas were about as important to mk as blood was. I dont think mk would have gathered as much attention if it werent for the ninjas.

What drew me to mk when the first one came out were:
-digitized graphics. oooh, they looked so real. It made me feel like I was playing a superior video game with high end graphics compared to the easy to generate cartoon graphics most video games had at the time. plus the digitized live actors made the game feel more adult, which is one thing that attracted me to it. it didnt feel like a kids game. street fighter seemed so childish with its cartoon graphics.

-blood and fatalities. another trait that made it stand out. violent video games werent around at the time. there were violent movies, but thats as close to violent entertainment that there was, then came along mk. again, didnt feel like a kids game, attractive!, It just felt cool to play an "adult" video game. plus theres just something attractive about violence and entertainment. everyone loves watching a street fight. If I see 2 people fighting in the street, I would rather watch it and see who wins than call the police or try to break it up. The Romans had the coloseum, violence has always made good entertainment.

-the palette swap ninjas. yep, this was a factor in attracting me to mk. most fighting games had goofy looking ninjas if they even had ninjas at all. usually they would always have a few guys in a karate gee (street fighter). But ninjas were not common. why were ninja's attractive? to me, I always perceived ninjas as having super martial arts skills and a mystical asian feel. they were like the epitome of an elite martial arts fighter. so having a fighting game with ninjas in it was basically giving you the opportunity to play as a mystical martial arts elite. And since they were digitized, and subzero and scorpion looked like real ninjas only enhanced this perception. Although today, I dont think ninjas are perceived that way anymore. back then, and especially to the age group that mk targeted, that was the perception. or atleast thats how I perceived them and thats what drew me to them.

-palatte swaps. yeah, this was attractive to me. it symbolized a duality. scorpion was fire, and subzero was ice. a duality, the hot and cool colors matched perfectly. this duality actually made it attractive.

I also think MK got great with the help of the Ninja's... though they looked stupid and alike in the beginning, the grew to be indiduals.
I don't like them all that much, but some of them are my favourites, like Scorpion and Sub-Zero and from MKDA: Frost...

But people... storylines... seriously do you really care about that? I just want to kick ass and spill blood and in the process perform cool finishmoves, I really couldn't care less about storylines...

Yeah, it's what makes MK so unique and interesting.

now you see... different people, different taste...

tried out Frost fatality on MKDA last night: LMAO!!!!