Long ago back in the first days of fighting games things were quite different than they are today. We had 2D hand drawn art or in MK's case digitized video. Back then the most one could hope for was a pallet swaped version of a character to set it apart from its twin. In steps the 3D revolution and now we can have totaly different looking versions of a character to choose from. Dead or Alive set the bar on that having up to 7 models for some of its characters in a special edition release of DOA2 and added models for DOA3 for Xbox. By simply applying the motion scrips to whatever model is needed was a great step forward for gaming in general.
For the most part it was only done in one of 2 ways. One was to change the look of a character. Two was to create a character that could mimic any of the cast's moves and fighting styles.
Now with the new versions of Mortal Kombat things have gone one step farther. While MKD has loads of styles through out the game we have already seen a number of characters inherit the fighting styles of another character. Such as Nightwolf using the moves from sonya in MKDA. Havik using Shang Tsun's. Then there is Sujinko that dosn't have a thing all his own at all. This reuse of moves combined with the ease of being able to radicaly alter the characters' apearance sometimes makes me wonder about something.
It makes me wonder if there is anything left that really makes a character unique. Something that sets them apart from one another. If we dislike a character's apearance its easy enough to change. If we don't like they way they fight then that could change just as easily. Eveyone is crossing thier fingers hoping for this character or that one to be found in the new game, but if we found any would it be something different? Would it just be the same product in a new wraper?
Just a random thought. For the most part I like everything the way it is. I just noticed when I think about a character I like I can't really use how they fight as a measuring stick any more and I might like one look and hate another. It makes me think about what it is that makes me like this character more than that one. A story, a name, a first impression?