I'm excited for Baraka. He's also one of my fav villains. He does need a more in depth story though. his was quite shallow and i always thought of him as a backing character. Kind of like a supporting actor in a movie but never the lead role ya know? He needs some real action and a real part in the story that makes us want to know what will happen next.

For his moves, I'd like to see a return of the blade spark, the chopping thing that he did in MK2 where he kneels down and just shreds up the opponent, also he used both feet when he did a kick in mid air as opposed to one leg that everyone else used. it would be cool if he did that again.

Uniform: I actually liked the MK:Deception look a lot. i Think his MK2 outfit would be a great alternative, but I'd most like to see something new.

Fatalities: Got to have the MK2 one where he chops up the opponent until they explode. that was hilarious to watch!

It wouldn't be the same without Baraka, i'm looking forward to playing as him.

Moveset/Gameplay: He should have his blades out all the time so he can have more range than everybody else, but maybe just make him slow or more awkward to use as a trade off.

his teeth are almost as bad as Mileena's, let him use those too.

As his two fatals, give him the Blade Impalement (in HD graphics it'd be SWEEEEET) for his first one.

Baraka is one of those characters that i've always liked, yet never played that often. Still, he is a must in any MK game. I wouldn't change his looks/costume from MKvs DC much though, i really liked his Samurai armour based outfit.

I don't usually play with Baraka, so I can't give much advice regarding his gameplay.

His design is a different story. Not fond of the monster-types, but Baraka has looked excellent in all of his appearances, even if there were a few quirks here and there. His MK2 look wasn't his best, but it would be the most appropriate given the story. That said, give him a little more armor and provide the costume with a little more detail.

Not like an MK8-Scorpion amount of detail, but just little subtleties where it counts. Every time I see the Scorpion, it fucking wears me out.

I wish they'd decide if he has little spikes growing out of his head or not.

That... is actually so true lol. They keep changing it around. I'd prefer he has no spikes in the head. Some small spikes in the arms next to the blades of course, anyway that's how I see things.



I'm not too fond of Baraka's blades being out all of the time. I mean, he uses them already in all of his special moves and his fatalities so yeah... keep the blades in preferably.

I liked his teeth in MKDC, keep em like that and I'm happy. Maybe in the same style as Mileena, but a little difference is never bad right?

I'm reading some good ideas, keep em coming

I liked baraka's outfit in MkvsDC....they should make it something like that again in my opinion

when I said his teeth are as bad as Mileena's, I meant they're as sharp and long. He should start cannibalizing people like she does. Or at least bite chunks out of them.

Alright, to make his blades less redundant (if his normals had them out all the time), what if all his specials were more interesting tricks with his blades instead of just different ways to slash people with them?

Take the Blade Shard. He scrapes them together to shoot a spark at people and blind them. That's clever, what else could he do on that level?



Edit: Wait...I got an idea. What if Baraka decided to clean up his image...and fight against Shao Kahn as a charismatic , democratic leader. You thinking what I'm thinking? President Baraka.

Which fatality are you referring to? In MK2 he had the impale move, where he gored a guy with his blades and they struggled in midair before sinking further down the blades. Then he had his head slice fatality. I don't remember any Baraka fatality where he chops up the opponent until they explode.

Oh well, just curious man. Obviously not calling you out or anything like that.

Anyways, it's probably obvious, but Baraka's my favorite character. I loved his throw in MK2, where he basically tossed the opponent over his head like a sack of potatoes. I thought tht it fit him perfectly and I'd like to see that again, though I'd to see him impale the opponent with his blades first before throwing them overhead.

I also liked his pimp slap. You know, in MK2 when you were up close to the opponent and you pressed toward and high punch, he did that back hand punch? Definitely bring that back!

Of course, you also have to have the blade spark and the blade fury. The spark needs to look a little better than the plain looking light blue energy balls or whatever that he's had lately. I thik that it should actually be large orange sparks that shower out of his blades and burn the opponent, complete with sizzling sound.

As for other moves, I think that he needs a few special moves that really take advantage of not simply his blades, but of his teeth as well as his brutal nature in general.

I never liked his blade spin move, because A) it looked like a glitch and B) it made him look like some sort of evil ballerina. So yeah, ditch that move.

He could maybe have an anti-air move where he jumps up head first and takes a bite out of you. Couple this with a blade uppercut, they makes the opponent tumble through the air toward Baraka so that he could take a bite out of them as they're falling. Maybe you could even see the skin getting torn off before he spits it out.

He could also have something simpler like a projectile deflection, where he guards himself with his arms across his chest and his blades unsheath kinda like Wolverine.

I wouldn't mind seeing a move or two where he does some sort of flips in the air with his blades extended. Maybe he jumps over the opponent while doing a corkscrew spin. Anyways, just ideas.

As for his look, I think that he has to have some sort of look similar to his MK2 look, but I wouldn't mind seeing him with a bit more armor, perhaps on his upper arms and shoulders, something that's black, shiny and scaley in style, but obviously not reptilian looking. No more spiked shoulder pads though.

I also wouldn't mind seeing an outfit that's similar to Havik's where he has a black hood, only give him a sort of samurai armor look to go with it. I also wouldn't mind an alt outfit where his mouth is masked. Sure, that sort of negates the special move I suggested before, but I think that it would give him a bit of a different look.

Oh, and for the love of God, NO MORE GLOWING YELLOW EYES. His eyes are black, not flashlights for crying out loud.

Notice how I haven't mentioned his story yet... lol.

Yeah, his story's bad and it always has been. I mean, he's a thug. A 2nd in command, whatever you want to call him. A servant, a lackey. He needs to get away from that though. I don't know if it's through maybe having his people rebel against Khan, only to be enslaved, which is why he and the rest of his people are forced to invade Earthrealm and the Shaolin temples.

Geez, wouldn't that be a weird turn of events? Maybe he's this noble warrior from a tribe of nomads who's been forced to fight all this time? I mean, let's face it, we are retconning here, so why not do something that gives him a bit more depth and just pretend that this was a part of the story that was never revealed back then.

Mileena is another story angle, but I almost think that MK:D showed that a story with the two of them isn't overly compelling. They're both evil, so they double cross one another. Yawn.

I don't think that you can have some weird monster love story with Mileena, but maybe he decides that he wants her and wants to protect her in his own sort of evil way because he knows what she is and maybe she knows but can't accept it. Who knows.

It's certainly hard to find character depth when it comes to Baraka. You almost have to retroactively add it in for there to be anything there beyond "bad monster want kill." But, even if you decide to go that route, he's still a fun character and for me, he's always been that special case where enjoyability of use has superceded story.

Wow... yeah sorry, when it comes to Baraka, I can jibba jabba all day lol. I can't wait to sucker fools in to jumping toward the blade fury when this game comes out!!

Which fatality are you referring to? In MK2 he had the impale move, where he gored a guy with his blades and they struggled in midair before sinking further down the blades. Then he had his head slice fatality. I don't remember any Baraka fatality where he chops up the opponent until they explode.


hmm perhaps it was in MK: Trilogy then?

lol, I was kinda hoping you'd show up Baraka407, as your username says it all .

I like the way you look at Baraka in alomst every way. You really think about in a deeper way than I did. I do agree on the eyes, they HAVE to black! It suited him sooooooo much more! Those glowy eyes never did anything for me.

I was thinking of an aerial Blade Shard for Baraka. In the style of MKSM, in which he could shoot a Shard diagonally to the grond. That may be an improvement. I think is difficult to make him use his teeth in a special move though. I like the idea. but I think it'll be really, really difficult. Maybe in some sort of throw or grab maybe, like Mileena.



Crixus, I think you are referring to Jax's MK3/UMK/MK Trilogy's fatality. Because Baraka had the same fatality's during both MK2 and MK Trilogy if I recall correctly

Well the thing about Baraka and the Tarkatans is they've been very heavily established as sort of thinking like animals. They have a pack mentality and follow whoever the strongest guy in Outworld is basically like he's the alpha male. That's why they followed Kahn but then switched to Onaga when he showed up.

Also, evidence suggests that Shao Kahn is the one who created the Tarkatan race in the first place. Probably because he needed an army when he took over, since Onaga's soldiers all killed themselves.

I think if there was a way to make Baraka deeper, it would probably be to focus on his ambition, a desire to be the alpha male himself. Granted, pretty much every character who serves Kahn is plotting to overthrow him, so that's pretty generic...but I don't think "noble savage" would be in-character for a dude whose dominant trait is berserker rage that, unlike Wolverine, he enjoys and deliberately uses for raping and pillaging the land. Reptile's kinda cornered the market three ways from Sunday on the reluctant slave-soldier role anyway.

I think I might like to see more of his relationship with Mileena too. More for her side of it than his, though. I wonder if she feels shame or bitterness or anything like that, that because of her face she has to slum it with the Tarkatans to find someone who might appreciate or love her.

I think the Fatality being referred to is the one that never made it into a game, that Ed told a story about once. In MK2, Baraka was going to have a disembowelment finisher. He'd slice the guy in the stomach and their guts would fall out. They actually decided it was too gory at the time. But now that we're embracing the gore more than ever and modeling internal organs, they could bring it in.

Baraka totally needs his body staples from MK Gold.

Well, the stomach rip fatality sounds better than the fatality where he just stabs them.

I actually really liked the staples. I really want to see Kung Lao cutting him in half and like Quan Chi keeping him from dying or however it was supposed to go down.

Baraka needs a motive!
Seriously, even some of the least developed characters have motives.
Sheeva wants her race to come into favor and to protect Sindel. Reptile wants his people back after their genocide. Stryker wants to survive Shao Kahn's invasion.

Baraka is the general of an army of a half-demonic race of nomadic savages...okay, so what does he want? Why is he evil? Why is he helping Shao Kahn? What's in it for him!?

Seriously, I'll never like him without some sort of motivation andcharacter development. Right now he's one of my least favorite characters!

I like Baraka but I actually don't wanna see him again for a while.
I understand that he most probably will be in this game tho.

I remember thinking how scary he was in MK2, now he looks kinda like a clumsy ogre.
I think they need to make him skinny and more pale and just more creepy.
Think of the feckin scary thing from Aphex Twin's "Come to Daddy" video.
Now how creepy is that!!
Imagine it with razor sharp teeth and blades coming out of its arms screaming at u and about to slice u!

Ahh, the epitome of 'grunt'. I've always enjoyed him, though.

Gameplay-wise...you know how Balrog has no kicks? Same. I've always said the guy should be a total beast on the battlefield. He should be trying to hack, slash, rend and claw whenever he can. I've never been able to envision a young Baraka actually learning martial arts, or any Tarkatan for that matter. I'd prefer to see him as a savage, someone you give the soldiers advance notice is coming onto the battlefield so they can get the hell out of the immediate vicinity. The imagery of the mask probably does it, but I envision him being wheeled to a fight in a cage a la Hannibal Lecter.

I can't see him as a competent general. Kintaro, maybe. But IMO this guy should be a weapon, plain and simple, operating on instinct and base desires, someone to be manipulated...at one's own risk, of course.

To go along with this, from a plot perspective, his bloodlust should totally overcome him. Maybe Kahn could finally realize he does nothing but get his ass kicked time after time and take his command away from him. That would do it.

The disembowelment finisher sounds great. Would love to see that.

Baraka has always been a character I enjoyed,and I do have some prefrences:
Appearence: I don't want the deception look,I find his mk vs dc physical appearence was perfect,aside from glowing eyes. It was closer to mk 2 and I always liked his nosferatu meets dc's dominators vibe. Any costume is fine.
Moves: Shard+chop blades a must. Having an advacing special has really helped him. I liked the mkvsdc spin,but it's not necessary. Still needs 4th special though. Blades should come out only on occasion like sub's kori blade,or be a seperate style if it can be pulled off right for 2d
Story:I don't see baraka individually,but as a representation of his race, his mannurisms and attitude bely the savegry of all the tarkatans. He just happens to be the best. make the focus of new baraka his dominion over the tarkatans,maybe giving a breif insight into their social structure and why he is more bad@$$ than the rest.It will make him look like more than a lackey,and teach us more about a interesting race.

Honestly who needs motivation when your whole race is a bunch of pack dogs that can talk?

I guess if they would add some characterization to Baraka, make his clan like mercenaries.

Except instead of money, they get things to eat and women to fuck. Or things to fuck and women to eat...depends on your outlook.

They may not be able to count, or read, or but they know when they can satisfy the pleasures of the flesh.

baraka's mk gold outfit was my favorite i hope they make something like that.

Totally! Those staples were badass!