It is what it is, my friends.

Obviously, it's not meant to be taken too literally lol......

We could go on with the list....

Reptile = Jade
Ermac = Skarlet
Rain = Li Mei
Ashrah = Raiden etc

I exaggerate here lol.... but, you get it.

MK males and females are all equally powerful and epik.

That interview would of made a lot more sense prior to MK9. I'll use Kitana as an example again because if she wasn't #1, she's definitely in top 3 of characters who got the shitty end of the stick.

She wasn't empowered, she wasn't strong, and she wasn't independent. She kind of just bounced around relying on other characters telling her what to do or what she should do. Not only that, but she had that oh so lovely "damsel in distress" role. The most "independent" thing she did was "drag Shang Tsung before Shao Kahn by his pointed beard." And even that wouldn't of happened if Raiden didn't give her a nudge.

At least Sonya had her own mindset.

Oh, alright then. I honestly can't tell when you're joking or not. heheh

Many kharakters all have "higher-ups" to answer to. Male or female.
That doesn't mean that Kitana is not empowered. She had to play her role for a while.... the role of "Princess of Edenia". Everyone has their role.
But she is evolving and having some epiphanies... just like all the other kharakters.

You know, this thread reminded me of the fact that people like to refer to Tanya as a "b*tch", too often.

But why would Tanya be more of a b*tch than Shao Kahn or Quan Chi or Shinnok, for example? LOL
You will rarely see anybody kalling the evil male kharakters out for their evil ways.

Why is it not okay for Tanya to change her mind and change alliances? Why is loyalty so important in MK?

Look at Sektor..... he blindly follows whatever the Lin Kuei tells him to do... he cannot think for himself for 5 seconds.... lol... Unlike Cyrax.... Cyrax has his own values and goes with that....

And you don't really see anybody kalling Cyrax a "traitor". You don't see anybody kalling Shang Tsung a huge witch that steals souls.

Tanya is apparently the only "treacherous" kharakter in Mortal Kombat... is it because she is a girl? And girls should not decide what to do with themselves? They should perhaps remain loyal like a pet dog? I don't think so.

But anyway!

Like I said.... everyone in Mortal Kombat is a messy fool. So.... that's it lol.

I agree with not succumbing to the politically correct nonsense. I have no problem with a character "way of dressing" as long as it reflects on their character (except for satire or homage). For example, Sonya's MK9 outfits felt completely out of place for the sake of fan-service, Cassie Cage corrected it.

4 females okay, 5 maximum, if the MKX roster gonna be about 24 characters.

I know that today's trends are different, but when we look back at fighting games like Tekken3 or Street Fihter II, old Mortals - number of females were low and how epic these games were. And I have nothing against women in games.. my fave char from MKX is Cassie, peace

oracle, Maria! Have you read the article about Trinity Syndrome?

@oracle

Yes, it all happened to Jax but it was shown with dignity (!) to him. When held captive at the beginning he was that strong man who had fought bravely. Yes, he lost the battle but I didn't feel pity for him, I felt respect.

Johnny Cage did lose and he did need help because he was put against a much more powerful opponent with superhuman abilities and that's why he suffered so much BUT (!) he fought as well as he could and deserves respect.

@Maria_Linda

Kitana vs Liu Kang. Yes, Liu Kang is a better fighter than Kitana and she lost but look at how their fight was shown. Was it done with respect to Kitana? No. I don't think I need to explain why. Could it have been done in a different way? Yes.

Okay, she got captured (the 1,000th time since Annihilation ) Except asking Jade for help did she at least try to do anything to escape? No. So, Maria_Linda, she did wait for her so called prince.
(and exatly the same thing happened in Annihilation, MK: SM, MK vs DC)

Maria, as a girl, would you want to be Kitana after watching MK9? (It doesn't have to do whether she's your favourite or not)

P.S. I know it looks like a frustrated Kitana fan wants her to be the most powerful one in the story but it is not like this.

Whoever has just opened this thread, please read the article about the TRINITY SYNDROME It does have really good points there.

Why woud Sonya be more out of place than Shao Kahn?

Sonya appears to prefer shopping at H&M and Urban Outfitters.
Whereas Kassonya Blade Cage seems to prefer actual Army Surplus stores that carry official gear.

Everyone has their own taste. It's fine.

Shao Kahn and Kotal Kahn like mini-skirts from Dolce & Banana or Yves Ain't Laurent, not made in Italy nor France. It's all good.

The real question at this point is..... WHY is TANYA konsidered the biggest "b*tch" for wanting to rule the Universe on her own? lol
Why is Tanya a supposedly bigger b*tch than Rain, for example?

Oh well.

No way! That is why we love her. Being a villain is the way she survives. but the question is how will she be portrayed in MKX. I'm not talking about how ruthless her fatality will be or how many rounds she will win in the story.

- Will she do sth fundamentally significant to the outcome of the plot?

- If she wears a skimpy outift, will there be a purpose for that? If she uses her sexiness in the story to manipulate men and twist their minds, yes, even the revealing not battle friendly costume will be great!

Why should there be a purpose for any outfit? What's wrong with just showing off? Or just wearing something for your own amusement?

Shao Kahn wears almost nothing. And it's not even an issue. And it shouldn't be. People are free to wear what they want for whatever reason.

I would like to be Kitana with magikal powers and assassination skills. lol
I wouldn't use those skills of course, I am not an illegal kriminal. Just having the knowledge, the extreme physical strenght can give anyone a big boost of confidence and empowerement feeling.

Yes, Liu Kang kicked Kitana in her butt and Kitana basically bowed down.
I couldn't help but find that scene very cute! OOPS!
*Maria_Linda cringes and shrugs*

Like I said, nobody is perfect and that's okay. Male or female.
Just keep in mind.... Kitana COULD murder Liu Kang in round 2. LOL
She klearly has the ability as a super empowered Mortal Kombat kombatant.

Of course for now, she is simply a minion.... but let's keep an eye on the mess. Let's see what happens in future MK games.

Tanya or another MK female isn't a real person. What she wears is decided by the game creators. What purpose do they have: to please a certain male audience or develop a character? The 1st variant is a cimplete failure!

Apparently they've learned their mistake. Cassie's costume is great!

Maria, have you read the article?

Listening to your boss when you have to and doing what you believe is right are two different scenarios. Deep down, she KNEW something was off, but obviously wasn't going to do anything about it unless someone either spelled it out for her or pointed her in the right direction. That's not empowered.

As for Sektor, yes, he's loyal to the Lin Kuei, but if you thought he didn't have his OWN agenda, you are sadly mistaken. Did you catch his MK9 ending?

I do agree that MK have had more variety when it comes to females in fighting games. For example, just look at these Tekken characters that have come out in the recent years:








SO TACKY. its just gross underaged lolita anime crap. idk what is with Japan and their obsession with high school lookin girls (its creepy). there is nothing "badass" about these girls design wise (Eliza's boobs will grow when she drinks blood, i mean seriously wtf). I feel Cassie and D'vorah have that strong, dangerous & tough image (that actually suits fighting games more) and i don't see that in any of the girls above (or Katarina who just looks like a bikini model/stripper than a fighter)

right now i don't see any real variety from Tekken and its female characters.


MK has a manly/muscular chick (Sheeva) and ugly/scary chicks (Mileena) (None of Tekken's females are particularly scary/ugly/manly and i don't count Leo cause she looks like Justin Bieber)

MK has an aged woman (Sindel) (Tekken is known to replace female characters when they hit 40, for instance Jun/Michelle)

MK has a black woman (Tanya) (Tekken and MANY other fighting games refuse to add them for whatever reasons, perhaps cause they don't think they can sexualize a black chick to appeal to japanese gamers)

MK has some women dressed like elegant/tough warriors (Ashrah/Frost)

and then MK has pretty/sexy characters like Kitana/Jade/Sonya/Sareena.

There is more variety here when you compare it to what other fighting games have.

A nice ratio of Sexy, Elegant, Tough or Scary chicks would be nice to have in more fighting games.

I think Ed Boon and NRS are doing a great job giving us so many different characters (male and female)

Well some of this isn't exactly fair.

Tekken has Christie who seems to be Afro-Brazilian. DOA has Lisa and VF has Vanessa. And all of them even MK tend to lighten the dark skinned girls in print and promotion media.

Julia replaced Michelle in the roster overhaul of T3 and a lot of the male characters were replaced as well. And it's not like Sindel looks elderly. Her body is comparable to her daughters'.


Some of that is art style. MK just has a more realistic aesthetic. Also MK is more violent and gory then Tekken. MK CAN'T have teenaged characters especially women, that simply would not fly lol. Look at how insistent they are with calling Ferra a little lady. They seem hesitant to even say girl. Not to mention that MK typically avoids the issue altogether by having their women be inhuman or functionally ageless.

Again MK isn't doing a BAD job but they aren't doing better than anyone else. Except maybe DOA but that's intentionally fanservice-y.

Are you saying you would want a game with just a bunch of Kassie's? Of course not. We want variety, instead.

Why should an outfit "develop a character", like you say? It's just an outfit.

I mean look at Kano and Sub-Zero... they look hotter than ever in the new MKX game, very handsome LOL. Sub-Zero is almost shirtless for the first time since Trilogy, I think.

Some people might argue and insinuate that Kitana is almost stupid? Well in any case, everyone is different. Kitana doesn't need to be the smartest fighter ever. Also Kitana is not Miss Cleo, how was she supposed to know what Shao Kahn was up to?

Kitana is a powerful warrior with a six-pack, like her boyfriend Liu Kang lol. They are equals. That alone can inspire many of us girls to be empowered super fighters!
*Maria_Linda cackles like a witch*

I didn't bother to click on the link to the article you posted. Everything I wanted to say on this subject, I already said in several posts in this thread.
I personally have nothing further to add.

Ed Boon's comments seem to indicate that Kassie will be a big hero in MKX. If it's true, I kind of predicted this a few months ago.... I had said Kassie would have to clean up the mess left behind by her parents and all the villains in MKX lol. She will be a big empowered female superhero!

Nobody is ready for Kassonya Blade's badasss ownage of everyone and everything. lol

Tanya is the only one that will defeat Kassie. Oops, too bad! My favorite kharakter will win all the realms! I hope. lol

I don't play Tekken but those character designs.... hurt my eyes, just awful.

Well Kitana had originally discovered the truth about Edenia, Mileena, etc. on her own in the old timeline, but nowadays she is nothing more than a damsel in distress that had to be spoonfed everything. How the mighty have fallen.

Who isn't distressed in Mortal Kombat? LMAO.

Baraka is the biggest damnnsel in distress of the franchise... he got punched in the face by so many different kharakters like Johnny Cage and Jade, in MK9.

The distress is immense.

Lisa is not black!! Shes an anime blowup doll. Just like the other DOA "women" :P

Jokes aside and going by their recent appearances in games. Lisa does not look even remotely black imo (she looks like a tanned white girl) and neither does Vanessa. even if they were stated to be, i can't believe how much they had to lighten their skin and make their facial features more white to be "presentable". and Christie is reeeeally big stretch. Her features look 90 percent latin.

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Tanya, in my opinion, is the only one that does. not only does her skin look browner than those two but her nose, jaw, and lips resemble those of an afro woman.

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its not just Michelle. Jun also. Neither of them have ever made canonical playable appearances in the main series since the time skip (Tag Team 2 is noncannon) and both were replaced in the main story by younger ppl (Asuka and Julia) yet Kazuya, Lee Chaolan, Bruce, and Ganryu were allowed to stay in the main series despite being the same age (or older even).

I agree that Sindel does not look "elderly". Her body is pretty much young but one thing i noticed when she was resurrected in Story mode was that she had wrinkles on her model. Giving an "aged" appearance in that aspect (though it probably won't matter much to most people)





you do have a point with that, MK couldn't really put in underaged chicks even if they wanted to. Hence they have to focus on mature women by default. i still stand by the fact that i don't particularly like the gaudy childish anime designs Tekken has taken with some of its characters recently. They're only one step away from King of Fighters!

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*cringes*

and i disagree a bit. I do think they're doing better than Tekken at least. Tekken still don't really have a muscular female like Sheeva!

True. This MKX needs the most. (Or maybe only one innocently looked female princess..)

Remember that those games are designed by japanese for Japanese who have a very distinct and different value system. And to japanese aesthetics dark skin is NOT attractive (dark tan+blonf hair subculture notwithstanding, and that is only a very minor tangent in japanese culture), neither are freckles. Same way in the west, you can be too black. Ever wonder why Jax looks more like Dwayne Johnson and not like Michael J White? Appeal.

I've been a Tekken fan all my life, but I have to agree with you here. Tekken is clearly moving towards their Japanese fans - as of yet all the announced Tekken 7 women are schoolgirls bar ONE (Katarina), who happens to have an incredibly bland design in my opinion. If Nina doesn't make it into the game then I'm done with it, and its been my favorite series for 15 years.

Anyway rant over, back on topic:

Mortal Kombat seems to be doing a good job with its new characters in general, and I completely agree with you, it is the only fighting game I can think of with such a diverse cast in terms of ages, physical builds and races (real and fictional). I was initially apprehensive about this game as usually 'time skips' in fighting games result popular female characters being cut and replaced by younger models (and seeing Cassie was an alarm bell for this at first), but I have confidence the NRS will give its ladies a fair chance. I just hope they don't have strange looking faces this time!

All in all, Boon has a hard on for male characters, leading me to believe that he is gay...lol.

We only have 2.5 females, in which they are new. Since then, they have not revealed any returning females and yes, it is pissing me off.

The "it" won't be returning, thank goodness!

Here is the deal. MK is ugly to the Japanese, and we find Tekken to be effeme.

Culture.

Japan places a very high importance on a few things: nonconfrontation, and cute things. Cute is equated with value and thus this is why everything made in Japan that is pop cultural mass product is usually something you can get diabetes B from just by looking at it.


Japanese find guns to be shameful, and traditional masculine traits such as virile muscular bodies are NOT traditional and acceptable. Usually they are the Bara archetype of homosexuality (bears). Japan equates beauty with value much more than we do.


Sure, we have monsters over there too, every cultural meme or value inherently produces it's own counterreaction. Though those are also different. They might be the other side of the coin, but the coin is still a Japanese coin.

The TEKKEN girls above are nothing but pandering to the base. Japan also has developers who shamelessly exploit stuff like that, BIG FUCKING SURPRISE.

As for why underage girls: cuteness again. Demure, nonconfrontational women are the ideal norm in the highly sexist male-dominated Japanese culture. Which is also xenophobic to an extent. Sure, you are an exotic thing to them, but you will never become Japanese even if you live there for years.You. Will. Not.

So they produce their own plastic superficial crap. Kinda like how you have platinum blonde Plaza Kittens, and how no competent politician can never hope to run for president in the USA because of ageism.