I'm only going to review the first 5 characters for now and then do so more later.

Falcon

Storyline: Well, her storyline is ok.....From the way Kobra's storyline was, I don't think it would make sense for him to be the one that attacked her since it seems to me that Kobra's bloodlust was more on the recent side...Either way, Falcon's storyline is so-so.

Fighting Styles: They seem like pretty good choices. I take it she's more of the kicking type of fighter with the way she has White Crane and Tae Kwon Do as her unarmed styles. The Battlesnare sounds like an interesting weapon for her. I don't think that White Crane would be an all around style. It's more of a fast, agile, graceful style with various snapping kicks and crane beak strikes. Tae Kwon Do should be more on the well-rounded side, imo.

Special Moves: Those are pretty good choices...

Finishing Moves: The wrist cutter fatality is too simplistic, imo. There needs to be more to it. I like the skin boiler fatality though.

Costumes: Pretty good stuff.

Voice: Um...ok...sounds like it could work.

Overall: She seems like an ok character, but she doesn't quite interest me too much.

Hachiman

Storyline: The storyline sounds pretty good to me though his name sounds Japanese to me...

Fighting Styles: Well, the weapons sound pretty good to me though I'm not so sure about his unarmed styles. Kenpo can fit though I think characters like Kira and Sonya are better fitted for it. *shrugs* One thing I have to note is that moves like the hook punch and uppercut aren't circular moves; they're angular moves. As for Aikido, eh...I don't think that would be a good fit for him. He just doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would use such a style.

Special Moves: If Bloodbarge hits the opponent's nose, wouldn't the attack hit high?

Finishing Moves: The Impaler sounds alright, but I'd like to see more so it can be distinctive from Baraka's fatality. Skinner sounds like an interesting concept to me.

Costumes: Well, Hachiman sounds more like a Japanese name to me like I said before so I think his look should reflect that...

Voice: Eh, I don't like it. It shouldn't be high pitched, imo.

Overall: Hachiman is interesting to me with the way you did his storyline and all.

Kung Lao

Storyline: It sounds pretty good though to me overall. Don't you think that Bo' Rai Cho should also be listed as one of his allies? Also, I think it would make more sense fo rhim to be from China and not Tibet.

Fighting Styles: Very good choices.

Special Moves: Those are pretty good, but what does Shaolin aura do and how come he doesn't have his Dive Kick, Whirlwind Spin, and his kick move from MKDA?

Finishing Moves: Pretty good.

Costumes: Yeah, I liked those costumes quite a bit though I do like his MK2 look a lot as well.

Voice: Yeah, fits him, I suppose.

Overall: You did a pretty good job with him though I would've liked for him to have more special moves.

Gnorado

Storyline: I think it's pretty good overall though he sounds like a one-time only type character.

Fighting Styles: Pro wrestling does kind of make sense, but Drunken Fist totally doesn't. Can you explain to me why you chose Drunken Fist for him? The weapons are good though.

Special Moves: They sound pretty good, but one quick question. When you say Shokan Stomp, do you mean Kintaro's Teleport Stomp? If so, that's a mid attack, not a high attack.

Finishing Moves: pretty decent

Costumes: Those are interesting.

Voice: ok

Overall: He sounds like a decent character to me, but like I said, also sounds like a one-timer.

Hotaru

Storyline: It's pretty good.

Fighting Styles: I like the choices very much.

Special Moves: I'd like to see more than 2 special moves for him.

Finishing Moves: the declaration sounds too simplistic.

Costumes: For his third costume, I think he looks better with white hair and I would like to see more than just that.

Voice: ok sounds good

Overall: You did a nice job with him overall.

I'm out of time for now so once I get back, I'll review more characters. I hope you'll take what I've said into some thought.

VQ > Vogel nuff said lol.

PS. Habe dieses Topic eigentlich zufällig entdeckt xD.Aber das ist ja der Hammer.Muss nur noch die Charaktere durchlesen.

LOL, Danke Gala. Ich war vor einer Stunde noch online und habe mehrere Noobs wieder so weit gebracht, dass sie pullten (SS...). Jetzt muss ich aber dringend schlafen.

Sub-Zero the 7th, thank you for your first comments. If you don't mind I will address them now.

Falcon
----------

Your comments on the storyline and styles are duly noted. I was under the impression Kobra's bloodlust had developed over the years and wasn't a matter of months. You're also right on the fighting styles. Sometimes I do not have an adequate representation of styles because I don't know any people that practise them, or I have to base myself on representations in fighting games, which are rarely accurate.

Slit wrist fatality too simple? May be, but seeing a lot of blood gush out of one's wrists as the victim screams in agony seems like a pretty painful death to me :). Your overall assessment seems fair to me.

Hachiman
---------------

Yes, Hachiman is a Japanese name, and then making him a Korean is a bit problematic, certainly because he practises two unarmed Japanese martial arts in a Korean dojo (not to mention three European armed martial arts). It's not impossible, of course, but it's odd. I think we associate kenpo too much with the characters who have them, so that style on a strong, male frame sounded interesting to me. I've also thought about aikido being the odd one out, but then again, the Red Dragon is not only about sadism, secrecy and brute force. A more interceptive style like aikido may fit Hachiman surprisingly well then.

Yes, the nose is hit with the Bloodbarge. It should be a high then. You're also right on Hachiman's impale being not truly distinct enough from Baraka's old one, but I couldn't really think of another variation that would make it more vicious and not funny.

Kung Lao
--------------

Yes, I omitted BRC, that's a small error. Also, Tibet is part of China (though this is disputed, as China annexed and occupied it in the 50's).

As for the moves, his Shaolin Aura is his MK2 version of the Whirlwind Spin. Dive kick has been ommitted because there are three characters in the game with the power to levitate and execute similar moves from that stance. His kick move from MKD is his Whirlwind Kick here. The move is there allright :).

Gnorado
-------------

Yeah, after MK7 (suppose MKR is MK7), Gnorado is one of the characters you can discard easily since he has no real links to other characters present in the game except Damashi. Like Falcon, he can either be one of the one-timers or a new character with a lot of growth potential (both are young, have great choices ahead of them). Don't like drunken boxing eh? Hehe, well I know it's strange, but I wanted to have the Shokan warrior have an atypical fighting style. Seeing a staggering behemoth of a body and four flailing arms like a drunkard might be quite impressive.

Yes, I meant the teleport attack. IMO making it a mid is a bit dangerous because the move will be pretty powerful (like 24%, which is a lot for a move that is uncounter- and unbreakable). I think it really shouldn't be able to hit you unless you totally aren't blocking.

Hotaru
-----------

Agreed on most of your comments. His third costume is not that creative, and I could have come up with extra stuff, only... I couldn't find any. Hotaru is a character so finished and so defined by his trademark armour, that it's hard to change him and make him be more Hotaru.

Ok, I await the rest of your comments. Thanks for reading man!

For the teleport stomp, it is a mid move because it goes very downward much like the way the jumping right punches are in the Tekken games. It can't possibly be a high attack because the move can't be avoided by ducking and it doesn't exactly hit at the low areas specifically so it's a mid. Anyway, I've been spending hours trying to work on reviews for the other characters you did and I'm finally done. However, I don't want to post all of them at once as it'll take much quite a bit of space and may be too damn long for you to read at once. instead, I'll just do another 5 for now and get some rest.

Kabal

Storyline: Pretty good story for him. I like it.

Fighting Styles: You know, it's quite interesting how both Sun Bin and Kabal were mutilated. That could be why Kabal was given Sun Bin. Whatever the case, it was a good choice for him. I'm quite interested in learning the style, but I'm sure that's going to be extremely difficult since it seems to not be widely taught. As for Goju Ryu, I kind of wonder why he has the style yet to me, it sort of suits him in a weird way. Hookswords are real weapons, btw.

Special Moves: Pretty good stuff. I kind of miss that ground saw move he had so it's good that you put it here. Now, although you didn't list the Nomad's Touch, did you think it was a very weird move? I certainly thought so. It almost seems like they are kind of giving Kabal some sort of magnetic power with that...or well..at least when it comes to people...I guess he has quite a magnetic personality, wouldn't you say?

Finishing Moves: Awesome stuff here, especially with the first one. Kudos to ya.

Costumes: pretty cool

Voice: hmm..well...yes, he should definitely have a warped sounding voice...I actually quite liked the way his voice was in MKD...sorta Darth Vader-ish

Overall: Very well done on this one.

Scorpion

Storyline: Hmm, pretty good though I still don't like the idea of Noob and Smoke serving Onaga.

Fighting Styles: Well, I don't think that any of these style choices suit him, especially Ba Gua. If you're trying to make him more of an offense character, it doesn't make sense for him to have a defensive fighting style like Ba Gua. Also, if you want him to have little throws, Hapkido isn't the right style to give him since Hapkido uses lots of throws which are derived from Daito Ryu Aiki-Jujutsu. Mugai Ryu is a Samurai swordfighting style. In my personal opinion, he should use Ninjutsu as one of his fighting styles. Shirai Ryu, the name of his clan, also happens to be an actual style of Ninjutsu that existed long ago and was one of the earliest known Ninjutsu styles from Iga along with Hakuun Ryu, Shinto Ryu, and Negishi Ryu. Shirai Ryu is also the name of a Shurikenjutsu style and if I remember correctly, Scorpion is supposed to be skilled with the Shuriken. Out of the known Ninjutsu styles that are still around, I'd probably say that he should use Togakure Ryu. I'm not sure about his other unarmed style, perhaps something like Koto Ryu Koppojutsu which is a direct, short-ranged Japanese striking art that attacks the bone structure. There are elements of Koppojutsu in Ninjutsu. For his weapon, he should definitely have a Shinobi Katana. For his second weapon, well, it seemed like some kind of hatchet claw thing he had in UMK3 and MKT...eh...*shrugs*

Special Moves: Ok, but what about his Teleport Punch, Forward Leap Punch, and Fire Breath?

Finishing Moves: Well, I actually would like to see him take off his mask and do the Toasty like that. His eyes should get fiery and he should blast out huge flames out of his mouth. For the other fatality, um..ok. It would be cool to see another spear related fatality though.

Costumes: Quite nice. The Monster look is a cool look, imo.

Voice: yeah, it's fine as it is.

Overall: Pretty good though I strongly disagree about your style choices for him.

Kobra

Storyline: Um, I don't really like it. I don't like that he killed Kira nor do I like that this Kobra is actually Stryker. Both characters I don't like. Also, I find it odd that he'd be born in the UK. For the real Kobra, I'd see him being born in NYC since I think that's where he's from.

Fighting Styles: Shorin Ryu is fitting for Kobra. Jeet Kune Do isn't a fighting style. It's a philosophy that is complimentary to Bruce Lee's fighting art of Jun Fan Kung Fu, which he named after his Chinese name. Either way, I think Jun Fan is perfectly fitted to Liu Kang for obvious reasons. I did think that Kickboxing also fitted Kobra. For his weapons, well, maybe Kobra could have something like a Lead Pipe and the Tonfa.

Special Moves: ok...what about his high fireball?

Finishing Moves:

Costumes: hmm...ok..though not too fond of the cowboy hat for his 3rd costume

Voice: I guess. He sounded about the right with the way his voice was.

Overall: Well, I'm not a fan of Kobra or Stryker and I'm not that fond of what you did for his storyline. However, it's the way they made Kobra's character in the story the first place that fucked him up there so I guess you were doing what you could to try to build up on his story.

Kitsune

Storyline: It's pretty good though I'm wondering where it would go from there.

Fighting Styles: Interesting style choices. Can't really say much here.

Special Moves: Pretty cool stuff

Finishing Moves: The first fatality idea is nice and the second one is ok.

Costumes: Overall, it's pretty cool, especially the cocktail dress concept.

Voice: Not sure if I like the similarity to Ashrah's voice for her last outfit. For her other two outfits, well, that doesn't explain that much to me, imo.

Overall: I like the overall concept. She sounds like a pretty cool character idea.

Fujin

Storyline: Yeah, it's pretty good. It would be nice to see a battle between the two gods.

Fighting Styles: Is Wind supposed to be like his weapon style or something? If so, that's kind of interesting and unique. The Crossbow, yeah. Not sure about the unarmed styles though. I think he would be cool with some kind of Tai Chi Chuan style and maybe even Aikido. I do like how he's a hard to master character.

Special Moves: It's good he has a lot of special moves though I think his aerial thunderclap would actually hit mid.

Finishing Moves: Really cool stuff.

Costumes: I like the costume ideas you have for him, especially with the incoporation of Japanese elements.

Voice: Yeah, that makes sense.

Overall: I like what you did for him overall. Fujin does have potential to return.

Hey SZ7, some replies if you don't mind!

Point taken about the tele stomp.

Kabal
---------

You know, the thought about Sun Bin's mutilation also arose when I was reading his biography. It is very hard to find something about the fighting style though. Hookswords are real weapons? In what martial arts are they used? With regards to the nomad's touch, gameplay wise it's a cool move and I like it, but I think it has no real place in his arsenal.

You may have guessed that Kabal is my favourite MK character, so I'm glad you liked him.

Scorpion
-------------

You're right about his fighting styles. The problem was that I'd already given Cyrax ninjitsu and that I think Scorpion would be bettr off with something less stealth-like. To me Scorpion does not seem like the type of warrior (certainly now that he's an undead) who would sneak up on an opponent. With regards to the other fighting styles, if you can give me links to pages which explain the styles you suggested in depth, I'll probably change his styles.

I should have added his Teleport Punch, but I can't think of any real use for his Fire Breath. And since he has his Flame Kick, why add the Forward Teleport Punch?

Kobra
---------

I know Kobra is considered a really bland character by many people, and they're totally right. However, I've always felt he had some potential to be developed further. The twist that he isn't really Kobra but Stryker I felt was original, but I agree that not everyone will like it. That I made him from the UK is a conscious choice. MK never had any European characters, which I think is a shame, so I made Kobra a Brit and Kabal a German.

Well, you obviously know more about martial arts than I do, but I think "kickboxing" is not a very good label for a fighting style either (what type of kickboxing are we talking about?), so it would face the same problem as jeet kune do. I was thinking more of the way jeet kune do was represented by Cage in MKDA than it was developed by Bruce Lee or shown by Bruce Lee derivates like Marshall Law in Tekken.

I omitted his high fireball because the move is pretty useless. His low fireball rocks enough as it is, and to counter jumpers, his flaming fist is an adequate defence tool.

Kitsune
-----------

Thanks for liking Kitsune. I'm fond of her too :).

Fujin
--------

No, wind isn't supposed to be like his weapon style, it's different still. All three gods are supposed to have this elemental style, which radically ups some of their attributes, but also comes with a greater risk on other levels (well, a bit like the weapon style after all then, lol). You're right that tai chi would also be fitting of Fujin.


Ok, thanks for taking the time for your comments man, it's a pleasure to read them.

VQ

Feel free to comment on my reviews.

I forgot to make a suggestion regarding Hotaru's 3rd costume. What about a Shogun warrior costume for him? He seems to have a lot of Japanese elements with his overall character design and he does seem Samurai-ish to me so maybe more of the warlord type thing would look cool on him. Anyway, moving on...

Yeah, Kabal's a cool character. Regarding the Hookswords, they are used in Chinese martial arts and I'm pretty sure you can also find them within in Shaolin martial arts.

The thing about Ninjutsu is that it's much beyond that of stealth and espionage. I suppose the term Budo Ninpo Taijutsu is much more accurate when it comes to the Ninja fighting art. It consists of Koshijutsu (striking pressure points and tearing muscles), Koppojutsu (striking bone structure), Dakentaijutsu (hard striking techniques), Jutaijutsu (grappling techniques), and Taihenjutsu (body changing techniques like rolls, flips, etc.). If you're worried about making him more on the defensive side, well, I am familarized with some of the basic Ninjutsu stances like Ichimonji No Kamae (a defensive posture), Jumonji No Kamae (an offensive posture), Kosei No Kamae (a posture meant to protect your eyes), Hicho no Kamae (somewhat similar to a Crane style in Chinese martial arts though in Hicho, you don't stand there on one leg and wait for the opponent to attack you; it's more of a defensive/counter type thing). Anyway, um, what I'm trying to say is maybe he can use Ninpo Taijutsu but with the Jumonji No Kamae as his main stance so he can be more on the offensive side.

For Koto Ryu Koppojutsu, you can find out about it and the other Bujinkan arts here: http://uk.geocities.com/bcdojo/koto.htm

I will note that the little description on the comparion between the Koto and Gyokko styles are not fully accurate as Gyokko Ryu uses lots of strikes as well. Koto Ryu would definitely be good for more of the offensive players. Strangely, from what I've heard, Gyokko Ryu Koshijutsu is much like Ba Gua Zhang with the circular, defensive stuff while Koto Ryu Koppojutsu is much like Xing Yi Quan with the linear, aggressive elements. Another simiarity amongst those styles are the internal martial elements.

The Fire Breath can be an unblockable move that could have a charge to it for more damage. The Forward Leap Punch can be a bit of a "psyche you out" type move to fuck with the heads of your opponent. On counter hit, it could cause a crumple stun.

When it comes to Jeet Kune Do, in terms of actual fighting techniques, it can be anything basically as the philosophy promotes freedom and creativity.

For Fujin's Wind style...I see... lol

Anyhoo, here are five more reviews:

Dairou

Storyline: I think it's pretty good and his ending seems to kind of either him settling down and not returning or maybe there could be more to him later on.

Fighting Styles: I like him with Autumn Dao. Monkey and Long Fist would kind of suit him though I really like him having Wing Chun and Hung Gar along with the Umbrella as another weapon. To me, Dairou kind of has the whole Donnie Yen thing going on from when Donnie played as Wong Kei Yung in Iron Monkey and used an umbrella to kick some ass. Also, the umbrella is one of many weapons used in Hung Gar. I don't think Dairou should be an easy to handle character, especially with him having a complex style like Monkey. He should be more of a 3 or 4, imo.

Special Moves: The Dodging Shadows shouldn't be high, mid, or low. The Tombstone Drop would make more sense if it were low unless you want him to use it differently.

Finishing Moves: I really do like both of his MKD fatalities so those do work and are nice.

Costumes: Cool stuff though I do also like his MKD primary look. I found it to be very Kung Fu warrior like.

Voice: Hmm, yeah, it was pretty fitting for him.

Overall: Dairou's a character that I like and I'd like to see him at least a bit more. Overall, good job with him.

Sub-Zero

Storyline: Surprised Quan Chi and Shinnok aren't also listed as his enemies, but your allies/enemies thing makes sense nonetheless. I don't like the storyline idea of him rapidly aging more due to the Dragon Medallion, especially from the way he looks younger in MKD. I mean, don't you think that with the power enhancements that his aging will greatly slow down and that he'll live for quite some time? Sub-Zero is of course my favorite character and I wouldn't want him to kick the bucket like that so to speak. Aside from that, the ending is pretty good.

Fighting Styles: I still don't know about him using a style like Shotokan, but eh, ok. Shotokan should be his direct, power style with the weakness of linearity (if that's even a word...). Dragon should be his well-rounded but relatively hard to master style though he should be more focused on strikes, twisting, etc. as opposed to kicking even though he should of course have some of that. Kori Blade, ok. I'd actually like to see him have the Ice Scepter as opposed to the Kori Daggers. Overall, I agree that Sub-Zero should be on the harder to master side.

Special Moves: I don't like the idea of the Ice Blast hitting high as it has always hit mid. Imo, the Ice Blast, Ice Shaker and maybe even the Cold Shoulder should have some kind of charge to it if the player desires to charge those moves. The Ice Shaker and Sub-Xerox shouldn't be high, mid, or low. What about moves like the Ground Freeze and Slide? I think that would be cool to see or maybe some kind of move where he makes ice spiked projectiles and throws them to the ground.

Finishing Moves: They're cool, especially the Spinal Tap. I was thinking of something much like that actually.

Costumes: Sounds pretty good though I would like to see his ancestral armor look. I really love that look for him.

Voice: Well, I think it should be icy and mysterious, but not uncaring. He seems to be the compassionate, merciful type of person, not an uncaring one. I guess though that if the main group of heroes in MK were being compared to the Justice League, I'd probably say that Sub-Zero and Batman would kind of be comparable in a way...

Overall: I think it's pretty good. To me, Sub-Zero has much potential and I'd like to see him stay in MK for games to come.

Havik

Storyline: lol, It's quite good and very Havik-ish.

Fighting Styles: Snake and Morning Star are definitely good fits for him. I would actually like to see his Morning Star to be more Flail-like to make it more chaotic and unpredictable. As for Crab and Pilum, those could work too.

Special Moves: A-ok to me

Finishing Moves: lol...pretty interesting finisher ideas you got there..

Costumes: Yeah those are good though I'm not sure I get the idea of him having a Roman warrior look.

Voice: hmm, maybe. I actually liked his MKD voice. It was kind of...creepy in a molester kind of way...(I know that sounds oddly bizarre and probably disturbing, but um...well...that's me for ya. )

Overall: This is very well done along with Kabal's and some others. Good stuff here.

Ermac

Storyline: I think he has a pretty cool story, but since when is he a ninja-sorcerer?

Fighting Styles: I think he could work well with Hua Chuan, yeah, but not Daito-Ryu. I'd like to see him use Shan Xi style Xing Yi Quan. For the Halberd, well, Hotaru uses one since a Naginata is a Halberd. What distincts Ermac's from Hotaru's?

Special Moves: I don't think any of the Telekinetic moves should hit any specific area unless it's something like Kenshi's Telekinetic Push which hits high.

Finishing Moves: Very nice ideas.

Costumes: Good ideas.

Voice: Agreed.

Overall: I think you did quite a good job for him. Way to go.

Damashi

Storyline: Well, his storyline is ok, but I have some problems...First off, Damashi is the fake name Onaga used to trick Shujinko and then for there to be an Outworld Fire God character named Damashi, well, I don't quite like that idea...Overall, he kind of reminds me of Shinnok in a way. *shrugs*

Fighting Styles: I don't think either of his unarmed styles fit him at all and I thought Shuai Chiao goes back much longer than that..

Special Moves: They're pretty decent.

Finishing Moves: Very interesting stuff which I like

Costumes: Sounds pretty good.

Voice: Seems fitting I suppose

Overall: Well, I think he's an ok character, not really one I'm that particularly too interested in.

Hmm, agreed. Good idea.

Thanks for the information and comments on martial arts styles and ninjitsu. I'll look into it, it sounds very interesting.

Making Fire Breath an unblockable I wouldn't like very much. In fact I think making some special moves totally unblockable is a bit of a lazy tactic and opens the door to a lot of glitches. Of the six top tier characters in MKD, four have an unblockable attack and for one of them it's the main reason he is so good (Dairou). I know how the Forward Leap Punch would work, but would that not make Scorpion's arsenal too overpowering?

Ok, as for the reviews now :).

Dairou
----------

Dairou with an umbrella? Somehow I associate that more with elderly kung fu masters or female warriors, not a trained and hardened mercenary/assassin. Then again, an umbrella is possibly a deceiving weapon, but I also can't see it in a good combination with his costumes and existing colour palette. Please explain how you see this. If Dairou would be upped on the difficulty scale (which I think is fair), another should be downgraded imo.

Making the TS Drop a mid was a conscious decision. I reasoned that ducking and blocking would keep the opponent closer to the ground and thus more susceptible to the tremors caused by the TS Drop move. Also, a mid TS Drop makes it somewhat more deceptive and confusing I think. Anyway, I guess the main thing about this move is not where it hits, but that it needs to be nerfed (this can be done easily by making its animation longer or slower). His Dodging Shadows has a property of high because if it didn't (and was "unblockable"), it could be abused with no end (as it is now). Building in safeguards (like being unable to do it again in x seconds) or lag time would render it too useless and predictable, on the other hand.

Sub-Zero
--------------

Quan Chi, yes. Forgot about him. Why Shinnok? Well, the reason why I want Sub-Zero to age is because I have a projected storyline for him in mind in which he eventually chooses a successor to inherit the title of Sub-Zero (but there is no rush for this, actually I would like a next MK to be 20 years later but due to MKD's storyline this is nearly impossible). Trust me, he's one of my favourites as well.

The ice scepter always seemed like a very unpractical weapon to me. Now Sub-Zero is of course a very strong man who could wield such a weapon, but somehow it strikes me as very awkward and too regal for a man with such a humble character. Good points on his unarmed styles.

Hmm, a mid Ice Blast would make Sub-Zero trickier. I like it. Charging his moves is basically a property of his neijin in Dragon, but I guess it could be expanded. I think Ground Freeze would make him too powerful? Point taken on the voice, and the comparison with Batman is quite good. Anyway, I've always disliked his voice in MKDA and MKD, it sounds too tense.

Havik
---------

If I gave Havik the Flail, then I could give Quan Chi the Morning Star. Hmm, that wouldn't be so bad. His "Roman" look was inspired on his helmet he's wearing.

Ermac
---------

I liked the sound of "ninja-sorcerer", it just sounded so bad-ass . Why not Daito Ryu? Anyway, yeah, I guess he could wotk with Xing Yi too, an internal style suits him well. On the other hand, I do see Ermac as a character who can deliver very powerful single strikes. With a Halberd, I mean a European halberd, which I think looks more like an axe than a pike?

Damashi
-------------

Hmm, maybe I should have explained the thing with Onaga, you're right that this causes problems. The reason is that this God of Fire character had long been in my mind, but was originally named Tygrus. Then Damashi appeared, and I believe he was tagged as the God of Fire (before revealed to be an Onaga proxy). He's not intended to be like Shinnok at all. What unarmed styles would you suggest for him?

I eagerly await your next comments.

Cheers,
VQ

Yeah, the Ninjutsu stuff is really interesting indeed, but also quite confusing. It would make sense for the Fire Breath to be unblockable, but the start up should be on the slower side make it more telegraphic. The Forward Leap Punch should be a quick but weak mid hitting move.

Dairou

I guess that I would like to get more of that Kung Fu warrior look and feel to him. Hung Gar and Umbrella go well together and I guess it could be a tribute to Donnie Yen since he sort of has the whole Wong Fei Hung thing or whatever. More so, I'm more for the Wing Chun/Autumn Dao mix. When it comes to his TS Drop, I guess so. For his teleport move, it could be a bit telegraphic but not so much so that it would be useless. It should just be enough to let the opponent know that he'll do the move and it would involve good timing and possibly placement to handle against that.

Sub-Zero

To me, Shinnok would kind of be an enemy of Sub-Zero's since his older brother told him about Shinnok years ago and also, Shinnok was the main threat at the time of MK4. For the successor thing, well, if things were to take place 20 years, I'd like to see him have a son. Maybe later on in the MK series, that can be done. Regarding the Ice Scepter, well, maybe. It was just a suggestion. What would be cool is if he could sort of like a Glacier thing in which he can form weapons from his arms like an axe, blade, spear, etc. I don't think the Ground Freeze would make him too powerful unless you're thinking about the way Frost's Ground Freeze is. Maybe it's not needed if Sub-Zero has the Ice Clone. Oh well. *shrugs* I never liked his MKDA or MKD voices either, but you gotta love the whole "I like big titties!" line in MKD when he does some of his moves like the Cold Shoulder.

Havik

The thing with the Skull Mace is that it's pretty much like the Morning Star except that instead of a ball with spikes on it, you have a skull with spikes on it. I thought it would be fitting for Quan Chi with the way he fires skulls and all and he had a Mace weapon in MK4. I understand what you mean about the Roman thing.

Ermac

If you see Ermac as a character who delivers very powerful strikes, then Daito Ryu Aiki-Jujutsu isn't really going to suit him since that's a defensive, grappling art. I think Xing Yi Quan would be fitting for him since it means "Form Mind Boxing" or "Form Will Boxing" and I kind of connect that with his telekinesis and such. Also, with how Ermac is made up of many souls, Xing Yi uses various animals and elements. I see what you mean about the Halberd. Honestly, I see Ermac using unarmed styles more than weapon styles, but that's just me.

Damashi

Well, when posing as Damashi, he told Shujinko that he's not an Elder God or anything like that. When it comes to unarmed styles for a character like this, it's hard for me to say, but I guess you can come up with a made-up style for him. With my idea for Raiden, he could have Raijinken (Thunder God Fist) so maybe for your character, he could have Kajinken (Fire God Fist). It's just a suggestion though...I'm not sure about the others...

Anyway, here are five more reviews for you:

Reiko

Storyline: His story works and I like it, especially with the way his ending is.

Fighting Styles: Well, I think it would work if these 4 styles were for a different character. For Reiko, I don't think so. I don't think he should be a power type character. He should be kind of well-rounded, but more of a skilled-based fighter as opposed to relying more on something like speed or power.

Special Moves: I don't like the ideas of the Energy Ring and the Invisibility. I think he's good with his Shuirken projectile move and him having the slam for his Teleport move.

Finishing Moves: That's pretty good.

Costumes: Sounds nice.

Voice: Yeah...I think that works...I kind of like more of the mute or not really talking much kind of thing for him.

Overall: I like Reiko and I'd like to see him again. I think you did a good job with him though I still disagree about his gameplay style.

Drahmin/Moloch

Storyline: I have a slight problem. Drahmin was a warlord from Outworld, not Earthrealm. I'm not quite sure what to think about Drahmin's change at the end...

Fighting Styles: Well, I think it would've been better if Drahmin had Netherealm and Moloch have Oni while Drahmin has the Iron Club as his weapon.

Special Moves: Ground slam should be low, not mid. Other than that, I think the moves there are good.

Finishing Moves: Not bad..

Costumes: hmm..ok

Voice: alright

Overall: I think Drahmin is a decent character though I don't really like Moloch. Still, the tag team of those two characters makes sense and can work.

Kenshi

Storyline: He doesn't seem like 27 to me. I think that probably, he's more in the late 30s/early 40s. Also, despite having a Japanese name and using a Katana, he's actually a mixture of European and Chinese. Shouldn't Sonya and Ermac also be listed as his allies? Regarding his ending, um...the souls of his ancestors have already gone back to his sword.

Fighting Styles: I like him using Tai Chi Chuan as one of his fighting styles and it should be his very fluid, defensive, hard to master style. I guess if you're going to make him Japanese, you can call the style Taikyokuken. Also, if he's going to use Tai Chi Chuan, I think he should also use a Tai Chi sword. For San Shou, I think a different character should use that. Perhaps Kenshi can use Daito-Ryu instead of Ermac and would go well with his Pekara Katana which should be a more direct, offensive, power based sword (though not brute like power...just more on the power side with medium speed).

Special Moves: Refer to what I said for Ermac regarding telekinetic moves.

Finishing Moves: His fatalities sound pretty good and your idea for his own version of Ermac's old fatality is a good one.

Costumes: lol...yeah..I didn't like the whole titty thing with his MKD primary costume...so all in all...good stuff...

Voice: Well, going back to the ethnicity thing....but um...I guess...to me, they should've simply made him Japanese and not a European/Chinese mixture.

Overall: Kenshi's a character I like a lot and I was rather disappointed with the way he was in MKD. I think your ideas for him are pretty decent overall.

Sektor

Storyline: To be honest with you, I don't like it at all. The reason why is because it makes Sektor look like some kind of mindless machine as opposed to the direction is MKTE storyline leads him to which is a cunning, calculating cyborg who is power hungry and probably even wants to perfect humans by making them into cyborgs. I think he should go in the whole Tekunin direction as opposed to joining the Red Dragon.

Fighting Styles: Well...I don't see him as much of a kicking based fighter. I actually see him as a direct, striking based fighter. I've been trying to think of fitting styles for him, but it's kind of tough for me..For the weapons, they're interesting but don't seem Sektor-like to me. How about a lightsaber but red? May sound kind of cheesy, I know, but I think that would be more on the technological side with Sektor seems to be for a lot. I don't think he should be so easy to master. He should be intermediate, imo.

Special Moves: Technically, the Teleport Uppercut hits mid. Other than that, pretty cool but why the name Dumb Missle?

Finishing Moves: Pretty cool though I would like to see the Compactor fatality of Sektor's. I really liked that one.

Costumes: That's pretty good.

Voice: Yeah, he shouldn't really have much or any human characteristics in the voice. It should be emotionless, robotic, and absolutely evil.

Overall: Sektor is another character who I like and would like to see come back. I think some of the things you did for him are pretty good though I don't like his storyline or the unarmed style choices for him.

Irikara Neferu

Storyline: Her story sounds relatively interesting.

Fighting Styles: So I take it that Sebekkha is a real fighting art eh? That sounds very interesting for her though I kind of think that it's not the source of Pankration's origins. WIth her having Pankration, she sure must be powerful and aggressive. I remember reading about Pankration and how some people like Mas Oyama, founder of Kyokushinkai Karate, believed that Pankration is the source behind Asian martial arts. I personally don't believe in this for reasons I don't feel like getting into. The weapons for her sound really cool and fitting to me and yeah, she should be very hard to master.

Special Moves: For the Sandstorm, hmm...depending on how that diagonal attack is, it actually might be more of a mid than a high. For the Blast aura, sounds kind of pointless if it's only going to reflect all missle attacks unless you also meant to have it reflect other projectile attacks which would make it like Nightwolf's Reflecting Aura move.

Finishing Moves: Well, I like her Sand Choke fatality. The other one sounds okish to me.

Costumes: They sound like good ideas to me. The Egyptian stuff there is a nice touch.

Voice: Hmm....not sure what to say on that one...

Overall: She sounds like a pretty decent character concept idea.

I'll be back later to send you more of my reviews.

I should point out I'm not familiar with Donnie Yen. The only martial arts movies I saw were some pretty mainstream Jackie Chan movies, MK, Karate Kid (horrible movies, oh so horrible) and Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon (also saw the biopic about him).

Yeah, I was thinking of the way Frost's Ground Freeze was. If his normal Ice Blast hid mid and his Ground Freeze was a low, Sub-Zero would be all-powerful imo. Now of course I wouldn't mind seeing Subby rank high up the tier list for once, but overpowering a character is too much of a compensation. A son eh? A son with whom? Sareena perhaps... that would be interesting. A cryomancer with traits of a demon, fighting evil without and within. Wow, come to think of it, that would really rock... at least that's what I think.

Yes, I see your point on Ermac and I agree.

Good ideas on raijinken and kajinken. I guess Fujin's style would then be fujinken? Anyhow, since you used the name Kajin, I assume Damashi is not really the Fire God's name? I'd like to have this as correctly as possible, but I neglected researching this any further.

Reiko
--------

Well, because of his close association with both Shao Kahn and Shinnok, I've always pictured Reiko as a very powerful and strong character (he also had a spiked club). So, I thought styles like the zweihänder and krav maga were good. Anyway, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree there. I'm glad you liked his story, I was tired of evil guys betraying each other. Reiko seems like an intensely evil person to me, but one with very strict loyalties.

Drahmin-Moloch
------------------------

Drahmin was not from Earthrealm? Oh. Anyway, my problem with styles like Oni and Netherrealm were that they aren't really styles and just symbolise general rage. Yes, Drahmin having the Iron Club would be classic, but Gnorado already had a Club. Any ideas how the two would be distinct?

Kenshi
----------

Yeah, you're right on Kenshi's age. The reason why I made him 27 is that making him a midlifer would make Falcon the only character under 30 in the game (Kobra being not really as old as it says). I am also confused about his supposed Sino-European heritage and his Japanese name (though it's hardly a name... it's a noun, as you no doubt know). Well, it does explain why Kenshi doesn't really look Asian. Yeah, I forgot all about Sonya and Ermac.

Tai Chi is so Kenshi. That shouldn't change :). Good catch on Daito Ryu. I guess I gave him back San Shou because I really hated how they gave him Judo. While I don't think this is nothing for Kenshi, I think Judo is a really ugly style, and they messed it up big time. I see what you mean on the Pekara Katana, and I agree.

Sektor
----------

No problem you don't like it. I think giving Sektor his own clan, or making him a dr. Frankenstein who wants to turn humans into robots (for what reason?), would cheapen his story considerably. In my opinion, there are enough clans or gangs as it stands, and Sektor's profile fits the Red Dragon entirely. I also don't wish to portray him as a mere machine, but as the HAL of Mortal Kombat: he clearly operates on another logic, he's a psychotic cyborg. A light saber? But what about Cyrax's pulse blade?

Yes, the Teleport Uppecut should be a mid. Oh, Dumb Missile just refers to the contrast with his Smart Missile (straightforward vs homing).

Irikara Neferu
-------------------

The internet article I read claimed Sebekkha is real. Even if it isn't, it sounds convincing. I'm not sure if it's the origin of Pankration either, and I also agree with you that Pankration having spawned Asian martial arts is unlikely (for a number of reasons having to do with the extent and depth historical contacts between Hellenic and Indian civilisations). And yes, Pankration is really intended as aggressive and powerful. Neferu is a bit of an Amazone character like Vanessa in VF and Jade in MKD.

Sorry, yes, by missile attacks I meant projectiles in general.


Again, thanks for your comments, I'm eagerly awaiting the next!

VQ

Donnie Yen was in movies like Iron Monkey and Shanghai Knights. You can do a google search on him or search for him at imdb. Anyway, getting down to business....

For Sub-Zero's Ground Freeze, I'm referring to the MK2 style Ground Freeze. A son of Sub-Zero and Sareena would be interesting to see indeed. Perhaps somehow Sareena can gain humanity if her storyline and Ashrah's storyline can connect together.

For Fujin, I suppose so. Keep in mind that my knowledge is very limited so I'm doing the best I can. Damashi means "spirit" in Japanese.

I see what you mean on Reiko, then again, for me, it's not exactly that easy for me to say though perhaps Krav Maga is fitting for him.

Yes, Drahmin is from Outworld and was once a feared warlord. His Iron Club would be just like the one he had in MKDA with it encasing his right arm. It would have shorter range than Gnorado's club and maybe some different moves as well as maybe better speed though the Iron Club itself shouldn't be a speedy weapon style.

Yeah, it's confusing indeed with Kenshi, but that Chinese/European stuff is in his MKDA Konquest storyline and you can read it over at the Kombat Pavillion. I too didn't like that they gave him Judo nor did I like how it was portrayed. About the weapons stuff, I meant him having a Tai Chi Sword and the Pekara Katana.

With Sektor, I wasn't thinking Dr. Frankenstein stuff, but more so Braniac from the Superman series, a cunning, calculating machine and I don't mean mathematics. For Cyrax, see further in this post.

And last, but not least, for Irikara Neferu, I understand and I agree.

Now, I have 7 reviews left and I think I'll post 4 of them for now and save the last 3 for later.

Xerxes

Storyline: I think it's pretty good and fits the storyline nicely.

Fighting Styles: His style choices sounds both interesting and fitting, especially Five Ancestors Fist (Wu Zu Quan).

Special Moves: Sounds interesting and kinda cool

Finishing Moves: interesting ideas you got there...the birds fatality sounds kind of funny and sort of reminds me of the old Zelda games when you pissed of the chickens and then you had like a billion chickens attack you

Costumes: Sounds interesting though the long robe sounds like it wouldn't make him that good in terms of mobility.

Voice: lol...neat

Overall: He sounds like a decent character to me though one I may not particularly be THAT much interested in. Nevertheless, you did a good job with this one.

Cyrax

Storyline: To me, he looks older than 27...seems more like in his 30s..Birthplace, Pakistan?? That's kind of odd to me...He seems rather African. Anyway, his story sounds kind of interesting to me, namely more so with the way the ending is.

Fighting Styles: I don't think he should have Ninjutsu. It just never really made much sense to me. To me, it's only fitting that Scorpion would use it and not a Lin Kuei warrior like Cyrax. As for Hwa Rang Do, maybe. The Pulse Blade seems more of a technological weapon to me as opposed to a tradition handcrafted weapon...For the Kama, hmm...I guess that could work though I think that would be more fitted to someone like Sareena. How about a Pole Axe for him? It's a light, medium-long handled axe that has a small blade. I think it would be sorta interesting to see him with it. Btw, you seem to have made an error or something. Do you mean to say Hwa Rang Do for his second style or Kuo Shou?

Special Moves: Grasshopper? Is that like Hotaru's move or something? What about his saw blade and spinkicks?

Finishing Moves: pretty cool fatality ideas

Costumes: sounds good

Voice: um...well, if you mean like a human/robot type mix in the voice, yes, I agree

Overall: I kind of like Cyrax and I hope that whatever potential he may have can be brought out by the MK team. Overall, I think you're ideas for him are decent.

Qanturus

Storyline: Hmm, it's pretty interesting, especially with the ending. I wonder what you have in mind as to how it would further develop if it were to.

Fighting Styles: Not sure what to say for the weapon style, but it doesn't make sense for him to have Qigong as it's NOT a martial art at all.

Special Moves: seems uniquely done

Finishing Moves: The Ping Pong fatality idea sounds amusing though the Head Rip sounds too simplistic and unoriginal.

Costumes: sounds good

Voice: makes sense

Overall: Overall, he sounds kind of interesting to me.

Jax

Storyline: I like the behavioral development but not him further relying on technological enhancements to further boost his strength. To me, he should rely on his inner strengths and skills as a fighter.

Fighting Styles: I do think Muay Thai is a perfect fit for him, but I don't think he should use Boxing. He already uses Muay Thai and they have a lot of the same punching techniques. I think he should use Combat Sambo as his other style or maybe Kodokan Judo. The Tonfa suit him well. Since Jax uses Muay Thai, I think he should use a Thai weapon known as Mae Son Sowks which is kind of similar to the Tonfa if I remember correctly and it's made from hard wood or bone or something along the lines of that. It's close ranged and hard hitting.

Special Moves: I don't like him having the missle attacks or the machine gun. If he's going to have a projectile, it should definitely be the Sonic Wave from MK2.

Finishing Moves: Those sound pretty decent to me.

Costumes: I like the sound of those ideas. He should definitely have that military look for his costumes and not the stupid ass, stereotypical gangster look he had in MKDA for his alternate.

Voice: Oh dear god...noooo....I hate that.

Overall: Well, I don't really like Jax too much and your ideas for him overall I found were ok.

Yes, a storyline where those of Ashrah, Sareena and Sub intersect would be interesting. The problem right now is that there are so many storylines running that it's hard to put them all in one game.

Ok, if Sub's freeze were like in MKII, that might work.

Xerxes
----------

Ok, haven't got much to add to your comments. Glad you liked him.

Cyrax
--------

The age thing is a bit the same as with Kenshi. Making him older than 30 would really leave little youth in the game. Pakistan, yeah... I think his face in MKDA looked more South Asian than it looked African, and currently MK has no Middle Eastern character. The reason I gave Cyrax ninjitsu is that I've always envisioned him as a character who sneaks up on adversaries and fares a form of strategic warfare on them with his nets, mid-air throws and explosives. But then again, I could also refer him to a substyle of ninjitsu? Yeah, well, originally I had intended to give him kuo shou as his second style but I couldn't find anything useful about it on the 'net to I switched to hwa rang do instead.

Grasshopper is his move where he jumps at an incoming adversary and throws them in mid-air. I think it would be useful against characters like Ermac or Kitsune who can float. I don't see much use for his saw move. If he already has his plasma net, grasshopper and better version of his bombs, why an extra move. I never liked the helicopter kicks, it was a crappy move in MKDA and they gave it to a crappy character in MKD .

Yes, that's what I meant with the voice.

Qanturus
-------------

Since he's the sub-boss I don't really have an idea how he would evolve further after Raiden's demise. I'm thinking a new thunder god should be sought or created, but I see Qanturus as a one-time character. I liked the idea of having a Centaur around in full 3D, and Motaro is dead, so... About the styles, I don't know if I said it in the discussion about labrys, but the labrys was also associated with another mythological creature, the Minotaur. So it is also connected to Greek myth. I know Qigong is not a martial art. I gave his unarmed style that name because he is a charging character (which I've associated with the breathing excercises of qigong)

Jax
-----

Well, I agree Jax is essentially a good guy, but I never liked that whole morality issue about him using technology to enhance his strength as a symbol of his supposed insecurity. The rationale behind him sliding off towards madness or evil is that in the history of MK, I can't think of any character who *became* evil. Of Earthrealm's heroes, no one except Liu Kang perhaps would be believable as evil (and they still didn't make him truly evil in MKD). Kung Lao is too much of a supporting character, Sonya wouldn't make sense and Johnny Cage would be ridiculous as an evil character.

Ok, I see your point on boxing. What is kodokan judo? Combat Sambo, I don't know... what about San Shou for him? I also heard they teach hybrid martial arts in the US army, perhaps he could use one of them. Mae Son Sowks, sounds interesting.

The Sonic Wave rocked. Indeed, I should swap it for his Bionic Missiles. The machine gun rocks imo because it's so completely over-the-top. It's a bit the same with Jax's voice. Some hate it because it's so stereotypical, but I like it very much because of that. I hate hip hop stereotypes, but having him taunting his adversary all the way I something I appreciate, there's too little of that in MK. Only he and Cage have it a bit.

Cheers,
VQ

PS: I'll be away from tomorrow until Sunday night, in case you'd wonder where I am with my obnoxious replies to your comments :).

I finally got time to read some of this, man. I told you I'd give my best criticisms on this and be harsh if needed. I hope you like the review. Sub-Zero7th knows how I operate when it comes to these. Hehe!

If Fujin ever had a British voice, I think I'd kill him. Lol! I don't think it would suit him, though it'd be dependenton which British accent he got I guess. Regardless, I like the introductions.

I love the 'Amulet of Whispers'. That is a brilliant idea.

My first question is how did Bo Rai Cho know that Mileena was posing as Kitana? From what we know, no one knew at all and Sindel and Jade had not known about the threat of Mileena afetr they left Edenia. Plus you conflict things a little in that paragraph by calling Mileena by Kitana's name. Kitana did not leave the army in Bo Rai Cho's command. Mileena did. This is where some clever play within the MKD endings shows itself. It does say it was Kitana who gave Bo command of the armies in his ending, but remember where Kitana is as you've already pointed out in your intro and remember what Mileena was doing. As far as I see it, Bo Rai Cho cannot have such knowledge at this time. There is a way in which he could I believe, but that wasn't suggested by his ending.

What's with the Deadly Alliance? I see they survived Raidens blast. I remember you mentioning how you were bringing Shang back, so I've yet to get to that point. The fact that they are with Kahn again surprises me so I look forward to seeing how this came about.

Raiden wanting to rule the realms is a new idea, but I hate this evil path for him everyone has laid out. This is not Raiden. This 'evil' version is a diminish of character as far as I see it.

Noob and Smoke serving Onaga is just bad! Lol! I agree with Sub-Zero7th (told you I would) about it taking away fron Noobs character. His MKD story says to the reader 'I won't take shit from anyone and I won't be following anyone anytime soon either'. I don't believe that he should be under anyones command, no matter how temporary such a thing may be. As for Onaag ruling the Netherealm, somehow, given the One Beings influence, I would assume he'll be after the Kamidogu and the Amulet once again. It's an unexpected idea however and a nice addition. One thing to remember though is that Shinnok is in the Netherealm. Or at least he should be. I think on MKD they mentioned something about Noob being the ruler of the Netherealm, so I suppose Shinnok really isn't in any power anymore and is weak beyond belief.

The lack of explanation as to why Raiden left Kang with Onaga bothers me a little. Though you said that Raiden revived him as a tool of revenge, I find it odd that Raiden would just leave him there alone to defeat Onaga. Though, given what you said, I suppose Raiden simply does not care anymore, even about one of his greatest pupils.

It also still bugs me that Ermac can so easily fend off 5 of Earth realms greatest warriors. Yes, he did get beat up somewhat, but they should have overwhelmed him. Even he cannot be that powerful. Everyone makes him out to be some super powered being. He does have one of what I call the 'ultimate' powers though so it's understandable.

Nice job with the Order and Chaos plot, though it still baffles me to why that story even exists. Lol!

Did Nightwolf and others die?

The lack of females is going to bug me and would really piss me off if this were a real MK game! Lol! I love my MK chicks! This is a minor thing and nothing to be bothered about.

Excellent job with the arena specific character abilties. I like the ideas of the no block damage and regeneration adn all the others. They add soemthing new to the Kombat world. I also like the idea of the 'limitless' arenas. I hope these would allow for free roaming which would be brillaint. One concern is that some stages do not fit the character in question . For example, I don't think Quan Chi should have the Living Forest as his stage. He should really have his Fortress imo. Btw, I got an idea for Fujin whilst reading these. I'll add it to my own concept of him when I finally get my own story idea into motion. Thanks for the inspiration.

I've read all the starter information (all of the above is based solely on those, so forgive me if anything I've said is covered later) and will read the bios soon and put forward my own reviews on them. Excellent work so far, buddy.

Well, I never liked Raiden's accent. Especially his voice in MKD, which was terrible. With an aristocratic, educated and wise race like the gods, one would almost immediately associate an RP accent (like I told you while chatting, I don't intend Fujin to have a Cockney accent or anything, that would be terrible).



Thanks :).



I thought Kitana left Bo' in command of her army after she left to fight the Deadly Alliance, so it happened before Mileena began posing as her. Regardless, I need to research this better.



It's a bit like an evil "with or without you". At this time all three have been weakened, and they need each other in order to start building new power bases. But they also know that neither can trust the other.



MKD is a very poor game to build an interesting storyline on (though Chrome has done it), and I don't view Raiden as having turned evil more than mad or paranoid.



Adding Shinnok would have made things needlessly complicated, and I thought simply killing off Onaga after one game was dumb. Noob as lord of the Netherealm would, imho, completely suck. Unlike Kahn, Onaga or Raiden, he has nothing commanding, regal or imposing. His presence is that of a shadowy, stealthy figure, a brilliant engineer and ruthless killer perhaps, but not a ruler, overlord or president. I'm not really favourable towards his lust for power they gave him in MKD.



Yes, all Raiden wanted at that moment was the Amulet. He knew the fusing process of the kamidogu would most likely end, with or without Liu's help.



Oh man, I just love Ermac :). I guess making the five allies (Five Ancestors? lol) weaker when they are undead and enslaved to Onaga would make sense. Their strengths depend on Onaga's strength. Ermac never really defeated them, he did hold out as long as he could but had Onaga lived, Ermac would have been killed.



I don't like its political connotations (too unsubtle for me) but I think it has a lot of potential.



I'm leaving this open on purpose.



Well originally MKR was going to have Ashrah and Jade too. But they didn't make the final cut because I decided to reduce the number of characters (I was at 36 at one point). That will probably piss you off more, as Jade and Ashrah are among your favourite characters :p.



Thanks. You may be right about Quan Chi, and we already have the Forest of Rage for Kabal (one of my favourite arena concepts btw).



Ok, I'm looking forward to more comments!

Cheers,
VQ

Cyrax

When it comes to Ninjutsu, you are thinking about the methods of stealth and espionage. Ninjutsu in its literal and universal definition can apply to all who use methods of stealth and espionage. The Lin Kuei use Ninjutsu most definitely with their survelliance. However, I'm referring to the martial arts used by the Ninja. That is why I suggested Scorpion have Ninjutsu (the martial art). That being said, I see both Noob Saibot and Cyrax as characters who use stealth and espionage quite a bit, more so Noob Saibot.

Kuo Shou is one of many other terms such as Wushu, Wuyi, Kung Fu, Gung Fu, Chuan Fa, and Quan Fa that refers to martial arts, namely Chinese martial arts. It was decades ago in which in China, the name Wushu (martial arts) was changed to Kuo Shou (national arts). All in all, it's a rather generic term that doesn't necessarily relate to martial arts. The Grasshopper sounds like a good move, but how would the bombs be useful if they can be easily avoided?

Qanturus

I guess I see what you're saying about the Qigong thing.

Jax

I think that Sonya being evil could make some sense and would work out. She's pretty much had a rather stale storyline in the MK series and her being evil and seeing things from a different perspective could create something interesting for her character development. Kodokan Judo is basically the Judo that everyone knows about. Dr. Jigoro Kano, the founder of Kodokan Judo, chose the name Kodokan after a famous Shinto temple to distinct his Judo from other arts called Judo since apparently, there was already a Judo style so to speak. I think before naming his style Kodokan Judo, he called it Kano Jujutsu. On a bit of a side note, Toshitsugu Takamatsu, the teacher of Bujinkan grandmaster Masaki Hatsumi, was not fond of Judo due to the practicioners bending their backs when doing techniques.

There are different types of Sambo and I felt that Combat Sambo would fit Jax the best. Sambo uses many throws, takedowns, and ground fighting techniques and I see Jax as the kind of fighter who uses moves like takedowns and such so that's why I brought that up. It could also go well with Muay Thai. And one more thing on him, I just don't like the whole stereotypical thing for Jax, because I don't think it fits his character and I think it's a bit somewhat offensive. *shrugs*

Anyway, moving on to the last 3 character reviews.....

Shang Tsung

Storyline: Kano, Baraka, and Mileena should also be listed as his allies while Kenshi and Kung Lao should also be listed as his enemies. Also, Shang's bio contradicts what happened to him as well as things like Liu Kang's soul and the souls of Kenshi's ancestors being freed....I'm not sure if I'm too fond of the taining Raiden's soul idea...

Fighting Styles: I think the style choices are ok though I really liked how he had Snake and Straight Sword. The Magic Staff sounds kind of cool though.

Special Moves: sounds pretty good but what about the soul steal and 3D fireball moves?

Finishing Moves: nice

Costumes: hmm ok though old man Shang Tsung from MK1 would be nice to see as well.

Voice: His MKDA voice wasn't really that distinctive....

Overall: Shang Tsung's been a pretty cool character and I really liked him in MKDA. Overall, I thought this one was ok but not particularly that likeable...Sorry...

Noob Saibot

Storyline: I have some problems with Noob's storyline. I don't like that Noob designed Smoke's cyborg body when he was human and once again, I don't like Noob serving Onaga. Noob should be his own boss, period. The ending was one I could see coming.

Fighting Styles: Shadow sounds kind of cool, but the Lin Kuei warriors being trained in Ninjutsu (not Ninjitsu) is not something I like. You see, the Lin Kuei use Ninjutsu in the sense that they use espionage, information gathering, etc, but they aren't technically ninja as they don't follow Ninpo. The Shirai Ryu, enemies of the Lin Kuei, use Ninjutsu as both for the espionage aspects and the fighting art. I don't really like the idea of him using Rat style Kung Fu. I think that Monkey actually suits him because of its deceptive, sneaky, fast, and acrobatic attributes. If he were to have a Ninjutsu style though, I think he should use Gyokushin Ryu which is a rarely taught and not well known style of Ninjutsu that still exists today. While its focused more on espionage tactics than fighting techniques, it still uses various fighting techniques and they are derived from Gyokko Ryu Koshijutsu since the 10th Soke of Gyokko Ryu is the founder of Gyokushin Ryu. With Noob having done lots of spywork and such for Shinnok and Quan Chi in the past and him now being a "ninja", Gyokushin Ryu would be fitting for him. The Scythe is a good pic for him and I think the Kusarigama would suit him as well. For the Shuriken, well, there is Shurikenjutsu which is a weapon art that teaches throwing Shurikens and whatnot, but I think Reiko would be more of a Shurikenjutsu kind of guy.

Special Moves: sounds good but is there the slam for the teleport?

Finishing Moves: his fatalities sound ok. I would actually like to see him with a shadow based fatality.

Costumes: He doesn't have a cyborg costume in MK4. The street costume was odd but I guess it would be interesting to see. For his more ninja look, I think he should have the costume design he had in the MKD concept arts..(the one with 3 different ones...namely the one on the right with the leg pads and symbol on sash from the design on the left) as well as a Darth Vader type helmet.

Voice: Eh...I don't know. I actually thought his voice in MKD was perfectly done.

Overall: I really like Noob Saibot a lot though I'm not fond of your overall ideas for him.

Quan Chi

Storyline: Quan Chi is from the Netherrealm and was once an Oni. Don't forget about Raiden, Liu Kang, and Kitana as his enemies. Anyway, his story is decent though one thing you have to keep in mind is that Quan Chi is pretty much pure evil.

Fighting Styles: When it comes to his fighting styles, I find it kind of difficult to come up with some fitting styles for him, especially since his fighting skills come from more of an understanding of sorcery as opposed to actual training. I think maybe he should have his own unique fighting style. For the weapons, I'd like to see him with a Skull Mace for one weapon and the Living Staff for his other weapon (the one from the MKDA concept stuff).

Special Moves: If you mean his teleport stomping thing, well...that's not a high..that's a mid since it can't be avoided by jumping over it or ducking under it..I'd like to see him with the skull wall that he made in the MKD intro. other than that, the other stuff sounds fine to me.

Finishing Moves: I like the ideas

Costumes: sounds pretty good

Voice: Um...like I said for Shang Tsung, Quan Chi didn't have a distinctive voice in MKDA...

Overall: I like Quan Chi and I'm sure we haven't seen the last of him. Overall, not a bad job.

Read through all of it, pretty impressive. Now, what i especially did find intriguing and very good is how the stuff is written. Quite the beginning of a pseudo-professional.

The parts I didn't really agree with were the newbies, and the overall storyline. It\'s simply not my taste. Too light and too at ease for me.

Very very nice work. Boon should just hire you as project leader and kiss your feet.

Right On Brother..........Right On!

Thanks for your replies to my comments. Here are my first set of character critiques.

Falcon

Story: Falcons story isn't all that great. The visions she has are interesting, but the link to Kobra seems to not be played upon enough. She still has no real purpose or motivation. Plus, she's in the special Forces. I think the SF needs to go from the MK series. It's held Sonya and Jax back enough and taken Cyrax and Kenshi down with them.

Styles: I'm not a style expert, but what she has seems interesting enough. I like the battlesnares. Those are cool.

Specials: Her special moves are cool, though two thirds are borrowed from others. The things that bugs me most here though is this boiling water usage. Where is it coming from? How does she suddenly have mastery over an element like that? There's nothing on her outfits that could be excreting water or anything of the like. A simple projectile might have been better for her in this instance.

Finishers: I agree with Sub-Zero7th that there should be more to the wrist cutter Fatality. The boiling water issue extends to her second Fatality, but I like this one. If you can find a way to incorporate this elemental usage, this would work much better for her.

Costumes: The costumes are fine.

Voice: Fine also.

Overall: For me, she lacks something and she's not overly interesting. Further development of her backstory and powers, if any would probably make her better.


Hachiman

Story: This guy sounds like a badass. love the ending. Anyone who kills Jax is fine with me! Lol! He's got a good story here and I like his cunning and scheming personality. This makes him very interesting.

Styles: Interesting choices. I'm not too sure about Kenpo or Aikido though.

Specials: Bloodbarge should be a high attack, otherwise these are fine.

Finishers: The Impale is basic and boring and overdone with Baraka imo. The Skinner Fatality sounds cool. I'd love to see this one in game.

Costumes: Not bad at all, though I don't think he should have his face covered too much. His ability to be somewhat sneaky should be reflected by facial expression.

Voice: A little so-so given his character.

Overall: He's a badass!


Kung Lao

Story: He finally gets the recognition he deserves! Nice!

Styles: All are fine.

Specials: I prefer for the Hat Throw not be be steerable. It's better to have seperate high low commands like Jades boomerangs. The steering on MK2 was somewhat slow at best. He needs his Teleport and Dive Kick.

Finishers: Sick!

Costumes: Awesome!

Voice: Ok.

Overall: This is Kung Lao, therefore automatic badass!


Gnorado

Story: Interesting story and ending. I saw Damashi in there and I'm like wtf! Lol! That name should so not be used!

Styles: These all sound really good. Nice choices.

Specials: Omg! I so never saw the Tele-Stomp and Quake moves coming, even though he is Shokan and all! The Stomp is a mid also. Lol! Appropriate choices!

Finishers: Very nice!

Costumes: A covered up Shokan! Props to you!

Voice: Appropriate.

Overall: Probably the best ever Shokan. The other 3 suck. Bad!


Hotaru

Story: Decent. Kill Dairou!

Styles: Great addition with the Wakizashi.

Specials: Changing the Lava Burst to a low attack is very good and is probably pretty deadly. He needs some more though.

Finishers: The Slam Fatality is awful! Lol! It should not have the explosion end effect. His second Fatality is interesting, though it's not quite possible to knock off someones head like that.

Costumes: Fine as they are.

Voice: I loved his MKD voice too.

Overall: He's great, minus the Fatalities. Nice job!


Kabal

Story: Very nice work here. I can't believe it results in nuclear war. Lol!

Styles: All are fine. I'd prefer him to just have the Hookswords as his only weapon though.

Specials: Good job on getting rid of the Nomads Touch. it was an annoyer move and was simply stupid. What are the Hegdehog Blades?

Finishers: Very cool Fatalities.

Costumes: Fine.

Voice: Fine.

Overall: Very well done!

Hey Ty,

Sorry for the late reply! Thanks for your comments.

Falcon --

I purposely limit myself when it comes down to story development, that's why most elements are not played out completely. Most fan projects suffer from a plethora of odd plot twists, names and places that will only confuse people who are not MK fans. My main focus in this project was gameplay.

Okay, on the Special Forces. I think we should just accept them as part of the MK universe for a while, they can't just disappear without a word. But you see that in this project, the SF gets thinned out with Jax's drift into madness and his self-destructive plans.

As to her control over water, water vapour and especially hot water, I don't know why this should be the subject of deep criticism, not because I want to avoid questions, but because many characters have projectiles or powers that are improbable. One link I could suggest is that psychic visions are often associated with water, and that water is also an in-between element (hard to grasp, between air and earth). It is also associated with both life and death, as Falcon herself is.

Hachiman --

Glad you like him :). Yeah, I already conceded aikido might not be a good choice after all.

Kung Lao --

Seperate commands for the hat? Hmm, I guess that's ok too, but the main issue would be when the hat goes up or down as to not make it too confusing and exploitable. Teleport, yes. Dive Kick, not sure, I've always found this move better suited for "aerial" characters like Fujin and Ermac. Glad you liked what I did with Kung Lao overall, as he's one of your favourite characters.


I'll comment on the rest later, I've got visitors right now.

Ok, here are more comments to your comments.

Gnorado--

I'll probably change the name of Damashi back into another. Thanks for the other comments, I liked the idea of an armoured Shokan who's not a mere brute.

Hotaru--

You and SZ7 were probably right about the fatalities. For the rest, thanks! :) Not sure if he needs more special moves.

Kabal--

Yeah, nuclear war! It seems that Chrome and I see Kabal the same way. Like a born-again christian, or in his case a born-again anarchist zealot. I think this makes his character very interesting, and there aren't many characters in MK who are truly ideologically inspired. About the shock sticks, I've considered giving him three unarmed and one armed style, but I think shock sticks suit him too. The Hedgehog Blades are the blades that came from below in MK3. And I like the Nomad's Touch, it's a good and unique move :).

VQ

I'm cool with all this here. One thing to remember though is that the story if for the fans. Those too lazy to try and understand it by doing research into the past only limit themselves. So do not hold back on their behalf.

Abutu the hat, Jades boomerangs weren't confusing at all. They were better with the seperate commands as it was hard to guess what was coming at you. I suppose steering wouldn't be a problem, but you could be in the middle of a counter attack rather than fiddling with a hat.



Thanks for clearing that up!