Yes for Ashrah!

I think there is a lot of potential in this character,but there are several instances where I would like NRS to change her for better.

First,design-wise, I would put more emphasis on "former Brotherhood of Shadows,now purifying herself demon" rather than "chick who looks like female Raiden/Kung Lao". I think the hat should be gone. I know there is an argument that we wouldn't recognize her then...Well,if there is one design with her hat that might work for her,then I am all ears. Otherwise,it should be gone.Her entire outfit should be white though,because her whole motivation is to get purified and get out of Hell.

Story-wise,since the next game is about Shinnok and Quan Chi,and since there are SO MANY Earth heroes under Quan Chi's control,you might include her to the good guys' side,since they need allies. Maybe even show the backstory of how she found Kriss too.

Personally, I would suggest to tie her story with Sareena's (which is another character I DESPERATELY want to be included in the next game),because they have so many similarities,both former servants of Quan Chi (since we don't know how Ashrah ACTUALLY escaped Quan Chi,I would presume she revolted against him,which makes both her and Sareena similar in that matter) and BOTH want to get out of Hell. I would actually like Ashrah to be the one who frees Sareena from her torture in the Fifth Plane.since Sareena is there as her punishment for betraying Quan Chi in MK Mythologies. After that,they both try to find a way to get out of there and stop Quan Chi's plans and this is where they meet Raiden and his forces.

Or you can have extra twist that,after Sareena is rescued by Ashrah and they are on their quest.Sareena is constantly struggling to keep her demon side at bay (as illustrated in many cases in the original timeline) JUST by being in the Fifth Plane,like this place corrupts you a lot. After some time she would see Ashrah as someone dangerous and obsessive about her goals,who can kill her along the way too since Sareena is a demon,and there is a note in Ashrah's MKA bio that the owner of Kriss becomes obsessed with killing evil beings. That's what kinda scares Sareena and she considers to end Ashrah when the time is right. But again,it is Sareena's BAD side,her demon side that whispers it to her sometimes.

And maybe Ashrah considers killing her too,since she doesn't trust her so much and Kriss making her more obsessive and cruel with killing evil beings.

A lot of possibilities story-wise for Ashrah,and I like it. I can probably write an essay for possible MK storydevelopments,but I think this is enough,I get carried away sometimes lol.

Moveset-wise.I think they should completely overhaul it,those glowing white lights off of her special moves didn't do it for me in Deception,I would STILL use white as her primary color theme for moves,but with more DEMONIC flare to them,not something from PowerPuff girls or something. And add some more cool movesets.

A lot of potential for this girl and I would like for NRS team to show their creativity once again,just like with what they did with Noob and Stryker in MK9.

I'm going to vote yes.

That said, I think Ashrah would be more interesting if her backstory were a little bit retconned.

See, according to Deception, she found the Kriss and become a Quan Chi-betraying demon-nun a long time ago. Like, she meets Shujinko when he's still in his teens or 20's, and she's already a good guy.

I'd rather see her start out as one of Quan's slaves and find the Kriss and turn into a demon-slayer in realtime. I think actually getting to witness her character development, rather than not meeting her until it's already over, would make her way more interesting, because the character as originally presented was very shallow and one-dimensional.

I'll say yes.

But only because I can't find a reason for her to not be in.

I never liked her aesthetically and have forgotten most relevant character development plot points so I'm pretty ambivalent about it. I'm optimistic on what NRS is going to do with the series so I'm sure she can be retconnd into something interesting.

It might be a bit until I do the next character, just so that there can be more replies to this. So don't worry, I haven't forgotten this, I'm just waiting for some more replies.

I definitely want Ashrah to return for reasons already mentioned. NRS should really make the best use of the post-MK4 characters, and the new continuity is an opportunity to do so.

Yes! If they really bring back Ashrah, they need to do something about her movelist. Her powers.

Her powers are light along with her kriss sword. How do you see revamped like Kenshi's?

I'll be changing the character tomorrow, so hopefully more posts can come in here before I change it

And just a heads up, for future posts in here, while posting in here don't forget to include your vote. You can discuss all you want about the said character, but don't forget to vote as well on whether or not you want to see these characters return. Thanks guys!

I'd say yes, bring her back. Just revamp her design a little to get her away from looking like Raiden.

As far as story goes, I like to see, even if briefly, what led her to reject the Brotherhood of Shadow. How she found her sword and what all. Being a demon who hunts other demons, she'd definitely be good. Though probably not "Team Earthrealm," at least not initially. More of an ally by virtue of an enemy of my enemy thing. No vested interest in saving other realms (at first?) just killing Shinnok's and Quan Chi's demons.

I actually had this idea for her back story being that she is Kia from Mythologies. And that after abandoning the Brotherhood of Shadow she left everything, including her name, to sever all aspects of who she once was. I dunno, very rough idea I thought might be interesting, and (sorta) formally begin including some characters from the side games over to the main series. Sareena desperately desperately needs a proper place in the main roster.

Okay, a few days has passed, onto the next character which is Baraka. Do note, any votes for Ashrah after this post won't be counted.

yes for baraka

id like to see him back, but if he's in the next game, i want him to be an actual character and not a punching bag/servant.

Basically what Irishdude said.

I know it's too late for the vote to count, but i also support the return of Ashrah. I love her fighting style, backstory, and costume (being that even the alt which showed more flesh was still sensual not overly slutty)

Baraka definitely has a place in the story that will follow, but i don't think i'd want to see him return because he's been in every game since Deception and i like to see main chars take a break now and then. If there were another Tarkatan like the General that would be a decent replacement, filling in the role of resident Tarkatan on Baraka's orders while Baraka does other stuff (like sneak attacks... or dating).

But he's not a main character. He's a grunt. Yes he was in MK2 but that doesn't make him a main character. He's just a fan favorite. He has little to no importance in the storyline.

As for me, I believe Baraka should return. Baraka has a cool fighting style and I've always liked him. Story wise I don't see him being anything other than a punching bag, but maybe they could elaborate on the Baraka/Mileena relationship that was cut for MK9.

That would be interesting.

I mean, canonically it wouldn't have worked in the old timeline because Kia and Jataaka showed up in Armageddon...but for the MK9verse, they've already made Hsu Hao's backstory impossible and radically altered Kitana and Mileena's, so...sure, why not.

For Baraka, I vote no, because there's nothing really there for him as a character. He's always one of those characters that has always been about aesthetics. Having said that, I can expect to see him in the next game.

YES!

Hell yes!

Why wouldn't Baraka be in MK10? Honestly, I think this game will be his true moment in the sun.

Yes for Baraka. At this point he is a signature character for the series. Introducing a different Tarkatan would be pointless, and would end up only getting compared to Baraka. I'll just go ahead a say that pretty much everyone from MK3 on back to MK1 should be in future MK games at least as playable fighters regardless if they are part of the story or not. We are beyond storage restrictions at this point and I'd even be fine with the characters basically remaining the same in terms of design and play style(with minor balancing tweaks) if the story doesn't call for a change. So long as they keep making new fatalities, always have new fatalities. Also they are free to fix some of the issues with the current designs, Smoke's hair and Sonya's combat stilettos, etc.

Annnyways back to Baraka. The way MK9 ended left the door open for Baraka to step into some limelight. At least on the Outworld side of things.

Here's what I'm envisioning...

Shao Kahn is dead. This leaves a massive power vacuum in Outworld. So two possible scenarios can play out.

Mileena ascends to the throne, with Baraka as her top general or even King (ala their MK2 endings.) And they run everything absolutely psycho-fuck until Shinnok comes a knockin'.

A four way civil war erupts for control of Outworld. The Tarkatans who think they should rightfully rule, due to Mileena's heritage. The Shokan and Centaurs who are both incredibly militaristic and sure as hell don't want the other in charge. And the "human" denizens, who either don't want the monster in power anymore (Bo Rai Cho, Li Mei) or just want power for themselves (Rain, Reiko)

Really option 2 allows for a lot of characters to get some loving.

In any case it presents an opportunity to showcase Baraka's fierce brutal loyalty, as well as an ambitious (but not straight up treacherous) side, filled with cunning and strategic leadership ability that comes from leading his entire race.

All that aside I still see Baraka still being used as a punching bag.

One more day for some more replies. So far most of you want to see Baraka come back.

Okay, time is up for Baraka, next character is Blaze!

No to Blaze. I dont know who is ashrah but there seems to be an awful lot of people who say they want li mei, nitara, kia, jatakaa and sareena. Its getting too much. Start off with Frost then Tanya. These were the two most requested females for mk9. I want to see if things have changed since it was like 2.5 years ago. Also a poll would be good. Because more people will vote , there are less posters.

The topic of the day is Blaze. Stick to Blaze.

Don't you DARE start trashing this thread. I've ran these kinds of voting threads for the last two years and they go very smoothly when people are ON TOPIC. I WILL put my foot down if you try to throw this thread off-topic with your useless garbage like you do in YOUR threads. You stay on topic, you vote for the character that is up for debate and that is all you need to post. I do not give a damn about characters that have already been voted or isn't up for discussion yet.

Stick to the topic and everyone will be just fine. And since you already voted, I will tally it, and that is ALL you need to do in here.

I think Blaze could be a background character considering the probable story direction of the next game. Having said that, he needs a redesign in terms of moves, look, etc.