Magic, in all kinds of different fiction, usually comes from within the person doing the spellcasting. Like think about how a wizard in an RPG runs out of "mana" and can't cast spells until he sleeps and recovers his strength.

In MK, souls are already acknowledged as being a source of magic. Shao Kahn and Shang Tsung get the power to cast spells/use their special moves from stealing other peoples' souls. Nightwolf gets his from the souls of his ancestors in the Spirit Realm lending him their power. Ermac is made of souls and thus has hundreds of people-worth of spirit energy. Most of the martial artist characters like Liu and Johnny get their moves from their own "chi", which is just another word for spirit energy.

So I think the reason magic is more common in Outworld isn't that it comes from the environment and Outworld is a more magical place or anything...it's just because the knowledge is more widespread.

If you think about it, magic is just as common in Netherealm, Chaosrealm, Seido, and Edenia as it is in Outworld, Outworld's not special.

Earthrealm is the one that stands out because magic is LESS common there than everywhere else. And note that Earth is the only realm that has advanced science and technology. (Except for the centaurs' tails. Maybe Centaurs are masters of forging metals and crafting stuff, like Dwarves are in most fantasy universes? Or maybe they've just been outfitted with Black Dragon tech by Kano, since arming the Extermination Squads with Earth weapons was his whole job in MK3?)

Every other realm but Earth is stuck in the middle ages, complete with belief in superstitions and magic - and because they never stopped believing it's real, they never stopped using it, but on Earth, magic became a myth because Earthrealm is supposed to be based on the real world, where science says there's no such thing and people stopped believing in it...so that's why it's this rare thing that only prodigies and characters who've been taught about mysticism ever learn to use.

In short, Magic is a learned skill (unless you're born with a natural gift like Sub-Zero). If there's no one to teach it to you, how can you learn it?
(Side Note: you'd think Orderrealm would have a lot of science and technology, wouldn't you? In fact, they should be even more advanced than Earthrealm since science is all about understanding the laws of reality and such. Hell, maybe they are more advanced, MK9 kinda depicts the place as full of tech-y looking floating pyramids. Maybe they're like Asgard in the Thor movies and Hotaru is using super-advanced alien science to shoot lava, it just looks to us like the same wizardry everyone else uses?)

I could care less about a survey that's about me. But any attention is better than none :P How about this... u guy's stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours (U know who I'm on about- those who complain about me). What u guy's are doing when I'm on the spotlight is trying to make me crash and burn like this video here:

Drama on catwalk

I guess that's the kind of explanation I'm looking for with how they're magical.

And who knows, with Motaro being "dead," he's got a good enough chance to come back for the next game since obviously all the "dead" are gonna come back. I'm just hoping that he's not making a cameo again.

& Lets just hope he becomes a minotaur again.

You know, with all the hate that look got, I'm really interested in "the curse." When did this happen? Post-MK4? DA? Deception?

I think we were supposed to assume Kahn did it for Goro after Goro joined back up with him in Deception.

Well, what's the point of the curse? Other than giving them two legs, what's the point? I DEMAND THEY EXPAND UPON THEIR QUICKLY MADE UP EXCUSE.

Noooo, I don't want to relive a poorly executed excuse to cover up technical difficulties again! I don't want to see awesome looking centaurs ending up as a minotaur! No!

I told you what the point is. To reward Goro and the Shokan for backing Kahn's quest to reclaim his throne from Onaga and the Edenian army at the end of Deception.

I mean, what's the point of turning them simply into Minotaurs.

I simply see it as symbolically castrating the Centaurs. Yeah, I went there.

So sorry to scare the bejesus out of you.

Motaro by Hankypanky 1

.............Don't make me get the hose.

Hey leave (totally not gay) arcade Hecarim alone! I ride that majestic beast into rainbows of death!

Also hanky might go crazy over that design and jizz everywhere

I thought Goro's MKD ending was not canon.

Of course it wasn't, otherwise Kitana would have died. Again.

The ending is irrelevant, Kahn gets Goro on his side in his bio. And continues to have him and the rest of the Shokan on his side in Armageddon, obviously, since in Konquest, Taven finds Goro rallying the troops at Kahn's castle and fights him.
Not to mention that Mileena's MKA bio specifically describes how the Edenians had claimed Kahn's castle after Onaga's death, but Mileena stopped pretending to be Kitana and surrendered it to daddy as soon as he showed back up with Shang and Goro at his side.
So the events I described happening at the end of MKD are accurate. There was just no capturing Kitana and ripping her limbs off.

On the topic of centaurs possessing magical abilities, I don't see why that is so bizarre for some people. To me, it could be akin to some humans having superpowers. In the centaurs' case, we don't really know yet. Were some of Motaro's abilities, like the energy balls and the teleportation, unique to him, or can all centaurs do these things, the same way all tarkatas have blades coming out of their arms (as far as we know so far)? If they ever introduce centaurs other than Motaro though, I'd rather these abilities, or at least the energy ball, remain his. Another centaur could fire a different projectile from it's tail.

I've come up with ideas for Motaro's (and any new centaurs') gameplay in 3D games like MKA, if we ever get any in the future. Given that his physical stature does not allow him to strafe or sidestep like the bipedal characters, his gameplay should be based on MK4's, in which the 3D aspect was emphasised only through the sidestep feature, and Reiko's teleport. When Motaro "sidesteps", he instead gallops to either his opponents' left or right side, instead. Basically, he'd mostly play like a 2D character, in a 3D game. I hope that made sense. Motaro could keep galloping in circles around his opponents, but only briefly. There'd be a smaller energy bar under his bigger one, and once it's completely filled, Motaro can no longer gallop in circles until it's drained.

Alternately, he could just automathically teleport to either of his opponents' sides, or behind them, when "sidestepping".

Opponents could not attack Motaro from his sides when straffing, as he'd automathically counter them with his spiky elbows, or turning his upper torso around to slap/punch them. Projectiles would be useless, like in MK3. And if they get behind him, well, what happens if you startle a horse from behind?

Finally, Motaro must have the ability to leap to incredible distances like he did in MK3. It was just so spectacular and graceful. It could be part of his intro.

I'm curious as to how other people would handle Motaro's 3D gameplay. Can it be done right, or is it hopeless?

@DG10A:

MK is back to 2D now and is most likely staying that way.

Not necessarily. Sure, it was frustrating here and there but, there's always a chance of it returning back to 3D.

To answer the question about why it's bizarre to some people about centaurs having magic, I've always felt that they should be more of the powerhouse characters that don't need to rely on magic. You're a giant, four-legged creature that could easily use strength and force to their advantage.

Come to think, has there been any character in the series that literally does NOT rely on any magic powers?

I always thought that Motaro could have had no projectiles, and instead, rely on who he is entirely to use as an advantage. I mean, you can have him charge, use his tail in various ways, not to mention, since he can pick up opponents, there's so much you can do with that. I'm not saying to totally ditch him having magic, that's not my intent, but what I'm saying is that I've always pictured centaurs just being warriors who rely on strength and survival rather than plain magic.

Stryker and Human-Cyrax (unless one thinks his bombs are some kind of potion. They could just be chemicals.)

Does Baraka use magic in any way?

Being able to speak English with no lips is pretty fuckin' magical.
How his blades even work is breaking at least two laws of nature too. They're metal, but they're a natural part of his race, not a Wolverine-style "we put this on his bones" experiment, and they're longer than his forearms, so how do they fit inside?