Rate the Fighter (MK11): Kabal

Rate the Fighter: Mortal Kombat 11 Edition!

Welcome back to Rate the Fighter: Mortal Kombat 11 Edition. In our last post we took a look at the franchise's hero, Liu Kang, and I came to the conclusion that he was basically a perfect character. Today, we'll be analyzing one of the members of the Black Dragon, a massive criminal organization. For fans that know what I'm talking about, you'll be a little disappointed to hear that I'm not going to be talking about the leader of the Black Dragon, Kano. Instead, I'm going to be talking about one of his lackeys: Kabal.

Kabal, the Speeding Scourge

Revenant Kabal as he appears
in Mortal Kombat 11.

Mortal Kombat 3 marked Kabal's first appearance in the franchise. Appearing as a hideously burned man with long black hair and a respirator, his origins were basically unknown. It was revealed in his arcade mode ending, however, that he was actually a member of the Black Dragon clan. Kabal has an interesting history of whether or not the developers want him to be a bad guy or good guy. All the way from Mortal Kombat 3 up until Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Kabal is depicted as evil. Yet, come Mortal Kombat 9, he's actually a good guy... until he's killed and resurrected as an evil revenant in Mortal Kombat X. In Mortal Kombat 11, his younger self when he was an evil Black Dragon member and his future revenant self are present in the game.

I personally love the idea of Kabal being a good guy, but alas, the creators don't share my opinion.

One incredibly important thing to mention when discussing Kabal is his trademark ability. I'm of course talking about his super speed, something that allows him to run so fast that he can turn his opponents into a miniature tornado, run so fast that he appears on the opposite side of the screen, or spin his foes around so hard that their skin starts to fly off!

Appearance

Much like Liu Kang, Kabal has a lot of different skin options. This is mainly due to the fact that Kabal's skin comes in three different... let's say "flavors". There's burnt revenant, his default appearance, burnt human, his appearance prior to being killed, and pre-burnt human, his appearance before the horrible accident that scarred him for life. Me personally, I'm a fan of his revenant and burnt human skin. I like these two in particular due to the fact that this is the appearance Kabal normally has alongside his super speed ability.

You see, back when Kabal was "normal" it's implied that he never had the ability to run at super high speeds. However, in Mortal Kombat 9 we're told that Kabal's exposure to the magic in Outworld must have given him his ability to run fast. Now, how can a young, non-burnt Kabal run incredibly fast if, from a storytelling perspective, he hasn't been in Outworld yet? Yeah, you see what I'm getting at here.

Below is a video showcasing all of Kabal's skins, timestamp included and everything!

So overall, any skin that turns Kabal into his undead counterpart or his horribly mangled human self is something I'll pick. Even though I don't like the idea of using "Young Kabal" for lore reasons, I still really appreciate the thought and surprisingly many different articles of clothing they have for this version of the character. Kabal's appearances get an 8/10.

Equipment

Oh ho man, let me just start this off by saying that I love Kabal's equipment so freakin' much! Consisting of face shields, hook swords, and gas canisters, you're given plenty of options to make a truly bad ass looking black market thug. Much like before, the video below will show you all of the gear the game has to offer Kabal, and I'll be listing my favorite pieces.

Face Shields

• Double Time
• Klassic Kabal
• Avarice Accelerated
• Deathgrin
• Bound to Run
• Black Dragon Slickhelm
• Plague of Point Pleasant
• No Cure for Sadness

Hook Swords

• Klassic Kabal
• Better Shred Than Dead
• Hu Tou Gou
• Song Dynasty OG
• Baguazhang
• Shandong Praying Mantis
• Razors of Armageddon

Gas Canisters

• Second Wind
• O2+ Black Dragon Enhancer
• Amino Recovery Pack
• Guarana-Ginkgo Vitality
• Erron Black's Magic Bullet
• ATP Energizer
• NSAIDs
• Meldonium
• Androstenedione
• Ephedrine

I don't even need to say anything, really. You look at these equipment pieces and you instantly know why they're so good, the masks especially. I absolutely love the inclusion of the Klassic Kabal face shield and the No Cure for Sickness face shield, as the former mask is a perfect replica of his mask from Mortal Kombat 3 and the latter is a perfect replica of his mask from Mortal Kombat 9. I'm always a big fan of games taking something old and reintroducing it for new audiences while at the same time satisfying fans of the older games.

The only negative thing I could think of this these equipment pieces would have to be that some of the gas canisters are too small. Given the fact that they are located on Kabal's back, it makes something hard to see even more difficult. But all in all, I'm going to rate Kabal's equipment a 9/10.

Moveset

Much like Liu Kang, I'm actually able to pull off a lot of combos with Kabal. I normally achieve this by initiating a move known as Nomad Dash, a move in which Kabal dashes forward, spinning the opponent in place and dizzying them, allowing me to attack once again. A then perform a move that makes Kabal spin in place with his hook swords extended out, hitting the opponent. Next, I use a move called Extended Hook, reaching out and causing the opponent to stumble before I finish the combo off with an uppercut. Yeah, yeah, I know, it's not that good of a combo, but it's honestly the best I can pull off.

Kabal's special moves all have to do with his buzz saws that he throw at opponents, his hook swords for close to medium ranged attacks, and his gas canister to force your opponent to choke, giving you the chance to land a free hit or start a combo. All of them are great to use and players skilled enough to combo all of them together are sure to easily win the match. Examples of this can be seen in the video below.

I don't really have any problems with Kabal's moveset, so I'm going to rate it a 10/10.

Fatalities and Fatal Blow

Much like the fatalities and fatal blow segment in my Liu Kang post, the video below is a bit out of order, so timestamps will be provided for each move.

Fatality #1, Road Rash (3:15):

• I really don't have anything to say about this fatality, as it clearly speaks for itself when it comes to how great it is. 10/10

Fatality #2, Hooked (3:37):

• This fatality is one of those rare fatalities where it's actually really hard to watch. The fear in your opponent's eyes and the noises they make as they choke on your hook swords makes this almost as brutal as Kabal's first fatality. 10/10.

Fatal Blow, Broken and Beaten (2:27):

• This fatal blow perfectly captures what Kabal is all about. Speed, ruthlessness, a scene that's hard to watch? It rewards this fatal blow a 10/10.

Closing Thoughts

There's a lot to love about Kabal in this game. Old fans of the franchise will no doubt be happy with his return to Kano's side in the Black Dragon and new players will find a rich variety of amazing outfits, equipment, and special moves. Kabal is quickly becoming a main of mine in this game, but he still hasn't taken over Liu Kang's spot yet.

At the end of the day, I give Kabal a 9 out of 10, as some of my thoughts towards some of his skins just barely stopped him from being a 10 out of 10.

Who's Next?

That's a very good question, who exactly will I be covering next? Heh, you'll just have to wait until the next blog post to find out. Trust me, though, the next character we'll be looking will be quite "shocking".

Stay tuned.

Rate the Fighter (MK11): Liu Kang

Rate the Fighter: Mortal Kombat 11 Edition!

Welcome back to Rate the Fighter: Mortal Kombat 11 Edition. In our last post we took a look at the franchises' most well known antagonist, Shao Kahn, and went into an in depth look at his appearance, equipment, fatalities, among other things. Today, we'll be looking at the Shaolin Monk who is often portrayed as the hero of the Mortal Kombat franchise. I'm of course talking about Liu Kang, so let's begin.

Liu Kang, the Chosen One

Liu Kang as he appears in Mortal Kombat 11.

Liu Kang made his first appearance in Mortal Kombat history as one of the original seven playable characters in the very first Mortal Kombat released for arcades in 1992. Liu Kang is actually an even BIGGER deal than Shao Kahn due to the fact that, like I mentioned before, he's always been depicted as the hero of the entire franchise. Whether it be the games, the movies, or the comic book series, Liu Kang is often the one to overcome the antagonists of the franchise. Goro, Shang Tsung, Shao Kahn, Shinnok... he's overcome every single one of them. In Mortal Kombat 11, Liu Kang returns once again, both in his past human form and his future revenant form. It's up to him to stop Kronika from erasing time and save those that he loves.

Appearance

Adding to the claim that Liu Kang happens to be the main character of the Mortal Kombat franchise is the fact that he is given a total of SEVEN skins with multiple different color palettes.

• Armored Revenant Liu Kang
• Shirtless Revenant Liu Kang
• Shaolin Monk Revenant Liu Kang
• Shirtless Human Liu Kang
• Shaolin Monk Human Liu Kang
• Tattooed Human Liu Kang
• Fire God Liu Kang

The video below will link you to a full display of all of Liu Kang's skins.

I love the fact that the developers made sure to include different variations of the character depending on whether or not you chose the revenant version or human version of the character. My favorite skins for the revenant version of Liu Kang would have to be the version of him with the armored variation and his shirtless variation. I like the armored variation because I feel it blends well with the idea that this once great hero is now a shadow of his former self. I also love the shirtless variation on him because he looks like who he did as a zombie in Mortal Kombat Deception.

In terms of his human appearance, my favorite skins would have to be his shirtless variation once again, as well as his Fire God variation. The shirtless variation reminds me a lot of how he looked in the older Mortal Kombat games. His Fire God variation on the other hand, well... do I really need to say anything? He's a combination of himself and Raiden, so of course it's going to look awesome.

Overall, thanks to the variety of skins available to Liu Kang and the fact that he didn't get a drastic redesign, I'm going to have to give his appearance a full on 10/10.

Equipment

For Liu Kang, the items he can customize are his headband, nunchakus, and bracers. Just like with Shao Kahn, two of each equipment items are unlocked from the start of the game, with everything else needed to be unlocked through playing the game. Below is yet another video showcasing all of the available pieces of equipment that can be unlocked. Just like before, I will be providing a list of my favorite equipment pieces for all the three different items.

Headbands

• Kombatant Supreme
• Immortal Dragon
• Blessed of the White Lotus
• Wu Shu Master
• Pouncing Tiger

Nunchakus

• First Heaven Defenders
• Chen Jun
• Curse of Chisongzi

Bracers

• Legend of the Fist
• Growling Tiger Strike
• Taizu Long Fist
• Flower Boxer
• Liang Yi Quan
• Lion's Roar

Truthfully, Liu Kang's equipment is what I would expect from someone who happens to be a monk. Nothing showy or flashy like Shao Kahn, just a lot of things that happen to be made to get the job done. I like that more of Liu Kang's items seem to have more variety when it comes to recoloring said items, being either brighter to match with his human appearance or darker to match his undead appearance.

Overall, give the fact that Liu Kang isn't trying to show off, I'll give his equipment a 9/10 simply because it really fits his character.

Moveset

When it comes to Liu Kang's moveset, I'm happy to report that I'm actually able to pull of a few combos with him. Most of them aren't anything that impressive, just a lot of one two punches that combo into his famous bicycle kick. Still, that's more then can be said for how I play Shao Kahn. For his special moves, I absolutely LOVE his bicycle kick, something that can now be extended up to two times and result in about 20ish hits. His classic fireball also returns and a special move can be equipped that allows him to perform a low fireball. Other special moves make great use of his nunchakus, allowing him to parry moves or destroy projectiles.

So yeah, Liu Kang is tons of fun. Despite liking heavyweight characters, his swift and speedy moves are enough to win me over. Overall, I give Liu Kang's moveset a 9/10.

Fatalities and Fatal Blow

Below is a video showcasing Liu Kang's fatalities and fatal blow. They're a bit out of order, so I'll include a timestamp to each of the three spectacles.

Fatality #1, Burn Out (0:32):

• This fatality is, truthfully, not that impressive (though I'm not saying it's bad). I do love the fact that it seems that Liu Kang is weakening his opponent's body by punching four holes into them, finishing them off with a huge fiery explosion. Not bad, but not spectacular. 6/10.

Fatality #2, Belly of the Beast (0:50):

• This one I'm quite a fan of due to the fact that the beginning of it references Liu Kang's very first fatality from the very first Mortal Kombat. They take something old and make it new by adding the fiery uppercut and Liu Kang using his weapon to destroy the falling body parts. Nostalgic and kick ass, it gets a 9/10.

Fatal Blow, Enter the Dragon (0:00):

• I love this fatal blow thanks to two things: the slow motion when Liu Kang smacks his opponent across the face with his nunchakus and the giant flaming dragon. Much like Shao Kahn, this fatal blow does a great job at incorporating a bunch of different things that Liu Kang has used over the years. 9/10.

Closing Thoughts

I love Liu Kang to death in this game, so much so that he's actually the character I've spent the most time playing. He looks cool, has a major stake in the game's story mode, fun moves, and awesome fatalities.

All in all, Liu Kang scores a perfect 10 out of 10.

Who's Next?

In the next blog post, we'll be taking a look at yet another Mortal Kombat villain. He's a ruthless Black Dragon mercenary, and I'm not talking about Kano. No, the man I'm talking about wields a pair of hook swords and has the gift of super speed. I'm of course talking about Kabal.

Stay tuned for more!

Rate the Fighter (MK11): Shao Kahn

MORTAL KOMBAT!

On April 23, 2019, Mortal Kombat 11 was officially released for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Windows PC. The game happens to be not only the most gorgeous in terms of its graphics, but it also happens to be the most creative and bloodiest in the entire franchise. Alongside all these amazing spectacles is a game overflowing with content such as 25 characters in the game's base roster (including one DLC fighter, that is), hundreds of different equipment items to unlock, tons of skins, an amazing story mode involving time travel, and much, much more.

The true intent of this blog, if you haven't already guested what it is, will be revealed in but a moment. First, let's take a look at a small history lesson about the original game that started it all and talk about how the series has grown from there...

Beginning of the Bloodshed

Cover art for the home versions
of the first game.

In 1992, arcades everywhere were introduced to a fighting game that was unlike anything anyone had ever seen before. I'm of course talking about Mortal Kombat. The game was developed and published by Midway Games Inc. (now known as NetherRealm Studios) and designed by the creative minds of Ed Boon and John Tobias. The game, which was developed in a matter of only ten months, became the subject of major controversy due to its depiction of extreme gore and violence, specifically from the finishing moves known as "Fatalities". It was so controversial that it, along with other games like Night Trap and Doom, led to the creation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), which basically works as a rating system similar to that of movies and music.

Despite the controversy, it didn't stop the game from becoming a huge hit, leading to the creation of the franchise that is still going strong to this day. Tons of sequels were created due to the game's success, as well as a few spin off titles, many different ports of older games for other consoles, two live action movies, comics, cartoons, toys, the works. That of course brings us to the present, the present in which Mortal Kombat 11 is the current game in the series with fans eager to learn just who exactly is the best character in the game.

In this blog, I'll be taking a look at the 25 character roster for the game and will reviewing each character based off of things like their appearance, my favorite pieces of their equipment, their moveset, fatalities, among other things. I'll be grading using a ten point scale and will average the scores at the end of the post, giving my closing thoughts on the character as well as teasing the next character who will be reviewed.

Shao Kahn, the Konqueror of Worlds

Shao Kahn as he appears in Mortal Kombat 11.

Shao Kahn made his first appearance in Mortal Kombat history as the final boss of Mortal Kombat II, a title he would share in the sequel, Mortal Kombat III. Shao Kahn is a pretty big deal, being the primary antagonist of the entire franchise on multiple occasions. His ultimate goal in life is to conqueror and merge all of the realms together, effectively becoming the ruler of everything. In Mortal Kombat 11, Shao Kahn returns as a playable character who could only be unlocked if the game was pre-ordered before its release. He also appears in the story mode, serving as a secondary antagonist collaborating with the game's main antagonist, Kronika.

Appearance

Shao Kahn's last appearance in a main line series game was eight years ago in Mortal Kombat 9. Given the fact that console hardware has improved drastically in between those eight years, it should come as no surprise that Shao Kahn in Mortal Kombat 11 is way more detailed than his appearance in Mortal Kombat 9. One detail in particular that is way more pronounced in Mortal Kombat 11 is how dragon-like Shao Kahn is in appearance. In previous Mortal Kombat games, Shao Kahn has always had dragon-like pupils while retaining a more traditional (albeit large) human-like body. In Mortal Kombat 11, however, in addition to the dragon-like pupils, Shao Kahn sports a more scaly body, spikes protruding from his skin, and sharp fangs.

Shao Kahn as he appears in Mortal Kombat 9 (Left)
and Mortal Kombat 11 (Right), as well as a close up
of his dragon-like eyes.

One important thing to mention is that all the characters in the game, have about three to four different appearances that can be unlocked and equipped. These articles of clothing will often feature multiple copies of the same outfit that happen to be colored differently, from your basic reds and blues to you sandy and ashy colors. In terms of Shao Kahn's body armor, it can vary from a mixture between spiked shoulder pads and gauntlets with an exposed torso to little to no armor that better shows off his dragon-like skin. My favorite skin, however, would have to be his fully decked out body armor that makes him resemble that of a Japanese samurai. Overall, I love Shao Kahn's appearance in this game. The choice that the developers took in terms of embracing the human/dragon look really helps cement Shao Kahn as a terrifying beast to be reckoned with and just adds to his already existing badass-ery.

For Shao Kahn's design, I give him a 9/10, with one point being taken away because, truthfully, I'm not a big fan of his more exposed skins. I'm more traditional in the sense that I like seeing warriors wearing cool looking armor, which explains why I love his samurai-like skins so much. This is just a personal opinion, of course, and Shao Kahn still looks amazing, so I don't see it as that big of a grade reduction.

Equipment

The equipment that can be customized for Shao Kahn include his iconic wrath hammer, helmet, and spear. Two of each equipment are unlocked from the start of the game, with everything else needed to be unlocked through playing the game. Below is a video showcasing all of the available pieces of equipment that can be unlocked. I will also be providing a list of my favorite equipment pieces for all the three different items.

Wrath Hammers

• Earthshaker
• The Kahn's Greathammer
• Dragon King's War Hammer
• Intimidator
• Demonslayer

Emperor's Helmets

• Commander of the Tarkatan Horde
• Destroyer of Worlds
• Kahn of Kahns
• Relentless Despot
• Keeper of Soul Magic
• Blood and Sand

Spears

• Killing Blade of Tsenker
• Golkalkyn Destroyer
• Kehrlen's Bane
• Lance of Bloody Slaughter

While I am a fan of nearly all the equipment, I'm pretty disappointed by how lacking the spears are when it comes to originality. Most of them are just red hot glowing versions of already existing spears. Now to be fair, most of the equipment happen to be slightly recolored versions of already existing equipment. The difference between the hammers and helmets in comparison to the spears, however, happen to be that most of them are recolored to be either darker in appearance or shinier. With the spears, however, they're just glowing red. Kinda lame if you ask me, I mean, why would I want to use the spears that aren't glowing when I can get the much cooler looking ones?

Overall, I'd give Shao Kahn's equipment an 8/10.

Moveset

When it comes to fighting games, whether it be Super Smash Bros. or Soul Caliber, I tend to gravitate towards the heavyweight characters. In every single Mortal Kombat game, Shao Kahn is built like a house and hits like a tank, which makes sense given his status as a final boss in most games. However, in order to compensate for the fact that Shao Kahn would be able to be used against other player in the game's various online modes, his overpowered nature from the previous games had to be ditched. Now when he hits an opponent with a special move, it doesn't take off a ridiculous amount of health, rather it does the same amount of damage that most special moves do. My favorite special moves happen to the annihilation move, the ridicule move, the war hammer toss, and the shoulder charge.

Now, truth be told, I suck at trying to pull of combos. Thankfully, the person in the video below is amazing at doing so, so I suggest you give it a quick watch. You'll quickly see why Shao Kahn is such a force of nature.

Overall, Shao Kahn's moves hit hard and really make you feel like you're controlling the battle. I give his moveset an 8/10.

Fatalities and Fatal Blow

Below is a video showcasing both Shao Kahn's fatalities and his fatal blow. Give it a watch (if you aren't squeamish) and I'll give my thoughts on all three moves.

Fatality #1, Back Blown Out:

• This fatality, while bloody and gory, is more comical to me than anything else. Shao Kahn is essentially playing golf with his opponent's head. The freeze frame of the head at the end of the fatality is the cherry on top of the sundae for me. 8/10.

Fatality #2, Kahn-Sequences:

• Oh man, this fatality is so freakin' brutal. The fact that the person who gets their head smashed in is still conscious and moving before Shao Kahn stabs them with his spear is so painful to watch, and yet it adds to the whole experience. 9/10.

Fatal Blow, YOU SUCK:

• I love how this fatal blow incorporates all of Shao Kahn's weapons and even throws in his classic shoulder lift. The highlight of the fatal blow for me is when he completely stabs his spear through the stomach of his opponent and smashes their head with his hammer. 10/10.

Closing Thoughts

Overall, I believe that Shao Kahn is a really great addition to the game. He looks like a badass, has powerful special moves and deadly combos, and his fatalities are amzing. The only real negative things I have to say is that some of his equipment and skins are a little lacking, but it really isn't enough to bother me to the point where I can't play him.

In total, Shao Kahn gets a 9 out of 10.

Who's Next?

Next up, we'll be taking a look at the champion of Mortal Kombat. He's the man who has defeated Shao Kahn on multiple different occasions. He's a Shaolin Monk that bends fire to his will. I'm of course talking about Lui Kang.

Stay tuned!