There’s no denying thatMortal Kombat 11had a fairly stacked roster at 37 total characters, butMortal Kombat 12might have to one-up its predecessor to satisfy fans. WhenMortal Kombat 11first dropped, fans were up in arms about Mileena being missing from the initial roster. While she was later added with a DLC pack,Mortal Kombat 12needs to offer a deep roster right off the bat to avoid similar disappointment.
The mostrecent teaser trailer forMortal Kombat 12showed an hourglass, and after the camera pressed in on a single grain of sand within, an explosion destroyed all of it. While the teaser is up to interpretation, many fans took this to mean that the events ofMortal Kombat 11had shattered the canon timeline, which definitely sounds plausible. If this is the case,Mortal Kombat 12has more freedom than any of its predecessors to play with its roster.
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The Return of Goro or the Debut of Zombie Goro in Mortal Kombat 12
After over 30 years in business, the canon lore ofMortal Kombatcan be a bit confusing. According to the in-game Arcade interactions—at least Sheeva’s version of events—Goro is, in fact, dead. He also appears as a decaying corpse in the background of the Goro’s Lair stage. However, there’s also very little information about how exactly Goro would have died. Suffice it to say, ifMortal Kombat 12is opening up a multiverseor changing the timeline, all those details may be completely irrelevant.
WhileMortal Kombat 12will likely feature exciting crossovers, it needs to figure out a way to bring one of its most iconic antagonists back into the fray. If the timeline is changed, shifted, or shattered by the events ofMortal Kombat 11, NetherRealm Studios will have a clean slate. Whether it wants to confirm Goro’s death and bring him back to life or simply resurrect him from the dead in a terrifying zombie-like form,Mortal Kombat 12needs to bring Goro back. Even though Goro has only sat out a single release, it’s already been almost a decade since he was a playable character inMortal Kombat.
Mortal Kombat 12 Needs All the Classic Ninjas
Whether they began as secret characters or mere palette swaps, the ninjas from the earlyMortal Kombattitles have cemented themselves as fan favorites, eventually growing to be as beloved asboth Sub-Zero and Scorpion. Still, a few of the most important ones were conspicuously missing as playable characters fromMortal Kombat 11, primarily Ermac, Reptile, and Smoke.
A recent Twitter space held by Ed Boon appears to point to at least a few of these key characters returning. Following Boon’s broadcast, fans dissected his playlist and suggested that the title of each song could be read as a hint about anupcoming character inMortal Kombat 12. Examples like Purple Rain were read as an obvious nod to a character like Rain, the purple-clad ninja, but fans also suggested that a song by The Sylvers was meant as a nod to Smoke, the silver-clad ninja.
Despite their respective humble beginnings, Ermac, Reptile, and Smoke have all grown into unique characters with rich lore and memorable personalities, with characters like Ermac ranking as one of themost dangerous characters inMortal Kombat. They’re now all an integral part ofMortal Kombat, andMortal Kombat 12should aim to have them all, including characters that made small cameos inMortal Kombat 11like Sektor and Cyrax. Since their fighting styles and abilities are so varied, the various ninjas ofMortal Kombatadd much-needed diversity to the roster and help to keep the game feeling fresh.
Mortal Kombat 12is currently in development.
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