Summary
- Mortal Kombat 1 has a diverse roster of fighters that appeals to both new and long-time fans, offering plenty of variety and experimentation.
- However, some iconic characters like Kano, Jax, Sonya, Cyrax, and Sektor are only present in Mortal Kombat 1's Kameo roster, which feels odd considering the game's aim to celebrate the franchise's 30-year history.
- Goro, another staple character of the series, also only appears as a Kameo Fighter in Mortal Kombat 1, despite his significance and potential for more "heavy" characters in the game. Sareena, who is consistently seen in the story mode, also only appears as a Kameo fighter.
A fighting game lives or dies by its roster. While a fighting game can have the flashiest animations in the world, and even the most satisfying mechanics, it'll all be for nothing if fans don't gel with the game's roster of fighters - and that's happened on more than one occasion. Thankfully, by most accounts, Mortal Kombat 1 avoids this issue well, with a roster that's packed with both iconic and lesser-known franchise characters, giving fans plenty of variety.
Though Mortal Kombat 1 definitely has some balancing issues right now, with the current meta essentially ensuring that players will see Raiden, Smoke, or Scorpion in the vast majority of online matches, Mortal Kombat 1's roster is actually a pretty diverse one underneath the surface. With a good mix of franchise icons and some more obscure 3D-era characters, Mortal Kombat 1's roster gives both new and long-time fans plenty to experiment with, though that diversity has led to some usual franchise staples being relegated to the reboot's new Kameo Fighter system, and some definitely deserved a full spot on the roster.
Mortal Kombat 1 Kameos That Should Have Made It on the Full Roster
The most glaring omissions from Mortal Kombat 1's full roster are Kano, Jax, and Sonya. Though they all have a spot on Mortal Kombat 1's Kameo roster, Kano, Jax, and Sonya aren't seen or even mentioned once during Mortal Kombat 1's story. While fans have seen these classic characters more than enough times, it feels odd that they aren't in Mortal Kombat 1's main roster. One of the big aims of Mortal Kombat 1 was for it to be a celebration of the franchise's entire 30-year history, and with Kano and Sonya both being on the original 1992 MK roster, it seems strange that they aren't in the game in a full capacity.
Another set of Kameo Fighters that deserved to be on Mortal Kombat 1's main roster is Cyrax and Sektor. First playable in 1995's Mortal Kombat 3, Cyrax and Sektor are two cyber ninjas that have appeared throughout Mortal Kombat history. Though they're mentioned by name in Mortal Kombat 1's story mode, they're never seen in their new rebooted form. With Smoke getting a great new look, it would have been fun to see both Cyrax and Sektor get new human appearances, but they're unfortunately relegated to their classic cyber looks in Mortal Kombat 1's Kameo roster.
Goro is one of the few fighters that appears quite a bit in Mortal Kombat 1's story mode, but is only present as a Kameo Fighter in the game. Much like Sonya and Kano, Goro has been a staple of the Mortal Kombat franchise since its very debut back in 1992, appearing as the game's sub-boss. However, in Mortal Kombat 1, he takes a backseat role, only appearing a few times in the story as a glorified henchman. Again, being such an iconic element of the series, it's odd that Goro didn't make it on the main Mortal Kombat 1 roster, especially since it could use a few more "heavy" characters.
Another character that's seen consistently throughout Mortal Kombat 1's story mode but only appears on the Kameo roster is Sareena. A demon who works for Quan Chi, Sareena is often seen in Mortal Kombat 1's story as a Kameo for opponents like Nitara. While her moveset has made her one of the most popular - and irritating - Kameos in the game, it feels like a bit of a missed opportunity to not have her on the full roster.
Mortal Kombat 1 is available now for PC, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S.