Guest characters are far from a new concept in fighting games. Soulcalibur II brought in folks like Tekken’s Heihachi Mishima, Legend of Zelda protagonist Link, and even Spawn depending on which console you preferred; Dead or Alive continues to keep the hopes of Virtua Fighter fans alive by allowing them to play as Akira Yuki, Pai Chan, and more; and 2011’s Mortal Kombat featured Freddy Krueger from the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise to terrorize an already horrific cast.
NetherRealm Studios revealed just last week that they are planning to continue that tradition in Mortal Kombat X, introducing Friday the 13th mainstay Jason Voorhees (pictured above) to offer Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Cassie Cage the same treatment he’s given Crystal Lake campers over the years. But a recent tweet from the developers got us thinking: what other guests could the upcoming fighter benefit from including?
What resulted was a group of characters even the notorious Ed Boon would find preposterous. Please enjoy.
Cthulhu, from H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu” (and all sorts of other stuff)
This cosmic horror of Lovecraftian lore has been in its fair share of video games, movies, and other media over the years, and even has a tabletop roleplaying game dedicated to it.
When placed within a fighting game, this “dragon squid” would likely be a zoner with the ability to fly, in spite of how tiny its little baby wings are. The flight would likely be limited in a manner similar to what Painwheel deals with in Skullgirls; it’d be slow, weird to maneuver, and subject to a maximum height. The ruler of R’lyeh would also be equipped with all sorts of projectiles on par with what Martian Manhunter brings to the fight in Injustice: Gods Among Us, as well as a handful of powerful normals akin to Chun-Li thanks to its tentacles.
The problem with trying to represent something so devastating, so unexplainably powerful and confusing in video games—or any other media, really—is that as soon as the creature takes shape, we can at least sort of begin to comprehend what it is. Much of the horror surrounding Cthulhu and the pantheon (pantheon may be a stretch, but we’ll go with it) of Lovecraft’s mythos comes from the mystery that surrounds the creatures in question.
The team at Extra Credits did a great piece not long ago covering this topic, and, as they suggest, in order for this shambling monstrosity to make it on to the roster, it needs to be armed with something that will be able to instill the sort of fear and utter helplessness that the beast conjures through some form of game play mechanic.
With this in mind, we proudly propose the “Non-Euclidean” variation. This form draws inspiration from the shapes encountered in the interior of the lost city of R’lyeh. When in Non-Euclidean mode, one of Cthulhu’s psionic projectiles exudes an aura of confusion which, after making contact with an opponent, results in the same sort of button mix up that the panic ailment causes in Persona 4 Arena.
There’s no question that access to such a frustrating mechanic would see rapid tournament bans, but I don’t want to fight Cthulhu, do you?
No, no you don’t.
The Headless Horseman, from Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” (and, again all sorts of other stuff)
What roster full of menacing badasses is truly complete without this guy? Back in the early 1800s, he terrorized readers with his ghastly image and he’s been inspiring creative media ever since.
Obviously, he shouldn’t be mounted in every variation (note: I did say every), so when he’s without his mount, I’m picturing a man in a suit of dark ceremonial armor, but without a helmet—which I guess is a given. He’d grip a large, flaming sword in one hand and his severed head, complete with eyes rolled back and maybe a little bit of fresh blood still dripping from it, would be cradled lovingly in his other arm.
The Headless Horseman would likely be a sort of bruiser-style rush down character. His mix up potential would be lacking (more on that in a minute), but he would make up for it with massively damaging, long-reaching normals and a set of high hitstun specials that work to insinuate fear while lengthening his combos. He would also be able to throw his head to create frame traps akin to what Cody does with Bad Stone in certain situations, and it’d be decent at dealing with other projectiles, though would likely incur heavy recovery frames so cranial chuckers would need to mind their timing.
As far as variants are concerned, Keep your Head On! mode would afford the rider access to the independent control of his disembodied head through the use of negative edge in a style similar to Guilty Gear’s Eddy or, perhaps more appropriately, Ms. Fortune from Skullgirls. This would allow him access to superior mix up options and possibly even unblockables, depending on how unfair the character needs to be.
Jaws, from the movie of the same name
Right now you’re thinking, how can we honestly have a shark in the game like this? and to that I say, “Don’t worry about it. We can iron that part out later.” The important thing to consider is the sort of playstyle that a shark would bring to a 2D fighting title. He’d be aggressive, he’d be lethal, and he’d probably have a weird detriment where he’d incur some sort of negative effect on himself if he decided to stop moving…or maybe his back dash would just be terrible.
His attacks would be short-ranged, but his combos would likely be long. He’d also probably have a sort of command grab to keep things extra interesting. In order to help him get in, Jaws would have a charge attack of some variety—probably something along the lines of what Bane has in Injustice: Gods Among Us, or even something like Kabal has in previous Mortal Kombat titles. This move could also pass through opponents and offer left/right mix up opportunities.
For variants, we’d like to offer up Blood in the Water, which causes the movie star shark to no longer suffer hit stun for the duration of his charge attack, and this hit stun immunity would continue for a brief period after the charge attack ends in order to give him an easy opportunity to get combos started against overzealous opponents.
Another possible variant, We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Stage!, could vastly increase Jaws’ hitbox, reach, and damage output at the cost of a drastic decrease in speed. This mode would likely require that he play a more defensive game and stick to command grab punishes and other similar tactics in order to win.
Ashley “Ash” Williams, from the Evil Dead franchise
Though they definitely tread the line between mainstream and cult classic, the various properties that make up the Evil Dead franchise are a mainstay for fans of the horror genre. Telling the story of a regular dude who has to do battle with evil spirits while visiting a cabin in the woods with his friends, the gross-out factor incorporated through out each film would perfectly fit into the Mortal Kombat universe as it currently stands.
Ash would be an interesting departure from Mortal Kombat X’s variation system, however, in that there would be very little overlap between his playstyles. Each one would be based on his appearances in the three classic Evil Dead films, showing his progression from S-Mart employee to the Deadite-slaying Hero from the Sky.
To highlight his beginnings in the first Evil Dead, Ash will likely utilize a number of “accidental” attacks in one variation, similar to Phoenix Wright from Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Dodging his possessed friends is hard work, so he’d likely have very little time for actually staving off attacks from his opponent. His gameplay here would revolve around hit-and-run and other avoidance tactics, necessitating some smart movement in order to make sure his loved ones make contact with the Mortal Kombat cast instead of him.
The Evil Dead 2-based variation would allow Ash to engage in direct combat thanks to the chainsaw that replaces his possessed hand. Due to the ferocity of the weapon, attacks that make use of it could possibly deal increased chip damage, forcing opponents to avoid being locked down as often as possible. To further emphasize this facet of his gameplay, Ash would also be able to make use of the severed hand à la Felicia’s Kitty Helper to keep his foes in one place.
And finally, Ash further transforms in his last variation, based off Army of Darkness. Instead of a chainsaw, he would make use of a metal gauntlet and his “boomstick” (read: shotgun) to deal out damage. While his main goal would be to keep opponents at bay with the long-range firearm, the gauntlet should give him access to a number of hard-hitting, though ultimately quite clumsy, melee attacks.
Xenomorph, from the Alien franchise
Well, this one is a no-brainer. One of the most terrifying species in all of cinema, the Alien franchise’s Xenomorphs are quite literally killing machines. Armed with incredible strength, a sharp, whip-like, tail, acidic blood, and a host of other characteristics pulled directly from my nightmares, these creatures are capable of dishing out ridiculous amounts of harm even to the most resilient of fighters, which obviously makes them a perfect fit for the Mortal Kombat universe.
Due to the iconic nature of their battle capabilities, the playable Xenomorph in Mortal Kombat X would feature many of the same tools across its three variations: claws for mauling up close, the aforementioned tail for some long-range damage, and of course that weird, tiny, secondary mouth for use during some nasty throws.
One variation, however, could possibly revolve around the idea of acidic blood, allowing the Xenomorph to either harm itself, slathering its body in the blood or coating its claws for a boost to offense. This fighting style would also give players the opportunity to set up harmful zones on the battlefield that opponents would need to steer clear of, lest they incur even more damage.
Returning to the idea of throws, another variation would give the Xenomorph access to a variety of grapples, using its maneuvering to close the gap between it and the opponent and force them into hard-to-counter mixup situations. As grabs don’t appear to be part of their repertoire throughout any of the movies I’ve seen, this could perform an interesting twist on the typical grappler archetype by turning them into a speedy but low-damaging force that still needs to be respected when up close.
So, what do you think? Could you see any of these folks playable in Mortal Kombat X, or are we completely off the mark? Sure, there’s very little chance any of them actually make it into the game, but it’s a pretty fun exercise when a developer like NetherRealm Studios doesn’t take themselves too seriously and branches out into other mediums for cast members.
Let us know who you would like to see join the Mortal Kombat X cast as a guest character in the comments below.
