Meh, I suppose I should back up my claims.
Tier One:
01.Mileena
Why?: No delay time on moves, strong uppercut, fastest fighter in the game, good jump kick.
02.Kitana: Outside of their special moves, Kitana is the same character as Mileena. What makes her weaker than her evil twin is the fact that her moves have delay time. However, she's actually more powerful than Mileena (If you get your opponent cornered, they are essentially done.)
03.Jax: The only time I've enjoyed playing Jax in a Mortal Kombat game. When he made his first appearance, he was extremely powerful. Basically, a methodical Jax player could slowly chip away at anyone and beat them. His backbreaker enabled him to take out aerial opponents, his projectile had a great range, and his Ground Pound was an instant cure for "turtles."
04.Liu Kang: Liu Kang has always been one of the extremely well balanced characters. He has the strongest single move in the game, the bycicle Kick, which takes off 33% of his opponents life bar with one hit. He also has the most projectile range of any character, being able to strike standing, crouching and jumping. The only reason he is so low in the first tier is the considerable opening opponents have when his moves are blocked.
Tier 2:
05.Kung Lao: He's another character who basically has a move for every situation. The ability to move the hat up and down after it's thrown is very useful. His hat spin is a great counter to jumping opponents. His uppercut is the best in the game. The only reason he's not a top tier character is an extremely weak jump kick. The way Kung Lao extends his leg makes it very easy to uppercut him out of the sky.
06.Sub-Zero: Arguably the strongest character in the first Mortal Kombat, Sub-Zero was balanced out quite a bit in Mortal Kombat 2. His slide isn't nearly as hard to block, his jump kick comes in on a very weak, uppercut prone angle, and his own uppercut is one of the weakest in the game. This was the only Mortal Kombat game where Sub-Zero was a pretty average character.
07.Johnny Cage: Johnny Cage is a very well balanced character. He is the ultimate character for knocking your opponent out of the air, as he can hit them with both his powerful uppercut, his Shadow Punch, and two variations of fireballs. The Sahdow kick is, like many moves in MK2, Dumbed down quite a bit. The only thing that really keeps Cage out of the top tier is the lack of a true stun move, and the fact that his Shadow Punch and Shadow Kick leave him wide open for attack.
08.Scorpion: One of the two strongest characters in Mortal Kombat 1, Scorpion was dumbed down even more than Sub-Zero. His uppercut and jump kicks are just as weak as his Lin Kuei counterparts. His spear has lost a lot of speed, and is now very easily blocked, and his teleport leaves him open for an easy uppercut. Scorpion in MK 2 proves that the most popular character certainly isn't the best.
Tier Three:
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09.Shang Tsung: Shang Tsung's only real strength lies in his ability to morph into other characters. His fireball attacks can be used for a decent juggle, and his uppercut and jump kick are very decent. This is perhaps the only thing that saves Shang Tsung from being even lower in the ranks.
10.Baraka: I had a field day with Baraka players. His projectile is very small, and is delivered at full height, so it's very easy to duck. You can actually do a freeze as sub-zero, and you will not only duck under his Blade Spark, but will freeze him. Baraka's shredder move has the longest delay time of any move in the game, other than the fan lift. Baraka could've been a second tier character if they'd given him a slightly stronger projectile. However, that didn't happen.
11.Raiden: It's humorous how the only deity in MK2 is the second weakest character. Raiden's Torpedo move is tough to pull of for most novice players. His teleport often leaves him open to uppercuts, and his shock bear hug is next to impossible to pull off in a real match. His projectile is decent, but like most projectiles, it leaves him wide open for attack.
Tier 4:
12.Reptile: It's a shame Reptile is such a terrible character in this game; he had some of the coolest fatalities in the game, but it's not like you'll get to perform them much, except on your 11 year old brother. Reptile suffers from the same problems Sub-Zero and Scorpion do in his generic moves. His special moves aren't much better. His forceball, is the slowest projectile in the game. His acid spit, though quick, is extremely weak, and not that difficult to block. His slide is also very easy to block, unless set up with a jump kick. His invisibility is a gimmicky, useless move. Reptile is such a weak character that he deserves a tier all to himself.
MK Khronology: 58.49% complete...
