Hector Sanchez interview from GameLand Magazine (Russia):

"There are ~3 hours of cutscenes in MK Story Mode. There are several chapters, some of them will tell a story of one specific character, while others will include several different stories."

"No mini games. No Puzzle, Chess or Motor Kombat - nothing like that. There are several game modes, but all of them stick to the dark fighting theme."

Except for after MKII this is that Kitana. That Kitana is this Kitana? Whatever, one game later she's the Kitana that would probably wear something like this.

I didn't even think about Elektra when I saw this. You're right, it is very similar. Although they're both in desperate need of ass cloth.

I'm not crazy about the design but at least she looks better than she did in DC.

Since this thread is more focused on Kitana's attire, I figured I'd post this here. This is certainly not the most detailed thing in the world mind you lol, but I had an idea in mind and really needed to get it out. This is just a concept of something I'd personally like to see. My design is a long-sleeved, turtle necked bodysuit. Panel opening of the bust has semi-sheer black fabric. Long black gloves with gold wrist cuffs. An A-Symmetrical cape that drapes over one shoulder, and features a slightly lighter blue hue, the underside of the cape would be black. Then there is the garter thing going on that leads down to her gold tipped boots.

Cyrax render teaser

http://twitpic.com/2ri9nl

Relax, it's not a scan but an official teaser image made by Artiom Shorohov (http://twitter.com/cg_CCCP ), who is the author of the GameLand article.

He looks way too slutty, he needs to put some more metal on... EDIT: I just saw the colored version of Kitana's render, and I love what they're doing with the fabric, her costume looks amazing!

Funny, because I thought one of the big things about Kitana's story was how she developed and evolved from an assassin to princess & leader. Now, she ALWAYS was that way.
She just changed from one kind of princess cliche into another kind of princess cliche.

Why even bother giving her a bio anymore? Just write the word "Princess" over and over again.


You know, I find myself hoping one of the results of Raiden's time mucking is Mileena wins her fight, Kitana dies, and stays dead.

.......yeah.

O.O wow Xia ... that's umm, yeah. Not sure what to say. I don't think I could ever not like Kitana, no matter what her costume looks like. She is and will always be my favorite Mortal Kombat character.

Kitana remains my favorite character, but I'd rather she be killed off than see her continue to be chickified, flanderized, and fundamentally derailed into oblivion.


Second time this has happened to me with Mortal Kombat.

Well technically most of the characters from Mortal Kombat are cliches of something. If you're going to say that about Kitana, you might as well have them put ninja over and over on Scorpion and Subzero's profile, cop over and over on Sonya's, actor on Johnny Cages. They're all cliches. I think with Kitana's story, her costume fits. She was always regarded as Kahn's daughter, so she was automatically thought of as a princess. The assassin part allows the costume for a mask lol

TV Tropes is such a disgrace to humanity

Sonya and Johnny Cage....yes. They are cliches and they always have been. I don't know if you follow my posts, but you may note I almost never praise them as nuanced or complex characters. On the contrary, I tend to criticize them very harshly about that.

Scorpion, once upon a time, actually grew...or at least, was one his way...beyond his basic archetype. Then he got derailed and now he's little more than a one-note cliche. Though I wouldn't use the word "ninja."
More like "REVENGE!!!"

Sub-Zero...the younger one anyway...is a character who's grown beyond his simplistic label of "ice ninja" and become one of Mortal Kombat's most developed characters.
For now...*knock on wood*

Kitana once was up there with Sub-Zero. Now....princess.



I actually already addressed this subject in a previous thread.

Un momento...



And not to get off topic, but food for thought...what does emphasizing Kitana as a "PRINCESS" even while serving Shao Kahn say about him?

Which sounds more like Kahn...as we know him...to you?

"Kitana, my lovely royal daughter. I want you to sit by my side and wear these lovely garments."

or

"Kitana, I will tolerate no weakness from any daughter of mine. Now go learn how to kill a man three times your size with your bare hands."


I just have trouble seeing Shao Kahn encouraging or caring about Kitana's royal status...daughter or no. I think more pure assassin would be the encouraged attribute.

kitana's design is ok. nothing special about it, basically the same thing. i dont know what other outfit would fit her now. i guess since we have seen her in this so long....

I see where you're coming from, and you're right. As far as Scorpion and Subzero go, they are very developed characters. But design wise, they just like ninjas to me, nothing too special lol. That's the point I was making, the physical aspect.

As for Kitana, I actually can see him telling her both of those things. If Kahn didn't care at all for Kitana, I don't see why he didn't kill her in the first place, he didn't need her at all, and she was obviously a baby when he took over the throne (according to Sindel's ending). The tough way Shao Kahn rules, I could see him telling Kitana:
"Kitana, my lovely royal daughter. I want you to sit by my side and wear these lovely garments, but I will tolerate no weakness from any daughter of mine. Now go learn how to kill a man three times your size with your bare hands." I'm sure she was regarded as both princess and assassin. If Kahn participates in Mortal Kombat from time to time, why not his child? It probably was a shock for her to find out she was adopted, which I'm sure anyone would be shocked lol.

Your comments really help though, they make me think of theories I never would have guessed lol. You're a great debater

While I see where you're coming from, I'm just not sure a game called "Mortal Kombat" that thrives on the excesses of blood and violence, as well as a routine depiction of scantily dressed warrior women in barely-there bathing suits and black leather bondage gear, is the right medium to argue whether ageless, beautiful fantasy women are oversexualized or not.

You act like this is something the MK team just did and you're shocked they would stoop "this low". Baring the fact that I, several others, and even a few girls on this board (and a few female friends of mine) see nothing sexist or excessive about Kitana's design, I'd argue that compared to prior portrayals of women in their games, this actually shows RESTRAINT.

I was one of many that was upset that Sonya was fighting bra-less with her thong exposed in prior games. But Kitana has always been displayed as a gorgeous woman. It has nothing to do with "does she have to be attractive and half naked". I like fully-clothed Ashrah just as much as monstrous Sheeva and black-leather bondage-suit Sareena in terms of aesthetics.

I find it odd you're arguing against Kitana being portrayed as a physically flawless, gorgeous, ageless princess. I always felt her adherent beauty serves as a startling contrast to Mileena's disfigurement. But beyond that, she's always been portrayed as a physically fit, busty, beautiful brunette.







I am perfectly okay with a "normal", "average" girl in a fighting game. But Kitana is a fantasy warrior princess, established as a head-turning babe since the earliest games. Why would you want to cast her beauty and sexual mystique aside? I do not see her as objectified. Yes, she is beautiful and sexy, but her fierce eyes, flowing hair and draped cloth coverings, and token razor-fans quickly divert my attention to more interesting landscapes than between her cleavage.

I've had a steady argument with people over the past few days, bemoaning the character assassination that female gaming icon Samus Aran underwent in the recent Metroid: Other M game, transitioning from a fiercely independent, ruthless, stoic, quiet, empowered badass bounty hunter who just so happens to be a woman into this new creature, who is frail, dainty, soft, vulnerable, overly emotional, panicky, codependent, submissive, and painfully insecure and demure.

To me, THAT is a far more grievous detriment to her attraction and appeal than any overindulgent cutscene the game shows us of her super-tight Zero-suit-clad boobs and butt.

Kitana is a strong, empowered, courageous woman with ruthless skill and a relentless, indomitable will. She also just so happens to be a total babe, with beauty to make an Outworld mutant jealous and a body to turn a Shaolin Monk's head. But her attraction could be downright deadly, her lips housing a kiss of death. She's MK's token femme fatale, a ravishing royal assassin whose sexual appeal and physical flawlessness is part of her attraction but not her defining characteristic.

MK has its macho men, its monsters, its freaks, its mutants. Kitana is the beautiful underside to all that ugliness. To be beautiful is not to be less of a warrior, or to be demeaned to a mere sex object. There is empowerment in beauty, and Kitana embodies it fully without letting it become her defining characteristic (such as the Dead or Alive or Soul Calibur women).

Kitana is far more than her outfit, her body, her face, her origin, or her weapon. She is a culmination of all these things, but never lets her looks, her skills, or her past define her. She is a multi-faceted fighter of fears and flaws, yet also strengths and allure. And, to me, that is vastly more interesting, appealing, and even downright sexy than any loin-cloth and bikini top she could ever wear.

KUDOS TO GARLADOR!! That post was eloquent and basically sums up my argument as well. Those pictures also lend weight to your argument.

Well, yeah, sure they do...except for the "not" part. If anything, it goes to show that Crow is right, that this costume is far skimpier than her past ones. She's wearing a skimpy two-piece to battle. Are there any pics that were posted there where she was wearing a two-piece?

Fact of the matter is, this is the most skin she has ever shown off. I'm with Crow. I don't like the design one bit and I really can't understand why women HAVE to be shown half-naked in order to be strong or beautiful. So Kitana is gorgeous. Garlador listed her eyes, and the fact that she is generally fit and attractive. None of those aspects factor in her attaire, or lackthereof in this case. And none of those factors automatically indicate that because she is attractive, she HAS to be shown half naked in order to show that beauty. She really doesn't need to, and this design just thrusts her into the archetype of "typical, half naked video game babe that can kick".

I also find it funny that as soon as someone like Crow or myself mention that we don't like the design, or she is showing off too much skin, or even that the design just doesn't fit, that MUST mean that we have to go COMPLETELY to the other side of the pedulum and we think that Kitana must be covered "head to toe". Or she has to be fat. Really? Is it really one or the other in your mindsets? Kitana does not have to be covered head to toe, or fattened, but for crying out loud, there is a medium that can be met that doesn't disgrace the character by turning her into a piece of meat. Garlador, whether he meant to or not, just stated how she can be portrayed as attractive, and none of that had anything to do with her attire.
You are not casting her beauty, or sexual mystique, aside if she dresses a little less like a stripdancer, so I really do not see how portraying her like this does her any justice or gives her any bit of distinction from the 1,412,345,325 other video game girls that are developed exactly the same way. Personally, I just do not understand why females have to constantly be given the same look in order to be labeled "sexy" or "beautiful".

Although, I would also heartilly agree with her character assasination as well. Females seem to be the most inconsistent characters in games. Kitana has devolved into the helpless princess, and Garlador's example of Samus is enough to make my blood boil. Even the girls in DOA, skilled, tough fighters, got transformed into frail, little dainty things in DOA Xtreme Breast Volleyball. I really don't think developers even understand the characters they create sometimes.

I think the pictures really help. She's wearing a bathing suit in all of those pictures. Now she's showing her middrift along with that (which she was already showing her belly and "would-be" happy trail in 3 and 4). That's seriously like 2 strands of thread of her costume taken away. Kitana has always dressed in revealing clothes, it's nothing new. People got mad about samus because the things they changed is out of character lol. Kitana showing up on the battle field in a bathing suit is something that's been done since her creation, it's just a little less now, it doesn't detract from the character at all. The fact that this game goes back in time to her more revealing days kinda helps explain that.

Well said Skaven.

I really don't know why you linked some of those pictures. Her MK:DA costume is clearly more tasteful and Talisa Soto hardly shows any skin at all. She isn't even showing thigh, which is something Kitana is well known for. That is a good costume, if you want my honest opinion. It's subtle, fits the character and Talisa Soto looks natural. She doesn't look fake or cosmetic. Obviously this is a fantasy game, so once I again I stress I'm not seeking realism. I'm merely seeking something I feel fits the character. This does not strike me as "assassin", it isn't dark enough and it feels flowery (small note here, I appreciate the designs but the colors are a bit trite). The movie's costume is far more tasteful and lends nothing to the argument, I don't see it at all.

All those pictures prove is that Kitana's bust size has increased and her clothing has decreased. Pictures don't lie, just look at the evidence. Look at your own signature skyboy, you can't tell me those characters are equally sexualized.

All of those pictures above fit Kitana as an assassin. This new Kitana, seems to go a bit over board in the stomach area.

The pics of Katalin Zamiar and the drawings of Kitana in MK2 are highly different though. They draw her as a busty woman in every game, it's the real life counterparts that are normal. Now, I could either way. If she had more realistic proportions or exaggerated, I'm happy. I think she finally looks pretty and they got the character right in my opinion. The light colors I think shows her royalty more than her assassin side. You probably already know you're going to die if you go in the ring with her, so there's no need for her to sneak up on you lol.

I respect y'alls opinion and think you have great points, but I don't think we're going to get through to each other lol.

Well said Garlador.


I will repeat myself, Did everyone complain and nit pick this much about Mileena, Jade, and Tanya when they got costumes just like Kitana's if not more revealing in MK Deception? What about those costumes? Kitana's is just like those from Deception.



Kitana is/was always a princess, she was born a princess, she was a princess when Shao Khan adopted her, being such a boastful emperor why would he not call his daughter a princess. Yes he had her trained as an assassin, thats all part of her mystique. Whats better than a beautiful princess, whom you think poses no threat, but who will actually tear your head off.

I actually think that Talisa Soto's costume is the best of all of them and it shows the least skin. Not sure what that says, but for a character that's basically known as a female assassin, I like that interpretation of Kitana better than the new costume from the MK team.

No big deal, everyone has their preferences.

I don't know about you, but I think her bust size has DECREASED compared to her spine-snapping MK4 and Deadly Alliance depictions. Her bosom seems to be quite the moderately healthy, anatomically correct size now according to my eyes.

I would also like to know, Crow, just where you draw the line on "too much skin" for Kitana to show? Is it her navel? Too much thigh? Should she ditch the lace-covered cleavage for Mileena's underboobs? At what point did Kitana transition from "perfectly acceptable" in your eyes to "totally uncalled for levels of succulent lady flesh"?

As I've mentioned before, Kitana, yes, is showing more skin then ever. She's also shown a much stronger personality with more ferocity and assertiveness than ever before. But I fail to see how Kitana is any less prudish or flagrantly sexy than her best friend Jade was in MK: Deception.


Ultimately, I can't convince you that Kitana isn't "oversexed" or that you'll overcome your apparently inability to see this new design as depicting her as a sex object, but, as I mentioned prior, this is consistent with plenty of depictions of Arabic princess, fantasy female assassins, and her own storied history of sexy regalia. I'll just conclude that her costume in this new game to me comes across as classy and I, in no way whatsoever, see it as sexist, slutty, degrading, over overly sexualized.

Oh man, thanks for the shot-by-shot of Kitana through the games! The modeling team has definitely gotten A LOT better at anatomy. Her DA model looks like a man with balloons in his shirt lol. Looking at them together now, Kitana actually does look better, anatomically speaking. EDIT: yeah, the gold looks a lot better than the silver, stands out more. I thought it looked a little gaudy at first, but it does look really good, and the blue gold compliment each other a lot