I like both characters but I've really gotta go with Cage. He was one of the highlights of story mode, and I really like his gameplay. Frame traps and dick punches ftw.

Raiden.

I like him as amin character of MK and I hope that he maybe retain this role in the next installment of the series. Besides, electricity is my favorite elemental power, so Raiden automatically receives another points for being god of thunder. His always was stylish and his gameplay was more often then not very good, MK2 and MKT aside. While Johhny finally received deserved respect in MK9, I'll go with Raiden in the long run.

Alot of people talk about how Raiden was so thoroughly screwed up as a character MK9 storywise. My original reaction was negative toward him, but honestly, there were things that I liked.

For one, he basically had to figure out how to do things correctly after getting a cryptic message from his future self. "He must win."

From that point, he basically seems to question everything he does because the end result of his original intentions, regardless of how aware he is of this, turn out badly. For me, the player, this makes Raiden interesting.

It was also interesting watching him fail in several instances. Alot of people died because of his decisions, and while that might make people hate him, I love that 1. It REALLY makes me wonder what's going to happen to those dead characters going forward and 2. It shows that he's fallable.

As he continues down the wrong path and people die, he tries to deal with an absolute villain. To me, that was one of the best parts of the whole story. It showed me how far he'd fallen and how desperate this god had become.

I mean, to me, there was something rather cool and intriguing about MK taking it's wise diety character, twisting him around and kind of dragging them through the mud a little.

Of course, in the end, he figured it out and got the job done. So again, I get why people hate his story in MK9, as he seemed like a bungling idiot the whole way through, but I actually thought that NRS made him a more interesting character overall.

I do agree with those that find his gameplay to be a bit stale though. I said it before, but he's a GOD. How does he not have a cooler move list than this?

"A lot of good that lighting is going to do when I punch you in the nuts!" -Johnny Cage

Raiden.
I like him better and Johnny knocked Jade out so it made it easier to vote against him.
Let's hope the mods don't "forget" to end the poll at the right time this time.

Don't be bitter, man. It's not like it is Johnny's fault that he won over Jade due to overtime.

I like Raiden, but MK9 didn't do him any favors. Sure, his gameplay is cool but that doesn't excuse his fuck-ups in the Story Mode.

This is where I hated Raiden in Story Mode, when he killed Liu Kang. Rather than just teleporting away, he zaps Liu Kang. What kind of shit is that?


Cage on the other hand was just all around awesome. Story was good for Cage, gameplay was good for Cage, character portrayal was good for Cage.

As far as I'm concerned, Cage beats Raiden on all levels.

I'm voting for Cage.

However, Raiden gets too much flack for what happened in MK9's story mode. And Liu Kang and Kung Lao's deaths were their own faults. All Liu had to was have a little faith, do what Raiden said, and then not attack him. As for Kung Lao, no one ever told him turning his back on Shao Kahn was a good idea. Darwin in action right there lol.

We'll try...

Voted Cage. Raiden still rocks though.

Johnny.

Raiden selling the souls of his friends to QUAN CHI,of all people,forever ruined all respect and admiration I had for Thunder God.

Dude was trying to save Earthrealm. A few warriors souls to save billions more?

I'm going with the one and only, JOHNNY CAGE!!! Only because Raiden let the Lin Kuei capture Sub-Zero and turned him into CSZ...

Otherwise I always liked Raiden

I'm pretty sure you meant to post "@Nephrite".

Anyway, I'm not going back to Rain and Kahn since we obviously disagree. You think Kitana did poorly, I think Kitana did well, and we'll just leave it at that.

As for Scorpion, I already explained what happened to him here in this poll and previous posts from other users back it up. He is generally insanely popular, but here in this poll where only MKO members vote he suffers badly from all the haters and he's got plenty of those here.

As for Noob Saibot, I already said in my previous post that I do think he is a popular character. But just answer me this question please... Who do you think is more popular, Noob Saibot or Sub-Zero?

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I still voted for Raiden. While I like Johnny in MK2011 more than Raiden, I preferred Raiden in every other game over Johnny Cage.

MK2011 made me like Johnny (probably more than ever before) and disappointed me with Raiden. However, when I take both characters' entire history into account and their design/concept, Raiden is still million miles ahead of Johnny in my book.

If NRS announced a new MK game tomorrow, I'd definitely be more excited to see Raiden than Cage.



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OFF-TOPIC [Apologies!]:



LOL, that's cool. I only watched the Japanese anime show. I couldn't stand Chibiusa there lol, especially in the 4th season. She was funny in season 3 though, I'll give her that. Not sure what was she like in the manga.

Mars is my fave character overall followed by Nephrite, my favorite villain. I also like Pluto a lot.

Raiden zapped Liu in self defense. I think Liu deserved it anyway. What was he thinking, attacking a God. Seriously man, seriously. I'm pretty sure that Raiden just reacted quickly instead of thinking that through.

I've read quite a few posts about how Raiden's role in the story was horrible and how he got a bunch of people killed.

First and foremost, Raiden didn't get anyone killed.

Kung Lao and Liu Kang should have listened to Raiden when he told them each to back down. Kung Lao was being a whiny ass and Liu Kang was being stubborn.

As for Jax, Smoke, Kitana, Stryker, Kabal, Sub-Zero, and Jade, they each took a chance on defeating Sindel and they all lost. That's not Raiden's fault.

Second, his role in this story shows that anyone can fall. It shows that despite being a god, on the inside he's as weak as everyone else (x-ray pun not intended, but it is funny). I liked Raiden's desperation and I liked his perseverance, despite his many failures.

I hope in the next game, he truly redeems himself.

C'mon Johnny Cage! You just need a few more votes!

Am I the only one who finds the death of the several characters both entertaining and interesting?

To me it is a huge twist from the old timeline and I am curious to see where NRS is going with this.

I am expecting everything to be retconned, or resolved in a super lazy wasteful manner that makes the deaths meaningless, and that is what bothers me.

they're all going to be zombies, just like liu kang. Because everyone loved it :D

I think the souls that Quan Chi possesses now will be freed with Shinnok's and Quan's defeat... That's how I would like to happen that is.

Raiden wouldn't have had to zap him had he just teleported away. Liu's anger was justified. All Raiden did was let Liu Kang down. It seemed like anyone who listened to Raiden was dying.

And Raiden begging for Quan Chi's help? I would be skeptical of Raiden to if I were Liu Kang. Not too mention, Raiden was bargaining with souls that WEREN'T his. Just because he's a god, that gives him the right to auction other people's souls? If Raiden only offered HIS soul I could understand, but he didn't.

Honestly, I can't blame Liu for thinking Raiden went mad.

I don't blame Raiden for Kung Lao's death, or even for Liu Kang's (though why he couldn't have just teleported away from Kang's attack is beyond me).

I just can't accept that he could be this indecisive, especially given his prior history. Raiden's never been anything but assertive. He looks at the situation and takes action, no fuss, no muss. Shinnok's trying to take Earthrealm for his own? Sentence him to eternity in hell. Bi-Han's given Quan Chi the key to future conquest? Go get that amulet back right now, fucko. Shao Kahn's invading Earthrealm? Go right to the Elder Gods and find answers. They can't help? Fine, he sacrifices his own immortality so he can go head-to-head with Kahn and his goons. Outnumbered and outgunned against the Dragon King? Fine. Nuke everything present including self. Raiden grabs problems by the throat and throttles until they're solved.

I won't deny that they tried to depict that to some extent - he did everything he thought he could (and believe me, I do appreciate him going right to the gods, even if their answers were some of the worst kind of horseshit retcons the series has seen to date) - but all that self-doubt didn't become him, not at all. I'm not saying he should have been shown as completely infallible, but he should have been trying to get a handle on things coldly and logically rather than growing desperate and nervous. And if he had to, absolutely had no other choice but to make a deal with a devil like Quan Chi, he would not fucking approach him half-bowed, hands clasped, practically on his knees. He should have been depicted with some dignity, still standing tall, staring the sorcerer straight in the eyes in his tennis-ball head despite everything crumbling to shit around him. If Raiden falls, he goes down with fists blazing. Always with a bang, never a whimper.

And it's not just Raiden's weak portrayal that has me adamant that Cage should win this; I don't think that Cage himself has ever got the credit he's been due. In a roster of cookie-cutter good guys, starting with MK Trilogy, you can see the level of devotion and commitment he puts into fighting on the side of the angels. MK4 had him literally ask to be given life again so he could come back, when he had every right to stay at rest and at peace. All that "lolololol he just dies and comes back again" spiel....I've never gotten that. His death was game-changer for him. Yeah, he's a blowhard, but he's always had a heart of gold, and that's always made him really stand out for me, on a level above Liu Kang, Sonya or Jax. And to see him realized so well, to finally give us that sense of the hilarious personality and airheaded arrogance we've always known he had - it's just too much. I think Cage should win this whole competition, frankly (Though I can certainly understand people disagreeing with me on that last point, everyone's favorites are everyone's favorites after all).

This is a match that just epitomizes "badly written" versus "fully realized" to me. No offense, Raiden fans - I love him too, that's why I'm so pissed over what they did with him this go-around.

I don't know who to vote for

No... just... just no.

I voted for Cage.

I really don't know who to choose. These guys are not my favorites, but I still would love to see them in future MK titles: Raiden because he is essential to the story and Johnny Cage because he is a one of the coolest MK characters ever and I would also like to see him grow because he is somewhat unimportant storywise despite his popularity.

They both were in the original MK1(and MK2) and remind me of the good old days. I remember in during MK3, we were like "where's Johnny Cage/where's Raiden", hinting their popularity.

Yea raiden killed the asswhole Lui Kang (who somewhat deserved it - gosh I hated Lui Kang and Kung Lao during MK9; their personalities just flip flopped!), but he did manage to save Johnny, who was killed by the extermination squad prior to MK3. We love Johnny and Raiden was the reason why he is still here (sorry Motaro fans but somebody had to go).

Poor Raiden just wanted to prevent Armageddon, and although he was successful, he did some f'd up stuff. I really feel that he had no choice but to let sub zero fall or shao kahn, his minions, and the Lin Kuie would have jumped his ass.

I can't decide as of now. You guys can have this one....