At this point in the franchise, the whole new character thing has become tricky. IMO almost all of the new characters up until MK4 were welcomed editions to the ever growing roster. From MK4 and on there were more misses than there were hits, so there a fear that comes with the talk about new characters in a MK game.

To answer your question though, I'm all for new characters.I just hope that these new characters are awesome and not lame like Darrius or Shujinko lol

I don't think we do to be perfectly honest. Everyone deserves a second chance. Sure, they were less than great in their debut. But they deserve a chance to actually become something better.

I'd like to be able to say I like Kobra someday.

Yes and no...kinda? I mean there are characters that they've already introduced but haven't been playable, so they'd be new in that sense. For example, King Jerrod (sorta) and that woman in Jade's dream. I personally would welcome them for the next game because even if they were just in endings, there's still an idea with them involved floating in someone's mind that can be developed on.

Otherwise, I'd like to see more development for some MK4-MKA characters that have potential. So overall, I wouldn't mind a couple, not a whole lot though.

I don't consider Skarlet new since she was DLC and wasn't part of the game's story. Besides her, we haven't seen a new character since Armageddon. So to answer your question, yes I do think we need new characters. I want to see what the creative team can come with.

I agree with people on both sides. The post MK4 characters are poor... but... they do have a lot to work with/ could re-design a lot of characters. With that said we've actually had 3 MK games with no batch of new characters. I would like to think they have an Idea or two up their sleeve for new characters/ it's about time for some new characters lol

I'll say this in regards to new characters. Less is more NRS. We don't need 4 or 5. I think 2 to 3 is the MAXIMUM amount of new characters they should have. Anymore you risk them being overshadowed by more well known characters.

I still want Lillith my fanmade character :(

The fires of the netherrealm were about to take over. Shinnok's rule over Outworld would threaten the very existence of the Living Forest. Using all of it's energy the Living forest created a walking talking version of itself, Lillith. Lillith would side with Raiden's forces to.help stop Shinnok or she would watch her home, her family, go up in flames.

I would love to see a new batch of fresh faces.

It's time.

Ed pretty much confirmed that there will be two brand new characters revealed at E3 and I'm excited to see them. I am a bit skeptical, considering their track record with introducing newbies, but I'm trying to think positively about the outcome. As long as they don't go over board with adding new characters, give them some cool looks (Scorpion and Sub-Zero's designs look awesome in my opinion compared to their designs in MK 2011 so I'm expecting good updated costumes for everyone else as well) and they make their stories interesting, I'm confident they'll fit into the series and may even become some new fan favorites.

Yeah Ed has talked about NEW characters twice now on Twitter. Its happening, and MK definitely needs it. Just think about all the talent NRS has brought on since Deception. Im psyched to see what those guys can do. MK does need new blood. Lets see what theyve got!

Pretty cool idea for a character. Very well thought out.

Oh thanks man, Yeah I thought of the living forest possibly burning up whenever Mk9 ended. I thought what would happen to it? Then I thought hmmm...perfect place to add that grass character people always wanted.

Yes. We do. MK needs fresh blood. I'd love to see revamps of most characters from MK4-MKA but realistically, some aren't worth revamping (Kira, Dairou, Hsu Hao, Darrius, Jarek) and others are so tangential to the plot that they may not get in (Kobra (I like Kobra), Li Mei, possibly Ashrah, Nitara, Mavado)

The only ones I think should get a revamp are the ones who have potential and who can realistically be fitted into the plot of the game. For instance, we don't need to have the Raiden accidentally teleport into the Vampire Realm so we can have one fight against Nitara and thus introduce her into the game. Now, if OIA/Lin Kuei build a portal to Outworld and it comes out in Vampire Realm and they have to ally with the Vampires, that's a different matter....

I think the only ones who are a definite revamp are Tanya, Reiko, Fujin and Kai.

I've been saying for years that MK doesn't need new characters so long as there are 3D era characters to update.

Why would I want new characters if they're going to get tossed aside when the next game comes out? "You like Nitara? Good shit! We'll make her relevant in a new MK game somewhere around 10 years from now... if we feel like it."

Fuck that noise. We don't need new blood for sake of new blood. Though it's still up in the air whether the E3 characters are going to be true "new" characters are not, I realize that completely brand new characters are inevitable. Just remember, though: multiple versions of characters are going to create additional strain when it comes to balancing the gameplay. Adding new blood is going to result in some very-deserving characters being left out.

^ It's not up in the air. New characters will be at E3. And the franchise needs it. PS2 MK had the worst new characters. They are not "owed" anything. Make new ones that are great and let past mistakes guide you. Hsu Hao? Kira? Kobra? Kenshi was the last good, new MK character, and the rest was NRS jumping the shark. Let's see what NRS's new team can do.

Yeah but who's to say those characters couldn't be good now? If NRS has picked up so much talent since Deception, it 's not hard to imagine them bringing back lackluster 3D characters and making them likeable.

And really, the new characters might not even be good. They could just be adding to the current trash heap of characters we have now. I say we fix the post MK3 characters first, then worry about new characters.

But why? The only real reason is because they already exist, albeit to a small percentage of players. I feel that most people around here are pulling for PS2 era characters out of a sort of "the devil you know" sort of way. The vast majority of MK players arent familiar with PS2 era characters, so NRS dont have a lot reason to include them over a fresh one.

I really dont get the desire to retread old, less-than-awesone territory. MKX looks to be branching off into a new direction filled with new ideas. No more retelling whats already been told. Thats the whole point of a reboot. Not to tell the same story slightly different.

130% this. Can't add more, absolutely perfect.

Pretty much this. It's time to move on. If you just want the same old faces, you can simply play MK9. I only hope that they put more thought and effort in the new characters, instead of generic forgetful people like Darrius and Dairou.

You know what, I'd actually be pretty okay with them doing a retcon and drop Orderrealm and Chaosreal altogether. Like, what were they thinking when they created those? Who are they paying to come up with crap like that to begin with?

At the end of the day I am completely open to new characters and is actually excited to see brand new faces. That said, I don't want them to become another batch of one hit wonders. That's where my worry comes from and that's why I think more than 6 is NOT a good idea. Deadly Alliance & Deception gave us 8 new characters each and look how some of those characters turned out.

But who knows? Maybe it'll be different this time. I just hope at the end of the day majority of the newbies actually return for the next game. That's what I'm mainly concerned about.

Do we need new character? It's not critical. Would it be cool if they added new characters (provided they didn't suck)? Absolutely. 2-3 fresh new characters would be a welcomed addition.

Sure, why not? It'd be nice to get new characters that we'd ACTUALLY look forward to seeing in a sequel, instead of asking and hoping for the same ones we've been asking and hoping for for years now.

New faces are welcome as far as I'm concerned.

If majority of players don't know them, they'd feel like new characters to them. And if they do bring them back, they'd have to reintroduce them differently. Since this is a new timeline.

Stryker is the prime example of redemption around here. If they can take Stryker from fat cop to awesome badass imagine what they could do for someone like Hsu Hao or Darrius. There isn't one character who's so shitty they can't be revamped for the better.

Though there are many characters that could use some major development, since NRS has already declared the inclusion of new characters, I say bring it on!

Hopefully, there are no more than four new characters, so there is more room for old characters return. Still have my fingers crossed for Bo' Rai Cho.

As far as new characters versus 3D era characters is concerned, I see a few issues.

For one, NRS rebooted their whole story. So in order to bring 3D era characters in now that appear post MK4 and have no ties to Shinnok, they'll have to use some creative storytelling.

This isn't the case for all characters, but certainly some. Li Mei, Bo Rai Cho, Mavado and Hsu Hao enter the fray because of a deadly alliance that never occurs since Shang Tsung's dead.

Reptile and Nitara never meet because he never goes to inform on the deadly alliance to Shao Khan because there is no deadly alliance and Shao Khan's dead. Nitara wouldn't show him Kitana's resistance base because Kitana's dead. In short, she has nothing Reptile wants.

He doesn't fight Cyrax and destroy his arm panel. Cyrax doesn't pull the orb from the lava because they're not there. Reptile doesn't chase them there, no beam of light, no Dragon King.

No Dragon King, no Hotaru, no Havik. Going down another path, no Sub Zero reforming the Lin Kuei because he's dead (no idea who the guy in the video is), no Frost. No Kabal, no Kira and Kobra.

Now... I know that stories can be reworked. Events that happened in the new timeline can create other events that can necessitate these characters.

All I'm saying, is that it would likely be easier to create new characters with new stories that work with what they're trying to do with their main through line, than rework existing characters' existing stories to fit the new through line.

The other issue is that with new characters, they'd be starting with a blank slate. They can look any way NRS wants and as previously mentioned, have any story that NRS wants or needs to help with the narrative of the new timeline.

Existing 3D era characters, in contrast, are seen by many fans, especially casuals, and in some cases openly by Boon as well as being flawed in one or several facets.

Maybe it's their appearance or their moves or their story or maybe it's a combination of two or all three of these.

As an example, Mavado has a cool look, but many fans hated his moves, having Kabal's hook swords and some didn't like the whole Black Dragon / Red Dragon story.

But everyone has characters that they feel are deserving of a second chance and characters they'd rather never see again (or would at least need huge changes in order to want to see again).

The issue here is would NRS rather have a blank slate and a chance to build something cool from the ground up, or would they rather take a character that's flawed in some way or many ways that even they might not like and somehow find a way to fix them, appearance, moves etc and THEN reconfigure their background and story to shoehorn them in to this game?

I'm not saying throw the 3D era characters away. Really, I'm not. I used Mavado as an example because he's one of my favorite 3D era characters and I still think that he has massive potential.

All I'm saying is that I find fault in this idea that NRS would be better off using these characters as opposed to new characters or that they deserve a second chance or that NRS should try to fix them before adding more.

Story-wise, maybe NRS reworked the timeline to kinda permanently flush some of these character out of the MK universe and end any obligation to try and improve upon these designs? Maybe going forward with new designs instead of trying to rework what they might see as flawed designs is more appealing to them?

Just thinking out loud here. I know that some will hate these ideas, and I certainly do too. I still want to know what happens to Drahmin. I still think that some have potential.

But if this is the way NRS chooses to go, and they have created cover enough to go that route, then sure. Use the larger team, the time, the assets etc to make new characters. Two, five, ten, whatever. But they'd better be damn good if 3D era characters are to be left in the dust.