I switch amongst almost all the characters on the roster. Sure, I have some favourites that I prefer to play as, but when I play with my buddies, we always switch between the characters for every battle. That's why I like to have many characters in the roster, because then there are more different characters to play as. Playing as the same guy over and over again in a fighting game is rather boring, imo.

Well the simplist answer I can give is that on the message boards most of the posters are Mortal Kombat aficionados that know about the lore and story. More characters help to enrich the story.

Mortal Kombat 9 was a very successful game. It was the best selling game in the franchise and Warner Bros said that is was a success. A lot of new people started to play and started off with Scorpion since he is a character people like for various reasons. I do not think these newer fans really care about the lore and just want to play as their favourite characters and have a good time.

Scorpion is also very easy to use. He's kinda the Ryu (Street Fighter) of Mortal Kombat.. He's basic and easy, fast and strong, very noob-friendly character... one of the main reasons he is so popular.

But when you look at the more hardcore players, the tournament players and such, Scorpion is more an afterthought.

During the tournament peak of MK9, people were alternating characters literally all the time.

And just because it a game has 30 characters doesn't mean it includes your favorite character. More characters equals a higher probability your main will show up.

There's always people who are in it just to win a lot of matches, so they pick the most scrub-friendly characters and stick with them. You needn't worry about them, my child.

Precisely!

Bi-Han would very much disagree.

People always want what they don't have. And once they have something they thought they wanted, they realize how wrong they were for thinking they needed that much. That when they don't simply wish for more. But in another light, fans as a group all crave the same things. A more diverse and/or polyvalent cast. It doesn't mean that each and everyone in this weird community will start realizing they can get out of their comfort zone.

... Ba-dum tish.

I know, terrible, but I couldn't resist. ^^

I actually had to read it a couple of times before I got it. xD

I'm kinda in this boat. I use only certain people.

I have not observed this. If we're going by just the posts of this forum, how often have we seen this attitude manifest? Has anyone ever played MK9 and come to the realization that adding their top 3-5 favorite characters to the game didn't improve the experience? Being able to play Smoke, Sindel, Sub, and Nightwolf at high level has been one of the most rewarding gaming experiences ever for me.

I'm not saying this attitude never happens, but I see no evidence that this was the case with MK9 (or any MK game).

Let's get to the heart of the matter.


I've played a plethora of players online and offline and this just isn't true.

But let's say it is. Let's say that the vast majority of players only bother with one character. That doesn't mean that the additional characters didn't add something amazing to the game. I never learned Noob or Stryker at high level, but I'll say with full conviction that their presence in the game added something wonderful to MK9.

So what's problem here? I'm all for not over-saturating the roster, but that's because of match-ups, not because of lack of usage.

This isn't entirely untrue; I played no more than two characters max in each game.

I've liked the MK characters for reasons that go well beyond gameplay.
... Ba-dum tish.

Tier lists. If you want to win you pick characters that are a more apt and reasonable choice.

Nobody would want to pick Sheeva in MK9 when in a tournament. Unless they are fucked.

This is true. Although miracles have been known to happen in the kommunity.

The Scorpion players does not equal the people who character wishlist.
Simply put.

The Scorpion players, I see them more as people who are playing a Mortal Kombat game for the first time since SEGA Genesis and going
"Oh, I remember that yellow guy GET OVER HERE tee hee!" *selects*

Super Street Fighter IV was temporarily free on the Xbox Live last month.
I went into a lobby and two different people told me:
"This is my first time, I haven't played Street Fighter in forever, I used to use Ryu, he's my boy!".

So I'm sure that's part of it. Although in reality, Ryu is ridiculously high tier in that game. So let's look at MK9.

Like Ryu, Scorpion is easy to use and always been, and MK9 makes him more noobier than ever with easy to do combos and all the teleports you can eat! Don't forget that hot flame up your ass if you block him!

And in terms of MK9, it helps when the moment you get to the character select screen, Scorpion is already highlighted for Player 1. So the new timers must go "Hmmm?" and immediately select, and what do you know? Little Jr. button masher won the match!

Everyone who ask for their characters, really wants their characters. But I think it's more so for the story wise, or something, I dunno, but unfortunately their favorite character may not be high tier enough for competition, so they go flock to whatever most used character that's hip.

I pretty much agree with this topic. I only only played 2.5 characters in MK9 and one in Injustice. Im the type of player that likes to get really good with one character and stick with him. As far as MKX goes, Ive already got my main, now Im just waiting on my 2nd then its take it or leave it with the rest. Barring new characters of course. Im psyched for all the new blood in this game.

Im the kind of guy who would pay full price for a shoto only Street Fighter game tho. Fuck the rest.

I dont think there is anything wrong with having a Main, in MK9 mine was Cage i liked his playstyle.

As for Scorpion, hes pretty easy to use and for the average player hes pretty well equiped for most situations, (Projectiles, Free hit moves, teleport, Unblockable special etc).

Does anyone else secretly hope that there favourite character isn't all that Noob friendly so he/she doesnt end up being the Scorpion/Deathstroke of the game?

Let's put it this way.

I love the Apocalypse Tank in Red Alert, but I will never build them in competitive matches as they are inefficient despite being the all-powerful tank of the game.

Simply because putting out more lesser tanks simply overwhelm them and it's more economical. Yiou can have an individual that's your favourite but if it's gameplay economy is bad, then it's not the best pick for you.


That's not to say you cannot win with them, but it means your chances are severely impaired. And you don't impair your chan ces. If you do, you are not competitive.

I never play online, and only against friends or the computer, and I try everyone, even the guests.

In my case, I do play with the characters I want for this game, unless their gameplay proves largely disappointing.

I prefer playing as the more difficult characters to master. Even better when it's a character whose story I like. To me, victory is more satisfying when it's spectacular, so just using the same move(s) over and over to win, is boring. Many "competitive" players really only seem to play to win.

I don't really have a main. I love variety too much to only stick to one character, not to mention I always need to take a break at some point. I might play as Baraka a lot for some time, but at some point, I'll want to switch to Stryker.

Admittedly, I don't play with other people, either online or off. And from what I see when I watch tournaments on Youtube, I'm not missing out on much, anyway. There's barely ever anything spectacular going on, barely any risk-taking.

I give every character a chance. The ones I play online are the ones I feel I am really good with. That's it really for me. The others I just play against a computer or my friends.

I guess if i'd play online and was only in it to win it, I'd stick to the character which gives me the most chance. But that's not how I play. It's waaaaaaay more fun having multiple characters to use.

My most played MK online is MKA (yeah.... sad but true) and i used many, many characters. It's the only reason I've played that much online... I could vary with so many characters! Was I good? No, not that good. Guess I've won about 45-50% of my matches... goof enough for me.

Nowadays I don't care for onlin play anymore and I'm having much fun playing against the cpu or some friends, using a variation of characters. They are important to me. And reading through these comments, I see many ppl agreeing. Thank God they do :)