I don't want him playable. It defeats the purpose of being a boss. Just because other games do it doesn't mean every game needs to follow. I like unplayable bosses.

might be good to have him only playable through a well hidden cheat, not DLC but a good old nostalgic cheat hidden within the game, I think he'd appeal more as an unplayable boss to start with, having him playable in MK4 didn't do anything good for him as a boss so they shouldn't make the same mistake twice.

I'd rather have him as unplayable boss. Making him playable would mean that they'll have to balance him with the other characters, which would cripple his boss status and make him feel more like a regular character than an actual boss.

Shinnok isn't a hulking brute boss, balancing him would be rather easy. And the final boss Shinnok would be different from playable Shinnok. Boss Shinnok could have the advantages of more health, armor, and better meter gain.

And what would be wrong if he felt like a regular character as opposed to a boss? Take Shao Kahn in MK9, he had huge damage and armor on all attacks. But he's still the easiest boss in the game. Play Arcade Mode on expert, I guarantee you Shang Tsung will give you a harder time than any of the actual "bosses".

Part of the problem is the AI. For some reason MK has retarded AI that can't recognize patterns or adapt to certain playstyles. If Shinnok had an adaptive AI, I guarantee he'd be the hardest boss to date barring old school MK.

@Icebaby, what exactly does making Shinnok unplayable add to him? It doesn't make him anymore challenging or intimidating. I'm having trouble understanding that reasoning.

Idc. Either way, I wanna see them skeleton/portal specials return.

MK4 was the first Mortal Kombat game that I ever played. I thought that Shinnok was so menacing and evil back then. I think it had more to do with the all around dark tone of the game honestly. Either way, I'm just glad he will most likely be important in the game. Playable or not.

I'd make him both. Besides the demon form of his should be suited for final boss mode.

I personally would like to see him unplayable, I have always thought that about bosses, I remember when playing SF, there was nothing special about M. Bison to me, there was no mystery behind it in my mind because he was a playable character and I never got that "Oh man, I'm fighting the big boss!" feeling.

I agree with the OP, make him playable. And give him a stronger, faster, and smarter version of him as the final boss, heck he can even have a second form as the boss.

Another question could be, if he wasn't playable would you pay for him to be as playable DLC?
I probably would tbh. I do really want to play as him but I get what people are saying by that possibly making him seem weaker. I'm torn.

Would I be willing to pay? Sure. I love Shinnok as a character and would be very happy to have the opportunity to play as him. Would I be happy about having to pay for a character already in game? Absolutely not.

And I think Shinnok will always be seen as a weaker boss. He's not a hulking brute like Shao Kahn, Onaga, or Blaze. Apparently NRS believes size = difficult boss. Which is simply not true. By making Shinnok more like a player, he actually has potential to be a more challenging boss.

I say no he shouldn't be ,but if he isnt people will complain he isnt, if he is, people will complain and say he shouldnt be...sooo

Loved playing as him in MK4. Would love to play as him in MKX.

Playable.

Perhaps with a damage buff, as a boss? Or super armor?

I'd rather Shinnok wasn't playable.

I don't like it when bosses are playable. Kinda defeats the purpose of them being bosses.

All I can say is how?

Bosses should have this feel to them that you finally reached the end, this son of a bitch has dealt so much crap at you. The fight should be awesome. Once you have that ability to play as them they just lose the intimidation that they bring. I also don't see a point why bosses needs to be playable. Every so often I really don't mind it, but with Shinnok, he shouldn't because of the background he has and just the fact that he's gonna be this powerful fallen god. Not every single boss this series throws out needs to be playable.

Again, how would making him playable any less intimidating? The entire point of a final boss is to be one last hellish hurdle. Shinnok being playable has no effect on how difficult the final battle with Shinnok will be. The intimidation shouldn't come from whether or not a boss is playable, but how difficult they are to play against.

I play MK9 on expert and Shao Kahn isn't intimidating because he's unplayable. It doesn't make him any more threatening. Edit: Boy I fucked up that quote.

Bosses are intimidating at first, that is until you know how they are and can just defeat then multiple times. That's one reason I have.

Another is, I can't see myself having to fight through the entire arcade roster and defeat Shinnok as Shinnok. And don't say that he shouldn't be playable for arcade mode because that would be stupid. People look forward to arcade endings and to have him defeat himself to get his ending isn't interesting. It wasn't for me in the fourth, Deadly Alliance, and so on...

Despite I said I'm against playable bosses, in the end, I really wouldn't make that much of a fuss if he is. I just see it very silly and less intimidating in my perspective.

Hopefully they give Shinnok an adaptive AI, where he can actually make reads on players. That would make for a good boss. Better than any brute type boss MK seems to love.

I will admit I hadn't actually considered the inevitable Shinnok mirror match. That certainly could take players out of the experience. However, it's in no way a dealbreaker. Mirror matches can prove to be some of the toughest match-ups for players. It's one thing to know how to deal with other characters, but having to fight your own character is always more challenging. At least for me anyway.

And the only reason I'm being so insistent on him being playable is because he was playable in MK4. And because he's not a giant that towers above everybody else. That's what makes Shinnok stand out as a boss, and I'd like to see them continue that tradition.

Sorry bro, I just really don't like it when bosses are playable. Like others said it defeats the purose of them being bosses. Also I'm way more excited when the boss is someone uinque, and not a character that I can play as. Thats one of the reasons I hate street fighter.
If you really wanna main Shinnok that bad, then I say they bring in Onaga and make him the boss in MKX. Then you can have your Shinnok.

This x infinity

We are already gonna have Quan Chi as a playable subboss...

Playable, strictly for single player, automathically on the hardest difficulty setting. That's only he's overpowered though.

This whole thing about playability ruining the purpose of them being bosses sounds quite frankly...limiting. Just don't ever play as them if that ruins their appeal as bosses to you. Is it that hard to resist playing as them?

I find it entertaining to see bosses, at least those confined to a specific background, out of their holes, in a manner of speaking. Shao Kahn in the subway or the streets. Encountering one of his minions anywhere would be scary, but imagine encountering the emperor of Outworld himself outside his throne room, or his arena. Him coming out of nowhere, especially if he's at the peak of his strenght, or close enough. Unplayable bosses usually are confined to a specific background, sometimes a few more. I might not mind them being unplayable however if they could be fought anywhere, even if it required a cheat code. But I'd rather they be playable.

Which leaves another question. As a boss, should Shinnok only be fought in a specific arena or two, or be fightable anywhere like in MK4? Would the latter be acceptable as an unlockable feature?

And as far as mirror matches go, well, "Shao Kahn wins. Shao Kahn is no more. You are the MK trilogy champion", heh. It's funny, which is another reason to keep bosses playable. Besides, as I've already said, playing as a boss is completely optional. Why deprive those who want to play as them from doing so? The bosses in the last game had these brutal, cringe-worthy X-Rays and barbaric fatalities, but I could only see them if I was either on the receiving end of them, or played as Goro in the challenge tower, which was limiting.

Sorry but how does that even remotely contribute to the topic? It's a safe bet that Shinnok will be the final boss, but the sub-boss could be anyone at this point. Goro and Kintaro are both alive. I highly doubt Quan Chi would be a sub-boss. I mean yeah, he's Shinnok's right hand man. But that didn't make him a sub-boss in MK4 and I don't see why it would start now.

I'd actually like it if Quan Chi was a pre sub-boss, like Shang Tsung was in MK2 and MK9. As for Shinnok being a playable boss, I'm going to go with no. For me it makes reaching the final boss and fighting him more rare and fun if I can't play as him, rather than if I could just pick him and play as him whenever I wanted like in MK4. There wasn't that feeling of "oh shit, I'm fighting the final boss" like I got when I fought Shang Tsung and Shao Khan in the previous games. It even made Goro, Kintaro, and Motaro much more fun to fight because you couldn't play as them and they were only sub-bosses.

If Shinnok ends up being playable, sure I'll be a little disappointed, but as long as he is given an awesome move set and they do something with him to make him unique and memorable I'll be fine with it. I have confidence that NetherRealm won't let us down in this regard.