Well, hello character thread. You're looking awfully cute today.

I had high hopes for Nightwolf. MK never had a solid "sage" type (I don't count Rayden for various reasons), and Nightwolf filled that role well since A) he's not a cliche elder hermit from China, and B) Nightwolf's merit as a warrior is very convincing. He's a tribal spiritualist who can control natural forces. Fuck. Yeah.

I actually didn't know about the historian aspect till I read Ice Baby's introduction. That just makes him that much more of a bad ass.

And before MKD's story was presented, I was convinced he was going to take up the leader role after Rayden went cuckoo for cocoa puffs. Remember, unlike MK2's cast which was gathered together by circumstance, the warriors in MK3 were hand-chosen by Rayden and therefore spared from invasion. I always felt this gave the MK3 newbs a starting level of viability, even if they were a bit cheese ball. Hence, I was totally expecting Nightwolf to approach the Earth Realm warriors and say, "Okay, Rayden's out. We got a problem. So here's how the shit's going to go down."

But that never happened. Instead, they completely isolated Nightwolf from the rest of the cast, which is the worst thing they could have done. I didn't mind the Sin Eater plotline, but couldn't his setup have involved some of the other characters? Nightwolf's ability to remove someone's sins would have been a GREAT opportunity to restore Noob's humanity, purify Ashrah, or even give Kabal a new story that wasn't stupid.

Nonetheless, I'm not done with Nightwolf yet. He's a solid fighter with a solid story, and if they mix him in right with the rest of the cast, the dynamics would be amazing.

Despite that he looks like a professional wrestler, something about his design just works. Notice that his character was altered the least when revived in MKD, and I think the reason is because no change was needed. Everything about the design feels complete, and for a Native American martial artist, there were many places to go awry. Far better than his SF counterpart T-Hawk (and honestly, even HE is growing me).

Anyway, this is an easy STAY for me.

I kind of like the idea of the good guys having a magic user or sage (most of those types tend to fall on the evil side).

That's about the only thing I can say I appreciate about Nightwolf. I didn't use him in MK3...and he looked stupid. He looked better in Deception...but I still didn't like using him.

Story-wise, he seems very bland to me. No spark or personality. Aside from Shamen magic, he doesn't really seem to bring anything to the table. He's just "one of the good guys" amongst a bunch of generic "good guys" trying to defend the realm. And that kind of good is boring. Only he's a Native American.

He's one of those guys I'm not strongly opposed to...but there are too many other characters I'd rather see back.
GONE


________________
Just for the hell of it, I've gone back and counted who I've voted to stay and go:

STAY:
Ashrah, Dairou, Drahmin, Ermac, Fujin, Havik, Hotaru, Kenshi, Kira, Kitana, Li Mei, Mileena

I also voted Kobra to stay, but I meant that as a joke really.

GO:
Baraka, Blaze, Bo' Rai Cho, Chameleon, Cyrax, Daegon, Darrius, Frost, Goro, Hsu Hao, Jade, Jarek, Jax, Johnny Cage, Kabal, Kai, Kano, Khameleon, Kintaro, Kung Lao, Liu Kang, Mavado, Meat, Mokap, Moloch, Motaro, Nightwolf


Total STAY: 12
Total GO: 28

If I could change any vote, I'd probably change Dairou.

I actually liked Nightwolf's MK3 look.

Well...I almost liked it. See, what appealed to me was the idea Boon and Tobias had to make an indian who DOESN'T look like a stereotype. Who looks like a modern member of society instead of wearing goddamn deerskin.

So, y'know, jeans, leather vest, more like a biker than a shaman...that was a good idea. But the son of a bitch still has war paint and tassel-covered boots. And then in Deception they completely forgot what the fuck they were doing and went full T. Hawk. What the hell is with that?

Also, I agree that his personality is bland/non-existent. And MK doesn't really need that "good wizard/sage" role filled anymore. We've got several to choose from now.
And come to think of it, the only reason we even needed Nightwolf in MK3 was because Raiden was left out of the game with that "not allowed to interfere" excuse and that only lasted until Trilogy. If the Protector of Earthrealm actually does their goddamn job (I'm looking at you, Fujin!) then Nightwolf is redundant.

He could have been awesome, but he never was. Therefore, GONE.

Nightwolf is one of the only mortal characters from earthrealm that has a spirtual connection to the world, and to top that off he's a force for good. I like how Nightwolf can hold his own and represents his tribes. Nightwolf to me is a lover of nature and respects Earth realm which should spiritually enrichen him. I saw potential in Nightwolf as the sage for the good guys but after I read Temporary Username's post I see that Nightwolf has much potential in the storyline, the idea that he can possibly purify Noob Saibot is very enticing.Was indirectly involved with the defeat of Onaga which helped save Reptile's life. It was Nighwolf who casted Onaga's spirit to the Netherealm and Shujinko who defeated him in physical form. I can see Nightwolf as a recurring character in many games to come, because honestly how many native Americans are represented in video games, what do we have T-Hawk who looked more Aztec warrior to me. I can imagine the fatalities Nightwolf can have, imagine a fatality where Nighwolf butchers his opponent like Mel Gibson did in the Patriot, remember the scene where he chased down that one british soldier and hacked him up, Also we never had a fatality with scalping and if you really want to push the envelope with gore have that in.

As for his look I agree that it is a bit corny and he does look like one of the village people, but if you look at how a real Native American warrior dresses with warpaint and such Nightwolf's look can be vastly improved just look at these links for examples.

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h44/ladypippie/Native%20Americans/NativeAmericanWarrior2.jpg

http://nac.library.cornell.edu/exhibition/images/Sioux_warrior.jpg

http://www.bnr-art.com/challeng/images/hrt-wrrr.jpg

Nighwolf had cool moves but I think it would be unique if he called upon certain animals to assist him in battle such as calling forth hawks and wolves to lay out attacks and having different animations to existing moves. Instead of an energy Tomahawk uppercut I want to see Nightwolf use his Tomahawk without any enhancement to it, just a raw blunt trauma hit. And what would be cool is if Nightwolf can do Native American battle cries when he fights. Instead of Nightwolf using a green aura which I always saw unique to only Johnny Cage maybe he can throw Shaman Powder to deflect projectiles and such.

Nightwolf just has too much potential and could easily fit into Mortal Kombat's mythology of magic and mystical ways, I just don't want to see Nightwolf become a villain.

Nightwolf stays in my book.

I liked Nightwolf since MKD, I think he is a good character. I say STAY.

Nightwolf doesn't suck at all. He's just...there. I'm not really hurt at all if he doesn't come back, though. I say gone.

Ok, Nightwolf......

The story. Eh. He was chosen by Raiden for a group of Earthrealm warriors to fight Kahn. They fought him. They won. Yay.

Deception comes. He's there. He's alone. It's basically a "Hey, look at me! Remember me? Don't forget me!" I mean, yeah, he had his Sin Eater story, but he, like I said before, was alone. No help at all, no interaction with any other character besides Shujinko in Konquest, and that was short. Nightwolf seems more like a plan C or D to end Onaga.

Then Armageddon comes. His bio brings him back into talking with other characters, although it still was kinda, well, lame. It continued the "Let's bring Liu Kang back alive!" story. Although it also confirmed his ending is canon, though, and it was interesting to see a non-main, main-character have a canon ending. I guess, though, it doesn't matter since not everyone had bios, they won't consider his Armageddon bio canon.

Speaking of his endings, ok with MK3, awesome with Deception, horrible with Armageddon(Then again, who didn't?)

The look. He doesn't look Indian. But it doesn't matter. For me, I think his look works for him. I'm glad he doesn't look too stereotypical. That would have made him more bland.

His moves. I liked how he drew from spiritual energy and nature. I liked his bow and arrow, his reflecting move, and his lighting bolt. Didn't care much for his charge move. I liked that they he had tomahawks, different from the usual sword you see. His MK3 fatalities weren't amazing. I did like his Deception ones. He had the generic decapitation, but his other one wasn't a typical chop off this and that/explosion/pull organs out fatality that I liked.

So I don't know. I guess I overreacted when I talked about Motaro. He needs a better story if he plans on coming back.

I'm on the fence. He's a Maybe stay.

You can't have a Native American fighter in a game without some mention of a totem, the land, or a tomahawk, can you? I used to think it was kind of a clumsy attempt, but I think he's aged better than other folks such as T. Hawk or Chief Thunder. And you've gotta give props to anyone wearing a Stone Temple Pilots jacket.

I find Nightwolf to be a very fun character, one who hasn't worn out his welcome just yet. Having him ensnare Onaga in the Netherealm was nice. The Earthrealm warriors are going to need a an adviser if Raiden remains insane, and if Fujin's busy being locked in a closet by the MK staff for another decade, I'd be happy to have him step up. What will all the insanity regarding everything that gods and godly figures have done and continue to do to the cast, there might be a time when the mortals just go "enough's enough, we'll find our own way". I can see NW being a figurehead, someone everyone places their trust in, should all else fail. He's got a bright future in the franchise; Three games under his belt and all great showings. One of the few to come out of MKA looking good.

I kind of want him to ditch the war paint and feathers, so he's instead characterized more for his wisdom proper than for being "the wise Native American" but apart from that, Ive got no beef with him. I'd gladly welcome him back for another round, feathers and war paint or not.

Verdict: STAY.

Nightwolf...one of my favorite characters. he has potential to blossom into a main story driver and could potentially be a really great character. i would like to see more of him and also have him take a larger role in the story. STAY

i say stay. i liked nightwolf special moves and how he played. his story and character is so so....boring. lol but nightwolf plays his role well, not everyone is meant to be a big interesting character..........

My knee-jerk reaction to Nightwolf is to say "GONE", but you know... he's not that bad a character. He's always come across as a 3rd-string fighter, but I'm sure it wouldn't take much work to imrpove him. I'm going to go easy on this guy and say STAY

Nightwolf was made by the MK team as an answer to street fighter's T.Hawk. I hated him in MK3, his appearance was lame. But when he returned in MKD, he became one of my favourites. It won't bother me to put him in future games.

VERDICT: STAY

About Nightwolf being bland, I don't see it. Going off the decisions he's made (that's all we have to go by with most characters), I'd say he's one of the most autonomous characters in the series. He shielded his tribe from Kahn's attack and dragged Onaga to the Netherrealm Sam Raimi style. What more do you want?

Sure, he is a noble character who makes consistently good choices, but are we at the point where a character must have an eccentric quality or a moral imperfection to be interesting?

Shit, he's a fucking historian!

Amen.

Dialogue with emotion. And a more detailed motivation than just a generic "for the greater good".

Nightwolf should stay. His character can be built up to well to let go. He is different from the rest and has his own personal style. He isn't a ninja or a God. He is a good sorcerer. The native American Merlin of mk.

If we were to say an mk character should leave due to a bad story line we wouldn't be waiting for MK9 right now. Very few fighters have a good storyline right now. But nightwolf is a character that can be easily redone. He could be the next raiden IMO.

Stay

Well... I heard that he's been madly in love with this girl across the street named Bella, but that mean ol' Eddy is in his way! Stupid Eddy! Who cares if he's a vampire! Nightwolf can do an ANIMALITY and turn into a wolf! A wolf, dammit!

I'm OK with Nightwolf because he brings diversity to the MK cast with his unique look and he's got some cool moves too, like the one that deflects projectiles and his very own projectile is very cool looking.

Story wise, he's not spectacular, but I don't think spectacular goes with him. I see him more as a mysterious, out of the spotlight character, that's very effective in what he does. You know, like he does what he's supposed to do without much fuss.

I'd like to see him teaming up with Kai, they kind of go along good, both feel sort of exotic. I'd like for them to have some issues and conflicts with Fujin and Kung Lao, just to bring some tension between the good guys. Maybe they can disagree on what's the best way to protect Earth, or something like that. Or when a time to make a big decision about Earth's strategy in some future war comes they can disagree. You know, I'd just like some tension between the good guys. Maybe they can even have different views on how to deal with Raiden (Fujin deciding it's best to destroy Raiden just to be safe, while Nightwolf trying to purify Raiden).

Anyway, I feel Nightwolf is OK and he could become better, so I say STAY.

... ... ...

My verdicts so far:

STAY: 20

GONE: 20

Nightwolf should STAY. The energy arrow and tomahawks are sweet... Edit: Aw, come on...Twilight and Mortal Kombat should stay MILES apart.

I've always liked Nightwolf, even back in the MK3 and MKT days when I couldn't use him very well. He was always a fun character and that appealed to me a great deal. His story was alright. It wasn't anything special but better than that of others.
MKD saw his great return and Nightwolf brought with him even more fun gameplay, amazing Fatalities, a brilliant new look (I especially loved his alternate) and a brilliant story! My only problem was the independent aspect of his story which had little interaction with other characters. However, that could have been part of the brilliance of his story and the role he played within it.
I wouldn't mind if Nightwolf returned but he'd need to be doing something different this time around and interacting more. He can't always be the solo warrior though maybe that's his niche. He's done a great job with it so far. He can stay.

I was initially hesitant about Nitara when she first appeared. I think like a lot of other people, my immediate response was "Vampires in Mortal Kombat now..?" But I eventually accepted her and grew to like her. I liked how manipulative she was and how, at a glance, she seemed like she wasn't too crucial to MK:DA's story, but she was actually indirectly responsible for some important events. I also liked the backstory and info they gave the Vampire race and their realm in Armageddon.

Nitara's kind of weird in terms of looks. There is kind of a "traditional" Vampire element to her...the collar, puffed sleeves, and the tails; giving a sort of cloaked appearace. But at the same time...she's wearing a bikini. It seems like they were going into two different directions with her appearance. It works in some ways, doesn't work in others. The only thing I can really say about her design-wise is to maybe tone down the wings....don't need to get rid of them, but maybe have her fold them in or something...because it looks kind of awkward having her wings out at all times.
Gameplay-wise, she could use better moves. The blood spit is a pretty lackluster projectile and she's sharing the flipping split kick with Tanya.

Story-wise, I'd love to see Nitara continue. The best thing I can think for her is to continue her thing with Ashrah and get Sareena involved. I like the ambiguity of her thing with Ashrah (are the Vampires "evil" creatures that must be wiped out, or is Ashrah just a lunatic being controlled by genocidal sword?) and I think throwing Sareena into this mix could make things interesting. Aside from the fact I've always gotten a kick out of the idea of a Demon chick and a Vampire chick broawling with each other....imagine Ashrah trying to convince Sareena to use the Kriss to purify herself (she's a Demon and wants to be human; makes sense), but then Nitara comes along and gives the Datusha side of the story and suddenly Sareena ain't so sure. Three-way battle.
There's more that could be done with Nitara and the Vampires, but that's the best thing I've thought of and what I'd be most interested in.


Overall, I vote STAY. Just give her better moves.

Nitara was one of the best new characters in MKDA.
I would love to see her story progress and maybe see another vampire that she knows become a fighter or maybe have an arch rival.
I'll say STAY.

Athough I don't like the thought of bringing new realms to MK. I do like Nitara. I'm not too big on her gameplay. But her storyline is good. I'm not quite
sure wether she is good or evil but whatever. She is a good new character.

Stay

According to her history card they had for every character in Armageddon, she's good.