Scorpion and Sub-Zero will be back. I'd count on Raiden returning, too.
The only "classics" I want back are Mileena (as long as she gets over Kitana), Ermac, and Jade.

I'd rather the others die or retire. I like a lot of the new characters and I'd like to see where the go and how they get developed...the ones that make it anyway.


But at the end of the day, as long as Sareena makes it, I'll be happy.

i highly disagree with what you said.Hell, my fav character, Shinnok, came from the 3d games! I want Shinnok,Raiden, Subby/Scorp, Ermac, Sareena, Reptile, and Reiko to return, no one else.

I actually look fočrward to NOT see the remainder of the cast for a perma-nent amount of time. They served their purpose. MK should not be like Dallas or Dragonball...

Well not to reck the party or anything, but Ed Boon said Sonya might return in the future at some given point and time... As for the future of Mortal Kombat, who knows, MK8 could be a great game with all new characters, or it could go totally downhill. Who knows??

if at least like 5 come back it wont be SO BAD.

no no no.... have some characters like.... Kung Lao,Shinnok,Sub-Zero,Scorpion,Ermac,Kenshi,Shao Khan

Let the game have you make a character throughout konquest and see the other characters in it

If we kill off so many characters for MK8 then a lot of people will get frustrated as their favourite chars have been killed off.

If we bring too many new characters then we'll all say they are too boring/crappy. (MK:D all over again)

And then there will be alot of "Bring so and so back" threads.

I'd have about 30 chars for the next game with 5-7 new chars. I'd only kill off about 10 chars for MK8.

Basically IMO taking out the classic characters are like taking Lara Croft out of Tomb Raider. It's the classics that give the game it's identity. Like when you look at Street Fighter you automatically think of Ryu & Ken.

I agree that some of the newer characters were unimpressive. I didn't really care whether they came or went. If this is the path that is taken by the MK team, then surely no one will turn and look at mk ever again.

Let's hope that they mix enough of the old with the new, so that MK doesn't lose it's identity.

Truthfully, I would just love to see my Frost back in the next gen mk and many more to come...Even better if she had her own adventure game some day.

totaly agree with whothinks that the actual characters should survive.
i think that if mk8 will have a total NEW cast of character with,at least,scorpion and sub zero,but without others,it will be a flop or a good game without huge succss.
only MK want to kill every character;in other series like DOA,VF,Tekken,etc almost noone dies.
however if it will be a failure Midway will withdrew and bring back old characters.

MK needs to move forward, it has gotten too bloated so it can't

cutting the cast is like trimming the fat, it can only help the game

honestly only a handful of characters are worth retaining

What he said.

And besides, it's not Boon who makes the characters. They all just throw around ideas, I believe.

No matter who stays and who goes, there will always be a bunch of people who will think they did wrong. Even if it may be considered the best cast to have by several, there will be plenty more who disagree. Its simply a matter of preference and they cant please everybody.

I'm usually the first to welcome new blood into a franchise, but without a few remnants of it's past, MK loses a bit of it's identity. Could you picture, say, a Tekken game without Yoshimitsu? How about Virtua Fighter without Wolf? The fact is, the characters are what give a game it's identity in the first place, and this total clean slate you guys are proposing would turn MK into a completely different franchise. The only thing that would be the same is the name and the logo. Capcom recognized that in SF3, and Midway sure as hell know it too.

Cutting the (classic) cast is like trimming the lungs and blood. Without the MK1 through UMK3 characters, Mortal Kombat cannot function at its best.

Classic characters are the center point of all that the MK universe has revolved around for over 10 years. So by your standards, DC comics should throw Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman out the window and replace them with newer characters, right?

*clears throat*

Classic MK characters have always been the most compelling and popular characters than all the newer ones. If Ed and the team are gonna trim away anything, it should be the crappy characters from MK4 and after that were made to "fill in a spot" for the most recent MK casts. And really, that's all they are. Filler-ins. And even when a new MK game comes out, it's the classic characters that are still leading the storylines and appearing in the FMV's and all that.

To be honest, there are plenty of classic characters who served there purpose and who should just not appear anymore. I particularly wouldn't mind them getting rid of the ninjas and the bosses. Most of the more recent characters can go too, the only MKDA/MKD/MKA characters I wouldn't mind seeing again are Taven, Nitara, Li Mei, and Havik.

I think some classic characters should return but some of them should just sit out a game. Like scorps. Unless they have an amazing plot twist for him, he needs to sit out a game. And new characters can turn out good. mk wont be doomed without classic characters. It should however keep some

so all 32 of the Classic MK characters (MK1-MKT) should return for MK8? give me a break

MK has to stop catering to fanboys (note i am not calling you a fan boy) and just move on, let characters who have been treading water for the last i dunno 10 years just die already, let's look at the Klassic Kombatant's shall we?

Liu Kang: he's served his purpose, he may be the hero but he's done
Sonya: hasn't done anything substantial since her introduction
Johnny Cage: only now he's getting some attention in the story, it's to late
Kano: hasn't done anything substantial sinc his introduction
Raiden: also served his purpose, let fujin take over
Scorpion:we need a new scorpion, his kid takes the mantle
Sub-zero: he's treading water right now but he's garunteed to stick around
Goro: after MK1, shouldn't have been dredged up, it has ruined him
Shang Tsung: great character, but he has been overused
Reptile: this guy just bounces from one ominous tyrant to another
Ermac:lot of potential, could turn around, but he needs some attn.
Kung Lao: let him become the new hero of MK
Kitana: without Liu Kang she doesn't add anything to the story
Jax: hasn't done anything substantial, at all
Mileena: without Kitana she's pointless
Baraka: sure he's a fan fave, but he's basically a slave, like reptile
Kintaro:hollow character, he's only a scary guy, doesn't need to return
Shao Kahn: how many time's is he going to invade earth?
Noob Saibot:if he's still the ruler of the netherrealm he could go places
Smoke: a mindless cyborg, essentially a grunt, doesn't need to return
Jade: hasn't really done anything at all, another Pylon character
Sindel: her story is finished! let kitana become queen
Sheeva: another mindless bodygaurd
Stryker: he's a little out of MK's main focus
Kabal: his story is also finished, he doesn't need to return
Nightwolf:could see him going places, but there is not enough interest
Cyrax: honestly what does he bring to the table as a character?
Sektor: i can see him going places, the tekunin is a great story
Motaro: if they can't render him in his full glory they shouldn't bother
Rain: his ending in MKA was a great twist, but he is a pylon character
Khameleon: i know alot of people want to see her, but really why?
Chameleon: currently i can't think of another character more despised

out of all those characters i can pick maybe ten that can really bring something to the table and remain interesting, and thats just half the cast (the better half mind you)

Difference is characters like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman have changed and evolved throughout the years to remain fresh and vital. A lot of the "classics" haven't. And some have...but not enough.

I disagree that the "classics" have always been more compelling than others. I'd gladly take characters like Havik, Tanya, Fujin, Drahmin and many others over Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, Kano, Scorpion, Jax, and many of the other "classics." A lot of the "classics," with a few exceptions, never evolved past there very basic and simplistic archetypes.

Yeah, they were arguably the faces of Mortal Kombat back then. Back then, they were the characters who defined the game and made a lot of people play. NOW, I want other characters to carry the game.

But like I said, I don't think they should drop ALL the old characters. In my previous post, I mentioned a few. There are a handful of other "classics" who can carry on and go somewhere. But for the most part, I'd like to see some of the newer characters get a chance to become "classics."


Slightly off topic, but...

While I agree that Kitana, along with most of the other "classics," are due for retirement or death, I take issue with this assessment.
What the fuck does Liu Kang bring to Kitana's story besides some vague romantic sub-plot? She has a hell of a lot more going for her than Liu Kang. If anything, she brings a lot more to HIS storyline than he brings to hers.

Sorry, but I felt the need to express my indignation.

no problem at all,

after MK2/3, her story has become more and more thinly attached to MK, with Liu Kang her reason's for being involved are pretty slim, but without Liu Kang were reason's are even more slim, while edenia appears to have a large connection to the MK story it's all past information and nothing new has come out of edenia besides taven and daegon's story that is not connected to kitana at all, and the only reason she would have appeared in MKA (if storyline took center stage that is) is that the final battle took place in edenia

but i don't want this thread to vear off on a tangent, because my post was not solely about Kitana and my point was alot more general, besides all of that was IMHO, and i was being pretty strict about it, the truth is i love most of those characters including kitana, but i know when a character needs to take their final walk into the sunset

Even if stryker is not in mk8. Which i REALLY hope he is. I hope the MK team make's another character that resembles stryker. With the style in look's to the weapons and special's used.

I'm not saying the classic 32 characters have to return all in ONE game. I'm saying they should still exist in the MK Universe and be playable every now and then, you know, keep recycling.

And if you guys are thinking that the characters' storylines are what mostly matter, you guys are retarted. Mortal Kombat is a fighting video game not a book. As long as cool characters keep returning looking awesome and being cool fighters, that's what mostly matters (to most people anyway..).

True, the storylines give the characters depth and personality, but that's not what should primarily decide if an MK character returns or not. I mean, Sindel's MKD storyline (locked in a cell while the other characters DID things) was boring as hell, but I still love her to death.

I think story is pretty important and I;m sure midway won't half ass these new character and have like 20 good ones....If not then i think I will stop playing for real.

Gameplay is more important than storyline.
But if you look at it from a strictly gameplay point of view, then what difference does it make who comes back and who doesn't....classic or new?
If I only cared about gameplay and nothing else, what would I care who comes back, Kan or Kira? They have the same moves. The only thing that separates them is story and appearance. And personally, appearance is the last thing I judge a character on.

Supposedly, the next MK game will have a different fighting engine, so you can't base who should come back on who plays best. The best character in Armageddon might play like shit in MK8. And MK has never been known for its deep gameplay.

While it's true that since Edenia's been freed it's been becoming more distant from everything else. If Kitana is to come back, they would need to fix that (and I know how they can do it, too).

But it has nothing to do with Liu Kang.
Like you said, I don't want to go into a tangent, but Liu Kang has not, nor has he ever been, Kitana's sole objective for being in a game. The only time he really contributed to Kitana's role is in Deadly Alliance...when he was dead.

Double post. Sorry.