10 Most OVERRATED Characters in Mortal Kombat

10 Most Overrated Mortal Kombat Characters

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’re taking a look at 10 of the most overrated characters in “Mortal Kombat”.

Reiko

Some of the fanbase has become slightly annoyed by the hype behind Reiko. Part of the reason for this is how he has not much to do with the overall story of the “Mortal Kombat”. He was merely created as a means to shut up the haters saying “‘Mortal Kombat’ has too many ninjas”. And the backstory they gave him? Oh, he’s just Shao Kahn’s general who dreams of taking his emperor’s place someday. It’s the same story again in the new timeline except he’s a lieutenant for General Shao. And that’s as interesting as Reiko gets. So…why is anyone ever eager to see his return?

Sareena

Hop onto the online servers for “Mortal Kombat 1”, and you may be surprised to find a ton of players using Sareena as their Kameo partner. It’s odd seeing her usage rate be so high considering most didn’t bat an eye her way when she was around in earlier games. Regardless, there is a bizarre misconception about her. Sareena is regarded as being “the best” Kameo partner to have in MK1 on account of her easy usage, spammable moves, and minimal cooldown time. But the ones who are quick to make her seem “the best” don’t realize just how easy it is to avoid her attacks. Yes, she may be efficient, but when the meta is this predictable, is it really worth using Sareena?

Kuai Liang

The majority of the playerbase will voice their love for Sub-Zero on about the same level as they would for Scorpion. But what most don’t realize is that the Sub-Zero they’re talking about is likely Bi-Han as that is the Sub-Zero that Scorpion had a feud with. Bi-Han’s successor, Kuai Liang, is just kind of…there. Yeah, he gets some really cool attacks and combos across each and every game he’s in. But there isn’t really anything intriguing about him. He becomes a grandmaster, mentors Frost, and is mostly there to give Scorpion an excuse to keep being angry because that’s when Scorpion is the most fearsome. In other words, Kuai Liang is a character for other characters to shine. A roadie, essentially. And that seems to be all that NRS wants him to be, which is kind of a waste of his potential.

Takeda

The MKX Kids have never really been well-liked by the fanbase. Of them all, Takeda is the one that players have been willing to gravitate towards. The thing is that he isn’t really liked for his story or personality. The players who do play as him are really there because his moveset is the easiest to understand and execute. Not only that, he can do all of his whipping and slashing from a comfortable distance. So, he is a super safe character to main and is super easy to learn. Aside from that, there isn’t much reason to invest in him.

Kotal Kahn

Kotal Kahn has been deemed “overrated” not because of him having a huge fanbase or a broken moveset, but because of how much time NRS put into giving him screentime…except they forgot to give him a compelling story. Between MKX and MK11, we only ever see Kotal Kahn as an emperor with the same strength as Shao Kahn, but with the kindness of Kitana. Sure, he had a very sweet relationship with Jade that tugged at our heartstrings. Unfortunately, that’s as memorable as he got. Why NRS put so much focus on him as they did without really doing anything meaningful is beyond us.

Kano

Kano is in a somewhat similar position as Kotal Kahn in that he’s been thrown into the story so many times yet never lives up to his reputation. NRS has wanted us to believe that he’s this super dangerous criminal who is wanted for committing devious deeds. However, there is nothing Kano has done in the games to make us believe that. He’s always seen either working for the bad guy as a henchman or he’s just bumming around and being a degenerate elsewhere. It makes him come off as more of a cartoon villain than someone we should fear. It doesn’t help that Kano’s moveset isn’t all that remarkable either. Really, NRS will change Scorpion in every single game, yet Kano always feels the same as its last appearance.

Liu Kang

Speaking of characters that never seem to change yet always get the spotlight, Liu Kang is a mixed bag. Yes, we know he’s supposed to be the hero of the original “Mortal Kombat”. That should never change. But across each and every game, he can have the smallest amount of screentime, and somehow, everything falls on him in the end, even if he’s done next to nothing all game! Kung Lao could have taken the mantle during the first reset in MK9, but NRS decided to off him. We could have seen Raiden become the main hero in MK1, but then NRS turned and made the story into “Avengers: Endgame Starring Liu Kang”. Brother, at least give him an interesting conflict that isn’t just “Somehow, Shang Tsung has returned”!

Erron Black

Going back to questionable background characters, Erron Black got a lot of attention from a portion of MKX’s playerbase. Some of that admiration even carried forward into MK11 when the traitorous gunslinger was brought back. But what was it about him that people loved outside of his trap-based moveset and fancy trigger fingers? We ask this because Erron Black doesn’t do anything interesting in MKX nor MK11! He’s just kind of there to be another bad guy to fight before Liu Kang and Friends fight the bigger bad guy working for the biggest bad guy. His motive behind being evil? Money. That’s it. Just money and working for whoever is winning.

Quan Chi

Though Shang Tsung has made frequent appearances across the franchise, it feels as if NRS puts a greater focus on Quan Chi for some reason. It often feels like every time a new problem arises, the sorcerer of NetherRealm is responsible for it. Scorpion’s clan getting killed, the creation of Ermac, creating Noob Saibot, freeing Shinnok, raising an army of undead, betraying anyone and everyone he’s ever met… You would think an individual this evil with this much power would be in Shao Kahn’s role, or maybe have a moveset that isn’t so easy to read half the time. And yet, here we are.

Mileena

Ask most “Mortal Kombat” fans, and a lot of them will tell you that Mileena is the most overrated character in the franchise’s history. Part of the reason why she’s dismissed is because of how frequently Mileena is used to give Kitana a rival. Truly, she never really evolves past being “evil Kitana”. But what really causes the ire towards Mileena fans is how often she is sexualized by her hardest of hardcore fans, especially when looking back at the older games. Don’t get it twisted - art can be sexy, characters can be sexy, etc. But some folks do take things way, way too far.

Who do you think is the most overrated character in “Mortal Kombat” history? Let us know down in the comments, and don’t forget to subscribe to MojoPlays.