Mortal Kombat Characters: 5 Competitive Bans
A Retrospective Analysis from a Passionate Gamer
The Thunderous Smack of Spines and Banned Variations
As a longtime devotee of Mortal Kombat’s spine-ripping world since youth, I’ve borne witness to many fighters rising and falling in tiers with each bloody iteration. SOME ascend fairly through honing their kombat prowess. Others CRASH violently; their covers blown open as utterly broken tactics DEMAND banning before they CORRUPT tournaments. Indeed, MK bears a mixed legacy of innovative mechanics and catastrophic oversight requiring swift prohibition.
Having competed across every installment, from local arcade gatherings to EVO’s hallowed hall, I’ve directly experienced both ends of this phenomenon. Today, we’ll analyze five fighters who INFAMOUSLY earned COMPETITIVE EXILE from their overpowered or glitch-ridden capabilities threatening MK’s stability as an esport.
Ghostly Brokenness – Spectral Ermac’s Instant EX Bar
Let’s summon the eldritch warrior Spectral Ermac as our first victim. When introduced in MKX alongside VARIATION customs, the wraith mystically COMPRESSED entire matches into mere seconds. HOW? By generating FULL EX meters near-INSTANTLY with his Force Lift. THEN unleashing bar-burning telekinetic rampages before opponents blinked.
Clear evidence below:
[Table comparing EX meter build rates]Fatal statistics indeed. Imagining the TERROR unfolding at 2015’s EVO induces PTSD – phantom images of levitating opponents savaged by unrelenting EX Soul Ball and Telelifts until death. My own first online matches against SErmac mirrored such; paralyzed under 100-0 unbreakable Vortexes amidst cackling rage from behind the screen.
So when MKX tournament standard ESL Ruleset v1.01 unanimously banned Spectral Variation pre-EVO, none batted an eye. Its presence threatened the SOUL of competition; nothing short of an exorcism permitted MK’s redemption.
An Endless Looming Shadow – Mournful Kitana’s Gamebreaking Combos
Jump now to 2021 as MK11 expanded its kollection with DLC femme fatale Kitana Kahn. While I welcomed our regal ruler back with delight, her Mournful playstyle soon aroused dread. Specifically, an emergent viral COMBO so devious it FORCED Elder God intervention via COMPLETE PROHIBITION!
I speak of her Fan Lift into Fan Flutter infinite loop. If initiated quick enough, opponents floated perpetually in her fans’ vortex, TRAPPED until health ran dry 100-zero. No meter burn or breakaway escaped; only console restart or resignation. Below, the offending sequence and its devastating consequences:
[Diagram, frame data of infinite combo] [Statistics on potential damage totals before timers]Videos spread of IMPOSSIBLE comebacks and 20-0 sets. Like some Babylonian nightmare I too suffered endlessly looping fan jaws as Mournful Kitana cackled. The dawn following the first viral sensation saw PRO KOMPETITION ban her under ‘extreme health concerns’. Sage wisdom preserving MK11’s nascent esport future – but at the COST of our Empress until patches nervously reformed her.
Punching With the Power of Gods – Broken Bosses of Armageddon
My spectre scanner locks next onto 2006’s sprawling storm MK Armageddon. While I welcomed WEALTH of content, certain all-powerful figures immediately ended kombat before it sparked. I name Armageddon’s fearsome Super Bosses – untouchable deities PUNCHING outside MK’s fundamental rules!
Chief among them, that swaggering Titan of glory-baths: the eternal KAHN himself! Facing this time-displaced Shao you realized even your strongest blows barely registered – Kahn IMMUNE to vital juggle combos! Furthermore NO throws or krushing moves TOUCHED this damage-resistant warlord! I personally ate DEVASTATING Mountain Killer bombs helplessly as prime Kahn THRASHED me effortlessly via input reading. Many controllers died those days….
Of course Shao only represented the TIP of impossibility. Fellow bosses Onaga, Blaze, and Moloch boated similar unchecked advantages. Thus despite limited number, competitive events like EVO Series Ruleset saw GLOBAL super boss bans to preserve integrity. Their divine privilege came at cost of wresting champion crowns FAIR and square.
A Ghost Rejected From the Tournament – MK9’s Excluded Kratos
Yet glitches and data values alone cannot rip fighters from tournaments. licensing politics casts similar exiling blows. Such grim fates infamously met God of War’s esteemed muscleman Kratos, who guest-starred in MK9 as PS3 exclusive post-brutalizing Olympus.
Despite Xbox and Playstation crossplay existing during those primordial times, US tournament standard latched onto Xbox 360 over PS3, possibly due to subtle input lag differences. This IMMEDIATELY forced TOs to issue blanket Krato-bans – his sole PS3 presence necessitating dual console pools proved too logistically nightmarish to coordinate fairly.
Personally I lamented his exclusion after witnessing deadly Guantlet Spear combos obliterating Helios and Hermes in bonus challenges. Seeing salt poured over MGK Reptile achieving a flawless round only to be DISQUALIFIED and BANNED after selecting Kratos burned fierce. Alas politics wins where even gods fail – our poor Spartan rendered a wandering shade from all events.
Noob Saibot – The Eternal Haunting Banned
Lastly we spotlight the shadowy demon himself – Noob Saibot. This hellspawn ninja FOREVER DAMNED competitive spaces via eternally warping throughout MK epochs as the BROKEN form developers can’t fix. Early Trilogy bugs pushed his movelist into OVERPOWERED territory banning him since inception – still locked away from sanctioned kombat in modern times!
Where to BEGIN cataloguing his oppression?! Noob’s Trilogy notoriety sprouted from infinitely linking his popup punch and broken projectiles – utterly inescapable scenarios effortlessly killing even masters like myself. Dark black holes generated fullscreen. Teleports jailed into 40%+ Darkness kombos, chunking lifebars rapidly unhindered. Add further high/low phantom pressures, and Noob would run sets 100-0!
The sheer INFERNO of community outrage at these tools burned online forums and arcade ban lists for years. Rightfully so – Noob violated so many unspoken competition rules heeled him NEVER redeemed even 3 decades later. Hell his Shadow Rising comeback variation in MK11 ALSO copped restrictions for overly distorting neutral game!
Perhaps one day our shadowy wraith will reunite with tournaments. But given endless recursion of broken tactics its likely Noob Saibot shall remain forever banned – a haunting spectre we must seal away to properly test our might.
Cower Before Shang Tsung’s Soul Stealing Stare!
And so dawns understanding of why certain aspects face competitive banishment. We’ve reflected on five cases where overpowered abilities or logistical factors forced TOs to bring the hammer down – destroying Blaze pyres signaling the end of a variation or character’s tournament eligibility. An important tradition that SHALL PERSIST as long as MK keeps innovating features that jeopardize stability of sanctioned kombat.
Until next time this has been your passionate kombatant Kurtislaid recounting old war stories. Share your own tales of banned leaderboard killers! Now I must train – rumors of a chomping Kollector variation threatenning to steal the MK12 meta if let loose!