Mortal Kombat 1 goes deep on the ‘3D era’ with new character reveals

Mortal Kombat developer NetherRealm Studios showed up in a big way to San Diego Comic-Con on Friday. The studio revealed new details about its next fighting game, including that fighters Tanya and Li Mei, who made their debuts in Mortal Kombat 4 and Deadly Alliance, respectively, are coming to Mortal Kombat 1. Joining those two Umgadi warriors is Baraka, who seems surprisingly sympathetic in a new story-centric trailer for MK1.

Mortal Kombat 1’s latest trailer includes a few more deep cuts, including what appear to be two more confirmed Kameo Fighters: Khameleon (from Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, though she technically debuted as a palette swap in Mortal Kombat Trilogy) and Darrius (from Mortal Kombat: Deception). The 3D era of MK, meaning games released in the early 2000s on PlayStation 2 and Xbox, appears to be well represented in MK1.

Tanya and Li Mei, formerly allies, will be at odds in Mortal Kombat 1, over concerns about the princess of Edenia. That would be Mileena in this game’s storyline, though she is afflicted by the Tarkat — a disease or curse that disfigures people to be fanged mutants, and a secret she and Kitana are trying to keep hidden. It appears that Tanya uses a three-quarter staff in combat this time, and employs it in a very gruesome fatality in MK1’s latest trailer. Li Mei’s fatality is a bit more amusing, turning Rain into a delightful fireworks display (and exploding his decapitated head).

Earlier this month, NetherRealm and publisher Warner Bros. confirmed more of Mortal Kombat 1’s cast, including Smoke and Rain for the main playable roster, and Cyrax, Sektor, and Frost for the roster of Kameo Fighters.

Mortal Kombat 1 is coming to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X on Sept. 19.