There’s a long and torrid history of cheap tactics in fighting games. Some casual players would have you believe that even Karate Champ, the first widespread fighting game that featured two identical fighters (aside from the color of their outfits) featured cheap tactics. As fighting games evolved over the years, so have the cheap tactics that go along with them. Mortal Kombat is one fighting game that has seen a plethora of characters who are considered cheap by millions of players around the world. We documented these characters in part one and two of this feature, and now we move on to part three.
Cyrax (MK9)
Mortal Kombat 9 has been patched more times than every Street Fighter game combined. In almost every patch Cyrax was adjusted in some way. Do you know why that is? It’s because he’s easily the cheapest character in the game, and nothing the development team adjusts seems to change that. His bombs are unblockable, he has extremely good anti-air attacks and he can reset combos to inflict nearly 100 percent damage (off of an unblockable attack, no less). This character is the definition of cheap in a game that includes the likes of Kabal. Speaking of Kabal…
Kabal (Multiple)
In Mortal Kombat 3, Kabal was that one character that all of the novice (i.e. scrub) players used to try to get easy wins. They used this character because one hit from his Nomad Dash and you scored yourself a free combo. It didn’t really matter if you connected in the air or on the ground. Add to that the fact that he had a Ground Blade that attacked from BEHIND, as well as a moderately large projectile that could be used on the ground or in the air.
Fast-forward to MK9 and we see all of those attacks return except now, Kabal can cancel the Nomad Dash. This creates an near infinite block string that is extremely difficult to escape. Can Kabal be beaten? Of course, but by no means is it an easy task. He even has a command throw, and can meter burn his attacks to make them even better (as if he needed that).
Quan Chi (MK9)
Quan Chi gets a pass from his MK4 cheapness because he had an awesome fatality in which he tore off the opponent’s leg and used it to beat him or her senseless. However, his Mortal Kombat 9 incarnation is beyond cheap. Perhaps you’ve never heard of Quan Chi winning a tournament or dominating the competition. That’s understandable because he’s not a very popular character, and in competitive play he isn’t great. However, find someone who knows how to Rune Trap and you will light something on fire.
The Rune Trap is basically a quick combo that guarantees Quan Chi’s Ground Blast (Rune) special move. You don’t even need to hit the combo. If the opponent blocks, the Rune is guaranteed to be uninterruptable. At that point, you can keep the opponent in a block string for quite some time. If that weren’t enough, Quan Chi has 80 percent damage combos if you land a hit and have enough meter to burn.
Fujin (MK4)
Fujin was the marquee character of Mortal Kombat 4. In case you don’t remember him, he was the character that had a crossbow that every single person who ever played the game used to frustrate their opponents to no end. Weapons were the big thing when it came to the introduction of Mortal Kombat 4. Every character had some sort of weaponry, and even the stages had a few interactions that involved weapons. However, it was Fujin and his wall-bouncing, anti-air, super annoying crossbow that really aggravated the masses.
Bo’ Rai Cho (Multiple)
Before we even get into how cheap Bo’ Rai Cho was, let’s discuss how he is one of the most disgusting characters in MK history. Keep in mind, this is including a character called “Meat” who has no skin. Bo’ Rai Cho fights by vomiting and farting. Remember how cheap Sub-Zero’s Ground Ice special move was? Bo’ Rai Cho has the same thing, only it’s vomit instead of ice. He also had a staff that allowed him to keep an opponent at bay while staying relatively safe. Couple this with his flatulence and not only was he cheap, but also vulgar.
