NetherRealm Studios and Warner Bros. have been steadily revealing characters for the April 14, 2014 release of Mortal Kombat X. When the release date was announced, so was the pre-order bonus of a playable Goro. For those unfamiliar, Goro was the sub-boss in the original Mortal Kombat and has been playable in multiple installments of the series. He was included in Mortal Kombat 9 but in limited capacity. You could not play him as a standard character unless you modded the game.
When Goro was announced for Mortal Kombat X, no gameplay footage or details of how he would play were revealed. At this point, we can look at how he played in MK9 and assume that his Mortal Kombat X incarnation will be based on that. This falls in line with how many of the other returning characters play. While each has been outfitted with new and unique abilities, they all share a large amount of attacks with their MK9 counterparts.
In Mortal Kombat 9, Goro used his brute force to overwhelm opponents. While he was balanced as a pseudo-boss character, many of his attacks were reminiscent of how he fought in previous games. Many of his attacks had armor, which meant they absorbed the damage of the opponent’s attack, but did not interrupt Goro’s own attack. While it’s likely many of Goro’s attacks will have armor in Mortal Kombat X, this will probably be limited to Enhanced Moves (i.e. EX or Meter Burn attacks) when meter is used to enhance a special move.
Goro’s special moves in MK9 included a Fireball, Stomp, Ground Pound, Taunt, Goro Grab and Arm Spin. It’s a given that Goro will have some sort of projectile attack, so assume his Fireball will still be included. The Stomp and Ground Pound serve a similar purpose, but both have been featured in a majority of Goro’s previous appearances. The Stomp was unblockable in MK9 and travels about half a screen length. The Ground Pound covered the entire length of the screen (although Goro did not move). While both special moves will likely be included in Mortal Kombat X, it’s easy to see NetherRealm making one a signature attack available across all three of Goro’s fighting styles, and the other limited to a specific fighting style.
The Arm Spin and Goro Grab are virtually guaranteed to be included in Goro’s Mortal Kombat X move list. However, the Taunt special move is primarily used to interrupt an opponent’s attack and may or may not be included. While Goro taunts quite often, it doesn’t add much to his arsenal. However, it’s entirely possible that one of Goro’s fighting styles will revolve around his brute strength, featuring the Goro Grab, Ground Pound and possibly the Taunt. Meanwhile, the Fireball, Stomp and Arm Spin will likely become universal special moves that are available across all three fighting styles.
While Goro has been fairly agile in previous games, his MK9 variant was slow and cumbersome. It’s very likely that he’ll be similar in Mortal Kombat X. His attacks will be fairly slow, but he’ll be extremely powerful with multiple attacks that feature armor or that cannot be blocked. Goro has never really been known as a zoning character, but he could play similar to Jax in Mortal Kombat 9. Essentially, Jax could zone moderately well if need be, but was more of a force at mid-range and close range. At mid-range, Goro’s reach should make him formidable, and his raw power and grappling techniques should make him a threat at close range.
We expect his fighting styles to focus on his brute force, grapples and possibly some sort of self buff. The brute force style would offer unblockable attacks and plenty of attacks with armor. His grappling style would focus on the Goro Grab and a variety of other grapple-like attacks utilizing his four arms. Finally, the self buff fighting variant could possibly include Goro’s Taunt special move and other abilities that increase his attack strength or add armor to his attacks. The trade-off would be that he moves slower or takes more damage while the buffs are active.
Warner Bros. has yet to confirm whether or not Goro will be available to people who do not pre-order Mortal Kombat X, but it’s a safe assumption that he’ll be included in the downloadable content (DLC) that has already been confirmed for the game. While players who pre-order will almost certainly have access to Goro first (on day one), it probably won’t be more than a month before the character is available for purchase to anyone who did not pre-order.
Stay tuned to Prima Games as we continue to provide in-depth coverage of Mortal Kombat X.
