#1115 Mortal Kombat Deception (GCN) Exclusive Characters (1/2): Shao Kahn playthrough.
0A playthrough of the exclusive character Shao Kahn in the Nintendo Gamecube version of Midway’s/Netherrealm’s Mortal Kombat Deception.
Oh man, I always wanted this version of the game. Always wanted it. But guess what? It never actually came out in Europe, so I was stuck with Deadly Alliance on my Gamecube instead. The Gamecube port of MKDeception removed online functions, and attempted to compensate for this by adding two new exclusive characters to the game, Shao Kahn and Goro. Yeah. As a result of getting rid of a (back then) pretty superfluous function, they added two of the best characters of the entire series to the game. That’s the equivalent of someone lightly bumping your shoulder and giving you 50 quid as an impromptu apology; it’s the opposite of a problem.
Rather interestingly, the game also features six of the unlockable characters as playable right from the start. They even switch around the placements character selection icons, most notably switching up where Havik and Sindel are. This actually wasn’t a half-bad idea; the unlock list for Deception was epic in a way, but almost a little too much if you didn’t regularly use the internet for information. You know, like me back then, as this was before I even had wireless internet. Six characters is a far more achievable number, and it also has the added benefit of certain new characters being available from the start (like Havik and Kira), which benefits the overall structure of the game, given that with the exception of Shujinko the rest of the hidden characters are returning characters from previous games. It works better thematically, basically.
I adore when franchises take full advantage of a change they get to make. Ed Boon and his team absolutely did that here when they decided not just on adding two exclusive characters to the game, but two of the single most iconic characters of the entire franchise. This version of Deception is almost a semi-sequel of sorts, given the changes it makes such as Shao Kahn turning out to be alive. The best part as well is that both characters are insanely powerful. I mean, just insanely good. Both characters are relatively basic, but they’re so powerful that they’re practically bosses in their own right. For instance, out of all three movesets Shao Kahn only has one which has any actual combos in. His first fighting style is his typical hard-hitting knock-back style that we saw in MK2 and MK3, and his weapon style is, of course, his insanely powerful Wrath Hammer, which although it doesn’t have any true combos does have a couple of air juggles, both of which are damn powerful and have an insane amount of knockback. His first moveset only has one combo (B, L) which sees him use one punch, and then a punch which juggles the opponent and changes his moveset at the same time, but combining this with the best combo of his second moveset (B, B, A, A) deals a whopping 34% damage! Hell, if you’re up against a wall it’ll actually deal about 39% damage, which is just crazy.
Unlike most characters, Shao Kahn’s special moves are damn useful. Most of these are faithful recreations of his iconic moves, such as his projectile attack, his shoulder charge and his rising knee attack. These not only deal some nice damage, but they’re so quick that they typically catch the opponent off guard and knock them back considerably as well, not to mention that they can also be used in air juggles. Shao Kahn also has this energy shield attack which reminds me of something Rugal would use, and also works in air juggles. His final special move (which I actually forget to show here) is his taunt ability, which heals a small amount of health when used. It’s yet another nice touch in a character who has been incredibly faithfully recreated.
On the whole therefore, Shao Kahn is nothing less than a beast. The guy just decimates the competition, and while his regular attacks might be a bit slow and counter-able in places, he more than makes for this with his special moves, which come out lightning fast and easily counter opponents. All in all, he’s just a fantastic addition.
We will be seeing Shao Kahn again a couple times in the future. Man, I just love continuity.
Up next, another iconic MK boss returns.
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