Highlights
- Mortal Kombat 1 features a diverse roster of characters with unique fighting styles that are enjoyable to play and experiment with.
- General Shao is a hard-hitting character with a unique ability to fight with his fists or a gigantic axe, making him extremely satisfying to play as.
- Geras is an unpredictable fighter who can manipulate time, teleport around the stage, and deliver devastating blows, making him a fun and rewarding character to learn.
The roster of characters featured in Mortal Kombat 1 features a nice blend of iconic and classic fighters from the series' past, making it extremely varied and well worth experimenting with several of them to test out their different fighting styles. Each combatant has their own strengths and drawbacks in Mortal Kombat 1, but there are still a few that NetherRealm put some extra work into to ensure they were as fun as possible to play, whether this be due to their unique attacks, ease of use, or even simply their animations.
This is not a list going over the best fighters in Mortal Kombat 1, instead, it's simply focusing on those characters that are easy to get the hang of and, most importantly, enjoyable to play when in a fierce and bloody battle. Long-lasting combos and precise movement may make up the core gameplay of Mortal Kombat, but these characters make learning the game far less stressful due to how much of a blast they are just to play as.
7 General Shao
The latest iteration of Shao Khan, now referred to simply as General Shao, is a big, hulking brute who enjoys pummeling opponents with his gigantic axe when he's not beating them with his own hands. Shao is actually an extremely unique character in the sense that his axe isn't tied to his character, so players can freely drop it on the ground for a bit and fight with Shao's fists.
He can even throw opponents onto the blades while the axe is still stuck into the ground, a technique that is just as satisfying to pull off as it sounds. General Shao is also just very hard-hitting, with every blow feeling like an explosion of power that decimates enemy health bars, and while he's definitely pretty slow, when his hit lands, it's guaranteed to leave an impact.
6 Sub Zero
You can't have a Mortal Kombat game without one of the most iconic fighters in the series, Sub Zero, making an appearance, but in Mortal Kombat 1, he's very much a combination of old and newer iterations of the character all rolled into one. For example, while his Ice Slide featured in some of the newer games has made a return, he also now has his Ice Clone, which can be incredibly fun to use when trying to trip up opponents.
What really makes Sub Zero special, though, is the fact that he can slow down a fight using his ice powers, which can easily extend a combo and lead to a lethal amount of damage being dealt. On the other hand, this can also be extremely useful for beginner players who might want a little more time to input the correct buttons. Slowing down the enemy with Sub Zero can make this a lot less confusing than it needs to be, making him very accessible and fun to play.
5 Geras
Considering he is literally the keeper of time within the Mortal Kombat lore, it only makes sense that Geras would have a few special moves that can bend time itself, but while he had some of these in Mortal Kombat 11, they've been improved upon greatly in this latest game. Geras' game plan largely revolves around rewinding time and popping up at random points on the stage before delivering a devastating blow to his opponent.
He can definitely take a little practice to get the hang of, but putting in the time to learn him is extremely rewarding when players are able to control the momentum of a fight by teleporting around the stage, puzzling their opponent, and leaving them wide open for an attack. Because of how whacky most of his moves are, it makes experimenting with Geras a ton of fun, being one of the most unpredictable fighters in the entire game.
4 Reptile
Despite having an extremely interesting backstory, Reptile, unfortunately, was always overshadowed by some of the other ninja in previous Mortal Kombat games, but NetherRealm really went above and beyond to completely revamp the character in Mortal Kombat 1. Longtime fans will be glad to know that Reptile still has his invisibility, which has always been a staple of his character, but he can now also turn into his reptilian form briefly, which allows him to use a wide selection of new and unique moves.
Not only can he create a slow-moving Acid Bubble projectile to keep the enemy in check, but he even has a lightning-fast running attack where he pops up behind the opponent after slashing them with his giant reptilian claws. By far his most exciting move, though, and one anyone looking to play Reptile should make full use of, is his Death Roll, where he will leap towards the opponent before spinning them around and slamming them to the ground. While his invisibility alone is an incredibly fun move that never gets old, Reptile also has a lot of other new techniques that are just as enjoyable to throw out too.
3 Nitara
The bloodthirsty vampire Nitara finally makes her return after last being seen in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, and while she might not be one of the more well-known characters, she's still an absolute blast to play this time around. For starters, she's one of the best fighters in the entire game for interrupting the opponent's movement since she possesses both an anti-air and a dive kick, a combo that is rarely seen in any fighting game.
This already makes her annoying enough to play against, but things will get even worse for the opposing fighter when she decides to take to the skies. Nitara has an air dash, which grants her the ability to freely move around while airborne, unlike any other character in the game, which can lead to some fun shenanigans where the opponent can't land their combos because she's always avoiding them. She has plenty of other techniques, too, which make her quite a deep and complex character, one of the most important being her ability to bite into opponents to restore her own health; after all, she is a vampire.
2 Johnny Cage
Johnny Cage has always had a ridiculous moveset that has made him both a fun character to play and a serious force to be reckoned with when used in the right hands, and the good news is, he's just as unpredictable in Mortal Kombat 1. Johnny may no longer have his green projectiles, but he now has plenty more moves that make him much more viable as a rushdown character, capable of roughing up his opponent before finishing them off with one of his flashy Fatalities.
Not only is his wave dash the fastest in the entire game, allowing him to get up close and personal in no time at all, but he even now has a command dash, too, where he can slip past the opponent to throw them off guard. Johnny also now has a Star Meter at the bottom of the screen, which fills up each time he executes a taunt at the end of a special move or combo. Once this star is completely filled up, Johnny will enter Showtime Mode, where he is able to cancel any of his special moves up to three times, which becomes an absolute nightmare for an opponent in a corner. Pulling off crazy combos, taunting, and then finishing the enemy off with an unstoppable set of special moves is at the core of Johnny's gameplay, and don't worry, his Nut Cracker also makes a return too.
1 Smoke
Smoke is very much the assassin archetype of this game, being able to quickly dash around the map and disappear when the opponent is least expecting it, and it's this unpredictability that makes him the most satisfying fighter in the entire game to learn and play. Because he's full of tricky mix-ups, it means the opponent will essentially need to guess where and when Smoke is going to strike, and that's only referring to his neutral moves.
In terms of special moves, Smoke is able to land on his opponent from the sky, slide into them from the other side of the screen, and even turn completely invisible after throwing a smoke bomb. The pressure Smoke deals during a fight are unlike anyone else in the game, and while he can look quite difficult to grasp when watching videos, he's actually a fairly straightforward character once players get the hang of his incredibly fast movement and rushdown options.
Mortal Kombat 1 is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X, Nintendo Switch, and PC.