Highlights

  • Li Mei's return in Mortal Kombat 1 adds a fresh dynamic, providing new stories and plotlines for the series' fighters.
  • Li Mei's fighting style is fun and exciting, making her a solid and competitive choice for players to pick up.
  • Li Mei's grounded personality as a responsible constable adds balance to the roster, making her an important presence in the game.

One notable member of Mortal Kombat 1's cast can't just disappear again after being freshly reintroduced to the series in the reboot. Mortal Kombat 1's new universe has been a great asset for the game, granting plenty of new stories to tell while also being a good starting point for new players. This also has the side effect of providing new plotlines for the series' fighters. This includes some characters who made surprise returns to the series in Mortal Kombat 1. In particular, one character would be particularly disappointing to see leave the series as soon as they came back.

Liu Kang's new timeline in Mortal Kombat 1 completely reshaped the universe of Mortal Kombat, leading to major differences in the lives of its fighters. In Liu Kang's attempt to create a peaceful world, he tried to create circumstances that would turn out for the better for most of those involved. However, while this did lead to a lot of characters making the most of their second chances, like Baraka, Mileena, and Reptile, there unfortunately still exists a fair amount of strife in Liu Kang's new world. Despite his best intentions, the protagonists still have plenty of reasons to keep fighting in the sequel.

Mortal Kombat 1 Aftermath DLC
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Li Mei Deserves to Stay in Mortal Kombat's Playable Roster After Her Return

Li Mei Was a Surprising Returnee in Mortal Kombat 1

Among the game's playable cast, Mortal Kombat 1's Li Mei was one of the more surprising inclusions. She had only been playable in four previous titles, with her last playable appearance being in 2006's Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. In addition, Li Mei was never a major character in any of the other games that she appeared in. She was a fighter that few would have expected to immediately be a part of the rebooted universe alongside stalwarts such as Scorpion and Johnny Cage. However, Li Mei proved in Mortal Kombat 1 that she was an excellent character to bring back to the series.

Li Mei's Fighting Style Is Fun and Exciting

Li Mei's fighting style stacks up very well alongside Mortal Kombat 1's other fighters. Her moveset focuses on laying into the opponent with strikes and wielding magical blasts. In terms of both satisfaction and style, she is an incredibly fun character to use. She has a good number of built-in combos that make her easy to learn for beginners, but she still has plenty of tricks that make her a solid competitive choice. In addition, her magical aesthetic of neon purple light makes her moveset very aesthetically pleasing. Li Mei is a fighter that is well worth learning in Mortal Kombat 1.

Li Mei's Grounded Personality is Helpful For Mortal Kombat 1

Personality-wise, Li Mei is quite normal, but that is not a bad thing. In Mortal Kombat 1's story as well as her interactions with other characters, Li Mei is a straightlaced and responsible constable with rather few quirks. That shouldn't be an obstacle for her return, though. Not every character can be a quip machine like Johnny Cage or a schemer like Shang Tsung. Having some grounded characters in the plot is important to help wilder personalities stand out. Li Mei fills her role as a rational warrior quite well, and it would be well worth seeing her again in later installments.

Li Mei has made the most of her return in Mortal Kombat 1, and hopefully she will stick around. While Mortal Kombat 2's roster will probably see some changes, hopefully Li Mei won't be leaving the series so swiftly after her return. She didn't play a major role in the story, but she proved to be an entertaining fighter in gameplay, and as a constable of Sun Do, she could easily have a reason to return. Hopefully Mortal Kombat fans will not have to wait years to see Li Mei again.