Highlights
- Gamescom's reveal trailer for Mortal Kombat 1 showcased the return of classic characters Sindel and Shao Khan, but the unveiling of Motaro as a Kameo fighter also has fans excoted.
- Motaro, a centaur character from the original Mortal Kombat titles, returns in his original form as a support character. He has a unique and extreme design, but his limited appearances have made him less recognizable for newer players.
- Motaro's history in the Mortal Kombat series has been a rollercoaster. He started as a sub-boss, but his decline in the following games led to a controversial design change. However, his upcoming appearance as a Kameo assist gives hope for his future in the franchise.
Gamescom has featured some of the year's biggest announcements, and one of its big moments was the newest Mortal Kombat 1 reveal trailer. Featuring Sindel and Shao Khan as playable fighters, two classic evil characters of the series' past have been updated into the same modern style as their peers. While most people may have been focused on the main fighters that have made it into Mortal Kombat 1, the unveiling of the villain Motaro as a Kameo fighter has caused an equal amount of excitement among fans.
While limited to a support character, Motaro returns in his full centaur form from the days of the original Mortal Kombat titles. A more obscure sub-boss character in the franchise's early days of Shao Kahn's reign, newer players may not even be familiar with the Centaurian due to his lack of appearances over the years. Motaro has often been considered one of the most extreme and outlandish designs in Mortal Kombat, his status as playable fighter likely limited due to the extreme logistics of his infamous centaur body. He may not have had the best track record within the last few titles, but Mortal Kombat 1 seems to be doing his original design the justice it deserves.
Motaro's Early Mortal Kombat Roots
Originating in Mortal Kombat 3 as a sub-boss, Motaro has been one of the most insane concepts in fighting games since the arcade era. Not playable until later editions, he served a similar role to the likes of Goro and Kintaro while taking their monstrous forms to the extreme. Boasting a projectile and teleport, Motaro has always had more to him than just his horse body despite his general underrepresentation in lore.
Befitting of a being so beastly, Motaro has always been placed within a villainous role in the Mortal Kombat universe. A Centaurian denizen of Outworld, Motaro has historically been a general under the tyrannical Shao Kahn. Having proven his race’s dominance over the four-armed Shokan, he has always been associated with his sub-boss predecessors. Considering his place as a challenging sub-boss, it makes sense that Motaro began as an underdeveloped character, but what followed for him is typically seen as a weak point for the series at large.
Motaro's Decline and Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
Failing to make it into the next few titles that followed his initial appearance, Motaro would return alongside everyone over kombatant in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, albeit with one heavy compromise. In a bit of lore as maligned as this design change, Motaro’s race was supposedly cursed to become bipedal minotaurs by the Shokan. Abandoning his signature status as a centaur during his debut as a full roster character, many players of the PS2 era were disappointed by the unexpected transformation Motaro underwent. He would go on to not be featured much at all in the rebooted timeline that followed, but his upcoming appearance has generated new hope.
Finally receiving the chance to shine as a Kameo assist, it doesn't seem like Motaro will actually be a canon part of the world when the lore significance of other classic Kameos is taken into consideration. His original design is being honored to the delight of many longtime fans, but the Centaurian general has still avoided appearing in the main roster once again. A requested fighter since the arcade days, the future of the series now has serious potential to flesh out one of Mortal Kombat’s strangest characters.
Mortal Kombat 1 launches September 19 for PC, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S.
