Mortal Kombat is a hugely successful fighting game series that continues to this day. What is the secret of the popularity of this game? Everything is very simple. Firstly, Mortal Kombat is one of the most brutal and bloody fighting games. It is for this reason that the game appealed to both adults and teenagers. In addition, MK has a lot of advantages. Simple controls, modern Motion Capture, harmonious gameplay, a huge number of Easter eggs, secrets - it's all here. Well, perhaps the main feature of the game is fatality. Fatality is a special and very spectacular finishing move that allows you to destroy the enemy with extreme cruelty.
Characters of the "Mortal Kombat" series
The first game in the "Mortal Kombat" series was released back in 1992, and the last - just recently, in the summer of 2014. For more than twenty years of history, a huge number of characters have appeared in MK. Among them were both ordinary people (Sonya, Jax, Kano), and cyborgs (Syrex), deities (Raiden), inhabitants of the Outer World (Baraka, Mileena, etc.). In addition, various crossovers (crossing of Universes) often occur in games. Thus, in some parts of MK appearedpopular characters from other games, movies, and other popular culture products. For example, in Mortal Kombat 9 you could play as Kratos (the protagonist of God of War) and Freddy Krueger (a character from the movie A Nightmare on Elm Street). And in 2008, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, in which you can play not only as MK heroes, but also as popular comic book characters (Batman, Superman, etc.).
Characters in MK are not just an animated model with a set of tricks. Each hero is a real person who has a unique story, life position, etc. In addition, the characters constantly interact with each other, build friendly or hostile relations. In general, they do not stand still and develop. In this article, we will talk about one of the most popular hero - Sub Zero. Mortal Kombat would not be as interesting and exciting without this character. What is so special about it? The answer to this question lies in this article.
Character origin
Sub Zero has appeared in every Mortal Kombat game since its debut in 1992. Why? Everything is very simple. The concept of the ice ninja appealed to many gamers, for this reason the developers decided to leave it and use it in subsequent games in the series, other media products (for example, series and a film based on the MK franchise).
Light on the history of the creation of Sub Zero was shed by one of the developers of "Mortal Kombat" - John Tobias. If you believe his statements, then initially this character was called Ninja andwas a representative of the Lin Kuei (a legendary Chinese clan). John Tobias tweeted that inspiration came while reading The Chinese Ninja Connection, which postulated historical facts about the existence of the Lin Kuei and their influence on the emergence of Japanese ninja. At the development stage, the hero received a suit with a blue color palette and a new name - Tundra. However, they decided to rename the character again after one of the developers saw the movie "Running Man", in which Subzero is a professional killer who attacked Ben Richards (Arnold Schwarzenegger's character).
Story Line
As mentioned above, each character in the MK universe has its own story. Sub Zero is no exception. In this article, we will take a closer look at the storyline of this character.
The Sub Zero mask was worn by a lot of people throughout the MC. But the original Sub Zero is considered to be the brothers Bi Han and Kuai Liang. Both are related by blood. Their father is a legendary Chinese cryomancer, secret agent Lin Kuei, and their mother is an ordinary American woman. The brothers were born in America, but as a child, their father, against the will of his wife, took them to China. There, Bi Han and Kuai Liang are trained and become full members of the Lin Kuei clan.
Senior Sub Zero
Sub Zero (Mortal Kombat 1 - his debut game), under the mask of which was an older brother named Bi Han, took part in the "Mortal Kombat". According to the plot, the Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei clan ordered the ice ninjakill Shang Tsung (master of the tournament) and take away his treasures. However, the elder Sub-Zero was unable to fulfill his mission, as he died at the hands of the ghost of Scorpion, who decided to take revenge on Bi Hanyu for brutally killing him a couple of years ago. However, Bi Han's story does not end there. Accepting death, the elder Sub-Zero went to hell. There, through the efforts of Shinnok and Quan Chi, he was turned into a dark demon named Noob Saibot.
Junior Sub Zero
After the events of the first part, Bi Han's place was taken by his younger brother - Kuai Liang. Sub Zero is sent back to Mortal Kombat to complete the mission. Kuai Liang, joining forces with a ninja named Smoke, tried to kill Shang Tsung, but they failed. Also during the tournament, the younger Sub-Zero met with Scorpio. The second was interested in who is hiding under the mask. All this resulted in an epic battle, the winner of which was Sub Zero. Despite the thirst for revenge, Kuai Liang spared the defeated enemy and spared his life. Scorpion, in turn, vowed not to harm the younger Sub-Zero as payment for killing his brother.
Events of "Mortal Kombat 3"
After Mortal Kombat, Kuai Liang and Smoke returned to the Lin Kuei. However, as it turned out, the clan has undergone changes. Thanks to the rapid technological progress, it was possible to make cyborgs out of ordinary people. This allowed the creation of cyber ninja, which possessed incredible power. Two members of the clan (Cyrex and Sektor) became the first volunteers, and the experiment was a success. It was decided that the nextthe candidates for the transformation should be Sub Zero and Smoke. However, they did not like it, and the ninja tried to escape. But only Kuai Liang managed to get out of the headquarters. The elders of the clan decided not to let the traitor go and sent Cyrex, Sektor and the newly converted cyborg Smoke to get his head. Throughout MK3, Sub-Zero battles his former clanmates. In addition, Kuai Liang received guidance from Raiden and joined the team that was supposed to repel a new threat from Outworld.
Participation in resistance
In the fourth part of "Mortal Kombat" Sub Zero takes part in the battle against the Elder God Shinoka, who intends to destroy the Earthrealm. As the game progresses, Kuai Liang once again fights Scorpion, who has learned from Quan Chi that the ice ninja killed his family. This time, Scorpion wins in a fierce battle. However, he does not kill the younger Sub-Zero, as during the course of the battle he realizes that Quan Chi is actually responsible for the death of his child and wife.
In Deadly Alliance, Kuai Liang defeats Sektor and takes control of the clan into his own hands. In addition, he meets his student named Frost. Together, they team up with Earthrealm's resistance and defeat Quan Chi and Shang Tsung.
During the events of Deception, Sub-Zero joins Shujinku's group in order to repel a new world threat in the form of Onaga. Throughout the game, Kuai Liang has a family feud with his resurrected brother, who now roams the world in the guise of Noob Saibot.
BArmageddon, the younger Sub-Zero is confronted by Taven, who has unceremoniously invaded the clan's temple. The heroes converge in battle, but later unite in order to repel the invasion of the forces of the Outworld. In a fierce battle between Taven and Sub Zero against Smoke and Noob Saibot, who attempted to take over the temple, the former are victorious. After defeating the invaders, Sub Zero stays with his defeated brother in the hope of saving him.
The further fate of Sub Zero
In the crossover titled "DS Universe vs. Mortal Kombat", Sub Zero is one of the key characters in the war between fictional universes. Ice Ninja even got his own story chapter. In the course of the game, Sub Zero often encounters Batman. Ed Boon (one of the developers of the game) explained this by saying that the characters are very similar to each other (both heroes are very gloomy, mysterious and pensive) and in order to show this, it was decided to push them in a fight. As a result, the ice ninja leaves the Lin Kuei clan and becomes a superhero. Kuai Liang dons a new costume, the main feature of which is a long, dark blue cloak. does not yet know that the killer cyborgs Sektor, Smoke and Cyrex are following in his footsteps, who still managed to survive after the events of the previous parts.
Reaction to Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
Fans reacted quiteambiguously. Some liked the idea of making a superhero out of Sub Zero. But most of the fans were indignant, as this completely contradicts the concept of "Mortal Kombat". Fortunately (or not), this concept did not last long, and already in 2011 a new game in the series was released, which completely rebooted the universe. We will talk about it in the next part of the article.
Mortal Kombat 9
As you know, MK9 drastically changes some of the canonical events. Thus, in Mortal Kombat 9, Sub Zero and the storyline were slightly changed. During the escape from the headquarters, the cyborgs capture not Smoke, but Kuai Liang. As a result, a new killer robot named Cyber Sub Zero is born. Ice Cyborg has a ton of new moves that weren't available to the classic Sub Zero. So, for example, a robot can teleport, splitting into several parts and gathering in another place. In addition, Cyber Sub Zero is capable of firing bombs from his chest that freeze the enemy.
Sub Zero in terms of gameplay
As you know, MK is not only a game, but also a whole eSports discipline. In this part of the article, we will look at Sub Zero as a playable character, talk about his features, etc.
Even in the first part of the game, Sub Zero appealed to many gamers thanks to its manipulations with the cold. This character is able to freeze the enemy, as a result of which he will not be able to move and attack. This gives a huge springboard for further attacks, combinations. Getting frozenprofessional player, it is unlikely to win the round. It is also worth noting that most of Sub Zero's abilities are focused on defense and effective counterattack. Thanks to this, with proper skill, you can defeat the enemy without attacking him. Perhaps the main disadvantage of this Sub Zero as a playable character is speed. All strikes and special moves require quite a bit of time to be successfully applied. Therefore, if the enemy behaves carefully and does not fall under freezing, then it will be difficult to defeat him. Sub Zero can be played by both intermediate and pro players.
It's also worth saying a few words about finishing moves. Sub Zero's fatalities are very spectacular and do not require memorization of complex combinations.
Scorpion vs Sub Zero
The Mortal Kombat series has been successfully running for over 20 years. During this rather long time, this project has managed to cause a lot of controversy and disagreement in the gaming environment. One of the most popular questions that is regularly discussed in the fan circle is: "In a combination of Scorpio vs. Sub Zero, who will win?" In this part of the article, we will try to answer this question.
Throughout the MK series, Scorpion and Sub-Zero fought each other repeatedly. However, there has never been an unequivocal outcome, and the conditions cannot be called equal (the heroes were in different emotional states, they were injured, exhausted, etc.). In addition, much depends on the place of the battle. For example, if the battle takes place in hell, then it is safe to say that Scorpiowill win. Conversely, if the battle takes place in some cold snowy place, then Sub Zero will have a better chance. That is, the one on whose side the surrounding conditions will win.
But what about the game? Indeed, in MK, factors such as weather are not taken into account. If we talk about Scorpio and Sub Zero as video game characters, then the second has much more potential. Scorpio is a very aggressive hero who is quite easy to control. It's great for beginners, but sadly lacks the potential. Sub Zero is doing better in this regard. This character is not as simple as it might seem at first glance. A huge number of disables, defensive moves and counters will help him subdue any aggressor.
