Hey-oh...longtime MK fan, first time poster. Check out my retrospective on Kitana.
Her debut in MKII...
http://talkingtothevoid.blogspot.com/20 ... assin.html
Development from MK3 to Deadly Alliance...
http://talkingtothevoid.blogspot.com/20 ... el-to.html
Where things go sour...
http://talkingtothevoid.blogspot.com/20 ... -from.html
MK9...
http://talkingtothevoid.blogspot.com/20 ... ottom.html
And finally MKX and final thoughts...
http://talkingtothevoid.blogspot.com/20 ... osure.html
Bit of a long read (very long), but check it out if interested and have the time/patience.
Kitana Retrospective
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Roy Arkon
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Re: Kitana Retrospective
Thumbs up for the effort, it is clear that you took the time to it. I didn't read all of it but I can see your general point of view regarding Kitana.
I can see where you're coming from regarding your anger towards some of her history overall, but if it makes you feel better, I wanna say some things:
Yes, it is seems that Kitana had in some points of being a damsel-in-distress, but when you really of it, it's not really a bad thing. A damsel-in-distress is a woman that can't defend herself at all, that just waits for the prince on the white horse to save her and do the fighting for her. Kitana, at least could have fight, and while she wasn't the strongest of them all, she knew how to kick butt. The fact that she in the old timeline did discovered her past, fought to save Sindel, freed Edenia and all, and while in the new timeline, she boldly approaches Liu Kang to kill him and willing to accept death after defeat like a true, proud warrior who is willing to accept failure, as well as discovering her path alone (like Raiden told her too) even if was not a perfect route (like Shao Kahn telling her the truth, yet she defeats both Mileena and Shang Stung by herself) does make Kitana anything but a damsel-in-distress. Yes almost every fictional female character have those traits, but it is so common that it's not bothering at all really, and what you really remember is not those traits, but the cool, awesome parts of her design. And like you said, her MKX arcade ending does give something for her in the original timeline. And now that she is the ruler of the Netherrealm, I won't be surprised if she would more intimidating then ever before once MK11 comes out.
Also, I'm sorry if it sounds too offensive from me to say it, but I see through your read that even though you claim to not judge the whole MK9 story solely on Kitana, it seems that this is exactly what you do. You talk almost only on Kitana's role in the story, and the only things that you say not directly about Kitana are seem like that they come out of pre-decided thoughts based on MK:SM and MK-DC, and even the Raiden part of his "Stupid" time traveling, I can't help but feel that it is related to Kitana from you. I mean, you didn't even mentioned, even if it would be just by a tiny bit, any other progression of other characters in the game that aren't related to Kitana or any other aspect of the story to justify that MK9's story is "lousy", but you didn't.
MK9's story, while it had a few cheesy moments in the story, it was beyond the presentation, it had, even if only somewhat, deep plot and engaging direction, and also had about covering of at least most of the cast in the game, including Kitana, and the interesting plot that led to the epic clash between Raiden and Shao Kahn. I for one like the way that it was a gameplay-only reboot and not a full reboot, as it is a continuation of the original plot, which the whole point was to lead the plot to a new direction, which only make sense that characters such as Kitana would have a new direction, for both bad, yet for good as well.
Every character has it's ups and downs, but if the character is truly awesome, then it's ups are what really matter. I love Reptile, and yes I see he had ups and downs, canon or not, and I see downs like him being killed by Shinnok in his MK4 ending, or how he got tricked by Nitara in MK:DA, but I also remember the ups, like how he manages to refresh his look over the games, how versatile his gameplay was over the years, how he started the secret-character trend in fighting games back in MK1, and no matter what, he always manages to survive and keep going until he can see his race once more, not to mention in the MKX comic and the MKX game, Reptile and Kotal Kahn (Outworld's new emperor) are not just servant and emperor, but close friends as well, with mutual respect. That's what keeps the characters legit, and it's true for both Reptile and Kitana.
I hope that my comment helped you in some way, and I really suggest you to pick up MKX and play the game. Just Kitana's pre-fight intros with all of the characters, which show how her snobbish, cocky and warrior-queen-like proud Kitana is now, in my opinion, worth the buy for you.
Again, thumbs up for being a huge fan of MK and Kitana and dedication for this read.
I can see where you're coming from regarding your anger towards some of her history overall, but if it makes you feel better, I wanna say some things:
Yes, it is seems that Kitana had in some points of being a damsel-in-distress, but when you really of it, it's not really a bad thing. A damsel-in-distress is a woman that can't defend herself at all, that just waits for the prince on the white horse to save her and do the fighting for her. Kitana, at least could have fight, and while she wasn't the strongest of them all, she knew how to kick butt. The fact that she in the old timeline did discovered her past, fought to save Sindel, freed Edenia and all, and while in the new timeline, she boldly approaches Liu Kang to kill him and willing to accept death after defeat like a true, proud warrior who is willing to accept failure, as well as discovering her path alone (like Raiden told her too) even if was not a perfect route (like Shao Kahn telling her the truth, yet she defeats both Mileena and Shang Stung by herself) does make Kitana anything but a damsel-in-distress. Yes almost every fictional female character have those traits, but it is so common that it's not bothering at all really, and what you really remember is not those traits, but the cool, awesome parts of her design. And like you said, her MKX arcade ending does give something for her in the original timeline. And now that she is the ruler of the Netherrealm, I won't be surprised if she would more intimidating then ever before once MK11 comes out.
Also, I'm sorry if it sounds too offensive from me to say it, but I see through your read that even though you claim to not judge the whole MK9 story solely on Kitana, it seems that this is exactly what you do. You talk almost only on Kitana's role in the story, and the only things that you say not directly about Kitana are seem like that they come out of pre-decided thoughts based on MK:SM and MK-DC, and even the Raiden part of his "Stupid" time traveling, I can't help but feel that it is related to Kitana from you. I mean, you didn't even mentioned, even if it would be just by a tiny bit, any other progression of other characters in the game that aren't related to Kitana or any other aspect of the story to justify that MK9's story is "lousy", but you didn't.
MK9's story, while it had a few cheesy moments in the story, it was beyond the presentation, it had, even if only somewhat, deep plot and engaging direction, and also had about covering of at least most of the cast in the game, including Kitana, and the interesting plot that led to the epic clash between Raiden and Shao Kahn. I for one like the way that it was a gameplay-only reboot and not a full reboot, as it is a continuation of the original plot, which the whole point was to lead the plot to a new direction, which only make sense that characters such as Kitana would have a new direction, for both bad, yet for good as well.
Every character has it's ups and downs, but if the character is truly awesome, then it's ups are what really matter. I love Reptile, and yes I see he had ups and downs, canon or not, and I see downs like him being killed by Shinnok in his MK4 ending, or how he got tricked by Nitara in MK:DA, but I also remember the ups, like how he manages to refresh his look over the games, how versatile his gameplay was over the years, how he started the secret-character trend in fighting games back in MK1, and no matter what, he always manages to survive and keep going until he can see his race once more, not to mention in the MKX comic and the MKX game, Reptile and Kotal Kahn (Outworld's new emperor) are not just servant and emperor, but close friends as well, with mutual respect. That's what keeps the characters legit, and it's true for both Reptile and Kitana.
I hope that my comment helped you in some way, and I really suggest you to pick up MKX and play the game. Just Kitana's pre-fight intros with all of the characters, which show how her snobbish, cocky and warrior-queen-like proud Kitana is now, in my opinion, worth the buy for you.
Again, thumbs up for being a huge fan of MK and Kitana and dedication for this read.
No matter the form, Reptile is always awesome
