Summary
Mortal Kombat 1draws ever closer to release, and with it, more and more characters are being revealed. Thanks to the roster split between playable and Kameo Fighters, the game is building up an impressive slew of faces for fans to take into battle. Among their number are quite a few combatants who haven’t shared the spotlight for some time, including reinvented versions of characters introduced back in the 3D era ofMortal Kombat. In this way,Mortal Kombat 1should provide plenty of fanservice without compromising its story with less important characters.
“Less important” describes an unfortunate number ofMortal Kombatfighters, necessitating a lot of the changes inMortal Kombat 1’s rebooted universe. A strong case is Baraka, who went from a villainous henchman to a sympatheticTarkatan inMortal Kombat 1. Li Mei is another, being a generic character fromMortal Kombat: Deadly Alliancewhose last role was as a minor NPC inMortal Kombat X’s story mode. Baraka had the benefit of being part of the classic 2DMK’s rosters, but too many fighters don’t have that luxury. For most 3D-era characters, the Kameo system will be their best chance to return in a semi-playable fashion, with Darrius being an early example.
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Mortal Kombat Never Gave Darrius A Moment To Shine
The tale of Darius is brief and obscure, even toMortal Kombatveterans. Having been introduced inMortal Kombat: Deception, Darrius' only other playable appearance was inMortal Kombat: Armageddon, where his story was essentially the same. Darrius is the leader ofthe Seidan Resistance in Orderrealm, a growing faction fed up with an increasingly oppressive government regime. It’s telling that a people naturally inclined toward order would act more like Chaosrealm citizens in the face of the law, but that doesn’t make Darrius an entirely heroic figure.
Rather, to ensure his faction’s victory, Darrius secretly blackmails powerful Seidans into his group. This is implied to have happened to Dairou, an Orderrealm mercenary collaborating with Darrius, who was imprisoned while avenging his family. Lining up their backstories, Darrius may have hired the responsible assassin to ultimately recruit Dairou by liberating him. Unfortunately, nothing ever comes of this, andDarrius dies inMK: Armageddonwithout accomplishing anything. His last appearance was a minor cameo inMortal Kombat 11’s arcade Towers, so Darrius' appearance inMortal Kombat 1comes as a surprise.
Being A Kameo Is Just Right For Darrius
With Darrius' low importance toMortal Kombat’s lore, it makes sense that he would be brought back as a Kameo Fighter. Darrius fell into thetrap a lot of 3DMKcharacters didby lacking a distinct theme in his appearance and moveset, which is why Li Mei had to be almost entirely reinvented for her playableMortal Kombat 1return. Apart from a body-rearranging Fatality, Darrius does not have enough interesting attacks to smoothly transition into a modern fighting game, so a Kameo Fighter is his best fit for now.
Being in the Kameo roster also means that Darrius does not need a place inMortal Kombat 1’s new universe yet. Since his old Orderrealm side plot went nowhere, this isn’t a major loss. This state ofMK’s realms is much different now, with elements of Orderrealm and Edenia being rolled into Outworld. A militant enemy faction has already been implied in marketing materials, and iffans are right about General Shao leading it, there’s no room for Darrius' Seidan Resistance. Darrius, and other forgottenMortal Kombatcharacters like him, may have another chance one day thanks toMK1’s Kameo system, but it’s better if they stay on the sidelines for now.
Mortal Kombat 1will be released on September 19 for PC, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S.
