Ed Boon has confirmed that Mortal Kombat 1 will be a re-imagining of the lore we have all known for years. One of the biggest questions surrounding the game is how, if at all, will the Kameo game mechanic factor into this new lore?
There are some things that we can ascertain for sure. The Kameo fighter system is NetherRealm’s compromise on a few fronts. Those being tag team mechanics and as a way to include more characters for fan-service reasons without the need to fully program 16 MORE characters. None of this though ties directly into the story of the game.
What Kameos?
We have received some very limited and vague information from Ed Boon through interviews he has done since our first taste of the game a few months ago. Basically, as far as the story is concerned, Boon has only really told us that there will be some Kameos that are only available during story mode. The specifics of which Kameos those are have still not been revealed, though we do know the majority of the Kameo roster through the first Kombat Pack. Plus, there have been some reliable leaks that have filled in some of the gaps, assuming they are accurate.
The Kameos we know for sure are: Goro, Jax Briggs, Kano, Kung Lao, Scorpion, Sonya Blade, Stryker, Sub-Zero, Cyrax, Sektor, Frost, Darrius, and Sareena.
The Kameos coming in Kombat Pack 1 are: Tremor, Johnny Cage, Khameleon, Mavado, and Ferra.
Rumored Kameos are: Motaro and Shujinko.
Story Ties
But, just because we know (or at least have a good idea) who the Kameos will be doesn’t mean we know how, or if, they will factor into the story. That is where the speculation kicks in. It is safe to say that at least SOME of the Kameo characters will factor into the story mode somehow. The leaked San Diego Comic Con footage shows us that much. Granted Motaro and Reiko technically have not been announced by NetherRealm studios directly. But it is safe to say that they are in the game, they factor heavily into the story, and at least one of them is a Kameo.
Of the officially released trailers though, we still have seen that some of the Kameos will be in the story mode. Our first clue was Goro. While still technically speculative, the armor Goro can be seen wearing in his brief reveal in the first game trailer looks very reminiscent of Reiko and Shao Kahn. A suspicion that was confirmed with the leak from Comic Con. Then the Umgadi trailer gave us our first look at Khameleon as one of the titular group of characters.
Deep Speculation
The fact that there are some repeat characters between the Kameo roster and the base playable roster has lead some to speculate that not all Kameos will factor into story mode. Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Kung Lao, and Johnny Cage being those characters I think actually tells us the opposite story. Those are the faces for the franchise in many ways. As such, it seems to me that some of the Kameos will hail from other timelines.
We live in a world of multiverses. The last three Mortal Kombat games have gone to great lengths to set up the Mortal Kombat Multiverse. Though here they are usually called timelines. The fact that some of the Kameo characters look like they did in the original timeline seems to imply some timeline interference. The way Shang Tsung enters in the trailer seems to imply something similar.
How do you think Kameos will factor into the Mortal Kombat 1 story? Be sure to join our incredible kommunity by joining our Discord server (partnered with the Netherkast) and following us on our social media accounts, which include Twitter, Instagram, Threads and YouTube.
