The original roster for Mortal Kombat X was missing a few classic characters. There were no Robot Ninjas, Fujin and Smoke (human form) weren’t playable, and no sign of Kabal or Nightwolf just to name a few. When word got out that a second Kombat Pack was coming that would include four more characters, the internet went crazy trying to speculate which characters would be featured. In the end, we got Tri-Borg, Leatherface, a Xenomorph and Bo Rai Cho.
There were mixed feelings about Bo Rai Cho being included over high demand characters such as Fujin and Kabal, but his drunken master fighting style and odd humor should bring something new to Mortal Kombat X. He also trained Liu Kang and Kung Lao, so as far as the story goes, he is a formidable opponent. Let’s take a closer look at how Bo Rai Cho will likely play in the latest MK title.
Bo Rai Cho has a few trademark special moves that will likely be present in at least two of his three variations. The Puke Puddle will work similar to Sub-Zero’s Ground Freeze and should make opponents slip, leaving them open to attack. This will likely be used to start or extend combos. Depending on how fast the attack executes, you should be able to hit-confirm a combo into the Puke Puddle, then perform a jump-in attack to continue your combo for maximum damage.
In addition to the Puke Puddle, Bo Rai Cho is well-known for his Earthquake attack. This is similar to Jax’s Ground Pound, but we’ll have to wait to see if Bo Rai Cho can change where the attack connects or if it will cover the entire screen similar to Goro’s variation of the special move. Either way the Earthquake attack will likely be unblockable like the other similar attacks in Mortal Kombat X.
It’s also likely that at least one of Bo Rai Cho’s variations will allow him to use his staff. One of the reasons Kung Jin was considered one of the best characters early on was because he had a lot of range with his staff. Bo Rai Cho could easily have the same advantages with his staff depending on the safety of his staff attacks. At the very least, he is likely to have a variety of different normal and combo attacks in his staff variation.
Bo Rai Cho has two other trademark special moves from previous Mortal Kombat titles. The first is his Belly Bash, which carries him forward and may be useful for whiff punishment in Mortal Kombat X. This would likely be used to end combos or armor through an opponent’s attack using an enhanced version. The second special move is the Monkey Flip, which also covers a decent distance and should also be useful for ending combos while moving an opponent closer to the corner.
However Bo Rai Cho ends up playing, he will be the drunken master of Mortal Kombat X. For those who were hopeful NetherRealm would include Fujin or one of the other popular characters, there’s always hope for Kombat Pack 3 sometime in the future. Mortal Kombat X is the best-selling game in the franchise, so a third Kombat Pack certainly isn’t out of the question.
We’ll have more information on the characters included in Kombat Pack 2 when the first one is showcased later this month during the ESL finals. Until then, be sure to check out our Mortal Kombat guide hub for information on the other characters already available in MKX!
Published: Jan 5, 2016 10:08 pm