MKX Character Names = FUBAR?

[p.W]

OK, so this thread isn't very serious, but it kind of is. :laugh: Let's examine the names in MKX and observe just how fuxxed up they are.

Kotal Kahn = dude's title is in his name. Why is his title in his name? Raiden isn't called "Lord Raiden," Goro isn't called "Prince Goro," and Sonya Blade isn't called "General Sonya Blade."

Takahashi Takeda = dude's last name is in front of his first name, just like Liu Kang, Kung Lao, and Kung Jin. Well, they're Asian, so this actually makes sense. Except... Kung Jin spent a chunk of his life living in the States when his family moved there following Kung Lao's death.

All right, so let's say the game just uses whatever the character is most commonly called. So Reptile's real name is Syzoth, but nobody calls him that, so he's Reptile. Hanzo is still mostly referred to as Scorpion by people who aren't close friends of his, so he's Scorpion. Jackson Briggs is mostly referred to as Jax, so he's Jax. Takahashi Takeda is mostly referred to as Takeda, so he's Takahashi Takeda.

Wait. What?

Kung Jin is only referred to as Jin... except by Raiden... and he's Kung Jin. Kotal Kahn is mostly referred to as Ko'atal in the dialogue (Tanya, D'Vorah), so naturally... his game name has nothing to do with any of that.

All right. Whatever. I'm picking at nits and getting off track. Really, the IMPORTANT THING is that the Western characters are named Name Lastname, and the Eastern characters are named Lastname Name. Right? Like Kenshi in his bio, which reads that "The swordsman Takahashi Kenshi spent his early adulthood searching the world for worthy opponents." We can at least commend NRS on being consistent in this?

Sure! Absolutely! 100%!

Unless you look at Scorpion's bio, which starts "Hanzo Hasashi was a member of the Shirai-Ryu assassin clan," or Sub-Zero's bio, which goes "Kuai Liang and his older brother, Bi-Han, served the Lin Kuei assasin clan."

P.S. is Bi-Han's full name Bi-Han Liang? Or do Chinese cryomancer assassins commonly have different surnames from their brothers?

 

[Imperatrix Sindel]

The name order thing is definitely inconsistent. I'll give MKX some credit for at least trying to understand that there are different kinds of Asian people, though, which the early Mortal Kombat games were not very good at.

With Scorpion and Sub-Zero it's probably that they've been referred to with Western name order for so long that it'd confuse people if they switched it now.

I like Kahn/Kahnum being retconned as a title, so I don't mind 'Kotal Kahn'. I wonder what Shao Kahn was called before he deposed the Dragon King. (And was Onaga called Onaga Kahn?)

 

[Immortal Reaver]

Do you expect anything more from NRS? They claim that the Shirai Ryu is a Japanese clan and don't even pronounce it correctly. Same with "Takida." They can pronounce characters names and everything else how they want, since they made them up. but you can't say that a clan is Japanese and not use proper Japanese pronunciation.

 

[kadell]

To be honest, I like saying Ko'atal more than Kotal Kahn to the point that I still pronounce his name as Ko'atal.
I do wonder how they came up with some of the names though. Something tells me that Ferra/Torr was originally going to be one character seeing how they are constantly called Ferratorr rather than being named separated.

 

[Imperatrix Sindel]

To be honest, I like saying Ko'atal more than Kotal Kahn to the point that I still pronounce his name as Ko'atal.
I do wonder how they came up with some of the names though. Something tells me that Ferra/Torr was originally going to be one character seeing how they are constantly called Ferratorr rather than being named separated.

I think that's because their species is apparently symbiotic. It's like the Trill on Star Trek -- Jadzia and Dax become 'Jadzia Dax' after they merge.

 

[Tanyas Husband]

I imagined you standing up in front of a crowd saying this in a stand-up theatre. Only me? :hello:

 

[Lord Greyjoy]

Heh. FWIW, "Kotal Kahn" sounds a lot cooler than simply "Kotal."

 

[p.W]

I think that's because their species is apparently symbiotic. It's like the Trill on Star Trek -- Jadzia and Dax become 'Jadzia Dax' after they merge.

Nope, according to concept art, Ferra/Torr were originally conceived as an Earthrealm-based fighter named Master/Blaster.

 

[Imperatrix Sindel]

Nope, according to concept art, Ferra/Torr were originally conceived as an Earthrealm-based fighter named Master/Blaster.

That's a reference to the movie Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, which obviously did inspire the character.

I'm just saying the finished character is addressed as Ferra/Torr singular ('Ferra/Torr Wins') presumably because they're a symbiotic being.

 

[p.W]

That's a reference to the movie Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, which obviously did inspire the character.

I'm just saying the finished character is addressed as Ferra/Torr singular ('Ferra/Torr Wins') presumably because they're a symbiotic being.

Ah, but you forget that Noob & Smoke were once upon a time called Noob-Smoke, and were also addressed in the singular by the game!

Neat to finally know where the Master Blaster thing is from, though. I must have heard it in every context already except one involving Mad Max.

 

[Imperatrix Sindel]

Ah, but you forget that Noob & Smoke were once upon a time called Noob-Smoke, and were also addressed in the singular by the game!

Neat to finally know where the Master Blaster thing is from, though. I must have heard it in every context already except one involving Mad Max.

I LIKE MY THEORY BETTER

But true, Noob-Smoke was also addressed in the singular. Ferra/Torr's intros definitely suggest they're a psychically-linked symbiotic being though.

 

[p.W]

I LIKE MY THEORY BETTER

But true, Noob-Smoke was also addressed in the singular. Ferra/Torr's intros definitely suggest they're a psychically-linked symbiotic being though.

Also... the fact that Kung Jin explicitly calls them a symbiote while they charge at him.

I can't have been the only one thinking

 

[Imperatrix Sindel]

Also... the fact that Kung Jin explicitly calls them a symbiote while they charge at him.

OH WELL THAT TOO I GUESS

it's been a long day

 

[Yellow Ledbetter]

To be honest, I like saying Ko'atal more than Kotal Kahn to the point that I still pronounce his name as Ko'atal.
I do wonder how they came up with some of the names though. Something tells me that Ferra/Torr was originally going to be one character seeing how they are constantly called Ferratorr rather than being named separated.

Ba' ra kuh was very cool too! :laugh:

Funny to know their names are translated to us, very creative.

Notice that Bakara and Bo' Rai Cho have similarities on the name.

And that makes D'vorah, which is an original name, a pattern, like Ko'atal.

 

[Jion_Wansu]

I think Shao's other name was probably something like...

Shao Zhànshì

 

[Shredder6389]

Reptile is reptilian, hence the name.

 

[Cryo]

Reptile is reptilian, hence the name.

Thank you for enlightening us with your infinite wisdom. :laugh:

 

[Commander]

Reptile is reptilian, hence the name.

And Sub-Zero uses freezing abilities at temperatures below zero on the Fahrenheit scale (–18 Celsius), hence the name.

 

[BBBLP]

Shao Kahn was Outworld's second ruler right? Maybe the Kahnum was something that was introduced when he began his rule. And Onaga was just Onaga

 

[Imperatrix Sindel]

Shao Kahn was Outworld's second ruler right? Maybe the Kahnum was something that was introduced when he began his rule. And Onaga was just Onaga

Yeah, it's entirely possible Kahn was introduced as a title by Shao Kahn (and that Mileena later introduced Kahnum as her female variant). It'd be nice if Outworld was openly referred to as a Kahnate at some point, which would underline the whole thing.