Mortal Kombat 1’s newest fighter returns to series for first time in 9 years

Mortal Kombat 1 is about to get another new fighter. NetherRealm and Warner Bros. Games announced Monday that Takeda Takahashi, who was last seen in Mortal Kombat X, will be playable starting July 23 for Kombat Pack owners, and everybody else on July 30.

The 2023 fighting game gave its characters reworked backstories, and that’s the case here. Instead of being Kenshi’s son like he was in Mortal Kombat X, Mortal Kombat 1 has made Takeda Kenshi’s cousin. In his new backstory, he was sent to take down Kenshi for the yakuza, but was critically wounded. Recovering as Kenshi’s prisoner, he took inspiration from the Shirai Ryu and now fights with the clan’s moveset.

You can see him tear up enemies with serrated whips, throw explosive kunai, and teleport behind enemies. In his fatality, he uses his whips to crush his opponent, cleaving huge gashes into the body before he retracts them. And in typical Mortal Kombat fashion, the results are quite bloody.

Takeda will be a part of the Kombat Pack, which also includes five other playable characters: Omni-Man from Invincible, Quan Chi, Peacemaker from the DCEU, Ermac, and Homelander from The Boys. The bundle is available as part of the game’s Premium Edition or as a standalone purchase.

Warner Bros. also announced that Kameo Fighter Ferra (the Mortal Kombat 1 version of a support character that can assist during a match) will also be out on July 23, although the trailer doesn’t mention her. The release was delayed slightly to give the developers “more time to make sure she can assist to the best of her abilities,” <a href=«https://twitter.com/MortalKombat/status/1802836360891638088?ref_src=» https: target="_blank" rel=«noopener»>according to an X (formerly Twitter) post

on June 17. Either way, both will be playable at Evo, the huge fighting game tournament that begins on July 19.

Other Kameo Fighters include Tremor, Khameleon, Janet Cage, and Mavado.