Mortal Kombat Characters Guide: Raiden

Mortal Kombat Characters Guide:  Raiden
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Character Summary - Mortal Kombat: Raiden

Raiden, famously pronounced as “Rayden”, is the god of thunder and protector of Earthrealm. Originally, Raiden was truly defined as neither good nor evil; he was invited to the Mortal Kombat tournament by Shang Tsung to compete and does so (in his ending he even becomes bored with mortal challengers and holds a contest of his own involving the gods that results in the destruction of the world as we know it. “Have a nice day.”). It isn’t until Mortal Kombat II that he finds himself facing Shao Kahn and allying with such chosen warriors as Liu Kang, Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade (though the alliance with these three particular kombatants is mostly highlighted in the 1995 film). Raiden’s visual design is borrowed from that of one of the Three Storms from the 1986 film Big Trouble in Little China. Raiden is typically considered one of the good guys of Mortal Kombat, though in Mortal Kombat: Deception he decides to wreak vengeance on those responsible for the destruction of Earthrealm, be it intentional or accidental.

Being a god of thunder, his presence cannot be confined to a single game. Raiden has appeared in other titles involving Midway; Among them being Unreal Championship 2 and NFL Blitz.

Fighting Abilities

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Raiden, being the thunder god he is, employs the use of lightning-based attacks.

Torpedo - Raiden’s most famous move; He flies toward his opponent horizontally with both hands outstretched and slams them into the wall behind them, flipping away on impact. This move is almost always accompanied by a hideous shout of gibberish that varies from game to game.

Electricity - Raiden strains his creativity skills by chicking a bolt of lightning at his opponent.

Teleport - Raiden vanishes and reappears behind his opponent.

Fatalities

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Raiden’s fatalities vary quite widely from game to game, but they usually follow the same basic fomula: Conduct enough energy into the dazed opponent until part of them explodes.

Character Evolution

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Raiden is most recognizable in his asian conical hat. In the first Mortal Kombat, he wore a white and black suit along with his hat. The second Mortal Kombat added a blue tabbard as well as some patterns on his sleeves. Mortal Kombat 4 was similar to his Mortal Kombat 2 outfit, but somehow more simple in design.

Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance saw Raiden with an outfit that was yet again similar to his Mortal Kombat 2 design, but with more design patterns and gold lining. His hair also became longer and is seen crawling out the sides of his hood, and he gained a cape. Mortal Kombat: Deception, while containing the more classic look as an alternate outfit, defaulted to his hat hanging off of his back and wearing a samurai-like outfit. Midway went bankrupt soon thereafter.

This post is part of the series: Mortal Kombat Characters

Get the lowdown on your favorite Mortal Kombat characters. Uncover their motivations for participating in the tournament. Know what to expect from their unique fighting abilities. Witness how powerful they’ve become as they develop throughout the series. Get all the gory details here!

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