Recently,Mortal Kombat 1players have discovered an entirely new fighter hidden in the game: a pink ninja called Floyd. Named after the English rock band Pink Floyd, the ninja Floyd is based on the model for the Kameo Fighter of the original Scorpion and Sub-Zero. To encounter Floyd, players must complete a set of challenges wherein a pink version of theMortal Kombatsymbol will appear. Eventually, players will be able to fight Floyd in a new arena called The Field, based on the field shown inMortal Kombat 1’s announcement trailer. While players are striving to encounter Floyd, they may not know about the swath of other secret charactersMortal Kombatis known for.
Mortal Kombat’s History of Secret Characters
The history of secret characters in theMortal Kombatseries dates back to 1992 with the originalMortal Kombatarcade cabinet. After players achieve a double flawless victory in single-player in the Pit and finish the match with a Fatality while a silhouette flies past the moon, text will appear stating, “You have found me, now prove yourself!!” Players will then be transported to the bottom of the Pit where they’ll encounter Reptile,a green palette-swapped version of Scorpion. Once defeated, players earn 10 million points, but Reptile remained unplayable untilMortal Kombat 2. The mysterious nature of Reptile and the difficult parameters needed to encounter him led to thousands of players attempting to fight him, and Midway Games strove to replicate this phenomenon in future titles.
In 1993’sMortal Kombat 2, Midway introduced three new secret characters, each with complex methods of reaching them. If players press Down and Start when Dan Forden pops up shouting “toasty” in the Portal arena, they will be transported to Goro’s Lair to fight Smoke,a palette-swapped version of Reptile. Similarly, if players win 50 consecutive two-player matches, they will be transported to Goro’s Lair again to fight a black palette-swapped version of Sub-Zero called Noob Saibot. Finally, if players fight in the tournament until the last match and defeat their opponent using only low kicks, they will be sent to Goro’s Lair one final time to fight Jade, a green palette-swapped version of Kitana.
Following the popularity of Reptile, Smoke, Noob Saibot, and Jade, Midway and later NetherRealm Studios would introducesecret characters in most mainlineMortal Kombatgamesincluding:
Floyd’s Story Potential in Mortal Kombat 2
Every previously introduced secret character inMortal Kombatwould be incorporated into the series story in some way, whether with direct roles in main campaigns or background roles detailed in character descriptions. Reptile was shown to be a loyal follower of Shao Kahn after his home realm of Zaterra was conquered and merged with Outworld. Smoke was a member of the Lin Kuei clan before he was subdued and forced to be cyberized as unit LK-7T2. Noob Saibot was revealed to bea wraith version of the original Sub-Zero Bi-Han, turned by the sorcerer Quan Chi in the Netherrealm after he was killed by Scorpion. Jade was shown to be an Edenian and close friend to Kitana who, together, would fight against Shao Kahn.
Based on these story developments from secret characters, Netherrealm Studios could make Floyd a new playable fighter inMortal Kombat 2, complete with his own story and role in the new campaign.Floyd could be revealed to be a Saurianbased on his pale skin and white eyes, which are similar characteristics toMortal Kombat 1’s Khameleon. If this turns out to be true, Floyd could be a new follower loyal to Empress Mileena in her fight against General Shao and could be a relative or at least a compatriot to Khameleon. Alternatively, Floyd could become the Shirai Ryu’s latest recruit based on his ninja skills and appearance similar to Scorpion and Sub-Zero.
Floyd is the first new secret character introduced in aMortal Kombatgame since Blaze and Mokap in 2002’sMortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance.
