First DLC Characters in Mortal Kombat (2011): Lady in Red & Kenshi

Patrick McCarron

Patrick McCarron

TRMK Admin, Co-founder
Staff member
Keep in mind the following article may contain minor character spoilers, but as an effort to calm the confusion around DLC in the community it is necessary in this story.

Over the weekend two articles surfaced discussing DLC in the upcoming <a href="http://www.trmk.org/games/mortal_kombat_9/">Mortal Kombat (2011)</a>. First an inaccurate article from the May 2011 issue of <b>GamePro</b> surfaced. The article said that DLC was going to be: a new female warrior dressed in red named <b>Skarlett</b> along with the blind warrior <b>Kenshi</b> and the four armed end boss from <a href="http://www.trmk.org/games/mortal_kombat_2">Mortal Kombat 2</a>: <b>Kintaro</b>. Immediately after the news surfaced, <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/awesome99/status/51767072493015040">it was said to be wrong</a> by NetherRealm's Executive Producer <b>Shaun Himmerick</b>. We immediately chalked it up as an April Fools Day prank by GamePro, despite being in the May issue, and decided to do some research.

Well then earlier today <a href="http://www.computerandvideogames.com/295504/news/mortal-kombat-dlc-characters-revealed/">CVG published an interview</a> with Mortal Kombat's Senior Producer <b>Hans Lo</b>. In the interview Hans confirms that both <b>Scarlet</b> (with a c and one t) and <b>Kenshi</b> will be coming "pretty soon" as DLC. Here is what Hans told CVG:

"[The two we're adding] are Kenshi, who players will recognise from previous MK games, and more excitingly we're adding Scarlet. Anyone who knows the history of Mortal Kombat will tell you that back in the days of the arcade - when they did just palette swap characters to come up with multiple fighters in the game - there was a glitch in one of the old arcade machines that caused the Jade/Katana/Milena female ninja to glitch and turn red. People always thought it was a hidden unlockable character and it wasn't, it was purely a programming glitch. They've always speculated and in fact it was the fans who named her Scarlet to begin with. She's no longer a glitch - she's an actual character, and she'll be coming pretty soon post-launch." - <a href="http://www.computerandvideogames.com/295504/news/mortal-kombat-dlc-characters-revealed/">Hans Lo to CVG</a>
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The article then goes on to mention that Kintaro is "planned" but doesn't go into detail. At that moment many Mortal Kombat fan sites jumped on board saying the CVG just confirmed the entire GamePro story, despite CVG not calling Kintaro DLC. That's when NetherRealm's Producer Hector Sanchez <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/hecterrific/status/52042374599286784">made the following statement on Twitter</a>:

"I get sad when I see articles that post incorrect information. :( #tigerbloodnotforsale #trustNRS" - <a href="">Hector Sanchez on Twitter</a>
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His "#tigerbloodnotforsale" mention the key thing to look at there. What does this mean?

Well <i>our interpretation of his statement</i> is that <b>Kintaro is in the game already</b> you wont have to pay or download a character that is on the disc already! Also we've personally read some of the files contained within the <a href="http://www.trmk.org/news/15358/mortal_kombat_demo_for_psn_plus_members_march_8th.html">Mortal Kombat (2011) Demo</a> and Kintaro is actually part of the <a href="http://www.trmk.org/news/15316/test_your_luck_in_mortal_kombats_challenge_tower.html">big 300th Challenge Tower battle</a> amongst other mentions of him that are larger spoilers. <b>Will he be a playable character when the game ships on April 19th? <i>That's yet to be seen</i></b>.

The clear message here is that NetherRealm Studios is not looking to sell you an unlock code for a character that is on the game disc already, that's why we should "Trust NRS" like Hector said. Whatever they are "planning" for us is clearly going to be in the best interests of the fans.

Also of note, Hector responded to <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/McCarron/status/52055383786795008">our question about the spelling of the new female character's name</a>. GamePro called her "Skarlett" and CVG called her "Scarlet" and thusly confused the community. Hector <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/hecterrific/status/52056092804530176">said that her name has not been "decided yet</a>" and that she is just <b>"Lady in Red, for now"</b>. So there you have it, she should be called <b>Lady in Red</b> until an official statement or reveal comes from NetherRealm studios on this new warrior.

To stay up to date on news like this about the upcoming <a href="http://www.trmk.org/games/mortal_kombat_9/">Mortal Kombat (2011)</a> be sure to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/trmk">follow @TRMK on Twitter</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/trmk.org">like our Facebook Page</a>.
 
Thanks for this Pat, hopefully this ends all the confusion and Dupe threads that are being posted over and over again.
 
The "Lady in Red" better be a free download! i heard she is a secret character you fight somewhere in the challenge tower! that means she is on the disc...Im not paying extra for a character already on the damn disc XD
 
Taj Gill said:
Thanks for this Pat, hopefully this ends all the confusion and Dupe threads that are being posted over and over again.
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Thanks Taj, my goal was to clarify the confusion a bit more as it's clear GamePro's information was inaccurate and should be taken with a pound of salt.

X~I_ATE_MY_HEART~X said:
The "Lady in Red" better be a free download! i heard she is a secret character you fight somewhere in the challenge tower! that means she is on the disc...Im not paying extra for a character already on the damn disc XD
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I see no mention of "lady in red" in the game demo code. I see "lady" mentioned only in the title of a challenge tower where you have to fight Jade as Noob: "I'll Hit A Lady"
 
I wish things like this were kept secret meaning it should of never been leaked, i guess it happens to every gaming company except rockstar i think lol but oh well good stuff none the less.
 
SabbathBLOODySabbath said:
I wish things like this were kept secret meaning it should of never been leaked, i guess it happens to every gaming company except rockstar i think lol but oh well good stuff none the less.
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In the case of Kintaro it's clear they wanted to announce him at this time, but GamePro looks like they have failed at communicating the message properly to their readers.
 
I think that Hector Sanchez's reply was in response to the Kenshi, "Lady in Red," and Kintaro DLC.

It doesn't make sense (to me) that they would put Kintaro as DLC, when he could be an NPC Sub-Boss to begin with.
 
Yet again, the gaming media proves to be made up of a bunch of gaming English majors and lacks any actual journalism.

What other industry would put up with this nonsense in its trade?
 
Mileena - Pink
Skarlet - Red
Jade - Green
Kitana - Indigo
Frost - Blue
Sindel - Purple
Tanya - Yellow
Li Mei - Purple
Khameleon - Rainbow

Where's our Grey and Shadow females at?
 
So Kintaro IS (and always WAS) in the game yet...(I mean, by the spoiled #300 C.Tower mission)
btw, we need a brother(sister)hood of shadows girl :D :twisted:
 
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From Ed Boon's Twitter:
"RT @Mun1eco Y R DLC characters already confirmed pre-released and not just added into the game? Noobde: DLC characters are NOT on the disc"

Don't know how that figures into the whole matter...
 
Noam Bonneau said:
From Ed Boon's Twitter:
"RT @Mun1eco Y R DLC characters already confirmed pre-released and not just added into the game? Noobde: DLC characters are NOT on the disc"

Don't know how that figures into the whole matter...
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DLC was planned for the game before it finished production - hence the DLC charcter slots.
Even though they were making them at the same time as the game, the DLC characters weren't put on the disc because of space and/or money.
 
Noam Bonneau said:
From Ed Boon's Twitter:
"RT @Mun1eco Y R DLC characters already confirmed pre-released and not just added into the game? Noobde: DLC characters are NOT on the disc"

Don't know how that figures into the whole matter...
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What people fail to know is the main game was "frozen" a while ago as far as features, etc. So the new DLC characters are being revealed and worked on, just couldn't be done in time to ship with the game. So we get them later and likely for a small fee. I'd gladly pay for new characters, and I know many fans would as well.

DLC characters = not on disk
Kintaro = on disk, so not DLC


Aquaman said:
DLC characters weren't put on the disc because of space and/or money.
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Or time. A lot of time is required to finish a character for a game. Time is money as well, but Time is the main factor here.
 
I just hope Kintaro isn't playable. Perhaps that's why they didn't elaborate. He'd be cool as a DLC story boss, too.
 
I don't complain for having to pay for a DLC character, if this means that this way, NRS can have more time for development, and so, release a decent character, reviewed, tested and ready to be downloaded ...... so, I was expecting Skarlett on the final version disc, but, I'm glad she will be in the game anyway, even being a DLC to be released some time after 19th April
 
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