On top of that, to give it even more of its own flair, many pieces such as the traditional Bishop (known as a Sorcerer in Chess Kombat), had a set of one-time use abilities that can change the course of the battle such as Imprisoning an opposing piece for a certain amount of turns. Or do you make your Pawn your best fighter since there are so many of them on the board? This opened up strategic decision making such as deciding to make your best character your King to give it the best survival chance. As opposing team pieces come in contact with each other they battle it out to see who captures who with damage between fights carrying over.
So you have a lot more Pawns, but they had far less health than the other pieces on the board, because they’re, you know, weak pawns.Ī Knight and Rook would have more health for example, and your King and Queen would have full health. The objective is the same: capture (or in this case kill) the King AKA the Leader.ĭepending on the piece the fighters would have different health. to various Mortal Kombat characters playable in Deception that were then placed on a chess board and would move in a way similar to regular Chess but with a few twists. In Chess Kombat, players would assign the traditional chess pieces like Pawn, Bishop, Rook etc.
While anyone who played Deception already has fond memories, let me explain to those who didn’t get to experience the majesty of Chess Kombat, or perhaps are new to the series with the recent games inlcuding Mortal Kombat 11. However, the Deception team found a way to mash Chess strategy with fighting gameplay in an ingenious way.
On the surface, Chess and an action-packed fighting game where you can rip the spines from your opponent don’t appear to have a lot of common. Arguably the most bizarre example of this was Chess Kombat from Mortal Kombat: Deception released back in 2004. Friendships, Babalities, Test Your Might, Motor Kombat, the campy movies just in general the creators clearly are willing to have fun. Moving forward, many of the improvements made in Deception found their way into later games in the Mortal Kombat series, making Mortal Kombat: Deception one of the most important in the 3D era.The Mortal Kombat series is well known for silly game modes or just a general feeling of not taking itself too seriously and experimenting with things that might be irrelevant or out of place. Mortal Kombat: Deception's gameplay improved off of Deadly Alliance and helped the series find it's footing in a 3D environment.
The Sorcerer (Bishop) and Shifter (Rook) are probably two of the biggest changes from regular chess, with the Sorcerer being able to cast several spells and the Shifter being able to take the form of another piece.īoth Chess Kombat and Puzzle Kombat helped Mortal Kombat: Deception establish the series' tone as a franchise that took itself seriously but knew when to lighten the tone for effect. It plays very much like chess, with five different pieces that can be assigned different fighters on the roster. Chess Kombat is a reasonably extensive game mode with layers of strategy. These included mini-games like Chess Kombat and Puzzle Kombat. The combat of Deception requires players to master each fighting stance and swap between them when needed to chain together combos.Īnother defining addition in Mortal Kombat: Deception was the extra modes. With each fighter having three "styles," including one weapon style, there's plenty of diversity when it comes to moves and combos. The gameplay of Mortal Kombat: Deception could be described as being what Deadly Alliance should have been. RELATED: Mortal Kombat: 5 Reasons Johnny Cage Should Be The Franchise's Main Character (& 5 Why Liu Kang Fits Perfectly) Realizing his failure, Shujinko fled through a portal to warn other fighters of Onaga's threat. Onaga would use the Kamidogu to revive himself so that he may take back Outworld's throne. Shujinko would acquire the six Kamidogu, only to learn that Damashi was a lie crafted by Onaga. Shujinko is also be given the ability to absorb the powers of fighters he encounters, allowing him to use moves of other characters after he faces them. Damashi tasks Shujinko with gathering the six Kamidogu, or mystic essence, of the six realms. Throughout Konquest Mode, Shujinko follows the orders of a supposed emissary of the Elder Gods, Damashi. Konquest Mode as a whole would be seen as sub-par compared to the rest of the game, but the actual story holds some serious significance to the lore of Mortal Kombat as a whole. In Konquest Mode, players took control of Shujinko, a young man with ambitions of fighting the sorcerer Shang Tsung. Mortal Kombat: Deception would include the story-focused Konquest Mode.