Design of fan-favorite combatant Takeda Takahashi for Mortal Kombat 1

Almost 10 years ago, a Mortal Kombat fan favorite and future legend was born. Of course, I’m talking about Takahashi Takeda – and he’s now ready to join the other fighters in Mortal Kombat 1.

Takeda first debuted in Mortal Kombat X (2015) the son of Kenshi, who was trained by Scorpion and the Shirai Ryu clan. Takeda fought his enemies with two bladed metal whips that could be deployed and retracted at will. His striking, highly technical and acrobatic fighting style – coupled with a brash and slightly arrogant attitude – made him an unforgettable addition to the Mortal Kombat universe.

Takeda’s origins lie in 2014, when we met to discuss the first art concepts and the details of his backstory. From the beginning, we knew that the core of his fighting style should revolve around the uniqueness and utility of whips, while also giving hints of Takeda’s martial arts roots. Much of his design evolved from there, with the striking style and technique-based elements emerging as we began developing moves in the motion capture studio. Fast forward to Mortal Kombat 1

The design goal was now to build on the original foundation we had created and to incorporate the compelling elements that were found in Mortal Kombat X – but amplify it to a new level.

When it came to bringing Takeda into Mortal Kombat 1the challenge was to determine how far we wanted to change the character and in which direction we wanted to go, especially given the variety of his attacks in the different character variants in Mortal Kombat X. It became clear early on that the best way to kit out Takeda was to strip the character down to what we felt were his essential core elements, while introducing new additions to his kit.

We wanted these additions to be new attacks inspired by gameplay elements found in Mortal Kombat X. His new sprint attack, for example, is reminiscent of the running ability that every character in Mortal Kombat X, allowing him to steer towards the opponent and turn it into specific, unique attacks. In addition, he has two new special moves, using his whips to grab and propel himself forward – almost like some of the jump interaction objects found in various levels in Mortal Kombat X

. When Takeda swings forward, he can not only cancel his aerial attacks, but also use this move as a mobility tool, combo extender, and way to set up other attacks. In addition, Takeda has a separate attack where he can swing forward and perform a screen-filling kick attack, a tribute to the interactive object on the right side of the Kove stage in Mortal Kombat X.

In terms of gameplay, Takeda is a space control and mix character who relies on his whip attacks to hit opponents from a distance. Additionally, he was designed to be a striking character by nature, offering limitless creative options, especially in terms of how players chain combos together. Takeda also has multiple setup options by utilizing his new shuriken attacks. Previously, Takeda could throw an explosive shuriken at the ground that exploded upon impact. In Mortal Kombat 1

Takeda can now throw up to six shuriken and bury them in the ground without them exploding. However, if one of these embedded shurikens is hit by an explosive one, it can detonate all other shuriken nearby, setting off a chain reaction with great combo potential.

We are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring Takeda back to the players in Mortal Kombat 1. Working on this character was a great experience for us, which brought back many memories of the time when we were working on Mortal Kombat XWe hope everyone enjoys Takeda and look forward to seeing all the creative combinations players discover.

Takeda Takahashi is now available in Early Access for Mortal Kombat 1 Kombat Pack owners on Xbox Series X|S, followed by general availability on July 30th.

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