Introduction:
In the brutal, unforgiving world of Mortal Kombat, fighters are known for their devastating combos, brutal fatalities, and unique special moves. However, some characters take it to the extreme, unleashing unbalanced abilities and dominating the roster to such a degree that they push the game’s balance to its breaking point. When a fighter becomes too powerful—too overbearing for fair competition—the developers step in to correct the imbalance. These nerfs often come after characters become the subject of community outrage and frustration. Whether it’s through unblockable attacks, excessive damage output, or invincibility during certain moves, these Mortal Kombat fighters became infamous for their overpowered abilities, forcing adjustments to their movesets. From the days of the original Mortal Kombat to the modern iterations, these are the top 10 most broken characters who got nerfed to restore fairness to the game.
#10: Noob Saibot (Mortal Kombat: Deception)
Noob Saibot, originally introduced as a secret character in Mortal Kombat II, became infamous for his broken abilities in Mortal Kombat: Deception (2004). His teleport punches were ridiculously overpowered, allowing him to deal damage quickly and unpredictably from across the screen. Not only did this move have minimal recovery time, but it also had a surprising range, making it difficult for opponents to avoid or counter.
Players who mastered Noob Saibot could relentlessly spam his teleportation, quickly draining their opponent’s health bar while staying completely safe from retaliation. This gave him an unfair advantage in competitive play, especially when used by skilled players who could chain these teleport punches into long combos. This overwhelming power led to a nerf in subsequent Mortal Kombat entries, where his teleportation abilities were either slowed down or made easier to block, thus restoring some balance to the game.
#9: Kenshi (Mortal Kombat: Armageddon)
Kenshi, introduced in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, quickly became a fan-favorite for his incredible abilities, particularly his psychic powers and wide range of attacks. However, it was his presence in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (2006) that pushed him into “broken” territory. Kenshi’s Soul Teleport and Force Push abilities allowed him to control the flow of battle from a distance, making him nearly impossible to approach. His high-damage, long-range combos were able to chip away at opponents’ health bars while keeping them at bay.
His zoning potential, combined with his ability to deal high damage without much effort, made him an incredibly frustrating fighter to face. His projectiles had virtually no counterplay and could be spammed without penalty, making him a nuisance in competitive play. Recognizing his dominance, the developers at Midway made adjustments to his abilities in later games to ensure that his overwhelming power was reined in and that other fighters could have a fair chance at competition.
#8: Shao Kahn (Mortal Kombat 9)
Shao Kahn, one of Mortal Kombat’s most iconic villains, was notorious for his overpowered abilities in Mortal Kombat 9 (2011). His Hammer of the Gods was an unblockable attack that could hit from great distances, and it was followed up with devastating combos that took off massive chunks of health. Additionally, his Knee Charge allowed him to close the distance between opponents quickly, giving players little room to breathe. His ability to cancel and chain these moves into other attacks made him nearly invincible in many matchups.
Shao Kahn’s sheer damage output, combined with his ability to punish mistakes without mercy, made him one of the most hated characters in Mortal Kombat 9’s competitive scene. Players who mastered his moves could consistently overwhelm their opponents with little room for recovery. This led to his being nerfed in later patches, with adjustments made to his damage output and ability to keep players trapped in seemingly endless combos. Shao Kahn remains a staple of Mortal Kombat lore, but his power was significantly toned down to restore balance in competitive play.
#7: Kano (Mortal Kombat X)
Kano’s transition from a straightforward grappler to a top-tier powerhouse in Mortal Kombat X (2015) was a major shift for the character, and it caused significant disruption in the competitive community. His Knife Toss and Command Grab were already powerful, but in Mortal Kombat X, Kano’s Laser Blast ability and insane combo potential made him feel like an unstoppable force.
Kano’s ability to deal massive damage while simultaneously controlling the opponent’s movements made him a frustrating character to play against. His projectile game, combined with unblockable moves, forced opponents into a defensive position where they could rarely retaliate without being hit by Kano’s relentless attack chain. His damage output could rival some of the highest in the game, and he was capable of converting almost any mistake into a fatal combo. This broken power forced NetherRealm Studios to nerf him in the following patches, reducing his combo potential and tweaking his special moves to give other characters a chance to fight back.
#6: Reptile (Mortal Kombat 2)
Reptile’s early days as a secret fighter in Mortal Kombat II (1993) were notable for his unfair advantages. Initially, his ability to move faster than most characters and his unique invisibility mechanic made him difficult to counter. His Force Ball and Teleport Kick were quick, hard to avoid, and highly effective in combos. Reptile’s exceptional agility and unique abilities made him one of the most difficult characters to fight against, even for seasoned Mortal Kombat players.
The most notorious feature of Reptile in Mortal Kombat II was his invisibility during certain moves. This gave him the upper hand in competitive play, as players could easily catch opponents off-guard and land hits before they even knew where Reptile was. His speed and unpredictable movements made him feel like an overpowered character, leading to him being nerfed in later versions of the game. His invisibility was removed or heavily reduced in future iterations, and his moveset was adjusted to balance the gameplay more fairly.
#5: Kintaro (Mortal Kombat 3)
Kintaro’s entry into Mortal Kombat 3 (1995) introduced one of the most overpowered characters in the history of the franchise. As the clone of Goro, Kintaro shared many of the same abilities, but with even more devastating enhancements. His Tornado Throw and massive health pool gave him a serious advantage in one-on-one combat. With his sheer size and strength, he could dominate opponents without much effort, often wiping out whole health bars with a single combo or grab.
The real problem with Kintaro, however, was his overwhelming reach and ability to abuse the game’s mechanics. His Tornado Kick and long-reaching attacks allowed him to hit from distances other characters could only dream of. This, combined with his large hitbox, made him nearly impossible to deal with at close range. As a result, Kintaro was nerfed in later patches to make him less of a “boss-tier” character and to give players a fighting chance against his raw power.
#4: Goro (Mortal Kombat 1)
Goro, the four-armed Shokan warrior and final boss in Mortal Kombat (1992), stands as one of the most infamous “broken” characters in fighting game history. His size alone made him a force to be reckoned with, but it was his overwhelming power and nearly unbeatable moveset that made him feel almost invincible. In the original Mortal Kombat, Goro was a terrifying challenge, using his incredible reach and massive health pool to decimate players. His special moves, like the Ground Pound and Fireball, combined with his ability to throw opponents across the screen, made him nearly impossible to avoid or counter.
His strength in the game stemmed from the way he dominated the fighting space. His moves were extremely quick, especially for a character of his size, and his health bar seemed to have no end. Goro’s sheer ability to take damage and dish it out at the same time made him one of the most unfair characters of the early Mortal Kombat franchise. After players began to master how to defeat him in the original game, the developers decided to nerf his power and adjust his moveset in future titles, making him less of an unstoppable boss character and more of a balanced fighter. Despite these nerfs, Goro remains one of the most iconic and feared characters in Mortal Kombat history.
#3: Akuma (Mortal Kombat: Armageddon)
Akuma’s introduction to the Mortal Kombat series in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (2006) brought one of the most broken characters in fighting game history into the fold. Akuma was no stranger to being overpowered, coming from the Street Fighter franchise, but in Armageddon, his move set made him nearly impossible to defeat. He had extremely high damage output, with almost every move dealing devastating damage, and his Shun Goku Satsu (the Raging Demon) special move became a nightmare for anyone trying to counter him. Not only could Akuma punish any mistake, but his speed, versatility, and unpredictability made him a nightmare in the hands of a skilled player.
Akuma’s Raging Demon was so broken that it could be landed from a wide range of angles, and with Akuma’s speed and constant pressure, it became very difficult to avoid or block. His moveset was incredibly unbalanced compared to other characters, and his ability to punish any mistake with virtually no recovery time made him a terror in competitive play. In response to his dominance, Akuma was nerfed in later Mortal Kombat entries, with adjustments made to his damage output, speed, and recovery time. However, his overpowered days in Armageddon cemented him as one of the most broken fighters ever introduced in the series.
#2: Cyrax (Mortal Kombat 3)
Cyrax, the cybernetic ninja, was an absolute nightmare in Mortal Kombat 3 (1995). With his incredible combo potential, zoning capabilities, and unblockable explosive attacks, Cyrax quickly became a dominant force in competitive play. His Net move, which could easily set up devastating combos, and his Bomb attacks, which dealt absurd damage from across the screen, made him virtually untouchable if played correctly.
The real problem with Cyrax was the sheer unpredictability of his abilities. Players could spam his projectiles and net moves, making it nearly impossible for opponents to retaliate or get in close. His speed, combined with a long-range attack that could lock down opponents, gave him an unfair advantage in many situations. Once Cyrax had an opponent trapped in a corner or hit with a net, they were often stuck in a loop of unavoidable attacks. This unbalanced power led to Cyrax being nerfed in future games, with his combo damage and projectile spam reduced to restore balance.
Cyrax’s ability to control the pace of the match and overwhelm opponents with projectiles and devastating combos made him one of the most frustrating characters to face in the competitive scene. Though his abilities were toned down in future installments, his dominance in Mortal Kombat 3 earned him a spot among the most broken characters ever.
#1: Shao Kahn (Mortal Kombat 2 and Mortal Kombat 3)
Shao Kahn, the emperor of Outworld, has been a defining character in the Mortal Kombat series for decades. His presence in both Mortal Kombat 2 (1993) and Mortal Kombat 3 (1995) was so overwhelmingly powerful that he was the epitome of an unfair boss character. In Mortal Kombat 2, Shao Kahn was notorious for his devastating special moves, including his Shoulder Charge, which could not be blocked or avoided easily, and his Psycho Crusher, which could chip away at an opponent’s health without fail. On top of that, his ability to take huge amounts of damage without flinching made him nearly invincible.
In Mortal Kombat 3, Shao Kahn became even more ridiculous, as his ability to spam Hammer of the Gods (a move that was incredibly fast and hard to avoid) and the Tornado Throw (which took off massive chunks of health) made him nearly impossible to defeat. His AI was so unbalanced that many players claimed that fighting him wasn’t about skill—it was about surviving long enough to land a single hit. Shao Kahn’s unfairness became so prevalent that he was deemed nearly unbeatable in certain competitive settings. This led to a series of nerfs and adjustments in subsequent Mortal Kombat games, where his speed and damage output were reduced to make him more manageable.
Shao Kahn’s combination of unblockable attacks, insane health, and broken combo potential made him the quintessential unfair character in Mortal Kombat’s history. His nerfs in later games were a direct response to the frustration players experienced while fighting him, and he remains a symbol of what happens when a boss character is simply too powerful.
Conclusion:
The Mortal Kombat series has always been a battleground for powerful and unpredictable characters, but these 10 fighters pushed the limits of fairness to an extreme. From Cyrax’s unblockable combos to Shao Kahn’s overwhelming brute force, these characters redefined what it meant to be “broken” in a fighting game. Though many of them were nerfed in later games to restore balance, their dominance in their respective titles left an indelible mark on the Mortal Kombat community. They remind us that, in fighting games, sometimes the best characters are the ones that challenge the very concept of balance—and leave a trail of frustrated players in their wake.
