Editorials Reviews Previews Essays Worth Playing

Essays

Essays 28 November 2022, 16:36

author: Darius Matusiak

9 Iconic & Notorious Enemies From 90s' Games

Not only bosses can give players a headache and go down in gaming history. Sometimes, ordinary opponents become just as memorable. Here are the infamous nine enemies from games of the 1990s – a time when there was no discount for beginners.

Table of Contents

Shao Kahn – Mortal Kombat 2

  1. Genre: brawler
  2. Release year: 1994
  3. Producer: Midway Games

Who was Shao Kahn?

Shao Kahn is the emperor and ruler of the Underworld – another dimension in the Mortal Kombat universe, whose servants face mortals in recurring tournaments, whose ultimate prize was rule over the entire world. Shao has great strength and he's using a large hammer and even some arcane magic. He used to be just another warlord protecting the Underworld and an adviser to Onaga, its ruler. Having great ambitions, he eventually poisoned his overlord and took over the throne and the army, subsequently conquering more dimensions and territories. He's a highly valued and respected character; not only for how difficult an opponent he is, but also for the way he looks and behaves – especially being fierce, taunting and even biting the rivals.

Why was he memorable?

Although Shao Kahn could be included in the category of bosses, he can just as easily be considered one of the opponents in the Mortal Kombat tournament – just not as distinguished by appearance or posture as Goro from the previous installment of the series. Meanwhile, it's all smoke and mirrors, because the duel with Kahn was particularly difficult and was a serious challenge for many players. Shao Kahn mainly attacked with a powerful shoulder strike, magical green projectiles, and finally his huge hammer. He box the player into a corner, and it was very difficult to escape that position, he massive damage, and some of his attacks could not be blocked. And then there were his taunts, in which he mocked the player's weaknesses and boasted his own power. Many players only beat him by exploiting the mechanics, e.g. by cheesing.

  1. Mortal Kombat 2 in our encyclopedia

Darius Matusiak

Darius Matusiak

Graduate of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Journalism. He started writing about games in 2013 on his blog on gameplay.pl, from where he quickly moved to the Reviews and Editorials department of Gamepressure. Sometimes he also writes about movies and technology. A gamer since the heyday of Amiga. Always a fan of races, realistic simulators and military shooters, as well as games with an engaging plot or exceptional artistic style. In his free time, he teaches how to fly in modern combat fighter simulators on his own page called Szkola Latania. A huge fan of arranging his workstation in the "minimal desk setup" style, hardware novelties and cats.

more

Half-Life

Half-Life

Fallout

Fallout

Diablo

Diablo

Quake (1996)

Quake (1996)

UFO: Enemy Unknown (1994)

UFO: Enemy Unknown (1994)

Disney The Lion King

Disney The Lion King

See/Add Comments