10 Video Game Villains With Wasted Potential

Whilst the reboot of Mortal Kombat since 2011 has been largely positive, it hasn’t come without its own issues. One of these is the killing off of classic characters for, as some fans see it, shock value and this began right away with the sacrifice of Shang Tsung.

Tsung has always been a key figure in the lore of Mortal Kombat, starting off as the final boss of the original game. Since then he’s largely played second fiddle to a higher power but all the same, as the founder and organiser of the game’s in-world tournament, he’s massively important.

Some of the story of the 2011 Mortal Kombat title plays out similarly to the original timeline but there are sudden departures to keep fans on their toes. One example is the out of nowhere scene where Shao Kahn sacrifices Shang Tsung to Sindel in order to give her power.

Fans who were excited about the potential of Mortal Kombat’s reset were perturbed by the sudden death of such a major character. It felt different for the sake of being different. To make matters worse, this meant Tsung missed out on appearing in the game’s sequel.

Thankfully, Midway rectified this over the course of MK11 after fans made it known they were not best pleased by the treatment of this beloved baddie.