Chameleon (Mortal Kombat)

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Template:Mortal Kombat character Chameleon is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series.

About Chameleon

File:Mkt chameleon.png
Battling Chameleon

First debuting in the PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and PC versions of Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Chameleon has the appearance of a male ninja with partial transparency. In the Nintendo 64 version, he was replaced by Khameleon, a female counterpart who is actually an entirely separate character. There was initially little information about Chameleon as and he had no backstory or game ending. All that was known about him is garnered from the hidden option to fight him (available upon beating the game). He is referred to as "one of Shao Kahn's deadliest warriors".[1]

He is playable in Mortal Kombat Trilogy, but only by selecting one of the other seven male palette-swapped ninjas (Rain, Reptile, Noob Saibot, Classic Sub-Zero, Ermac, Scorpion, or Human Smoke) and holding a certain button combination. Chameleon switches between the seven ninjas randomly and can only perform the special moves of whatever ninja he is currently impersonating. Upon winning, Chameleon will flash through all seven colors rapidly during his victory pose. In his later return in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Chameleon's skin was changed to a clear white, although he still wears a garment that changes colors at random during gameplay (usually shown to be turquoise in promotional art). However, he is now able to perform a select number of the other ninjas' moves at any time, forcing his costume to change to the color of whatever ninja the move belongs to.

Storyline

Chameleon may be part of the Saurian race, of which Reptile and Khameleon are members. This has never been conclusively stated in any of the games and is purely speculation on the part of the fans at this point due to his reptilian name, green blood, and the reptilian titles of his special moves in Armageddon. If in fact he is a Saurian, that would mean that Reptile is not the last living male of his species, which had been previously stated in Khameleon's biography screen.[2] However, the release of Armageddon did not address this issue.

In Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, he is finally given a rather vague backstory, stating that he had been present at events dating all the way back to Liu Kang's victory in the first Mortal Kombat tournament, constantly remaining hidden in the shadows and biding his time while watched the events unfold. In his game ending, it is said that Chameleon camouflaged himself, raced to the top of the pyramid, and defeated Blaze to gain immortality. The realms would then know Chameleon as the true champion of Mortal Kombat.[3]

Combat characteristics

File:Chameleon.PNG
Concept art of Chameleon in Mortal Kombat Trilogy

Signature moves

  • Green Wave: Chameleon fires a green fireball at his opponent. This move is taken from Ermac. (MK:A)
  • Lizard Lightning: Chameleon raises his arms and summons a blue lightning bolt on his opponent, sending them into the air for a combo while they fall. This move is taken from Rain. (MK:A)
  • Speedy Serpent: Chameleon dashes behind his opponent and delivers a successful elbow into their back. This move is taken from Reptile. (MK:A)
  • Vanishing Kick: Chameleon disappears in a ball of fire and hits his opponent with a kick as he reappears from behind. This move is taken from Scorpion. (MK:A)
  • Freezing Charge: Chameleon rushes the opponent with his shoulder, leaving a trail of ice on the ground behind him. This move is taken from Sub-Zero. (MK:A)

Character development

It was discovered that Chameleon was playable in the Sega Genesis port of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 with the use of a Game Genie cheat device, suggesting that he had been planned for the series prior to his official introduction in Mortal Kombat Trilogy. He was an unfinished character as he only used Scorpion's sprites (his sprite would change to Rain's when a decapitation fatality was performed on him). He has no combos, special moves, or fatalities. His versus screen picture was that of the typical male ninja made up of multiple glitched colors. Curiously, his picture on the "Choose Your Destiny" screen was that of Kano's.[4]

In Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Chameleon was not originally planned to be in the game, and would have been omitted as a playable character along with Motaro. However, due to great fan demand, both were added to the roster.[5]

Game information

Chameleon is similar to Reptile's first Mortal Kombat form in that he has no moves of his own, but rather has the moves of the ninja he is emulating. Where Reptile was named for being green, Chameleon was named for his color changing and camouflaging abilities, akin to a real chameleon.

In Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Chameleon has one move from each ninja except Noob Saibot, despite being able to turn black in color. He also did not receive any moves from Smoke, nor does he turn gray during combat, apparently ignoring Smoke's previous status as a ninja. Also of note is that Chameleon uses Scorpion's "Vanishing Kick" move which the latter only possesses in the previous title, Mortal Kombat: Deception, not Armageddon.

References

  1. ^ "Your reward is the opportunity to face one of Shao Kahn's deadliest warriors." Shao Kahn's Lost Treasures – Battle With Chameleon. Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Midway Games, 1996.
  2. ^ Khameleon's Bio. Mortal Kombat Trilogy (Nintendo 64 version), Midway Games, 1996.
  3. ^ Chameleon's Ending. Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Midway Games, 2006.
  4. ^ "Chameleon is playable in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 for Genesis!". Retrieved 2007-04-28.
  5. ^ "Mortal Kombat Online Fight Night 2006". Mortal Kombat Online. 2006-11-06. Retrieved 2007-04-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)