Mortal Kombat 1/Takeda/Introduction

Introduction

Enemy of the Underworld

"Like his cousin Kenshi, Takeda was raised a Yakuza. Unlike him, Takeda enjoyed this lifestyle. That's why he was chosen to end Kenshi’s crusade against his masters. The fight mortally wounded Takeda. Unwilling to let his cousin die, Kenshi rushed him to the nearest help: the Shirai Ryu. Even after Takeda was healed, Kenshi wouldn't release him. He feared that the Yakuza might kill him for failing his mission. Takeda resisted, attempting escape repeatedly. But as the months passed, he began to appreciate the Shirai Ryu’s selfless commitment to Earthrealm, and the contrast to his past lifestyle. Inspired by the Shirai Ryu, Takeda swore to rip up Earthrealm's underworld by the roots. But he soon learns they are stronger and more tangled than he ever thought possible."

Takeda is whips and flips.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Open Routes: Has multiple options for starting kombos, with his rekkas offering an easy hit-confirm, his command dash enabling meterless conversions, and enhanced spear enabling further extensions; Lasher: He has a suite of long-ranged normals to control space with: standouts include D+F+1 being a slow but ranged version of his jab which can start kombos, B212+4 being a near 3/4 screen hit-confirmable string, and F2 being a single-hitting whiff-punisher which knocks opponents back and/or is special-cancellable; Persistent Low Projectile Harassment: A recent patch made his Shooting Stars and Falling Stars hit Low instead of Mid, allowing him to better check his opponent in neutral; Full Screen Projectile Fatal Blow: His Fatal Blow is a unique stance that lets him fire up to 5 projectiles at his opponent, making him dangerous to start projectile wars against him at low health. He can also cancel out of this stance as long as he doesn't use the shuriken which triggers the Fatal Blow proper, allowing him to save it for later; Multiple Aerial Specials: Between his flips, air shurikens, two different whip swings, air command normals, and his air spear, Takeda's air approach is nothing if not varied;

Fake Pressure: Many of his strings and his rekka series are filled with gaps that can't be made safe even with delays; Glacial Mids: The range his Mids offer are offset by their slow startup while other strings that are better up close start High. As such, it's hard to get people to stop mashing on him when he starts his pressure;