I think better ways to end the fight would make the game more fun than new characters would. As it stands, ultra combos are nothing special. They hit the nostalgia button pretty hard, but they add no hype to the fight:
- Just a simple fireball or DP command and you’re done.
- No special effects to make them look hype.
- They don’t contribute to characterization at all. Everyone just hits a bunch of times and then launches.
These things make their length more of a chore to sit through than a pleasure. Ultra enders are blessings, but they really just highlight how un-hype ultras are, don’t they?
Some kind of finisher that complements a character’s personality would be fantastic. Special effects to make it hype would be amazing. They can still be required as combo enders to keep with the “KI is the game about combos” theme.
And just extra two cents: MKX’s brutality system is probably the most inspired finisher system in fighting games, ever. They literally remedy every major problem with finishers–they don’t drag tournaments on, they highlight the player’s knowledge of the game, they reflect the character performing them, and they look hype as hell.
