After 10 Years, Some Players Still Haven’t Discovered One of Mortal Kombat’s Best Secrets

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Since its original arcade release, Mortal Kombat has always included hidden content for players to find, like secret characters and codes that alter the famously brutal combat. Every game in the series, including newer titles like Mortal Kombat X, has had at least one major secret. Even though it was released ten years ago, MKXL still contains a surprising secret within its character list that players are still discovering today.

Mortal Kombat X offers players a unique way to play as different fighters. Each character has three variations, which change their available moves and effectively create three distinct fighting styles to learn. However, one character goes even further, secretly containing almost a completely separate fighter within their moveset.

Mortal Kombat X’s Triborg Has A Hidden Fourth Variation That Some Fans Have Never Seen

With the release of Mortal Kombat XL, a new set of downloadable content was introduced, adding four new characters to the game. One of these was Triborg, a completely new character that also brought back elements of classic favorites. Using the game’s variation system, players could control Triborg and utilize the moves of popular cyborgs from previous Mortal Kombat games, such as Sektor, Cyrax, and Smoke. While Triborg’s basic moves remained consistent, each variation allowed players to experience a unique playstyle that matched the individual cybernetic ninja they were emulating.

Cyrax’s bombs, Sektor’s missiles and teleportation, and Smoke’s stealth made these characters incredibly popular in MKX. But many players don’t realize Triborg had a hidden fourth fighting style. By entering a specific code during character selection while playing as Sektor, Triborg would transform into Cyber Sub-Zero – a cyborg previously seen only in the 2011 game, Mortal Kombat 9.

Cyber Sub-Zero is unique because he effectively plays like four different characters, building on the already complex variation system introduced with Triborg. He boasts a move set as diverse as those of Sektor, Cyrax, and Smoke, utilizing ice beams to freeze opponents. New ice drones add to his abilities, complementing his modified ice attacks which allow for both quick strikes and aerial combos.

Players are still surprised to see Cyber Sub-Zero’s unique divekick and other special moves in the game. Many who are now playing Mortal Kombat XL instead of newer titles like MK11 or MK1 are also puzzled as to why Triborg has so many different versions while other characters don’t.

Triborg’s Unique Easter Egg Calls Back To Iconic Secrets From Past Mortal Kombat Games

It’s common for the Mortal Kombat series to introduce new fighters through hidden gameplay interactions, a tradition that started with the very first Mortal Kombat arcade game. Players could unlock a fight against Reptile by completing specific challenges. Initially, this Reptile character simply combined the moves of Scorpion and Sub-Zero, but he later evolved into a unique fighter in Mortal Kombat 2.

This pattern also applies to characters like Noob Saibot, Jade, and Ermac, who eventually became playable fighters in later Mortal Kombat games. While MKXL’s hidden reference is a bit different – Cyber Sub-Zero had already appeared in Mortal Kombat 9 – the level of detail goes well beyond a simple tribute to the series’ history.

Cyber Sub-Zero is most similar to characters from Mortal Kombat 4, an early 3D fighting game in the series that originally appeared in arcades. A special version called Mortal Kombat Gold was released for the Sega Dreamcast in 1999. Unlike the original MK4 that most players experienced, MK Gold included hidden characters like Sektor and Noob Saibot.

As a long-time Mortal Kombat fan, I remember when the MK Gold versions of Sektor and Noob were seriously overpowered in MK4 – they were totally broken! Honestly, a lot of us were glad they weren’t more common. Thankfully, Cyber Sub-Zero wasn’t like that at all. He was more of a really cool secret character, and his unique moveset was just a blast to play. It’s amazing that even after ten years since players first found him, people are rediscovering how awesome Cyber Sub-Zero is with the recent return to older Mortal Kombat games. It just shows how well-designed that secret character really was!

Do you recall Cyber Sub-Zero appearing in Mortal Kombat X? Share your thoughts in the comments or discuss it on the ComicBook Forum!

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2026-01-24 18:44