I'm Keith, I've been a die-hard Sonya fan for as long as I've been playing
Mortal Kombat which is about 10 years now, perhaps more. Sonya has been
almost completely stripped of her awesome gameplay in Armageddon and I hope
to not only teach others how to use her effectivley but also learn new
tactics myself. I am currently active on Mortal Kombat Online so if your a
member of that site you can contact me there. There are a few other
forums I visit but I'm most active on MKO.
Lieutenant Sonya Blade is a member of a top United States Special Forces
unit. Her impulsiveness is catalyzed by her superior and good friend
Major Jackson "Jax" Briggs. Sonya represents a very emancipated and
headstrong woman, but for all her stubbornness and pride, she deeply cares
about the lives of her friends and comrades. Johnny Cage, her fellow
Earthrealm warrior and friend, seems to view her as a romantic interest,
but there has been no indications of her feelings for him. She has a
long-standing enmity with the thug Kano, who stands for everything
Sonya despises.
Sonya and her team were in hot pursuit of Kano, the leader of the Black
Dragon organization. After he jumped onto a ship, they followed him to
a remote island where Shang Tsung's Mortal Kombat tournament was being
held. Upon arriving they were ambushed by Tsung's personal guard.
To keep her team safe, she agreed to compete in the tournament. Shang
Tsung, however, had no intention of fulfilling his end of the bargain.
He had her unit killed and, after he was defeated by Liu Kang, took
her and Kano prisoner to Outworld to appease the emperor, Shao Kahn.
Sonya was able to send a signal to her superior Jax from Outworld,
however, and during the events of Mortal Kombat II he traveled there
to find her. Jax made contact with the other Earthrealm warriors, and
together they learned of Kahn's scheme to invade Earth. She was later
freed and Kano arrested, but as soon as they had passed through the portal
to Earth, Kano escaped and ran back into Outworld.
Sonya and Jax now had other things on their minds, however. They tried
to warn the United States government of the impending invasion, but
their claims went unheeded. As such, they began preparing by themselves
for the coming invasion. When the fateful day finally came, Shao Kahn
stripped Earthrealm of all human souls, with the exception of a few chosen
warriors, one of which was Sonya, who would soon encounter her old nemesis
Kano on top of a skyscraper near Kahn's fortress. A fierce battle was waged
between the two. Kano gained the upper hand, and kicked Sonya onto a stone
gargoyle. Sonya feigned defeat, but when Kano advanced to finish Sonya
off, grabbing her by the hair, she performed her most infamous
special move: the leg grab, and hurled Kano off the roof to his apparent
death, taking a lock of her hair with him.
After her journey into Outworld and Shao Kahn's near destruction of
Earth, Sonya became a member of Earth's own Outer World Investigation
Agency. The Black Dragon kept crossing her path, however. Its last
known member, Jarek, had fled to Edenia while Sonya was chasing him.
This lead Sonya and Jax to team up with Raiden and Liu Kang to free
that realm from the Fallen Elder God Shinnok's grasp, and to prevent
him from coming to Earth. After Shinnok's defeat, in which Jarek
had reluctantly participated to save himself, Jarek tried to kill
Sonya, but died in the attempt.
Years later, Sonya would once again heed Raiden's call, this time
to travel to Outworld after the Deadly Alliance had slain Shao Kahn
and Liu Kang. For Sonya, this coincided with her search for two missing
OIA agents, Cyrax and Kenshi. She was unable to find them, however,
and was defeated in a fight with the Deadly Alliance, specifically in a
one on one fight with Shang Tsung. The Deadly Alliance's victory was
short-lived, as Onaga had been resurrected moments after their
victory over Raiden himself, and reclaimed Outworld, as well as
the amulet. With his ability to raise the dead at will, he resurrected
and enslaved Sonya and her fallen comrades.
As reward for her victory, Blaze offered Sonya any power she desired.
Glowing with energy, she turned and faced Kano, who had just reached the
top of the pyramid.
Her gaze burned into Kano.
With a final scream of agony, Sonya's nemesis exploded in a cloud of ash.
A mere glance, and her wish had been granted: Kano lived no more.
With this new power, she incinerated the remaining members of the Black
Dragon and Red Dragon clans,
clearing the way for a new era of peace.
-------------
Unfortunatley this does nothing to explain how Sonya was freed from
Onaga's control. Yet Sonya did get one of the better
endings in Armageddon.
Lock Down, Sonya's throw does a total of 13% damage. 5% for the
first grab and 8% when your opponent hits the ground. It cannot be
broke but it can be parried so be aware of that. This throw is
nothing special. Sonya grabs her opponent and hurls them over her
head. About 12 or so characters have this throw, depsite the fact
that Sonya's Deadly Alliance throw is in thegame. (Kung Lao)
The Kiss of Death is Sonya's greatest special move. The dust comes
out quite quickly, has a fairly good range and can be twice insanley
fast. However, if the dust does not come in contact with your opponent,
Sonya can keep doing it. This Kiss does not reduce the damage you do
afterwards. Sonya shares this move with Kira in Armageddon but due to
the difference in the combinations and that Kira can only do her Kiss
once at a time, Sonya's is far superior.
Armed Forces, Sonya's first projectile attack since MK4 was originally
Kira's Nightshade in Deception. It's an alright projectile but nothing
spectacular. It does 9% and Sonya ducks low to fire it which means she
can avoid most projectiles heading her way. Stress most. Bear in mind
that this move does not hid low or mid. It is a high hitting projectile.
Face Planter is the only move Sonya has in Armageddon that she had when
she first appeared in Mortal Kombat 1. It has been known for years as the
Square Wave Punch. Sonya jumps straight up and darts forward with her fist
ready. It is good for catching those who like to jump around and can also
be used as an escape move. But it's uses are limited. Sonya shares this
move with Kitana.
Flying Boots is Liu Kang's most famous move, also known as the Flying Kick,
so in Liu Kang's absense in Deadly Alliance, many were curious as to why it
was given to Sonya. Despite Liu Kang's ressurection in Deception and
that both characters are in Armageddon, both still use this move.
It is a pretty decent move but I would suggest using it
sparingly. The recovery isn't great and Sonya lands pretty slowly.
Sonya is a character best played defensivley. Focus on the Kiss Of Death,
if you see you're opponent leaping carelessly into the air knock them down
with the Face Planter but don't spend the round trying to see if you can
get it. Throw the odd projectile in to distract your opponent but don't
whore it because it can be used against you. The Flying Boots is really
only good for knocking people off stage transitions or death traps. If
you're opponent blocks this, you're caught.
In Tae Kwan Do, 2 is a mid attack. Meaning it hits your opponent when
they're ducked, whether they're blocked or not. It also does 12% making
it a pretty powerful attack, especially for a pop-up. However, the recovery
of this attack is not wonderful. If blocked you can do a few things:
Take the beating you're about to recieve, parry as soon as you can, jump back
or tap 1 as quickly as you can and pray you get in first. None of them are
guarrenteed to work, I can only offer them as suggestions.
B+3 is a great low attack. Sonya doesn't duck before doing it making it
harder to block. It's also unparryble and does 11%, Pressing 3 again adds
an added 3%.
D+4 also cannot be parried. It does 5%.
4 is a two hit move. It hits mid first, great for catching those ducking
before you. It does 6% going up, and an extra 3% when it comes down.
Pressing 4 again will add another 3% to the combo. However the recovery
decreases then. You can also try adding B+3,3 after the first 4. This
combo should be used sparingly. Do not let your opponent get used to it.
It's a great tactic. And great to use if Sonya becomes trapped in a corner.
3 hits mid, is quite fast and does 11%. Don't depend on this move but
throw it out there every one in a while if you see fit.
1 gets in very fast. So if you can get in with 1 you can get in with a
combo starting in 1, e.g 1,1,CS or 1,1,B+2. The latter isn't as powerful
as the brancher so I would suggest going with 1,1,CS.
B+4 hits low, then mid, then high. It's a great move because the opponent
has to be ducked first and then must stand for the rest of it, making it
hard to block. Unfortunatley the range isn't good at all. This move is
alot more fair now that Universal Tracking has been toned down.
Sonya's uppercut, Peaceful Uppercut, is good but not great. I tend to
jump and land right beside my opponent and uppercut them straight away.
Don't attack during the jump. This sometimes gets you're opponent to
unblock and since D+2 is quite fast, you have a fair chance of getting
in. Again this is only a suggestion and may not work for you or suit
you're style of play. If you're opponent doesn't fall for this, then
you are caught. If you do the uppercut against a wall, the only two
attacks you can follow up with are D+1 and D+3. Nothing else is quick
enough to get in. Not the most fight-altering strategy there is but it
just adds a little somethign to the end of this. They add 2% and 3%
respectivley.
In the Kali Sticks, D+3 is a brilliant poke. It's fast and does 3%. If
you do this say twice in a row, you're opponent will probably get annoyed
and block low. Thus you can nail them with B+3, which is a fast, mid
hitting attack that does 12%. B+3 also slightly pushes you're opponent
away from you when blocked making it harder to get in against. If against
a quick opponent who can get in after B+3, a parry should sort them out.
Sonya's low Kali Stick attacks combined with B+3 and U+3
give her great mix-up combos which are very useful when one wants to
confuse their opponents. Or completely piss them off.
U+3 also hits mid and does 18% damage. The recovery of this move
isn't so great though, so use it wisely.
2,4,B+3 is a good combo. It has good range and from the second attack
it hits mid. It's relativley safe and does 23%.
Replacing the B+3 at the end of that combo with a lone 3 will end the
combo on a low hit. Great mix-up. Use these combos
together. Be careful not to form a recognisable
pattern though. 2,4,3 does 17%.
For greater reach and speed add 1,1 to the beginning of both of
those combos. 1 has very good reach and can be used to catch
unsuspecting opponents.
B+4 is a pretty decent sweep. Good speed, good range, the recovery
kind of kills it however. Be careful when using it.
B+1 is pretty fast, but there are better moves that can get in
just as quickly.
In the combo 1,1,F+2, one must pause slightly before pressing
the F+2 or all you'll get is 1,1,2. Because of this pause,
opponents can often unblock prematurely and be planted by F+2.
Quite satisfying.
Be a cautious player when using Sonya. She can be heavily
punished for some of her moves. She is at her best fighting
at close range but giving yourself some distance can be just what
you might need to plan your next attack. I suggest using
Face Planter as an escape move. TKD is great at close range.
Kali Sticks are better at mid range but also work quite well
up close too.
In Armageddon, Sonya had her ups and her downs. She made a great
appearence in Armageddon's Konquest. Having been given the
least attention out of the main heroes in Deception's Konquest,
Sonya was given a lovely sequence in Armageddon's where
she interrogates Taven after saving him from an Artik beast.
Her ending was also probably the best of a bad lot. While the
majority of the endings in Armageddon where gut wretchingly
horrendous, Sonya's was just plain bad. At least she got to
finally kill Kano. Survive that one you bastard!
Sonya also got her Square Wave Punch back. One of her oldest
and coolest moves. It's so lovely to see it again, having
been missing from MK since MK4/MKGold.
Sonya also recieved the new combos that
were given to Kobra in Deception when he had the Kali Sticks.
They're very fun, very useful combos.
The chances of Sonya surviving to MK8 are looking good. Boon has
said he absolutley sees Sonya in future Mortal Kombat games,
she's also one of his favourites and a favourite amongst members
of the team.
The Sonya poster in the SubWay is awesome! I want one!
The Bad:
Sonya got severly mistreated in terms of special moves however.
She shares all four special moves with another character.
The Kiss of Death and Armed Forces, she shares with Kira.
The Flying Boots with Liu Kang. And the Face Planter with Kitana
who got a cooler version of it, Kitana's has a trail of blue smoke.
Sonya also lost the smoke effect from her Flying Boots
move.
Her winning pose is completly lame, it's new but she shares
it with other characters. I know she shares it with Frost,
can't say if anyone else uses it. I don't particularly
mind winning pose sharing, but Sonya already had three
winning poses in Deadly Alliance that were lovely. She had
a screen kick, air punch and Tanya's and they all suited her fine.
This new one doesn't. They could have just given Frost the
Lin Kuei pose and made Sonya and Jax salute like in MK3+MK4.
I know it seems like I'm nit picking here but I just want Sonya
to be absolutley perfect. I know I'm not going to get a
perfect Sonya but damnit I can still bitch for one. In Deadly
Alliance, Sonya's 2P primary had a bright pink t-shirt and
white jacket with an eagle on the back of it. It looked awesome.
In Armageddon, they just desaturated and lightened her
jacket. No pink t-shirt and no awesome eagle logo. Shame.
Someone took the time to create that for Deadly Alliance only
for it not to be used in Armageddon.
I know Sonya had to loose one style, and I know Kenpo was the
one she had to loose, but I really do miss it
from Deadly Alliance. It was quick, the Eye Gouger was awesome.
It was the stable, base style that you could easily fall
back on if things weren't going well with the sticks or TKD.
It was ruined in Deception and Armageddon. Sonya's better off
without those versions.
Sonya also has Kobra's Kali Sticks and not her own ones
from Deadly Alliance. Yes, I do notice these things.
Got a throw used by 12 other characters, despite her own
one being in the game, used by Kung Lao who had it
as a Mantis exlusive in Deadly Alliance.
The Ugly:
Where the buggery bollocks is Sonya's leg grab?
Need Leg Grab. Her leg grab should have been her throw.
I know that's a huge amount of bad compared to what's good
but I just feel that Sonya got so screwed in Armageddon compared
to what some other characters got. Don't get me wrong,
Sonya is still awesome, she's still my favourite and she's still head
and shoulders above the rest. I just wished they spent
more time on her. It better mean that she's coming back! :-)
I would like to thank the people at Midway for making the
MK games, may they one day listen to the fans that know what
they're talking about. Thanks to whoever it was on
Wikipedia who wrote that little bio on Sonya.
Thanks to the MKO member hjs-Q for his work on finding the
best the MKA characters can do. And thanks to GameFaqs for
hosting this.
Sonya > All
Keith
a.k.a Keifus
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