Johnny Cage - Merchandise and Reception

Merchandise and Reception

A six inch figure of Johnny Cage in MK2011 was released by Jazwares. A number of other figures were also released earlier.

UGO Networks ranked Johnny Cage as fourth on their list of the top 11 Mortal Kombat characters, praising his role as the comic relief of the series. In UGO's 2012 list of the top 50 Mortal Kombat characters, Cage placed as 23rd with a comment that "there's nothing better than kicking somebody's ass with a fighter that's supposed to be a joke." He was also ninth in Game Revolution's list of top ten old school Mortal Kombat characters with praise on his special moves that made him stand out. IGN listed him as a character they would like to see as downloadable content for Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, stating Johnny "remains a favorite among MK heroes, even though he's spent a good portion of the series' life in a coffin." In 2008, Destructoid called him "easily the best character in a fighting game ever."

In 2007, 1UP.com ranked him ninth in their feature covering the ten most notorious video game resurrections, noting that one of the most remarkable part of his character was that he was one of the few ones who died during the storyline. GameDaily included him in their list of top 25 "gaming hunks", stating "If you can't marry Brad Pitt, you can always settle for Mortal Kombat's Johnny Cage." In 2012, Complex ranked him as the 16th "most dominant" fighting game character for having "the greatest move in fighting games" in 1992, adding: "This dude embodies Hollywood's overpaid jerk persona perfectly." According to the GameSpot review of Mortal Kombat (2011), Johnny's "arrogant personality and inordinate sexism make him something of a chore to listen to" in the story mode. 1UP.com's Retronauts in 2012 compared him to Street Fighter's Guile.

Total 64 magazine described Cage is "the worst fighter" in Mortal Kombat Trilogy due to his special moves being difficult to aim and weak in effect. Cage's infamous split-punch move hitting opponents in the groin (which at first could be performed only against male opponents, but later became gender-neutral) was featured in GamesRadar's article about "gaming’s most devastating genital attacks" with a comment that "it’s hardly Cage’s most impressive or most damaging move, but it’s inarguably his best." In another article, the split-punch was listed as his signature move with notes that while it is performed in a "decidedly un-Street Fighter way", it was the first "silly" moment in the franchise. In addition, his split-punch on Goro in the Mortal Kombat film was listed as one the top 11 Game Movie Moments by UGO.com in 2007. His "And the Winner Is..." finishing move from the 2011 game, where he uses an Academy Award, was also ranked as the 11th craziest in the gaming by Complex in 2011.