This is how I would describe all characters gameplay (in order of my liking):
Johnny Cage - rushing snake; gets close and bites you till you die.
Jade - patient fox; stands close, backs up if she has to, attacks when sees an opportunity, but never runs away.
Skarlett - flesh hungry panther; nuff' said, eat you alive.
Rain - thunder bolt; very dangerous and flashy.
Smoke - gracious ninja; the most gracious ninja in my opinion.
Noob Saibot - silent assasin; "pure evil" as stated in OneBoxyRobot's banner.
Mileena - seductive fist technique (some sort of fighting style
)
Ermac - unseen fist; I like watching him a lot, telelkinesis is da shit.
Kenshi - steady warrior, deadly strike.
Jax - pure power in the chin; pure physical power.
Scorpion - stinging scorpion (obviously lol); here, there, 111, awesome!
Kitana - tricky butterfly; beautiful, yet deadly.
Sonya - aggressive fox; pretty aggressive character - this I like.
Human Cyrax and Sektor - they're like ying/yang brothers, I like watching them a lot more than robo versions.
Goro - moving mountain; a piece of a goddamn mountain moving towards you, CRUSHED!
Shao Kahn - the ultimate power burst; the man with the master plan - pure power, pure energy, and evil, can one want more?
Shang Tsung - spitting cobra; he's pretty cool to watch doing damage without moving and having so many options for setups, cool character.
Quan Chi - slow but deadly leech; pretty slow, but tricky and flashy at times.
Stryker - police brutality!!! Like a bat on your spine.
Sindel - more like a panther close and more like a snake from far.
Nightwolf - elder eagle (I think Eldereagle fits him better than Nightwolf, cool name though); deadly from far and coming in close really fast.
Liu Kang - pure technique; although he has 1-string combos, he seems technical to me and I like watching him.
Sub-Zero - patient tiger; patient, but if he gets in - rips you apart.
Kabal - light machinegun; from far shoots fast, from close - hits fast.
Reptile - rapid lizard; he's like all over the place and all over you, yuk. Kabal and Reptile look the same to me.
Cyber Sub-Zero - rushing ox; I see him as an ox coming in very powerfully, don't know why.
Kung Lao - deadly mouse; quick and deadly.
Baraka - raging bear; seems like he's coming to rip you in pieces.
Sheeva - female version of the moving mountain, more of a stomping rock or something...
Sektor (robo) - pure tank and armor, the most armored-badass cyborgs in my opinion.
Cyrax (robo) - all sorts of traps, when I watch him I imagine traps, lots of'em...
Kintaro - I like watching him, he has cool moves and is like a giant tiger that comes to rip your head off, but, man, looks gay...
Raiden - traveling lightning; don't like him too much, irritates me.
Kratos and Freddy Krueger - don't like to see them at all, although Freddy has some good stuff.
That's my view on characters. Of course, the player may present them in other lights, but I see them this way.