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The Mortal Kombat series still possesses many hidden mysteries and the power to astonish, more than 30 years after its original launch in gaming halls. This latest compilation spanning the series' initial period, featuring four original arcade titles, multiple console adaptations, and derivative games, is more than only a accurately simulated series of classics along with lesser-known entries — it functions as a detailed chronicle about the development of the renowned brand.

Even as a lifelong devotee of the franchise who has paid close attention its development and progression, there was numerous fresh aspects for me to discover and admire about the series.

What Makes the Legacy Kollection

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection comparable to other retro collections from the creators at Digital Eclipse, part documentary, section playable historical record. This compilation features digitally recreated editions of the first arcade Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat 3, and Mortal Kombat 4, plus console and handheld ports of several of these titles. The collection even includes the franchise's attempts at spin-off titles, like action games Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat: Special Forces — two of the franchise's most criticized releases.

The Legacy Kollection is therefore not a highlight reel anthology, but an examination of the franchise's initial era, when developer Midway and series co-creators the creative duo behind the series were discovering methods to create a combat title, digitized from footage of actual people, on the fly. Watching the documentary — which includes archival footage, new interviews, and reproductions of classic advertisements, illustrated stories, and even interoffice faxes — it's remarkable to see how the franchise evolved from simple starts to a global sensation. It's genuinely amazing to see a group of young game developers, operating with virtually no plan or oversight, direct their entertainment passions into creating a legendary video game series.

Educational Component

The educational segment of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection charts the rise of the combat franchise and the developers' professional journeys at the now-defunct Midway. It then goes on to show how the very same individuals contended with how to consistently surpass their achievements, facing no small amount of pressure to repeat their triumphs. It serves as a compelling period piece made from analog films and analog photographs and manual drawings, which showcase the DIY nature of the series' creation process and how personal recommendations helped disseminate its secrets and hidden aspects of Mortal Kombat in its peak period in gaming halls. Told in bite-sized chunks, it's thoroughly enjoyable set of brief historical films that includes titles, illustrated stories, cinematic adaptations and even the silly live-action tour. It also includes some unreleased actions and character sprites among its cutting-room-floor content.

Interactive Gaming

Placed within the quintet of documentary episodes' progression are invitations to experience the actual titles. During specific moments, audience members can jump into a game of Mortal Kombat or a home system version to reexperience its mechanics and artistic style, recreated with impressive accuracy on current technology.

I spent the bulk of my time engaging with the vintage coin-op games, specifically Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Several releases here stand the test of time, notably with direct competitive sessions. However, facing the aforementioned game's AI-controlled opponents is a demonstration of how basic and unfair the development approached in the series' initial installments. AI-managed characters blatantly cheat to win or are alternatively incredibly stupid. If you don't have someone to play against — internet multiplayer exists in most titles in the collection, but rather basic in functionality — you'll be missing out.

Display Features

The twenty-three accessible Mortal Kombat titles in the anthology, a blend of gaming hall, television, and mobile releases, are accurately emulated, though I've observed a handful slight anomalies — mostly input lag and sporadic glitches, notably within Mortal Kombat 4. And while the games are largely presented as-is, the creators has incorporated various clever convenience enhancements and display customization choices. For example, players have the option to display fighter-specific techniques on the display and opt to have endless periods to perform a Fatality. There are also options for unlocking secret characters, removing the requirement to complete obscure techniques to access them.

Graphically, the titles can be experienced with numerous visual enhancements and presentation styles. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection provides highly authentic options that simulate the cathode-ray tube displays of gaming halls or household displays, or the limited color monitor of a Game Boy. A notably appreciated element is the option to have coin-op-inspired frames framing the gameplay, with the MK game of your choice faithfully and subtly duplicating against the faux black plastic borders. It's quite aesthetically pleasing.

Additional Features

There are plenty of welcome features besides the educational material and simulated classic games, featuring an audio component that lets you revisit the tunes of various Mortal Kombat games without the din of fighters brutally eliminating opponents. Additionally included are fighter biographies that feature histories and numerous narrative components displayed via arcade games' attract mode screens and conclusions.

Historical Preservation

A particularly notable inclusion for dedicated series enthusiasts is the ability to access a piece of "lost media" in the guise of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Wavenet Edition. This particular edition, a somewhat revised iteration of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, was an early attempt by Midway at direct online competitive gaming in gaming halls. This network version of the game is virtually identical to UMK3, but included the option to challenge online opponents and featured various slight error corrections and adjustments. Yet this online edition never gained traction, in part