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The Mortal Kombat series continues to hold its share of secrets and the ability to amaze, more than 30 years after its first appearance in coin-op establishments. This latest compilation including the brand's formative years, which includes a quartet of arcade releases, multiple console adaptations, and related titles, transcends just a well-emulated collection of iconic titles and not-so-classics — it additionally serves as a rich documentary about the development of the renowned brand.

Even as a lifelong Mortal Kombat fan who has closely monitored its origins and transformation, there was numerous fresh aspects for me to learn and appreciate about the series.

What Constitutes the Historical Compilation

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection comparable to other retro collections from the development team Digital Eclipse, portion educational film, section playable historical record. The anthology contains digitally recreated editions of the original arcade Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat 3, and Mortal Kombat 4, along with home system and portable adaptations of certain releases. This compilation also features the series' ventures at spin-off titles, like action-oriented titles Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat: Special Forces — among the series' least successful installments.

The Legacy Kollection is therefore not a “best of” collection, but an exploration into Mortal Kombat's early days, when developer Midway and series co-creators the creative duo behind the series were figuring out how to create a combat title, produced using film material of actual people, through experimentation. Watching the documentary — containing historical videos, contemporary discussions, and reproductions of classic advertisements, comics, and including internal communications — it's incredible to witness how the franchise evolved from simple starts to a global sensation. It's genuinely amazing to watch a handful of pioneering developers, working with minimal planning or supervision, channel their pop-culture interests into birthing an iconic game franchise.

Educational Component

The documentary portion of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection documents the ascent of Mortal Kombat and the developers' professional journeys at the currently closed Midway. It then goes on to show how the very same individuals contended with how to regularly outdo their previous work, encountering significant demand to replicate their success. It's a fascinating time capsule made from VHS tapes and analog photographs and pencil sketches, which demonstrate the hands-on approach of the franchise's production method and how oral tradition helped circulate its mysteries and hidden aspects of Mortal Kombat in its golden era in coin-op establishments. Delivered in easily digestible portions, it's an eminently watchable series of documentary shorts that includes titles, illustrated stories, cinematic adaptations and including the humorous real-world tour. The collection additionally features some unused moves and character sprites among its previously unreleased material.

Interactive Experience

Distributed throughout the five-part documentary's timeline are prompts to play the games themselves. During specific moments, viewers can hop into a game of Mortal Kombat or a home system version to rediscover its combat system and artistic style, simulated with remarkable precision on contemporary systems.

I dedicated most of my time playing the arcade classics, particularly Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Numerous titles here remain enjoyable, notably with one-on-one local play. Yet competing with the artificial intelligence fighters in these releases is a testament to how primitive and unbalanced the coding existed in the franchise's pioneering releases. AI-managed characters obviously use unfair advantages or are otherwise dumb as rocks. If you don't have another person to compete with — network gaming is included in numerous anthology releases, but too light on features — you'll miss the full enjoyment.

Technical Presentation

The two dozen available combat games in the collection, a blend of gaming hall, television, and mobile releases, are accurately emulated, though I have noticed a few small quirks — mainly control latency and the occasional bug, notably within Mortal Kombat 4. Even though the releases are primarily displayed authentically, developer Digital Eclipse has included some smart user experience improvements and visual presentation options. As an illustration, players have the option to display fighter-specific techniques during gameplay and select to activate endless periods to complete lethal techniques. Additionally available are settings for unlocking secret characters, removing the requirement to complete some esoteric trick to obtain them.

Graphically, the titles can be experienced with numerous visual enhancements and presentation styles. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection includes remarkably accurate filters that mimic the cathode-ray tube displays of gaming halls or home televisions, or the limited color monitor of a portable gaming device. An especially welcome feature is the choice to enable coin-op-inspired frames framing the gameplay, with the specific combat game you're playing accurately and softly reflecting against the simulated dark plastic edges. It's remarkably visually appealing.

Additional Features

Players will discover multiple welcome features besides the documentary and emulated arcade classics, including a music player that enables players to reexperience the tunes of various fighting releases without the din of combatants violently defeating each other. Additionally included are combatant descriptions that include bios and multiple story elements displayed via the idle displays of gaming hall releases and final sequences.

Lost Media Recovery

A particularly notable inclusion for committed franchise followers is the opportunity to play a segment of previously unavailable content in the guise of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Wavenet Edition. This particular edition, a moderately improved edition of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, was an early attempt by Midway at head-to-head network battles in gaming halls. The Wavenet Edition of the game is practically indistinguishable to UMK3, but featured the capability to battle network competitors and included some minor error corrections and adjustments. But the Wavenet update didn't find widespread adoption, in part