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This iconic fighting game retains many hidden mysteries and the capacity to surprise, well past its 30th anniversary after its original launch in gaming halls. A new collection including the franchise's earliest days, comprising a quartet of arcade releases, several home system versions, and related titles, transcends just a well-emulated collection of iconic titles and not-so-classics — it functions as a detailed chronicle about the creation of the renowned brand.

Being a long-time devotee of the franchise who has paid close attention its origins and transformation, there was plenty new for me to learn and appreciate about the series.

What Constitutes the Legacy Kollection

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection similar to previous classic compilations from developer Digital Eclipse, portion educational film, section playable historical record. The anthology contains simulated releases of the original arcade Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat 3, and Mortal Kombat 4, along with home system and portable adaptations of some of those games. 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 — two of the franchise's least successful installments.

The Legacy Kollection is therefore not a greatest hits compilation, but a study of Mortal Kombat's early days, when the creators at Midway and brand founders Ed Boon and John Tobias were figuring out how to make a fighting game, digitized from footage of real actors, as they went along. Viewing the historical footage — that features vintage recordings, recent conversations, and digital copies of vintage posters, graphic novels, and even company memos — it's astonishing to observe how Mortal Kombat went from simple starts to a worldwide phenomenon. It's truly remarkable to watch a handful of pioneering developers, developing without clear direction or oversight, channel their pop-culture interests into establishing an enduring gaming brand.

Educational Component

The educational segment of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection charts the rise of Mortal Kombat and the developers' professional journeys at the no-longer-operating Midway. It then goes on to show how those same creators addressed how to routinely one-up themselves, facing no small amount of stress to duplicate their triumphs. It represents an intriguing historical record constructed using analog films and analog photographs and manual drawings, which showcase the DIY nature of the franchise's production method and how personal recommendations helped disseminate its secrets and secrets of MK in its peak period in gaming halls. Delivered in easily digestible portions, it's thoroughly enjoyable set of brief historical films that covers video games, graphic novels, movies and even the comical physical events. The collection additionally features some unreleased actions and digital fighter representations among its previously unreleased material.

Interactive Gaming

Distributed throughout the five-segment historical film's chronology are opportunities to engage with the original releases. At various points, viewers can hop into a Mortal Kombat title or a home system version to rediscover its combat system and artistic style, recreated with impressive accuracy on current technology.

I dedicated most of my time experiencing the original arcade titles, especially Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Many of the games here hold up, particularly during one-on-one local play. Yet competing with the aforementioned game's AI-controlled opponents is a testament to how primitive and unjust the development approached in early Mortal Kombat games. Computer-directed fighters obviously use unfair advantages or are otherwise dumb as rocks. Lacking someone to play against — online play is available in most titles in the collection, but somewhat limited in options — you'll be missing out.

Visual Options

The 23 playable Mortal Kombat games in the anthology, a combination of gaming hall, television, and mobile releases, are accurately emulated, though I detected a couple minor issues — mainly control latency and the occasional bug, notably within Mortal Kombat 4. And while the games are primarily displayed authentically, the development team has added several intelligent user experience improvements and visual presentation options. For instance, players have the option to display fighter-specific techniques during gameplay and select to activate endless periods to execute finishing moves. Additionally available are settings for accessing hidden fighters, eliminating the need to execute complicated methods to obtain them.

Artistically, the releases can be enjoyed with multiple filters and visual treatments. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection includes remarkably accurate effects that reproduce the cathode-ray tube displays of coin-op establishments or domestic TVs, or the greenscale screen of a Game Boy. An especially welcome feature is the choice to enable coin-op-inspired frames encircling the display, with the MK game of your choice precisely and gently mirroring against the faux black plastic borders. It's remarkably visually appealing.

Additional Features

The collection includes numerous appreciated elements beyond the historical footage and recreated vintage titles, containing a soundtrack mode that lets you revisit the tunes of various Mortal Kombat games absent the noise of fighters brutally eliminating opponents. Additionally included are character profiles that include bios and multiple story elements shown through the demo sequences of coin-op titles and conclusions.

Lost Media Recovery

A particularly notable inclusion for committed franchise followers is the chance to experience a piece of "lost media" in the form of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Wavenet Edition. This specific release, a moderately improved edition of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, was an initial venture by the company at head-to-head network battles in coin-op establishments. The Wavenet Edition of the game is almost exactly the same to UMK3, but featured the capability to challenge online opponents and featured various slight bug fixes and balance. Yet this online edition didn't find widespread adoption, in part