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The Mortal Kombat series continues to hold numerous undisclosed elements and the power to astonish, more than 30 years after its first appearance in gaming halls. The recent anthology spanning the series' initial period, comprising a quartet of arcade releases, various home ports, and spinoffs, transcends only a accurately simulated set of legendary games and not-so-classics — it additionally serves as a detailed chronicle about the making of the renowned brand.

Even as a lifelong devotee of the franchise who has paid close attention its creation and evolution, there was much to discover for me to understand and value about the series.

What Constitutes the Historical Compilation

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection similar to other retro collections from the creators at Digital Eclipse, part documentary, portion interactive museum. The collection includes simulated releases 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 combat-focused releases Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat: Special Forces — two of the franchise's worst entries.

The Legacy Kollection thus isn't a “best of” collection, but an examination of Mortal Kombat's early days, when the creators at Midway and franchise originators the visionary developers were determining how to develop a battle series, digitized from footage of real actors, through experimentation. Observing the archival material — that features vintage recordings, recent conversations, and scans of old flyers, graphic novels, and even company memos — it's remarkable to see how the franchise evolved from simple starts to a international craze. It's genuinely amazing to see a group of pioneering developers, developing without clear direction or oversight, direct their entertainment passions into establishing an enduring gaming brand.

Historical Section

The historical documentation of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection documents the ascent of the combat franchise and the developers' professional journeys at the no-longer-operating Midway. It further illustrates how those same creators reckoned with how to routinely one-up themselves, facing no small amount of stress to duplicate their success. It serves as a compelling period piece composed of analog films and analog photographs and manual drawings, which showcase the DIY nature of Mortal Kombat's development and how word of mouth helped circulate its mysteries and undisclosed elements of the series in its peak period in gaming halls. Presented in manageable segments, it's thoroughly enjoyable set of brief historical films that covers video games, graphic novels, movies and even the silly live-action tour. The compilation also contains some unused moves and game character images among its cutting-room-floor content.

Interactive Experience

Interspersed along the quintet of documentary episodes' progression are opportunities to engage with the actual titles. At certain intervals, audience members can jump into a combat game session or a console adaptation to reexperience its mechanics and graphics, simulated with remarkable precision on current technology.

I allocated the majority of my time experiencing the original arcade titles, specifically Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Numerous titles here hold up, notably with one-on-one local play. However, facing the aforementioned game's AI-controlled opponents is a demonstration of how basic and unjust the development approached in the series' initial installments. AI-managed characters obviously use unfair advantages or are otherwise dumb as rocks. If you don't have someone to play against — internet multiplayer exists in the majority of included games, but rather basic in functionality — the experience will be incomplete.

Display Features

The twenty-three accessible Mortal Kombat titles in the collection, a mix of arcade, console, and handheld games, are precisely simulated, though I've observed a couple minor issues — mainly control latency and sporadic glitches, especially with Mortal Kombat 4. Even though the releases are mostly shown in their original form, the development team has included some smart quality-of-life features and display customization choices. As an illustration, players have the option to display fighter-specific techniques on-screen and select to activate endless periods to complete lethal techniques. Additionally available are settings for revealing concealed combatants, removing the requirement to complete some esoteric trick to access them.

Visually, the games can be played with a variety of filters and visual treatments. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection includes remarkably accurate options that simulate the CRT monitors of coin-op establishments or home televisions, or the greenscale screen of a portable gaming device. An especially welcome feature is the setting to activate coin-op-inspired frames framing the gameplay, with the MK game of your choice faithfully and subtly duplicating against the artificial ebony plastic frames. It's very artistically charming.

Extra Content

Players will discover multiple appreciated elements beyond the educational material and simulated classic games, including a music player that lets you revisit the tunes of various fighting releases without the din of two kombatants viciously slaughtering each other. There are also combatant descriptions that feature histories and multiple story elements displayed via the demo sequences of coin-op titles and conclusions.

Archival Discovery

Among the most significant features for committed franchise followers is the opportunity to play a piece of "lost media" in the form of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Wavenet Edition. This particular edition, a moderately improved edition of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, was an pioneering effort from the developer at head-to-head network battles in arcades. The Wavenet Edition of the game is practically indistinguishable to UMK3, but featured the capability to challenge online opponents and contained several small glitch repairs and refinements. Yet this online edition never gained traction, in part