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This iconic fighting game retains its share of secrets and the ability to amaze, well past its 30th anniversary after its original launch in coin-op establishments. The recent anthology covering the series' initial period, which includes a quartet of arcade releases, multiple console adaptations, and related titles, is more than simply a faithfully reproduced set of legendary games along with lesser-known entries — it functions as a comprehensive historical account about the making of the renowned brand.

Even as a lifelong devotee of the franchise who has closely monitored its development and progression, there was plenty new for me to discover and admire about the series.

What Makes the Historical Compilation

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection similar to previous classic compilations from the creators at Digital Eclipse, portion educational film, section playable historical record. The collection includes emulated versions of the original arcade Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat 3, and Mortal Kombat 4, plus console and handheld ports of some of those games. 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 — among the series' least successful installments.

The Legacy Kollection thus isn't a greatest hits compilation, but an examination of the franchise's initial era, when the creators at Midway and series co-creators the creative duo behind the series were figuring out how to make a fighting game, digitized from footage of real actors, on the fly. Watching the documentary — that features vintage recordings, contemporary discussions, and reproductions of classic advertisements, comics, and even interoffice faxes — it's remarkable to see how Mortal Kombat went from humble beginnings to a international craze. It's genuinely amazing to see a group of young game developers, working with minimal planning or guidance, focus their cultural enthusiasms into establishing an enduring gaming brand.

Educational Component

The historical documentation of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection charts the rise of the combat franchise and the developers' professional journeys at the currently closed Midway. It then goes on to show how the very same individuals addressed how to consistently surpass their achievements, encountering significant stress to duplicate their success. It's a fascinating time capsule made from VHS tapes and analog photographs and manual drawings, which reveal the self-made character of Mortal Kombat's development and how oral tradition helped spread its rumors and undisclosed elements of the series in its peak period in gaming halls. Delivered in easily digestible portions, it's an eminently watchable collection of mini-documentaries that includes titles, illustrated stories, cinematic adaptations and even the comical physical events. The collection additionally features some unused moves and character sprites among its archived development assets.

Interactive Gaming

Distributed throughout the quintet of documentary episodes' progression are opportunities to engage with the actual titles. At certain intervals, audience members can jump into a Mortal Kombat title or one of its home console ports to reexperience its mechanics and artistic style, simulated with remarkable precision on contemporary systems.

I allocated the majority 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, especially in one-on-one local play. However, facing the computer-controlled adversaries in these titles is a demonstration of how basic and unjust the development approached in the franchise's pioneering releases. AI-managed characters blatantly cheat to win or are otherwise dumb as rocks. If you don't have a human opponent — internet multiplayer exists in the majority of included games, but too light on features — you'll miss the full enjoyment.

Display Features

The two dozen available combat games in the compilation, a blend of gaming hall, television, and mobile releases, are accurately emulated, though I detected a few small quirks — mainly control latency and intermittent errors, notably within Mortal Kombat 4. Although the titles are mostly shown in their original form, the development team has incorporated various clever convenience enhancements and visual presentation options. As an illustration, you can choose to reveal combatant-unique actions during gameplay and opt to have infinite time to perform a Fatality. Also included are choices for unlocking secret characters, without having to perform some esoteric trick to obtain them.

Artistically, the releases can be experienced with numerous visual enhancements and presentation styles. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection provides highly authentic options that simulate the traditional television screens of arcades or home televisions, or the limited color monitor of a Nintendo handheld. A notably appreciated element 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.

Extra Content

The collection includes numerous appreciated elements beyond the documentary and emulated arcade classics, including a music player that lets you revisit the music from multiple Mortal Kombat games without the din of combatants violently defeating each other. There are also character profiles that include bios and the various bits of lore presented by the idle displays of gaming hall releases and conclusions.

Historical Preservation

A particularly notable inclusion for dedicated series enthusiasts is the chance to experience a segment of previously unavailable content in the guise of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Wavenet Edition. This specific release, a slightly updated version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, was an pioneering effort from the developer at head-to-head network battles in arcades. This network version of the game is practically indistinguishable to UMK3, but provided the ability to challenge online opponents and featured various slight glitch repairs and refinements. However, this network version never gained traction, in part