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The Mortal Kombat series still possesses numerous undisclosed elements and the power to astonish, more than 30 years after its first appearance in coin-op establishments. The recent anthology covering the series' initial period, which includes four original arcade titles, multiple console adaptations, and spinoffs, is more than only a accurately simulated collection of iconic titles including less celebrated releases — it's also a detailed chronicle about the creation of the legendary series.

Even as a lifelong Mortal Kombat fan who has paid close attention 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 similar to other vintage game anthologies from developer Digital Eclipse, part documentary, portion interactive museum. 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. The anthology additionally contains the brand's experiments at spinoffs, like action games Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat: Special Forces — two of the franchise's most criticized releases.

The Legacy Kollection thus isn't a “best of” collection, but an exploration into Mortal Kombat's early days, when developer Midway and brand founders Ed Boon and John Tobias were figuring out how to create a combat title, produced using film material of live performers, on the fly. Viewing the historical footage — that features historical videos, recent conversations, and scans of old flyers, comics, and including internal communications — it's incredible to witness how the series transformed from humble beginnings to a global sensation. It's frankly astounding to observe several pioneering developers, developing without clear direction or oversight, focus their cultural enthusiasms into establishing an enduring gaming brand.

Historical Section

The educational segment of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection charts the rise of the combat franchise and its creators' careers at the currently closed Midway. It then goes on to show how these identical developers contended with how to routinely one-up themselves, facing no small amount of demand to replicate their success. It represents an intriguing historical record composed of analog films and traditional photos and pencil sketches, which reveal the self-made character of the series' creation process and how oral tradition helped disseminate its secrets and undisclosed elements of the series in its arcade heyday. Delivered in easily digestible portions, it's an eminently watchable series of documentary shorts that includes titles, illustrated stories, cinematic adaptations and even the silly live-action tour. The collection additionally features some never-implemented techniques and game character images among its archived development assets.

Interactive Experience

Distributed throughout the five-part documentary's timeline are invitations to experience the original releases. At various points, users can directly access a combat game session or a console adaptation to revisit its gameplay and artistic style, recreated with impressive accuracy on modern hardware.

I dedicated most of my time playing the arcade classics, specifically Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Many of the games here remain enjoyable, especially in local multiplayer matches. However, facing the aforementioned game's AI-controlled opponents is a reminder of how crude and unbalanced the coding existed in the series' initial installments. Computer-directed fighters obviously use unfair advantages or are otherwise dumb as rocks. Without having a human opponent — online play is available 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 anthology, a combination of arcade, console, and handheld games, are precisely simulated, though I have noticed a few small quirks — mostly input lag and the occasional bug, especially with Mortal Kombat 4. Even though the releases are largely presented as-is, the creators has incorporated various clever user experience improvements and display customization choices. For instance, players have the option to show each character's special moves during gameplay and select to activate unlimited duration to complete lethal techniques. Also included are choices for accessing hidden fighters, eliminating the need to execute obscure techniques to unlock them.

Artistically, the releases can be experienced with numerous filters and visual treatments. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection offers very realistic options that simulate the cathode-ray tube displays of arcades or domestic TVs, or the monochrome green display of a Nintendo handheld. A particularly nice touch is the setting to activate coin-op-inspired frames framing the gameplay, with the specific combat game you're playing faithfully and subtly duplicating 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, 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 combatant descriptions that feature histories and multiple story elements shown through the demo sequences of coin-op titles and final sequences.

Archival Discovery

One of the biggest highlights for committed franchise followers is the opportunity to play a example of historically missing material in the format of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Wavenet Edition. This specific release, a slightly updated version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, was an initial venture by the company at direct online competitive gaming in coin-op establishments. This network version of the game is practically indistinguishable to UMK3, but featured the capability to compete against internet adversaries and featured various slight bug fixes and balance. But the Wavenet update never gained traction, in part