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The Mortal Kombat series continues to hold numerous undisclosed elements and the capacity to surprise, over three decades after its first appearance in gaming halls. This latest compilation including the series' initial period, comprising four original arcade titles, several home system versions, and spinoffs, transcends only a accurately simulated series of classics and not-so-classics — it's also a comprehensive historical account about the creation of the legendary series.

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

What Constitutes the Legacy Collection

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection similar to previous classic compilations from developer Digital Eclipse, part documentary, part playable archive. The collection includes digitally recreated editions of the first arcade Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat 3, and Mortal Kombat 4, plus console and handheld ports of certain releases. The collection even includes the franchise's attempts at derivative games, like combat-focused releases Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat: Special Forces — two of the franchise's most criticized releases.

The Legacy Kollection is therefore not a greatest hits compilation, but an examination of the franchise's initial era, when the development team Midway and brand founders the creative duo behind the series were figuring out how to create a combat title, produced using film material of actual people, on the fly. Viewing the historical footage — containing vintage recordings, new interviews, and reproductions of classic advertisements, graphic novels, and including internal communications — it's incredible to witness how the series transformed from humble beginnings to a worldwide phenomenon. It's truly remarkable to observe several early video game creators, developing without clear direction or oversight, direct their entertainment passions into creating a legendary video game series.

Educational Component

The documentary portion of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection charts the rise of the combat franchise and the developers' professional journeys at the now-defunct Midway. It subsequently demonstrates how those same creators addressed how to consistently surpass their achievements, facing no small amount of pressure to repeat their achievements. It's a fascinating time capsule composed of analog films and traditional photos and manual drawings, which reveal the self-made character of the series' creation process and how word of mouth helped disseminate its secrets and undisclosed elements of the series in its arcade heyday. Presented in manageable segments, it's highly engaging 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 game character images among its previously unreleased material.

Playable Component

Placed within the five-segment historical film's chronology are opportunities to engage with the games themselves. At various points, audience members can jump into a Mortal Kombat title or a console adaptation to revisit its gameplay and visual presentation, emulated nearly perfectly on current technology.

I spent the bulk of my time experiencing the original arcade titles, specifically Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Numerous titles here remain enjoyable, notably with direct competitive sessions. However, facing the computer-controlled adversaries in these titles is a reminder of how crude and unjust the coding existed in early Mortal Kombat games. Computer-directed fighters obviously use unfair advantages or are otherwise dumb as rocks. If you don't have a human opponent — network gaming is included in numerous anthology releases, but rather basic in functionality — you'll be missing out.

Visual Options

The two dozen available combat games in the anthology, a mix of gaming hall, television, and mobile releases, are precisely simulated, though I've observed a couple minor issues — mainly control latency and the occasional bug, notably within Mortal Kombat 4. Although the titles are primarily displayed authentically, developer Digital Eclipse has included some smart quality-of-life features and display customization choices. For instance, players have the option to show each character's special moves on the display and select to activate unlimited duration to complete lethal techniques. There are also options for accessing hidden fighters, without having to perform obscure techniques to obtain them.

Graphically, the titles can be played with a variety of filters and visual treatments. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection provides highly authentic effects that reproduce the CRT monitors of gaming halls or domestic TVs, or the limited color monitor of a Nintendo handheld. A notably appreciated element is the setting to activate gaming hall-style borders framing the gameplay, with the MK game of your choice accurately and softly reflecting against the simulated dark plastic edges. It's quite aesthetically pleasing.

Bonus Elements

Players will discover multiple appreciated elements beyond the historical footage and recreated vintage titles, including a music player that lets you revisit the soundtracks of different combat titles absent the noise of combatants violently defeating each other. Also present are fighter biographies that feature histories and numerous narrative components presented by arcade games' attract mode screens and conclusions.

Lost Media Recovery

Among the most significant features for dedicated series enthusiasts is the chance to experience a segment of previously unavailable content in the form of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Wavenet Edition. This version of the game, a somewhat revised iteration of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, was an pioneering effort from the developer at one-on-one internet-based play in gaming halls. This network version of the game is virtually identical to UMK3, but provided the ability to compete against internet adversaries and contained several small glitch repairs and refinements. Yet this online edition didn't find widespread adoption, in part