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This iconic fighting game continues to hold its share of secrets and the power to astonish, over three decades after its first appearance in coin-op establishments. The recent anthology spanning the series' initial period, comprising four original arcade titles, several home system versions, and spinoffs, is more than simply a faithfully reproduced set of legendary games and not-so-classics — it functions as a detailed chronicle about the development of the iconic franchise.

Being a long-time Mortal Kombat fan who has paid close attention its origins and transformation, there was plenty new for me to understand and value about the series.

What Defines the Legacy Kollection

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection is, like previous classic compilations from the creators at Digital Eclipse, part documentary, portion interactive museum. The collection includes emulated versions of the pioneering arcade Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat 3, and Mortal Kombat 4, including television and mobile versions of some of those games. This compilation also features the brand's experiments at spinoffs, like combat-focused releases Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat: Special Forces — some of the brand's worst entries.

The Legacy Kollection thus isn't a “best of” collection, but an exploration into Mortal Kombat's early days, when developer Midway and franchise originators the creative duo behind the series were figuring out how to create a combat title, produced using film material of real actors, as they went along. Viewing the historical footage — that features vintage recordings, recent conversations, and scans of old flyers, illustrated stories, and even company memos — it's remarkable to see how Mortal Kombat went from simple starts to a global sensation. It's truly remarkable to watch a handful of early video game creators, working with minimal planning or supervision, 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 founders' vocational paths at the now-defunct Midway. It then goes on to show how these identical developers addressed how to regularly outdo their previous work, facing no small amount of pressure to repeat their triumphs. It serves as a compelling period piece composed of VHS tapes and traditional photos and pencil sketches, which reveal the self-made character of the series' creation process and how personal recommendations helped disseminate its secrets and undisclosed elements of the series in its peak period in gaming halls. Delivered in easily digestible portions, it's an eminently watchable set of brief historical films that covers video games, graphic novels, movies and including the humorous real-world tour. The compilation also contains some unreleased actions and game character images among its cutting-room-floor content.

Interactive Gaming

Placed within the quintet of documentary episodes' progression are opportunities to engage with the games themselves. At certain intervals, viewers can hop into a Mortal Kombat title or one of its home console ports to rediscover its combat system and artistic style, simulated with remarkable precision on modern hardware.

I dedicated most of my time playing the arcade classics, particularly Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Numerous titles here stand the test of time, especially in one-on-one local play. However, facing the artificial intelligence fighters in these releases is a reminder of how crude and unjust the development approached in the franchise's pioneering releases. CPU-controlled opponents obviously use unfair advantages or are alternatively incredibly stupid. Without having another person to compete with — online play is available in the majority of included games, but too light on features — you'll be missing out.

Technical Presentation

The 23 playable Mortal Kombat games in the anthology, a mix of coin-op, home system, and portable titles, are precisely simulated, though I have noticed a couple minor issues — mainly control latency and intermittent errors, notably within Mortal Kombat 4. Even though the releases are mostly shown in their original form, the creators has included some smart user experience improvements and display customization choices. For instance, players have the option to reveal combatant-unique actions on-screen and choose to enable unlimited duration to perform a Fatality. Also included are choices for accessing hidden fighters, without having to perform obscure techniques to unlock them.

Graphically, the titles 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 gaming halls or home televisions, or the limited color monitor of a Nintendo handheld. A notably appreciated element is the choice to enable arcade-like bezels framing the gameplay, with the MK game of your choice faithfully and subtly duplicating against the simulated dark plastic edges. It's very artistically charming.

Additional Features

There are plenty of welcome features besides the documentary and emulated arcade classics, including a music player that lets you revisit the music from multiple fighting releases absent the noise of combatants violently defeating each other. Additionally included are combatant descriptions that contain backgrounds and the various bits of lore displayed via the demo sequences of coin-op titles and endings.

Lost Media Recovery

Among the most significant features for dedicated series enthusiasts is the opportunity to play a piece of "lost media" in the guise 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 coin-op establishments. The Wavenet Edition of the game is practically indistinguishable to UMK3, but included the option to battle network competitors and included some minor error corrections and adjustments. But the Wavenet update never gained traction, in part