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This iconic fighting game still possesses its share of secrets and the capacity to surprise, more than 30 years after its first appearance in arcades. The recent anthology spanning the franchise's earliest days, which includes four original arcade titles, multiple console adaptations, and related titles, transcends simply a faithfully reproduced collection of iconic titles along with lesser-known entries — it additionally serves as a comprehensive historical account about the creation of the legendary series.

Being a long-time Mortal Kombat fan who has paid close attention its development and progression, there was numerous fresh aspects for me to learn and appreciate about the series.

What Defines the Legacy Kollection

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection is, like previous classic compilations from developer Digital Eclipse, part historical documentation, part playable archive. The collection includes emulated versions of the pioneering 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 collection even includes the series' ventures at derivative games, like combat-focused releases Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat: Special Forces — among the series' least successful installments.

The Legacy Kollection consequently doesn't represent a greatest hits compilation, but an examination of the series' formative period, when developer Midway and brand founders Ed Boon and John Tobias were figuring out how to make a fighting game, digitized from footage of real actors, through experimentation. Observing the archival material — which includes archival footage, contemporary discussions, and digital copies of vintage posters, graphic novels, and even company memos — it's incredible to witness how Mortal Kombat went from modest origins to a global sensation. It's frankly astounding to see a group of early video game creators, developing without clear direction or guidance, channel their pop-culture interests into establishing an enduring gaming brand.

Educational Component

The historical documentation of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection documents the ascent of Mortal Kombat and the founders' vocational paths at the currently closed Midway. It further illustrates how these identical developers reckoned with how to consistently surpass their achievements, facing no small amount of pressure to repeat their success. It represents an intriguing historical record composed of VHS tapes and film-based pictures and pencil sketches, which demonstrate the hands-on approach of Mortal Kombat's development and how personal recommendations 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 spans games, comics, films and even the silly live-action tour. The compilation also contains some never-implemented techniques and character sprites among its previously unreleased material.

Playable Component

Distributed throughout the quintet of documentary episodes' progression are prompts to play the games themselves. During specific moments, audience members can jump into a combat game session or one of its home console ports to rediscover its combat system and graphics, simulated with remarkable precision on contemporary systems.

I spent the bulk of my time experiencing the original arcade titles, especially Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Several releases here remain enjoyable, particularly during direct competitive sessions. Yet competing with the computer-controlled adversaries in these titles is a testament to how primitive and unfair 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 another person to compete with — internet multiplayer exists in numerous anthology releases, but somewhat limited in options — the experience will be incomplete.

Display Features

The 23 playable Mortal Kombat games in the compilation, a mix of gaming hall, television, and mobile releases, 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 largely presented as-is, the creators has added several intelligent user experience improvements and graphical adjustment settings. For instance, players have the option to display fighter-specific techniques during gameplay and choose to enable infinite time to complete lethal techniques. There are also options for accessing hidden fighters, eliminating the need to execute complicated methods to obtain them.

Graphically, the titles can be enjoyed with multiple visual enhancements and presentation styles. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection includes remarkably accurate effects that reproduce the cathode-ray tube displays of gaming halls or household displays, or the monochrome green display of a portable gaming device. An especially welcome feature is the choice to enable arcade-like bezels framing the gameplay, with your selected Mortal Kombat title precisely and gently mirroring against the faux black plastic borders. It's quite aesthetically pleasing.

Bonus Elements

There are plenty of appreciated elements beyond the educational material and simulated classic games, containing a soundtrack mode that lets you revisit the tunes of various combat titles without the din of fighters brutally eliminating opponents. Also present are character profiles that feature histories and the various bits of lore displayed via arcade games' attract mode screens and conclusions.

Historical Preservation

A particularly notable inclusion for dedicated series enthusiasts is the ability to access a piece of "lost media" in the format of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Wavenet Edition. This version of the game, a moderately improved edition of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, was an early attempt by Midway at one-on-one internet-based play in gaming halls. This network version of the game is almost exactly the same to UMK3, but included the option to battle network competitors and included some minor bug fixes and balance. Yet this online edition never gained traction, in part