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Mortal Kombat retains numerous undisclosed elements and the power to astonish, well past its 30th anniversary after its initial debut in coin-op establishments. This latest compilation covering the franchise's earliest days, which includes four arcade games, multiple console adaptations, and spinoffs, goes beyond simply a faithfully reproduced set of legendary games including less celebrated releases — it functions as a rich documentary about the creation of the legendary series.

Being a long-time Mortal Kombat fan who has closely monitored its origins and transformation, there was numerous fresh aspects for me to discover and admire 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 anthology contains simulated releases of the first arcade Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat 3, and Mortal Kombat 4, along with home system and portable adaptations of certain releases. The collection even includes the series' ventures at derivative games, like action games Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat: Special Forces — two of the franchise's worst entries.

The Legacy Kollection is therefore not a greatest hits compilation, but an examination of the franchise's initial era, when developer Midway and brand founders Ed Boon and John Tobias were determining how to make a fighting game, digitized from footage of real actors, on the fly. Viewing the historical footage — which includes archival footage, recent conversations, and scans of old flyers, graphic novels, and even company memos — it's remarkable to see how Mortal Kombat went from humble beginnings to a international craze. It's truly remarkable to observe several young game developers, working with minimal planning or guidance, direct their entertainment passions into birthing an iconic game franchise.

Educational Component

The documentary portion of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection documents the ascent of the combat franchise and the developers' professional journeys at the no-longer-operating Midway. It subsequently demonstrates how the very same individuals contended with how to regularly outdo their previous work, facing no small amount of pressure to repeat their success. It represents an intriguing historical record constructed using video recordings and analog photographs and manual drawings, which demonstrate the hands-on approach of the series' creation process and how word of mouth helped circulate its mysteries and hidden aspects of Mortal Kombat in its golden era in coin-op establishments. Delivered in easily digestible portions, it's highly engaging collection of mini-documentaries that spans games, comics, films and including the humorous real-world tour. The compilation also contains some unused moves and character sprites among its cutting-room-floor content.

Interactive Experience

Placed within the five-segment historical film's chronology are invitations to experience the actual titles. At certain intervals, viewers can hop into a game of Mortal Kombat or a console adaptation to rediscover its combat system and graphics, simulated with remarkable precision on modern hardware.

I allocated the majority of my time playing the arcade classics, especially Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Several releases here hold up, particularly during one-on-one local play. But playing against the artificial intelligence fighters in these releases is a reminder of how crude and unfair the programming was in early Mortal Kombat games. AI-managed characters obviously use unfair advantages or are otherwise dumb as rocks. Lacking someone to play against — online play is available in numerous anthology releases, but somewhat limited in options — you'll miss the full enjoyment.

Visual Options

The two dozen available combat games in the anthology, a blend of gaming hall, television, and mobile releases, are faithfully recreated, though I have noticed a couple minor issues — primarily delayed responses and the occasional bug, particularly in Mortal Kombat 4. Although the titles are primarily displayed authentically, developer Digital Eclipse has included some smart convenience enhancements and display customization choices. For example, users can elect to show each character's special moves on the display and choose to enable infinite time to perform a Fatality. Additionally available are settings for revealing concealed combatants, removing the requirement to complete obscure techniques to obtain them.

Visually, the games can be experienced with numerous filters and visual treatments. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection includes remarkably accurate filters that mimic the CRT monitors of arcades or home televisions, or the limited color monitor of a Nintendo handheld. A particularly nice touch is the choice to enable gaming hall-style borders encircling the display, with your selected Mortal Kombat title precisely and gently mirroring against the simulated dark plastic edges. It's very artistically charming.

Additional Features

The collection includes numerous welcome features besides the educational material and simulated classic games, featuring an audio component that allows users to rediscover the tunes of various fighting releases excluding the sounds of fighters brutally eliminating opponents. Also present are combatant descriptions that include bios and the various bits of lore shown through arcade games' attract mode screens and final sequences.

Historical Preservation

A particularly notable inclusion for committed franchise followers is the opportunity to play a piece of "lost media" in the format of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Wavenet Edition. This version of the game, a slightly updated version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, was an early attempt by Midway at head-to-head network battles in arcades. The Wavenet Edition of the game is virtually identical to UMK3, but featured the capability to compete against internet adversaries and featured various slight glitch repairs and refinements. Yet this online edition didn't find widespread adoption, in part