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The Mortal Kombat series still possesses its share of secrets and the ability to amaze, more than 30 years after its first appearance in arcades. This latest compilation covering the brand's formative years, comprising four original arcade titles, several home system versions, and derivative games, transcends only a accurately simulated series of classics along with lesser-known entries — it additionally serves as a comprehensive historical account about the making of the renowned brand.

As a dedicated devotee of the franchise who has paid close attention its creation and evolution, there was numerous fresh aspects for me to understand and value about the series.

What Makes the Legacy Kollection

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection similar to previous classic compilations from the development team Digital Eclipse, part documentary, portion interactive museum. The collection includes digitally recreated editions 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 series' ventures at spin-off titles, 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 exploration into the franchise's initial era, when the creators at Midway and brand founders the creative duo behind the series were determining how to develop a battle series, digitized from footage of actual people, on the fly. Observing the archival material — containing archival footage, new interviews, and reproductions of classic advertisements, comics, and even interoffice faxes — it's incredible to witness how the franchise evolved from modest origins to a global sensation. It's genuinely amazing to watch a handful of early video game creators, developing without clear direction or supervision, direct their entertainment passions into establishing an enduring gaming brand.

Documentary Portion

The educational segment of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection documents the ascent of the combat franchise and the founders' vocational paths at the now-defunct Midway. It then goes on to show how the very same individuals reckoned with how to regularly outdo their previous work, facing no small amount of demand to replicate their achievements. It's a fascinating time capsule composed of analog films and analog photographs and manual drawings, which demonstrate the hands-on approach of the series' creation process and how oral tradition helped spread its rumors and undisclosed elements of the series in its peak period in gaming halls. Presented in manageable segments, it's highly engaging collection of mini-documentaries that spans games, comics, films and including the humorous real-world tour. The collection additionally features some never-implemented techniques and character sprites among its previously unreleased material.

Interactive Experience

Interspersed along the quintet of documentary episodes' progression are invitations to experience the games themselves. At various points, viewers can hop into a Mortal Kombat title or one of its home console ports to revisit its gameplay and artistic style, recreated with impressive accuracy on contemporary systems.

I spent the bulk of my time experiencing the original arcade titles, specifically Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Several releases here stand the test of time, particularly during local multiplayer matches. But playing against the aforementioned game's AI-controlled opponents is a reminder of how crude and unfair the programming was in the franchise's pioneering releases. AI-managed characters obviously use unfair advantages or are conversely remarkably unintelligent. Lacking someone to play against — internet multiplayer exists in numerous anthology releases, but too light on features — you'll be missing out.

Technical Presentation

The two dozen available combat games in the compilation, a mix of coin-op, home system, and portable titles, are accurately emulated, though I detected a couple minor issues — mainly control latency and intermittent errors, especially with Mortal Kombat 4. And while the games are primarily displayed authentically, the development team has added several intelligent user experience improvements and visual presentation options. For instance, you can choose to reveal combatant-unique actions on the display and opt to have endless periods to execute finishing moves. Also included are choices for revealing concealed combatants, without having to perform obscure techniques to access them.

Artistically, the releases can be played with a variety of filters and visual treatments. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection includes remarkably accurate effects that reproduce the CRT monitors of gaming halls or domestic TVs, or the limited color monitor of a portable gaming device. A notably appreciated element is the choice to enable coin-op-inspired frames surrounding the screen, with the specific combat game you're playing accurately and softly reflecting against the artificial ebony plastic frames. It's quite aesthetically pleasing.

Bonus Elements

Players will discover multiple appreciated elements beyond the educational material and simulated classic games, featuring an audio component that allows users to rediscover the music from multiple Mortal Kombat games excluding the sounds of fighters brutally eliminating opponents. Additionally included are combatant descriptions that feature histories and multiple story elements presented by the demo sequences of coin-op titles and endings.

Lost Media Recovery

One of the biggest highlights for hardcore Mortal Kombat fans is the opportunity to play a example of historically missing material in the guise 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 coin-op establishments. This network version of the game is virtually identical to UMK3, but featured the capability to compete against internet adversaries and included some minor error corrections and adjustments. Yet this online edition never gained traction, in part