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This iconic fighting game still possesses many hidden mysteries and the ability to amaze, over three decades after its initial debut in coin-op establishments. The recent anthology covering the series' initial period, which includes four arcade games, various home ports, and derivative games, transcends just a well-emulated set of legendary games and not-so-classics — it additionally serves as a rich documentary about the development of the legendary series.

Being a long-time devotee of the franchise who has closely monitored its development and progression, there was numerous fresh aspects for me to understand and value about the series.

What Defines the Legacy Collection

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection is, like previous classic compilations from the creators at Digital Eclipse, part documentary, section playable historical record. The collection includes digitally recreated editions of the first arcade Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat 3, and Mortal Kombat 4, including television and mobile versions of certain releases. The collection even includes the brand's experiments at spin-off titles, like action games Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat: Special Forces — some of the brand's least successful installments.

The Legacy Kollection is therefore not a greatest hits compilation, 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 develop a battle series, created from video recordings of real actors, through experimentation. Watching the documentary — which includes archival footage, new interviews, and digital copies of vintage posters, comics, and even company memos — it's remarkable to see how the franchise evolved from humble beginnings to a international craze. It's truly remarkable to see a group of pioneering developers, operating with virtually no plan or supervision, focus their cultural enthusiasms into birthing an iconic game franchise.

Documentary Portion

The historical documentation of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection documents the ascent of Mortal Kombat and its creators' careers at the no-longer-operating Midway. It then goes on to show how the very same individuals contended with how to routinely one-up themselves, experiencing considerable pressure to repeat their achievements. It serves as a compelling period piece made from analog films and film-based pictures and hand-drawn illustrations, which showcase the DIY nature of Mortal Kombat's development and how oral tradition helped spread its rumors and undisclosed elements of the series in its arcade heyday. Told in bite-sized chunks, it's thoroughly enjoyable collection of mini-documentaries that includes titles, illustrated stories, cinematic adaptations and including the humorous real-world tour. It also includes some unreleased actions and digital fighter representations among its cutting-room-floor content.

Interactive Experience

Placed within the five-segment historical film's chronology are invitations to experience the original releases. At various points, audience members can jump into a Mortal Kombat title or one of its home console ports to rediscover its combat system and visual presentation, simulated with remarkable precision on current technology.

I spent the bulk of my time engaging with the vintage coin-op games, particularly Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Several releases here hold up, notably with direct competitive sessions. However, facing the artificial intelligence fighters in these releases is a testament to how primitive and unjust the development approached in the franchise's pioneering releases. CPU-controlled opponents blatantly cheat to win or are otherwise dumb as rocks. Lacking another person to compete with — network gaming is included in the majority of included games, but too light on features — the experience will be incomplete.

Visual Options

The two dozen available combat games in the anthology, a blend of coin-op, home system, and portable titles, are precisely simulated, though I've observed a couple minor issues — mainly control latency and intermittent errors, notably within Mortal Kombat 4. And while the games are largely presented as-is, developer Digital Eclipse has added several intelligent quality-of-life features and display customization choices. For instance, players have the option to reveal combatant-unique actions on-screen and opt to have endless periods to perform a Fatality. Also included are choices for revealing concealed combatants, removing the requirement to complete some esoteric trick to access them.

Artistically, the releases can be played with a variety of filters and visual treatments. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection includes remarkably accurate options that simulate the traditional television screens of arcades or domestic TVs, or the greenscale screen of a Game Boy. A notably appreciated element is the option to have arcade-like bezels framing the gameplay, with the MK game of your choice accurately and softly reflecting against the artificial ebony plastic frames. It's quite aesthetically pleasing.

Extra Content

There are plenty of appreciated elements beyond the educational material and simulated classic games, featuring an audio component that enables players to reexperience the music from multiple combat titles absent the noise of combatants violently defeating each other. Also present are character profiles that include bios and multiple story elements presented by arcade games' attract mode screens and conclusions.

Historical Preservation

One of the biggest highlights for committed franchise followers is the ability to access a piece of "lost media" in the guise of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Wavenet Edition. This version of the game, a slightly updated version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, was an pioneering effort from the developer at head-to-head network battles in arcades. The Wavenet Edition of the game is virtually identical to UMK3, but provided the ability to compete against internet adversaries and included some minor bug fixes and balance. But the Wavenet update never gained traction, in part