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The Mortal Kombat series continues to hold numerous undisclosed elements and the capacity to surprise, well past its 30th anniversary after its first appearance in arcades. The recent anthology covering the brand's formative years, comprising a quartet of arcade releases, several home system versions, and related titles, transcends just a well-emulated series of classics including less celebrated releases — it's also a rich documentary about the creation of the iconic franchise.

Being a long-time Mortal Kombat fan who has paid close attention its origins and transformation, there was much to discover for me to discover and admire about the series.

What Makes the Historical Compilation

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection comparable to other retro collections from the creators at Digital Eclipse, part historical documentation, section playable historical record. The collection includes simulated releases of the first arcade Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat 3, and Mortal Kombat 4, plus console and handheld ports of several of these titles. The collection even includes 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 consequently doesn't represent a “best of” collection, but an examination of the franchise's initial era, when the development team Midway and series co-creators the creative duo behind the series were determining how to create a combat title, created from video recordings of actual people, as they went along. Observing the archival material — containing historical videos, new interviews, and scans of old flyers, comics, and even interoffice faxes — it's incredible to witness how the series transformed from modest origins to a worldwide phenomenon. It's genuinely amazing to observe several early video game creators, developing without clear direction or supervision, focus their cultural enthusiasms into establishing an enduring gaming brand.

Historical Section

The educational segment of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection documents the ascent of the fighting series and its creators' careers at the no-longer-operating Midway. It subsequently demonstrates how these identical developers addressed how to consistently surpass their achievements, facing no small amount of stress to duplicate their achievements. It serves as a compelling period piece made from VHS tapes and traditional photos and hand-drawn illustrations, which reveal the self-made character of the franchise's production method and how personal recommendations helped circulate its mysteries and undisclosed elements of the series in its peak period in gaming halls. Presented in manageable segments, it's an eminently watchable collection of mini-documentaries that covers video games, graphic novels, movies and even the comical physical events. The compilation also contains some unused moves and digital fighter representations among its archived development assets.

Interactive Experience

Placed within the five-part documentary's timeline are prompts to play the actual titles. At various points, audience members can jump into a Mortal Kombat title or a home system version to rediscover its combat system and visual presentation, recreated with impressive accuracy on current technology.

I spent the bulk of my time playing the arcade classics, specifically Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Many of the games here remain enjoyable, particularly during one-on-one local play. Yet competing with the aforementioned game's AI-controlled opponents is a testament to how primitive and unbalanced the programming was in the franchise's pioneering releases. Computer-directed fighters clearly employ dishonest tactics or are conversely remarkably unintelligent. Lacking another person to compete with — internet multiplayer exists in most titles in the collection, but too light on features — you'll be missing out.

Display Features

The two dozen available combat games in the collection, a blend of gaming hall, television, and mobile releases, are accurately emulated, though I have noticed a handful slight anomalies — mostly input lag and sporadic glitches, notably within Mortal Kombat 4. Even though the releases are largely presented as-is, the development team has incorporated various clever convenience enhancements and display customization choices. For example, players have the option to display fighter-specific techniques on the display and choose to enable unlimited duration to complete lethal techniques. There are also options for accessing hidden fighters, removing the requirement to complete complicated methods to access them.

Graphically, the titles can be experienced with numerous graphical effects and display options. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection provides highly authentic filters that mimic the cathode-ray tube displays of gaming halls or domestic TVs, or the monochrome green display of a Nintendo handheld. An especially welcome feature is the option to have gaming hall-style borders framing the gameplay, with your selected Mortal Kombat title precisely and gently mirroring against the simulated dark plastic edges. It's remarkably visually appealing.

Extra Content

There are plenty of welcome features besides the documentary and emulated arcade classics, featuring an audio component that lets you revisit the music from multiple fighting releases absent the noise of two kombatants viciously slaughtering each other. Also present are fighter biographies that feature histories and multiple story elements presented by the idle displays of gaming hall releases and conclusions.

Historical Preservation

Among the most significant features for hardcore Mortal Kombat fans is the ability to access a piece of "lost media" in the form of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Wavenet Edition. This particular edition, a slightly updated version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, was an initial venture by the company at one-on-one internet-based play in gaming halls. The online-enabled release of the game is almost exactly the same to UMK3, but featured the capability to compete against internet adversaries and contained several small error corrections and adjustments. However, this network version didn't find widespread adoption, in part