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The Mortal Kombat series retains numerous undisclosed elements and the capacity to surprise, over three decades after its initial debut in arcades. This latest compilation covering the brand's formative years, which includes a quartet of arcade releases, various home ports, and derivative games, transcends just a well-emulated series of classics and not-so-classics — it functions as a comprehensive historical account about the creation of the renowned brand.

Even as a lifelong Mortal Kombat fan who has closely monitored its origins and transformation, there was plenty new for me to learn and appreciate about the series.

What Makes the Historical Compilation

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection similar to other vintage game anthologies from the development team Digital Eclipse, part historical documentation, part playable archive. This compilation features emulated versions of the pioneering arcade Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat 3, and Mortal Kombat 4, including television and mobile versions of some of those games. 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 thus isn't a highlight reel anthology, but a study of Mortal Kombat's early days, when developer Midway and franchise originators the creative duo behind the series were determining how to create a combat title, digitized from footage of actual people, through experimentation. Observing the archival material — which includes historical videos, new interviews, and digital copies of vintage posters, graphic novels, and even company memos — it's remarkable to see how the series transformed from simple starts to a global sensation. It's truly remarkable to observe several early video game creators, developing without clear direction or guidance, channel their pop-culture interests into creating a legendary video game series.

Documentary Portion

The historical documentation of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection documents the ascent of the fighting series and its creators' careers at the no-longer-operating Midway. It then goes on to show how those same creators reckoned with how to regularly outdo their previous work, experiencing considerable pressure to repeat their success. It serves as a compelling period piece constructed using analog films and analog photographs and manual drawings, which showcase the DIY nature of the franchise's production method and how oral tradition helped circulate its mysteries and hidden aspects of Mortal Kombat in its peak period in gaming halls. Presented in manageable segments, it's an eminently watchable collection of mini-documentaries that includes titles, illustrated stories, cinematic adaptations and even the silly live-action tour. The compilation also contains some unused moves and game character images among its cutting-room-floor content.

Interactive Gaming

Interspersed along the quintet of documentary episodes' progression are invitations to experience the actual titles. During specific moments, users can directly access a game of Mortal Kombat or a console adaptation to reexperience its mechanics and graphics, emulated nearly perfectly on current technology.

I dedicated most of my time engaging with the vintage coin-op games, especially Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Many of the games here stand the test of time, especially in local multiplayer matches. Yet competing with the aforementioned game's AI-controlled opponents is a demonstration of how basic and unbalanced the development approached in the series' initial installments. Computer-directed fighters blatantly cheat to win or are alternatively incredibly stupid. Without having a human opponent — internet multiplayer exists in most titles in the collection, but too light on features — the experience will be incomplete.

Display Features

The twenty-three accessible Mortal Kombat titles in the collection, a blend of gaming hall, television, and mobile releases, are precisely simulated, though I've observed a few small quirks — primarily delayed responses and intermittent errors, notably within Mortal Kombat 4. Even though the releases are mostly shown in their original form, developer Digital Eclipse has added several intelligent quality-of-life features and graphical adjustment settings. As an illustration, you can choose to display fighter-specific techniques during gameplay and choose to enable unlimited duration to complete lethal techniques. Also included are choices for revealing concealed combatants, eliminating the need to execute some esoteric trick to obtain 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 coin-op establishments or domestic TVs, or the limited color monitor of a Game Boy. A notably appreciated element is the choice to enable arcade-like bezels encircling the display, with the MK game of your choice precisely and gently mirroring against the faux black plastic borders. It's remarkably visually appealing.

Extra Content

There are plenty of nice touches beyond the documentary and emulated arcade classics, including a music player that allows users to rediscover the soundtracks of different fighting releases without the din of combatants violently defeating each other. There are also fighter biographies that include bios and numerous narrative components presented by arcade games' attract mode screens and conclusions.

Historical Preservation

Among the most significant features for dedicated series enthusiasts is the chance to experience a segment of previously unavailable content in the form of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Wavenet Edition. This version of the game, a somewhat revised iteration of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, was an early attempt by Midway at direct online competitive gaming in arcades. The online-enabled release of the game is practically indistinguishable to UMK3, but provided the ability to challenge online opponents and included some minor bug fixes and balance. But the Wavenet update never gained traction, in part