🔗 Share this article

The Mortal Kombat series continues to hold many hidden mysteries and the capacity to surprise, over three decades after its first appearance in arcades. The recent anthology covering the franchise's earliest days, comprising a quartet of arcade releases, multiple console adaptations, and related titles, goes beyond only a accurately simulated collection of iconic titles and not-so-classics — it additionally serves as a rich documentary about the creation of the legendary series.

As a dedicated devotee of the franchise who has paid close attention its creation and evolution, there was much to discover for me to learn and appreciate about the series.

What Makes the Legacy Kollection

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection similar to previous classic compilations from the creators at Digital Eclipse, part historical documentation, section playable historical record. This compilation features simulated releases of the pioneering 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-oriented titles Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat: Special Forces — some of the brand's least successful installments.

The Legacy Kollection thus isn't a “best of” collection, but an exploration into Mortal Kombat's early days, when the creators at Midway and franchise originators Ed Boon and John Tobias were discovering methods to create a combat title, digitized from footage of real actors, through experimentation. Watching the documentary — which includes historical videos, new interviews, and digital copies of vintage posters, comics, and including internal communications — it's incredible to witness how the series transformed from modest origins to a global sensation. It's frankly astounding to watch a handful of pioneering developers, operating with virtually no plan or guidance, focus their cultural enthusiasms into establishing an enduring gaming brand.

Documentary Portion

The educational segment of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection documents the ascent of the combat franchise and its creators' careers at the currently closed Midway. It then goes on to show how those same creators contended with how to consistently surpass their achievements, encountering significant stress to duplicate their achievements. It serves as a compelling period piece constructed using VHS tapes and traditional photos and hand-drawn illustrations, which showcase the DIY nature of Mortal Kombat's development and how personal recommendations helped circulate its mysteries and undisclosed elements of the series in its peak period in gaming halls. Told in bite-sized chunks, it's highly engaging set of brief historical films that spans games, comics, films and even the silly live-action tour. It also includes some unreleased actions and digital fighter representations among its archived development assets.

Playable Component

Placed within the five-segment historical film's chronology are opportunities to engage with the games themselves. During specific moments, audience members can jump into a Mortal Kombat title or a home system version to reexperience its mechanics and graphics, recreated with impressive accuracy on contemporary systems.

I allocated the majority of my time experiencing the original arcade titles, specifically Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Numerous titles here stand the test of time, notably with one-on-one local play. However, facing the artificial intelligence fighters in these releases is a testament to how primitive and unjust the coding existed in the series' initial installments. CPU-controlled opponents clearly employ dishonest tactics or are conversely remarkably unintelligent. If you don't have someone to play against — network gaming is included in numerous anthology releases, but too light on features — the experience will be incomplete.

Display Features

The 23 playable Mortal Kombat games in the anthology, a mix of coin-op, home system, and portable titles, are accurately emulated, though I detected a handful slight anomalies — mostly input lag and the occasional bug, particularly in Mortal Kombat 4. And while the games are largely presented as-is, developer Digital Eclipse has added several intelligent quality-of-life features and visual presentation options. As an illustration, users can elect to display fighter-specific techniques on-screen and choose to enable infinite time to complete lethal techniques. Also included are choices for revealing concealed combatants, without having to perform some esoteric trick to access them.

Graphically, the titles can be experienced with numerous visual enhancements and presentation styles. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection includes remarkably accurate filters that mimic the traditional television screens of gaming halls or domestic TVs, or the limited color monitor of a Nintendo handheld. A notably appreciated element is the setting to activate gaming hall-style borders surrounding the screen, with the specific combat game you're playing accurately and softly reflecting against the faux black plastic borders. It's quite aesthetically pleasing.

Additional Features

Players will discover multiple nice touches beyond the documentary and emulated arcade classics, featuring an audio component that allows users to rediscover the tunes of various combat titles without the din of two kombatants viciously slaughtering each other. There are also combatant descriptions that feature histories and multiple story elements displayed via the idle displays of gaming hall releases and conclusions.

Historical Preservation

Among the most significant features for committed franchise followers is the chance to experience a segment of previously unavailable content in the form of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Wavenet Edition. This specific release, a moderately improved edition of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, was an pioneering effort from the developer at one-on-one internet-based play in arcades. The online-enabled release of the game is virtually identical to UMK3, but included the option to compete against internet adversaries and included some minor error corrections and adjustments. But the Wavenet update failed to achieve popularity, in part