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Mortal Kombat still possesses many hidden mysteries and the capacity to surprise, over three decades after its original launch in coin-op establishments. This latest compilation including the series' initial period, which includes four arcade games, multiple console adaptations, and spinoffs, goes beyond just a well-emulated collection of iconic titles including less celebrated releases — it's also a detailed chronicle about the making of the iconic franchise.

Being a long-time devotee of the franchise who has carefully followed its origins and transformation, there was plenty new for me to learn and appreciate about the series.

What Defines the Legacy Collection

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection similar to other retro collections from developer Digital Eclipse, part historical documentation, part playable archive. The collection includes digitally recreated editions of the original arcade Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat 3, and Mortal Kombat 4, plus console and handheld ports of some of those games. This compilation also features the franchise's attempts at spin-off titles, like action games Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat: Special Forces — among the series' least successful installments.

The Legacy Kollection is therefore not a “best of” collection, but an examination of Mortal Kombat's early days, when developer Midway and brand founders Ed Boon and John Tobias were discovering methods to make a fighting game, produced using film material of live performers, as they went along. Watching the documentary — which includes archival footage, new interviews, and scans of old flyers, illustrated stories, and including internal communications — it's astonishing to observe how the franchise evolved from simple starts to a worldwide phenomenon. It's frankly astounding to see a group of young game developers, developing without clear direction or guidance, channel their pop-culture interests into establishing an enduring gaming brand.

Educational Component

The historical documentation of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection documents the ascent of the combat franchise and the founders' vocational paths at the currently closed Midway. It subsequently demonstrates how the very same individuals reckoned with how to regularly outdo their previous work, encountering significant demand to replicate their triumphs. It represents an intriguing historical record made from VHS tapes and film-based pictures and pencil sketches, which demonstrate the hands-on approach of the series' creation process and how oral tradition helped disseminate its secrets and hidden aspects of Mortal Kombat in its arcade heyday. Delivered in easily digestible portions, it's an eminently watchable series of documentary shorts that spans games, comics, films and including the humorous real-world tour. The compilation also contains some unused moves and game character images among its cutting-room-floor content.

Interactive Experience

Interspersed along the quintet of documentary episodes' progression are invitations to experience the original releases. During specific moments, viewers can hop into a game of Mortal Kombat or a home system version to reexperience its mechanics and visual presentation, 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 direct competitive sessions. However, facing the computer-controlled adversaries in these titles is a demonstration of how basic and unfair the programming was in the franchise's pioneering releases. CPU-controlled opponents blatantly cheat to win or are conversely remarkably unintelligent. Without having another person to compete with — online play is available in the majority of included games, but too light on features — you'll be missing out.

Display Features

The twenty-three accessible Mortal Kombat titles in the collection, a combination of gaming hall, television, and mobile releases, are faithfully recreated, though I've observed a couple minor issues — mainly control latency and intermittent errors, especially with Mortal Kombat 4. Although the titles are primarily displayed authentically, the creators has added several intelligent convenience enhancements and display customization choices. As an illustration, you can choose to reveal combatant-unique actions during gameplay and choose to enable infinite time to complete lethal techniques. Additionally available are settings for accessing hidden fighters, without having to perform some esoteric trick to obtain them.

Artistically, the releases can be enjoyed with multiple visual enhancements and presentation styles. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection includes remarkably accurate filters that mimic the cathode-ray tube displays of gaming halls or home televisions, or the limited color monitor of a portable gaming device. A notably appreciated element is the choice to enable arcade-like bezels surrounding the screen, with the MK game of your choice precisely and gently mirroring against the artificial ebony plastic frames. It's quite aesthetically pleasing.

Additional Features

The collection includes numerous appreciated elements beyond the documentary and emulated arcade classics, featuring an audio component that lets you revisit the music from multiple Mortal Kombat games without the din of fighters brutally eliminating opponents. Additionally included are fighter biographies that include bios and multiple story elements shown through the idle displays of gaming hall releases and final sequences.

Historical Preservation

Among the most significant features for hardcore Mortal Kombat fans is the chance to experience a segment of previously unavailable content in the guise of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Wavenet Edition. This specific release, a somewhat revised iteration 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 practically indistinguishable to UMK3, but featured the capability to battle network competitors and featured various slight bug fixes and balance. Yet this online edition failed to achieve popularity, in part