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Mortal Kombat continues to hold many hidden mysteries and the ability to amaze, well past its 30th anniversary after its initial debut in arcades. A new collection spanning the series' initial period, which includes a quartet of arcade releases, multiple console adaptations, and related titles, goes beyond simply a faithfully reproduced collection of iconic titles and not-so-classics — it's also a detailed chronicle about the development of the iconic franchise.

As a dedicated devotee of the franchise who has paid close attention its development and progression, there was plenty new for me to discover and admire about the series.

What Makes the Historical Compilation

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection is, like previous classic compilations from the development team Digital Eclipse, portion educational film, part playable archive. The collection includes digitally recreated editions of the first arcade Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat 3, and Mortal Kombat 4, along with home system and portable adaptations of certain releases. The anthology additionally contains the series' ventures at derivative games, like action games Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat: Special Forces — some of the brand's most criticized releases.

The Legacy Kollection consequently doesn't represent a highlight reel anthology, but an exploration into the franchise's initial era, when developer Midway and franchise originators the visionary developers were figuring out how to develop a battle series, digitized from footage of real actors, on the fly. Watching the documentary — which includes vintage recordings, recent conversations, and reproductions of classic advertisements, comics, and including internal communications — it's incredible to witness how the series transformed from humble beginnings to a international craze. It's truly remarkable to see a group of pioneering developers, operating with virtually no plan or guidance, direct their entertainment passions into establishing an enduring gaming brand.

Historical Section

The documentary portion of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection documents the ascent of Mortal Kombat and the founders' vocational paths at the no-longer-operating Midway. It further illustrates how the very same individuals contended with how to regularly outdo their previous work, encountering significant pressure to repeat their triumphs. It's a fascinating time capsule made from analog films and analog photographs and hand-drawn illustrations, which demonstrate the hands-on approach of the series' creation process and how word of mouth helped spread its rumors and secrets of MK in its golden era in coin-op establishments. Delivered in easily digestible portions, it's an eminently watchable collection of mini-documentaries that covers video games, graphic novels, movies and including the humorous real-world tour. The compilation also contains some unused moves and character sprites among its previously unreleased material.

Playable Component

Placed within the five-part documentary's timeline are opportunities to engage with the actual titles. At certain intervals, users can directly access a game of Mortal Kombat or a home system version to revisit its gameplay and graphics, simulated with remarkable precision on current technology.

I spent the bulk of my time engaging with the vintage coin-op games, specifically Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Many of the games here stand the test of time, especially in one-on-one local play. Yet competing with the computer-controlled adversaries in these titles is a reminder of how crude and unjust the programming was in the franchise's pioneering releases. CPU-controlled opponents obviously use unfair advantages or are alternatively incredibly stupid. Without having another person to compete with — network gaming is included in numerous anthology releases, but somewhat limited in options — you'll miss the full enjoyment.

Display Features

The two dozen available combat games in the collection, a blend of gaming hall, television, and mobile releases, are faithfully recreated, though I detected a handful slight anomalies — mostly input lag and sporadic glitches, notably within Mortal Kombat 4. Although the titles are largely presented as-is, developer Digital Eclipse has added several intelligent user experience improvements and graphical adjustment settings. As an illustration, players have the option to show each character's special moves during gameplay and opt to have endless periods to perform a Fatality. Also included are choices for unlocking secret characters, removing the requirement to complete obscure techniques to unlock them.

Artistically, the releases can be enjoyed with multiple graphical effects and display options. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection offers very realistic filters that mimic the cathode-ray tube displays of arcades or household displays, or the monochrome green display of a portable gaming device. A notably appreciated element is the option to have coin-op-inspired frames encircling the display, with the specific combat game you're playing accurately and softly reflecting against the artificial ebony plastic frames. It's very artistically charming.

Bonus Elements

Players will discover multiple nice touches beyond the historical footage and recreated vintage titles, including a music player that enables players to reexperience the tunes of various fighting releases absent the noise of fighters brutally eliminating opponents. Additionally included are character profiles that feature histories and numerous narrative components presented by the demo sequences of coin-op titles and conclusions.

Lost Media Recovery

One of the biggest highlights for hardcore Mortal Kombat fans is the opportunity to play a example of historically missing material in the guise of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Wavenet Edition. This specific release, a slightly updated version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, was an early attempt by Midway at head-to-head network battles in gaming halls. The Wavenet Edition of the game is practically indistinguishable to UMK3, but included the option to battle network competitors and contained several small error corrections and adjustments. But the Wavenet update failed to achieve popularity, in part