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This iconic fighting game retains its share of secrets and the capacity to surprise, more than 30 years after its original launch in gaming halls. A new collection covering the series' initial period, comprising four original arcade titles, multiple console adaptations, and spinoffs, is more than just a well-emulated collection of iconic titles including less celebrated releases — it's also a rich documentary about the development of the renowned brand.

As a dedicated Mortal Kombat fan 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 other retro collections from the creators at Digital Eclipse, portion educational film, part playable archive. This compilation features emulated versions of the first arcade Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat 3, and Mortal Kombat 4, plus console and handheld ports of certain releases. The collection even includes the franchise's attempts at spin-off titles, 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 consequently doesn't represent a “best of” collection, but an exploration into the series' formative period, when the creators at Midway and series co-creators the visionary developers were discovering methods to develop a battle series, produced using film material of real actors, on the fly. Viewing the historical footage — which includes archival footage, new interviews, and reproductions of classic advertisements, illustrated stories, and including internal communications — it's incredible to witness how the franchise evolved from simple starts to a international craze. It's frankly astounding to observe several early video game creators, operating with virtually no plan or guidance, focus their cultural enthusiasms into establishing an enduring gaming brand.

Documentary Portion

The historical documentation of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection documents the ascent of the fighting series and its creators' careers at the now-defunct Midway. It then goes on to show how those same creators contended with how to regularly outdo their previous work, facing no small amount of pressure to repeat their triumphs. It serves as a compelling period piece composed of VHS tapes and traditional photos and pencil sketches, which demonstrate the hands-on approach of Mortal Kombat's development and how word of mouth helped circulate its mysteries and hidden aspects of Mortal Kombat in its peak period in gaming halls. Delivered in easily digestible portions, it's highly engaging set of brief historical films that spans games, comics, films and including the humorous real-world tour. The compilation also contains some unreleased actions and game character images among its cutting-room-floor content.

Interactive Experience

Placed within the quintet of documentary episodes' progression are invitations to experience the actual titles. At various points, users can directly access a combat game session or a console adaptation to revisit its gameplay and artistic style, simulated with remarkable precision on contemporary systems.

I spent the bulk of my time engaging with the vintage coin-op games, particularly Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Numerous titles here remain enjoyable, especially in one-on-one local play. But playing against the computer-controlled adversaries in these titles is a reminder of how crude and unbalanced the coding existed in the franchise's pioneering releases. Computer-directed fighters blatantly cheat to win or are alternatively incredibly stupid. Without having another person to compete with — internet multiplayer exists in numerous anthology releases, but rather basic in functionality — you'll miss the full enjoyment.

Technical Presentation

The 23 playable Mortal Kombat games in the compilation, a combination of coin-op, home system, and portable titles, are faithfully recreated, though I detected a handful slight anomalies — mostly input lag and sporadic glitches, especially with Mortal Kombat 4. And while the games are primarily displayed authentically, the development team has included some smart user experience improvements and visual presentation options. As an illustration, players have the option to show each character's special moves during gameplay and select to activate unlimited duration to complete lethal techniques. Additionally available are settings for accessing hidden fighters, eliminating the need to execute some esoteric trick to access them.

Artistically, the releases can be experienced with numerous filters and visual treatments. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection includes remarkably accurate options that simulate the cathode-ray tube displays of arcades or household displays, or the limited color monitor of a Game Boy. A particularly nice touch is the option to have gaming hall-style borders surrounding the screen, with the specific combat game you're playing faithfully and subtly duplicating against the faux black plastic borders. It's remarkably visually appealing.

Bonus Elements

There are plenty of nice touches beyond the educational material and simulated classic games, featuring an audio component that allows users to rediscover the soundtracks of different Mortal Kombat games absent the noise of two kombatants viciously slaughtering each other. Also present are combatant descriptions that contain backgrounds and multiple story elements presented by the demo sequences of coin-op titles and conclusions.

Lost Media Recovery

A particularly notable inclusion for committed franchise followers is the ability to access a piece of "lost media" in the format of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Wavenet Edition. This particular edition, a somewhat revised iteration of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, was an early attempt by Midway at one-on-one internet-based play in coin-op establishments. This network version of the game is practically indistinguishable to UMK3, but featured the capability to challenge online opponents and contained several small error corrections and adjustments. But the Wavenet update never gained traction, in part