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This iconic fighting game retains numerous undisclosed elements and the ability to amaze, more than 30 years after its first appearance in arcades. The recent anthology spanning the series' initial period, which includes four arcade games, multiple console adaptations, and derivative games, goes beyond simply a faithfully reproduced set of legendary games along with lesser-known entries — it additionally serves as a detailed chronicle about the development of the legendary series.

Being a long-time Mortal Kombat fan who has carefully followed its development and progression, there was much to discover for me to learn and appreciate about the series.

What Defines the Legacy Kollection

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection is, like previous classic compilations from the creators at Digital Eclipse, portion educational film, section playable historical record. The collection includes simulated releases of the original arcade Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat 3, and Mortal Kombat 4, plus console and handheld ports of several of these titles. This compilation also features the series' ventures at spin-off titles, like action-oriented titles Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat: Special Forces — two of the franchise's most criticized releases.

The Legacy Kollection thus isn't a highlight reel anthology, but an examination of 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 actual people, through experimentation. Viewing the historical footage — which includes archival footage, contemporary discussions, and digital copies of vintage posters, comics, and including internal communications — it's astonishing to observe how Mortal Kombat went from simple starts to a international craze. It's truly remarkable to observe several young game developers, operating with virtually no plan or guidance, channel their pop-culture interests into creating a legendary video game series.

Educational Component

The documentary portion of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection charts the rise of the combat franchise and its creators' careers at the currently closed Midway. It further illustrates how the very same individuals contended with how to routinely one-up themselves, experiencing considerable demand to replicate their triumphs. It serves as a compelling period piece made from video recordings and analog photographs and manual drawings, which demonstrate the hands-on approach of Mortal Kombat's development and how word of mouth helped disseminate its secrets and undisclosed elements of the series in its peak period in gaming halls. Delivered in easily digestible portions, it's an eminently watchable series of documentary shorts that covers video games, graphic novels, movies and including the humorous real-world tour. It also includes some unused moves and character sprites among its previously unreleased material.

Interactive Gaming

Interspersed along the five-segment historical film's chronology are prompts to play the actual titles. At certain intervals, users can directly access a combat game session or a home system version to revisit its gameplay and visual presentation, simulated with remarkable precision on current technology.

I dedicated most of my time experiencing the original arcade titles, especially Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Many of the games here stand the test of time, especially in direct competitive sessions. However, facing the aforementioned game's AI-controlled opponents is a testament to how primitive and unbalanced the programming was in early Mortal Kombat games. Computer-directed fighters obviously use unfair advantages or are alternatively incredibly stupid. If you don't have another person to compete with — network gaming is included in most titles in the collection, but too light on features — you'll miss the full enjoyment.

Visual Options

The 23 playable Mortal Kombat games in the compilation, a combination of coin-op, home system, and portable titles, are accurately emulated, though I have noticed a few small quirks — mostly input lag and the occasional bug, especially with Mortal Kombat 4. And while the games are largely presented as-is, the development team has included some smart quality-of-life features and visual presentation options. For example, you can choose to show each character's special moves during gameplay and select to activate endless periods to perform a Fatality. There are also options for revealing concealed combatants, without having to perform some esoteric trick to obtain them.

Artistically, the releases can be played with a variety of filters and visual treatments. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection offers very realistic filters that mimic the cathode-ray tube displays of gaming halls or home televisions, or the limited color monitor of a Nintendo handheld. A notably appreciated element is the choice to enable coin-op-inspired frames framing the gameplay, with your selected Mortal Kombat title precisely and gently mirroring against the simulated dark plastic edges. It's very artistically charming.

Additional Features

Players will discover multiple appreciated elements beyond the documentary and emulated arcade classics, containing a soundtrack mode that lets you revisit the music from multiple Mortal Kombat games absent the noise of fighters brutally eliminating opponents. There are also character profiles that contain backgrounds and the various bits of lore shown through arcade games' attract mode screens and conclusions.

Archival Discovery

A particularly notable inclusion for hardcore Mortal Kombat fans is the ability to access a piece of "lost media" in the format of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Wavenet Edition. This specific release, a slightly updated version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, was an pioneering effort from the developer at direct online competitive gaming in gaming halls. The Wavenet Edition of the game is virtually identical to UMK3, but included the option to battle network competitors and contained several small bug fixes and balance. Yet this online edition failed to achieve popularity, in part