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The Mortal Kombat series still possesses its share of secrets and the ability to amaze, more than 30 years after its first appearance in gaming halls. This latest compilation spanning the franchise's earliest days, which includes four original arcade titles, various home ports, and derivative games, is more than simply a faithfully reproduced collection of iconic titles including less celebrated releases — it additionally serves as a rich documentary about the development of the iconic franchise.

Even as a lifelong devotee of the franchise who has closely monitored its origins and transformation, there was much to discover for me to learn and appreciate about the series.

What Makes the Legacy Collection

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection comparable to previous classic compilations from developer Digital Eclipse, part documentary, portion interactive museum. This compilation features simulated releases of the original arcade Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat 3, and Mortal Kombat 4, along with home system and portable adaptations of certain releases. This compilation also features the franchise's attempts at spinoffs, like combat-focused releases Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat: Special Forces — some of the brand's worst entries.

The Legacy Kollection thus isn't a “best of” collection, but a study of Mortal Kombat's early days, when the development team Midway and franchise originators Ed Boon and John Tobias were discovering methods to make a fighting game, digitized from footage of actual people, as they went along. Watching the documentary — which includes archival footage, new interviews, and digital copies of vintage posters, illustrated stories, and including internal communications — it's astonishing to observe how the series transformed from modest origins to a international craze. It's frankly astounding to see a group of young game developers, developing without clear direction or oversight, channel their pop-culture interests into birthing an iconic game franchise.

Historical Section

The educational segment of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection documents the ascent of the fighting series and its creators' careers at the no-longer-operating Midway. It further illustrates how the very same individuals contended with how to consistently surpass their achievements, facing no small amount of pressure to repeat their achievements. It represents an intriguing historical record made from VHS tapes and analog photographs and hand-drawn illustrations, which reveal the self-made character of Mortal Kombat's development and how personal recommendations helped spread its rumors and secrets of MK in its golden era in coin-op establishments. Presented in manageable segments, it's thoroughly enjoyable collection of mini-documentaries that spans games, comics, films and even the silly live-action tour. The compilation also contains some never-implemented techniques and digital fighter representations among its archived development assets.

Playable Component

Placed within the quintet of documentary episodes' progression are opportunities to engage with the games themselves. At various points, viewers can hop into a Mortal Kombat title or a console adaptation to rediscover its combat system and artistic style, recreated with impressive accuracy on modern hardware.

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 unjust the programming was in the franchise's pioneering releases. CPU-controlled opponents obviously use unfair advantages or are alternatively incredibly stupid. Lacking someone to play against — network gaming is included in numerous anthology releases, but too light on features — you'll miss the full enjoyment.

Display Features

The 23 playable Mortal Kombat games in the collection, a blend of coin-op, home system, and portable titles, are precisely simulated, though I have noticed a handful slight anomalies — primarily delayed responses and sporadic glitches, especially with Mortal Kombat 4. Even though the releases are mostly shown in their original form, the creators has incorporated various clever convenience enhancements and visual presentation options. For instance, you can choose to reveal combatant-unique actions on the display and opt to have endless periods to perform a Fatality. Also included are choices for revealing concealed combatants, without having to perform complicated methods to access them.

Graphically, the titles can be experienced with numerous filters and visual treatments. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection provides highly authentic effects that reproduce the cathode-ray tube displays of arcades or home televisions, or the limited color monitor of a Game Boy. A notably appreciated element is the option to have arcade-like bezels framing the gameplay, with your selected Mortal Kombat title accurately and softly reflecting against the artificial ebony plastic frames. It's remarkably visually appealing.

Bonus Elements

There are plenty of appreciated elements beyond the documentary and emulated arcade classics, featuring an audio component that enables players to reexperience the tunes of various Mortal Kombat games without the din of fighters brutally eliminating opponents. Also present are character profiles that include bios and multiple story elements displayed via the demo sequences of coin-op titles and final sequences.

Archival Discovery

A particularly notable inclusion for hardcore Mortal Kombat fans is the chance to experience a piece of "lost media" in the format of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Wavenet Edition. This particular edition, a slightly updated version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, was an early attempt by Midway at head-to-head network battles in gaming halls. This network version of the game is practically indistinguishable to UMK3, but included the option to compete against internet adversaries and contained several small glitch repairs and refinements. Yet this online edition never gained traction, in part