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This iconic fighting game continues to hold its share of secrets and the power to astonish, over three decades after its first appearance in coin-op establishments. The recent anthology covering the brand's formative years, comprising four original arcade titles, multiple console adaptations, and derivative games, goes beyond simply a faithfully reproduced set of legendary games and not-so-classics — it's also a detailed chronicle about the creation of the iconic franchise.

Being a long-time 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 Historical Compilation

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection is, like other vintage game anthologies from the development team Digital Eclipse, portion educational film, portion interactive museum. The collection includes digitally recreated editions of the pioneering arcade Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat 3, and Mortal Kombat 4, plus console and handheld ports of several of these titles. The anthology additionally contains the series' ventures at spin-off titles, like combat-focused releases Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat: Special Forces — some of the brand's most criticized releases.

The Legacy Kollection is therefore not a highlight reel anthology, but an examination of the series' formative period, when the creators at Midway and franchise originators the creative duo behind the series were determining how to develop a battle series, produced using film material of real actors, on the fly. Watching the documentary — which includes historical videos, contemporary discussions, and scans of old flyers, graphic novels, and even interoffice faxes — it's incredible to witness how the franchise evolved from modest origins to a global sensation. It's genuinely amazing to see a group of pioneering developers, operating with virtually no plan or guidance, focus their cultural enthusiasms into birthing an iconic game franchise.

Historical Section

The historical documentation of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection charts the rise of the combat franchise and the developers' professional journeys at the currently closed Midway. It subsequently demonstrates how the very same individuals contended with how to consistently surpass their achievements, experiencing considerable demand to replicate their success. It serves as a compelling period piece composed of video recordings and traditional photos and manual drawings, which showcase the DIY nature of the franchise's production method and how word of mouth helped spread its rumors and undisclosed elements of the series in its arcade heyday. Delivered in easily digestible portions, it's highly engaging series of documentary shorts that covers video games, graphic novels, movies and even the comical physical events. The collection additionally features some unreleased actions and game character images among its previously unreleased material.

Playable Component

Distributed throughout the five-part documentary's timeline are prompts to play the actual titles. At various points, viewers can hop into a game of Mortal Kombat or one of its home console ports to rediscover its combat system and graphics, simulated with remarkable precision on contemporary systems.

I allocated the majority of my time playing the arcade classics, particularly Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Several releases here hold up, particularly during local multiplayer matches. Yet competing with the aforementioned game's AI-controlled opponents is a testament to how primitive and unjust the programming was in early Mortal Kombat games. AI-managed characters blatantly cheat to win or are conversely remarkably unintelligent. Without having a human opponent — network gaming is included in numerous anthology releases, but somewhat limited in options — you'll miss the full enjoyment.

Technical Presentation

The two dozen available combat games in the collection, a combination of coin-op, home system, and portable titles, are faithfully recreated, though I detected a couple minor issues — primarily delayed responses and sporadic glitches, notably within Mortal Kombat 4. Even though the releases are largely presented as-is, the development team has included some smart convenience enhancements and graphical adjustment settings. For example, users can elect to display fighter-specific techniques on-screen and opt to have infinite time to complete lethal techniques. Also included are choices for accessing hidden fighters, without having to perform some esoteric trick to unlock them.

Visually, the games can be enjoyed with multiple filters and visual treatments. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection provides highly authentic options that simulate the CRT monitors of coin-op establishments or home televisions, or the limited color monitor of a portable gaming device. An especially welcome feature is the choice to enable gaming hall-style borders encircling the display, with the specific combat game you're playing accurately and softly reflecting against the faux black plastic borders. It's quite aesthetically pleasing.

Additional Features

The collection includes numerous appreciated elements beyond the educational material and simulated classic games, containing a soundtrack mode that lets you revisit the tunes of various fighting releases without the din of two kombatants viciously slaughtering each other. There are also combatant descriptions that feature histories and the various bits of lore displayed via the idle displays of gaming hall releases and final sequences.

Archival Discovery

One of the biggest highlights for dedicated series enthusiasts is the ability to access a segment of previously unavailable content in the form of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Wavenet Edition. This version of the game, a slightly updated version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, was an pioneering effort from the developer at direct online competitive gaming in coin-op establishments. This network version of the game is virtually identical to UMK3, but included the option to battle network competitors and contained several small bug fixes and balance. However, this network version didn't find widespread adoption, in part