The Legacy Kollection of Mortal Kombat: An Almost Perfect Triumph for the Combat Series Franchise

This iconic fighting game continues to hold its share of secrets and the capacity to surprise, over three decades after its original launch in coin-op establishments. This latest compilation covering the series' initial period, comprising four arcade games, multiple console adaptations, and spinoffs, is more than just a well-emulated set of legendary games and not-so-classics — it's also a comprehensive historical account about the making of the legendary series.

As a dedicated Mortal Kombat fan who has closely monitored its development and progression, there was plenty new for me to understand and value about the series.

What Makes the Legacy Kollection

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection similar to previous classic compilations from the creators at Digital Eclipse, part historical documentation, part playable archive. This compilation features emulated versions of the original arcade Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat 3, and Mortal Kombat 4, plus console and handheld ports of certain releases. This compilation also features the franchise's attempts at spinoffs, like action-oriented titles Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat: Special Forces — among the series' most criticized releases.

The Legacy Kollection thus isn't a highlight reel anthology, but a study of the franchise's initial era, when developer Midway and franchise originators the creative duo behind the series were discovering methods to make a fighting game, created from video recordings of live performers, as they went along. Viewing the historical footage — which includes vintage recordings, contemporary discussions, and scans of old flyers, comics, and including internal communications — it's remarkable to see how Mortal Kombat went from modest origins to a international craze. It's truly remarkable to watch a handful of young game developers, operating with virtually no plan or oversight, direct their entertainment passions into creating a legendary video game series.

Documentary Portion

The historical documentation of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection documents the ascent of Mortal Kombat and the founders' vocational paths at the currently closed Midway. It then goes on to show how the very same individuals contended with how to regularly outdo their previous work, encountering significant pressure to repeat their triumphs. It represents an intriguing historical record constructed using video recordings and traditional photos and manual drawings, which showcase the DIY nature of the franchise's production method and how personal recommendations helped circulate its mysteries and undisclosed elements of the series in its arcade heyday. Delivered in easily digestible portions, it's an eminently watchable collection of mini-documentaries that spans games, comics, films and including the humorous real-world tour. The compilation also contains some unreleased actions and character sprites among its cutting-room-floor content.

Playable Component

Placed within the five-part documentary's timeline are opportunities to engage with the original releases. At certain intervals, audience members can jump into a Mortal Kombat title or a console adaptation to rediscover its combat system and graphics, emulated nearly perfectly on current technology.

I spent the bulk of my time playing the arcade classics, especially Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Many of the games here stand the test of time, particularly during one-on-one local play. But playing against the artificial intelligence fighters in these releases is a reminder of how crude and unfair the development approached in the franchise's pioneering releases. Computer-directed fighters blatantly cheat to win or are alternatively incredibly stupid. Without having someone to play against — online play is available in most titles in the collection, but somewhat limited in options — you'll be missing out.

Display Features

The twenty-three accessible Mortal Kombat titles in the compilation, a blend of gaming hall, television, and mobile releases, are accurately emulated, though I detected a couple minor issues — mainly control latency and intermittent errors, especially with Mortal Kombat 4. Although the titles are mostly shown in their original form, the creators has incorporated various clever user experience improvements and visual presentation options. For example, users can elect to reveal combatant-unique actions on the display and choose to enable endless periods to complete lethal techniques. Additionally available are settings for accessing hidden fighters, eliminating the need to execute obscure techniques to unlock them.

Visually, the games can be played with a variety of filters and visual treatments. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection provides highly authentic filters that mimic the traditional television screens of coin-op establishments or home televisions, or the limited color monitor of a portable gaming device. A particularly nice touch is the option to have arcade-like bezels encircling the display, with your selected Mortal Kombat title accurately and softly reflecting against the faux black plastic borders. It's very artistically charming.

Extra Content

The collection includes numerous nice touches beyond the educational material and simulated classic games, containing a soundtrack mode that allows users to rediscover the music from multiple combat titles absent the noise of combatants violently defeating each other. Additionally included are combatant descriptions that include bios and numerous narrative components presented by the demo sequences of coin-op titles and conclusions.

Historical Preservation

Among the most significant features for committed franchise followers is the opportunity to play a piece of "lost media" 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 initial venture by the company at head-to-head network battles in arcades. The online-enabled release of the game is almost exactly the same to UMK3, but included the option to compete against internet adversaries and included some minor error corrections and adjustments. Yet this online edition failed to achieve popularity, in part