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Mortal Kombat still possesses numerous undisclosed elements and the ability to amaze, over three decades after its original launch in arcades. The recent anthology spanning the franchise's earliest days, comprising four original arcade titles, multiple console adaptations, and derivative games, goes beyond only a accurately simulated collection of iconic titles and not-so-classics — it functions as a rich documentary about the making of the renowned brand.

Even as a lifelong devotee of the franchise who has paid close attention its creation and evolution, there was numerous fresh aspects for me to learn and appreciate about the series.

What Constitutes the Legacy Collection

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection comparable to previous classic compilations from the development team Digital Eclipse, part historical documentation, section playable historical record. This compilation features emulated versions of the pioneering arcade Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat 3, and Mortal Kombat 4, along with home system and portable adaptations of several of these titles. The collection even includes the brand's experiments at spin-off titles, like action-oriented titles Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat: Special Forces — among the series' least successful installments.

The Legacy Kollection thus isn't a highlight reel anthology, but a study of the franchise's initial era, when the development team Midway and brand founders the visionary developers were discovering methods to make a fighting game, produced using film material of live performers, through experimentation. Observing the archival material — that features vintage recordings, contemporary discussions, and digital copies of vintage posters, illustrated stories, and including internal communications — it's incredible to witness how Mortal Kombat went from modest origins to a worldwide phenomenon. It's genuinely amazing to see a group of pioneering developers, operating with virtually no plan or supervision, direct their entertainment passions into establishing an enduring gaming brand.

Documentary Portion

The documentary portion of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection charts the rise of the combat franchise and its creators' careers at the now-defunct Midway. It further illustrates how those same creators reckoned with how to consistently surpass their achievements, experiencing considerable pressure to repeat their success. It's a fascinating time capsule constructed using VHS tapes and traditional photos and manual drawings, which demonstrate the hands-on approach of the series' creation process and how oral tradition helped circulate its mysteries and hidden aspects of Mortal Kombat in its golden era in coin-op establishments. Delivered in easily digestible portions, it's thoroughly enjoyable collection of mini-documentaries that includes titles, illustrated stories, cinematic adaptations and even the silly live-action tour. It also includes some unused moves and game character images among its cutting-room-floor content.

Interactive Experience

Distributed throughout the quintet of documentary episodes' progression are invitations to experience the original releases. During specific moments, audience members can jump into a game of Mortal Kombat or one of its home console ports to rediscover its combat system and graphics, recreated with impressive accuracy on contemporary systems.

I dedicated most of my time experiencing the original arcade titles, particularly Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Numerous titles here hold up, especially in local multiplayer matches. But playing against the aforementioned game's AI-controlled opponents is a reminder of how crude and unbalanced the coding existed in early Mortal Kombat games. Computer-directed fighters obviously use unfair advantages or are otherwise dumb as rocks. If you don't have a human opponent — internet multiplayer exists in the majority of included games, but rather basic in functionality — you'll be missing out.

Visual Options

The two dozen available combat games in the anthology, a mix of arcade, console, and handheld games, are faithfully recreated, though I detected a handful slight anomalies — mainly control latency and intermittent errors, especially with Mortal Kombat 4. Although the titles are mostly shown in their original form, developer Digital Eclipse has included some smart user experience improvements and display customization choices. For instance, users can elect to show each character's special moves during gameplay and choose to enable infinite time to perform a Fatality. Also included are choices for accessing hidden fighters, removing the requirement to complete obscure techniques to access them.

Graphically, the titles can be enjoyed with multiple filters and visual treatments. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection offers very realistic effects that reproduce the cathode-ray tube displays of arcades or household displays, or the greenscale screen of a Game Boy. An especially welcome feature is the option to have coin-op-inspired frames encircling the display, with the MK game of your choice precisely and gently mirroring against the artificial ebony plastic frames. It's quite aesthetically pleasing.

Additional Features

Players will discover multiple appreciated elements beyond the documentary and emulated arcade classics, including a music player that lets you revisit the tunes of various fighting releases without the din of fighters brutally eliminating opponents. There are also combatant descriptions that feature histories and the various bits of lore shown through the idle displays of gaming hall releases and endings.

Historical Preservation

One of the biggest highlights for hardcore Mortal Kombat fans is the ability to access a piece of "lost media" in the guise of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Wavenet Edition. This particular edition, a moderately improved edition of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, was an initial venture by the company at one-on-one internet-based play in gaming halls. The Wavenet Edition of the game is practically indistinguishable to UMK3, but provided the ability to challenge online opponents and included some minor glitch repairs and refinements. Yet this online edition never gained traction, in part