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Mortal Kombat continues to hold many hidden mysteries and the capacity to surprise, over three decades after its original launch in arcades. A new collection covering the series' initial period, comprising four arcade games, multiple console adaptations, and derivative games, goes beyond just a well-emulated series of classics and not-so-classics — it additionally serves as a detailed chronicle about the creation of the iconic franchise.

As a dedicated enthusiast of the series who has paid close attention 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 similar to other retro collections from the development team Digital Eclipse, part documentary, part playable archive. The anthology contains simulated releases 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. This compilation also features the franchise's attempts at derivative games, 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 Mortal Kombat's early days, when the development team Midway and franchise originators the visionary developers were determining how to develop a battle series, produced using film material of live performers, through experimentation. Watching the documentary — that features archival footage, new interviews, and digital copies of vintage posters, comics, and even interoffice faxes — it's astonishing to observe how the series transformed from modest origins to a international craze. It's genuinely amazing to watch a handful of early video game creators, working with minimal planning or supervision, channel their pop-culture interests into establishing an enduring gaming brand.

Educational Component

The documentary portion of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection charts the rise of Mortal Kombat and its creators' careers at the now-defunct Midway. It further illustrates how the very same individuals contended with how to regularly outdo their previous work, encountering significant demand to replicate their success. It serves as a compelling period piece constructed using video recordings and traditional photos and hand-drawn illustrations, which reveal the self-made character of Mortal Kombat's development and how personal recommendations helped circulate its mysteries and secrets of MK in its golden era in coin-op establishments. Presented in manageable segments, it's thoroughly enjoyable series of documentary shorts that covers video games, graphic novels, movies and including the humorous real-world tour. The collection additionally features some unreleased actions and character sprites among its cutting-room-floor content.

Playable Component

Distributed throughout the five-segment historical film's chronology are prompts to play the original releases. At certain intervals, audience members can jump into a game of Mortal Kombat or a console adaptation to reexperience its mechanics and graphics, emulated nearly perfectly on current technology.

I allocated the majority of my time playing the arcade classics, especially 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 artificial intelligence fighters in these releases is a testament to how primitive and unbalanced the development approached in the franchise's pioneering releases. Computer-directed fighters blatantly cheat to win or are otherwise dumb as rocks. If you don't have someone to play against — online play is available in numerous anthology releases, but rather basic in functionality — you'll miss the full enjoyment.

Visual Options

The two dozen available combat games in the collection, a combination of coin-op, home system, and portable titles, are faithfully recreated, though I have noticed a handful slight anomalies — mostly input lag and the occasional bug, notably within Mortal Kombat 4. And while the games are mostly shown in their original form, developer Digital Eclipse has included some smart user experience improvements and visual presentation options. For instance, you can choose to display fighter-specific techniques on-screen and opt to have endless periods to perform a Fatality. There are also options for revealing concealed combatants, eliminating the need to execute obscure techniques to obtain them.

Visually, the games can be enjoyed with multiple graphical effects and display options. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection includes remarkably accurate filters that mimic the traditional television screens of coin-op establishments or household displays, or the limited color monitor of a Nintendo handheld. A notably appreciated element is the choice to enable arcade-like bezels encircling the display, with your selected Mortal Kombat title precisely and gently mirroring against the artificial ebony plastic frames. It's very artistically charming.

Bonus Elements

Players will discover multiple nice touches beyond the educational material and simulated classic games, featuring an audio component that allows users to rediscover the music from multiple Mortal Kombat games without the din of two kombatants viciously slaughtering each other. Additionally included are character profiles that feature histories and numerous narrative components displayed via the demo sequences of coin-op titles and endings.

Lost Media Recovery

A particularly notable inclusion for hardcore Mortal Kombat fans is the ability to access a example of historically missing material in the format 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 gaming halls. The Wavenet Edition of the game is practically indistinguishable to UMK3, but included the option to challenge online opponents and contained several small glitch repairs and refinements. However, this network version failed to achieve popularity, in part