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Mortal Kombat retains its share of secrets and the capacity to surprise, well past its 30th anniversary after its original launch in arcades. The recent anthology including the franchise's earliest days, comprising four arcade games, several home system versions, and derivative games, transcends just a well-emulated collection of iconic titles and not-so-classics — it additionally serves as a rich documentary about the development of the renowned brand.

Even as a lifelong enthusiast of the series who has carefully followed its origins and transformation, there was plenty new for me to discover and admire about the series.

What Defines the Legacy Kollection

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection similar to other retro collections from the creators at Digital Eclipse, part documentary, part playable archive. This compilation features 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 some of those games. This compilation also features the brand's experiments at derivative games, like action games Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat: Special Forces — some of the brand's least successful installments.

The Legacy Kollection is therefore not a greatest hits compilation, but a study of the franchise's initial era, when the development team Midway and brand founders the visionary developers were determining how to create a combat title, digitized from footage of real actors, as they went along. Watching the documentary — containing vintage recordings, contemporary discussions, and scans of old flyers, illustrated stories, and including internal communications — it's incredible to witness how Mortal Kombat went from humble beginnings to a worldwide phenomenon. It's truly remarkable to see a group of pioneering developers, developing without clear direction or oversight, channel their pop-culture interests into establishing an enduring gaming brand.

Educational Component

The educational segment of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection traces the growth 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, facing no small amount of demand to replicate their triumphs. It serves as a compelling period piece composed of VHS tapes and film-based pictures and hand-drawn illustrations, which reveal the self-made character of the franchise's production method and how word of mouth helped spread its rumors and undisclosed elements of the series in its golden era in coin-op establishments. Told in bite-sized chunks, it's thoroughly enjoyable series of documentary shorts that covers video games, graphic novels, movies and even the silly live-action tour. It also includes some never-implemented techniques and character sprites among its cutting-room-floor content.

Interactive Gaming

Placed within the five-segment historical film's chronology are prompts to play the games themselves. At various points, viewers can hop into a combat game session or a home system version to revisit its gameplay and graphics, emulated nearly perfectly on current technology.

I allocated the majority of my time experiencing the original arcade titles, especially Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Several releases here hold up, especially in direct competitive sessions. Yet competing with the artificial intelligence fighters in these releases is a reminder of how crude and unbalanced the coding existed in early Mortal Kombat games. AI-managed characters obviously use unfair advantages or are alternatively incredibly stupid. Lacking another person to compete with — network gaming is included in the majority of included games, but too light on features — the experience will be incomplete.

Technical Presentation

The twenty-three accessible Mortal Kombat titles in the anthology, a blend of gaming hall, television, and mobile releases, are precisely simulated, though I've observed a handful slight anomalies — mostly input lag and sporadic glitches, particularly in Mortal Kombat 4. And while the games are mostly shown in their original form, the development team has included some smart user experience improvements and display customization choices. For example, you can choose to reveal combatant-unique actions on the display and opt to have endless periods to perform a Fatality. There are also options for accessing hidden fighters, removing the requirement to complete complicated methods to obtain them.

Visually, the games can be experienced with numerous filters and visual treatments. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection offers very realistic options that simulate the traditional television screens of coin-op establishments or domestic TVs, or the limited color monitor of a Game Boy. A notably appreciated element is the choice to enable coin-op-inspired frames surrounding the screen, with your selected Mortal Kombat title precisely and gently mirroring against the simulated dark plastic edges. It's quite aesthetically pleasing.

Additional Features

There are plenty of appreciated elements beyond the educational material and simulated classic games, including a music player that enables players to reexperience the soundtracks of different combat titles absent the noise of fighters brutally eliminating opponents. There are also fighter biographies that contain backgrounds and numerous narrative components displayed via arcade games' attract mode screens and conclusions.

Lost Media Recovery

One of the biggest highlights for committed franchise followers is the chance to experience 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 pioneering effort from the developer at direct online competitive gaming in gaming halls. The online-enabled release of the game is virtually identical to UMK3, but provided the ability to battle network competitors and included some minor error corrections and adjustments. But the Wavenet update didn't find widespread adoption, in part