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Mortal Kombat continues to hold many hidden mysteries and the power to astonish, over three decades after its first appearance in arcades. A new collection covering the franchise's earliest days, which includes four original arcade titles, multiple console adaptations, and related titles, is more than only a accurately simulated set of legendary games and not-so-classics — it's also a comprehensive historical account about the development of the legendary series.

Being a long-time enthusiast of the series who has carefully followed its creation and evolution, there was much to discover for me to learn and appreciate about the series.

What Makes the Legacy Kollection

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection is, like other retro collections from the development team Digital Eclipse, part documentary, section playable historical record. This compilation features simulated releases of the first arcade Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat 3, and Mortal Kombat 4, including television and mobile versions of some of those games. This compilation also features the series' ventures at derivative games, like action games Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat: Special Forces — two of the franchise's least successful installments.

The Legacy Kollection is therefore not a highlight reel anthology, but an examination of Mortal Kombat's early days, when the development team Midway and franchise originators the visionary developers were figuring out how to create a combat title, created from video recordings of live performers, as they went along. Observing the archival material — containing vintage recordings, recent conversations, and scans of old flyers, comics, and even interoffice faxes — it's incredible to witness how Mortal Kombat went from modest origins to a worldwide phenomenon. It's frankly astounding to watch a handful of young game developers, working with minimal planning 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 currently closed Midway. It then goes on to show how the very same individuals reckoned with how to consistently surpass their achievements, facing no small amount of pressure to repeat their achievements. It's a fascinating time capsule made from VHS tapes and film-based pictures and hand-drawn illustrations, which demonstrate the hands-on approach of the franchise's production method and how personal recommendations helped spread its rumors and secrets of MK in its golden era in coin-op establishments. Delivered in easily digestible portions, it's highly engaging set of brief historical films that covers video games, graphic novels, movies and including the humorous real-world tour. It also includes some unused moves and digital fighter representations among its cutting-room-floor content.

Interactive Experience

Interspersed along the five-part documentary's timeline are invitations to experience the actual titles. During specific moments, users can directly access a game of Mortal Kombat or a console adaptation to rediscover its combat system and visual presentation, simulated with remarkable precision on contemporary systems.

I allocated the majority of my time engaging with the vintage coin-op games, specifically Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Numerous titles here hold up, notably with one-on-one local play. But playing against the artificial intelligence fighters in these releases is a reminder of how crude and unjust the programming was in the series' initial installments. CPU-controlled opponents clearly employ dishonest tactics or are conversely remarkably unintelligent. If you don't have a human opponent — internet multiplayer exists in most titles in the collection, but too light on features — you'll be missing out.

Display Features

The 23 playable Mortal Kombat games in the collection, a mix of coin-op, home system, and portable titles, are precisely simulated, though I've observed a few small quirks — mostly input lag and sporadic glitches, notably within Mortal Kombat 4. Even though the releases are mostly shown in their original form, the creators has added several intelligent quality-of-life features and visual presentation options. For instance, users can elect to reveal combatant-unique actions on the display and select to activate infinite time to perform a Fatality. Also included are choices for revealing concealed combatants, removing the requirement to complete obscure techniques to access them.

Artistically, the releases can be played with a variety of filters and visual treatments. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection offers very realistic options that simulate the cathode-ray tube displays of coin-op establishments or household displays, or the limited color monitor of a portable gaming device. A notably appreciated element is the setting to activate coin-op-inspired frames encircling the display, with the specific combat game you're playing precisely and gently mirroring against the faux black plastic borders. It's very artistically charming.

Bonus Elements

The collection includes numerous appreciated elements beyond the documentary and emulated arcade classics, containing a soundtrack mode that allows users to rediscover the music from multiple combat titles absent the noise of fighters brutally eliminating opponents. Additionally included are combatant descriptions that include bios and the various bits of lore displayed via the idle displays of gaming hall releases and final sequences.

Lost Media Recovery

Among the most significant features for hardcore Mortal Kombat fans is the opportunity to play a piece of "lost media" in the guise of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Wavenet Edition. This specific release, a somewhat revised iteration of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, was an initial venture by the company at head-to-head network battles in coin-op establishments. This network version of the game is virtually identical to UMK3, but included the option to challenge online opponents and included some minor error corrections and adjustments. But the Wavenet update failed to achieve popularity, in part