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Mortal Kombat still possesses its share of secrets and the ability to amaze, more than 30 years after its initial debut in coin-op establishments. A new collection including the franchise's earliest days, comprising four arcade games, several home system versions, and derivative games, is more than simply a faithfully reproduced set of legendary games including less celebrated releases — it's also a rich documentary about the making of the iconic franchise.

Being a long-time enthusiast of the series who has paid close attention its origins and transformation, there was numerous fresh aspects for me to learn and appreciate about the series.

What Defines the Legacy Collection

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection comparable to previous classic compilations from the development team Digital Eclipse, portion educational film, portion interactive museum. This compilation features simulated releases of the first arcade Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat 3, and Mortal Kombat 4, along with home system and portable adaptations of certain releases. The collection even includes the brand's experiments at spin-off titles, like action games Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat: Special Forces — some of the brand's least successful installments.

The Legacy Kollection thus isn't a greatest hits compilation, but an examination of the series' formative period, when the creators at Midway and franchise originators Ed Boon and John Tobias were determining how to create a combat title, digitized from footage of live performers, on the fly. Viewing the historical footage — that features historical videos, recent conversations, and scans of old flyers, illustrated stories, and even interoffice faxes — it's astonishing to observe how Mortal Kombat went from modest origins to a global sensation. It's frankly astounding to see a group of pioneering developers, operating with virtually no plan or guidance, 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 Mortal Kombat and the founders' vocational paths at the now-defunct Midway. It subsequently demonstrates how the very same individuals contended with how to consistently surpass their achievements, encountering significant stress to duplicate their success. It serves as a compelling period piece constructed using analog films and analog photographs and manual drawings, which showcase the DIY nature of Mortal Kombat's development 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 highly engaging set of brief historical films that covers video games, graphic novels, movies and including the humorous real-world tour. The collection additionally features some unused moves and digital fighter representations among its archived development assets.

Playable Component

Distributed throughout the five-part documentary's timeline are opportunities to engage with the original releases. During specific moments, users can directly access a game of Mortal Kombat or a home system version to rediscover its combat system and artistic style, recreated with impressive accuracy on modern hardware.

I allocated the majority of my time experiencing the original arcade titles, particularly Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Many of the games here stand the test of time, particularly during local multiplayer matches. However, facing the artificial intelligence fighters in these releases is a reminder of how crude and unjust the development approached in the series' initial installments. CPU-controlled opponents obviously use unfair advantages or are conversely remarkably unintelligent. Lacking another person to compete with — network gaming is included in the majority of included games, but rather basic in functionality — you'll miss the full enjoyment.

Visual Options

The two dozen available combat games in the compilation, a mix of arcade, console, and handheld games, are precisely simulated, though I have noticed a couple minor issues — mainly control latency and intermittent errors, notably within Mortal Kombat 4. Although the titles are largely presented as-is, the development team has added several intelligent user experience improvements and display customization choices. For instance, you can choose to display fighter-specific techniques during gameplay and select to activate endless periods to execute finishing moves. There are also options for unlocking secret characters, eliminating the need to execute obscure techniques to unlock them.

Artistically, the releases can be played with a variety of graphical effects and display options. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection includes remarkably accurate options that simulate the cathode-ray tube displays of gaming halls or domestic TVs, or the greenscale screen of a Nintendo handheld. A particularly nice touch is the setting to activate arcade-like bezels encircling the display, with your selected Mortal Kombat title precisely and gently mirroring against the simulated dark plastic edges. It's very artistically charming.

Bonus Elements

The collection includes numerous nice touches beyond the educational material and simulated classic games, featuring an audio component that enables players to reexperience the tunes of various fighting releases excluding the sounds of combatants violently defeating each other. There are also character profiles that include bios and numerous narrative components displayed via arcade games' attract mode screens and conclusions.

Historical Preservation

Among the most significant features for dedicated series enthusiasts is the opportunity to play a piece of "lost media" in the format of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Wavenet Edition. This specific release, a somewhat revised iteration of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, was an early attempt by Midway at one-on-one internet-based play in arcades. This network version of the game is almost exactly the same to UMK3, but provided the ability to battle network competitors and included some minor glitch repairs and refinements. Yet this online edition never gained traction, in part