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Mortal Kombat has been around for so long, it's easy to take it for granted. NetherRealm's newer fighting games have hit so consistently, setting the standard for what fighting games could be in terms of competitive contests and single-player stories. Older generations may have forgotten the series' humble beginnings, while younger players may not even be aware of them at all. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection, from Atari and Digital Eclipse, tells the story of the franchise's earliest days and does so in a way that's informative, honest, and fun. The games may not be what they once were, but they're still a blast to revisit, some of them made better by a few slight quality-of-life tweaks. Primitive Kombat Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection features a mixture of classic games from the arcade, home console, and handheld devices. While Digital Eclipse is familiar with the idea of taking games from a past generation and presenting them for a new audience, there was a unique challenge in place with the Mortal Kombat series. There are some games that are presented as a "warts and all" package, which is fascinating from a historical perspective. This is especially true of the earlier games, which had multiple versions across arcade and consoles. The original Mortal Kombat had voices on the Super Nintendo, while the Sega Genesis version featured blood, which was hidden behind a code. Mortal Kombat II's visual presentation was noticeably different across arcade, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, and Sega 32X. The differences extended to gameplay, as well. The gameplay difference that stood out from the older fighting games was loading speed. The Super Nintendo version of Mortal Kombat II, specifically, would have a noticeable stutter whenever each round started. They all had the common factor of feeling distinctly slower, especially compared to their arcade counterparts. In many ways, that's part of their charm. In the 90s, that was the bar and, in many ways, the hard-hitting violence and over-the-top finishers exceeded that standard. There were other instances where Digital Eclipse stepped in and made improvements. This is most true of the PlayStation versions of Mortal Kombat Trilogy and Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, where loading times were optimized and gameplay flowed much better as a result. There's even a Rewind feature for titles like the latter, which go a long way towards addressing inherent flaws without compromising the original game. While it's great to have a version of the PlayStation version of MK Trilogy that feels more playable, it did leave me feeling conflicted over a sense of inconsistency with performance improvements. Part of me would have loved to see similar optimizations go into the older titles, but there's a certain charm in seeing the old games just as they were. Where the games in this collection benefit the most is with quality-of-life options. There are options for on-screen move lists, Fatality timers, and various cheats. Some of the game-to-game features even veer into historical curiosities, like opening up the dev options on the arcade versions. Of course, one can't talk about Mortal Kombat gaming history without talking about the various secret characters from the earliest games. There are options that allow players to access the Reptile fight from Mortal Kombat and the Smoke/Jade/Noob Saibot fights from Mortal Kombat II without having to fulfill the original myriad of conditions, which feels like a fun bonus for anybody who grew up with these games. There are even unlockables that I didn't know existed, like the ability to play as Goro in the Game Boy version of Mortal Kombat. For as much as I love the mixture of arcade, console, and handheld titles in Digital Eclipse's collection, there are a few other games from this era that I would have loved to see. The arcade version of Mortal Kombat 4 is a strong inclusion to spotlight the end of the series' original 2D era, but I would have also loved to see Digital Eclipse take a stab at the Sega Dreamcast port. Similarly, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 is represented by the arcade and Super Nintendo versions, but it would have been interesting to see the Sega Saturn version represented for the sake of comparison. As amazing as it is to see what Digital Eclipse has done with the PlayStation version of Mortal Kombat Trilogy, I would have liked to see the Nintendo 64 version for that CD/cartridge juxtaposition. Still, for what's here, it's a strong collection of amazing fighting games, flawed platformers, and handheld curiosities that are all worth checking out at least once to grasp their historical significance. Yes, even Mortal Kombat: Special Forces. The first blow The other big feature of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection is a documentary told via a timeline interface. A majority of it features five-to-ten minute vignettes telling the story of the original Mortal Kombat development team. It's one thing to recognize what an all-time top level franchise Mortal Kombat is, but it's another to see the origins of Ed Boon, John Tobias, John Vogel, and Dan Forden and their humble beginnings at Williams Bally/Midway. There's an early introduction video where the four of them introduce themselves in a manner similar to The Beatles and it's the type of story that's become increasingly rare in today's video game landscape. Digital Eclipse assembles a full-blown 1990s time capsule with initial pitches, original press releases, TV commercials, magazine clippings, and random behind-the-scenes videos from various events. It doesn't just tell the story of the Mortal Kombat games, but they also convey what a pop culture phenomenon it was. While today's games are selling more units and making more money, a point that Boon notes by the documentary's end, Digital Eclipse's timeline expresses the degree to which Mortal Kombat had taken over the world in its early years. While it's easy to put together a "rah-rah" tale of a flawless victory, this Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection documentary has a refreshingly honest tone as it reaches its conclusion. It's easy to celebrate the early wins and act like the party will never end, but the tail end deals with the franchise's biggest turning point with a delightful sincerity. While Mortal Kombat 4 is looked back upon as a fun novelty in 2025, the old development team talks about the risks of going 3D, the rapidly sunsetting arcade culture, and how it turned out to be a jumping off point for audiences. There was real turmoil during that time and this documentary doesn't shy away from that, talking equally about the merits and flaws of the late 90s, post-MK3 games. The timeline does somewhat sputter to the finish line, only offering menial summaries of the 2000s and 2010s MK games without any additional context or behind-the-scenes content. One would argue that this collection isn't about those games, but it does raise the question of why they were even included when the start of the 3D era would have felt like a more natural conclusion. With that said, the final vignette that revisits nearly everyone featured was heartwarming and worth a watch. As fighting games, it's obvious that nothing in Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection can compare to what NetherRealm is putting out today. In fact, the earliest MK games can feel downright jarring with their slower speed and primitive presentation. Fundamentally, the games hold up, especially when playing locally with friends, and show the building blocks of what would become today's Mortal Kombat. The quality-of-life and optimization improvements for certain games were welcome, especially the ones for Mortal Kombat Trilogy, making it flow much smoother than it did on its original PlayStation hardware. There are even tools to practice and get better with training features for several of the included games. With classic games and a heartfelt documentary, Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection continues to show that there's nobody better at this type of compilation than Digital Eclipse. Whether you're an old-school fighter or want to teach your kids what MK looked like in the old days, this is the best way to do it. This review is based on a PlayStation 5 digital code provided by the publisher. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection will be available on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch 1 & 2 today for $49.99 USD. The game is rated M. For further disclosure, Shacknews' David Craddock was interviewed for this documentary.
