A Flawless Victory for Nostalgia?
It is hard to believe, as I sit down to play the subject of today’s review, that I first played some of these games more than 20 years ago.
Yes, Mortal Kombat has been a part of my life for that long, and while I remember playing the original game back in the day in the arcade, it wasn’t until the franchise appeared on the Super Nintendo that my love affair with the game really took off. After that, I’ve owned and played most versions of Mortal Kombat, from the Game Boy drops through to the Sony PlayStation and the Xbox era.
Now, for the first time, many of the oldest and greatest games have been gathered together in one collection, or rather a Kollection, as Atari and Digital Eclipse combine for Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection. Featuring all the arcade games from the early days, and a few of the home versions as well, the very best bit is the inclusion of the history of the games.
Shall we enter the arena and see what is what?
Story, Oddities, and the Konquerable Kollection
Usually I would talk about the story of the game right about here, but surely everyone knows the overarching narrative of Mortal Kombat by now!
We are taking part in Mortal Kombat, a fighting tournament that is held to defend Earth Realm from the forces of Outworld. This was the case with the first Mortal Kombat, and the fourth: it was only later that the bonkers storylines involving time travel came in. So, since the story is so well known, I guess I can use this space to mention the games that are included, can’t I?
That’s exactly what I’ll do, and included in the Legacy Kollection are Mortal Kombat 1-4, in both arcade and selected home versions. Then, alongside the main games are a couple of oddities – Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat: Special Forces, both single player action adventures. The games stop at 2003, and so there are still another 20 years worth of games to be remade further down the line. Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection 2, perchance?
Digitized Gore
Moving onto the presentation and the biggest compliment I can give to Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection is that it all looks exactly like I remember it. It is hard to imagine now, but these games caused such an uproar when first released, the combination of digitised graphics and incredibly (for the time) violent finishing moves, really did almost cause a moral panic. Indeed, so bad was it that I still remember to this day being jealous of SEGA Megadrive owners, as they had the original fatalities from the first game, while the super Nintendo ones were made less gory.
Even the handheld games are displayed in their full glory, from black and white Game Boy graphics to the altogether shinier ones in the Game Boy Advance games included. A nice touch is that the home versions have different backdrops as we play: the Genesis version has an old TV set surround, for example, while the Game Boy version has an accurate representation surrounding the screen, right down to the battery light!
Sound is also bang on, with all the fighting effects being included , every punch and kick sounding as it should. Every “Toasty!”, “Finish Him” and voice over is again, exactly as it was, and that means the overall effect is almost like stepping back in time to the early 90s. All bang on here.
Flawless Gameplay
But it’s the gameplay we really need to talk about, and here the news is almost all positive. Back in the day, I never played the Game Boy version of Mortal Kombat, but I’m glad in a way, as the game is almost painfully slow. It still remains, to this day, a great achievement, fitting the game onto the diminutive console, but there were a lot of compromises made along the way, it appears.
The rest of the games included are all as you remember, and it is fascinating to see the evolution as the games get newer and bigger. Mortal Kombat II is probably still my favourite game of the lot, but playing the others brought back old memories: taking my PlayStation to a pub because my mates all wanted to play Mortal Kombat 3, and the landlady finding a telly for us to play on while drinking beer is a great one.
Rewind, Fatalities, and Documentaries
This is the beauty of Kollections like this, the memories they evoke, and there are a few nods to modern gaming included. These include online multiplayer, and also simplified Fatalities to get your head around. Alongside these features are other options, like difficulty settings (not that they make much difference, even on “Extra Easy” the arcade games are still a stiff challenge) and rewind and save features. No excuses!
The best part of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection is the collection of histories and documentaries. Featuring interviews with the creators of the game, including Tobias and Boon, these offer a great peek behind the scenes into what was going on in the early days. Did you know, for instance, that Ed Boon started out making lighting effects for pinball games? I certainly didn’t! These features, promotional material and videos help us understand where the games come from, and I found them endlessly fascinating.
A Perfect Glimpse into Fighting Game History
If you have the slightest interest in Mortal Kombat, you need to get yourself involved with Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection. Seeing where the series came from, taking in the improvements made as time goes on, and playing the original home versions really give a sense of history. Add in the modern touches, and what you have here is an excellent Kollection of games.
As a peek back into the past, Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection is pretty much perfect.
Important Links
FINISH HIM – The Klassic Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection Releases! – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/mortal-kombat-legacy-kollection/9PKVPJ0NHCTS/0010
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/mortal-kombat-legacy-kollection/9PKVPJ0NHCTS/0010
