My first memories of Mortal Kombat are playing MK1 on the Super Nintendo (SNES) through a tiny TV with my dad in the loungeroom. I must have been about six or seven, and I have no idea why my dad allowed me to play a game that finished each session with someone performing a fatality move. The graphics at the time seemed realistic and the game uber-violent, spraying blood on each punch or kick. Yet I played and won with a smile. As the years went on, I continued to purchase the games through my dad (and even hid behind the couch watching the first movie – when Scorpion ripped his mask off, I dashed to my room). While countless fighting games graced the early systems, the MK IP stood alongside Street Fighter as the very best. I always gravitated towards MK, preferring the more realistic style and characters as opposed to anime presentation. Fast forward to 2025, and we are only two years on from a reboot and one year away from a new film. Why? Because the fans have always been loyal. With the release of the Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection, which brings together titles released between 1992 and 2003, those fans are rewarded with a treasure trove of core titles and alternative versions to reminisce about those digital fights with family and friends. Do the games hold up today? Is there anything else in this package? Are there any updates or changes made through new tech? Read on.
I started from the beginning in my playthrough, quickly navigating to Mortal Kombat (the first) and seeing the small number of playable characters appear. Knowing how large the roster opens up in future titles, seeing a single digit figure of playable characters was strange yet iconic. I selected Raiden, entered a fight with Kano, and quickly checked the options available. Long removed from the game, I pinned the move sets to the side of the screen and changed the screen orientation to suit my monitor. Still, I felt transported back to the early nineties as I lit up that red-eyed freak with thunder. Following a loss to the four-armed Goro, I cycled through a few other characters (and options, including adding the secret character fight) and moved on to Mortal Kombat 2. I continued this process before stopping with Deadly Alliance and Mythologies, which take more of an adventure approach. The games may have some polish added, but they feel very much of an age that connects best with nostalgia. Playing solo, I couldn’t see myself spending too much time with the earliest titles. Trilogy and 4 have more depth, which is mostly tied to how many characters are available and the touches of 3D added. Still, if wanting to horde the games in one place, Legacy achieves its purpose.
Perhaps the biggest draw, unexpectedly, was the number of documentaries added into the package. I enjoyed watching Ed Boon talk about the early days of creation in college and connection with his brother in the process. The love and care within the series is clear, and the evolution has always been impressive in filling out these character stories in multiple worlds. There are also storybook slides and other little offerings to enrich readers in the deep lore. There are still more videos for me to watch and slides to navigate, connecting the dots that can be so often missed in the later titles. In summary, it’s more of a digital museum that preserves a beloved series, like a signed football jersey on the wall. It would greatly benefit from adding more titles, but it is acknowledged that history is the focus here. Tick.
Online play is available, which cannot be said for games in the 90s. Couch or arcade play was the only way to dual others, yet here you can jump online and fight people across the world. The issue with added 2025 online play is that there is some input lag and other technical issues that can bring down the audio/visual quality. While it didn’t bother me too much as someone that doesn’t play many fighting games online, I wouldn’t recommend the online component as the reason for purchase. There are simply so many other fighting games out there with all the bells and whistles, including newer MK games, that can fill this void.
Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection is a must buy for lovers of the series. Nostalgia will punch you square in the gut while sifting through the many titles across a decade – perhaps the most important decade in gaming history, moving from 2D to 3D as games became more than just a passer of time. There are some frustrations with online play and beating the older titles won’t take much longer than a coffee break, but the sheer amount of content packed into the game is a reward for fans. The sights and sounds are wonderful, and I do wonder how someone younger would approach the package. Unlike my dad, I was hesitant to show my six-year-old son the imagery of Scorpion ripping his mask off to breath fire over his arch nemesis. But I am thrilled that when the time is right, there is this package saved on my PlayStation 5 for his entry point into the greatest fighting series of all time.
Pros
- The start of the series and its evolution is all here
- Nostalgia x 1000
- The documentaries add depth
Cons
- More games from the series would elevate longevity
- Online play has some issues
3.5/5
