Something I’d wanted for a good, long while recently came to pass. That is, Digital Eclipse releasing one of their much-vaunted chronological document-gamery thingummys, covering the imperial phase of the Mortal Kombat series. To use fewer made-up words, that’s an Atari 50-esque playable history of this bone-crunching, spine-ripping series, incorporating the first four arcade games, many home ports and a few extra-nice surprises.
Now, this has been out for a little while and there have been many message board posts dedicated to issues with its netcode and input lag, particularly on the PlayStation versions. I’m going to have to be honest, here – I don’t care. That’s not to say there aren’t issues – more that they’re in such a different zone from what I expected and hoped for. I understand much of the issues concerned are being or have been patched, but nonetheless I tend to see these kinds of release as a historical toybox first and a means of playing the included games second. Please forgive my forthcoming enthusiasm if it does not match yours – if the emulation did not meet your standards. I recognise your concern, I respect its validity, and I continue to not care. Go in peace.
This is probably Digital Eclipse’s finest documentary, capturing superbly the waves of hype that met the early years of Mortal Kombat. The controversy and hysteria that ensued. The revolutionary techniques and remarkable circumstances that led to its creation, growth and, by extension, relative downfall. About two and a half hours of video showcase many talking heads and much never-before-seen footage of the series’ development, not to mention the usual commercials, flyers and other high-resolution artwork. You even get a little gallery for each character’s biography and ending per game, which is a charming bonus.
Now, as we all know – all of us without exception – Mortal Kombat’s AI is essentially impossible to beat without extensive cheese tactics. This remains true here in the arcade versions as presented, but the addition of the now-customary rewind features gives the average player something of a fighting chance. Pleasingly, it’s now also possible to view move lists on screen and activate such boons (pun intended) as Infinite Fatality Time or even One-Button Fatalities, as seen in all your favourite Mortal Kombat cheat modes. Naturally, this is not the way these titles were intended to be experienced, but hey – it’s been long enough now that I took a lot of pleasure in being a content tourist, finally able to experience the long-elusive Animalities thanks to the Fatality Training mode which presents any match-up you desire with all the conditions required to trigger Babalities, Stage Fatalities, Friendships et cetera already fulfilled, letting you kill to your heart’s content. It’s also possible to activate the various flags that will trigger hidden battles with the likes of Smoke, Jade or Noob Saibot – arcade lore at your fingertips.
Beyond the arcade titles – including a first-ever presentation of Mortal Kombat 4’s original version – you’ve got the aforementioned console ports, including the heavily-neutered (but great looking and sounded) SNES original, alongside obscurities such as Game Boy, Game Gear and Sega 32X editions of the various titles. You also get the PlayStation titles Mortal Kombat Trilogy, the infamous Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat Special Forces. Yes, these are not necessarily great games, but with the enhancements present it’s very cool to have such unfettered access to them. Sub-Zero in particular is a fascinating play, though I wouldn’t recommend trying to beat it without making use of the included cheats or the rewind function. You also get Mortal Kombat Advance, which is one of the worst games I’ve ever played, and – somewhat curiously – the GBA’s Deadly Alliance and Tournament Edition carts, which don’t really have anything to do with the era this compilation covers but are an interesting curio.
Overall – taking into account once again the issues raised by the gaming community – I was and am very satisfied with this extensive and well-considered release. There’s plenty of game here and while it would be easy to ask for more, we’re not quite yet into the zone where PlayStation 2 games are getting included in this sort of thing. Believe me, I’d be all over a Deadly Alliance – Deception- Armageddon – Shaolin Monks re-release, but it does not seem to be on the cards just yet. And, in all fairness, they are not nearly as historically important as the series’ origins.
So what we have here is the best presentation of those origins that Mortal Kombat has ever experienced. I am grateful for it. I cannot think of a pithy, amusing way to end this review, so I will just say that I think Quan Chi is really, really cool. I think Quan Chi is really, really cool. Thank you for reading.