What Should Be Included in Mortal Kombat Legacy Collection 2 January 11, 2026

Posted by Maniac in Editorials.
Tags: mortal Kombat
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Happy New Year, gamers! Without a doubt, Mortal Kombat Legacy Collection is one of the best game purchases I made last year. Like many of you, I remember the arcade scene of the early 90s, and while I have my fondest memories for games like Area 51 and Crusin’ USA, I believe Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat II were probably two of the best arcade fighting games of the time. I fondly remember the days of fighting my friends and family members head-to-head on either the original arcade cabinet or the home ports for the SEGA Genesis, and lamented for the day that I would get the chance to play the original arcade versions on a computer or console that would be truly accurate to the arcade experience. Then the direct-to-home console games launched, and I was so caught up in PC gaming at the time, I missed out on picking up many of the console games of the Xbox/PS2/GC generation during their original launches. This was a great regret, but one I was able to eventually rectify with one exception. For YEARS I held off on purchasing a self-contained Mortal Kombat Arcade1Up cabinet as I was unsatisfied with just owning the original three Mortal Kombat arcade games (as well as MK3 Ultimate). I felt that if I was going to purchase an arcade perfect replica machine, it needed to include ALL of the Mortal Kombat games that were initially released for arcades, including Mortal Kombat 4. That (still) hasn’t happened, but something else did.

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Collection includes arcade perfect ports of Mortal Kombat 1 through Mortal Kombat 4, (on top of accurate emulations of the home console versions of those games), two spin-off titles that were made for the home consoles, as well as various bonus features and an all-new historical documentary. It is a MUST OWN title for long-time fans of the franchise, as well as anyone who is interested in the games, and want to know where they should start.

Riding on the back of its huge success, we stopped to think about just what the Legacy Collection left out. As we mentioned before, the Legacy Collection did include the entire list of arcade titles, and the two spin-off games that came out for the PlayStation 1. However, there are still twenty years of history in the MK franchise that haven’t seen the light of day in years, and they’d make for a perfect inclusion in a future follow up release (a second Legacy Collection if you will). These are games made for home consoles, specifically those who were stamped onto a DVD media. Many of them included large cinematic videos, and at least one of them supported HD output without requiring backwards compatibility through a next generation console.

So what should be included in a second Mortal Kombat Legacy Collection? Here’s our list!

Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance

The first of the Mortal Kombat games to release exclusively to home consoles, Deadly Alliance tells a story about what happens when two of the most dangerous villains in Mortal Kombat, Shang Tsung and Quan Chi, team up. How high are the stakes? Before the game even started we discover Shao Khan and Liu Kang are dead. The important thing to note about this game is that unlike later ones on this list, Deadly Alliance has been mostly forgotten by most of the major gaming industry. It never got re-released or reprinted, and to my knowledge was never ported to newer platforms. Honestly, to this day I’ve never played it because of that unavailability. Because of that, when you think about Mortal Kombat on console, most people start the conversation with the next game on this list.

Mortal Kombat: Deception

This game was a huge deal for the Mortal Kombat franchise and became the gold standard for MK games for the rest of the generation. Its story mode was more than just a ladder of fights held together by cutscenes, it had a completely 3D overworld you were expected to navigate. Honestly, when most people think of Mortal Kombat games for consoles, they likely start with this one. It received many re-releases and ports to various platforms during the Xbox/PS2/GameCube generation. Personally, I hope that if this game is included, they include the version of the game that was ported specifically for the Sony PlayStation Portable, Mortal Kombat: Unchained, as a separate title.

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

The final MK game for the PS2/GC/Xbox generation literally ended the original Mortal Kombat timeline. You play as a new character destined to usher in the literal apocalypse. Like Deception, it features an interactive 3D overworld filled with secrets tied together by a story focused on how it will all end. This was actually the first MK console title I picked up at its launch, and I remember playing the hell out of it on both the Xbox and PS2. During its initial previews, Midway made no secret that this game was meant to be the end of Mortal Kombat as we knew it, and they were going to go out in a huge way. Every character (with one exception that was later re-added in the Wii version) was included as a playable character in the tournament mode. Personally, I loved this game. The game did receive a special variant when it was released for the Nintendo Wii. If they wanted to be thorough, this Wii version should be included as a separate entry.

Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks

We can’t forget one of the most beloved Mortal Kombat spin offs can we? This two-player couch co-op masterpiece puts you in the place of Liu Kang and Kung Lao (and later Scorpion and Sub Zero), where you have to navigate behind the scenes during the events of the earlier arcade titles. All of the realms you remember are now fully interactive, and tons of secrets are hidden in the most surprising of places!

When Midway re-released a three-pack of Mortal Kombat games for the PS2, they made absolutely sure to include this game over Deadly Alliance. Thats how I was able to get my copy. I am positive it is because the game was so popular amongst players who preferred to play couch cooperative with their friends/family members. A sequel to this game, with the codename Fire and Ice, was teased many years ago, but we believe it was likely cancelled. That would have been a shame, as it was expected to star Scorpion and Sub Zero. Nowadays with seamless online play and matchmaking, I can’t imagine why Netherealm Studios wouldn’t want to make a sequel a reality and they can start by re-releasing the original game!

What Else?

Finally, I wanted to talk about special features. The first Legacy Collection included a look back at some media we previously believed was lost (such as rare behind-the-scenes documentaries) as well as new special features (in the form of an exclusive documentary with all-new interviews). I would like for that tradition to continue with the second Legacy Collection. I think we all would love to see a new documentary focused on the console generation, as well as high quality videos from Mortal Kombat’s history, including this TV commercial:

But what other special features should be included? The original Legacy Collection did reference an exclusive animated film, Battle of The Realms, which was meant to be a prequel to the original Mortal Kombat film, and information about a Mortal Kombat live tour, but only included the commercials in the game’s special feature section. It would be nice to see the complete animated feature included as a bonus as it has been out of print and unavailable to purchase for years. It would also be nice to see some content from Mortal Kombat: The Live Tour, as there are no official productions videos of the show, and it is to this day considered to be lost media. Perhaps we could at the very least get the script for it so people could attempt to bring it back? Battle of the Realms is only around thirty minutes in length. GET OVER HERE!

Mortal Kombat: The Legacy Collection is out now for PC, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Switch and Switch 2.