Release: 1993 Developer: Sega Interactive Publisher: Sega of America

Restoring Balance In The Universe Through Goofy Sprites

I will say that first and foremost I am a fighting game fan. I remember the first time I played Karate Champ on the NES back in 1984 (hmmm…possible retro review material there). And even though it was clunky, glitchy and …well…shitty, I got chills up my spine every time I landed one one my opponents noggin.

It was either that or Diphtheria.

Anyways.

Eternal Champions was one of those games (one of many) that was created for the sole purpose of cashing in on the Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat craze that was currently sweeping the world in the early 90’s. This game has been kinda crapped upon throughout the years - mostly from the Street Fighter camp. And unfairly so I think. This is sometimes why I do these reviews - to give an old game a more fair shake. So as not one but two new Street Fighter games rapidly approach I thought I would give that fair shake to a game that was more then a simple ‘me too’ in a time where great fighters were making their biggest mark in the videogame timeline.

Nine fighters from different time periods and all corners of the world were killed for various shitty reasons. In order to reclaim their souls and earn their revenge on the earthly plane they must fight each other and hope to face the ‘Eternal Champion’ (oh and by doing so they somehow restored balance in the universe, how that works out I have no idea). At the time this was a refreshing break from the quickly forming stagnant pool of tournament-to-save-the-world storylines.

So the characters you got to choose from included Shadow Yamoto (1993), R.A.X. Coswell (2345), Jonathan Blade(2030), Jetta Maxx (1899), Slash (50,000 BC), Trident (110 BC), Xavier Pendragon (1692), Midknight (2100) and Larcen Tyler (1920’s). If the names had gotten any more 90’s they would have been named shit like MC Hammer, Captain Pearl Jam and The Flaming Lip. But I digress.

And although the Genesis/Megadrive wasn’t known for its graphical prowess (especially against the SNES - sorry, it’s true. Check the specs - anyways). Eternal Champions featured large, colorful, detailed sprites (with a pleasant B-list superhero feel to them) with beautiful environments. Which at the time was a nice surprise so well done there.

For the most part the foundation for Eternal Champions is par for the course for the time period (8-way movement, 6-button layout with different speed/power, special moves etc.). One element loved by few, reviled by many was the lack of the ‘rolling motion’ that Street Fighter was known for. It was all charge moves and multiple button holding (much like the Soul Caliber series actually). The series is also known for a few cool gameplay features that were out of left field for the time. Features such as reflective projectiles, force fields and a power meter to counter those cheap fireball matches. Other such features included multiple stage fatalities and great trap-filled training rooms. These things are now common in todays fighting games. And I have to say that if its distribution wasn’t so poor and it was a bit more high profile these features would have most likely been hailed as ‘groundbreaking’ to most of the world.

But shit happens doesn’t it?

The thing that stood out for me the most was the cumulative nature of the charge moves. A player could charge back for four seconds and then move forward for two seconds and still use a move that would have needed a two second back charge. Get what I’m saying? Good. Because that’s where the strategy came from. And it made for some very fast and interesting matches if the two players knew the game well enough.

So there it is folks. I am sorry to say that the game has lost some of its zip over the years - the gameplay seems a bit slower and the controls seem a bit more clunky than before. But after a half-hour or so you’ll get right back into the swing of things. So if you have any interest (which you should if I’ve done my job well) pick up a copy from somewhere, fire up that old Genesis and take Eternal Champions for a spin.

Or you could just download it for the Wii’s Virtual Console which is way easier.

Then: 8.5 out of 10 Now: 7 out of 10

Durka!!!