After the release of Street Fighter II the fighting genre became a full on phenomenon. Many developers tried to copy the formula, but very few succeeded. Then came Mortal Kombat. This title popularized gore in the genre, and shortly thereafter this became a major feature in several copycat releases. The one thing that most titles, regardless of their primary inspiration, had in common was that most of them originated in the arcades. This was back when coin op machines were still a viable means for making money. This is where Eternal Champions comes into play. It’s distinct for a few different reasons. The first of these is that it’s one of the first fighting games Sega ever released. What makes it such an oddball case is the fact that, despite having a huge history in arcades, the house of Sonic released this title as a Sega Genesis exclusive. My first exposure to this title was from my friend in junior high named Joe. He was the only person I knew at the time who had a Sega Genesis, and this was the pack-in title included with his console. He talked it up to no end, but when I finally tried it I was shocked. I’m still genuinely surprised that Sega not only released such a bad game, but that they were so confident in it that they bundled it with their console.
Now Eternal Champions does deserve credit for its originality. The game takes somewhat of a comic book approach to the genre which is definitely interesting but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. An omnipotent being known as the Eternal Champion has predicted the fall of mankind in the distant future. Fortunately he has the power to stop this. He can revive one of nine people throughout the past who met an untimely end, and all of them have the power to change the flow of time ensuring man’s survival. To determine which character has the ultimate effect on the spectrum he brings each of them to another world wherein they must all compete in a fighting tournament to determine who will get a second chance. The roster of characters is the first issue I have. It’s hilariously bad for the most part, and not in a good way. You have a ninja, Shadow, a former assassin who specializes in ninjitsu. Then there’s Trident, a resident of Atlantis and beastly gladiator. Xavier is a medieval alchemist who specializes in fighting with his cane. Then there’s a vampire named Midknight who had something to do with the war in Vietnam of all things. Things just get worse from here with cavemen, mobsters, cyborgs and more. It’s like a ten year old designed them.
Eternal Champions is an interesting mix of Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat. Well, it’s not THAT interesting to be honest. The characters are sprite based and very cartoon centric. The game is a two dimensional one-on-one fighting affair wherein you face off against an opponent and beat each other mercilessly until either you or your opponent has been drained of their life bar twice. Should you be the victor you simply move on to the next fighter until you clear the roster, and when you’ve defeated everyone you face off against the Eternal Champion. Each character has their own set of specific punches and kicks (and this title supports the six button Genesis controller thankfully). What makes them different is the special moves. These are performed with various directional inputs paired with either a punch or kick. There’s very little out of the norm here with your typical sweeps and projectiles. One thing I do have to give this game credit for is the fact that the characters are all more kinetic than in your typical fighter. Some can cling to walls, or grapple the ceiling, and while this is kind of interesting it’s not enough to differentiate this from your typical genre offering. This is a blemish on Sega’s otherwise decent portfolio.
The comparisons are mostly made to Mortal Kombat because of the Overkill moves. These are basically your poor man’s fatalities. They can be performed at the very end of a match, and result in a gruesome death for your opponent. They’re purely for show as the story paints a story with specific characters becoming allies, and the finishing moves you’ve performed have no bearing on it. At this point we had already seen out fair share of fatalities via Mortal Kombat, and it was barely even a novelty at this point. To make matters worse these aren’t even character specific. They’re based on the stage you’re fighting in, and considering the fact that Mortal Kombat II did this same thing it’s kinda lame. These are however, very gruesome, but years later they’re only a novelty. It’s obviously a cash in, and it’s also sad that the developers didn’t even bother putting in the effort for character specific finishing moves.
The art style of Eternal Champions is a complete and utter mess. While I can appreciate the comic book approach I just can’t get behind the mess that appears on my screen every time I boot this cartridge up. It’s like Sega went into the future and heard my complaints about dull colors in Genesis titles because they went a little overboard here. Each stage is a little too vibrant for my liking. It looks like someone ate a bowl of fruit loops and then got sick all over the television screen. It just isn’t pretty. The character sprites look pretty decent, but the contrast is too stark between them. It’s very odd to see a mobster face off against a wizard. On a positive note each character does feature several detailed frames of animation. In this sense the game surpasses both Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat, but when you have such bad art it’s hard to even notice. The mix of styles is not pulled off in a cohesive manner and instead makes for a stark contrast.
Eternal Champions is interesting only because it’s a combination of three things; Street Fighter Ii, Mortal Kombat, and a heavy lack of inspiration. I cannot fathom how Sega thought this release was worthy of their name, let alone being a pack in title for their primary console at the time. Eternal Champions is highly forgettable, and the only things you WILL remember about it is how unsettlingly mediocre the whole experience is. This is one of the worst titles Sega has ever stamped their name on.
