Eternal Champions

Last updated
Eternal Champions
EternalChampionsBox.jpg
Cover of the Sega Mega Drive version, painted by Julie Bell
Developer(s) Sega of America
Publisher(s) Sega
Director(s) Christopher Warner
Producer(s) Mark Nausha
Designer(s) Michael Latham
Programmer(s) John Kuwaye
Artist(s) Albert Co
Composer(s) Joe Delia
John Hart
Jeff Marsh
Adrian van Velssen
Andy Armer
Platform(s) Sega Genesis
Release
  • NA: December 11, 1993
  • PAL: January 16, 1994
  • JP: February 18, 1994
Genre(s) Fighting game
Mode(s) Single player, multiplayer

Eternal Champions is a 1993 fighting game developed and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis. It was one of the few fighting games of its time developed from the ground up as a home console title, rather than being released in arcades first and later ported to home systems.

Contents

Sega released Eternal Champions in hopes of capitalizing on the fighting game mania that the game industry was in the midst of following the massive success of Street Fighter II (1991) and Mortal Kombat (1992). The game tried to set itself apart with unique features such as a heavier emphasis on its story, characters pulled from different time periods, reflectable projectiles, force fields, fighters that carried weapons, a training mode where players had to defend themselves against robotic traps, a novel method of executing moves, and elaborate stage-specific finishing moves called "Overkills".

Two years later, an enhanced version, Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side , was released for the Sega CD. The game also spawned two spin-off games, Chicago Syndicate and X-Perts . Eternal Champions was added to the Wii's Virtual Console download service on December 3, 2007, and included with the Sega Genesis Mini microconsole released in 2019.

Gameplay

In-game screenshot showing characters Shadow (left) and Trident (right) Eternal Champions gameplay.png
In-game screenshot showing characters Shadow (left) and Trident (right)

The game followed the typical eight-way directional pad/stick with six-button layout common to most fighting games at the time (more commonly in this case, Street Fighter II ). Since the standard Mega Drive/Genesis controller has only three action buttons, players would have to purchase a six-button controller or Sega Activator, or else use the start button to toggle the action buttons between punches and kicks. The joystick or D-pad is used to move away, towards, jump and crouch. There are three punches and three kicks that vary based upon speed and power. The weakest punches and kicks are fast but do minimal damage, medium attacks are a balanced mix of recovery speed and damage, and strong attacks are the most powerful but recover the slowest. Attacks can be blocked by pressing away (for high attacks) or down and away (for low attacks). Grapples are executed by standing close to an opponent and pressing toward or away and using either the medium or the strong punch button. These attacks cannot be blocked or escaped.

Each character has their own unique special attacks that are performed differently from those of other characters. If a character is hit several times in a row they become "dizzy" and their opponent can land a free attack. In Eternal Champions, all special move commands are performed by either pressing multiple buttons together, or holding back or down to charge and then pressing towards or up together with a button. There are no rolling motions in this game, and a given special move may only be performed with a specific button.

As seen in Art of Fighting released the previous year, Eternal Champions has a "special attack meter" that decreases each time a character performs a special move such as a projectile; different special attacks decrease the meter by different amounts and the characters each have a taunt move that decreases their opponent's special attack meter as well. Characters can retreat into a defensive shell to recharge their meter. In tournament mode (the main single player mode), the computer opponent can do special moves even after its meter has reached zero. The game introduces stage-specific finishing moves called Overkills. These are performed by defeating an opponent such that they fall upon a certain area of ground. If they land in the right spot, the life bars disappear and some element of the background kills them.

Plot

An omniscient being known as the Eternal Champion predicts that mankind will soon fade from existence due to the untimely and unjust deaths of key individuals throughout history who were destined for greatness. Seeking to restore balance to the world, the Eternal Champion gathers these souls from time moments before their deaths. The Eternal Champion only has enough power to restore life to one of these individuals, so he organizes and holds a fighting tournament between them, where the victor will be able to regain their life and change their fate while bringing balance to the universe, whilst the losers will be forced to die just as history recorded.

Unlike most fighting games, or video games in general[ citation needed ], there are no characters in this game who are "bad" or "evil". Each character has been chosen because he or she is either inherently good or has the potential to do great good and change the course of history for the better. Despite the ability to kill opponents in this game, it is not relevant to the story. Much like games such as Mortal Kombat (which pioneered finishing moves in fighting games), the game's "Overkills" have no impact on the story and are simply a gameplay element for the enjoyment of the player. It is actually revealed in a few character endings that some of the fighters become allies or friends during the course of the tournament.

Fighters

The game features nine playable characters. Beating arcade mode with any character reveals an epilogue detailing how the winner avoided their original death and then went on to make a positive change in their era.

The Eternal Champion appears as a non-playable boss character. He can only be played as using a Game Genie cheat code. He is also playable in the Tiger Handheld version, Eternal Champions: Special Moves Edition

All of the characters returned in Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Darkside .

Development

Though only credited within the game under "special thanks", veteran comic book artist Ernie Chan created much of the character designs and art for the game. [1]

Release

The cartridge was the second "packaged game" to be included with the Sega Activator, an elaborate infrared ring controller that players stood in and punched and kicked in order to make the characters perform different combat movements. It was one of only a few games that actually recognized the Activator and took advantage of most of the features of the unit. The player using the Activator was given an advantage of receiving 50% less and inflicting 50% more damage than the player using a regular controller. [2]

Promotion and other media

A Slurpee flavor entitled "Sega Eternal Champions Cherry" was once available in 7-Eleven stores throughout the United States. It came in cups with pictures of the characters on them, and the bottom of the cup contained a temporary tattoo. There was also a special cash and rebate promotion in July 1993 that was featured on MTV. [3] Electronic Gaming Monthly sponsored Eternal Champions tournaments in the United States as part of a roaming video game show. [4] The game, however, was not yet completed so the participants were only given the choice of four characters to play as: Shadow, R.A.X, Larcen and Slash.

Two gamebooks, titled Eternal Champions Adventure Gamebook: The Cyber Warriors and Eternal Champions Adventure Gamebook 2: Citadel of Chaos, were released by Puffin Books. In the books, the reader controls the newest Champion and travels through time helping the game characters battle a megalomaniacal artificial intelligence called the Overlord, who is bent on replacing them with duplicates so that they cannot change the course of history for the better. Both books were released as sticker albums by Panini in 1993.

Eternal Champions was adapted by the UK Sega Magazine's Sonic the Comic in a stand-alone magazine Eternal Champions Special, which introduced the main characters and served as an adaptation to the game. The characters also appeared in two stories in the main Sonic the Comic series, first in Eternal Champions (issues 19-24) and then Larson's [sic] Revenge (issues 37–40) which dealt with the professional thief Larcen Tyler returning to 1920s Chicago and working with the female ninja Shadow Yamoto to take down the crime boss who killed him. Eternal Champions was the only non-Sonic-related Sega property to receive a special issue of Sonic the Comic.

Eternal Champions: Special Moves Edition

Eternal Champions: Special Moves Edition is a handheld game by Tiger and is a part of the Sega Tiger Electronic Pocket Arcade game series. The game is essentially a smaller and simpler version of Eternal Champions. It includes all nine characters and the Eternal Champion as a playable character. This version has three different types of gameplay, one-on-one, one against three, and team battle.

Reception

In the United Kingdom, it was the top-selling Mega Drive game in February 1994. [5] It sold over 1.6 million copies. [6]

Upon the game's release, Eternal Champions was given a polarizing mixed reception, [7] [8] and held an average aggregate score of 62.5% at GameRankings at the time of the site's 2019 closure. [9] Mean Machines Sega gave it a score of 97%, calling it "at least as good" as Street Fighter II , [10] and Electronic Games gave it a 91%. [11] The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly were divided, with two of them recommending the game based on the large number of options and the selection of moves, while the other two described it as a major disappointment, citing mediocre graphics and unexciting characters. They gave the game a 6.25 out of 10 average, with individual reviewer scores ranging from 5 to 8. [12]

In 2008, IGN gave the Virtual Console release a score of 6 out of 10, criticizing its difficult to learn play mechanics while praising the game's story, training mode, and "inner strength meter". IGN concluded "it's not likely that many players who've never previously heard of the game will have the patience to spend that much time getting to know it." [13]

In 1995, Mega Zone included the game on their Top 50 Games In History summarizing: "Huge characters and heaps of playability put it up their with MKII and SFII." [14] In 2006, IGN ranked the game's finishing moves ("Overkills") as the best gore effects in video game history. [15] In 2011, Complex included it on the list of ten "most blatant Mortal Kombat ripoffs" but added that it was "one of the more successful faux-MK fighters" and "the only thing that sucked was the difficulty." [16] Complex also featured it on the 2012 list of the 25 Sega franchises they would like to see revisited [17] and ranked it as the 24th best 2D fighting game of all time in 2013. [18]

Legacy

Though Eternal Champions saw strong sales and was at one point a popular enough property to warrant a sequel, a remake, two spin-offs, and various multimedia tie-ins, after the planned third game in the core fighting series was cancelled Sega has not produced any new product for the franchise. The entire series had been absent from the compilations of Sega Genesis games that have been released on various platforms over the years, until the first entry saw a release through Steam on September 13, 2010. Rap group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's 1995 album E. 1999 Eternal was loosely inspired by the video game, not just in title, but even as far as the use of samples, such as the character bios theme for "Eternal", and the bad ending theme being the basis of the original "Crossroad", which would later be remixed, becoming the group's biggest single and earning them a Grammy.

Sequels

Eternal Champions: Challenge From the Dark Side kept the special attack meter but made most special attacks use less of the meter than in the previous game. Therefore, the characters gained a multitude of special attacks that did not deplete the special attack meter. Three new types of finishing moves were added in Challenge from the Dark Side: the second Overkill in each stage called Sudden Death (that could be activated when the victim still had a little life left), Vendetta, and Cinekill. Combo attacks were also introduced, jumping attacks could be linked to ground attacks and most normal attacks could be linked to other normal attacks. In addition, the game was significantly more violent and bloody than its predecessor, especially in the new finishing moves. According to an interview with Michael Latham there were also plans for a Game Gear version of the original game, [19] but this never materialized.

A third game, Eternal Champions: The Final Chapter, was advertised for the Sega Saturn, but the game was cancelled shortly after beginning development in order to push the Virtua Fighter series in the United States. [20] [21] According to an interview with Michael Latham, this decision was made by Sega of Japan: "Sega of Japan felt that Eternal Champions was keeping Virtua Fighter from being more successful in the US and that it would be better if the company focused on only one franchise... and as Sega is a Japanese company, the Japan side won. It was a crushing blow and was the only time in working nearly a decade at Sega I considered quitting. I mainly stayed with the hope to change that decision, but sadly never could. Even when we did the NetFighter project for Heat.net, we weren't able to use the Eternal characters as a hidden bonus. From Japan's view, the game never existed, in spite of its stellar sales and even offers to do comic books and a cartoon around it." [22]

Spin-offs

There are two video games which are spin-offs of the main Eternal Champions series, and are considered as being part of alternate universes to the main story of the core games, starring several popular Eternal Champions characters. The first game is Chicago Syndicate , an action game released for the Sega Game Gear portable platform in 1995. The plot is based in an alternate reality where Larcen Tyler did not die in 1920 as stated in Eternal Champions, and now seeks revenge on the Chicago Mafia. The second game, X-Perts , is a side-scrolling beat'em up released in 1996 for the Genesis. Like Chicago Syndicate, its plot is based in an alternate reality, this time one where Shadow Yamoto did not die in 1993 and instead formed a vigilante group. Additionally, there were also two gamebooks called: The Cyber Warriors & Citadel of Chaos, released in 1994.

Film adaptation

On August 16, 2024, a film adaptation based on the game was announced with Sega partnering with Skydance Media and set to be written by Derek Connolly. [23]

Related Research Articles

The fighting game genre of video games involves combat between multiple characters, often one-on-one battles. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as blocking, grappling, counter-attacking, and chaining attacks together into "combos". Characters generally engage hand-to-hand combat, often with martial arts, but some may include weaponry. Battles are usually set in a fixed-size arena along a two-dimensional plane, where characters navigate the plane horizontally by walking or dashing, and vertically by jumping. Some games allow limited movement in 3D space, such as Tekken and Soulblade while some are set in fully three-dimensional environments without restricting characters' movement, such as Power Stone and Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm; these are sometimes referred to as "3D arena" fighting games.

<i>Virtua Fighter</i> (video game) 1993 video game

Virtua Fighter is a fighting game developed and published by Sega for arcades. It was developed for the Sega Model 1 arcade platform by AM2, a development group within Sega headed by Yu Suzuki. An early prototype version was location tested in Japan by August 1993, before the complete game was released worldwide in December 1993. It was the first arcade fighting game to feature fully 3D polygon graphics. The game was ported to Sega Saturn as a global launch title in 1994 and 1995, and also received a port to the Sega 32X.

<i>Sonic the Fighters</i> 1996 video game

Sonic the Fighters, also known as Sonic Championship, is a 1996 three-dimensional fighting video game from Sega. The game, developed by Sega AM2 and built on their Model 2 arcade system, pits players in one-on-one battles with a roster of characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Sonic the Fighters was made using the fighting engine for Fighting Vipers (1995), and it was the first 3D game in the Sonic series; the idea for a Sonic fighting game was conceived when a Sega AM2 programmer experimented with a 3D Sonic the Hedgehog model in Fighting Vipers, its animation impressing and convincing the Sonic Team to approve the project.

<i>Battle Arena Toshinden</i> 1995 fighting video game

Battle Arena Toshinden, released as Toh Shin Den in Japan, is a 1995 fighting video game developed by Tamsoft and published by Takara for the PlayStation. It was one of the first fighting games, after Virtua Fighter on arcade and console, to boast polygonal characters in a 3D environment, and features a sidestep maneuver which is credited for taking the genre into "true 3D."

<i>Mortal Kombat Trilogy</i> 1996 video game

Mortal Kombat Trilogy is a fighting game released by Midway in 1996 as the second and final update to Mortal Kombat 3 for the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Sega Saturn and PCs. Further versions were also released for the Game.com and R-Zone. It features a similar basic gameplay system and the same story as Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, but adds characters and stages restored from Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat II. New additions to the game included the "Aggressor" bar. The Brutality mechanic was introduced with this installment. The game was met with positive to mixed reviews upon release.

<i>Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3</i> Fighting video game

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 is a fighting game in the Mortal Kombat series, developed and released by Midway to arcades in 1995. It is a standalone update of 1995's earlier Mortal Kombat 3 with an altered gameplay system, additional characters like the returning favorites Reptile, Kitana, Jade and Scorpion who were missing from Mortal Kombat 3, and some new features.

<i>Fighters Megamix</i> 1996 video game

Fighters Megamix is a 1996 fighting game developed by Sega AM2, a crossover between Sega's 3D arcade fighting games Virtua Fighter 2 and Fighting Vipers, with unlockable characters from several other AM2 games such as Virtua Cop 2 and Daytona USA. Developed for Sega Saturn, it had a global release in 1997; unlike most of AM2's games of the era, Fighters Megamix did not have an arcade release.

<i>Virtua Fighter 2</i> 1994 arcade video game

Virtua Fighter 2 is a 1994 fighting game developed and published by Sega for arcades. It is the second game in the Virtua Fighter series and the sequel to Virtua Fighter (1993). Created by Sega's Yu Suzuki-headed AM2 team, it was designed on the purpose-made Sega Model 2 hardware which provided a significant upgrade in graphical capabilities. Following its release on the arcades, Virtua Fighter 2 was ported to the Sega Saturn home console in November 1995, while ports for some other platforms appeared later.

<i>Fighting Vipers</i> 1995 video game

Fighting Vipers is a 1995 fighting video game developed by Sega AM2. A 3D fighter, it uses the same game engine as AM2's Virtua Fighter 2 (1994) but features enclosed arenas and an armor mechanic, and was targeted more towards Western audiences, using a U.S. setting and more freeform styles of martial arts.

<i>Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side</i> 1995 video game

Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side is a fighting video game for the Sega CD. It was published in June 1995 in North America and during the same year in Europe, within the waning days of the platform lifespan.

<i>Fatal Fury 2</i> 1992 video game

Fatal Fury 2, known as Garō Densetsu 2: Aratanaru Tatakai in Japan, is a 1992 fighting video game developed by SNK as the sequel to Fatal Fury: King of Fighters (1991), and the second game in the Fatal Fury franchise. Originally released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms, it was later ported to several other home systems, including Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis by Takara. Its updated version, Fatal Fury Special, was released in 1993.

<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters</i> 1993 video game

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters, or Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles: Tournament Fighters in Europe, is the title of three different fighting games based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, produced by Konami for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, and Super NES and released during a period between 1993 and 1994. Konami produced a different fighting game based on the franchise each featuring a differing cast of characters for the platforms. All three versions of the game were re-released as part of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection in 2022. with online play using rollback netcode for the SNES version of the game.

<i>Virtua Fighter 3</i> 1996 video game

Virtua Fighter 3 is a 1996 fighting game developed and published by Sega, the sequel to 1994's Virtua Fighter 2 as part of the Virtua Fighter series. Released originally in arcades, Virtua Fighter 3 was the first arcade game to run on the Sega Model 3 system board. The use of this new hardware gave the game revolutionary graphics for its time. Two new characters were added to the roster: Aoi and Taka-Arashi, both of whom are oriented around traditional Japanese martial arts.

<i>Dead or Alive</i> (video game) 1996 video game

Dead or Alive is a 1996 fighting game developed and published by Tecmo for arcades. It is the first entry in the Dead or Alive series. Built on the Sega Model 2 hardware, it was released first in arcades in 1996, followed by home ports for the Sega Saturn in Japan during 1997, and for the PlayStation in all regions during 1998.

<i>Virtua Fighter</i> Video game series

Virtua Fighter is a series of fighting games created by Sega AM2 and designer Yu Suzuki. The original Virtua Fighter was released in December 1993 and has received four main sequels and several spin-offs. The highly influential first Virtua Fighter game is widely recognized as the first 3D fighting game released. The latest mainline release was Virtua Fighter 5 in 2006; this version has since been continuously updated.

<i>Karnovs Revenge</i> 1994 video game

Karnov's Revenge is a 1994 fighting game developed by Data East, released for the Neo Geo. It is the second game in the Fighter's History series. The game was later ported to the Neo Geo, Neo Geo CD and Sega Saturn home consoles.

<i>Aggressors of Dark Kombat</i> 1994 video game

Aggressors of Dark Kombat, known in Japan as Thrilling Intense March or GanGan, is a 1994 fighting arcade game developed by ADK and published by SNK. It was originally released on SNK's Neo Geo MVS arcade platform, then on Neo Geo AES and Neo Geo CD home consoles, and in later decades appeared on retro compilations and digital storefronts. The English game title uses the same initials as the developer. The game's defining feature was that, while it uses a generally 2D format, characters can move towards or away from the screen. While some reviews praised this mechanic, critics generally remarked that it offers no meaningful innovation and that the game is generic and lacking in depth. Though a modest success, Aggressors of Dark Kombat failed to match the popularity of the leading SNK fighters.

<i>Tekken</i> (video game) 1994 fighting video game

Tekken (鉄拳) is a 1994 fighting game developed and published by Namco. It was originally released on arcades, then ported to the PlayStation home console in 1995. One of the earliest 3D polygon-based games of the genre, Tekken was Namco's answer to Virtua Fighter and was designed by Seiichi Ishii, who himself was also Virtua Fighter's designer when he worked at Sega previously. The game was developed on the purpose-built low-cost System 11 board, based on PlayStation hardware.

<i>Cosmic Carnage</i> 1994 video game

Cosmic Carnage is a 1994 fighting video game developed by Almanic Corporation, in conjunction with ALU, and published by Sega exclusively for the 32X add-on. Set in an uncharted star system, the game follows eight fighters from two factions in a struggle for survival. Its gameplay consists of one-on-one fights, with a main six-button configuration, featuring special moves and finisher techniques, as well as two playable modes. The title garnered mostly negative reception from critics since its release.

<i>Mortal Kombat</i> (1992 video game) 1992 fighting game

Mortal Kombat is a 1992 fighting game developed and published by Midway. It is the first entry in the Mortal Kombat series and was subsequently released by Acclaim Entertainment for nearly every home platform at that time. The game focuses on several characters of various intentions who enter a martial arts tournament with worldly consequences. It introduced many key aspects of the Mortal Kombat series, including the unique five-button control scheme and gory finishing moves called Fatalities.

References

  1. ↑ "How to Get a Job in the Game Industry". Next Generation . No. 16. Imagine Media. April 1996. p. 42.
  2. ↑ Sega Visions, February–March 1994.
  3. ↑ Sega Visions, June–July 1994.
  4. ↑ "Sega Visions Issue 15". October 1993. Retrieved 2014-05-21.
  5. ↑ "Charts" (PDF). Computer & Video Games . No. 149 (April 1994). Future plc. 15 March 1994. p. 12.
  6. ↑ Horowitz, Ken (2016). "Omega Group". Playing at the Next Level: A History of American Sega Games. McFarland & Company. p. 279. ISBN   9780786499946.
  7. ↑ "Eternal Champions: What Did Critics Say Back in 1994? - Defunct Games". Defunctgames.com. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  8. ↑ "Eternal Champions CD: What Did Critics Say Back in 1995? - Defunct Games". Defunctgames.com. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  9. ↑ "Eternal Champions". Gamerankings.com. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  10. ↑ "Mean Machines Sega Magazine Issue 16". February 1994. Retrieved 2014-05-21.
  11. ↑ "Electronic Games 1994 01". January 1994. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  12. ↑ "Eternal Champions Review". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 54. EGM Media, LLC. January 1994. p. 44.
  13. ↑ (January 3, 2008). Virtual Console version review, IGN.
  14. ↑ "Top 50 Games In History". MegaZone (50): 4. April 1995.
  15. ↑ "Top 10 Tuesday: Best Gore Effects". IGN. April 4, 2006. Archived from the original on 2010-08-09. Retrieved 2011-01-18.
  16. ↑ "The Klone Wars: The 10 Most Blatant "Mortal Kombat" Rip-Offs Ever". Complex. 2011-04-18. Archived from the original on 2012-08-29. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
  17. ↑ "25 Sega Franchises We Want To See Revisited". Complex. Archived from the original on 2012-04-15. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
  18. ↑ "The 25 Best 2D Fighting Games of All Time". Complex. 2013-08-15. Archived from the original on 2013-12-16. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
  19. ↑ Eternal Champions Special, Spring 1994.
  20. ↑ "Gaming Gossip". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 82. Ziff Davis. May 1996. p. 38. ... one title that won't see the light of day on the Saturn is Eternal Champions. You may have noticed it on the back of the Saturn box, but the Q hears that Sega simply wanted to focus on the Virtua Fighter series...
  21. ↑ Dan Elektro (May 1998). "Vapor Trails". GamePro . No. 116. IDG. p. 43. A Sega spokesperson replies, 'We channeled all our resources for fighting games into the Virtua Fighter series, which was more recognizable given its success in the arcades.'
  22. ↑ "Sega-16 Interview: Michael Latham". Sega-16.com. February 8, 2005. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
  23. ↑ Kit, Borys (August 16, 2024). "Skydance, 'Jurassic World' Scribe Derek Connolly Tackling Sega's 'Eternal Champions' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved August 17, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.