Eternal Champions

"A revolutionary game, lost in time."

Eternal Champions has always held a special place in my heart. In terms of gameplay and fighting, this game was one of the most revolutionary games in the Genesis library. Giving you control of time spanning characters, in an epic battle for survival against the supernatuarl forces, you're fighting not only for your existance, but to change your future and the future of the world itself.

-Graphics 9/10-

Surprisingly enough, for an older Genesis game, Eternal Champions had little in terms of image break up or missing frames like many of it's fighting game counterparts. It gives you bright color, exceptionally detailed characters, and large backgrounds that not only fit the time frame, but the character that you're battling with. From special moves, to the ending movies of the game, you'll find that Eternal Champions was in the high point of Genesis history.

Each character is well detailed in the true fashion that a fighting game character in this type of setting should be, dark and shadowy, yet with a very reasonable amount of realism added in to boot. You have Larcen, a 1920's gangster, dressed appropriately in a trench coat and Sam Spade hat, to the hooded cloaked figure of Xavier, a 1600's wizard from the ancient witch town of Salem. Each character is specifically crafted with the moves and attitude of their 'occupation' as listed in the game.

The backgrounds will catch you as well, while playing through the battles. Every battle ground is different in terms of the time period that it's set in, weither realistic or fantasy. You can't beat a game of this time in terms of the detail that was put into it. With each background, comes the Overkill, a crowning achievement and what started, in the minds of some gameplayers, the whole therory and use of Fatalities that permeate the fighting games of today.

-Sound 9/10-

Just right for a game of this type. It meshes the sounds of techno music, and rock music in a near upbeat sound that keeps you rocking and performing combinations against your opponent. With each stage, comes a specific change of mood in the background that you fight in. Larcen's stage is a mix of guitar rifts and haunting undertones, while the caveman uses a steady beat of the drums and techno beat. Top notch stuff.

Sound effects come across perfectly, from the sizzling sound of a saw blade being fired and the mechincal kicks of the cybernetic kickboxer to the thud and crunch of the caveman smashing on someones skull, you'll be hard pressed to find another fighting game on the Genesis system that matches this. Even the overkill sounds are realistic, the screams and the sound of bones being crunched, crushed, mauled or sizzled, you'll probably look at your speakers with an open mouth.

-Control: Standard Controller 8/10 -

The control in Eternal Champions in only hampered by the slow interface of the Genesis controller. Given the three button combination, you have to switch up between punches and kicks using the start button if you want to pull off the combinations. The special moves do flow, but you must remember, that this is not Street Fighter, and two-in-one combo's are near impossible using this controller. All of that aside, the three button controller is a good way to teach you how to adapt and switch up quickly in the middle of a fight.

-Control: Six Button Controller 10/10-

The perfect control for Eternal Champions, any serious, EC player wouldn't be without this. Giving you the 6 button set up, you have all of the moves at your thumbtips, and you need not switch up with the start button constantly to pull off the different punches and kicks. Special moves are given a high rate of completion with the loose control pad. Again, using this type of controller is nearly imparitive once you have all of the special moves and combinations down, and? You'd probably be the man (or woman) if you had a second one for your friend to use.

-Gameplay 9/10-

Fighting, brutal fighting, at it's best. Placing you in the ring with an opponent, it's your mission to completely decimate your opponent with a wide arsenal of moves that you have at your commad, before they put you through the ground. Combinations, once learned, are a breeze to use, and can end a battle rather quickly if used correctly in order. Once a combination is started, and you have one going, it cannot be broken or stopped until it's completion, or until you have let up off the buttons a little bit.

A training mode is available for those that wish to practice and learn the moves of each character. As you complete these training modes, you'll definately have a better understanding of how to use your character effectively, both offensively, and defensively. There are options available to train you in the ways of how to deflect and use the agility of your character to avoid different attacks, by learning this, you'll become a near unstoppable player.

Another addition of this game, is the use of the Chi-system. A floating yin-yang in located in the upper portion of your screen during battle. When a special move is used, then you lose some of this Chi, until there is none left, and special moves are eliminated out of play. Once this happens, you're stuck with just basic physical attacks until your Chi-meter rebuilds itself up again. Remember this, especially if you're fighting a tough opponent and you're using special moves one after another...it's a good way to end up with a serious ass kicking just when you thought it was safe.

Overkills are the creame of Eternal Champions, in which the backgrounds become interactive, and you're shown a truly brutal way to die. In certain parts of the stages, there is a 'trigger' that allows you to activate these Overkills, but in order to find these 'triggers' you have to do something specifically at the end of the match with a particular attack that knocks your opponent in a certain direction. Once this is done, the Overkill will automatically take place, and you'll be treated to a gruesome death sequence. With this in mind, and by coincidence, the rating system was instituted not long after this game's arrival, and most of the games today, Mortal Kombat, War Gods, and various others, used this little addition of Overkills as a staple for the ending moves of a round in their respective games.

Weither this is completely true or not, is entirely up to you to decide.

-Overall 9/10-

Eternal Champions is one of the great fighting games for Genesis that was lost in time after the death of the system itself. Giving you spectacular gameplay, wonderful graphics and sound, and a very friendly control interface, EC is one of those games that you'll play, and kind of think about what if they made one for Dreamcast. Eternal Champions, if you can find this relic gem of a game, is one of the true staples of Sega game history, and shouldn't be passed up.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/28/00, Updated 07/28/00