Eternal Champions

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Eternal Champions
System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Virtual Console
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega Interactive
Sound driver: GEMS
Genre: Action
Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code
ESRB VRC PEGI CERO Missing Parameter!

Eternal Champions (エターナルチャンピオンズ) is a Sega Mega Drive fighting game developed by Sega Interactive. Built to make money off the popular Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat franchises, the player has a choice of a variety of different fighters from different time zones and there is a high level of violence.

The original game has since been re-released on the Wii's Virtual Console service. It also saw a comic strip in the early days of Fleetway's Sonic the Comic.

Eternal Champions was followed by the Sega Mega CD title Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side.

Storyline

Taken from ingame text: "Welcome to my chamber. I am the Eternal Champion, keeper of this vast fighting complex. It exists in a place and time corrupted by centuries of misuse and destruction.

My purpose in this grand scheme is to maintain the balance between good and evil, light and darkness, hope and despair.

Now this balance has been lost and the very fabric that holds the world together will be torn apart.

Your future, my present, has been destroyed by a cruel and unjust twist of fate.

Nine individuals from various periods in time were killed before their lives could affect this dark existence.

I have observed each of their short lives and have been powerless to stop the chaos.

I have spent the centuries harnessing my own power for this very moment. I am the pure and untouched energy of all the great martial arts masters that have lived before me. Their skill, wisdom, knowledge, and inner-strength are at my command.

Even with the force of their collective powers, I can only reward one of the nine individuals with the gift of life. Any of them can have an equally profound effect on the future. For this reason, the contest must take place.At the end of this contest, only one will remain. The victor will be returned to life a few seconds before his death, allowing him to avoid the past with the knowledge to change the future.

Only one may live so that the balance may be achieved.

Let the contest begin..."

Gameplay

The player fights their way through fights in the contest hoping to face the Eternal Champion and return to their life. If the player loses a round in contest mode, they not only have to fight the person they fought prior to the person they lost to, but also the person before that fighter. There is also a training room to build up a player's skills with various challenges to try, a two player mode, and a tournament mode for up to 32 people to fight in one-on-one contests with a choice between 3 different modes of tournament play. Characters can perform special moves by inputting combinations. Each special move costs an amount of inner strength, which is the little Yin/Yang symbol that appears next to the health bar at the top of the screen during a fight. In stages, if an opponent lands on the correct spot, they will be killed by something from the background in a finishing move known as an Overkill.

Basic Controls

Although the game can be played with a 3-Button Sega Genesis/Mega Drive gamepad, it will leave the player at a major disadvantage. A Six Button Genesis/Mega Drive gamepad is required to fully enjoy the game and use all of the controls at once. The following are the default controls for a six button controller:

Kicks

• Snap (Weak Kick)
• Thrust (Medium Kick)
• Wheel (Strong Kick)

Punches

• Straight (Weak Punch)
• Lunge (Medium Punch)
• Swing (Strong Punch)

Other controls

•  START  Pause game
• Jump
• Crouch
• Move forward or backward depending upon the direction the characters are facing
• Move forward or backward depending upon the direction the characters are facing
• or in the opposite direction of the one the character is currently facing while opponent is attacking to do a Block

Taunt

Each Character has a taunt. Taunts decrease some of the user's Inner Strength to decrease the opponent's Inner Strength by an even larger amount. Activated with +

3 Button Controller Usage

Much like Genesis ports of the Street Fighter games, the player can press the start button to switch between punches and kicks. However, due to this, the pause game feature is activated by pressing ++. (which may interfere with moves that require all three buttons pressed at once.) Aside from the previously mentioned, the controls are about the same.

Activator

The game was also sold with the activator and therefore is compatible with it. The game's manual has a list of moves for the activator.

Trivia

• The game uses some sound effects from Street Fighter II for the hit, block, and missed punch/kick attacks.
• According to the series' Executive Producer and Designer, Michael Latham, the character Dawson from Eternal Champions: Challenge From the Dark Side, was originally planned to appear in this game. Chin Wo and Blast, secret characters from Challenge From the Dark Side, were also planned for the original game as well. These characters were scrapped due to ROM limitations.
• There was also a male clown character concept who eventually became Jetta Maxx. According to Latham, this clown's special move ideas were used for the Senator secret character in Eternal Champions: Challenge From the Dark Side
• The CPU is able to attack the player even if it's Inner Strength is empty. This was fixed in the sequel.

Credits

Developed By: Sega Interactive Development Division
Lead Artist & Animator: Albert Co
Lead Programmer: John Kuwaye
Programmers: Steven Lashower, Jack Loh, Michael Terlecki, Pravin Wagh, Christopher Warner, Ala D. Diaz
Artists: David C. Russ, William Kier, Maureen Kringen, Art Wong, Kevin Lee, Rachel Wong Coleman, Steve Knotts, Larry Flores
Designer: Michael Latham
Executive Producer: Michael Latham
Producer: Mark Nausha
Technical Director: Christopher Warner
Music Composers: DMP Entertainment, Joe Delia, John Hart, Jeff Marsh

Physical Scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) 62 Game Players (US) 97 Mega Fun (DE) 82 Player One (FR) 78

	80
Based on 4 reviews

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 60 Alaab Alcomputtar (SA) 90 Aktueller Software Markt (DE) PAL 83 Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J 65 Console Mania (IT) 92 Computer & Video Games (UK) 92 Electronic Games (1992-1995) (US) NTSC-U 91 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 63 Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 65 Freak (IL) 90 GameFan (US) NTSC-U 75 Game Power (IT) PAL 84 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 90 GamesMaster (UK) 81 Hippon Super (JP) NTSC-J 50 Hyper (AU) 85 Joker (SI) 93 Mega (UK) PAL 71 Mega Action (UK) PAL 84 Megablast (DE) PAL 73 Mega Force (FR) 95 Mega Power (UK) PAL 85 MegaTech (UK) PAL 82 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 97 Megazone (AU) 92 Player One (FR) 78 Power Unlimited (NL) 90 Sega Magazine (UK) PAL 95 Sega Magazine (UK) PAL 95 Sega Power (UK) PAL 72 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 94 Sega Zone (UK) PAL 93 Sega Force (SE) 90 Svet Kompjutera (YU) 88 Sonic Mag: B.D. & Jeux-Video! (FR) PAL 85 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 66 Sonic the Comic (UK) PAL 85 Supergames (AR) 80 Todo Sega (ES) 95 Tricks 16 bit (RU) 84 Video Games (DE) PAL 81 VideoGames (US) NTSC-U 50

	82
Based on 42 reviews

Eternal Champions

Mega Drive, US
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Mega Drive, EU
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Mega Drive, EU (Blue)
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Mega Drive, JP
Cover

Mega Drive, AU (Sega Platinum Collection)
Cover

Mega Drive, Asia
Cover

Mega Drive, ES (Classic Mega Drive)
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Mega Drive, BR
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Mega Drive, KR
Cover

External Links

• Official website for VC version on Sega.jp (Japanese)
• Move list FAQ

1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 72

Alaab Alcomputtar, "" (SA; 1995-08-xx), page 72

Aktueller Software Markt, "August 1994" (DE; 1994-07-04), page 38

Beep! MegaDrive, "March 1994" (JP; 1994-02-08), page 19

Console Mania, "Gennaio 1994" (IT; 199x-xx-xx), page 84

Computer & Video Games, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-15), page 64

Electronic Games (1992-1995), "January 1994" (US; 1993-12-21), page 68

Electronic Gaming Monthly, "January 1994" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 44

Famitsu, "1994-02-25" (JP; 1994-02-10), page 1

Freak, "2/94" (IL; 1994-xx-xx), page 44

GameFan, "Volume 2, Issue 1: December 1993" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 27

Game Power, "Gennaio 1994" (IT; 199x-xx-xx), page 34

GamePro, "January 1994" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 44

GamesMaster (UK) "Series 3, episode 19" (1994-01-11, 24:00) (+6:10)

Hippon Super, "March 1994" (JP; 1994-02-03), page 61

Hyper, "March 1994" (AU; 1994-xx-xx), page 32

Joker, "Junij 1994" (SI; 1994-xx-xx), page 23

Mega, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-20), page 22

Mega Action, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-28), page 16

Megablast, "2/94" (DE; 1994-03-30), page 35

Mega Force, "Janvier 1994" (FR; 1994-01-08), page 84

Mega Power, "March 1994" (UK; 1994-02-17), page 24

MegaTech, "January 1994" (UK; 1993-12-21), page 42

Mean Machines Sega, "February 1994" (UK; 1993-12-28), page 61

Megazone, "March 1994" (AU; 1994-02-23), page 44

Player One, "Janvier 1994" (FR; 199x-xx-xx), page 80

Power Unlimited, "Jaargang 2, Nummer 3, Maart 1994" (NL; 1994-02-23), page 34

Sega Magazine, "January 1994" (UK; 1993-12-10), page 94

Sega Magazine, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-10), page 108

Sega Power, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-06), page 60

Sega Pro, "March 1994" (UK; 1994-01-27), page 36

Sega Zone, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-27), page 46

Sega Force, "6/94" (SE; 1994-09-14), page 20

Svet Kompjutera, "Maj 1996" (YU; 1996-xx-xx), page 85

Sonic Mag: B.D. & Jeux-Video!, "Mai 1994" (FR; 1994-04-15), page 34

Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 87

Sonic the Comic, "January 21st 1994" (UK; 1994-01-08), page 10

Supergames, "Ano I, Numero I" (AR; 1994-xx-xx), page 14

Todo Sega, "Enero 1994" (ES; 199x-xx-xx), page 42

Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 65

Video Games, "2/94" (DE; 1994-01-26), page 46

VideoGames, "February 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 68