Eternal Champions - Sega CD

by Sega

Product Features

• 2D Fighting Game
• Released 1994

Product Details

• ASIN: B000B3DHJ2
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,313 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

he Eternal Champion is striving to restore the balance between good and evil in our universe. In order to do so, he must choose only one deceased warrior of great skill and talent whom he will revive and bestow with great powers to regain that balance. Should the warrior prove successful, then a second chance at life will be given. "Only one may live so that balance may again be achieved. Let the contest begin!" There is just one problem, though The Dark Champion knows of the Eternal Champion's plan and has perverted the contest's honor, hiding away four of the fighters necessary to finish the tournament that will decide which warrior is worthy to be revived. It is up to you to complete the Eternal Champion's goal and defeat the Dark Champion's desire once and for all.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great fighting game that never had a fighting chance., December 17, 2008

By 

The Matrix Fan "Video Gamer since 1979." - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Eternal Champions - Sega CD (Video Game)

+ Pros:

+ Detailed Storyline
+ Unlockable Fighters
+ Several gameplay options
+ Good Music
+ 4 different types of finishing moves

- Cons

- Dark graphics during cutscenes
- Stringent requirements for finishing moves
- Very difficult to play on a standard 3-button controller
- No continues at the final bosses


Back in 1995, there were all kinds of fighting games trying to leech off the success of Mortal Kombat. As the Sega CD era was coming to a close, this game was released.

It was a mixture of a sequel and a Sega CD redesign to the cartridge game Eternal Champions, released 2 years earlier.

The premise was simple: Various fighters in Earth's history were killed before their time. Each fighter could earn a chance to go back in time and change their fate after defeating all their opponents, the Eternal Champion, and the Dark Champion.

Initially there were 13 warriors to choose from, but 9 additional characters (both human and animal) could be unlocked.

The instruction manual for this game was very descriptive. The first 8 pages drew quotes from the Tao Te Ching, Robert Frost, and Bertrand Russell. How many fighting games could boast that, even today?

The following modes of play were available at the start:

Contest Mode: This was the story mode of the game.
Duel Mode: This was designed for 2 players to go head to head with the following choices:
(1) Battle Time
(2) Match Condition
(3) Speed Setting (Slow, Normal, or Overdrive)
(4) Inner Strength on or off
(5) Player Skill Level
(6) CPU skill level

Tournament Mode, with several options:

(1) Single Player
(2) Multi-Player (2 to 16 players against each other and the computer)
(3) Team Player (2 to 16 players can form teams and challenge each other)

Next, the tournament type was chosen from the following list:

(1) Single Elimination
(2) Double Elimination
(3) Round-a-bout
(4) Round Robin
(5) Dominator
(6) Survivor
(7) Expert Survivor
(8) Point Match
(9) Expert Point Match
(10) Sell Your Soul
(11) Possession
(12) Russian Roulette
(13) Sudden Death
(14) Death Match
(15) Count-Down

Throughout the game, there were various ways to finish off opponents, earning an M rating from the ESRB:

(1) Vendettas: Personal kills unique to each character, used against their opponents.
(2) Overkills: If an enemy falls within a certain area of the ground, the life bars vanish and a background element kills them.
(3) Sudden Deaths: This is a type of Overkill that can be activated even if your opponent has some life remaining.
(4) Cinekills: The rarest type of kills - the opponent is taken to the chamber of the Dark Champion for a gruesome death at his hands.

But how was the gameplay itself?

Well, it was actually quite good. With the level of detail given to each character, there was a strong desire to replay the game and see the endings for each one. The kill sequences, while cartoony and overly violent, had some humor attached to them.

However, the game did have flaws:

(1) The finishing moves were very difficult to pull off - they depended on the amount of life remaining, whether the character was stunned or not, the odd combination of button presses, and to trigger an overkill the character had to be in an area that was just a few pixels wide.

(2) At the time, standard Sega controllers only had 3 buttons. With a 3-button controller, the start button did NOT pause the game; it switched between punching and kicking. With a 6-button controller, all punches and kicks were available and the start button paused the game - so this game forced an upgrade to a more expensive controller.

(3) The cutscenes were very dark and grainy, a typical complaint of the Sega CD's limited functionality.

(4) To reach the final stage there were 5 continues, but if defeated by the Eternal Champion or the Dark Champion, the game ended...no continues allowed, which was extremely cruel.

Nowadays, there are cheat codes on the internet to unlock all the hidden modes and beat the game with greater ease, but at the time, it was simply seen as a difficult fighting game on a dying console.

If you have a Sega CD or are interested in getting one, this is a great game to own. Definitely recommended.

4.0 out of 5 stars A lost gem on a very poorly sold console. Not for the weak stomach!, May 16, 2011

By 

Steve "SBN" (Kenosha, WI) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Eternal Champions - Sega CD (Video Game)

Although I do not actually own this game (or even the console) but I have played an emulator of this game and I have to say that this game was way better than it's prequel. The game was kind of infamous for it's extremely graphic violence and gore during the finishing moves (which by the way are more intense than any mortal kombat game (except for the new one) combined). This game is just more of an improved and darker version of Eternal Champions. The only bad things about this game really are:

1. load times (remember people this was the Sega CD which had a 1X CD-ROM drive and was very slow.) especially on finishing moves
2. vast majority of secret characters are really lame
3. because the fact that this game was on a bad console, Sega never released it on any other system. however this game should be on the Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation network but of course that would never happened.

If you own a Sega CD then you must have this game in your collection. highly recommended.

5.0 out of 5 stars the best game ever !, March 11, 2011

By 

miamibaby - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Eternal Champions - Sega CD (Video Game)

I own all most of the great fighting games, and I still play this one. I don't like to play the computer because it's too hard, but I play friends it's great.
Pros
-Great Charaters
-Great Moves
-Great finish moves
-Great boards
If I ever become rich, I would definitely revamp this video game and whip Mortal Kombat!
This title competed with the Mortal Kombat back in the day until the company went with Virtual Fighter, which does not compare to this game characters and moves.
Love this.
I hope they come out with one in xbox 720!