SEGA welcomes the warriors that time forgot.
Written: Nov 18 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: 4 ways to kill
Balanced Special Moves
Tons of Hidden Characters
Cons: High Learning Curve
Low Replay Value
The Bottom Line: This was SEGA's premier fighter, but not the best fighter in history. Not recommended for non-fans.
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| xenoranger's Full Review: Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side fo... |
Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side for SEGA CD isn’t much of a sequel, but rather a continuation to the Eternal Champions for Genesis. The story is that the Eternal Champion (a master of time and space) rescued 9 warriors at the moment of their deaths. He brought them into a temporal distortion, where they will combat to save the world. The problem is that the Eternal Champion was unaware of 4 warriors that the Dark Eternal Champion had kept in hiding as well as 4 more that he reserves. This gives the game a starting roster of 13 fighters, with 4 hidden human opponents.
The main attraction to this game was how well the story was written. When you read each character profile, it gives believable reasoning as to why this person is important. This does get farfetched when you unlock the playmates (which I’ll explain later), but for the most part, they are well written.
The environments are very creative. Fighters combat in places ranging from Salem (during the witch trials) to Atlantis. SEGA went all out when carefully creating each location. Even the backgrounds can be used against your opponent. Most likely inspired by Mortal Kombat’s “The Pit”, SEGA added Overkills and Sudden Deaths. Overkills and Sudden Deaths are stage fatalities. These range from getting impaled on a tow hook, to the local theater teller blowing your head off with a shotgun. Granted, these are much more difficult than a simple uppercut finish, but much more amusing to watch.
I can’t complain about the art, since it’s on par with the day and age. Characters are well drawn and very creative. Every background is well planned and executed. Some backgrounds are easy to spot the Sudden Death or Overkill points. For the most part, this game is nothing special to look at.
I love the characters. Each character has his/her own attitude. Fighters like Shadow the ninja assassin, who taunts her opponent by calling them a coward give the game more amusing audio sound bites. When compared to the original Eternal Champions (Genesis), they’re faster paced, and there are no dull/useless fighters. There are hidden characters call playmates. These are the most ridiculous additions I’ve ever seen in a fighting game. They range from a Chicken to a Chihuahua. They are useless fighters, and only serve for amusement purposes.
I can’t complain about the mechanics of the game. Fighting allows for multiple hit combos by hitting buttons in a logical order. For instance, if you use a light punch, then follow with a hard punch, it’ll count for a 2 hit combo, but if you do the opposite, the second hit won’t connect. Surprisingly, for a game of its time, Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side has the most advanced combo system. There’s even a power bonus for completing a 5-hit combo issuing more than 30% damage. What’s even better than the combo system is the limitation of projectiles. Each player has a Yin-Yang symbol that disappears as they use certain special moves (mainly projectiles or one’s that break the laws of physics). The more you use special moves, the less and less Yin-Yang power you have. If you refrain from using Yin-Yang power, it will regenerate.
Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side has 4 ways to finish your opponent. My favorite portion of this game is the Cinekills. These are the hardest to execute, but the most amusing. If you execute a Cinekill, the Dark Eternal Champion will pull your opponent into a vortex and kill them himself, using their own fears against them. Vendettas are similar to the finishing moves from Mortal Kombat, but much more gruesome. They range from being stabbed to death (with a more realistic blood spray) to being disemboweled with your intestines hanging out. The other finishing moves are the Overkills and Sudden Deaths that I mentioned earlier.
To some things up, Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side is another one of SEGA’s overlooked jewels. It surprises me that even the ESRB didn’t take notice of this game, due to its extremely graphic nature. This was the last game to carry the Eternal Champions title, but the best. If you ever get a chance at it, don’t hesitate to play this phenomenal title.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
xenoranger
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Location: MN, USA
Reviews written: 357
Trusted by: 20 members
About Me:
Even the things I really enjoy deserve low ratings at times.
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