Eternal Champions, Eternal in Every Sense

Beat 'em up, as I was saying a moment ago.

E if I add to this the game’s release year, branded 1993 in what was the golden age of beat’em up in general in the arcade world, the close connection with the icons Street Fighter II and Mortak Kombat comes naturally. Analyzing Eternal Champions in a way detached from these seminal titles would be not only counterproductive, but also unfair toward a title that was conceived precisely to be played on a home console: that year, moreover, established the Sega MegaDrive without a doubt as one of the most innovative and futuristic consoles one could imagine, equipped with an exceptionally well-made sound system, as well as notable graphic power.

Innanzitutto, the plot: a divine creature capable of seeing the past, present and future simultaneously (a peculiar ability of the Watchers of the Marvel universe, for those who know a bit about comics, but also of our grandmothers), predicts the ruin of humanity because of the death of individuals fundamental to the destiny of the universe, without whom the world will end. Aware of this apparently inescapable fate, it gathers the Champions, those individuals with the potential to do something, in plain terms, significant.

Whoever wins the tournament will be able to return to life in their plane of existence and change the course of history.

The care given to the backstory before and to the evolution of the personal story of all the playable characters afterward, makes it clear how much Sega wanted to break free from the linearity of the two sacred monsters led by Ryu and Liu Kang, staging a deeper and more articulated narrative portrayal, with that touch of science fiction mixed with fantasy that, today in particular, would be very much in vogue. The characters of Eternal Champions are all characterized impeccably, very varied both in appearance and in move sets: we can choose Rax, who will delight those who love playing with close-range contact and quick, successive combos, or Blade, a futuristic character with a sharp-edged personality.

Personally, I see myself again in my glorious matches with Trident, who, as the name itself suggests, would take the stage with his legendary trident! The group of selectable fighters therefore benefits from an inspired character design and noteworthy, supported by movement fluidity that on sixteen-bit systems bordered on the miraculous.

Per not to mention the graphic sector, which with its detailed arenas allowed players to fully immerse themselves in the clashes with exceptional depth: from the pristine prehistoric village to the mystical temple, with the calm sea and the sun setting at dusk, all the way to the futuristic cities protected by gigantic domes, Eternal Champions boasts an almost maniacal attention to detail; the meticulousness with which the endings were implemented, never banal and in line with the game's complex lore, oriented toward the salvation of the world, further contributes to the feeling of being in front of an important title, perhaps less mainstream than others, but of undeniable value.

The playability of Eternal Champions is another factor to take into account, in addition to the fact that the versus mode, as tradition dictates, guarantees fun and exciting challenges.

Eterni.