Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side

Eternal Champions: Challenge From The Dark Side
Cover art
Developer(s)	Sega interActive
Publisher(s)	Sega
Director(s)	Michael Terlecki
Producer(s)	Michael Latham John C. Brandstetter
Designer(s)	Michael Latham
Programmer(s)	John Kuwaye
Artist(s)	David C. Russ Albert Co Francis Co
Composer(s)	Tristan des Prés
Platform(s)	Sega CD
Release	NA: February 1995 EU: 1995
Genre(s)	Fighting game
Mode(s)	Single-player, two-player

Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side (also known as Eternal Champions 2 or Eternal Champions CD) is a fighting video game for the Sega CD/Mega-CD. It was published in February 1995 in North America and during the same year in Europe, within the waning days of the platform lifespan.

The game is a semi-sequel to the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis game Eternal Champions and was part two of a proposed trilogy of games by Sega. Both games were developed by an internal team at Sega named Sega interActive and designed by Michael Lantham, a developer with Sega of America from their early days.

Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side includes the nine playable fighters and non-playable boss from the first game, and adds 13 new playable characters (nine of which are hidden) and a new boss. Also, new moves called "Cinekills" were added, which are essentially fatalities scenes rendered in full motion video.

Gameplay

A screenshot of Jetta vs Shadow

Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side makes most special attacks use less of the special attack meter than in the previous game. There are also some special attacks that do not deplete the special attack meter. Combo attacks are also introduced, and jumping attacks can be linked to ground attacks and most normal attacks can be linked to other normal attacks. Mild "juggle" combos can also be executed by landing an additional hit on an already aerial opponent.

The game also includes three new types of finishing moves. The first is a second "Overkill" in each stage, called "Sudden Death", that can be activated when the victim still has a little life left. The other two, "Vendetta" and "Cinekill", can be performed on a dazed opponent that has 20% or less of their life in the final round only. Sudden Deaths and Vendettas are often exceptionally gory, and the original Overkills were made gorier to match. During Overkills (and Sudden Deaths), the winning fighter is carried off the stage in a flash of light the moment the fateful blow was made. The game retains the stage-specific finishing moves called Overkills from the first Eternal Champions, and added ones for the new stages. These are performed by defeating your opponent in a way that ensures that they fall upon a certain area of ground. If they land in the right spot, the life bars disappear and some element of the background kills them.

The Vendetta is performed by motion and button presses identical to those used in a Mortal Kombat Fatality. Each character (except the unlockable animal characters) has their own Vendetta and each is performed differently.

Cinekills are triggered when the dominant player has earned (through successful combo attacks) temporarily unlimited inner strength/energy, the victim's health is 20% or lower, and the victim is stunned. In a Cinekill, the Dark Champion appears on the field and kills the victim in a full motion video cutscene that supposedly mimics the victim's greatest fear. Certain characters have the ability to combo into this style of finish, such as Trident who has an elaborate re-dizzy combo that culminates in a Cinekill. Only the base characters can receive Cinekills, though any character can trigger one. This type of finish activates automatically.

Plot

Like the first game, Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side follows the story of the Eternal Champion, who felt the balance of the universe and time had been disturbed by the deaths of key individuals who had been destined to change the world for the greater good. To restore the balance, he held a great contest in which the winner would be granted the gift of new life, allowing them to fulfill their rightful destiny.

In this second chapter, it is revealed that the Eternal Champion has an evil counterpart: the Dark Champion. The Dark Champion appears and declares that he also will enter the contest and that he has hidden four more warriors, preventing the contest from truly being fulfilled. The contestants must not only achieve the aims of the Eternal Champion but also face the Dark Champion if they want their lives back.

This sequel included the original roster of characters from the first Eternal Champions, along with a whole new cast of fighters, including some of the ones that were initially discarded from the original Genesis/Mega Drive game. Among them are even five animal characters. Out of them all, only Dawson, Ramses III, Raven, and Riptide are available from the beginning in this version. Like the original roster of fighters, even those characters have the potential to affect history in a positive way, either directly or inadvertently, as a result of their actions.

Roster

While this game is sequel, the plot is an extension of the original. The biggest difference is the addition of The Dark Champion arc. The Dark Champion initially hid four champions from the Eternal Champion; Dawson, Ramses, Raven and Riptide. By hiding them, his plan was to make it impossible for the Eternal Champion to finish his tournament. Although this does not mean that any combatant is aligned with him. He also tries to affect the outcome by persuading combatants to kill their rivals. This act makes the Eternal Champion weaker while making himself stronger. The players actions will determine which final boss they encounter. Then their victory or loss against that boss will determine the final outcome of their story.

• Blade – Jonathan Blade is a bounty hunter from Syria in 2030. His short temper cost him his job as a police officer. The government hired Blade to track down a mad scientist who threatened to wipe out the human race with a virus. He managed to trap the scientist in an alley, but they were both shot by government agents. Blade realized he had been set up as he watched the vial with the virus shatter on the ground. The virus killed 95% of the human race.
• Blast# – Thomas “Blast” Chavez was a Green Beret from 1955. He was a special forces fighter pilot who delivered arms and supplies to French forces in Vietnam. During their final mission, his partner Redux revealed himself as a double agent. Redux dropped a live grenade into the helicopter and abandoned it as it took off. Unable to escape, Blast was killed in the explosion.
• Chin Wo# – An acupuncturist from China in 1815. He was once one of the best fighters in China, but was more interested in healing people. A rival kept challenging him to combat, but Chin refused because it would mean the death of one of them. Frustrated with Chin’s constant refusals, the challenger murdered a beggar and framed Chin. The challenger agreed to drop the charges if Chin accepted his challenge. But Chin still refused and was executed for the murder of the beggar.
• Crispy# – A chicken from 1867. He was determined to never become anyone’s dinner. He was killed while trying to protect other chickens.
• Dawson# – Dawson McShane is a sheriff from 1849. He is lynched by a group of outlaws after he captured one of them to make them face trial.
• Hooter# – Hooter is an owl, and the familiar for Vespian (Thanatos’ human form). After Vespian is burned under accusations of being warlock, Hooter became determined to get revenge. He began watching every witch burning in hopes of learning more about his enemies. However, a towns person noticed that Hooter was present for every burning. Correctly guessing that Hooter was a familiar, he threw Hooter onto a fire with one of the accused. (Note: Hooter is often mistaken for being Xavier's familiar, but he only joins Xavier if player's achieve Xavier's good ending).
• Jetta – Jetta Maxx is a Russian circus performer from 1899. Before a performance in China, a boxer revolutionary tampered with her high rope and safety net. Jetta fell to her death in front of the crowd. When her true identity as part of the Russian Czar’s family was discovered, it escalated tensions between both countries.
• Larcen – Larcen Tyler is a cat burglar from Chicago in 1920 (the game refers to him as an “Ex-cat Burglar”). He did everything for his mob boss, Mr. Taglalini, except for kill people. He was instructed to plant evidence in the hospital room of a rival mob boss. But when he got there, he saw the room belonged to the Chief of Police. He discovered his package was actually a bomb, and tried to throw it out the window. The bomb detonated, killing Larcen and most people in the hospital.
• Midknight – Midnight is a vampire-type creature hiding in North Korea in 2100. In his former life, he was Dr. Mitchell Midleton Knight, a British biomedical scientist working for the CIA. In 1967, he was tasked with infecting water supplies with a mysterious chemical during the war. Everyone exposed to the chemical were turned into vampires, including himself. He tried to stay hidden until he created a cure. Even though Midknight never harmed anyone, he was killed by a vampire hunter with a magnesium stake through the heart.
• Ramses – Ramses III is an Egyptian pharaoh from 151 B.C. Ramses had a well-known fear of water. So when his body was found in the River Nile, it was assumed that he had fallen in by accident, and drowned because he was unable to swim. Only his killer knows that Ramses was actually pushed off a cliff into the river on purpose.
• Raven – Raven Gindar is a voodoo priestess from 1802. She developed magical powers that controlled time and aging. However, an evil witchdoctor used Raven’s own magic against her. The witchdoctor absorbed Raven’s youth, making himself young again, while draining Raven of her life.
• R.A.X. – R.A.X. Coswell is a cyber-fighter from 2345. With the popularity of martial arts fading, some fighters became adding R.A.X. (Robotical Artificial Exoskeleton) hardware to their bodies. Coswell was undefeated and was becoming famous. His crooked manager made a wager against Coswell. To ensure Coswell lost, he programmed a virus into Coswell’s hardware. The manager activated the virus during the fight, shutting down the hardware and rendering Coswell defenseless. His opponent accidentally killed him with the final blow.
• Riptide# – Riptide is a female pirate from 1566. She stole treasure from a rival pirate which included valuable artwork which would have changed the world. However, the pirate found her and killed her with a shovel. He then robbed and murdered her family as a further act of revenge. The artwork and Riptide’s family were buried and forgotten forever.
• Senator# – Senator is a corrupt politician from Washington D.C. in 1995. He accepted bribes to vote in favour of special interest groups. He was rejected for re-election by his party when he voted in favor of a human rights issue instead of for profits. He tried to fund his own campaign but lost in a landslide. Now bankrupt, he died alone of a heart attack. Senator is the only character who died of natural causes in his original timeline.
• Shadow – Shadow Yamato is a ninja assassin from Japan in 1993. She rose up quickly through the Black Orchid Organisation due to her efficient killing methods. When she asked her superiors what happened to those who failed a mission, she learned that they were assassinated too. Fearing for her life, Shadow decided to leave the organisation secretly, and expose them to the authorities. Before she could, she was lured unto the rooftop where she was pushed to her death.
• Slash – Slash is a caveman from the Prehistoric Great Rift Valley in 50,000 B.C. He developed superior intelligence which allowed him to research ideas that improved the lives of the tribe. However, the tribe’s elders resented his outspoken nature and thinking methods. They cornered him and then stoned him to death.
• Slither# – A pet snake from the Old West in 1820. He helped his owner break up fights in his owner’s bar. He and the bar owner were both shot when they tried to stop a late night robbery.
• Thanatos# – Thanatos was once the Greek god of death. He routinely collected souls of the dead and transported them to the underworld. During a routine soul pickup in Salem in 1962, he encountered a neutral force which turned him into a mortal man called Vespian. As a human, he still retained some magical powers. As a result, he was mistaken for a warlock and was burned during the witch trials.
• Trident – Trident is a sea-person from Atlantis in 110 B.C. His people accepted a challenge from the Roman Empire. If his race could win a series of gladiator battles in the arena, then they could claim a portion of dry land within the empire. However, Trident’s rival crushed him to death underneath a pillar just before the final battle. Without Trident, his replacement lost quickly and their people were banished to the sea. The race became extinct and the city became lost to history.
• Xavier – Xavier Pendragon is a alchemist from Salem in 1962. After only a year of study, he discovered a mysterious substance that granted him unlimited magical power. He was ambushed and abducted by locals who falsely accused him of being a warlock. Xavier was burned to death in the public square.
• Yappy# – A shi tzu dog from 1995. His wealthy owner left everything to Yappy when she died. However, a greedy relative threw out the dog in hopes of claiming the inheritance. Yappy became more vicious while learning to survive on the streets. Yappy finally managed to return to the mansion and chewed through the relative’s brake cable on their car. However, Yappy became trapped. When he finally got free, he fell onto the road and was crushed to death. Yappy is the only character that was killed in their original timeline as a consequence of their own actions.
• Zuni# – A circus performer monkey from 1902. After witnessing an oil lamp being knocked over, he tried to warn his owners of the ensuing fire. But in the panic, he was accidentally crushed to death by an elephant. Zuni is the only character that was killed in their original timeline by accident.
• The Eternal Champion# – The Eternal Champion is an immortal time guardian. He is the host of the tournament and one of two bosses. If the tournament winner can defeat him, he restores them back to the point of their death with knowledge of the impending threat, giving them a chance to avoid it. However, if the winner fails to beat him, then he dismisses the entire tournament as a waste of his energies.
• The Dark Champion# – The Dark Champion is an immortal time guardian. The Eternal Champion is initially unaware of the Dark Champion’s existence until he is discovered within the tournament. In contrast to the Eternal Champion, the Dark Champion is a force for evil. He entices the combatants to kill their opponents, causing him to grow stronger while making the Eternal Champion weaker. He also participates in Cinekills. When activated, the Dark Champion appears and sentences the victim to death. He then transports them to his private realm where he kills them based on a personal fear. If players encounter him as a boss and do not defeat him, they are sent back to their timeline to endure their original death.

1. - Denotes a character that is not playable at the start and will need to be unlocked.

Release

Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side was the first game to carry Sega's internal Deep Water warning icon label, which was employed by Sega of America for games featuring adult content.^[1] In North America, the game earned an "M" (for Mature) rating from for its graphic violence and gore from the freshly-introduced IDSA system (later ESRB). In Europe, it earned both an 18+ ELSPA rating and a 15 BBFC rating.

Reception

GamePro gave the game a mixed review. They highly approved of the stage designs and said the rendered cinematics "offer a nice alternative to the full-motion, live-action video prevalent on Sega CDs." However, they criticized that the game has only minor enhancements over the original Genesis game, and concluded with a reference to the Sega CD's "Welcome to the next level" advertising slogan: "Instead of taking us to the next level, EC has merely taken us to a different part of the same one."^[2] Electronic Gaming Monthly gave it a 6.125 out of 10, with Ed Semrad summarizing it as "simply a hodgepodge of fatalities strewn across a poor fighting game." The other three members of the EGM review panel concurred that Sega seemed to be trying to draw attention away from the loose controls, sluggish combat, inappropriate audio, and lack of improvement from the first Eternal Champions using flashy fatality sequences. Though some of them found the fatalities entertaining, they said they were not enough to give the game any sort of lasting appeal.^[3]

Retro gaming website Racketboy included it among the games that "defined" the Sega CD, noting that "Even though the Sega CD was a commercial failure, Challenge from the Dark Side sold better in the U.S. than the Genesis versions of Street Fighter II."^[4]

Next Generation reviewed the game, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that what Sega did was "take a good game, and use the inexpensive storage capacity of CD to add surprises until they build something people will be digging stuff out of for years. Very cool."^[5]

References

• Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side user manual at the Internet Archive
• Sega-16.com's Eternal Champions Retrospective

External links

• Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side at MobyGames