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Eternal Champions on cart was of little note, apart from the Great Mean Machines Review Scandal. Picture it, Christmas 1993. At that time Rad was doing some stuff on Mean Machines while working on the new Sega Mag. He did the review honours on Eternal Champions, and, perhaps having too much sherry trifle, awarded it a massive 98%. Okay, the game was solid enough, but in retrospect it was an undeniable boob.

Well, confessions like that are rare, but the arrival of Eternal Champions CD is a timely opportunity to come clean. And it also explains why this, a superior game, scores less than its cart original. Sega have spent considerable time, money and effort putting together a beat-'em-up that will hopefully enhance the Mega-CD, and set-up the characters for further next generation editions.

Eternal Champions earnestly appeals to sicko mentalities with its range of deaths. Merely dispatching an opponent in regular beat-'em-up fashion is only the simplest way to end a round. There are multiple other death modes; where the background can come to life (see the example of the cinema attendant pulling out a shotgun); finishing moves, or even spectacular 'cinekills' shown in rendered cut-sequences created on Silicon Graphics machines.

Eternal CD has a staggering 24 characters to play with. Sixteen of these are selectable from the options screen - four more than Eternal on cart. The other eight are bizarre editions, including a chicken. They all have their own moves, including specials.

For once we have a Mega-CD conversion that actually adds a lot to the original. Whether you really want all the cinekills and FMV footage is another matter.

It's a pity that so many of the best features are almost impossible to locate through play, and players will have to wait for Sega to reveal the hundreds of moves. That said, the appeal of Eternal CD is clear for any fans of the one-on-one beat-'em-up genre.

Despite the strenous efforts of Sega, this still fails to have the panache of Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat 2. MK2 especially moved the genre on in a way that makes Eternal Champions look dated.

But the game plays quite well, if a little sluggishly, and there's tons of features crammed in. It's probably the best Mega-CD game of the year to date.

Graphics 85%
Rendered intro and sequences and competent in-game graphics.

Sound 79%
FX are good, but the rock should have been hard-hitting techno.

Playability 87%
A game that rewards some serious playing, but it's not as sassy as MK2.

Lastability 89%
Unquestionably the game's top feature is its plethora of hidden features.

Value For Money 88%
A lot of extra development, but the core game is beginning to look dated.

Overall 87%
At the top end of the beat-'em-up scale, but not quite on the podium.