By late 1995, Sega of Japan was in turmoil. The Saturn had just launched in North America (surprise-launched at E3, to disastrous results). Sega of America was pushing Western-developed games like Eternal Champions and Comix Zone , while Sega of Japan prioritized arcade ports like Virtua Fighter and Fighting Vipers .
A cut feature from the Sega CD version—a branching narrative mode where your choices in battle determined which timeline you followed. For example, defeating Rax with a throw might lead to a "Pacifist Ending," while a Cinelith kill triggered a "Dark Timeline." This was essentially a precursor to Mortal Kombat ’s Konquest mode. eternal champions sega saturn
In 1995-1996, Sega released the NetLink modem for the Saturn, allowing dial-up multiplayer for games like Virtual On and Saturn Bomberman . Internal Sega documents suggest Eternal Champions was tested on NetLink, making it one of the first console fighting games with online versus mode. Had it shipped, it would predate Xbox Live by nearly seven years. By late 1995, Sega of Japan was in turmoil
: Development plans included 30 different endings, with players' actions dynamically altering the abilities and histories of the characters. The Cancellation Controversy A cut feature from the Sega CD version—a