"FIGHT... FOR YOUR ETERNITY."

The original Eternal Champions had a controversial "Turning Point" mechanic—a slow-motion clash that let you counter a fatal blow. Most fighting games ignored this. MUGEN’s open-source nature allows creators to actually perfect it.

But Sega abandoned it. The sequel ( Challenge from the Dark Side ) was clunky, and the franchise died.

But the real star is The secret, misshapen experiment from the Sega CD version. In MUGEN, his erratic, broken movement has been exaggerated. He twitches. His attacks have random frame data. Fighting a well-coded Senzo feels like fighting a glitch in the matrix—which is exactly how it felt in 1995.