Robocop Versus The Terminator (Genesis) Playthrough - NintendoComplete

A playthrough of Virgin's 1994 licensed-based platformer/shooter for the Sega Genesis, Robocop Versus The Terminator.

Played through on the normal difficulty level.

There were a number of games, all relatively similar, released between 1993 and 1994 that bore the name Robocop versus The Terminator, but I've always felt that the Genesis version was the best one, no questions. It was the lead development platform, so I guess that's hardly a surprise, but the other games definitely feel lacking in comparison.

Robocop Versus The Terminator is based on a comic that was released in 1992 that pitted two of the most bad-ass 1980s Hollywood cyborg-heroes against one another. Apparently, in this alternate 1985, err.... 1997, Cyberdyne incorporated tech used to create Robocop into their new AI platform Skynet. When Robocop used his spike thingy to gain access to Skynet, he ends up as computer data that eventually can rebuild his physical form in the future so that he can take on the Terminators. Convoluted and more than a bit silly, yes, but does it really need to do anything but give us a basic excuse to participate in this epic showdown?

The game looks extraordinarily good for a Genesis game. The backgrounds are all grimey and appropriately dystopian in their aesthetics (though Detroit really never gets portrayed as anything but dystopian in games - and probably rightfully so for the sake of authenticity lol) and feature loads of little details, animations, and breakable items. The city skyline in the opening stages is pretty striking (eat your heart out, Lethal Enforcers), and Cyberdyne's corporate HQ is just as fun to look at as it is to play through with the number of things that can be blown up as you go through the offices. I think the real draw to the graphics here (as any kid in the 1990s would have told you) would have to be the level of graphic violence on display.

If you like the color red, you'll appreciate how generous its use is here. Pretty much everyone explodes or dissolves into puddles as appendages fly in every which direction. The game was rated MA-13 which was quite a surprise, since I think that it out-Mortal Kombats Mortal Kombat any day of the week.

I did input a code at the beginning of the first stage to show off just how much the game "earned* it's MA-13 rating. After I take out the first guy, I paused and punched in a code for... shall we say, "enhanced enemy-defeat animations." After I unpause, just take a look at what happens to the next enemy. Awesome, right? Especially if you use YouTube's slow-down feature - there's some impressive attention to detail there.

The soundtrack is pretty good, sounding as raw, crunchy, and edgy as FM ever did on the Genesis. The vocals in the first level track made my sister and I laugh endlessly as kids - the voice saying Robocop, Terminator always sounded like a phone-sex operator to us.

Finally, let me impress on you just how incredibly difficult this game is. The first half is actually not bad - it's quite manageable, even for relatively inexperienced players. But the time you get to the later stages, though, there's a good chance the frustration will have you in tears if you haven't just turned it off already. The final stage in particular is merciless, and that last boss is probably among the hardest I ever seen in a 16-bit game. I really loved the game and forced my way through with untold hours of practice, but if you aren't patient and willing to replay the game dozens of times to get good enough, I highly doubt you'll finish it without cheating at it.

Robocop Versus The Terminator was a complete surprise to me when it was released. It was better than both the Robocop and The Terminator games (though both were pretty good in their own right - this version is running on a tweaked version of the engine that the original Genesis Terminator was running on!), featuring some really impressive production values, and a difficulty level up amped up through the roof.