A playthrough of Virgin's 1993 licensed-based platformer/shooter for the SNES, Robocop versus The Terminator.
I included the hidden goofy credit sequence Easter egg at the end, starting at 53:20.
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. There were several games based on it that were produced for the popular 8 and 16-bit machines popular of the early 90s, with the Genesis and SNES versions, of course, pushed to the forefront of a considerable marketing campaign.
These two are often mistaken as the same game, but despite their similarities, they are indeed different. I've already written about the Genesis game - you can find my thoughts and playthrough at • Robocop Versus The Ter...
Many of the levels feel similar between games, with the majority being a collection of large, quasi-linear paths connected by ladders and climbable pipes. In all, you, as Robocop, tear apart killer robots with things like plasma pistols, rocket launchers, and my personal favorite, the ED209's machine gun arm that can be grabbed once you've laid waste to its owner.
The SNES version gameplay has some notable differences from its Genesis counterpart. It's still a fairly challenging game, but since this one features far fewer enemies and plays at a slower pace, the entire thing feels far more manageable and forgiving. It's a bit less exciting as a result - you don't face relentless volleys of unavoidable shots here - but it feels much fairer despite the lack of mid-stage checkpoints. Whichever you prefer will depend of how much of an uphill fight you're prepared to face, especially in the final few stages. It also features a single, thoroughly unexpected FPS stage thrown into the mix, but it's over so fast that it hardly bears a mention.
The SNES game features cutscenes that tell the story through comic-style panels, and though they aren't anything special to look at, they do at least provide you some rationale for what you're doing. There is no blood in this one, though, so don't expect any of the "crimson flourishes" that the Sega game is so known for. The game looks nice overall: Robocop's sprite looks great, as do some of the Terminators, there are some really cool transparent lighting effects and foreground scrolling in certain areas, and the outdoor backgrounds are eye-catching. They're much less grainy to look at than those of the Genesis game, but the color choices in the SNES game make it a lot less striking to look at - just compare the first stage's dull yet smooth purple sky in the SNES game to the badly dithered but super-dramatic bright red sky of the Genesis one.
The music is pretty good, too. I miss the ridiculous voice samples of the Genesis game's music, but the (thankfully less harsh) synthesized guitars thrash about appropriately enough for the action, and the sound effects, grunts, and screams are all nice and clear.
I really enjoyed this one. A lot of people like to trash talk both of the 16-bit Robocop versus The Terminator games, especially the SNES game, but isn't it about time to let the old-school system rivalries go? They're different, but neither of them are trash. Not by a long shot. Each have their distinct advantages and disadvantages, but they're both solid, fun games that don't disappoint.
And really, the only other 16-bit Robocop option is Ocean's Robocop 3 ( • Video ), and well... the less said about that game, the better.
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
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7 сен 2024
