The Terminator (Sega CD)

The Terminator for the Genesis/Mega Drive was one of the first reviews I ever wrote, and I was not kind. I hadn’t figured out what I wanted to say with these things, so I’m sure I picked a recognizable name out of a ROM list, was disappointed by the gameplay, and a Seanbaby-esque takedown seemed appropriate. Oh look, I made a poop joke! But in my defense, it was the early 2000s – I was doing what one was supposed to do to bad games.

However, that claim of beating the entire game in ten minutes seemed awfully suspicious. I also described four levels when MobyGames says there were six. I don’t want to call myself a dirty liar, but I do remember not really thinking about accuracy or integrity in those early years – I wasn’t considering JGR ever going this far. So, I loaded up the game, gave it my best shot, and son of a bitch – I beat that turkey in 11 minutes. Once you get the machine gun in both time periods, it’s one-shotting fools all the way home. Check playthroughs on YouTube if you don’t believe it’s possible.

So, I think it’s fair to say that there was something wrong with the Genesis version. Were there development troubles? Were they rushed to meet a deadline? The Terminator 2 license had already been farmed out, so maybe Virgin Games got the T1 license and were scrambling to release while the sequel was still in theaters. They still charged full price for the cartridge, so whatever explanation there is would feel pretty thin. It also makes this CD version – released under a year later – almost feel like an apology tour.

Unlike the usual Sega CD re-releases, new Terminator is not just old Terminator with a CD soundtrack. The entire game has been overhauled; now sporting 10 meaty levels, new enemies and artwork, and yes, a bangin’ CD soundtrack. The general progression of levels is the same – it’s based on a movie, after all – but Virgin really worked to make this version the game that should have been released all along. Considering they shortly followed up with another dynamite title – Robocop Versus Terminator – I feel like someone high-up looked at the license and said “we can do better.” And they did.

Levels are split halfway between the apocalyptic future of 2029 and the mean streets of 1984. You still control Kyle Reece, running and hopping across platforms while trading fire with everything else on screen. Like the Genesis version, you start with an unimpressive single shot weapon and a stack of grenades. C jumps, B shoots, A hucks the grenades over your head in a wide arc. Grenades are limited while bullets are not, but you’ll need to exploit angles and shoot at feet to avoid return fire.

The polish and presentation really set this apart. The first game had a nice, shadowed look with spots of reflective metal or impressive lighting effects (for 2D artwork). This game likely uses the same artists, who expanded on everything they did. I love the pile of skulls passing by in the foreground of the second level, or the incredible moonlit sky on the fourth. The background lights up with the gunfire of distant battles as you run through the post-apocalyptic battlefields, the police station looks dingy and worn-in, and a smoky haze fills the factory background in the final level. It’s fantastic stuff.

Gameplay is solid platforming action. There’s no timer to rush you along, so you can check levels for secret caches (there are plenty) or wait patiently for Terminators to turn away from you before mounting your assault. Grenades are lobbed by default, but can also be dropped down ladders on enemies waiting below. If you hold B and the D-Pad, Kyle stops moving so you can aim – very helpful to tag enemies down stairs or on overhead ledges. And like the first game, you can find weapon powerups (3 upgrades in all) that make ripping through baddies effortless. Health kits, extra lives, and grenades all feel generously placed. Overall, it feels like you have a good variety of abilities and supplies to get by.

If there’s one catch, it’s the frequent surprises. A flying HK pulls a strafing run in the middle of Level 2 that can kill you pretty quick. Bosses arrive without warning, often causing you some initial damage as you hurriedly try to backpedal and get ready. The Terminator busts onto the scene often in 1984 and must be shot until he falls over – his machine gun will do a lot of unavoidable damage while you lay into him. You have lives, but no passwords, meaning you’ve got to beat the game in one complete run. These “gotcha” moments mean you’ll be starting over from the beginning often.

The worst example is probably the final boss. Like the movie, you’re facing off against the revealed metal Terminator in a factory. Like the movie, he can’t be killed by the weapons you’ve got. The level becomes a puzzle as you try to activate conveyor belts and switch-controlled doors to corral him away from you and into an eventual industrial press. Every time he touches you, you die. Every time you lead him down the wrong path, he’ll catch you (or Sarah) and you die. You’re guaranteed to blow lots of lives on figuring out the correct order of steps. Since this is the very last level, running out of lives means you’ll have to replay the entire game again just to get a little further in this puzzle.

It’s a CD title, so that means movies and music. The movies are short film clips playing between the levels, roughly setting up where the next battle will take place. There’s no movie audio to any of these, just Brad Fidel’s iconic Terminator theme marching relentlessly as they play. The videos themselves play in a window with lots of pixelation and color bleed, but that’s just the Sega CD doing what it does. It’s also interesting that you’ll only see Arnold on the game’s cover. Every video is edited to keep him off screen – Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn, and Stan Winston’s endoskeleton are all okay, but Arnie’s video rights must have come separate.

For music, you get Tommy Tallarico. It’s wailing guitars that match almost every CD title of the early ’90s, with some occasional synth work. I think the synth tracks are the weakest, with his club mix (in the dance club level, natch) feeling the most awkward. There are also a couple tracks that don’t really feel anything like The Terminator, and more like ideas or riffs he already had kicking around. But, if you like game music of the era, this one’s pretty great, and leagues over anything the stock Genesis could produce.

As flawed as the original Terminator was on the Genesis, the Sega CD release is conversely just as impressive. Music is chunky and exciting, while graphics look like they’re running – not on a simple add-on- but on a different system altogether. It loses some points for its difficulty, leaning heavily on forcing multiple complete playthroughs before you pull off a win. But that’s also just what “replay value” looked like in a ’90s platformer. Great game for fans of the film, but also just a fun, gorgeous game all around.

 

The Good

A new  game from the ground up, in a completely higher class than the Genesis original. Fantastic graphics, great soundtrack, smart level design. Along with Aladdin and Lion King, Virgin was really making a name for themselves in the 16-bit era.

 

The Bad

Standard platformer trope of making you replay the entire game repeatedly. There’s no cover when you’re fighting The Terminator in regular levels, while the instant deaths of the final level make a diabolical puzzle. Arguably dumb that you’re killing all these gang members, but yeah, video games.