The Terminator (Mega-CD)

For the Sega Mega Drive, Sega Master System and Sega Game Gear games, see The Terminator.

n/a

The Terminator

Genre: Action

Number of players: 1

Release	Date	RRP	Code
US	1993-06^[1]	$52.9952.99^[1]	T-70015
EU	1994-02^[2]		T-70015-50
DE	1994	DM 119.95119.95^[5]	T-70015-50
UK	1994-02^[2]	£44.9944.99^[3]^[4]	T-70015-50
AU	199x		FTER03SMR

The Terminator is a Sega Mega-CD action platform game developed and published by Virgin Games. Based on the 1984 film The Terminator, the game was released in June 1993 to positive reception, particularly in regards to composer Tommy Tallarico's soundtrack.

The game was a standout title for both Virgin Games and the Sega Mega-CD platform, and was praised for its detailed graphics and animation, a memorable soundtrack, and the inclusion of digitized scenes from the original film.

Story

The game follows the story of the film. In the future, man and machine are locked in an existential war with one another. Skynet, the artificial intelligence controlling the machines and trying to eradicate the human race, sends a cyborg assassin back in time to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, the mother of resistance leader John Connor. John Connor, in turn, sends soldier Kyle Reese back in time to find Sarah first and protect her.

Gameplay

Cutscene

The Terminator is a run-and-gun platform game where the player plays as the time-traveling soldier Kyle Reese. The early levels are set in the apocalyptic future of 2029 during the war between humanity and the machines. At the end of the Skynet stages, Reese travels back in time to Los Angeles in 1984.

Reese is moved with and . He is armed with a rifle with unlimited ammunition that is fired with . The rifle can be upgraded by finding weapon power-ups throughout the stages. In both time periods, the rifle is initially single-shot but all of the upgraded weapons can be rapidly fired by holding the button. He throws grenades in 2029 and pipe bombs in 1984 with . These weapons are limited in quantity but can be found as item pick-ups. He kneels with and jumps with . He climbs ladders with and descends them with . All weapons can be used while crouching, jumping, running, or on ladders. The rifle can also be fired in the upward diagonal directions when standing or the downward diagonal directions when on a ladder. Reese also controls elevators with and .

Reese has a health gauge, which can be replenished by finding health pick-ups. Reese takes damage from enemies, hazards, and falling from great heights. He loses a life if he loses all of his health, though extra lives can be found throughout the stages as well. The game ends if the player runs out of lives. There are no continues and no save or password system.

The overall length is around 45 to 60 minutes of gameplay, compared to the Mega Drive version that is around 15 minutes of gameplay long. The game also features a number of bosses, though they are not significantly more challenging than standard enemies.

Stages

	Human Outpost

	Holocaust L.A.

	Skynet Base 1

	Skynet Base 2

	City Streets

	City Rooftops

	TechNoir Bar

	Police Station

	Cyberdyne Factory 1

	Cyberdyne Factory 2

Items

	Partial Health Pack
	Replenishes a quarter of Reese's health gauge.
	Full Health Pack
	Fully replenishes Reese's health gauge.
	Flak Vest
	Temporary shields Reese from damage.
	1-Up
	Awards the player with an extra life.
	Bomb Canister
	Gives Reese three more grenades or pipe bombs.
	Node
	Checkpoint where Reese is revived after losing a life.

Weapons

2029

	Repeater Rifle
	An improved version of the standard rifle that has continuous fire. Found in the Human Outpost stage.
	Battle Rifle
	Shoots fewer but more stronger shots. Found near the end of the Skynet Base 1 stage.

1984

	M15 CAW
	An improved version of the standard rifle that has continuous fire. Found in the City Streets stage.
	M205
	Shoots fewer but stronger shots. Found in the TechNoir Bar stage.
	Flame Thrower
	Powerful weapon that hurls balls of fire. Found in the Cyberdyne Factory 1 stage.
	Grenade Launcher
	Slow-firing weapon that lobs grenades. Found near the end of the Cyberdyne Factory 2 stage.

Production credits

Note: this game divides its credits into two - the "main" developers are listed in the introduction, while assistant staff are listed in the end credits.

Developed by: Virgin Games
Programmed by: Salias Warner
Script: Erik Yeo, Justin Norr
Set Design: Nick Bruty, Kevin Toft
Character Design: Doug Cope, Roger Hardy, Clark Sorensen
Original Music: Tommy Tallarico
Video and Sound: Steve Henifin
Original Concept: Dave Perry
Producers: Tom Gibson, Barry Pringle

Source:

In-game introduction credits

Design Assistance: Justin Norr, Kevin Norr, Mark Yamada
Programming Assistance: John Alvaardo, Matt From, David Perry
Artists: Mike Dietz, Shawn Maclean, Barry J.S. Pringle, Dean Ruggles, Edward Schofield, Bob Steele, Bob Stevenson, Daniel Wong, Willis Wong
Quality Assurance: Mike McCaa, Chris McFarland, Jared Brinkley, David Fries, Bijan Shaheer, Harvard Bonin, Nick Camerota, Susan Haight, Erik Harshman, Ken Love, Paul Moore, Chad Soares, Chris Toft, Jon Williams, Noah Tool, Tim Williams
Executive Producers: "Doc" Clarke-Willson, Guy Johnson, David Bishop
Production: Seth Mandlesohn, Craig Warmsley, Jeff Buccellato, Kevin Norr
Produced With: ROM DevBios from Malibu Interactive

Music Mixed in QSound™ by Buzz Borrowes

Source:

In-game end credits

Magazine articles

Main article: The Terminator (Mega-CD)/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in Sega Visions (US) #14: "August/September 1993" (1993-xx-xx)

Print advert in GamePro (US) #51: "October 1993" (1993-xx-xx)
also published in:

Sega Visions (US) #15: "October/November 1993" (1993-xx-xx)^[6]

Print advert in Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #57: "April 1994" (1994-xx-xx)
also published in:

GamePro (US) #57: "April 1994" (1994-xx-xx)^[7]
Game Players (US) #0705: "Vol. 7 No. 5 May 1994" (1994-0x-xx)^[8]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #58: "May 1994" (1994-xx-xx)^[9]

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average

Publication

Version

Score

Ação Games (BR)

69

^[10]

Console Mania (IT)

PAL

84

^[11]

Consoles + (FR)

87

^[12]

Game Players (US)

NTSC-U

62

^[13]

GamePro (US)

NTSC-U

83

^[1]

Joypad (FR)

PAL

86

^[14]

MAN!AC (DE)

PAL

68

^[15]

Mega (UK)

PAL

67

^[16]

Mega Force (FR)

85

^[17]

MegaTech (UK)

PAL

69

^[18]

Player One (FR)

80

^[19]

Sega Power (UK)

PAL

58

^[20]

Sega Zone (UK)

PAL

65

^[21]

Supersonic (FR)

92

^[22]

Video Games (DE)

NTSC-U

54

^[23]

VideoGames (US)

NTSC-U

80

^[24]

	74
Based on 16 reviews

The Terminator (Mega-CD)

Mega-CD, US
Cover
Disc Manual

Mega-CD, EU
Cover
Disc Manual

Mega-CD, AU
Cover

Technical information

ROM dump status

System

Hash

Size

Build Date

Source

Comments

?

CRC32
MD5
SHA-1

474,737,088

CD (EU)

T-70015-50

✔

CRC32
MD5
SHA-1

468,937,056

CD (US)

T-70015

?

CRC32
MD5
SHA-1

1993-05-11

CD-R

Page

References

The Terminator (Mega-CD)
	Main page \| Comparisons \| Maps \| Hidden content \| Magazine articles \| Reception \| Technical information Prototypes: 1993-05-11

RoboCop and Terminator franchise games for Sega systems
	The Terminator (1992) \| T2: The Arcade Game (1992) \| RoboCop 3 (1993) \| Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1993) \| RoboCop Versus The Terminator (1993)
	The Terminator (1992) \| T2: The Arcade Game (1993) \| RoboCop 3 (1993) \| Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1993) \| RoboCop Versus The Terminator (1994)
	The Terminator (1992) \| T2: The Arcade Game (1993) \| RoboCop 3 (1993) \| Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1993) \| RoboCop Versus The Terminator (1994)
	The Terminator (1993)
	RoboCop (1989)

[:File:GamePro_US_047.pdf_p64-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 GamePro, "June 1993" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 64

[:File:SegaForceMega_UK_07.pdf_p8-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Sega Force Mega, "January 1994" (UK; 1993-12-16), page 8

[:File:Mega_UK_16.pdf_p45-3] Mega, "January 1994" (UK; 1993-12-16), page 45

[:File:MegaPower_UK_10.pdf_p61-4] Mega Power, "May 1994" (UK; 1994-04-21), page 61

[:File:VideoGames_DE_1993-09.pdf_p43-5] Video Games, "9/93" (DE; 1993-08-25), page 43

[:File:SegaVisions_US_15.pdf_p36-6] Sega Visions, "October/November 1993" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 36

[:File:GamePro_US_057.pdf_p25-7] GamePro, "April 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 25

[:File:GamePlayers_US_0705.pdf_p23-8] Game Players, "Vol. 7 No. 5 May 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 23

[:File:EGM_US_058.pdf_p209-9] Electronic Gaming Monthly, "May 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 209

[:File:AcaoGames_BR_054.pdf_p28-10] Ação Games, "Março 1994" (BR; 1994-03-01), page 28

[:File:ConsoleMania_IT_029.pdf_p94-11] Console Mania, "Aprile 1994" (IT; 1994-0x-xx), page 94

[:File:ConsolesPlus_FR_031.pdf_p112-12] Consoles +, "Avril 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 112

[:File:GamePlayers_US_0703.pdf_p50-13] Game Players, "Vol. 7 No. 3 March 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 50

[:File:Joypad_FR_030.pdf_p98-14] Joypad, "Avril 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 98

[:File:MAN.21AC_DE_1994-04.pdf_p39-15] MAN!AC, "04/94" (DE; 1994-03-09), page 39

[:File:Mega_UK_16.pdf_p44-16] Mega, "January 1994" (UK; 1993-12-16), page 44

[:File:MegaForce_FR_27.pdf_p76-17] Mega Force, "Avril 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 76

[:File:MegaTech_UK_26.pdf_p64-18] MegaTech, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-20), page 64

[:File:PlayerOne_FR_041.pdf_p98-19] Player One, "Avril 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 98

[:File:SegaPower_UK_51.pdf_p74-20] Sega Power, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-06), page 74

[:File:SegaZone_UK_16.pdf_p63-21] Sega Zone, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-27), page 63

[:File:Supersonic_FR_20.pdf_p16-22] Supersonic, "Avril 1994" (FR; 1994-xx-xx), page 16

[:File:VideoGames_DE_1994-03.pdf_p76-23] Video Games, "3/94" (DE; 1994-02-23), page 76

[:File:VideoGames_US_63.pdf_p82-24] VideoGames, "April 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 82

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The Terminator (Mega-CD)

From Sega Retro

Contents

Story

Gameplay

Stages

Items

Weapons

2029

1984

Production credits

Magazine articles

Promotional material

Physical scans

Technical information

ROM dump status

References