The Terminator

For the Sega Mega-CD game, see The Terminator (Mega-CD).

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Mega Drive Master System Game Gear
The Terminator
System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Sega Master System, Sega Game Gear
Publisher: Virgin Games
Developer: Probe Software
Supporting companies: Krisalis Software (audio), Words & Pictures (EU) (packaging design)
Distributor: Ecofilmes (PT) Atoll (BX) Hent Gruppen (SE rental) Tec Toy (BR)
Licensor: Hemdale Film Corporation, Bethesda Softworks
Sound driver: Krisalis sound driver
Genre: Action, Arcade
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code US 1992-05 $59.99 70026 EU 1992-06 T-70026-50 PT 199x UK 1992-08 £39.99 T-70026-50 SE (Rental) 199x AU 199x EU 1992-08 MK-27025-50 BX 199x UK 1992-08 £32.99 MK-27025-50 AU 199x BR 199x 027320 US 1992-10 $39.99 T-70048 EU 1992-12-03 T-70048-50 EU (Classic) 199x 700-48 UK 1992-12-03 £25.99 T-70048-50

The Terminator is a Sega Mega Drive action game developed by Probe Software and published by Virgin Games. It is based on the 1984 film The Terminator.

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

Mega Drive version

The game is a side-scrolling run-and-gun game played as Kyle Reese on his mission to protect Sarah Connor from the Terminator. Objectives vary from level to level. The first level sets Kyle in the future in search of a time machine. The second level has Kyle searching for Sarah in present time, while the third level has him reuniting with her after a brief separation. The final level features a deadly confrontation with the Terminators endoskeleton.

Reese moves with and . He crouches with and jumps with . He climbs ladders with and . He uses his weapon with . Reese starts the first level with grenades but replaces it with an automatic rifle in the first level. After traveling to 1984 in the second level, he is armed with a shotgun (which lacks the continuous fire of the automatic rifle). All weapons have unlimited ammunition. The cyborg enemies in the first level respawn endlessly. Police officers in later levels are only wounded and revive after a short duration. Additionally, in the first level, Reese finds timed explosives, which he plants with . These explosives are limited in supply and used for destroying otherwise impenetrable barriers.

Reese has five health points, which deplete with each hit taken from enemies. Health is restored by collecting bottles, randomly dropped by defeated enemies. The game ends if Reese loses all of his health points. It has no lives and no continue system.

There are multiple selectable difficulty levels (Easy, Normal, Difficult, and Very Hard). The difficulty level affects item placement in the first level (the player gets the rifle earlier on Easy) and the drop rate of health items. On higher difficulty levels, drop rates are so low that luck plays a big part in clearing the game, as the game is designed in a way that taking damage is unavoidable.

Items

	Health Bottle
	Restores Reese's health points. Dropped randomly by enemies after they are destroyed.
	Smart Bombs
	Gives Reese another three Smart Bombs, which are timed explosives used to destroy barriers and also the reactor in the first level.
	Rifle
	Changes Reese's primary weapon from grenades to an automatic rifle in the first level.

Levels

	Los Angeles, 2029 A.D.
	Players have three weapons at their disposal in this level: Timed Explosives, Grenades, and a Machine Gun. Enemies include Armored Tanks, Hunter Killers, and Terminators. The objective is to destroy a reactor (located underground) using the explosives and head into the Time Machine (above ground) before an explosion ensues.
	Los Angeles, 1984
	This level takes place on the streets of Los Angeles. Enemies include police officers, helicopters, firebomb hurlers, and the Terminator. The level ends in the TechNoir disco.
	West Palm Police Station
	This level takes place in the police station as Reese tries to escape from captivity. The enemy list is the same as the previous level. The level ends after Kyle reaches Sarah Connor.
	The Final Confrontation
	This level takes place in Cyberdyne's factory. Kyle must confront the Terminator's endoskeleton form. The level ends when Kyle leads the Terminator into a machine press.

Master System and Game Gear versions

The game is an action platformer played as the soldier Kyle Reese. The first level takes place in the future war, but Reese travels through time and plays the rest of the game in 1984. Reese moves with and . He crouches with and jumps with . He climbs ladders with and . He uses his weapon with . His weapons are initially grenades, but he finds a machine gun in the first level that replaces them. He uses a shotgun in subsequent levels after traveling back in time. All weapons have unlimited ammunition.

Reese's health is depicted as a percentage. When it falls to 0%, the game ends. There are no lives or continues, and there is no way to replenish Reese's health (besides starting a new level). Reese is also killed by high falls. Furthermore, all levels but the first have a five-minute timer, with the game ending if the player runs out of time. The first level has no timer until Reese activates the self-destruct sequence; he then has two minutes to finish the level by entering the time machine at the surface.

Items

Items are only found in the first level.

	Machine Gun
	Changes Reese's weapon to a machine gun.
	Grenades
	Changes Reese's weapon to grenades. Grenades can destroy walls.
	Time Bomb
	Starts the self-destruct sequence for the time displacement equipment in the first level.

Levels

	The Future
	The City Streets
	The TechNoir Bar
	The Police Station
	The Factory

History

Development

Development on the game began in March 1991 as Probe Software's first Mega Drive game.

As part of their licensing agreement for The Terminator (which itself was sub-licensed from Bethesda Softworks) Virgin and Probe were forced to make Kyle Reese the player character (rather than The Terminator itself), something which frustrated Probe designer Neil Young, who felt "you can't build a good game around someone who's always running away". They were also not allowed to have Reese kill policemen, or use the film's theme music for the title screen.

According to Fergus McGovern, the game underwent several revisions, including a version with sprites and backgrounds twice as big, and no parallax scrolling. The game was redesigned by request of Virgin who wanted the parallax scrolling to remain. There was also an attempt to use pseudo-3D "inclined backgrounds".

Sprites were based on film footage and developers in costumers "pretending to beat each other up".

The game was reportedly once planned for release in Japan by Sega.

Versions

The Sega Mega Drive version contains unused music tracks, and the animation quality is inconsistent. This hints that the game was rushed out in an unfinished state. The fact that a Sega Mega-CD version exists that is much richer in content and reuses certain sounds, fonts, and so forth, as well as crediting "Dave Perry" behind the original concept (referring to David Perry, the programmer of the Mega Drive version) further fortifies that.

The game does not perform a region check and thus runs on every region hardware.

In the 8-bit versions, Sarah Connor's surname is misspelled as "Conner" in both the games and the manuals. The 16-bit version makes this mistake only in the manuals.

Production credits

Mega Drive version

• The Terminator was published by: Virgin Games, Inc

Developed in the UK for Virgin by Probe Software Limited, England

• Programmed by: David Perry
• Artwork by: Nick Bruty
• Additional Artwork by: Hugh Riley
• Interludes Artwork by: Saul Marchese
• Sprite Animation by: Tony Shorten
• Screenplay Adaptation by: Neil Young
• Music by: Matt Furniss
• Music Driver by: Shaun Hollingworth
• Quality Assurance by: Fergus Mc Govern
• Produced for Probe Software by: Neil Young

For Virgin Games...

• Executive Producer: Dr. Stephen H. Clarke-Willson
• Produced for Virgin Games by: Lyle J. Hall II
• Quality Assurance by: Lyle J. Hall II, Andy Green, Ian Mathias
• Manual by: Cathie A. Bartz

The Terminator is a James Cameron Film

The Terminator (C) 1984 Cinema '84

A Greenberg Brothers Partnership.

All Rights Reserved

• Licensed by: Hemdale Film Corporation
• Sublicensed by: Bethesda Softworks

The Terminator TM Designates a trademark of Cinema '84 - A Greenberg Brothers Partnership.

Source:

In-game credits

---

Developed by Probe Software

• Programmed by: David Perry
• Graphics by: Nick Bruty
• Music/Sound Effects: Krisalis Software
• Produced by: Neil Young

Published by Virgin Games, Inc

• Executive Producer: Dr. Stephen H. Clarke-Willson
• Product Manager: Lyle J. Hall II
• Quality Assurance by: Lyle J. Hall II, Tommy Tallarico, Michael D. Gater, Jeff Wagoner, Noah Tool, Ron Friedman, Bert Pelascini
• Manual by: Cathie A. Bartz
• Edited by: Lisa Marcinko

Source:

US manual

Master System version

• The Terminator was published by: Virgin Games
• Developed in the UK for Virgin by: Probe Software Limited, England
• Programmed by: Dominic Wood
• Artwork by: Mark Knowles
• Audio by: Krisalis Software
• Music by: Matt Furniss
• Interlude and Credit Sequences: Brian Rogers
• Designed for Probe Software by: Neil Young, Dominic Wood, Mark Knowles
• Product Quality Assurance by: Andy Green, Ian Mathias, Darren Lloyd
• Produced for Virgin Games by: Ian Mathias
• Produced for Probe Software by: Neil Young

The Terminator (C) 1984 Cinema 84

Greenberg Brothers Partnership

All Rights Reserved

• Licensed by: Hemdale Film Corporation
• Sublicensed by: Bethesda Softworks

The Terminator TM Designates a Trademark of Cinema 84

Greenberg Brothers Partnership

Source:

In-game credits

Game Gear version

• The Terminator was Published by: Virgin Games
• Developed in the UK for Virgin by: Probe Software Ltd, England
• Programmed by: Dominic Wood
• Artwork by: Mark Knowles
• Audio by: Krisalis Software
• Music by: Matt Furnis
• Interlude and Credit Sequences by: Brian Rogers
• Designed for Probe Software by: Neil Young, Dominic Wood, Mark Knowles
• Quality Assurance by: Andy Green, Ian Mathias, Darren Lloyd
• Produced for Virgin Games by: Ian Mathias
• Produced for Probe Software by: Neil Young

The Terminator (C) 1984 Cinema 84

Greenberg Brothers Partnership

All Rights Reserved

• Licensed by: Hemdale Film Corporation
• Sublicensed by: Bethesda Softworks

The Terminator (TM) Designates a Trademark of Cinema 84

Source:

In-game credits

---

Developed by Probe Software

• Programming: Dominic Wood
• Graphics: Mark Knowles
• Music & Sound Effects: Matt Furniss
• Music Driver: Shaun Hollingsworth
• Producer: Neil Young

Published by Virgin Games, Inc

• Producer: Lyle J. Hall II
• UK Production: Ian Mathias
• Manual: Lyle J. Hall II
• Manual Editing: Lisa Marcinko
• Testing and Quality Assurance: Darren Lloyd, Michael Gater, Noah Tool, Justin Norr, Joey Kuras

Source:

US manual

Magazine articles

Main article: The Terminator/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Main article: The Terminator/Promotional material.

Physical scans

Mega Drive version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score Ação Games (BR) 100 Consoles + (FR) 81 Cool Gamer (RU) 60 Computer & Video Games (UK) 91 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 78 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK) 41 fx 90 Game Power (IT) 90 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 84 gamesmastertv 87 Game Zone (UK) PAL 79 Hobby Consolas (ES) 90 Joypad (FR) PAL 86 Joystick (FR) PAL 86 Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) PAL 63 Mega (UK) 71 Mega (UK) PAL 75 Mega Force (FR) 85 Mega Fun (DE) PAL 61 Mega Play (US) NTSC-U 85 MegaTech (UK) PAL 60 Micromanía (segunda época) (ES) 77 Mean Machines (UK) 43 Mean Machines Sega (UK) 43 Play Time (DE) 72 Power Up! (UK) 68 Power Play (DE) PAL 58 Sega Power (UK) PAL 87 Sega Pro (UK) 89 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 92 Sega Force (SE) 42 Sega Force (UK) PAL 84 Supergame (BR) NTSC-U 87 Supersonic (FR) 77 Tricks 16 bit (RU) 79 VideoGames & Computer Entertainment (US) NTSC-U 40 Video Games (DE) 53 Zero (UK) 84

	74
Based on 38 reviews

The Terminator

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart PCB Manual Reg card

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart PCB Manual

Mega Drive, PT
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, SE (rental; Hent; black)
Cover

Mega Drive, AU

Master System version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

{{{{{icon}}}|L}}
Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score Computer & Video Games (UK) 90 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK) 82 Game Power (IT) 87 Game Zone (UK) 83 Hobby Consolas (ES) 80 Joypad (FR) 92 Joystick (FR) PAL 92 Mega Force (FR) 80 Micromanía (segunda época) (ES) 68 Mean Machines (UK) PAL 82 Mean Machines Sega (UK) 82 Player One (FR) 79 Play Time (DE) 74 Sega Power (UK) PAL 81 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 90 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 90 Sega Force (UK) PAL 90 Supersonic (FR) 90 Video Games (DE) 66 Zero (UK) 80

	83
Based on 20 reviews

The Terminator

Master System, EU
Cover
Cart Manual

Master System, BX†
Cover

Master System, AU
Cart

Master System, BR
Box

Game Gear version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

{{{{{icon}}}|L}}
Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score Computer & Video Games (UK) 81 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK) 80 Game Mania (UK) 81 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 90 GamesMaster (UK) PAL 84 Joypad (FR) 84 Joystick (FR) PAL 82 Mega Force (FR) 75 Mega Play (US) NTSC-U 78 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 82 Player One (FR) 70 Play Time (DE) 70 Sega Power (UK) PAL 87 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 92 Sega Pro (UK) 91 Sega Zone (UK) PAL 80 Sega Force (UK) PAL 87 Video Games (DE) 65

	81
Based on 18 reviews

The Terminator

Game Gear, US
Box
Cart Manual

Game Gear, EU
Box
Cart Manual

Game Gear, EU (Classic Game Gear)
Box
Cart Manual

Technical information

Main article: The Terminator/Technical information.