The history of Robocop 2 arcade console documentary
 

Watched this and quite interesting.

I am still think it's weird how the Robocop sprite seems to change in the last level of the St version - was it originally more like the Amiga one? Or am I seeing things...

https://i.ibb.co/0j2qPd0/robo-2-st.png

Main game

https://i.ibb.co/wWXHCWX/robo-2-st-2.png

Final level = definitely been on the doughnuts!

Weird. Perhaps it is in reaction to some plot point of Robocop being rebuilt that never fully materialized in the movie. I remember at some point he kind of breaks himself to get rid of his nice guy persona but nothing too severe. Its been a while since I've seen that movie.

I wonder if the ST version started off like the Amiga version or someone else did the final level. Perhaps this mystery will never be solved?

Check the Amstrad version as this looks quite similar to the St version but the same sprite runs all the way through the game - mind you, the final battle is infinitely poorer on the Amstrad.

Good retrospective of a terrible movie and set of games - I remember being super excited to watch the second film to find that it was incredibly naff and boring. It's amazing they managed to cram so much wrong into that film.
Then the spectrum game came along, and it was going to be 128 only, using the full power of the spectrum with no 48k compromises! What we got was badly drawn charmless graphics, huge, dull levels of shit slow maze-platform gameplay and no music.
Yeah, I'm still disappointed by it all!

From what I've was able to gather there were two ST versions And for some reason they combined the two which would explain why the last level looks so different.

I don't call the movie terrible in hindsight. It was too dark and gruesome at the time and so left a bad taste as a followup to Robocop, but according to today's standards it is pretty mainstream. I enjoy its dark humor and over the top evil villains. And robot Kane powered by a drug addiction is a cool design, as if it was made to turn into video games.

Makes sense - one was probably more a shooter like the Amiga version. Would be interesting to find out more.

Let's be honest - it wasn't a patch on the first one but significanltly better than the third or the series...

No, first was cut to pieces by Cain thugs, then - while was rebuilt - they add SOME directives, and he decided to wipe the BIOS with an electric shock to avoid being a PC semi-mindless drone [no, not Personal Computer but equally bad] like the below
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr1lgfqygio

Thanks for the reminder, but I'm still going to rewatch :p

(It's been years since I saw any of the three films, but) Robocop 2 (the film) was probably aimed at people who were old enough to watch the first one, rather than at people who saw it, hence the much darker vibe and (probably hypocritical) anti-drugs messaging.

Only played the game briefly and thought it was quite good as these things go. Unusual that the Amiga and ST versions had distinct gameplay and a different programmer and artist, especially as the Amiga version is hardly Shadow of the Beast or Battle Squadron.

Didn't rate any of the Ocean Robocop games. THIS is what level 1 of Robocop should have been like....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvcA9FhBlGU

Didn't rate any?

It's hardly the same technical challenge when it's just a slideshow without every element on the screen at a time, let alone any control inputs or crosshair to process. And isn't the gameplay of arcade Robocop 2 a bit too simple to sustain as a game for a home system?

Oh come on, at least 75% of the catalogue of any home system is simply "move and attack".

Yeah, they feel kinda home computer average quality development when they should be like the arcade cabinet games. The arcade games, from Taito(?), are the only 2 I kinda like. Now if the people who did Shadow of the Beast 1 did the Robocop games.....now we're talking :)

I didn't really like Robocop 3, but that's a universal thing as before PS1/3DO era of 3D gaming I like very few 3D polygon games.

In the Retro Gamer magazine uk n°112 there is an article "From the archives" on the company Special Fx and this difference is explained:

“I ran out of time on this one,” admits Keith, “so Joffa and Chas wrote the last level, which is why there is a style difference, but on the whole it worked out well, and I think that Joffa's level is one of the most enjoyable (and hardest) parts of the game.”