Quarter Suckers - Robotron 2084 & Sinistar (Double Feature)

Robotron was released 
on many systems

In 2084, man creates a species of super-advanced cyborgs known as Robotrons. Recognizing the imperfect nature of their creators, the Robotrons conclude that the inefficient human race must be exterminated. In Robotron: 2084, only you and a single family of clones remain. If mankind is to survive, you must destroy the Grunts, Brains, Enforcers, and Tanks - but avoid the indestructible Hulks at all cost.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
Can you withstand wave after wave of android invasion and rescue Mommy, Daddy, and Mikey... before it's too late?

Robotron: 2084 is one of the greatest games of all time, released in an arcade-perfect form in much of Midway's older arcade collections, the arcade game is a twin-stick shooter, you can play it alone or with a friend, one moving the character and another firing at the enemies.

Robotron 2084 was developed by Eugene Jarvis and Larry DeMar of Vid Kidz and released in 1982, also responsible for Defender, and Stargate.

Eugene Jarvis will then release the infamous NARC arcade game,

known for its controversial violence against junkies while promoting drug-free lifestyles

Robotron 2084 is often remembered as the first survival game of all time, much like Atari's famous Berzerk, you play as a man fighting off against an impossible horde of robots, aiming for a high score while rescuing humans spread across the screen, the difficulty increases exponentially with each wave, by making the robots faster and swarming the player. Beware though, that humanoids rescue can be shot by the enemy robots. This game is a spiritual predecessor to the more popular "Smash T.V.".

 

Explaining the game of Robotron

While the game is incredibly ugly, epileptic at times; graphics will keep you hooked, its colorful and contrasted graphics worked well with the powerful glow and full contrast of the CRT television and arcade monitors. 

It was a major innovation at the time that has inspired other games since then; an inspiration not only to the more popular "Smash T.V.", but to any bullet hell, twin-stick games, and survival games from our relative present.
The randomly generated elements of the game allowed it to remain "fresh", in Jarvis' own words; as opposed to the more mechanized "Donkey Kong" or "Frogger" with little to no RNG, Robotron was all about the element of surprise, which contributed to the overall action and frenetic nature of the game.

A sprite list of enemies and friends you will find in Robotron 2084

Including the powerful Brain, a most dangerous enemy you will face every fifth wave

Many lesser ports were released on Atari consoles, to which I would recommend playing the game on the Williams Arcade Classics released on every system available since the 4th generation.  My favorite remains on Genesis with the use of the 6 button controller.

With its frenetic audio, screen animation, replayability, and innovation, we recommend Robotron 2084 as part of our Quarter Sucker Review. We give Robotron 2084 an 92% score as a product of its time that can still be enjoyed today for hours on end. 

A mediocre reboot was released on Nintendo 64, titled "Robotron 64"

Robotron 64 does away with the simplicity of the silhouette-based sprite work of the original; the early 3D models are harder to differentiate from one another. An awkward camera angle is used to showcase these new models, constantly blocking your line of sight. 
Positively, the game features tons of new content, such as four variants of each of its enemies type: Quark, Hulk, Grunt, Brain, Sphredoid, and Enforcer, each with variation in their playstyle, health point, size, or speed. Contrary to the "Brain" being the boss wave of the first incineration, Robotron 64 adds the imposing Yellow Guardian and Blue Guardian, respectively at the 100th and 200th level, both reminiscent of the "Mutoid Man" from "Smash T.V.". Defeat these foes and you will clear the game, allowing you to top the leaderboard.
The game is also found on Playstation, titled Robotron X, with many cut features, but better graphics.

As part of our Quarter Suckers Reviews, we give "Robotron X" a 25% score and "Robotron 64" a 35% score.

"Yellow Guardian" might be one of the ugliest models we've seen on the N64.

Here's the official promo VHS rip for Robotron 2084, a pre-production game was filmed for this video, explaining the story of Robotron, as well as the in-depth rules of the game.

We are not sure whether the video is directed at customers, a sale pitch, or toward executives and key shareholders at Williams. It's an interesting watch nonetheless.