Snatcher (video game)
Snatcher (スナッチャー) is a cyberpunk-themed adventure game written and directed by Hideo Kojima. It was developed and published by Konami. Originally released in Japan for the NEC PC-8801 and MSX2 in 1988, it was remade for the PC-Engine in 1992 and ported to the Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn in 1996. It was released for the Sega CD in North America and its counterpart, the Mega CD in Europe, in 1994, in what is the game's first and only official English version. One of the first truly cinematic games produced, Snatcher has gained a small cult following due to its mature storytelling, adult themes and (in later versions) voice acting. It was heavily influenced by various sci-fi and noir films, most notably Blade Runner and The Terminator.
Release Dates
- November 26, 1988 — PC-8801 (Japan)
- December 13, 1988 — MSX2 (Japan)
- October 23, 1992 — PC-Engine Super CD-ROM² (Snatcher CD-ROMantic) (Japan)
- December 15, 1994 — Sega-CD (North America), Mega-CD (Europe)
- February 12, 1996 — Sony Playstation (Japan)
- March 29, 1996 — Sega Saturn (Japan)
Storyline
On June 6, 1991*, a chemical weapon known as Lucipher-Alpha under development in Chernoton, Russia, is released into the atmosphere, resulting in the death of 80% of the Eurasian population. The contaminated area becomes uninhabitable for a decade, when Lucipher-Alpha mutates into a non-lethal form. This tragic event later becomes known as the "Catastrophe".
Fifty years later, a breed of artificial life-forms or bioroids known as "snatchers", began appearing in the artificial island of Neo Kobe City, killing their victims and taking their place in society. Nobody knows exactly what they are or where they come from. As Gillian Seed, an amnesiac working for an Anti-Snatcher task force called JUNKER, the player's goal is to track down the source of the snatchers and discover Gillian's mysterious connections with them.
* In the English version of the game, the date of the Catastrophe was set to 1996, five years later than the Japanese versions. The change was done in order to keep the storyline fresh to a western audience unfamiliar with the earlier Japanese versions of the game. This also changes the timing of previous and further events to five years ahead. However, this change also creates a plot hole with the picture of Jaime at the Moscow Olympics, which would indicate that Gillian and Jaime were sent to Russia during their early teens.
Versions
There were six different versions of Snatcher were made since the game's debut in 1988: five which were released in Japan and one English version in North America and Europe. The Japanese versions were very faithful to each other, with most of the changes being superficial enhancement to the game's graphics and music. The main differences between the early versions for the PC-88 and MSX and the subsequent versions is the addition of "Act 3" to the story and the use of voiceovers for key scenes in the game.
The Sega Mega-CD version is essentially a localized port of the PC-Engine version, with several liberties taken with the game's plot. However, it also adds its own set of improvements to the game.
PC-8801
The first version of the game and also the most obscure. This version lacked the spoken voiceovers of the later versions. Instead, all the dialogue was displayed in text, with each character having a unique sounding bleep when they spoke. The game ended prematurely at Act 2. Although Kojima wrote the entire script when the game was made, the developers were pressured to finish the game earlier due to time constraints. As a result, the game concludes with a much darker ending than what was originally intended and with various loose ends. Kojima therefore has said that this version is not "complete". This version made use of the PC-88's internal FM chip for its music, which was considered to be one of the most powerful PC sound chips of its time.
MSX2
The MSX version of Snatcher was released a month after the PC-88 version and is virtually identical. Instead of using the MSX's internal audio hardware, the game came packaged with a proprietary sound cartridge that allowed for enhanced music and sound effects to match those of the PC-88 version. However the MSX version also suffered from long loading times (as a result of bad coding due to the rushed release) and the size of the visual window was much shorter than the PC-88 version.
PC-Engine
Dubbed Snatcher CD-ROMantic (スナッチャー シーディロマンティック), the PC-Engine version was the first CD-ROM version of the game (as well as Konami's first CD-ROM game) and is considered by some to be Snatcher's "director's cut", since it was the last version of the game designed by Kojima himself. Japanese voiceovers (performed by popular seiyuu) were added to several key scenes in the game and Act 3 was added, giving the game a much bigger sense of closure.
In addition, some of the game's pre-existing scenes and dialogue were altered, a few minor scenes were added and the opening theme was changed from Twilight of Neo Kobe City to One Night in Neo Kobe City.
Prior to the release of the full game, Konami issued a Pilot Disk edition of the game featuring a demo of the game, a trailer, a glossary with character and item descriptions and an interview with a video game critic.
SegaCD and Mega-CD
The first and only English version made, the Sega (Mega) CD version was made specifically for a western audience in North America and Europe and was never released in Japan. The game is mostly identical to the PC-Engine version in terms of graphics and contents. The game's script was translated by Scott T. Hards and localized by Jeremy Blaustein (who later translated Metal Gear Solid). Changes were made to the storyline (the date of the Catastrophe was moved five years ahead to keep the story fresh for westeners and several keywords were changed) and some of the graphics were altered as well.
This version also includes two exclusive scenes (including an extended ending sequence) recorded specifically for the English version which serves to cover some of the loose ends left by the Japanese version. It is also the only version to include light gun support.
Despite this, the game did not enjoy the same success outside Japan and was considered a commercial failure, selling only a few thousand units in North America according to an interview with Blaustein. The failure is mainly attributed to a lack of promotion from Konami's part and Sega's waning support of the Sega CD add-on in favor of the then recently-released 32X and the forthcoming Saturn. Despite this, the game became the most sought after title for the platform since its release.
Sony PlayStation
Released as a forerunner to the PlayStation release of Policenauts, this version of Snatcher was essentially a port of the PC-Engine version, but also included a few minor elements from the Sega-CD version. The game's graphics were upgraded to full 32-bit color. However, some of the game's most violent contents were toned-down or completely censored (for example; the decapitated head of a corpse in Act 1 is omitted from view after a brief second). Not many fans appreciate the redrawn artwork and remixed music and prefer the older versions as a result.
Sega Saturn
Nearly identical to the PlayStation version, but with slightly less censorship (no mosaic when a rotting corpse is shown).
SD Snatcher
Super Deform Snatcher (すーぱーでふぉるめ・スナッチャー), or SD Snatcher for short, is an RPG for the MSX2 that adapts the storyline of the original Snatcher. The title refers to the more childlike (or super deformed) proportions used in the game. Like the MSX version of the original Snatcher, the game came with its own sound cartridge. It was released April 27, 1990.
The storyline only vaguely follows that of the original version for gameplay purposes and adds several new supporting characters in addition to the existing cast. SD Snatcher actually continues the story after the events of the Act 2 and takes the game to a slightly different conclusion than the later CD-ROM versions. The characters of Dr. Petrovich and Elijah Madnar made their first appearances in this version.
Trivia
- The city of Chernoton where the "Catastrophe" occurs is the original target of the nuclear warhead in Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear Solid.
External links
- Junker HQ Collector's site focusing on Snatcher and other Hideo Kojima games. Features detailed information on each version.
- SD-Snatcher.net The ultimate fanpage on SD-Snatcher.
- The Kremlin A Snatcher fan site that features a lot of media from screenshots to music samples as well as other information about the game.