Snatcher

Snatcher
Studio	Konami
Publisher	Konami
Senior Developer	Hideo Kojima
Erstveröffent- lichung	PC-88: Nov. 26, 1988 MSX-2: December 13, 1988 PC Engine Super CD-Rom 2: October 23, 1992 Mega-CD: December 15, 1994 January 1995 Playstation: February 12, 1996 Saturn: March 29, 1996
platform	PC-88 , MSX-2 , PC Engine CD-Rom 2 , Sega Mega-CD , PlayStation , Sega Saturn
genre	Japanese adventure
Subject	Cyberpunk
Game mode	Single player
control	Controller , keyboard , light gun
medium	Floppy Disk (PC-88, MSX-2), CD-Rom (PC Engine, Mega CD, PlayStation, Saturn)
language	Japanese, English (Mega CD)
Age rating	USK

Snatcher ( Japanese ス ナ ッ チ ャ ー Sunatchā ) is a computer game produced by Konami with many thematic elements of cyberpunk , which was released in 1988 for the PC-8801 from NEC and the MSX-2 . In 1992 a remake for the PC Engine was released and then for the first time an English version for the Sega Mega-CD was released in 1994. In 1996, further implementations for the Sony PlayStation and the Sega Saturn followed . The plot of the game revolves around the investigator Gillian Seed , whose job it is to track down humanoid robots called Snatchers . The snatchers kill people and take their place in human society in the body of their victims.

Snatcher is the second video game, after Metal Gear , that Hideo Kojima wrote and directed the script. The video game is also known for its heavy influence from science fiction films such as Blade Runner , Akira and Terminator , as well as the horror film Invasion of the Body Snatchers .

action

On June 6, 1996 (1991 in the Japanese versions), a biological weapon known as Lucipher-Alpha , which was under development in Chernoton, Russia , was released into the atmosphere. This resulted in the death of 80% of the Eurasian population or half of the world's population and made the contaminated areas uninhabitable for ten years before the Lucipher alpha mutated into a non-lethal form. This tragic event was henceforth called the Catastrophe (in German the catastrophe ).

Fifty years later, humanoid robots , known as snatchers, appear on the artificial island of Neo Kobe City , killing people and taking on their roles in society in the bodies of their victims. What exactly the snatchers are and where they come from is unknown. The goal of the player as Gillian Seed , an amnesiac member of the anti-snatcher special unit JUNKER , is to track down the snatchers and their origins and to unravel Gillian's mysterious connection to them.

Characters

Note: spellings have been adopted from the English-language mega-CD version. Alternative spellings from other versions in brackets.

Gillian Seed ( ギ リ ア ン ・ シ ー ド , Girian Shīdo , Gulian in the PC-8801 / MSX version.)

The protagonist suffering from amnesia . Believes to have had some mysterious connection to the Snatcher in the past. Joins JUNKER as an investigator.

Metal Gear Mk. II ( メ タ ル ギ ア Mk.Ⅱ , Metaru Gia Mk. II )

Gillian's assistant robot. A voice-programmed navigator that can carry out forensic analyzes on site and has a built-in videophone . Its builder Harry Benson claims that he designed it after the Metal Gear from the late 20th century (alluding to the weapons from the game series of the same name ).

Jamie Seed ( ジ ェ ミ ー ・ シ ー ド , Jemī Shīdo , Jaime in Japanese versions)

Gillian's wife, with no memory of her past. The couple has become estranged from each other. Works at the drug manufacturer Neo Kobe Pharmaceuticals .

Random Hajile ( ラ ン ダ ム ・ ハ ジ ル , Randamu Hajiru , Randam in Japanese versions)

A mysterious bounty hunter who supports Gillian in places.

Mika Slayton ( ミ カ ・ ス レ イ ト ン , Mika Sureiton , Slaton in the PC-8801 / MSX version)

The receptionist at the JUNKER headquarters. A young attractive woman of Japanese Jewish descent.

Katrina Gibson ( カ ト リ ー ヌ ・ ギ ブ ス ン , Katorīnu Gibusun , Kathaline in the PC-8801 / MSX version, Katherine in later Japanese versions)

The young daughter of the JUNKER agent Jean Jack Gibson.

Harry Benson ( ハ リ ー ・ ベ ン ソ ン , Harī Benson )

A mechanic employed by JUNKER . Survived the catastrophe when he was a child. Is the builder of the two assistant robots Little John and Metal Gear Mk. II.

Benson Cunningham ( ベ ン ソ ン ・ カ ニ ン ガ ム , Benson Kaningamu , Cunningum in Japanese versions)

Head of the JUNKER authority. Special forces veteran.

Jean Jack Gibson ( ジ ャ ン ・ ジ ャ ッ ク ・ ギ ブ ス ン , Jan Jakk Gibusun )

Katrina's father and the only runner besides Gilian at JUNKER owns Little John like Gilian, an assistant robot .

Napoleon ( ナ ポ レ オ ン , Naporeon )

An informer suffering from allergies.

Chin Shu Oh ( 陳 周鳳 , Chin Shūhō , Chin Syuuhou in Japanese versions)

The director of the Queens Hospital.

Elijah Modnar ( エ リ ア ・ マ ッ ド ナ ー , Eria Maddonā , Madnar in Japanese versions)

A Russian scientist. Was involved in the secret Soviet project that led to the tragic event the Catastrophe .

Game principle and technology

The game world is perceived by the player from the perspective of the main character Gillian Seed, whereby predetermined options for action can be carried out via a menu . With the commands "Look", "Investigate", "Talk", "Ask" and "Move" (as well as other commands available at certain points), the environment can be explored, items relevant to the progress of the game can be collected and information from other characters can be obtained . Items in Gillian's possession can be analyzed or shown to other people. With the help of Gillian's assistant robot Metal Gear, other characters can be contacted via a built-in video phone or the game status can be saved. At some points in the game, the player has to survive shooting sequences in which attackers appear randomly in a three by three grid .

Development and production details

Japanese versions

Snatcher was first released on November 26, 1988 for the NEC PC-8801 and on December 13, 1988 for the MSX-2 . Both versions were sold as floppy disks and are entirely text-based, with conversations between characters being accompanied by special beeps . Due to lack of time, the developers were forced to shorten the plot and, contrary to the original plan, let the game end after the second act. The MSX-2 version came with the Konami Sound Cartridge (an additional plug-in module ) so that the music and sound effects known from the PC-8801 could be played. In the MSX-2 edition, the graphics window is a little smaller and the loading times are a little longer, but otherwise no changes were made to the PC-8801 version. Konami released a spin-off of the game called SD Snatcher for the MSX-2 on April 27, 1990. The role-playing game SD Snatcher contains an alternate plot to the story known from Snatcher and has a different ending.

A remake of Snatcher took place as a Super CD-ROM² release (on CD ) for the PC Engine with the title Snatcher: CD-ROMantic on October 23, 1992. In addition to improved graphics and music and sound effects, some of this version were synchronized Added key parts of the game, as well as the third act that was left out in the earlier versions. Before the release of Snatcher for the PC Engine, Konami released a pilot disk on August 7, 1992, with playable parts, a trailer- like preview video and a database of the characters and mechanics of the final version to be released. The PC engine version of the game was the last one in which the original development team - Hideo Kojima among them - was involved.

In February 1996 Snatcher was implemented for the PlayStation and in March of the same year for the Sega Saturn . Graphics have been slightly revised in the two 32-bit versions, a computer-animated intro and other minor changes, mostly adoptions from the English mega-CD version, have been added. Most of the graphic violence scenes were removed, the speaking heads (when a character was speaking) were completely redesigned and the music was reshuffled.

English version

An English localization of Snatcher was made for the Sega Mega-CD in North America , Europe and Australia , which all appeared in stores in December 1994. The mega-CD implementation was specially created for overseas and is based on the version for the PC engine . The script was translated by Scott T. Hards with Jeremy Blaustein (who later also translated Metal Gear Solid) as script supervisor for localization. Compatibility with the Konami Justifier Lightgun produced by Konami has been added to the Mega-CD version for the shooting sequences.

In order to comply with the stricter censorship regulations outside of Japan, some changes have been made to the English version. Katrina's age has been changed from 14 in the Japanese to 18 in the English version, especially since there is a scene with her in the shower and a dead Snatcher's bare breasts have been covered. A scene from the PC Engine Version, in which a twitching, dying dog with its innards could be seen, has been reworked to an immobile graphic. The clientele of a nightclub were originally parodies of famous sci-fi characters, which Konami modified to avoid copyright infringement . The skeletons of the Snatchers were also remodeled to reduce the similarity to the robots known from Terminator .

The Mega-CD version contains an extended intro, which was adapted from the introductory manga in the game instructions of the earlier Japanese versions. Act 3 has also been redesigned to allow the player more interaction with the game. The end of the game has been extended to include the appearance of Katrina, Mika and Napoleon.

According to Blaustein, at most a few thousand copies of the Snatcher mega-CD version were sold in North America . He attributes the poor sales figures to the generally low number of titles available for the Mega-CD expansion of the Sega Mega Drive . Because of the small number of copies available, high collector prices are often paid for buying Snatcher copies today .

reception

The German-language magazine Mega Fun rated Snatcher at 87% when the Mega-CD version was released, with only the "simple graphics" and the "small language barrier" being criticized due to the lack of German localization.

The English-language video game magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the mega-CD version a rating of 44 out of 50. The GameFan, which was also published in English at the time, gave ratings between 90 and 100 out of 100 with its three testers.

Web links

• Snatcher at MobyGames (English)
• Snatcher (1988) in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Snatcher CD-ROMantic (1992) in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Section reports Censorship comparison of the versions for PC Engine and Mega-CD
• Hardcore Gaming 101 An article about the game. Contains visuals on version differences
• The Snatcher Experience - Comparison Between Snatcher and Blade Runner
• JUNKER HQ - Snatcher fansite with lots of information about the different versions
• The Kremlin - Snatcher fansite, which mainly deals with the mega-CD version
• Entry in a web forum with information on emulation

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Opening Story Photo of a page of the introductory manga from the PC Engine version on junkerhq.net, accessed on January 25, 2012
2. ↑ Email interview with Jeremy Blaustein In: JUNKER HQ, accessed January 25, 2012
3. ↑ Snatcher In: Mega Fun, scan of the test report on Kultboy.com, accessed on January 26, 2012.
4. ↑ Snatcher EGM Grade In: Electronic Gaming Monthly, scan of the grading scheme on junkerhq.net, accessed January 26, 2012.
5. ↑ Snatcher Gamefan Grade In: GameFan, scan of the grading scheme on junkerhq.net, accessed on January 26, 2012.