Mechanical robots that infiltrate society and play at the fears of humans has been the
subject of many science fiction films and books for decades.
Blade Runner is an excellent example from 1982 and was a film that Hideo Kojima for
Metal Gear fame was heavily influenced by in making this little gem here.
We’re looking at SNATCHER on the Sega CD.
Originally released for computer systems in Japan in the late 80’s, Snatcher is heavily
influenced by films like Blade Runner, and that’s by no means a bad thing.
A quick review of the story, Gillian Seed, who is not played by Harrison Ford thankfully,
because that would mean a lot of pesky narration that has no place in the game, is an amnesiac
who joins the JUNKER team to combat a menace that has been terrorizing a city off the cost
of Japan in 2047.
JUNKER is a small operation, consisting of less than 10 members.
And even then, there are only 2 field operative agents so not very many people to actually
go out and hunt the Snatchers.
Snatcher tosses you right into the action by reducing the number of these field operatives
by 1, leaving poor Gillian Seed nearly alone in his investigation.
Thankfully, his friendly Navigator, Metal Gear Mk. II, created for peaceful purposes,
is here to help.
The quick start puts you right in the middle of the action, and Snatcher doesn’t let
up till the end of the ride.
Playing like some adventure games from the late 80’s and early 90’s, Snatcher uses
a command menu that Gillian will follow.
Typical commands involve the expected ‘move, look, talk’ commands, but every so often
when the situation changes, you’ll get other, more specific commands.
Pray to God being one of the best.
While not that annoying to use or navigate during the majority of Snatcher, you will
find yourself becoming annoyed with the constant need to repeat the same command over and over
till you feel yourself becoming the guy that shouts at Pac-Man during Pac-Man 2, the new
adventures.
I’m surprised sometimes a finger didn’t appear and point at objects you need to make
Gillian examine several times in order to advance.
While most of Snatcher plays out with the menu interface, there are few action sequences
where Gillian must shoot spider robots, Snatchers, and other attackers.
There are not too many of these, and the majority of these go by in the blink of an eye, but
they feel like a real police officer’s experience.
During an investigation, an officer is always on guard, and that feeling of urgency and
readiness translates pretty well for a Sega game.
It’s exceptionally well done in Snatcher.
You can even plug in a Justifier Lightgun to use during these sequences, but I was stuck
with a traditional D-pad which works pretty well.
The drama of Snatcher comes through with fantastic voice acting and a great localization job
by Konami.
A large amount of the scenes during the course of the game are voice acted, while some have
a traditional text presentation.
Major cut scenes in Snatcher are animated with great pixel artwork and not with horrible
full-motion-video, unlike other Sega CD games, and the quality of the game shines in every
aspect.
The translation, the graphics, and the voice acting all come together in one great presentation.
While sometimes the games cut scenes will get up and take the action away from your
control, for 10 to 15 minutes at a time, you’ll be sitting on the edge of your seat with a
solid grip on your Genesis controller till the eventual cliffhanger that makes you beg
for a sequel we’ve never received.
It’s been since 1994, Konami.
You’ve ported this game to Playstation, Saturn, all of which are in Japan.
Isn’t it time to release a new version or a sequel here in America?
Here’s a goal for you, viewers…give Konami a call.
Tell them you want to see more of Snatcher.
It’s kind of like calling your Senator to pass legislation..only this is a lot more
fun.
Snatcher is HUGE in Japan, seeing other games and even a radio drama based on the story.
Why can’t we have that cool treatment here?
Bottom line for Snatcher: if you’re into Cyberpunk or anything by Hideo Kojima, especially
his older stuff like this, Snatcher is worth picking up.
It’s on the Sega CD, it might be a little pricey, but it’s worth every penny!