3ERCD Snatcher

From the legendary Konami developer who created the Metal Gear
series is this lesser known game on an almost forgotten system: Hideo
Kojima's Snatcher on the Sega CD. Originally published on the PC8801
and MSX2 system in 1988, Snatcher was upgraded for the PC-Engine in
1992 and then again for the Sega CD in 1994. The game saw another re-
release on the Saturn and the Playstation, but the Sega CD version is
easily the best version of the game since it was the only one released in
America and since the 32-bit versions were censored. Consequently, the
rare Sega CD version has reached a cult-like status in the U.S. with
some gamers claiming it is one of the greatest games of all time. And
even though it's not the greatest game of all time it certainly is an
enjoyable one thanks to an amazing storyline.

The year is 2047 and the security of the man-made island city of Neo
Kobe, Japan is under serious stress: a new bioroid life form known as
Snatchers have emerged and are killing off high members of society and
taking their places. And since they are almost indistinguishable from
human beings the problem has created mass paranoia and hysteria.

You play as Gillian Seed, an amnesiac who was discovered in Russia
along with your amnesic wife Jamie. But, because neither of you have
any recollection of your past, you have nothing to base the marriage on,
and thus, have separated. The only thing you can recall is the word
"Snatcher." Hoping to discover the truth behind your mysterious past
you decide to transfer to the quarantined city of Neo Kobe---where the
Snatchers seem to be isolated---to join the JUNKERS (Japanese
Undercover Neuro-Kinetic Elimination Rangers), a government agency
formed to combat the growing Snatcher problem. Aided with a special
blaster gun and your own robot navigator, Metal Gear, you find yourself
in the most dangerous detective job in the world as you seek to
discover the truth behind the Snatcher conspiracy (although I cannot
figure out why such an important agency only employs five people).

Gameplay

The story is told through a combination of various still shots with text-
dialogue, and voiced anime cutscenes. To progress the story you select
from a group of onscreen commands such as Move, Look, Investigate,
Talk, Ask, etc., all of which will then bring up a set of subcommands as
you search areas and items for clues. Anyone who has played any text-
adventure game before will know what to expect, those who haven't will
probably be disappointed to discover that they don't get to really
control an onscreen character.

The gameplay in text-adventure games are usually fairly simple as there
are only so many commands you can choose from. I never was a fan of
this type of gameplay (there is a reason why it never really caught on),
but in all honesty, Snatcher offers some of the better I've experienced
in the genre as it effectively eliminates all of the unnecessary options.
That is, you won't waste your time investigating items or areas that
won't advance the storyline because the option to do so won't exist.
And while most gamers will complain that this makes the game too
linear it's better than wasting a half hour searching an unimportant
lamp in an unimportant room in an unimportant building.

Given that, though, I still had some issues with the gameplay. First, the
game definitely is linear as you don't have the freedom to go anywhere
at anytime---the game limits you quite well. But even though this
undermines the whole "detective" aspect of the game you will still feel
like you are discovering important clues and solving tough puzzles,
which is a noteworthy accomplishment given the non-interactive nature
of the game. Second, even though the developers did a good job of
eliminating unnecessary commands you will still find yourself
completely exhausting the menu (sometimes investigating the same
item three or four times) as you attempt to trigger the next important
discovery. There were too many occasions where I already knew what
to do but couldn't do it because I had to "discover" it by exhausting the
available commands even when I had already done so. And while the
developers did an excellent job with the text, as characters will reword
or say different things three or four different times, it can get a little
frustrating having to repeatedly ask an NPC (non-playable character)
the same thing just to trigger another menu command. Most of the
puzzles are pretty simple and obvious, but a few are quite impressive
and will make you feel like a true detective when you solve them.

To mix things up, though, there are also several shooting sequences
throughout the game. And while these sequences are far too simple and
much too sparse in the first two thirds of the game they add a great
deal to the gameplay. During these sequences the screen will shift into
a 3x3 grid and you must shoot enemies by aiming with the D-pad and
pressing C (though you can also use the Justifier Light Gun if you have
it). In the final segment of the game these sequences come fast and
hard, creating the most intense instances of the game. The game would
have benefited greatly by including more of these shooting sequences.

Nevertheless, Snatcher is one of the few games in existence where the
subpar gameplay is not a major issue as the game's plot truly is that
good. And while the basic storyline premise of machines taking over the
world is nothing new in the Sci-Fi genre, Snatcher's story remains
original and enjoyable.

60%

Graphics

Snatcher's story is told through single-screen anime pictures which
have minor animations on them. The still-shots are well done, and are
woven in flawlessly with the various animated cutscenes. These scenes
feature full dialogue accompanied by animated headshots of the
characters (there mouths move as they speak and their eyes blink). The
colors and details of the screens are quite good for the Sega CD.
They're not amazing, but the entire presentation is appealing as it looks
like an interactive comic book. Besides, the intro and ending anime
movies are spectacular, as are the gore scenes.

93%

Sound

The sound affects are mediocre, but that's the only area of the sound
department that falls short. The music is superb and complements the
suspense scenes very well (though sometimes it can feel out of place as
it continues to play while you slowly cycle through the menu trying to
advance the game), and the voice acting is excellent as well---makes me
wish there were even more scenes that featured it.

96%

Replay

If you think of the game as a movie or a novel you will see why there is
not much incentive to replay the game. Yes, the story is good enough
that it warrants a second play through, but it's also so good that you
won't forget it (and thus, may not need to play it again). Nevertheless,
coming in at under ten hours of total play, there are a lot of humorous
and hidden cutscenes that can be quite entertaining to watch but have
little to do with the story. Thus, most who play the game will miss them
unless they search diligently for them, and this may provide incentive to
play the game again. But is playing the game a second time through and
having to even more thoroughly exhaust the menu commands to see
these cutscenes worth the time? Maybe, but probably not, especially
since the game is so linear. In its time this would have been the perfect
rental, but even then I probably would have purchased it.

40%

Overall

The gameplay in Snatcher leaves much to be desired for, but the story
more than makes up for it. If you enjoy text-adventure games then you
will find no better game in the genre---it simply put, is the best text-
adventure game I've ever played. But even those who do not like these
types of games will still enjoy Snatcher for its entertaining story. The
plot is very deep and the developers did a brilliant job of connecting all
the twists and answering all the questions. The game is suspenseful and
packed full of humor and cultural references (even Michael Jackson
gets a reference); you won't easily put that controller down, and when
you do you'll find yourself picking it back up sooner than you expected.

I'm not sure if the game would have benefited from more interactive
gameplay found in other adventure games, but I trust Hideo Kojima
enough to assume that the game is best as it stands. Games like this
were abundant on the Sega CD, and while most of them didn't catch on
enough to survive past that era of gaming, Snatcher did, and that says
something. Whether or not it's worth the hefty price tag it currently
demands is a tough call. It will be a game you'll remember, and it's one
of the best on the system, but many gamers will be put off by the text-
adventure type gameplay.

88%