Snatcher
26 Nov 1988
All releases
13 Dec 1988 - MSX2
26 Nov 1988 - PC-8800 Series
Tags
Snatcher is a cyberpunk-themed graphic adventure game directed and written by Hideo Kojima and produced by Konami. The setting and story of Snatcher is heavily influenced by cyberpunk and science-fiction media, taking place in a large futuristic dystopian city. The story revolves around an investigator named Gillian Seed assigned to investigate a breed of bioroids known as "snatchers", who are killing humans and taking their place in society. The game is set in a primarily first person perspective and uses a menu-based interface that allows the protagonist to interact with his environment. The player can choose to "Look", "Investigate", "Talk", "Ask" and "Move" (in addition to other options) to acquire key items or receive vital information from other characters. The player can analyze items in Gillian's belongings or show it to other characters. During key points of the game's story, the player must pass shooting sequences to defend Gillian from assailants. These shooting segments use a 3x3 grid which the player can target to fire at enemies. A shooting trainer, called "Junker's Eyes", is accessible at Junker HQ that allows the player to measure their accuracy.
On June 6, 1991, a biological weapon known as Lucifer-Alpha under development in Chernoton, Russia, is released into the atmosphere, resulting in the death of 80% of the Eurasian population which in turn results in the death of half of the world's population. The contaminated area becomes uninhabitable for a decade, when Lucifer-Alpha mutates into a non-lethal form. This tragic event later becomes known as "the Catastrophe". Fifty years later, in 2047 (2042 in the Japanese versions), 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 J.U.N.K.E.R., the player's goal is to track down the source of the snatchers and discover Gillian's mysterious connections with them. The story takes place in three acts.
| Audio | Subtitles | Interface | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ✓ |
The first thing I feel I have to get into is the KILLER soundtrack they have for this game! Holy shit what an absolutely incredible score this has! From the opening credits we are greeted with one of the coolest Jazz records I've heard in a very long time. After that, we are met with many different electronic beats that perfectly place us in this cyberpunk world that Kojima envelopes us in.
The gameplay is simple yet engaging for those who enjoy detective games or even films. You have prompts that allow you to access your possessions, ask questions, look around, investigate, and also move around. The player then must completely place themselves in the shoes of the detective to ask the right questions or do the right prompts in the right order. It isn't as hard as it seems, but I will say the combat was a bit tricky at points. You are given a 3 3-grid system to aim, and while that might seem simple it's actually super tricky when emulating due to the corners.
In classic Kojima fashion, the game is loaded with tons of great easter eggs, pop culture references, and even connections to his other games. However, I was shocked that his long cutscenes were also present in this game, despite how much older it is. The voice acting is also top-notch, as is the incredibly descriptive dialogue. There are few games or even books that have painted such clear pictures in my mind, especially when he gets into the creation of the Snatchers. I know some players don't love how descriptive he gets with his world and mechanics within the game, and I'll even admit sometimes it gets to be a lot of information for me, but this game does it so masterfully!
The story is up there with the greats for me due to how complex and well-structured it is. Kojima plays with elements from Invasion of the Body Snatchers in how the Snatchers operate as well as Blade Runner and Terminator, as the Snatchers look like Terminators and the job of a Junker is highly similar to that of a Blade Runner. If you know me, you know I love movies and cinematic presentations of games, and Kojima is the king of that. It's still mind-boggling to me that he was this focused and experimental this early in his career and gaming in general. The game starts when the world is in shambles after a catastrophic event occurred in Russia which saw the occurrence of robotic creatures called Snatchers, who have been killing and replacing human lives with robotic counterparts. Gillian Seed, our main character, is a Junker who is sent to find and kill Snatchers, although he suffers from amnesia as does his wife after unexplained events took place. I won't get much further into the details of the plot, because I think that this is an absolute must-play. However, I would urge anyone interested to download an emulator to play it because the story holds up and feels fresh nearly 40 years later. The twists and turns are unforeseeable and very exciting, and the cutscenes are so aesthetically pleasing and engaging I can't imagine you'd be bored! Also, the last act is another all-timer for me, so put that and MGS4 in the gold standard category for me!
Snatcher is an astoundingly good game that I'll be thinking about for weeks and maybe even years to come. I'm shocked that no one has tried to adapt this or even remaster this in some way, because it really is one of the best story games I've ever played. The gameplay is immersive, the story is cinematic and wonderfully complex, the visuals are beautiful and elaborate for the times, the voice acting is incredible, the music is INSANE and