I played this two years ago in an attempt to play some older Kojima stuff and it literally blew my mind and I think about it often. Didn’t seem like there were videos about it ANYWHERE at the time.
I agree with this review, especially regarding the storyline. I personally don't mind interactivity taking a backseat to the narrative, so long as it's good. However, few people point out how derivative and superficial the plot really is. After all, it just mashes up the storylines from films like Bladerunner, Terminator, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. However, I did enjoy my playthrough of the game and would still recommend Snatcher if only for its aesthetics and music.
After the Divinity video, I was not expecting another one so fast. I was always curious about this game, but the age accessibility of the hardware kept me away. Great video, dude! Thanks.
It'll be a long time before I try anything as big as that again. For now I'll keep it to single game videos and maybe even on the shorter side if I can. Glad you liked the video.
subscribed. I scored a SegaCD version of this complete in box for $2.50 sometime shortly after 2000 at a used games store. I had some 3-1 Sega console (Cd, 32x, and Genesis in one) and played the hell out of this. Loved it. Thanks for the vid.
I was eight when this came out on the Mega CD. Read about it in a magazine which had the screenshot of Gibson with his head in his lap. That never left me. And neither has my desire to play this game one day. And Policenauts too for that matter
When I booted up Policenauts just to grab a little footage the music really hooked me in and I wound up spending a couple of hours with it in the end. Seems really cool.
Really great video Arkham keep it up. It reminded me of Beneath and Beyond a steel sky. For some reason, I guess I still need to play those, and it reminds me I need to finish the city of Ghosts dlc for Cloudpunk and Tales of a Neon Sea.
That was amazing. I'm a late fan of Snatcher, and have depended on gameplay and review posts to see the really juicy tableaus -I completely agree with you about how intoxicating the art is. It definitely reaches beyond its limits and often succeeds. Your step-by-step review / overview / retrospective was a much needed tonic during this morning's sketching. Many screens were captured and your descriptions complimented them well. Keep up the good work. 10/10 -would watch again on loop.
Interesting concept, cool characters, polished visuals and style, erotic undertones and kind of dumb plot. So about on par for 1980-1990 movies then ;) I get it's not perfect obviously, I never played it, but I can totally understand the niche following it has - I like my own share of dumb sci-fi b-movies from the era that I have fond memories of renting on VHS as a kid...
Yeah I can see why people are so attached to it. It really is one of a kind. Imagine going from Super Mario to some stylish sci fi detective story with decapitations. Makes sense that people rave about it.
I adore this game, but it must be played with the controller/light gun combo for the full effect. A few times I was caught stumbling to grab my gun and arm it before firing. That really immersed me into the action.
regarding sales and reception of snatcher over the years the 8 bit versions were well received but didnt sell the greatest due to them being quite expensive at the time the PC engine remake (what the sega cd ver is based on) was also received well but unlike its 8 bit counterparts, sold quite well. well enough to warrant a localization the sega CD ver was also well received in the magazines that did review the game (with one saying its impressive how it manages to be more cinematic and better done than the FMV games the system was known for). however its poor sales can contributed to the fact it was a 1994 sega cd game. the saturn and ps1 were months away and public interest in the sega cd was practically done at that point.
Thanks for the info. The Sega CD is one of the most bizarre chapters in Sega's life. I had one myself and I loved it but it was so strange to launch a console upgrade that was almost dead on arrival.
Excellent video, but I do have some corrections about some parts. Snatcher was originally released on November 26th, 1988 on the NEC PC-8801, it came to the MSX2 a couple weeks later on December 16th. The first version of Snatcher to have the ending seen in the Mega CD version was SD Snatcher on the MSX2, a JRPG reimagining with some story differences but having an early version of what would become the 3rd act. The first version with the 3rd act we know of today was for the PC-Engine Super CD, or TurboGrafx CD, only released in Japan in October 1992, but pretty much it would be the base for the Mega CD port/localization in late 1994. It would also be the final version that Kojima had any involvement in, since by the time the Mega CD, PlayStation, and Saturn versions were in development, Kojima was already involved with Policenauts because of its original PC-9821 release and later console ports.
Speaking of Your Favorite Son, I found you b/c of him, and I do enjoy your retrospectives. And this one, man. I figured this game wouldn't be a hidden gem, but a great relic of the past, albeit not being super amazing. What can I say? The cyberpunk here is almost as timeless as Akira. I watched your other vids, but the minute you made this, I had to sub.
Another great video, Arkham! I was always curious about Kojima's early projects before he blew up into one of the best storyteller's in the industry. Imo, of course😊 Side note: 16:07 looks like Neo Tokyo straight out of Akira lol ❤
@@Alice8000 I try not to put myself in a box. My labels change on a daily and sometimes hourly basis. But I'm not one to get offended so whatever makes you happy I guess.
Enjoying the video, but I feel it's unfair to claim "style over substance" is a staple of the cyberpunk genre. Akira has lots of substance in story and characters if you're talking about the manga, and Ghost in the Shell the movie is a masterpiece. If having lots of substanceless media made while using specific trappings to sell product is the qualifier, that would make every genre guilty of being mostly style over substance.
That's not what I meant at all sorry. It's not the content of the story more the aesthetic. Cybernetic augmentation is completely impractical but looks cool for example. This is a big part of the cyberpunk look and vibe.
@@arkham666 Ah, gotcha. I think I'd still disagree though, lol. I believe works like the Ghost in the Shell film and Neuromancer were trying to be largely practical in the modifications they imagined. To be sure, a lot of more modern works focus on a cassette punk aesthetic that's no longer futuristic. Though I believe 2077 largely nailed it's near future/alternate timeline setting. That's a setting where mods aren't just for practicality, but status. Were I live lot's of people have giant fuck you trucks that are far from practical, and possibly carrying a big fuck you gun, so I feel people getting modded up to be a giant walking tank is very believable
You don't have to remember to write "like comment subscribe" into your scripts as they are fundamental functions and features of the RU-vid platform that everyone knows about.
