Games I like - Snatcher

Like most people who were around to experience it at the time, I have an irrational fondness for the Sega CD. Mostly because of this game and Lunar. But Lunar is a story for another day. For today is Snatcher, Yaaaay.

If you haven't played it, that's ok not too many people have. If you've seen Blade Runner you have probably experienced enough of it. Snatcher was made by the same Kojima of Metal Gear fame, before he went off his fucking rocker with MGS 2. It borrows heavily from Blade Runner, Terminator and other sci-fi cyber punk sorts of movies.

The game is mostly a point and click adventure, with lots of voice acting and cool animated cutscenes. One reason I like it so much is that the story is very mature and well translated, which is somewhat of a rarity. You play as Gillian Seed, who is basically Deckard from Blade Runner. You are a member of J.U.N.K.E.R. which is an acronym for some task force but I'll be fucked if I remember what it stands for. You are sent to investigate and destroy humanoid robots called Snatchers, who kill their targets then assume their place in society.


While it borrows a lot of themes from other movies, the story is all it's own. Definitely Kojima at his best, with an incredibly detailed world, cool characters and some goofy humor so things don't get too serious.

Besides the point and click adventure gameplay, once in a while there are first person shooting segments which can be pretty challenging. It also supported the Konami light gun that came with Lethal Enforcers. How cool is that?

I remember seeing pictures of the Snatcher in magazines when it first came out and was blown away by the level of detail. Even today it still holds up remarkably well. It's a shame it really didn't sell well at the time, because it is a fantastic game.

If you like cyber punk, blade runner, or point and click adventures it's definitely worth tracking down a copy. Even if your Sega CD is broken like mine, you could still play it on PC with various emulators, or on PSP if you have custom firmware.