SD Snatcher
Encyclopedia
SD Snatcher is a role-playing video game
by Konami
for the MSX2 computer platform in exclusively in Japan
. It is a spinoff
of the original Snatcher
, adapting the same storyline into a different genre. In contrast to the original game's realistic art style, SD Snatcher features a "super deformed
" art style, depicting all of the game's characters with big heads and child-like proportions (only the game's ending deviates from this style and reverts back to the original game's realistic style). Like the MSX2 port of the original Snatcher, SD Snatcher was released with a proprietary cartridge
that contains the Konami SCC
custom sound chip, along with three floppy disk
s containing the actual game data.
s and introduced an innovative battle system, which uses a first-person
perspective that allows the player to aim at specific body parts of an enemy and disable certain characteristics. For example, shooting a robot's wheel will render the robot immobile, making it less likely to avoid the player's gunfire, or shooting its legs will reduce its agility, attacking its weapon will reduce its strength, or continuously attacking its weak point could lead to a potentially quicker victory. As with other RPGs, the player can upgrade their weapon and purchase auxiliary items that can be used in battle to help the player out. The game also introduced an auto-battle feature, where Metal Gear
can take control of the battle. Each of the firearm weapons have different abilities and target ranges as well as limited ammunition that needs to be brought or found separately. Such a battle system has rarely been used since, though similar battle systems based on targeting individual body parts can later be found in Square
's Vagrant Story
(2000), Bethesda
's Fallout 3
(2008), and Nippon Ichi
's Last Rebellion
(2010).
versions of the original Snatcher, beginning with the 1992 PC Engine remake.
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
by Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
for the MSX2 computer platform in exclusively in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. It is a spinoff
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
of the original Snatcher
Snatcher
is a cyberpunk-themed graphic adventure game produced by Konami, originally released in Japan for the NEC PC-8801 and MSX 2 computer platforms in 1988. It was followed by a CD-ROM-based remake released for the PC Engine video game console in 1992, which was subsequently ported and localized into...
, adapting the same storyline into a different genre. In contrast to the original game's realistic art style, SD Snatcher features a "super deformed
Super deformed
Super deformed or SD is a specific style of Japanese caricature where characters are drawn in an exaggerated way, typically small and chubby, with stubby limbs and oversized heads, to make them resemble small children...
" art style, depicting all of the game's characters with big heads and child-like proportions (only the game's ending deviates from this style and reverts back to the original game's realistic style). Like the MSX2 port of the original Snatcher, SD Snatcher was released with a proprietary cartridge
Konami Sound Cartridge
The Konami Sound Cartridge is supplied with the MSXvideo games Snatcher and SD Snatcher. Sometimes it is known as the SCC+. It includes a slightly improved Konami SCC sound chip and 64kB of volatile RAM...
that contains the Konami SCC
Konami SCC
The Konami SCC is a custom sound chip that was developed by Konami with Yamaha. It is one of several sound/memory management chips Konami developed in-house that ended up in use in home computer and video game systems from the late 1980s into the 1990s until the fourth generation systems were...
custom sound chip, along with three floppy disk
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
s containing the actual game data.
Gameplay
As with most RPGs released at the time, the game consists of overhead exploration of areas and menu-driven turn-based battles. However, it abandoned random encounterRandom encounter
A random encounter is a feature commonly used in various role-playing games whereby encounters with non-player character enemies or other dangers occur sporadically and at random...
s and introduced an innovative battle system, which uses a first-person
First person (video games)
In video games, first person refers to a graphical perspective rendered from the viewpoint of the player character. In many cases, this may be the viewpoint from the cockpit of a vehicle. Many different genres have made use of first-person perspectives, ranging from adventure games to flight...
perspective that allows the player to aim at specific body parts of an enemy and disable certain characteristics. For example, shooting a robot's wheel will render the robot immobile, making it less likely to avoid the player's gunfire, or shooting its legs will reduce its agility, attacking its weapon will reduce its strength, or continuously attacking its weak point could lead to a potentially quicker victory. As with other RPGs, the player can upgrade their weapon and purchase auxiliary items that can be used in battle to help the player out. The game also introduced an auto-battle feature, where Metal Gear
Metal Gear (weapon)
is the name for a series of fictional mecha in the Metal Gear series. In the series, a Metal Gear is defined as a bipedal nuclear equipped tank, but in the case of Metal Gear RAY, is a large bipedal tank designed to destroy other Metal Gear...
can take control of the battle. Each of the firearm weapons have different abilities and target ranges as well as limited ammunition that needs to be brought or found separately. Such a battle system has rarely been used since, though similar battle systems based on targeting individual body parts can later be found in Square
Square (company)
was a Japanese video game company founded in September 1983 by Masafumi Miyamoto. It merged with Enix in 2003 and became part of Square Enix...
's Vagrant Story
Vagrant Story
is a Japanese-developed console role-playing game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation video game console. The game was released in 2000, and has been re-released through the PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable consoles eleven years later...
(2000), Bethesda
Bethesda Softworks
Bethesda Softworks, LLC, is an American video game company. A subsidiary of ZeniMax Media, the company was originally based in Bethesda, Maryland and eventually moved to their current location in Rockville, Maryland...
's Fallout 3
Fallout 3
Fallout 3 is an action role-playing game released by Bethesda Game Studios, and the third major installment in the Fallout series. The game was released in North America, Europe and Australia in October 2008, and in Japan in December 2008 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360...
(2008), and Nippon Ichi
Nippon Ichi
is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. They are responsible for such titles as Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, Phantom Brave, La Pucelle: Tactics and Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure.-History:Nippon Ichi Software was founded in September 1991 in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, as an entertainment...
's Last Rebellion
Last Rebellion
Last Rebellion is a console role-playing video game developed by Nippon Ichi Software and Hit Maker and published by Nippon Ichi Software in Japan as well as in North America and Tecmo Koei in Europe exclusively for the PlayStation 3...
(2010).
Plot
SD Snatcher follows the same storyline as the original Snatcher. Like in the original game, story is set in the year 2042, where the player takes control of Gillian Seed, an agent of the JUNKER organization assigned to investigate a breed of cyborgs known as Snatchers, who prey on humans by killing them and taking their place in society. There are several story differences between SD Snatcher and the other versions of Snatcher due to the change in the game's genre. SD Snatcher is notable for featuring an alternate version of the originally planned ending that was cut from the PC88 and MSX2 versions of Snatcher before their release. This planned ending would later be included in the subsequent CD-ROMCD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
versions of the original Snatcher, beginning with the 1992 PC Engine remake.