Earlier this month, I finally got to play Hideo Kojima's Snatcher over on @TeamRetroFox. Well, at least the 1995 Sega CD North American release of it. I didn't know the game existed back in '95 because game advertisements weren't a big thing outside of what Sega and Nintendo felt deserved the TV commercial bump. It might've been mentioned in one of the old gaming mags. But back then, you mainly found new games by picking up the box and looking at the back.
It's a really solid adventure game with some amazing music. The interface is a bit clunky which is both due to the medium and due to the origins of the game (a 1988 MSX2/PC Engine release in Japan). Menus with limited options to LOOK, INVESTIGATE, TALK, etc. And sometimes you have to use the same option multiple times to dig down and find the McGuffin. But it was a lot of fun with some seriously good writing. Kojima's style and obsession with detail was obvious throughout. You could see the primordial makings of Metal Gear Solid in there. The translation was really good for the time and the voice actors nailed it.
I don't think I'd have appreciated the game back in 1995. It's definitely not meant for a younger audience. Politics, murder, a cop way too obsessed with women, and rather gory for its time. OH! It also could use the Justifier light gun! There were some limited shooting segments which were a pain with the controller, but I'd imagine it'd be sheer panic with the gun.
Truth be told, I only knew about the game nowadays due to how it's praised as a pinnacle of adventure gaming though its odd how there's been no modern rerelease of the game. It had its original release on the MSX2 and PC Engine, a Sega CD port, a PS1 and Saturn port, and that's it. A little work and it'd honestly make a great mobile or Switch game at the least. I realize Kojima himself is basically persona non grata as far as Konami is concerned but this could've been done well before MGS5 was a thing.
I think once we're done with Disco Elysium and Control on the Twitch channel, I'll dig out Policenauts and give that a spin.
Did I mention the music was fantastic?
Our playthrough of Snatcher: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT6ZEDklYcmj1KIkurfvphLfixgjQjR_E