Personal Stories

Do you have an interesting story about Snatcher? Share it with us by emailing them to dale@gamecritics.com.

"I fondly remember the first time I played Snatcher. It was 1994, I believe, and I almost didn't even buy the game. I heard a lot of positive buzz about the title; nearly every video-game magazine I read at the time raved about it, but I wasn't quite sure if it was the game for me. I did finally decide to give it a shot. I got a ride to the local mall, and I coughed up the 40 bucks. Good Lord, I'm glad I did.

"I got home that night and tried it out, and I almost immediately knew that I made the right decision. Right off the bat, I was impressed with the music, and the introduction sequence seemed to lay the groundwork of an interesting story. I was especially surprised by the voice acting. It was, and still is, some of the best I've ever heard in a video game.

"As things progressed, I knew this game was something special. It was mature. The game's stars, Gillian and Jamie Seed, were a couple dealing with martial problems. It dealt with drinking, drug use, homelessness, and other serious issues. And while many games at the time (most notably Mortal Kombat) had a tendency to use graphic violence as a marketing ploy, the few instances of graphic violence and death seen in Snatcher were treated very seriously. Characters are shown fighting to deal with the loss, in a touch I wish more games would try to duplicate.

"The plot was very engrossing, with one plot twist after another, all leading up to one of the better endings ever seen in a game. The characters are all very likable, and really begin to grow on the player. I know I'm not the only one who can never forget the beautiful and intelligent Mika Slayton, the money grubbing informant Napoleon, or the mysterious (not to mention bad-ass) Random Hajile.

"To this day, Snatcher remains my favorite game. Every time I play it, I'm still impressed, and occasionally I find something new. It was one of the few true gems on the Sega CD system; a game that unfortunately went ignored by many, due to the platform for which it was released. If you can, find yourself a copy of it. It will be difficult, but it is most definitely worth it."

Jacob "Carp" Paul
The Snatcher Sanctuary

"My relationship with Snatcher began several years ago when my brother and I had managed to borrow a friend's Sega CD and we decided to head on down to the local rental shop and see if anything new had come in that week, Sega CD or otherwise. Long story short, after the votes were in we rented Snatcher mostly because it had an interesting premise and we both thought the art on the case wasn't too bad. We were also both huge Konami fans as well, and prior to the 32-bit era anything with Konami's name on it was guaranteed to be at least "excellent" or better, so that was another thing in its favor.

"We got home, ran into my brother's room and popped the disc in. Almost immediately, we were both intensely captivated. Snatcher was like nothing we had ever played before, and to this day I don't think that there's been a title which has really matched it on any console, though some of Hideo Kojima's other work comes reasonably close. The main character, Gillian Seed, was accessible and likable from the start, with the story having all the elements needed for the game to become an instant classic. Science fiction, hardboiled detective noir, romance, comedy, intrigue—the game had everything, and it was masterfully interlaced through the rock-solid storytelling. It was intelligently written, and coupled with the top-notch voices, the cast of characters became unbelievably human and more real than any game I had played prior to it. The story of Gillian Seed had struck chords deep within us, and we could hardly believe just how damn GOOD the thing was. There's one scene in particular involving a runaway car that crystallizes the perfection of the game, and without ruining it, let it be said that it needs to be experienced by every gamer worthy of the name.

"We didn't do ANYTHING else for the next two days, and when we watched the last credit roll after the unbelievable 40-plus-minute ending we both sat back and knew that it would be a very long time indeed before any game would be able to even begin to approach the sheer magnitude of quality and cool that Snatcher possesses.

"Today, despite all the titles that have come after it, my brother and I have nothing but the highest regard for Snatcher, and it has earned a permanent spot at the top of my "best ever" list. To this day we can both quote pieces of dialogue from the game at the drop of a hat. My computer's sound effects are all clips from the game itself. I have the import soundtrack and listen to the unforgettable tunes occasionally, and I buy anything even remotely connected with the game. Hearing the words "Snow-9" will make me sneeze instantly. Snatcher has built up quite a following for good reason, and as devoted as I may seem, I think my brother has undoubtedly one-upped me since his firstborn son is actually named Gillian in honor of.

"To tell the truth, I'm slightly jealous that he had the opportunity to pay homage to the game in such a lasting way before I did, though now that the name Gillian has already been used in our family it's going to be an uphill battle convincing my girlfriend that "Metal," "Random" or "Jean-Jack" are appropriate names for our future children."

Brad Gallaway
Seattle, WA

"Reading your article on Snatcher brought nothing but those fuzzy feelings you get when you've found something special. Made me remember the first time I played the game. My Sega CD had broke (those first models where awful). I talked a friend into buying it simply on reading a good article about the game in EGM (no really, now and then they would have one of those—surprised the hell out of me), and he did. We booted the thing up, and right from the beginning I knew it was something precious. Having been weened on sub-par Sega CD games for a while now, the sheer production quality—not to mention the voices—smacked me up and never let me breathe again.

"What I think made it seem so great was the way the producers handled the Snatchers themselves. Unlike other things we had seen before in movies of beings replacing us, they where quiet, decepive, and most of all, played our emotions. They weren't simply something that replaced somebody and gained an identity, they where somebody to begin with. Through events in the game, on some level, you can almost respect them. But from that, and the infamous "un-edited" code (first heard in EGM—can't get it right all the time), Snatcher just brought so much to the table. It was far ahead of its time. I would love to go on more, but I'd need a long time just to say how great it was. I'm still an owner of the game, hoping either one day through emulation, or a chance encounter in a pawn shop, I can boot it up and have a few plates of buffalo in Outer Heaven once more."

Wayne Saykaly
Weare, NH

"I remember Snatcher well. It was the winter of '95, not long after I played Final Fantasy VI for the first time, that I came across this bizarre little opus by a guy named Hideo Kojima. We used to make fun of my younger brother for owning a Sega CD, but when one of his friends came over with this game it really got my attention. It was by Konami, one of my favorite companies, who were famous for being one of the more in-joke-heavy developers at the time. I remember thinking that Snatcher was some kind of "spot the Konami references" marathon gag at first. This, of course, I loved. How can you not love a game where the protagonist bitches about not being able to jump off stairs in Castlevania, has a robot side-kick named Metal Gear, and takes shameless pot-shots at U.S. senators for chastising violence in Lethal Enforcers? And as if the game-savvy geek appeal weren't enough, there were the movie references. If you wanted to see some dude who thinks he's Harrison Ford team up with Sting to fight Terminators from They Live!—this was the game for you. Hell, it was the game for me. What I didn't expect, however, was how the game would take all these silly little winks and nudges and subtly twist them into something that was much, much more; something that was, in all honesty, a fairly personal work by a serious game designer. Not that it was anything terribly profound, original, or even consistently well-told, but there was something there under the surface; some wonderfully audacious geek who was skillful enough to take what was virtually an encyclopedia of plagiaristic excess and soak it in enough heart and soul that by the end we totally bought it. That's Hideo Kojima's greatest strength, I think. He's a complete dork; but, by God, he believes in everything he does. Cornball honesty like that is very refreshing to me."

Matthew "Sajon" Weise
Schaumburg, IL

"I can remember so well the day my mum bought me Snatcher for Christmas. It was after I saw the game in an old Sega magazine in '95. When I saw it in the magazine I thought, "Wow! That looks rather good." But when I actually played it, I was in a world that I couldn't leave or get me out of my room for days. On top of this, we had really cold whether in the UK when I got the game, so leaving the house wasn't much of an option. And I was able to get caught up completely in the game—the cold winter, the cyber-punk atmosphere and the character of Gillian. He was a man I just wanted to be—with a commanding trench coat and a gun to boot. I played the game solidly for days feeling mesmerized by its often in-depth police (junker) work. What made the game simply the best I have ever played, was the complete sense of achievement at the end, when the story truly unfolds and the harmonious music that goes with it. Ahhh. A true classic."

Charlie Verbeken
London, UK