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Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 8:31 am
by benfmv
Hey Kaminari ! Good to see you here !

For my part I started an article in 2006 that will probably remain at a "WIP" state for a long long time.

I tried to analyse the PC98 version as much as I could (well, for the moment only the prologue and a bit of chapter one ... 600 screenshots taken so far).

It's at an early stage and text sucks (I just wrote sentences as they came), here it is :

http://fullmotionvideo.free.fr/pc98/art ... nauts.html

I hope you'll like it !

PS : My website ecounters some problems, you might have some trouble displaying the page.

Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 9:48 am
by Marc
Hey Ben, great article. :) Those are some really nice pics, especially the joined ones. That's exactly how the game looks. Another great thing about the PC-98 version is hearing the song "Old LA" during the intro. Shame they couldn't make it last longer so you'd get to hear the whole thing, though.

The console versions do look nice too, though. The reason they look different is because they were drawn on cels then scanned into the game. If you have the Visual Data Book then you can really appreciate their quality as well (a more realistic touch). They also don't have its dithering.

Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 8:23 am
by Henry Spencer
Please review your post Osiris; none of the pictures you attempted to upload into your post have appeared at all. :lol:

Oh dear...

Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 8:56 pm
by Artemio
You can view them if you right click and select the view image option on your browser.

Unfortunately the site he hosted the images at doesn't allow hotlinking. Osiris, feel free to upload them here, you've got plenty of space locally for those purposes =)

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 1:06 pm
by Marc
Sorry guys; as they showed up perfectly in my browser I wasn't aware there was a problem.

By the way, as I hurt my back yesterday and won't be able to do much for a few days, I now have a good excuse to upload all those other screens. Here's one for a start. This is the only version where Anna actually brings her bag to the store before Ed tells Jonathan the truth. It makes it even funnier when you realize Ed wasted all that time in letting her come to the store while he knew full well the truth.

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Here are some more.

That old Konami logo... This one is very crisp; it's probably the nicest one of the old version.
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You can see a lot of the titles on the spines of the CDs in this version.
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Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 2:05 pm
by 87th
Osiris wrote: You can see a lot of the titles on the spines of the CDs in this version.
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I haven't played much of Policenauts. Can you give me some information on this screenshot? The Penguin on the bottom-right looks like a reference to Penguin Adventure.

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 2:16 pm
by Marc
I think you're right, you son of a bitch! I'm amazed none of us (especially myself) picked up on that before. For some reason I always thought it looked like Ziggy, the comic character, but the penguin from Penguin Adventure makes complete sense. The song that plays when you click on that one is called "Chase". I haven't played the game so I don't know if it's from it.

This is a CD rack in Hojo's house where you can listen to music from Policenauts and other games (there's an exclusive remix of One Night in Neo Kobe City, and music from Poly-Net Warriors, a Konami 3D shooting game from the early 90s, but AFAIK Kojima wasn't involved with it, though Kazuki Muraoka did compose some songs for it).

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 2:26 pm
by 87th
Osiris wrote:The song that plays when you click on that one is called "Chase". I haven't played the game so I don't know if it's from it.
I'd like if someone could tell me if it was. It makes perfect sense for a song from Penguin Adventure to be called "Chase", though (as the camera follows the running penguin), but I won't know until someone tells me.

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 2:30 pm
by Marc
I'll upload a sample of the song; maybe that'll help.

Here it is (the one in the game just repeats). If it is from the game, it has to be a remix.

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 2:42 pm
by 87th
Thanks. I'll go back and play Penguin Adventure, again (I can't really remember the music).

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 5:48 pm
by Marc
Since they mention other songs coming from Snatcher and Poly-Net Warriors but don't say this one's from Penguin Adventure, I'm not so sure; I mean it could just be a little graphical reference. I would like to know for sure, though...

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 5:50 pm
by Artemio
I loved that pic with the cds... A shame these days they don't do art in games this way.

Regarding Penguin Adventure, it definitively is the character. I can't recall the music either though.

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 8:58 pm
by Marc
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentarou

The song might not necessarily be from Penguin Adventure, given the information there. It could just be that Kojima wanted to include him as a graphic reference.

Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 10:18 pm
by Gillian
Man I always wanted to play Policenauts after playing Snatcher. :cool:

Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2007 8:45 am
by Henry Spencer
Welcome, Gillian. I can't believe nobody else called themself that earlier on here though, just like there is no Solid Snake here (or is there?)

Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2007 1:23 pm
by Gillian
Henry Spencer wrote:Welcome, Gillian. I can't believe nobody else called themself that earlier on here though, just like there is no Solid Snake here (or is there?)
Thanks for the warm welcome. I can't wait to play Policenauts on either my modded Saturn or modded PSOne when the translation patch is available. By the way what is Snatcher like for the SAT of PSX because I have only played the game on the Sega CD. :cool:

Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2007 1:40 pm
by Henry Spencer
I would say the Saturn version of Snatcher is a worthy purchase, I have it, and played it on my emulator. It's definitely one of the worst versions of the game, but it's still worthy of purchase IF you are a huge Snatcher fan, it features some new artwork, whilst ruining the atmosphere and whatnot, it's still nice to see the new features i think. Then there is the editing, which is rather silly, and the soundtrack, which was another reason the atmosphere in Snatcher was so unique, ahs been changed almost completely, it's really effective in some parts it must be said, but in most sections, it fails to create that brilliant tense, suspenseful, fearful mood that drives you to complete the game and reveal the mysteries. So yeah, it's not essential, but a purchase that is not a waste of time at all (it is pretty much the same as the PSX version bar a few small changes), it also includes some nice stickers as well with it, and perhaps the best front cover for the series as well! So its good and bad points are pretty much equal. No version of Snatcher is really diabolical and all of those who do say this version is 'awful' are only just frustrated that such an update of the game was wasted on less of the same really, but hey, it's different, and that's all that mattered to me.

Hope that helped you in some way. I'd personally rate the best version as the PC Engine, which I am sure somebody else can go into more detail about, it's the last version of the game with Kojima's supervision, so we all like to see it as the director's cut (as it also the only uncut version of the entire game!) So yeah, if you don't already have it, pick up the PC Engine version which boasts amazing voice acting, the best visuals (to me), the most extras and the best soundtrack (again, my preference).

Now then, I just hope I wasn't rambling on and on, and this actually helped in some way. :smile:

Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 4:59 am
by Snatcher42
I like the intro of the PC98 version much better than the console versions, especially the music! Does that track get used elsewhere in the game? It would be a shame to lose it!

Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 5:11 am
by Charlie Johnson
Snatcher42 wrote:I like the intro of the PC98 version much better than the console versions, especially the music! Does that track get used elsewhere in the game? It would be a shame to lose it!
You can only hear it on one of the CD's in Hojyo's appartement. At least I haven't heard it in the PSX version somewhere else.

Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 11:58 am
by Marc
Snatcher42 wrote:I like the intro of the PC98 version much better than the console versions, especially the music! Does that track get used elsewhere in the game? It would be a shame to lose it!
No, as Charlie said it only appears on the CD rack in Hojo's house. But there's a great remix of it on the Kojima Black CD. I highly recommend checking it out.

Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 12:16 pm
by Snatcher42
Osiris wrote:No, as Charlie said it only appears on the CD rack in Hojo's house. But there's a great remix of it on the Kojima Black CD. I highly recommend checking it out.
Ah, great. As it just so happens I own that CD... haven't listened to it in ages though, but I thought I remembered the track being the same as that on the Policenauts OST (also have, also love)... but I'll look again. Anyway yeah, this is a tough call because I really like the End of Dark music they use on the consoles too, but I think the PC98 version just beats them out for an atmospheric introduction. Starting with the falling snow is a nice parallel to Snatcher - reminds me of both the flames during the credits, and of course all the Snow-9 toward the end of that game.

Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 12:23 pm
by Marc
In the PC98, End of the Dark is used at the end of the game (just like in the console versions too). Not for the end credits, but one of the last scenes. The falling snow at the start is supposed to represent stars, and at the end of the PC98, the final scene is a pan up to outer space, where you see all the stars in the sky. So that imagery links the very first and very last shots of the game.

There are some slight differences between the original and the remix of Old LA 2040, but they make a big difference in my opinion.

Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 12:27 pm
by Charlie Johnson
Don't kill me but I actually prefer the console version opening theme, although Old LA 2040 is still a great track. Only the beginning when you see a full view of Old LA and the camera pans down, in this part I prefer the PC98 version music, it has something mysterious but for the rest, I prefer the console version intro music.

By the way, the same music from the console version intro appears at the end, when Jonathan is leaving the airport. Which music do you hear in the PC98 version in this scene?

Edit: Oh, I guess my question is already answered.

Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 12:30 pm
by Snatcher42
Osiris wrote:In the PC98, End of the Dark is used at the end of the game (just like in the console versions too). Not for the end credits, but one of the last scenes. The falling snow at the start is supposed to represent stars, and at the end of the PC98, the final scene is a pan up to outer space, where you see all the stars in the sky. So that imagery links the very first and very last shots of the game.
Ah, now who's spoilering! :P But no worries, I don't mind. Yeah, starting with the snow just felt more poetic not even knowing that about the end, but that makes it even better. I'm not as crazy about all of the PC98 graphics as some of you are (I think some of the high color re-draws are real improvements), but I certainly see the appeal of this version!

Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 12:33 pm
by Marc
Sorry, I didn't think it was a real spoiler. I actually thought people might be interested to know about it since they might not get a chance to play it.