Snatcher / Blade Runner

A forum for discusion, suggestions and information on any Snatcher-related material. Music, games, versions, differences and references.

Also the space for feedback regarding the Snatcher Music Arrangements section by MrRudi.
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Mr. Seed
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Snatcher / Blade Runner

Post by Mr. Seed »

Hey,
Not sure if you've done this before but I think a Snatcher / Blade Runner comparision / homage find might be fun.

Apart from the obvious nods of the 'Runner' and 'Junker', the Blaster, the Snatcher and the Replicas...

What about Roy Batty's / Random's hair and appearance...

A great one this!:
What about argument at the noodle stand!!! - almost the exact replica convosation between Gillain and the vendor as with Deckard and the vendor, when trying to order 2, and not 4 portions of noodles.

What about the cityscape - the opening Snatcher sequence with the obvious reference to the tyrell building...

The Saturn fmv (bad!!!) - which shows a turbocycle mimicking a the motions of a Spinner from Blade Runner over the top of the poice station.

The videophone...

Harry (son ford)?? Joking.....

The similarities are probably endless - but the more obsure ones are the most interesting... see what you can find.
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Post by Artemio »

There was indeed one, but it is no longer at it's original site (The Snatcher Experience by Kokee). I do keep a backup though, which I am "copy-pasting" here. It would be great if we could elaborate over the matters discussed in it, and fill in other details.
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Post by Artemio »

Here is the txtonly version:
Kokee (The Snatcher Experience) wrote: As promised here is my new section on the relationship between Blade Runner and Snatcher. Blade Runner was actually released before Snatcher, this was in 1982, while Snatcher was first released in 1988. So it has to be said that alot in Snatcher is based from Blade Runner. The makers of the game wanted the game to have the same sort of atmosphere that Blade Runner had.

Blade RunnerBlade Runner and Snatcher are similar in many ways, some are deliberate and others are not. The first thing you notice is that the titles of the two are similar being big, bold, capital, and slanted at an angle, but they both have a different style of lettering.

As many of us know the English version on Snatcher on the Mega-CD didn't sell well, which is probably why it wasn't released on the Saturn and Playstation in the UK or US. But those that have played it love it so much - we could even call it a cult game like that of Blade Runner being a cult movie. Like this, when Blade Runner was released was a box-office failure, but has become perhaps the definitive cult movie.

You many know that there are different versions of Snatcher, first are the ones on the following formats: MSX, PC Engine, Mega CD, Saturn and Playstation. These versions differ in image/sound quality, as well as other little things. The second versions of Snatcher are the ones which were released internationally. Basically these are cut versions of the original Japanese release Snatcher, such as the twitching intestines of Alice cut to be just a still. What was cut was just done to make it more acceptable, though I don't think its justified as the game already has an 18 rating. The only thing I would agree with is the age of Katrina being 18 instead of 16, as it makes the shower scenes and other moments more acceptable. Otherwise Gillian would look like a pervert. But what this has to do with Blade Runner is the amount of versions of Blade Runner there are. The two main ones are the original and the directors cut versions, but there are five in total, which include two pre-release versions which were shown an audience to see what they thought of the film.

One of the striking resemblances between Blade Runner and Snatcher is of Los Angeles and Neo Kobe City. They both are very similar, being dark, dull, high populated (japanese), and lit up by neon (Blade Runner even has neon umbrellas), which as I said before, was intentional. The spinner vehicles in Blade Runner are also very similar to the turbocycles in Snatcher.

The next thing to compare is the Replicants and Snatchers. Replicants have a penchant for photographs, because it gives them a tie to their non-existent past. This is similar with what Snatchers do, as all of the Snatchers have photos linking back to Moscow, which gives them a tie to their origin. Also both "Alien", Blade Runner (both directed by Ridley Scott) and Snatcher have "artificial persons", and there is ambiguity as to who is/was a real human. The difference is that Ash is a robot with mechanical insides. And with Snatcher the difference is that the Snatchers are bio-roids, with artificial muscle, skin and hair.

There also is another similarity in the ways of finding out who is a replicant/snatcher. With replicants, they can be detected by their eyes, through studying their retina while asking them questions to obtain emotional responses. With snatchers, they are detected through defects of their skin, but this is though investigation. It would be much easier just to scan suspects, but this violates the "Snatchers and the Protection of Citizens' Rights" act, as sufficient evidence must be found to obtain a scanning warrant.

Dekard And Gillian

The Junkers that have the same role as what Bladerunners do, that is to track down Snatchers/Replicants and eliminate them, are called runners. Which may be a direct link to Blade Runner.

To the left are pictures of Gillian Seed (far left) and Rick Deckard, and the similarities are very apparent. Gillian basically has the same clothes as Deckard, and even resembles Deckard. For those of you who don't know - Deckard is played by Harrison Ford.

During playing Snatcher you end up investigating a bath, and Metal Gear asks if you are looking for a snake scale. This is a direct link to Blade Runner, as Deckard found a snake skin in a bath where a replicant had been. Which led to him tracking down and eliminating the replicant.

Another direct link to Blade Runner is the person's name who discovered Isabella Velvet, whose name is 'Ridley Scotty'. This links to the director of Blade Runner, who is Ridley Scott.

The videophones in Snatcher are very similar to the phones in Blade Runner, where you can talk to a person as well as see them. But this is what we all think the future of the telephone will be. Also the number input of the phone in Blade Runner looked the same to that in Snatcher.

You could also compare the killing of Freddie Neilson by Random in Snatcher, to that of the killing of Leon by Rachael in Blade Runner. In that they were both in the same sort of situation, and the killer was killing one of their own, with Rachael being a replicant and Random being a bio-riod.

And finally there is the question of fear, mentioned in both Snatcher and Blade Runner. From Blade Runner you have the phrase from the replicant leader, Roy: "Painful to live in fear - isn't it?" While in Snatcher you have the point mentioned by Chin Shu Oh, about fear being humans weak point.

If you have any further information that you think should be included in this page, then email me kokee@hotmail.com
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Post by Silvertear »

Very cool! I've been looking for this, now I feel like watchin' Blade Runner. Weren't there some similarities between Random Hajile and some guy from Dune as well?
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Post by Ninja Kurosai »

Blade Runner actually got me interested in Snather :lol: I was digging through this mountain of vhss my dad has, and I found the unrated VHS Embassy version, so I watched it. My life has never been the same. There may also be some homages to Snatcher in the BR PC game...
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Post by Mr. Seed »

That the Snatch/BR comparison missed some 100% borrowed imagey and dialogue - some of which I even droped in my original post. If anyone wants to hear the exact Gillian convosation with the noodle man, it me know.... (I know him personally)
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Post by Mr. Seed »

Actually I couldn't be bothered to wait for a request so here it is, I extracted these clips just for you guys... Junker/Runners noodle stand.....
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Post by Mr. Seed »

And heres the Deckard Noodles
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Post by Mr. Seed »

What do you think? It's quite strange that Kojima finds the need to put so many blatant references and intertextual hints in his works. Many of these as you all know are not just from other mediums (talking about specific movies in the Solid series - using Bond-esque opening sequences) but from his games in to other games, the reoccuring appearances of 'Metal Gear' 'Fox' 'Joy Devision' and 'kobe' (where Kojima grew up) 'Outer Heaven' - and also sound effects (alert).

Maybe it's so gamers can play spot the reference - for his own personal fun (in jokes) but also to keep everything in Konjima's own world.

Your thoughts?
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Post by Artemio »

I believe taht it is an actualtendency. referential humour. From some years back, theer are movies that are merely based on this.. or shows. just as the Simpsons (I am not saying it's their only type of humour, but the use it a lot), etc.

Kojima has a twisted sense of humour, that we tend to love.. and we love seeing references to his work, and work we like. Homage sometimes. Simply reference in other ocasions.

Don't know if you read Takamichi's comparisson on the Sega CD version of Snatcher and the MSX one, it's at http://junkerhq.net/Snatcher/SCD/info.html (just for comlpeteness sake)

Also, he was sure Snatcher would never make it outside Japan... but he was wrong in that account (lucky us)
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Post by Crowley »

Apparently Takamichi-san hasn't grasped the intricacies of English language if he considers the phrase "eat me" harmless. ;)
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