Can I play Snatcher with no knowledge of Japanese?

[Keranu]

You can do what my brother did and hook up the Sega CD and PCE SCD versions of Snatcher to one TV and jump back-and-forth between video signals.

[Tatsujin]

NO WAY

I hope he had a switch-box :idea:

[SaturdayMorningRobots]

Hmmm is the Sega CD english snatcher that different from the J PCE version? (I've only ever played the Sega CD version and consider it one of Kojima's best games) If so I may have to pick it up and bash my way through.

[Tatsujin]

the PCE has better colors and shows more nudity and here and there also more violence. but the latter is about on par with the MCD version. anyway, the pce is more of an original than the mcd, since it came earlier. I also like its subtitle "CD-ROMantic". that has some real class.

[SamIAm]

The Sega CD version has far superior music. It's the same music, but it's programmed much better. This is important.

PCE-CD

Sega CD

and that's not even the most drastic one.

Also, bear in mind that the US version is the only one released for Sega CD. Curiously, there is no JP Mega CD release.

[Black Tiger]

Hmmm is the Sega CD english snatcher that different from the J PCE version? (I've only ever played the Sega CD version and consider it one of Kojima's best games) If so I may have to pick it up and bash my way through.

One thing is that Kojima's artistc vision was for you to sexually harass and grope a 14 year old girl, not someone remotely of legal age.

The Sega CD version has far superior music. It's the same music, but it's programmed much better. This is important.

PCE-CD

Sega CD

and that's not even the most drastic one.

It's only far superior in the same sense that some people feel that PC Engine sound doesn't even compare to Mega Drive sound. That PCE video is emulated and doesn't sound the same as the real thing and the Sega-CD video also doesn't sound real. It's actually not the same music either, some tracks sound radically different, some sound slightly different composition wise. Several of the Sega-CD tracks sound straight up broken to me, like bad fan midis. Most don't sound as good overall on Sega-CD. I don't think that Konami put much effort into catering the music for the sound hardware the way they did with the PCE version.


Try listening to this video from 6:03 onward-



And now listen to this-
http://superpcenginegrafx.net/misc/sp3.mp3



I don't think that even people who ignore composition and only focus on types of sounds being similar to what they believe is best (I'm not saying that SamIAm is like this ) would say that the Sega-CD is far superior.

Also notice that half the melody is missing in the Sega-CD version, which makes a big difference in a song like this.

Also, bear in mind that the US version is the only one released for Sega CD. Curiously, there is no JP Mega CD release.

The Mega-CD "bombed" in Japan and I don't think that Konami ever supported it. If the Genesis wasn't the success it was, I don't think we would have ever seen any Konami games for Sega platforms in any region during that generation. Hudson didn't put out any of it's Sega-CD games in Japan either.

[SamIAm]

It's only far superior in the same sense that some people feel that PC Engine sound doesn't even compare to Mega Drive sound. That PCE video is emulated and doesn't sound the same as the real thing and the Sega-CD video also doesn't sound real. It's actually not the same music either, some tracks sound radically different, some sound slightly different composition wise. Several of the Sega-CD tracks sound straight up broken to me, like bad fan midis. Most don't sound as good overall on Sega-CD. I don't think that Konami put much effort into catering the music for the sound hardware the way they did with the PCE version.

They're quite close enough to the real thing, of which I've heard both, for someone to judge which they prefer. Of course, it's all subjective, and to each their own. Also, I certainly wouldn't claim that the MD's sound capabilities were much better than the PCE's. That's actually why I personally feel that far more time and effort was put into the MD version. To some, the MD version may sound overproduced, but to me, the PCE one sounds like they rushed to make it work and left it in too simple a state.

How many instruments can you count in each version of the track I posted? I count two melodic instruments and two different drum beats in the PCE version, compared to three melodic instruments and 3 drum beats in the MD version. The stereo and reverb effects are much better in the MD one, too. You don't have to prefer it, but I know which one I'd hate to be stuck having to program if I were pressed for time. [edit: with the volume up, I hear more instruments in both. Point still stands, though.]

The Mega-CD "bombed" in Japan and I don't think that Konami ever supported it. If the Genesis wasn't the success it was, I don't think we would have ever seen any Konami games for Sega platforms in any region during that generation. Hudson didn't put out any of it's Sega-CD games in Japan either.

Yeah, it's just interesting to think that after making the US Sega CD version and the Japan PCE version, they could have combined the assets and cranked out a Japanese MD version in a week. I guess it just shows how quickly the Mega CD market dried up once the Saturn came out.

[SignOfZeta]

I'm not sure there ever was a Mega CD market in Japan. Even with %90 of the work done they probably still would have lost money on it.

[SamIAm]

Sure there was. There are a ton of Japan only Mega CD games, you know. I'd bet Game Arts didn't have their eyes on the US/EU markets when they made Lunar, either.

[SignOfZeta]

Same with the mangas, when I was young I have read all DBs, Ranma, Dr. Slump etc. mangas in French Language (since at that time only those were available in a language I could halfway understand). Now rereading the same mangas 15+ years later, but in its original language, it is so much more fun. Mainly due to the reason that I get the real jokes and not some altered translation shit or guessing 97% from the pictures alone.

Yeah, but when I was a kid Dragon Ball wasn't available in any language I could read a word of (OK, maybe I could read, literally, a word or two in Spanish but that's not much help). It was a choice between stumbling and guessing my way through a book or not experiencing it at all.

[Tatsujin]

Sure there was. There are a ton of Japan only Mega CD games, you know. I'd bet Game Arts didn't have their eyes on the US/EU markets when they made Lunar, either.

A Ton? I would call the PCEs CD library a ton, and limit the MCDs to few kilos compared.

I don't say that there wasn't a market at all. At least there were some CD games, and few of 'em were actually fun.

[Black Tiger]

I think that Game Arts likely lost money or maybe broke even on the Mega-CD Lunars and probably remade them for Saturn to try to make some money off of them.

[ccovell]

As far as Snatcher's non-redbook soundtrack goes, PC-88 > Sega CD > MSX > PCE CD.

Even the similar WSG chip on the MSX SCC pak shows its superiority to the PCE, sadly. 

[SamIAm]

Not to split hairs or anything, but this website says that Lunar on the Mega CD was a big hit that sold 100,000 copies in Japan. That would be about 1 in 4 Mega CD owners, if Wikipedia's source is correct. Apparently, it directly increased sales of the system, too. Of course, you're still probably right about the wanting-to-make-more-money-off-it aspect, but I don't think Lunar was exactly a failure for them.

Also, of the Sega CD's 220 games, 57 are Japan-only. Maybe "ton" is a poor choice of words, but that's still a substantial chunk.

I play my Duo much more than my Sega CD, but I'll come right out and admit that I'm kind of a Sega guy. 

[Black Tiger]

Not to split hairs or anything, but this website says that Lunar on the Mega CD was a big hit that sold 100,000 copies in Japan. That would be about 1 in 4 Mega CD owners, if Wikipedia's source is correct. Apparently, it directly increased sales of the system, too. Of course, you're still probably right about the wanting-to-make-more-money-off-it aspect, but I don't think Lunar was exactly a failure for them.

Also, of the Sega CD's 220 games, 57 are Japan-only. Maybe "ton" is a poor choice of words, but that's still a substantial chunk.

I play my Duo much more than my Sega CD, but I'll come right out and admit that I'm kind of a Sega guy. 

Lunar SS sold very well considering the popularity of the Mega-CD, but it was an overly ambitious project that seemed to get shoved out the door after they'd spent too much time on it. Looking at Lunar EB was just as ambitious but was fully realized and polished with lots of full quality animation. It must've been a very expensive production for the format.

As for the number of games for Sega-CD and Mega-CD, I think that both are well beyond the threshold of having sizable quality libraries for us game fans. The Mega-CD just happened to lag behind the Mega Drive, Famicom, PC Engine and Super Famicom in sales. So it's understandable why Konami didn't put out Snatcher in Japan. However, I just remembered that they did publish Lethal Enforcers for Mega-CD. Maybe its sales convinced Konami not to release any more Mega-CD games.