Snake's Revenge
Encyclopedia
Snake's Revenge is a stealth action game by Konami
released for the Nintendo Entertainment System
in 1990
. The game was produced as a sequel
to the NES version of the original Metal Gear
, made specifically for the North American and PAL
market following the success of the first NES game. However, Hideo Kojima
, the game designer of the original Metal Gear, was unaware of Snake's Revenge, and decided to develop his own sequel for the MSX2 computer after being informed of the game's creation. The resulting game, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
, which was released exclusively in Japan only a few months later, is recognized as the canonical sequel
to the original Metal Gear, relegating Snake's Revenge to a non-canonical status.
Like in the original Metal Gear, the player's objective is to infiltrate the enemy's stronghold while avoiding detection from enemy soldiers or surveillance devices. To fulfill their mission, the player must collect a variety of weapons and equipment, such as firearms, explosives and rations, as well as card keys to access new areas. If the player is discovered by the enemy, the game will go into an alert phase where enemy soldiers will enter the screen to attack the player. The player must defeat a specific number of enemy soldiers to return to the infiltration phase or go to a different floor or area. In some cases, particularly when an enemy soldier sees the player and only a single exclamation mark
(!) appears over his head instead of two (!!), the player can also escape the alert phase by going to the adjacent screen.
A change to the original Metal Gear formula is the fact that the player now begins the game with a combat knife and a handgun already in their equipment. In the regular top-view segments, the A button is used for firearms and explosives, while the B button can be assigned so that the player will attack with a punch or with the knife. The knife can be used to instantly kill most enemy soldiers at close range. However, guards who are killed with a knife during the infiltration phase will not leave any item behind, unlike enemy soldiers who are defeated with punches, who will randomly leave food or ammo sometimes. The player must rescue prisoners in order to be promoted to the next rank, much like in the original Metal Gear, and interrogate enemy commanders. To interrogate an enemy commander, the player must equip the Truth Gas
and apply a single canister on each commander to reveal vital information. Increasing the player's rank will increase the player's maximum health and carrying capacity (with the highest possible rank being six stars). The transceiver has been simplified from the original Metal Gear, with only three preset contacts available (John, Nick and Jennifer). The transceiver will become unusable when the player enters alert phase or fights a boss. The transceiver is now equipped with a radar which is used to track down the location of an ally whenever the player is required to do so in order to progress.
Snake's Revenge features a varied progression of areas such as a jungle, a warehouse, a cargo ship, and a train, as well as the usual encounters with enemy bosses
. In addition to the regular top-view areas, the player must also progress through a series of side-view areas as well. In these side-view areas, the player can jump and crawl like in most side-scrolling action games to avoid traps, while still avoiding detection by the enemy as usual. While in a side-view area, the player can only equip the knife or the handgun as their main weapon, as well as plant plastic explosives to blow up obstructions and use rations to recover. Some of these areas require the player crawl underwater to progress. If the player has an oxygen tank in their equipment, it will be used automatically to fill their oxygen meter, allowing the player to crawl underwater without sustaining damage. If the oxygen meter runs out and there are no additional oxygen tanks left, the player's health will start to decrease.
, FOXHOUND
discovers that a hostile nation in the Middle East may have gotten a hold of the plans for Metal Gear
and are secretly constructing a new model. Lt. Solid Snake
, the FOXHOUND operative responsible for the destruction of Metal Gear, is given orders to lead a three man team to the enemy's base consisting of himself and two fellow operatives: John Turner, a former Navy Intelligence agent and infiltration pro; and Nick Myer, a weapons and explosive expert formerly with the Marines. The codename of the mission is Operation 747.
Snake infiltrates the enemy's jungle base with the help of John, who acts as a decoy by allowing himself to be captured. Snake eventually learns that the enemy are transporting their weapons, a set of mass-produced Metal Gear tanks, on a cargo ship. Snake blows up the ship's ammunition cache and escapes with the help of the team's helicopter pilot while the ship sinks.
The pilot informs Snake that the enemy has a prototype of the new Metal Gear 2 model in their main base and is told to contact their double agent, Jennifer, on the inside. As Snake goes deep into the base, he defeats an impostor
posing as John, regains contact with Nick and eventually comes in touch with Jennifer, who reveals that the enemy commander is planning to launch nukes around the face of the globe. However, as Snake approaches the commander's lair, Nick is mortally wounded and dies, while Jennifer is exposed as a spy and gets captured. Snake confronts the enemy's commander, who reveals himself to be a cybernetically enhanced Big Boss, having survived his previous encounter with Snake. Snake defeats Big Boss and rescues Jennifer, who shows him to the storage facility where Metal Gear 2 is located. Snake destroys the weapon before its launch countdown is completed.
In the aftermath of Operation 747, the United Nations
declares "World Peace Day". John Turner is declared missing in action
and removed from Navy records, while Nick Myer is awarded three posthumous promotions.
for the MSX2, which was released as the official sequel to Metal Gear in Japan. Snake's Revenge was released in North America and Europe with no corresponding Famicom version. The game has been referred in publications by the alternate title of Snake's Revenge: Metal Gear II, although this title is never actually used on the game's cover artwork or title screen.
When interviewed by Steven Kent in 1999, Kojima stated that he enjoyed Snake's Revenge and that he thought it was "faithful to the Metal Gear concept", although during the 2009's Game Developers Conference
in San Francisco he stated that Snake's Revenge was a "little crap game", although he later stated in an interview with Nintendo Power
that he doesn't consider it to be a "bad game".
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
released for the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
in 1990
1990 in video gaming
-Notable releases:*Bonk's Adventure is released for NEC's TurboGrafx-16 and is the first US appearance of Bonk, the mascot of the TurboGrafx-16.*February 12 — Nintendo releases the NES game Super Mario Bros. 3 in North America...
. The game was produced as a sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to the NES version of the original Metal Gear
Metal Gear (video game)
is an overhead military action-adventure video game originally released in by Konami for the MSX2 computer standard in Japan and parts of Europe. Considered to be the progenitor of the stealth game genre, it was also the first video game designed by Hideo Kojima, who also directed many of the...
, made specifically for the North American and PAL
PAL region
The PAL region is a television publication territory which covers most of Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and most of Western Europe...
market following the success of the first NES game. However, Hideo Kojima
Hideo Kojima
is a Japanese game director originally employed at Konami. He is currently the director of Kojima Productions and was promoted to Vice President of Konami Digital Entertainment in early 2011...
, the game designer of the original Metal Gear, was unaware of Snake's Revenge, and decided to develop his own sequel for the MSX2 computer after being informed of the game's creation. The resulting game, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
is an overhead stealth action game that was originally released by Konami in for the MSX2 computer standard exclusively in Japan. Metal Gear 2 was directed and written by Hideo Kojima, who also designed the MSX2 version of the original Metal Gear...
, which was released exclusively in Japan only a few months later, is recognized as the canonical sequel
Canon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
to the original Metal Gear, relegating Snake's Revenge to a non-canonical status.
Gameplay
Exclamation mark
The exclamation mark, exclamation point, or bang, or "dembanger" is a punctuation mark usually used after an interjection or exclamation to indicate strong feelings or high volume , and often marks the end of a sentence. Example: “Watch out!” The character is encoded in Unicode at...
(!) appears over his head instead of two (!!), the player can also escape the alert phase by going to the adjacent screen.
A change to the original Metal Gear formula is the fact that the player now begins the game with a combat knife and a handgun already in their equipment. In the regular top-view segments, the A button is used for firearms and explosives, while the B button can be assigned so that the player will attack with a punch or with the knife. The knife can be used to instantly kill most enemy soldiers at close range. However, guards who are killed with a knife during the infiltration phase will not leave any item behind, unlike enemy soldiers who are defeated with punches, who will randomly leave food or ammo sometimes. The player must rescue prisoners in order to be promoted to the next rank, much like in the original Metal Gear, and interrogate enemy commanders. To interrogate an enemy commander, the player must equip the Truth Gas
Truth drug
A truth drug or truth serum is a psychoactive medication used to obtain information from subjects who are unable or unwilling to provide it otherwise. The unethical use of truth drugs is classified as a form of torture according to international law. However, they are properly and productively...
and apply a single canister on each commander to reveal vital information. Increasing the player's rank will increase the player's maximum health and carrying capacity (with the highest possible rank being six stars). The transceiver has been simplified from the original Metal Gear, with only three preset contacts available (John, Nick and Jennifer). The transceiver will become unusable when the player enters alert phase or fights a boss. The transceiver is now equipped with a radar which is used to track down the location of an ally whenever the player is required to do so in order to progress.
Snake's Revenge features a varied progression of areas such as a jungle, a warehouse, a cargo ship, and a train, as well as the usual encounters with enemy bosses
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
. In addition to the regular top-view areas, the player must also progress through a series of side-view areas as well. In these side-view areas, the player can jump and crawl like in most side-scrolling action games to avoid traps, while still avoiding detection by the enemy as usual. While in a side-view area, the player can only equip the knife or the handgun as their main weapon, as well as plant plastic explosives to blow up obstructions and use rations to recover. Some of these areas require the player crawl underwater to progress. If the player has an oxygen tank in their equipment, it will be used automatically to fill their oxygen meter, allowing the player to crawl underwater without sustaining damage. If the oxygen meter runs out and there are no additional oxygen tanks left, the player's health will start to decrease.
Story
Set in 2001, three years after the events of the original Metal GearMetal Gear (video game)
is an overhead military action-adventure video game originally released in by Konami for the MSX2 computer standard in Japan and parts of Europe. Considered to be the progenitor of the stealth game genre, it was also the first video game designed by Hideo Kojima, who also directed many of the...
, FOXHOUND
Foxhound
A foxhound is a type of large hunting hound. Foxhounds hunt in packs and, like all scent hounds, have a strong sense of smell. They are used in hunts for foxes, hence the name. When out hunting they are followed usually on horseback and will travel several miles to catch their target. These dogs...
discovers that a hostile nation in the Middle East may have gotten a hold of the plans for Metal Gear
Metal Gear (weapon)
is the name for a series of fictional mecha in the Metal Gear series. In the series, a Metal Gear is defined as a bipedal nuclear equipped tank, but in the case of Metal Gear RAY, is a large bipedal tank designed to destroy other Metal Gear...
and are secretly constructing a new model. Lt. Solid Snake
Solid Snake
Metal Gear, initially released in 1987, introduces Solid Snake, the rookie recruit of the elite special-forces unit FOXHOUND. Snake is sent by team leader Big Boss into the rogue nation Outer Heaven to rescue his missing teammate Gray Fox and discover who or what the "METAL GEAR" mentioned is, and...
, the FOXHOUND operative responsible for the destruction of Metal Gear, is given orders to lead a three man team to the enemy's base consisting of himself and two fellow operatives: John Turner, a former Navy Intelligence agent and infiltration pro; and Nick Myer, a weapons and explosive expert formerly with the Marines. The codename of the mission is Operation 747.
Snake infiltrates the enemy's jungle base with the help of John, who acts as a decoy by allowing himself to be captured. Snake eventually learns that the enemy are transporting their weapons, a set of mass-produced Metal Gear tanks, on a cargo ship. Snake blows up the ship's ammunition cache and escapes with the help of the team's helicopter pilot while the ship sinks.
The pilot informs Snake that the enemy has a prototype of the new Metal Gear 2 model in their main base and is told to contact their double agent, Jennifer, on the inside. As Snake goes deep into the base, he defeats an impostor
Impostor
An impostor or imposter is a person who pretends to be somebody else, often to try to gain financial or social advantages through social engineering, but just as often for purposes of espionage or law enforcement....
posing as John, regains contact with Nick and eventually comes in touch with Jennifer, who reveals that the enemy commander is planning to launch nukes around the face of the globe. However, as Snake approaches the commander's lair, Nick is mortally wounded and dies, while Jennifer is exposed as a spy and gets captured. Snake confronts the enemy's commander, who reveals himself to be a cybernetically enhanced Big Boss, having survived his previous encounter with Snake. Snake defeats Big Boss and rescues Jennifer, who shows him to the storage facility where Metal Gear 2 is located. Snake destroys the weapon before its launch countdown is completed.
In the aftermath of Operation 747, the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
declares "World Peace Day". John Turner is declared missing in action
Missing in action
Missing in action is a casualty Category assigned under the Status of Missing to armed services personnel who are reported missing during active service. They may have been killed, wounded, become a prisoner of war, or deserted. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave can be positively...
and removed from Navy records, while Nick Myer is awarded three posthumous promotions.
Instruction manual
Much like the NES version of original Metal Gear, the packaging and instruction manual for Snake's Revenge features an alternate version of the story that is inconsistent with the actual plot featured in the game. At the time of its release, Konami of America/Ultra Games (the game's publisher) had a habit of not taking their games seriously. This was reflected by the humorous tone of their instruction manuals, which made several jokes and puns at the expense of the game and paid little or no respect toward the game designers' original intentions. Whereas the game reveals the main villain to be Big Boss, who betrayed Snake in the first Metal Gear, the instruction manual identifies the villain as "Higharolla Kockamamie" (a play on Ayatollah Khomeini), an Eastern despot who obtained the plans for his "Ultra-Sheik Nuclear Attack Tank" (the manual's name for Metal Gear) from Vermon CaTaffy (the supposed villain from the original Metal Gear).Production
Konami produced Snake's Revenge following the release of the NES version of Metal Gear, as a sequel produced specifically for the Western market. Hideo Kojima, the designer of the original MSX2 version of Metal Gear, was not involved in the production of Snake's Revenge. According to Kojima, one of his juniors working on Snake's Revenge informed him of the game's development, but then told him that he would rather see a Metal Gear sequel designed by Kojima himself. This inspired Kojima to direct his own sequel, Metal Gear 2: Solid SnakeMetal Gear 2: Solid Snake
is an overhead stealth action game that was originally released by Konami in for the MSX2 computer standard exclusively in Japan. Metal Gear 2 was directed and written by Hideo Kojima, who also designed the MSX2 version of the original Metal Gear...
for the MSX2, which was released as the official sequel to Metal Gear in Japan. Snake's Revenge was released in North America and Europe with no corresponding Famicom version. The game has been referred in publications by the alternate title of Snake's Revenge: Metal Gear II, although this title is never actually used on the game's cover artwork or title screen.
When interviewed by Steven Kent in 1999, Kojima stated that he enjoyed Snake's Revenge and that he thought it was "faithful to the Metal Gear concept", although during the 2009's Game Developers Conference
Game Developers Conference
The Game Developers Conference is the largest annual gathering of professional video game developers, focusing on learning, inspiration, and networking...
in San Francisco he stated that Snake's Revenge was a "little crap game", although he later stated in an interview with Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
that he doesn't consider it to be a "bad game".