SD Snatcher - Gameplay

Gameplay

As with most RPGs released at the time, the game consists of overhead exploration of areas and menu-driven turn-based battles. However, it abandoned random encounters and introduced an innovative battle system, which uses a first-person perspective that allows the player to aim at specific body parts of an enemy and disable certain characteristics. For example, shooting a robot's wheel will render the robot immobile, making it less likely to avoid the player's gunfire, or shooting its legs will reduce its agility, attacking its weapon will reduce its strength, or continuously attacking its weak point could lead to a potentially quicker victory. As with other RPGs, the player can upgrade their weapon and purchase auxiliary items that can be used in battle to help the player out. The game also introduced an auto-battle feature, where Metal Gear can take control of the battle. Each of the firearm weapons have different abilities and target ranges as well as limited ammunition that needs to be brought or found separately. Such a battle system has rarely been used since, though similar battle systems based on targeting individual body parts can later be found in Square's Vagrant Story (2000), Bethesda's Fallout 3 (2008), and Nippon Ichi's Last Rebellion (2010).