Policenauts is an interactive movie/graphic novel/adventure game with a hard science fiction storyline, written and directed by Hideo Kojima, and published by Konami. It was initially released for the PC-9821 computer platform in 1994, followed by remade versions for the 3DO in 1995, and the PlayStation and Sega Saturn in 1996. The game has never been officially released outside Japan, despite plans for an English localization of the Saturn version. On August 24, 2009 (in honor of the 46th birthday of the game designer, Hideo Kojima), an unofficial English translation patch was released onto the internet.
The game is set in a primarily first person perspective and uses a point-and-click interface: the player can move the cursor and have the protagonist (Jonathan Ingram) analyze objects around his environment or talk to other characters in the game. Like in Snatcher, the game features shooting segments where the player must defend their character from incoming enemies. The player can use the shooting trainer at the police department to test their reflex and accuracy. There are numerous puzzles in the game, including an event where the player must dismantle a bomb by following their partner’s instructions.
The console versions of the game all include support for their respective mouse peripherals. The Saturn version features light gun support for the shooting segments.
The game was notable for being an early example of extensive voice recording in video games. It also featured a theme revolving around space exploration and occasional full-motion video cut scenes. The gameplay was largely similar to Snatcher, but with the addition of a point-and-click interface and some first-person shooter segments. Policenauts also introduced summary screens, which act to refresh the player’s memory of the plot upon reloading a save, an element Kojima would later use in Metal Gear Solid. The PlayStation version of Policenauts could also read the memory card and give some easter egg dialogues if a save file of Konami’s dating sim Tokimeki Memorial is present, a technique Kojima would also later use in Metal Gear Solid.
The game centers on Jonathan Ingram, one of the five "Policenauts", astronauts with police training, assigned to ensure the safety of Beyond Coast, mankind's first fully functional space colony in the year 2013. Johnathan tests a new space walking suit, but is drifted away into space by accident and is presumed dead by his colleagues. He is found alive and well 25 years later thanks to the cold-sleep module connected to the suit. Three years later, Jonathan (now a private investigator working in the former Los Angeles) is visited by his former wife, Lorraine who asks for Jonathan's help in solving the disappearance of her current husband, Kenzo Hojo, the only clues he left behind being a torn leaf, a set of capsules, and the word "Plato". Jonathan is reluctant to take her case at first, but after Lorraine leaves his office, she is attacked and murdered by a man in a black motorcycle suit. Jonathan, unable to catch the culprit, decides to fulfill his ex-wife's final request and travels to Beyond, where he is reunited with his former partner from his LAPD days, Ed Brown who agrees to help Jonathan investigate the circumstances surrounding Hojo's disappearance and Lorraine's murder.
During the course of the investigation, Jonathan and Ed learn that Becker and Tokugawa have been involved in running an illegal drug and organ trafficking ring in order to counteract the negative side-effects of being in space for long periods of time. Hojo had been included in the business in order to save his daughter, Karen, and ultimately wanted to leave, only to be murdered. During a stand-off with Becker, Jonathan records Becker's confession about the scheme and has Meryl broadcast the recording live, exposing the scandal to the colonists. Ed saves Jonathan from death, while Meryl and the remaining police arrest Tokugawa. Jonathan donates his bone marrow to Karen upon learning that he is her biological father, and returns to Earth.
