One of Rare’s better known NES games was 1990’s Snake Rattle ‘n’ Roll, a good looking and innovative isometric platformer that saw snakes Rattle ‘n Roll gobbling enough pellets to weight down a scale and exit a stage. The epitome of surreal (enemies included a giant hairy foot known as Big Foot, and what appeared to be flapping toilet seats), it also featured a swinging ‘60s style soundtrack that tied into that pun-tastic name.
We last saw Snake Rattle ‘n’ Roll on Rare Replay back in 2015, and if you’re up for something a little different then it’s well worth checking out, standing the test of time surprisingly well.
A Mega Drive version was released in 1993 and due to being a Europe exclusive it can be considered an oddity. Its obscurity is overshadowed somewhat by a little-known sequel, however. The NES version of Snake Rattle ‘n’ Roll hinted at a sequel titled Snakes in Space, but this is something that never happened. Instead, we gained an altogether different follow-up – Sneaky Snakes for the Game Boy, published by Tradewest.
Released mid-1991, Sneaky Snakes shuns the original’s isometric perspective in favour of a side-scrolling view, essentially turning it into a more traditional 2D platformer. We’re also introduced to three new snakes: Genghis and Atilla, out to save their beloved Sonia Snake.
Many of its ideas remain intact. As before, to complete a stage a certain amount of ‘Nibbley Pibbleys’ must be consumed to lower the gate located next to the exit, with levels continuing to feature dispensers that spew out ‘Pibbleys’ in addition to bombs that must be avoided. There’s a little bit of personality to the snakes, but not as much as you’d expect, leaving the oddball enemy assortment to pick up the slack.
Falling into water still summons a shark, helping to keep things lively. It has plenty of secrets to find too as warp tunnels remain a feature, discovered here by flipping lids resembling drain covers. The swinging ‘60s soundtrack is likewise back, and that’s despite the game’s name being far more derivative. It seems that Tradewest wanted something more mainstream for this sequel, as also evidenced by Rattle ‘n Roll receiving an edgier makeover on Mega Drive.
Sneaky Snakes is far blander visually, not really being any better from a technical standpoint than many of the licensed platformers we saw on Game Boy. Isometric games were possible on the handheld – such as Marble Madness and Monster Max – but these were a lot slower paced. It’s likely that Rare believed a combination of fast-moving visuals and the Game Boy’s limited colour palette would have resulted in something difficult to see.
While it’s neat that so many ideas were carried over, Sneaky Snakes isn’t anywhere near as memorable as Snake Rattle ‘n’ Roll. Repetition settles early on, and by becoming a side-scroller it finds itself in competition with such Game Boy greats as Super Mario Land, Gargoyle’s Quest, Duck Tales, Batman: The Video Game and TMNT – all of which were available at the time. It doesn’t compare favourably to this more action-oriented bunch, lacking a defining feature.
Critics of the era mostly gave Sneaky Snakes a lukewarm reception. EGM opted for an overall score of 21/40 from four combined reviews, while Total! went with 58% – which seems fair. There’s enjoyment to be had here but as it’s short lived it won’t be long until your attention is diverted elsewhere. It’s not hard to imagine that anyone who purchased this for £25-£30 back in 1991 ended up wishing for something with more variety.
Nintendo gave Sneaky Snakes a spot of promotion, showing images of the box art in magazine adverts and such, but it wasn’t embraced the same way as Snake Rattle ‘n’ Roll and Battletoads before it, coming and going with little in the way of hype. If you fancy owning a copy, you’re in luck – it isn’t too expensive, at around £10 for a loose cartridge, and a quick glance at eBay reveals that copies are bountiful.
Unlike the snakes themselves, this wasn’t a franchise with a long tail. Indeed, it’s fascinating to think that only a year separates Rare’s Snake Rattle ‘n’ Roll on Mega Drive and the late SNES system seller Donkey Kong Country. You could say they really knew how to roll with the times.
Images via MobyGames.