We've all played classic NES platformer Snake Rattle 'N' Roll, haven't we? Of course we have. But, just in case, here's some background.
As one of the earliest games developed by Nintendo superstars (and makers of Banjo-Kazooie), Rare, Snake Rattle 'N' Roll is all about getting two snakes - named Rattle and Roll - to eat enough "Nibbley Pibbleys" to exit a level. Listen, the '90s were a weird, lawless time.
Although this video of a tool-assisted speedrun is seven years old, it was just today that SEGA Community Manager David Hinds tweeted about it:
In the video, which is completely zoomed out, you can watch the screen bounce around the place to take the snakes to the next level. The score screen hides this fact nicely, and the game doesn't load until the screen is in place. Old school tricks!
But look even closer at the map and you'll see another secret: the words "Nintendo Game Boy" written across one of the levels. This kind of detail is hard to see when you're playing the game, since you can only see a small area at a time, but thanks to modern technology, we can finally appreciate the developers' efforts. Sorry it took so long, Rare!
Do you have fond memories of Snake Rattle 'N' Roll? Reminisce with us in the comments.
[source youtu.be, via twitter.com]
Comments 16
Loved this game. Loved the two player co op.
Would love rare replay on switch.
Great title. The score screen count sound is soooo addictive.
Unfortunately I never played through it as I found the later stages very hard. I need to go back to it.
Ah cool!
I vaguely remember hearing the all the levels were fully connected on the mountain before, but never knew about the Nintendo Game Boy Easter egg
But that leaves a question: Did they change it in the Rare Replay version?
Loved this game as a kid.
I did get to the top but could never kill the final big foot boss. I always ran out of time.
Great to see the levels all interconnected.
Rare Replay Nintendo Edition please Microsoft. It will sell millions on Switch.
@Roam85 Same here. I must have rented it from the video shop 50 times when I was a kid. I loved this game so much. Didn’t end up buying it until I was an adult, though lol. I had to have it in my collection.
@Roam85
Yeah Microsoft has to know that Rare Replay would sell a ton on Switch?
This is one of those games that me and my brother bought as kids without really knowing what to expect. Back then, we only had access to bootleg Famicom cartridges and ours was a purple cart that had Cool Spot on it and the title of the game was "7-Up 2: Spot the Cool". And the game itself was also hacked, so that the title screen said "7-Up 2". I definitely found it easier as a 1-player game, but neither me, nor my brother ever beat it. I think I never got much further than level 6...
But I've always thought it was fairly obvious that the game was one huge mountain. You could see parts of upcoming/previous levels during gameplay and I always thought that was pretty cool.
Be sure to check out the "Atlas Videos" YouTube channel. More of this, as the title suggests. All created by Andy Dick with lots of hard work and patience! Also, the map is by Timothy1979 for VGMaps.com and the speedrun is from Aglar of tasvideos.org.
Cool game and awesome soundtrack. Never beat the final big foot at last level... Never undestood how to kill it (nota even watching this video!!!)
I wonder if the MD version has any differences in layout. It would be odd to have "Nintendo" and "Game Boy" in a MD game. The MD version also has an extra final stage since the sequel hinted at in the NES ending never came out.
@brianvgplayer looking at a video of this, the "Game Boy" part was changed to "Go Sega". I couldn't tell if the "Nintendo" part was changed to something legible or not as I couldn't make sense of it.
@Reynoldszahl yeah it really was super hard.
Love that. Will have to check out more of the Atlas videos. It was a lot of work to make this pseudo-3D game line up all the way through, so I'm guessing it was partly for reuse of the same areas in different levels to save memory. Or just artistry, it could be that.
Oh man I loved this game as a kid!
I loved this game, but was never able to beat it as a kid. Until save states anyway lol
That's a neat find! And yes, I do have fond memories of it at the arcade.
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