1. Gameplay

2. Development

3. Reception

4. Sequel

5. References

6. External links

Snake Rattle 'n' Roll is a platforming video game developed by Rare. It was published by Nintendo and released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America in July 1990 and in Europe on March 27, 1991. It was ported to the Mega Drive and released by Sega in June 1993. The game features two snakes, Rattle and Roll, as they make their way through eleven 3D isometric levels. The object is to navigate the obstacles in each level and eat enough "Nibbley Pibbleys" to ring a weigh-in bell located in the level, which will allow the snakes to exit. The game can be played by a single-player or by two players simultaneously.

Snake Rattle 'n' Roll was developed by Rare members Tim Stamper and Mark Betteridge, with music composed by David Wise, which featured music inspired by "Shake, Rattle and Roll", as well as other 1950s-era oldies. It was well received by various video gaming magazines, and praises include well-designed 3D environments and graphics, playability and controls, and challenge. A follow-up for the Game Boy, titled Sneaky Snakes, was released by Tradewest in 1991. Snake Rattle 'n' Roll has been named one of the top games released on the NES and one of the top games released by Rare. The game was later included in Rare's 2015 Rare Replay compilation for the Xbox One.

Gameplay

Each level contains various obstacles and enemies that the players must deal with. Players lose a segment from their snake if they are hit by an enemy, and they lose a life if their snake runs out of segments.^[2] Players can also lose a life if their snakes fall too far, the timer runs out, their snakes touch a sharp object, or if they are squashed by an object from above. Also, if they remain in some bodies of water for too long, a shark will attack. The game ends if players lose all their lives, but they have several continues in which they can restart the game from where they left off.^[4] Players can defeat enemies by hitting them with their tongues or by jumping on them.^[3] They can collect various items to help them along during gameplay, such as items that extend the length of the snakes' tongues, extra lives and continues, time bonuses, invisibility diamonds, and items that speed up or reverse the direction of the snakes.^[5] Located throughout the game are lids (in the shape of manhole covers) in which players can open to uncover Nibbly Pibbleys, items and extra lives, entrances to bonus levels, and sometimes enemies.^[1][6] Also located in the game are hidden warps which allow players to skip several levels and restart at a later point in the game.^[6]

Development

The game's soundtrack, consisting predominantly of twelve-bar melodies in the early rock-'n'-roll style of the 1954 song "Shake, Rattle and Roll", of whose name the game's title is a parody, was composed by David Wise. He would also compose music from Wizards & Warriors, Battletoads, and the Donkey Kong Country series. According to website GamesRadar, the game's compositions revolved around 1950s-era "oldies so old they don’t even get played on the radio anymore".^[9] One sound effect, played when a snake lands in the water and is pursued by a shark until it returns to land, quotes John Williams' two-note theme from the 1975 film Jaws.^[10]

It was first published by Nintendo and released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America in July 1990 and in Europe on March 27, 1991.^[11][12] Rare would later port the game to the Sega Mega Drive, a version which was released only in Europe by Sega in 1993; this port featured an additional final level on top of the 11 levels on the NES version.^[13] In that version, the snakes make it into space, but a meteorite crashes into their spaceship, causing them to crash land on another planetoid, which serves at the 12th level.^[14] After completing the level, the ending shows the snakes on a new spaceship that is going back home.^[15] Although this game was never released for the Game Boy, in level 7 of the NES version, the landscape spells out "NINTENDO GAME BOY".^[16]

Reception

The game received further reviews and praise in other video gaming magazines in 1991. German magazine Video Games called Snake Rattle 'n' Roll "a quaint and original game" that includes high-quality graphics. The reviewer praised the animations in the characters, especially after the snakes eat Nibbly Pibbleys, and he enjoyed the two-player simultaneous mode; however, he said that the game lacked in variety, though the gameplay and challenge remained consistent throughout the course of the game.^[18] Another German magazine, Power Play, gave a similar review, and it compared the game to the 1988 Rare title R.C. Pro-Am in gameplay.^[23] American video gaming magazine Game Players awarded Snake Rattle 'n' Roll the "Game Player's NES Excellence Award" for 1990 as one of the best games released for the NES that year.^[21]

Due to Microsoft's current ownership of Rare, it is unlikely that either game will be released for the Virtual Console.^[28] Snake Rattle 'n' Roll, along with Rare's other NES titles, appear in the Xbox One compilation, Rare Replay.^[29]

Sequel

In the ending of Snake Rattle 'n' Roll, the game hints at a sequel titled Snakes in Space,^[30] but the game would never be released. However, Rare developed a follow-up on the Game Boy titled Sneaky Snakes; the game was published by Tradewest in June 1991.^[31] The game features two Snakes named Genghis and Atilla who must save Sonia Snake from the Nasty Nibbler. The game features identical gameplay to Snake Rattle 'n' Roll but in a 2D side-scrolling platforming mode instead of the 3D isometric mode.^[32] Sneaky Snakes received mediocre ratings from Electronic Gaming Monthly in its July 1991 issue. Reviewer Steve Harris criticized the game for its awkward controls, lack of originality, and a "zero-grav effect" while jumping. Ed Semrad said that the game got old after the first several levels, and Martin Alessi said that while it is an original idea, likewise repeated the previous reviewers criticism of the game's repetitiveness. Reviewer "Sushi-X" called the game "average" and said, “It lacks the rest of the positive traits that truly rates an exceptional game.”^[33]

References

• {{cite book |title=Snake Rattle 'n' Roll Instruction Booklet |publisher=Nintendo |year=1990 |id=NES-RJ-USA}}

External links

• {{MobyGames|id=/snake-rattle-n-roll}}
• {{MobyGames|id=/sneaky-snakes|name=Sneaky Snakes}}

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