The Japanese genius is known for more than Metal Gear and Death Stranding.

Hideo Kojima also created two graphic adventure games for Konami. They are Snatcher and Policenauts; the former was a Blade Runner-esque concept, while the latter was a more ambitious adventure conspiracy starring police astronauts who police human space colonies. Policenauts was released in 1994 and, to date, has only been officially released in Japan.

The localization was dropped by Konami shortly afterward. It was not until 2009 that the English fan translation for the Japanese PS1 version was completed, allowing many more people to experience Jonathan Ingram’s story, which touches on several still sensitive themes (social isolation, technological advances, the effects of space travel), and could therefore be described as a galactic police drama. It was the first game in which Kojima and Yoji Shinkawa collaborated (he defined the art style of Kojima’s games, and his work can be seen on the box art!).

“I miss the ‘Policenauts’ actuality. I completed the planning, setting, story, storyboard, and commands, but it was in 1990, so 32 years ago. After that, I had to transfer to the other department, and full-scale production was delayed. Space development and the medical scene have changed drastically. At that time, no one imagined a private company would go into space. However, Japan did not have a division of labor in dispensing and prescribing then. I was thinking of a sequel where Redwood comes back to Earth (home) for revenge, but it never happened,” wrote Kojima.

We don’t understand Konami. In this game, there is the possibility of money. How did the Japanese publisher not get around to a worldwide launch while Kojima was there? In that case, we wouldn’t have to rely on emulation and fan localization. True, Kojima later became a mainstream developer with Metal Gear Solid, released in 1998. By Redwood, he meant Tony Redwood, the game’s main antagonist. He was a high-ranking space cop who killed Ingram’s wife, and at the end of Policenauts, he simply leaps to his death with a devilish laugh. The game calls Earth home, while the space colony is called Beyond Coast (the game was codenamed Beyond during development, but Konami failed to trademark the word).

Source: PCGamer