The Trouble With Remaking Metal Gear Solid
The Trouble With Remaking Metal Gear Solid
It happened to an MGS game once before and fans hated it. Will the reaction be different this time?
Yes, it’s real. If you’re a veteran fan of the Metal Gear series like me, you likely came into the most recent PlayStation Showcase with a healthy dose of skepticism toward the new round of rumors that Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater would be getting a full remake with a collection of the original games released in tandem. We’ve heard it all for years with nothing to show for it — and yet that’s exactly what we got.
The first teaser did a decent job of introducing the remake’s new visual style, but it ultimately only created more questions than answers. While presumably in-engine or at least a close approximation to what we’ll likely get, the preview showed no actual gameplay and the lack of even a release window implies we probably won’t see this one until next year at the earliest, possibly as a tie-in to the 20th anniversary of Metal Gear Solid 3.
For me, the more important announcement was the reveal of the Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection, which is advertised as collecting the original versions of the first three MGS games set for an autumn 2023 release. The presence of a “Vol. 1” tacked on at the end suggests that more classic titles from the series are also on the way.
This is huge news because the vast majority of the franchise has been stranded on older console hardware with no practical way of playing them outside of dusting off your PS3. While hatred for Konami is rather droll at this point, I’m thrilled that Metal Gear is finally back and will soon be available for a new generation of players to experience.
Yet the elephant in the room is still that remake of Metal Gear Solid 3, which is a greater cause for concern. The original game ranks as the default favorite for many fans of the series with its memorable James Bond-esque narrative and innovative stealth gameplay which took Metal Gear out of urban environments and into a dynamic jungle-based setting. It revealed the narrative origins of the entire series as one of the most effective prequels ever written, and of course, that opening theme song is the stuff of video game music legends.
I could go on, but we all know what a high pedigree MGS3 has, which only makes the idea of a remake all the more daunting. Watching the available material, I can’t help but feel that we’ve been through this before. What first comes to mind is Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, the GameCube remake of the first Metal Gear Solid that is highly controversial among fans. It upgraded MGS1 to the visuals and engine of MGS2, adding elements like first-person gameplay and the ability to hang off ledges.
Many felt that these tweaks broke the fundamental design of the original MGS1. Arguably even more divisive were the highly stylized “bullet time” cutscenes directed by Ryuhei Kitamura that felt closer to something out of The Matrix than anything seen in Metal Gear Solid at the time. The voice acting also changed with some characters no longer having certain accents, and the script was overhauled to be closer to the Japanese original compared to the more liberal localization written by Jeremy Blaustein.
As someone who grew up with The Twin Snakes and not MGS1, the remake personally holds a special place in my heart. I prefer the gameplay continuity between it and MGS2, while the more ridiculous aspects were less jarring for me since I was already aware of Raiden’s antics that would later be seen in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Naturally, I’m aware that I’m in the minority of fans with this opinion and completely understand why those who began the series with the original would prefer the original.
This inevitably brings us back to Metal Gear Solid 3 and the problems that a remake is likely to encounter. For starters, the new title is Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater and not Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, which suggests that we’re probably in for a considerably different kind of game. Understandably, the industry has had 20 years to evolve and the remake will be made to reflect modern trends. The difficult question, however, is what direction to take things in.
Will the remake be similar to the 3DS port of MGS3, which adapted the Monster Hunter-esque shooting controls of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker? Or will it try to be closer to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain? The original maps for MGS3 are quite small by today’s standards, so will the developers aim for a direct recreation or something more akin to MGSV’s open world? We know that the Fox Engine is out, which makes sense given that it’s ten years old and has been surpassed by far better options.
The press release by Konami states that the remake aims to be a “faithful recreation of the original story and game design, while evolving the gameplay with stunning visuals and a seamless user experience,” yet at this stage those are only idealistic promises without any gameplay footage to show for them. It also says that the original voice actors are returning, but it’s unclear if that refers to a brand-new recording or the reuse of existing audio. David Hayter was famously axed from MGSV and replaced by Kiefer Sutherland, but is currently playing coy with his role in the remake.
Then there’s the man himself, Hideo Kojima. We know that he isn’t involved, and he didn’t tweet anything following the announcement. While it’s true that Metal Gear games without Kojima have been made, he always had some kind of producing or supervising role which ensured a degree of oversight. This time we don’t have that, which alone might be a red flag for some. It also isn’t entirely clear if this remake is being developed in-house at Konami or being outsourced to another company, nor do we know how much of the original team is involved.
I have mixed feelings on this point. While Kojima’s involvement would have undoubtedly helped the remake, it’s pretty clear that he was burnt out with the series by the end. He has famously said that each Metal Gear game would be his last one, and in an alternative universe, MGS2’s ending would’ve concluded the entire series on an ambiguous note up to player interpretation. Every subsequent Metal Gear entry was more or less a reluctant sequel, and Kojima likely has no desire to return to the series both due to lack of interest and his falling out with Konami. His intention was always to hand off things to the next generation of designers, so perhaps that time has finally come.
To expand things further, one may wonder what the purpose of video game remakes should be as a whole. The most successful example in recent times is likely Capcom’s revitalization of the Resident Evil series where the remakes actually feel like substantial upgrades and an appropriate evolution of where modern gameplay should be. Fans generally like the remake of Shadow of the Colossus and the Kiwami entries of the Yakuza series are better than the PS2 originals. 2018’s Secret of Mana, however, dropped the ball completely and was little more than a pointless cashgrab. GoldenEye 007 purists often don’t even want to acknowledge the existence of the 2010 version, which is far closer to a reimagining than a remake.
A more apt comparison to MGS3 is Konami’s other long-neglected franchise, Silent Hill. Fans are currently very divided on the remake of Silent Hill 2 announced last year, but Metal Gear is at least getting a collection that aims to preserve MGS 1-3 in their unaltered forms. This to me seems like the best course of action, as it guarantees that the originals won’t be lost and those with no interest in remakes have an option of playing what they want on modern hardware.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater has the thankless task of needing to appeal to fans of the original, but also be a modern AAA game that can hold its own against comparable action titles. The latter, however, is where it has the most potential. In 2023, the stealth genre is in dire straights and in much need of revitalization. With low competition, the MGS3 remake has the opportunity to take the throne and breathe new life into this long-neglected industry area.
Furthermore, if the remake proves successful, it could pave the way for other entries in the series to receive the same treatment. I’ve always wanted for there to be full remakes of the oft-forgotten MSX2 games which serve as the bridge between Big Boss and Solid Snake’s respective story arcs. There would undoubtedly be a lot to figure out, such as if David Hayter would return or how the stories would be rewritten to better fit the canon of the later games, but such projects are entirely dependent on how well the MGS3 remake turns out.
There is overall both reason to be skeptical and justification for cautious optimism with Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. I would be far more apprehensive if it wasn’t for the existence of the Master Collection, but luckily players both new and old will be able to soon play this series in its original form on modern platforms. It’s now finally a good time to be a Metal Gear fan again, and the future looks far more positive than anything we’ve seen from the franchise in nearly a decade. What a thrill indeed.
