(KTAL/KMSS) — One of the biggest franchises in video games, Metal Gear Solid, is coming back on August 28, but will fans come with it?
Metal Gear Solid is one of the most reliable franchises in gaming history, with nine titles in the series selling over one million copies. The franchise has sold over 62 million copies collectively.
The first entry, Metal Gear, was released in 1987 on the MSX home computer system in Japan. Originally meant to be an action game, hardware limitations prevented the game from having many characters on screen. To counter this limitation, the creators pivoted to a stealth game. Instead of fighting enemies, the player needed to sneak past them, making it a forefather of stealth video games and introducing their own genre, Tactical Espionage Action.
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The next entry in the series will be Metal Gear Solid: Delta, a remake of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. Snake Eater is often cited as the best overall game in the franchise. Initially released in 2004 for the PlayStation 2, a remake on modern consoles seems like a guaranteed win.
There is just one problem.
Hideo Kojima, the man most responsible for the Metal Gear series, is not involved.
Kojima is one of the few game developers to achieve fame in their own right.
He combines a unique brand of humor with intricate (some might find convoluted) stories. In the Metal Gear series, there are walking battle tanks equipped with nuclear weapons, cyborg ninjas, psychics, ghosts, and characters named Hot Coldman and Pacifica Ocean.
The two main protagonists are Naked Snake and, decades later, his clone son Solid Snake. Primary antagonists include two more clones, Liquid Snake and Solidus Snake, the former President of the United States.
The Metal Gear series has some of the densest, most complex lore in gaming history, but after making the games for decades, Kojima was ready for a change.
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Kojima had publicly stated many times over the years that he was ready to leave the franchise behind and move on to other projects, but pressure from a dedicated fan base and his bosses at Konami kept forcing him to create more Metal Gears.
Kojima ended the franchise multiple times, only to have to retcon his ending to make another game. He made Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots to wrap up every storyline in the series, only to be pushed to make another game.
With that as the backdrop for Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, some would expect a half-hearted effort. It was anything but that. The game was meticulously crafted. So meticulous that many consider the gameplay the best in the series. And so meticulous that Konami grew impatient with Kojima, who was going over budget and facing delays.
While neither side has publicly commented, at some point, the relationship between Konami and Kojima soured badly.
Most believe that pressure from Konami forced production on The Phantom Pain to conclude before it was completed. The company also removed Kojima’s name from all assets it owned, including the Metal Gear Solid 5 website and marketing materials.
Fans of the series were unhappy with his removal, but they were still excited about the new game. The Phantom Pain had detractors, but was generally well-regarded by fans. Kojima moved on to form Kojima Productions. But fans still loved Metal Gear.
Fans were left torn. They hated the publisher for forcing out the creator they loved, but the publisher owned the rights to the franchise. Since the split, Konami has tried to cash in with one original game, the often derided Metal Gear Survive, and has had success with collections of older games. Metal Gear Solid: Delta is the most ambitious use of the franchise since Konami and Kojima parted ways, but the company is still attempting to play it safe.
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When Konami announced a remake, fans were left curious about what it would entail. What they are getting is a virtually identical game. An almost shot-for-shot remake with modern controls and graphics. The game is so similar to the original that Konami is using the same voice acting files as those from the 2004 version.
This is what gets complicated for fans. Some view the game as a homage to a beloved classic. Others view it as a greedy company attempting to profit from a beloved creator whom they mistreated. Some are counting down the days. Others have vowed never to spend money on anything Konami makes.
Konami executives have hinted that a successful project could lead to a revival of the series with new games without Kojima, while Kojima has announced work on a spiritual successor to his most famous works.
Metal Gear is coming back, but whether it’s with a bang or a whimper depends on whether the fans come back with it.
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