Cinematech Episode 186: “Guest Developer Hideo Kojima”
This ep had brief interviews with Hideo Kojima and character/mechanical artist Yoji Shinkawa about the making of Metal Gear Solid games.
Timecode: 0:14: An epic Montage of cutscenes from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PS2, 2004) intercut with interviews with Kojima and Shinkawa. Fun fact: This game was originally supposed to be made for the PS3, but since the PS3 would take a while to be released, it was developed for the PS2 instead.
- Kojima: This time, we really think that we're able to do what we want to do. We have this feel[ing] of accomplishment. We really were able to do what we wanted to do with this last installment of the trilogy. Within myself, you know, MGS has come to an end with this trilogy. I plan to work on new projects or something I have never done before. I like to move on. I consider MGS to be, you know, [like] the OO7 series, where a totally different group of people keep producing these films. I've worked with my team for 10 years with a younger group of people, so I would like them to pick up from what I've finished, so they can come out with more MGS games.
Okay, so it turns out that this ep is a little Hilarious in Hindsight depending on your view of the MGS games that came after Snake Eater.
- Shinkawa: Starting with MGS3, I had some assistants or people working with me on the character and mechanical designs for MGS3. But it already has started, and I think it'll just keep on evolving. We will see a lot of new blood pumped into the new designs of future MGS projects.Kojima: My relationship with the future projects would be, I would probably be the producer of these games. I wouldn't be developing these games. I would leave it up to them. But uh, I don't think the MGS series would come to an end.
5:17: After Snake Eater, they showed a series of games considered to be humorous, starting with Day of the Tentacle (1993), because Kojima likes to put humor into his games and Tentacle is considered one of the funnier games of all time.
- Kojima: Laughter, and joy, you know, funniness, are things that are hard to express in Video Games. You know, this is what I want to do in video games: introduce this kind of fun, like laughter, comedy in video games. So in my future games I would probably like to do that.
As for Tentacle itself, their portrayal of the game itself is flawed because they dubbed over the game's music and voice acting with generic, public domain music. It basically kills the appeal of showing games like Tentacle because they intentionally derived their humor from the voice acting and sound effects, unless you already know the game and its funny parts beforehand.
7:36: The Bard's Tale, the 2004 reimagining of a very old computer RPG. This Bard's Tale was more like a top-down action RPG such as Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. The Bard was a slick, roguish character voiced by Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride). They showed a few scenes with some of the Bard's interactions with other characters interspersed with some of the game's hack-n-slash gameplay. Unlike with DotT, they kept the original voice acting of TBT intact.
- The Bard: I happened to be wandering by, when I heard your cries over the rumbling of my empty belly. You aren't hurt, are you?Innkeeper: No, but aren't ya the sweet one fer asking?
- The Bard: I'd be only too happy to handle anything you'd like to heave my way?[camera pans up the innkeeper's ample chest]Innkeeper: Then it's a deal!
And that's how the Bard wound up ridding her basement of rats!
- Ugly Merchant Guy: We do have a buy back policy. If you buy it, don't bring it back. Ha ha.
- Angry Maiden: Why, I've never been so insulted in all my life!The Bard: Think hard. I'm sure you have.
- [talking to the innkeeper]The Bard: Oh, and uh, my sword is quite big enough to handle any... troubles you might have?
8:55: The PS2 version of No One Lives Forever (2000, PC, Monolith Productions), an FPS that is also an Affectionate Parody of OO7-style spy flicks, with a sexy British bird named Cate Archer as the star. Some sample dialog:
- Minion: Yes, sir! I mean, no sir! I mean, yes to the first part, and no to the second part! Sir!Volkov: Shut up. Just do as I say, you idiot.
- Cate: You always worry.Handler: Can you blame me? You're like an errant child.Cate: And you're like a fussy aunt!Handler: You could at least leave my gender intact.
- Volkov The girl's in the lobby. Kill her!Minion: But why didn't you kill her, Mr. Volkov?Volkov: I meant to, but my hunger for revenge distracted me.
NOLF only received one sequel in 2002 (No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way) and an expansion pack (Contract J.A.C.K.) that was an interquel between the first and second games, but the two main games are fondly remembered, and some still want a new game in the series to this day.
10:28: A montage of assorted Super Mario Bros. games, including the original NES game, Super Mario World, Super Mario 64 DS, and Super Mario Sunshine. You can tell it's the original Japanese version of the last one because it shows Mario acquiring a Shine and the message “Shine Get!” appears.
- Kojima: Super Mario Bros. by Mr. Miyamoto, that basically dragged me into this video game industry.
What if Kojima and Miyamoto collaborated on a new game, not just a port of an older Metal Gear game? That would be... unique.
15:47: A clip from Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, a remake of the original MGS game for the Nintendo GameCube developed by Silicon Knights (Eternal Darkness). This clip shows the scene where Solid Snake meets Meryl, who is disguised as a soldier, for the first time. Snake can tell that she lacks experience and criticizes her for it.
The voice acting for The Twin Snakes was updated from the PS1 original. Some of the characters, such as Naomi Hunter (British) and Mei Ling (Chinese), had Americanized accents in the remake, which were carried over into Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.
17:08: Shinkawa talks about MGS and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
- Shinkawa: Back then, it was this kind of game that I wanted to play, but this kind of game just did not exist, so we ended up creating them, you know, by ourselves, and that turned out to be Metal Gear Solid. Looking back, I really love it, and even when I play it now, I really enjoy playing it.
Bonus Fun: Peachi's MGS Comics: The Hyperdub: The Complete Saga
: All of Peachi's hilarious comics for MGS 1, 2, 3, and Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, fandubbed very well by Broad Spectrum Studios. I enjoyed hearing the guy that played Snake's voice acting improve over the course of the fandub.
