Should Metal Gear Solid 1 Be Remade?
As Exciting as the Hype for Metal Gear Solid Delta, Should a Different Metal Gear Remake Join the Fold?
When the Metal Gear Solid Legacy: Master Collection: Volume 1 was announced on May 24th, 2023, gamers were excited to revisit some classic Metal Gear games on next-generation consoles. That wasn’t the only announcement from the storied Hideo Kojima franchise, however.
The remake of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, titled Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater was also announced. The delta in the title is meant to symbolize the remake concept of the game. Delta is meant to symbolize that the game will differentiate without changing the structure.
The choice to remake Snake Eater was due to the story being the first in chronological order of the series and explains the origins of Big Boss, who is key to future protagonists of the game.
It seems likely that if the project sells well, another remake from the beloved franchise could pop up. If that is the route taken, I would like to argue that Metal Gear Solid is worth a remake. In addition to it being the first 3-dimensional game in the series, and the first to have a worldwide release, there are a few key reasons why it is worthy of a remake. Let’s take a deeper dive into why.
Should Metal Gear Solid 1 Be Remade?
The Framework is Already There
Gamers have experienced a taste of a remake in the 2004 GameCube game Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes. Twin Snakes didn’t change much of the core gameplay but did feature some extra cutscenes, as well as fully re-recoded voice tracks from the original game. With the game being released after Metal Gear Solid 2 in 2001, the game did feature some of the gameplay updates that were seen in MGS 2.
Although this is not a full-blown remake like Delta seems to be and other franchises such as Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Final Fantasy, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, and other franchises have adapted, you could argue that the framework is already there. With the re-recorded voice dialogue already in play any added scenes or story elements could be easy to add in (assuming the original voice cast can be re-assembled). The game has already had one graphical overhaul and would benefit from an upgrade to ninth-generation technology.
Twin Snakes was well received by critics and fans alike, showing the audience is receptive to classic games receiving updates.
It Was The First in the Series to Feature Voice Acting
This was the first Metal Gear Solid game to feature voice acting. It added a lot of emotion to the game. Perfect examples of this include Snake’s conversation with Namoi Hunter about her relationship with Gray Fox and her reason for injecting Snake with the FOXIDE virus.
Other notable emotional segments include the conversations between Snake and Colonel Campbell as Snake starts to doubt Campbell’s honesty with him. Once the Colonel’s niece Meryl Silverbugh is put in danger and eventually severely injured by Sniper Wolf.
The voice acting helped cement Metal Gear as a prominent action franchise. The added emotions from the voices in the cut scenes and codec conversations added to the cinematic feel of the game and made the complex storyline not feel as daunting to play through. All of this adds to the argument that Metal Gear Solid is a staple entry in the series and is worthy of a remake.
Cinematic and Complex
Metal Gear Solid games have become known for their complex themes that are played out through long and cinematic cutscenes. Some themes that the series began to explore with Metal Gear Solid included artificial intelligence and manipulation, information control, virtual reality, and other significant themes.
This was flushed out by plot and gameplay points such as Snake receiving virtual reality training, and Snake and his own Colonel (Roy Campbell) not knowing the true intentions of the United States government when Snake to Shadow Moses. Snake was injected with the FOXDIE virus by Naomi Hunter which caused members of Fox Hound to die when they encountered Snake. This made it possible for the United States government to get ahold of Metal Gear REX easily.
Other themes that were flushed out through gameplay include the social engineering and cloning behind the Les Enfants Terribles. This was first mentioned in Metal Gear Solid and explained how Big Boss was cloned three times which resulted in Solid, Liquid, and Solidus Snake. At the end of the game, Liquid’s left arm was transplanted following his death to the body of Revolver Ocelot after Ocelot lost his hand in a fight with Gray Fox. Starting in future games, Liquid’s mind took over the body of Ocelot. This is one of the many ways Metal Gear Solid directly impacted future games in the series and makes it even more worthy of a remake.
It Directly Impacted Many Subsequent Games
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty was impacted by the original Metal Gear Solid in ways unique from many other sequels. Gamers begin the second act of the game in a very familiar way. This time in the boots of rookie Raiden, who was trained in virtual reality by going through simulations of the Shadow Moses incident (the plot of Metal Gear Solid). He even has Colonel Roy Campbell directing the mission (so it seems).
As the game plays out, we learn that the mission was set up to see if Raiden could become the next great soldier by recreating Shadow Moses in the modern day and in a different setting. The Campbell he is talking to is an AI replica controlled by Raiden’s own nanomachines. In addition, the FOXDIE virus has started a rapid aging process on Snake and Ocelot is fighting to stay in control of his mind as Liquid tries to take over. These are further flushed out in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots as Ocelot has completely lost control of his mind to Liquid. Snake has also rapidly aged as his time as the perfect soldier is winding down. All these key points to the overall series began with plot points and themes started in Metal Gear Solid.
It Broke Down the 4th Wall in a Way Never Seen Before
The Metal Gear series had broken the 4th wall down before by talking directly to gamers. Metal Gear Solid found ways to do this on a scale never done before.
The most famous breaking of the 4th wall is in the battle against Psycho Mantis. From Mantis reading what gamers had on their memory card, making the controller vibrate, making it appear as if the input changed, and requiring gamers to plug into controller slot 2, the game broke down many boundaries.
Other notable moments include Mei Ling suggesting gamers save before key moments, Naomi Hunter telling gamers to put the controller up to their arm and have it vibrate to simulate a massage after the torture scene, to Colonel Campbell and Namoi telling gamers to use stereo speakers so the Hind D helicopter can be heard when it is off-screen, the game kept gamers on their toes.
It was not the first or last time the Metal Gear series broke the 4th wall down. However, with the technology jump from Metal Gear Solid (and Twin Snakes for that matter) to where we are now, these can be kicked up a notch and added to with a current generation remake.
In Conclusion
If the Metal Gear series is going to further down the path of remakes, Metal Gear Solid is a great choice. The game was cinematic and complex as future releases were, it brought emotion to the series through voice acting, and the complex themes and plot directly impacted future releases in the series. With the framework already being in place the remake would add a worthwhile chapter to the legendary series.