Konami has released the first part of a new Metal Gear Solid recap video series that tells the story of the epic stealth-action franchise, but one of its key players is conspicuous by his absence.
The video sees Solid Snake (as well as Big Boss) voice actor David Hayter recapping the origins of Metal Gear as a franchise, as well as the cultural impact it’s had on both the world of gaming and the wider world as a whole.
Amusingly (although inevitably), the video doesn’t mention legendary gaming auteur Hideo Kojima once; his name looms large over Metal Gear, but he’s not directly credited with any of the franchise’s achievements in the video.
The video does make mention of Metal Gear Solid‘s “developers”, and indeed, it’s true that the franchise doesn’t belong to Kojima alone; many others have worked to make it a success over the years.
Still, the complete absence of Kojima’s name from the video is rather jarring, considering how closely associated his name has become with the iconic franchise.
Over the course of roughly six minutes, the Metal Gear Solid Legacy Series’ first installment sees David Hayter run through the reasons Metal Gear has become so successful and beloved.
Said reasons include “innovative and iconic gameplay” and the comedic and unexpected elements of the series. The video calls Metal Gear “richly layered and brilliantly written”, too. It’s a fluff piece, but it’s nice to be reminded of the highs Metal Gear has hit over the years.
This is the first part in a series, but we’re not sure just how many videos will be released yet. At the video’s conclusion, Hayter promises that more information regarding the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 3 remake will be revealed soon, so that could well be the subject of the next entry.
Meanwhile, Kojima-san’s name may be absent from this Metal Gear retrospective, but he’s not quite done with tactical espionage action yet, it seems. Back in January, he announced a brand new “next-generation espionage action game” by the name of Physint.
We don’t know much about the project yet, but he has spoken movingly about its inception, suggesting that its existence is down to wanting to give Metal Gear fans something to look forward to after his development priorities shifted following a serious illness.
