‘Metal Gear Solid 3’ Remake: Konami Reveals an Unexpected Return

Metal Gear Solid Delta isn’t looking to change everything, only enhance. 

Metal Gear is one of the most beloved gaming franchises of all time. It means a ton to me and many gamers around the world. Created by Hideo Kojima, the original Metal Gear came out in 1987 for the lesser-known MSX computer. The original follows the story of a spec op codenamed Solid Snake who is tasked with infiltrating Outer Heaven to rescue another spec op named Gray Fox and destroy a walking tank known as Metal Gear. The series evolved immensely from there once Metal Gear Solid was released on PSX in 1998 with gamers being given some pretty heavy exposition for its time. The series got a complete story with multiple sequels and prequels. 

The most famous of them was Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. Snake Eater was a prequel to the Metal Gear series that told the story of how a spec op codenamed Naked Snake became Big Boss. He was tasked with infiltrating a Russian facility during the Cold War to rescue a scientist who wanted to defect to the US only for it to be botched by his mentor, The Boss, defecting to Russia instead. Needing to save face, the US tasked Naked Snake with infiltrating where they were to kill The Boss and end Colonel Volgin’s plan to use an experimental weapon to overthrow the Russian government. 

Art by Yoji Shinkawa

It is rightfully considered one of the greatest video games of all time, as recently as making #33 on the recent GQ 100 greatest games list released in May. Konami has left the series dormant for a long time and finally announced they would be revisiting the series with a remake to Snake Eater. One of the first questions people had was if David Hayter would be Snake once more if they would recast. Well, Konami has answers for all the Metal Gear fans out there.

New Look, Same Ol’ Voice

IGN and VGC both reached out to Konami on what they would be doing for the voices for Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater. VGC was told by Tommy Williams, Konami’s head of communications for the West, that it will “star the original voice characters, rich storyline and expansive features of combat survival in harsh environments evolved with unprecedented graphics and immersive sound.”

IGN spoke with a Konami spokesperson who also confirmed this news. Konami sensing a pattern went to the official Metal Gear Twitter page to let everyone know that the story and character voices would not be changed the way it was for Capcom’s Resident Evil remakes.

This is fantastic news to hear for long-time fans who were disappointed by the decision to recast Big Boss in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain with Keifer Sutherland back in 2015. Especially since he had so few lines in the game. The other great thing about this is that some actors who lent their voices to the game in Japan have since passed, so this will be a great way to keep their legacy alive.

The voices were the biggest question and luckily for us, IGN found out the other big questions on everyone’s mind.

Why Metal Gear Solid 3 and the Kojima Question

Many fans of the series were confused by the choice in remaking a prequel instead of the arguably much more needed first game in the Metal Gear Solid series. IGN spoke with a Konami spokesperson who was happy to answer this exact question. 

“We chose Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater because it depicts the birth of Big Boss, which is the starting point of the Metal Gear series,..Another reason is that many fans have been requesting a remake of this game for a long time.”

They also let it be known that any future games getting remade will depend on how well Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater does after release. This most likely will extend to if the series itself can get new titles in the future.

“…regarding remakes of previous games in the series other than Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, we will listen to player demand and consider accordingly.”

The giant elephant in the room was would the people behind the entire series be involved, specifically Hideo Kojima and artist Yoji Shinkawa. The answer is definitely not.

“They are not involved,…However, the development team will work hard to create this remake and also the ports (for Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection) so that they can be enjoyed on multiple platforms by even more players all around the world.”

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The team will consist of Konami developers who worked on the series in the past with Kojima and the studio Virtuos who helped with a number of big titles like Dark Souls Remastered, Horizon Zero Dawn, and The Outer Worlds.

Why Delta (Δ) Instead of 3?

The question I had, as well as a few others, couldn’t let go was why was it called Delta(Δ) instead of 3. Well turns out there is a really interesting reason. Konami gave a small explanation on the official Metal Gear Twitter page. 

Luckily, the spokesperson elaborated on what that means with IGN by saying it is more symbolic of what they are trying to do with this remake compared to Capcom’s Resident Evil remakes or the other recent remakes like Dead Space.

“The Delta symbol (Δ) was chosen because its meaning fits the concept of the remake project,…Delta is a character from the Greek alphabet that means ‘change’ or ‘difference’ in mathematics and variables, and also has the meaning of changing an amount without changing the structure.”

There is something comforting in how close they want to stick to the original story and feel of the game. Hopefully, this doesn’t prevent them from giving the game some quality-of-life changes and more to modernize the game enough to warrant the remake.

It is safe to say I will be buying this game on day one due to my love for everything Metal Gear and knowing Snake will be enjoyed by future generations is very comforting. It is harder to get people to experience older media and even harder with video games since many control schemes and camera controls have evolved immensely since the 90s. Remakes may be seen as cash grabs but the ones made with love are worth every penny. 

Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater is planned to release on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC with no current release date.

“You tend to twist your elbow to absorb the recoil. That’s more of a revolver technique.” – Naked Snake to Ocelot

Author: Spider-Mike

Spider-Mike is a staff writer who is a regular co-host on the let's play channel Rage Select and regular contributor to One of US.net for over 5 years. Born in Austin, but raised on the border of Texas and Mexico. He has been gaming since the NES and jokes that he has a Masters in Spider-Man, Superman, and Dragon Ball.