Prerelease:Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
This page details prerelease information and/or media for Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake.
Contents
Metal Gear G
A smaller mass-produced version of the titular Metal Gear mech was supposed to appear in an assembly line on the first floor of the Zanzibar Building, but this was scrapped due to ROM size constraints. A concept art of the mech was published in the manual, along with a detailed description of its role in the game's story.
Years later, a screenshot of the scrapped area was included in the book Metal Gear Solid: The Complete Collection of Scenario and Concepts (メタルギアソリッド シナリオ 設定完全資料集), published by Sony Magazines Deluxe.
Development Document
In 2011, Hideo Kojima revealed portions of original proposals and development documents for the MSX2 versions of Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, as well as the original Snatcher, on Twitter, giving insights on how each game was made.
The original pitch for the game, which details concepts that would be implemented into the game itself, as well as its advertising campaign. A translation can be seen below, along with a full transcript of the document inside the file description.
An outline of the game's plot that charts out all the early events from the infiltration of the first building up to the encounter with the Hind D at the desert. One notable difference was the fact that Snake was originally supposed to stalk a whistling soldier to reach Dr. Pettrovich's jail cell. The soldier was supposed to be whistling the "Theme of Tara", the main theme from the previous game. In the finalized game, he was changed to a green beret-wearing soldier. However, the concept of tailing a whistling soldier would be revisited years later in Metal Gear Solid 4.
A hand-drawn map of the overall ground level of the game, including the placement of items, obstacles, and enemies. A few enemies and items that were cut from the final game are listed here such as the searchlights at the starting area, Maniac Cop on the first floor of the Zanzibar Building, flying soldiers on the crevice and... Jaws? Not much context is given to their placement though.
Document Translation
New Features
It's no longer about single-screen infiltration. Since enemies can now patrol multiple screens in real time, players must not only plan out strategies for each screen, but for the entire map as well. As such, the player's actions are always influencing the entire world. All the soldiers in the entire map move based on their own schedules. Therefore, even the enemies that are not immediately visible to the player are always active (existing) in a matter similar to a simulation game.
Elements of being "found or not found" have also been added to the auditory senses (sound effects). We're presenting an action game that's not just about playing on the player's reflexes, but also on their senses (of seeing and hearing). As such, we want to give priority to the sound effect and avoid background music as much as possible
With the implementation of a crawling ability, a sense of depth and three-dimensionality has been added to the play mechanics.
By improving the alert levels of the enemy guards we can create an even more realistic infiltration simulation.
We're putting the essence of a survival game by having
extreme situations in which weapons and equipment are
not just items to be selected, but can be created with
other items.
Find a way to implement traps, enemy soldiers and bosses
that are planned out to counter-act against the player's
actions.
Broaden the worldview of the game with enriching stories,
events and settings in order cultivate new players.
Revolutionary Publicity Concept
- "Gamers = anime fans = modelers"
Based on the preceding equivalence, we'll aim for
strong promotional imagery and topicality by employing
a 3D design using a model in order to add more value to
the character and appeal to demographics outside the
video game market.
