Metal Gear director Hideo Kojima has reflected on what made the original stealth game so “ahead of its time,” 37 years after the game’s launch.
July 13th marked 37 years since Metal Gear was released on the MSX2 in Japan, and Kojima did some reflecting to mark the anniversary. Metal Gear is apparently “full of things that were ahead of its time,” according to the director, who adds that he was only 23 when Metal Gear was released in Japan in 1987.
Metal Gear was full of things that were ahead of its time, but the biggest invention was incorporating the concept of a radio transceiver into the narrative. Plus, it was interactive, allowing you to send and receive communications. The game evolves with the player, so when the… https://t.co/el42pF5hIo pic.twitter.com/Lu0q47Dv0xJuly 13, 2024
Kojima’s tweet highlights the handheld radio transceiver that Solid Snake uses to communicate with other characters in the game, such as Big Boss, who sends him on a mission to take down the bipedal Metal Gear. “Plus, it was interactive, allowing you to send and receive communications,” Kojima writes.
The radio “evolves with the player,” Kojima adds, so that when dramatic events unfold in the game, the player feels present and not detached from the other characters. “With the transceiver, the player’s current situation can be described while the story or situation of other characters can be foreshadowed in parallel,” Kojima writes.
“Most current shooters also use this transceiver gadget,” Kojima also adds, noting that the radio receiver was a crucial element of Metal Gear, although in his opinion “only the stealth part was praised.”
Metal Gear may have been released 37 years ago, but you can play it right now on modern platforms via the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1, and it comes bundled with Metal Gear Solid, if you buy all three games separately.
Discover our rankings of best stealth games never made, to see where Kojima’s creations rank.