Metal Geat Solid’s iconic Solid Snake is a ‘silent, tough guy’ due to technical limitations, reveals Kojima

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Back in the day when Metal Gear Solid first came out, Hideo Kojima explained that the main character, Solid Snake, was initially portrayed as a ‘taciturn, tough guy’ because of the technical constraints at the time. Although Solid Snake’s character and his quirky walk have become iconic now, it was only possible due to the limited capabilities of the hardware available back then.

In a piece penned for the An An online publication, translated from its original language, the creator of Metal Gear shared that certain font types were unavailable at the time of the game’s initial 2D release on the MSX2 platform in 1986.

In 1986, I stepped foot into the world of video game development. Back then, games were mute, and characters didn’t have voices to express themselves. Japanese text, specifically Kanji, wasn’t yet supported, and only a single Katakana character could be displayed at once. Given these limitations, Solid Snake, my debut character in Metal Gear (1987), emerged as a stoic, strong figure who didn’t need words to convey his toughness.

Back then, many games had to deal with a common challenge: fonts were essentially small images (sprites), which consumed rendering resources and storage space on game cartridges. Consequently, games from that era tended to use less text compared to modern ones due to the hardware’s limitations. It was challenging for them to accommodate large chunks of story, such as paragraphs.

1998 marked the first appearance of Solid Snake on the PlayStation 1, and it was at this point that his character began to speak, courtesy of David Hayter. As Kojima penned, “The once silent Snake now spoke, delivering witty dialogue similar to James Bond or Lupin the Third.” The influence of James Bond extends beyond just Snake’s voice acting; a not-so-subtle reference to the British agent can be found in the ability to unlock a tuxedo if you managed to complete the game with both endings.

“Now, the silent Snake could speak, delivering snappy lines reminiscent of 007 or Lupin the Third”

Hideo Kojima

Even though Kojima’s characters have recently gained the ability to speak, in my gaming experience, he deliberately chose to limit the protagonist’s dialogue in his games, which are nearing a decade old.

In that interview with IGN in 2017, he explained that Snake is and has always been a reflection of the player. Essentially, Snake serves as your alter ego. With this game, I intentionally worked to bring Snake’s actions more in line with what a player would do. To the extent possible, Snake will respond to situations based on the player’s actions rather than making random comments or flirting with women.

If you’re craving some Metal Gear action, even without Kojima’s participation this time around, the game Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater will be released later this year. And here’s good news for fashion-conscious gamers – as a pre-order bonus, a white tuxedo is up for grabs!

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2025-04-08 19:10