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[JurassicUtility]

First post is updated with Gameinformer's interview and a new paragraph, "From now on, call me.. George Lucas" about Blaustein and the localisation process which is another thing that changed over the years with kojima being more and more involved.
There was a good interview with Blaustein but I lost it, so if anyone has the link saved somewhere, please share it.

This one maybe?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Sx7yttJm0I
[Edit] - I forgot how long this interview is. Blaustein jumps around a lot between different topics, but the whole thing is worth listening to if you're interested in casting decisions, translation choices, etc for the Silent Hill games and Snatcher. For Metal Gear Solid talk, skip to part 3 here:
https://youtu.be/FliJWXYmQWw?t=2m25s

There's also a couple of text interviews over at Hardcore Gaming 101.
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/jb/jb.htm#mgs
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/metalgear/jeremyblaustein.htm

 

[DevilFox]

This one maybe?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Sx7yttJm0I
[Edit] - I forgot how long this interview is. Blaustein jumps around a lot between different topics, but the whole thing is worth listening to if you're interested in casting decisions, translation choices, etc for the Silent Hill games and Snatcher. For Metal Gear Solid talk, skip to part 3 here:
https://youtu.be/FliJWXYmQWw?t=2m25s

There's also a couple of text interviews over at Hardcore Gaming 101.
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/jb/jb.htm#mgs
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/metalgear/jeremyblaustein.htm

My man, yes it sounds like that's it. Thank you, I'll update the OP in a moment.

 

[Gamer @ Heart]

Kojima George Lucas'ing himself is the best analogy for this series I have heard.

What this series morphed into is the direct result of this industry making him a rock star and Konami letting him run his own company within theirs.

 

[KOMANI]

This one maybe?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Sx7yttJm0I
[Edit] - I forgot how long this interview is. Blaustein jumps around a lot between different topics, but the whole thing is worth listening to if you're interested in casting decisions, translation choices, etc for the Silent Hill games and Snatcher. For Metal Gear Solid talk, skip to part 3 here:
https://youtu.be/FliJWXYmQWw?t=2m25s

There's also a couple of text interviews over at Hardcore Gaming 101.
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/jb/jb.htm#mgs
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/metalgear/jeremyblaustein.htm

Everyone Check out the 3 part interview with MGS2/Ghost Babel localizer/translator, Agness Kaku. She says the best script she ever got from Konami was Ghost Babel's... Who wrote Ghost Babel? Fukushima. Case Closed.

 

[Graphics Horse]

Everyone Check out the 3 part interview with MGS2/Ghost Babel localizer/translator, Agness Kaku. She says the best script she ever got from Konami was Ghost Babel's... Who wrote Ghost Babel? Fukushima. Case Closed.

I didn't know or didn't remember that. That's high praise coming from what she said about MGS2.

 

[Gestahl]

I've been watching MGScanlon and just the absolute nonsense garbled writing in Peace Walker and MGS5 is baffling to me. Nothing flows or makes sense, the Phantom Pain subtitle is jammed in at every available opportunity, half the lines feel like they were picked up off the cutting room floor and left in there just to sound "badass" like most of Miller's angry monologues, never mind Skullface's insane diatribe at the end. This shit wasn't like that in the first three Solid games, even when 2 went up its own ass there was a coherency to it. But everything past that has just been fucked.

 

[MiamiWesker]

All true about the story but the games themselves got better. So yeah I'll trade the crazy story for the better gameplay any day. Of course I want both.

Kojima legacy is as a game designer, forget the storyteller part. He is one of the all time greats.

 

[KOMANI]

All true about the story but the games themselves got better. So yeah I'll trade the crazy story for the better gameplay any day. Of course I want both.

Kojima legacy is as a game designer, forget the storyteller part. He is one of the all time greats.

I don't know... I've always given MGS a pass in the gameplay department. They were always a step behind the Splinter Cell series, and I'm finally admitting this now. MGS3 should have have the free roam camera in its initial release. Crouch Walking should have been in the series 2 games prior. Moving and shooting in first person should have also premiered before MGS4... But despite its slow evolution, nothing surpasses the first batch of Metal Gear games. They have a high replayability because thier stories are good, and what little modern gameplay they have, works well. I'm talking about MG2, MGS, MGS2, GHOST BABEL, and MGS3.
I'm not hating on MGS4, PW, GZ, TPP (the only one whose story I disliked), but it tells me story trumps gameplay every time. Although GZ is where the two almost meet, perfectly.

 

[Phoenix944]

Eh I didn't see that thread.
And now I feel bad for liking MGS4 and MGSV

 

[Polioliolio]

It's nice to see my feelings having merit.. I ate up MGS4 at the time, but peace walker killed my interest in the series and it hasn't really recovered. V had great gunplay, but I can't believe how lacking the gameplay is outside of that.

 

[News Bot]

N/M

 

[jwhit28]

I don't think Kojima cared about the story after 2. That's why 3 was so far out of place that he didn't have to connect anything. Every game after 3 was more about a huge change in gameplay. With the story for MGS4, PW, and MGSV, Kojima just looked for what ever thread he could tie the new games to the older games with and used it. It was less about making a Metal Gear game and more about making a war game/hunter game/open world game.

It's sad because MGSV might be the best playing 3rd person action game I've ever played. The controls, shooting, CQC all just feel right. It's wrapped in what I consider Kojima's worst presentation though.

 

[RevolverRoden]

If Kojima doesn't get a good co-writer for his next game, I'm keeping my expectations low.

 

[KOMANI]

If Kojima doesn't get a good co-writer for his next game, I'm keeping my expectations low.

Won't matter, what I've noticed with the Ghost Babel fiasco is that Kojima over powers his co writers. That's why no one should really shit on Murata.

 

[Ra1den]

Having not played Phantom Pain yet, I still want to comment on this thread. I guess the stuff in the OP kind of agrees with my opinion. I feel that the writing turned cliche with MGS 4...some of the scenes just made me cringe. This is coming from somebody that considers MGS 2 the best written game in the series. I LOVED all of the stuff that people tended to hate about MGS 2, like the Rose codec calls.

Yet, with MGS 4, some of that "MGS charm" wasn't there, and the scenes often came off as typical cliche Hollywood fare, something I never felt with MGS 1, 2, and 3. I did like a lot of the scenes in MGS 4 though, it certainly had its awesome moments.

So I think the overall quality of the writing dropped significantly after MGS 3. And don't get me started on Peace Walker...

 

[Ishida]

I don't know which is worse. "Kojima turning into Lucas", or Metal Gear fans turning into the annoying Star Wars fans...

 

[mikezilla2]

I don't know which is worse. "Kojima turning into Lucas", or Metal Gear fans turning into the annoying Star Wars fans...

pretty much this

or tho

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/...-would-have-been-60-hours-of-humiliation.aspx

skip towards the end at this point from what i can see there is some sort of misunderstanding betwean lines

 

[ForsakenLotus]

I understand why you would connect Kojima and many of Metal Gear Solid's problems to Hollywood and Kojima's fixation with it, but I feel like the series became increasingly more anime-like. It's why there are so many coincidences and callbacks even if it makes the plot hard to follow or the lore/overarching story overly complicated. It's why the action became so over the top. It's why the female characters became more sexualized and poorly written. Granted, Hollywood is also infamous for it's style over substance action and poorly written women. The big thing that I see in anime a lot and not nearly as much in Hollywood is how each sequel's narrative became more about themes and emotional moments than specific story threads. In anime, it's fairly common for a scene or story arc to be all about an emotion or a thematic idea, and even if the logic or character motivation doesn't line up the more melodramatic nature often makes it much more paletteable - Metal Gear Solid suffers from this, although the more you are able to tolerate this type of storytelling the more you accept MGS even after the original.

And look, I love me some David Hayter, but his Snake was corny and didn't have much range. Even in his limited time Keifer wasn't always great, but he did have some really good moments of emotional range that gave the character and the story more nuance than it ever could have had.

 

[DevilFox]

Everyone Check out the 3 part interview with MGS2/Ghost Babel localizer/translator, Agness Kaku. She says the best script she ever got from Konami was Ghost Babel's... Who wrote Ghost Babel? Fukushima. Case Closed.

Welp, that's interesting, as much as her criticism about Kojima.
I'll add the links in the OP. A quote from part 3 for the lazy guys:

"I think that if you're ripping off Tom Clancy, it's...Tom Clancy is Tom Clancy, he deserves all the money and fame. The guy has worked hard. Writing is hard work. So to shoot out a bunch of these kinds of things, that we've been talking about, and then claim yourself as a writer when...And you know, there's good work being done in games. I think Portal is really well written, very beautifully written, but Kojima's stuff is...Fine, be a game creator, and know what you're not very good at, and learn to work with people who are. Stanley Kubrick, famously, the one thing he could not do was write. He could do everything else, but he didn't know how to write, so he worked with good writers, and worked with them in a very sort of relentless partnership. He knew his limits. I don't think Kojima's a writer. The fact that he would even be considered one shows how low the standards are in the game industry. Nothing in MGS2 is above a fanfic level. He wouldn't last a morning in a network TV writers' room, and those aren't exactly turning out the Dark Tower series or The Wire."

Unfortunately Fukushima is directly mentioned just once.

I don't know... I've always given MGS a pass in the gameplay department. They were always a step behind the Splinter Cell series, and I'm finally admitting this now. MGS3 should have have the free roam camera in its initial release. Crouch Walking should have been in the series 2 games prior. Moving and shooting in first person should have also premiered before MGS4... But despite its slow evolution, nothing surpasses the first batch of Metal Gear games. They have a high replayability because thier stories are good, and what little modern gameplay they have, works well. I'm talking about MG2, MGS, MGS2, GHOST BABEL, and MGS3.
I'm not hating on MGS4, PW, GZ, TPP (the only one whose story I disliked), but it tells me story trumps gameplay every time. Although GZ is where the two almost meet, perfectly.

MGS evolved from a 2D concept, which made its gameplay pretty unique with a splash of irony that few games could afford. What's hardly justifiable is how hard was to control Snake, perhaps the AI too.

I understand why you would connect Kojima and many of Metal Gear Solid's problems to Hollywood and Kojima's fixation with it, but I feel like the series became increasingly more anime-like. It's why there are so many coincidences and callbacks even if it makes the plot hard to follow or the lore/overarching story overly complicated. It's why the action became so over the top. It's why the female characters became more sexualized and poorly written. Granted, Hollywood is also infamous for it's style over substance action and poorly written women. The big thing that I see in anime a lot and not nearly as much in Hollywood is how each sequel's narrative became more about themes and emotional moments than specific story threads. In anime, it's fairly common for a scene or story arc to be all about an emotion or a thematic idea, and even if the logic or character motivation doesn't line up the more melodramatic nature often makes it much more paletteable - Metal Gear Solid suffers from this, although the more you are able to tolerate this type of storytelling the more you accept MGS even after the original.

And look, I love me some David Hayter, but his Snake was corny and didn't have much range. Even in his limited time Keifer wasn't always great, but he did have some really good moments of emotional range that gave the character and the story more nuance than it ever could have had.

Right, but Kojima is obsessed with Hollywood, not Anime productions. Therefore, if I have to guess where he took these bad ideas from, I'm going to say it's Hollywood, despite Japan's culture with Anime.

 

[RK9039]

Everyone Check out the 3 part interview with MGS2/Ghost Babel localizer/translator, Agness Kaku. She says the best script she ever got from Konami was Ghost Babel's... Who wrote Ghost Babel? Fukushima. Case Closed.

Case fucking closed.

 

[Arnie]

The entire franchise fell apart after 4, and arguably began to unravel during its development.

Great analysis of various things in the OP, but the narrative, characters and themes of the post-4 fiction became way too convoluted and strange. Which admittedly sounds odd considering the franchise but is apparent nonetheless.

What really, really baffled me was how everyone got so excited for V despite all of this. Like, every criticism of the game was so obviously present before we'd even played it. It was Kojima being dumb. I don't relish a bad release in the franchise but I'm happy that V pulled a few heads from arses regarding this poor alcove of the franchise.

 

[POWERSPHERE]

So Konami was right?

 

[Shambalakan]

So Konami was right?

Yes, and they will show it with MGS Pachinkos.

 

[brau]

People are really asking what Kojima did better than 99% of the industry ? like really ? I don't know any games that have the réalisation, ambition, character design, lore, gameplay, mastering of level design, photography, cutscenes, visuals, a real message to us players/humans etc... than MGS series.

This industry has become so bland and so uncreative that they need to push annual games, remake or remaster to hide their lacks of ambition/talents, people seem to love their fast food type of games and that's really sad, do you think something like Far Cry Primal is really good ? a game that bring nothing to the industry and re-used maps from their past games ? do you really want to compare something like this with an MGS game ? ( I could have choose any other licences )

You are really good!

Not only are you dismissing 99% of other games... you are saying that no other developer has created something unique that has good gameplay, attention to detail, design, etc etc.

I can think of other franchise series that are on par with their execution. Actually, i can think of Indie games that bring more to the table.

You are talking about uncreativity, a place where nothing is ever new, but yet. We have new territory ahead of us where people can make games and publish them more easily. So how can you claim that Kojima alone is the ONLY one making all the good and right moves when it comes to this?

 

[KOMANI]

Murata and Fukushima are writers. It's what they do. Agness Kaku made a terrific point. She goes on to say even Kubrick worked with writers because he, himself, could not write. He knew his limitations.
No one should criticize Hideo's game making skills, because that's off topic and he's good. What I'm saying is, he can't write. He's full of ideas, and has little focus to direct them coprenhensavily.
I'm also not saying that Fulushima and Murata are the greatest writers, but left alone, they put out some deep stuff, funny stuff.

 

[potatohead]

Amazing OP, agree with everything that I could understand.

4) YEAH! SCIENCE BITCH! aka "we need to explain this!"

5) SOMEONE STOP CARING ABOUT LORE AND CONSISTENCY

#4 and #5 are big nuisances for me.

 

[Strangelove77]

You are really good!

Not only are you dismissing 99% of other games... you are saying that no other developer has created something unique that has good gameplay, attention to detail, design, etc etc.

I can think of other franchise series that are on par with their execution. Actually, i can think of Indie games that bring more to the table.

You are talking about uncreativity, a place where nothing is ever new, but yet. We have new territory ahead of us where people can make games and publish them more easily. So how can you claim that Kojima alone is the ONLY one making all the good and right moves when it comes to this?

I'm curious, but what indie game(s) bring more to the table as far as the previous poster described(réalisation, ambition, character design, lore, gameplay, mastering of level design, photography, cutscenes, visuals, a real message to us players/humans etc...)
I'd like to play it.

 

[News Bot]

I don't know which is worse. "Kojima turning into Lucas", or Metal Gear fans turning into the annoying Star Wars fans...

Dismissing any and all criticism is much worse than either of these. Those Star Wars fans have very, very valid complaints, and there is a remarkable comparison to be made between Kojima and Lucas. Neither of them are good writers.

 

[Angel_DvA]

You are really good!

Not only are you dismissing 99% of other games... you are saying that no other developer has created something unique that has good gameplay, attention to detail, design, etc etc.

I can think of other franchise series that are on par with their execution. Actually, i can think of Indie games that bring more to the table.

You are talking about uncreativity, a place where nothing is ever new, but yet. We have new territory ahead of us where people can make games and publish them more easily. So how can you claim that Kojima alone is the ONLY one making all the good and right moves when it comes to this?

Are you Joking ? Just asking...

 

[Pilgrimzero]

Kojimas writing is why I think his Silent Hill would have been amazing.

He can be as bat shit crazy as he wants and it would work in the context of the horror atmosphere.

 

[Ishida]

Dismissing any and all criticism is much worse than either of these. Those Star Wars fans have very, very valid complaints, and there is a remarkable comparison to be made between Kojima and Lucas. Neither of them are good writers.

Most of the time, they really don't. So yeah. The comparison between bitter Star Wars fans and bitter Metal Gear fans is totally valid.

 

[Vic_Viper]

Why did Fukushima leave before finishing MGS4 and what has he been up to since?

 

[KOMANI]

Why did Fukushima leave before finishing MGS4 and what has he been up to since?

2014's Freedom Wars.

 

[BiGBoSSMk23]

2014's Freedom Wars.

No wonder that game had me hooked .

 

[News Bot]

Most of the time, they really don't. So yeah. The comparison between bitter Star Wars fans and bitter Metal Gear fans is totally valid.

You and your opinions do not dictate this. On an objective level, both Kojima and Lucas have serious problems in their writing.

 

[Comfort Jones]

Kojimas writing is why I think his Silent Hill would have been amazing.

He can be as bat shit crazy as he wants and it would work in the context of the horror atmosphere.

I want to believe this is true but I don't think the craziness is what has made the emotional themes of his last few games not work.

Still would be cool to see him try though. A part of me wonders if his writing got weaker due to not wanting to do more MGS or if he really has "Lucas'd" himself. I mean he made Ocelot boring in 5. I can't even imagine how that would happen if he actually gave a shit.

 

[CorvoSol]

I can't really agree that anti-americanism went down after Snake Eater and Portable Ops when Peace Walker's main heroes are gosh darn Sandinistas.

 

[Comfort Jones]

I can't really agree that anti-americanism went down after Snake Eater and Portable Ops when Peace Walker's main heroes are gosh darn Sandinistas.

Peace Walker's main hero goes on to be a Warlord that talks about creating and raising war orphans like it's a system that makes sense.

 

[Ishida]

You and your opinions do not dictate this. On an objective level, both Kojima and Lucas have serious problems in their writing.

That's not an objective analysis, so no.

 

[brau]

I'm curious, but what indie game(s) bring more to the table as far as the previous poster described(réalisation, ambition, character design, lore, gameplay, mastering of level design, photography, cutscenes, visuals, a real message to us players/humans etc...)
I'd like to play it.

Some of the ones that come to mind.

Now keep in mind, these are not games that had a 100 mill budget and a 10 year development cycle. But they have a better experience overall, leveraging their level design, realization, ambition, characters and even messages to the player as a whole. These are games that have an identity of their own and they push their own world, design forward through smart choices and identity.

Journey
An interesting story that had a multiplayer component that encouraged a very special way to interact. A beautiful world and lore that is interesting in a narrative that shows attention to detail in a very rich environment. It has a good ambition and its a full experience that has left many people with deep sentiments.

The Banner Saga
A real great game. One that takes presentation, story, and characters and pushes them further still. A great game that knows its limitations and pushes on its ambition by working on the important elements that makes their game stands out. Its well written and it has a very interesting story, and overall is a successful story.

Stanley Parable
A game that branches, that literally is designed to be fourth breaking or to be as linear as the narrator wants. A game that is designed that way and that it works beautifully. It knows how to work with its own environment and it has lovely narrative, world building and a very interesting experience overall.

Shovel Knight
Beautiful retro 2d scroller that redefines itself through its aim. Perfect responsive gameplay, with a good story, interesting characters, all enveloped in a colorful world that has tons of narrative.

Hotline Miami
Gameplay, presentation, narrative, music, moment to moment beats, the game has its own identity in a world that is realized and supports itself. Its a game that is not afraid to be and it really knows how to support itself in the decisions it makes through its development. A very interesting game.

Bastion
Heralded as a great story, with interesting characters, a beautiful location with deep lore and world building. It has interesting gameplay that lays a good foundation and is interesting. The game knows its strengths and levels them up to such a high polish degree. A really interesting game that has a critique for us to explore. It also talks to us directly.

Unepic
A masterful game that has an amazing script, world, narrative and gameplay. Its an awesome experience that rewards dedication. It has funny and smart choices and its a fun game.

Making a game that redefines or starts a trend is not one that is the most realistic. Most of the time a game will be successful and acclaimed if it knows what to leverage and it knows its own weaknesses and strengths. It chooses wisely what it will be building on and it focuses on a great experience on all levels. We live in an age where more people can bring their own flavor to the table and its interesting to see what some people can do with this. Sure we see a lot of the same from some publishers, but even then i can't stop and appreciate some of the things that they are trying to do with their games, being tech, gameplay or even the scope of the things that they are trying to build.

Are you Joking ? Just asking...

Nope. How can i? As a developer i love my trade, i love working hard to create good art and to make places that are amazing. There has been no project i have been involved or that i know where people are just lazy. Its hard work. So you dismissing the whole just because you think Kojima is the only one that can accomplish greatness is just wrong. Kojimas circumstances changed the way that he develops games. He reigned his time at Konami with increasing (almost unlimited budgets) that helped him push and iterate on things that he was interested. But not every studio has that luxury. Even then, Kojima like many other good developers iterates. All of his games build on something he had already established and its no coincidence that he can deliver something much more polished by MGSV. Thing of God of War... it redefines a 3rd action adventure with puzzles and then its iteration is a master achievement with GoW2. It iterates and brings a better experience. GTA is another good example.

Kojimas games are interesting, have attention to detail but lately they've been poorly written. I do like the themes and what he is trying to do and the sentiment, but the game overall is not very effective as a full experience. I like what its trying to do. But saying that its the only franchise to ever revolutionize a genre is just wrong. Many other games have done this. I have mentioned some indie games here that create beautiful experiences, and i can think of more games that bring a lot more to the table in their own genres.

So yes.. i am completely serious, and this whole attitude of being dismissive around these threads tends to be toxic. Even your reply is in this tone and manner. Instead of discussing the game like a grown up you decide to disregard every other game and comment. I love talking MGS, its a very divisive and interesting game. Its just sad that people take a stance like this when talking about it.

 

[Chola]

Some of the ones that come to mind.

Now keep in mind, these are not games that had a 100 mill budget and a 10 year development cycle. But they have a better experience overall, leveraging their level design, realization, ambition, characters and even messages to the player as a whole. These are games that have an identity of their own and they push their own world, design forward through smart choices and identity.

Journey
The Banner Saga
Stanley Parable
Shovel Knight
Hotline Miami
Bastion
Unepic

Let us talk if they can manage to make more than one game in the series and can be as consistent as MGS. Hotline Miami 2 flopped in both story and gameplay.

 

[brau]

Let us talk if they can manage to make more than one game in the series and can be as consistent as MGS. Hotline Miami 2 flopped in both story and gameplay.

*shrugs

so now they need more games to be able to fit the description.

I mentioned indie games that bring more to the table. For them to become a franchise they need backing of a publisher and a lot more money. If you want to go that route then i'll counter with a R* game. GTA being one of the most successful franchises they own and one that not only iterates on what it does, but sets a high bar in terms of everything involved in the game. Even Kojima praised it for how massive and detailed the game was.

So what gives? its ok to dismiss the games because its only one entry? Banner Saga is coming with a new game and its shaping up to be real nice. Journey developers are working on a different experience. Heck... even Joe Danger developers are working on No Mans Sky. All bring something to the players and its very valuable on itself. I think the most important aspect of the games i mentioned is that they know how to work with in their scope and goals and they make something truly memorable. They not only set a new bar and standard, but they create a new trend of their own. Those are the good games.

The DK games like Returns and Tropical Freeze enter this category too. Or games like Bayonetta that rise the gameplay.

 

[Thabass]

I never heard of the Kojima vs. Fukushima feud (you'd think I would since I'm a huge Kojima fan), but I digress.

This article reminds of a similar situation in the world of professional wrestling. Whereas there was a writer during the hottest periods of the sport; during that time a man named Vince Russo was in charge of writing duties and coming up with ideas for the talent and the stories. To keep a long story short, Russo came up with ideas after ideas and not all of them were very good.

Cue Vince McMahon being the man that was able to filter through these ideas and come up with the best possible solutions for character development and story.

I see a lot of that in this article. It seems like Kojima had a lot off the wall ideas:

Spoiler

The Fox Unit being the original members of the Patriots, the use overuse of nanomachines being an explanation for everything.

The sad part is, is that I really loved the anti-American story they had used in Metal Gear Solid 1 & 2. It was one of the games that told me, not even our government is always right (I played the game when I was 11 for the first time, so a lot of that was new to me).

I wonder know what would have become of the series if Fukushima had never left...

 

[potatohead]

What can we say, power corrupts, even when it's a job developing a game.

Chasing out people who question your decisions is the worst thing a leader can do. Those are the kinds of people that keep the conversation and ideas flowing.

Removing all the disagreements and replacing them all with yes men and taking total control doesn't help anyone.

Kojima is amazing, but I agree with others who said he should know his limitations.

Not everyone can be a master poet like Shakespeare and be a complete genius and making master work by depending on no one else. Knowing one's limitations is incredibly important in any situation.

 

[twobear]

Twin Snakes wasn't directed by Kojima.....

 

[Duxxy3]

Well I'm convinced. At least from my perspective, the MGS series took a sharp nose dive after MGS3.

 

[Chola]

*shrugs

so now they need more games to be able to fit the description.

I mentioned indie games that bring more to the table. For them to become a franchise they need backing of a publisher and a lot more money. If you want to go that route then i'll counter with a R* game. GTA being one of the most successful franchises they own and one that not only iterates on what it does, but sets a high bar in terms of everything involved in the game. Even Kojima praised it for how massive and detailed the game was.

GTA games got bigger but never changed their formula. GTA 5 is just another GTA on a bigger map. It is still a pseudo sandbox game that has been following the same linear mission structure since GTA 3. They are playing it safe

So what gives? its ok to dismiss the games because its only one entry?

Making a single game within its own framework is easy. I'll be really impressed If they can make 4 bastion and 4 journey and 3 shovel knight without losing their fan base interest

Banner Saga is coming with a new game and its shaping up to be real nice. Journey developers are working on a different experience. Heck... even Joe Danger developers are working on No Mans Sky. All bring something to the players and its very valuable on itself. I think the most important aspect of the games i mentioned is that they know how to work with in their scope and goals and they make something truly memorable. They not only set a new bar and standard, but they create a new trend of their own. Those are the good games.

well that is what kojima has been doing all these years. MGS2 is not MGS1, MGS3 is a sandbox that ditched the PC-man style gameplay of previous mgs. PW introduced RPG elemnts and MGSV is an 200 hour open world RPG not your typical 15 year MGS exp. Kojima is not afraid of changes either

The DK games like Returns and Tropical Freeze enter this category too. Or games like Bayonetta that rise the gameplay.

Bayonetta 2 could rise it further like bayonetta did

 

[Ratrat]

Everyone Check out the 3 part interview with MGS2/Ghost Babel localizer/translator, Agness Kaku. She says the best script she ever got from Konami was Ghost Babel's... Who wrote Ghost Babel? Fukushima. Case Closed.

...new effeminate main character Raiden - led fans to question if Hideo Kojima and his blockbuster series had jumped the shark.

Thats like a prime example of the weird localization. Raiden and Rose were turned goddamn awful.

 

[Batzi]

Fukushima might be a really good editor and possibly what Kojima needs but Kojima discusses some of the most interesting themes I have encountered in video games and movies. As a game designer he's probably the best I have seen. TPP's gameplay is stunning regardless if there was more content or if there are repetitive missions. Fukushima can't simply do a Metal Gear on his own and that goes for anyone else too. You can try but goodluck with that. We've already seen what Metal Gear looks like without Kojima and it wasn't good.

 

[Batzi]

Twin Snakes wasn't directed by Kojima.....

and it was shit.