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Konami Interview: Committed to Core Gamers, MGS doesn’t need Kojima

Zomba13

Member
I like all the boss fights so far. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

They aren't of the calibre of MGS1 or 3 but I prefer them to 2 and 4... and MGS2 is my joint favourite Metal Gear.

I guess I don't much like "boss fights" against groups of nameless characters that are all the same. Like the Ocelot Unit fight. I mean, that was kinda cool when trying it all stealthy but I don't count them as a boss you know? Because they lack personality and character.

Like to me, a Metal Gear boss fight is against Psycho Mantis or Solidus or The End or Laughing Octopus. Interesting and creative fights against cool things (even if the B&B unit are blank non-characters). MGSV really only has 2 good boss fights and one of them has been done better in two previous MGS games.
 

Thrakier

Member
What makes me wonder though is the media reception for MGSV!? It took me about five hours to notice how flawed MGS V is an how far it strolled from the series identity without even trying to give it tribute. And even just as a game it's flawed. Heck, as far as just open world action goes, it gets blown away by GTA V, Far Cry, Witcher 3...it's not even a contest. Stealh/atmosphere is better in Splint Cell and I'd never thought I'd say that. Yet all I see is 10, 10, 10...I'm sure as fuck the same game without a MGS title would've scored lower.
 

Screaming Meat

Unconfirmed Member
I think Kojima's problem with the storytelling (and I like the storytelling) is that there was never a general outline or plan for how this was supposed to go (and understandably so). I feel like he made a decision in one game and in a later game be like "I don't care if it makes sense logically I like that so I'm going with it". Example: Liquid Ocelot, Sahelentropus, Character connections with each other (like Huey is Otacon's dad)

I don't think that's a bad thing when it is in service of making a better game or a good theme. I say that as a certified MGS lore junky.

The worst of the bunch, for me, is MGS4 precisely because it felt like Kojima was obliged to tie up all the loose ends. It's probably why he felt reinvigorated doing Big Boss' story.

I guess I don't much like "boss fights" against groups of nameless characters that are all the same. Like the Ocelot Unit fight. I mean, that was kinda cool when trying it all stealthy but I don't count them as a boss you know? Because they lack personality and character.

I think the Ocelot Unit has "character" though. I think fights against elite units are staple boss fights in MGS: the four (?) stealth soldiers (MGS), Tengu Commandos (MGS2), Ocelot Unit (MGS3), FROGs (MGS4)... they're definitely boss fights to me.

Like to me, a Metal Gear boss fight is against Psycho Mantis or Solidus or The End or Laughing Octopus. Interesting and creative fights against cool things (even if the B&B unit are blank non-characters). MGSV really only has 2 good boss fights and one of them has been done better in two previous MGS games.

This is my take:

Eli's use of the environment and the verticality of it is the perfect evolution of the classic fist fight/Gray Fox fight.

Man on Fire is pretty unnerving and has multiple solutions. It's the classic battle with the implacable man.

Quiet is handily the second best sniper battle in the series after The End (the other two are pretty poor).

Metal Gear Snuffleupagus is for me the joint best Metal Gear fight in the series with Rex. When he drops the "smoke" grenade, seeing it loom out of the red gave me classic Godzilla/Kaiju vibes.

Every encounter with The Skulls was terrifying for me.

I've not finished the game so they're the only ones I've done.
 

Astral Dog

Member
MGS V Makes it clear Kojima has run out of ideas for this series anyways (plot/character wise) he needs and wants to work on something else.

Who knows what the future of MG is, but with an open mind and if they really try it could be good.
 

CHC

Member
MGSV really only has 2 good boss fights and one of them has been done better in two previous MGS games.

I think that both have actually been done better...

Sniper fight: Sniper Wolf, the End, hell even Crying Wolf.

Mech fight: Metal Gear Ray(s), Metal Gear REX, Shagohod.
 
MGS V Makes it clear Kojima has run out of ideas for this series anyways (plot/character wise) he needs and wants to work on something else.

Who knows what the future of MG is, but with an open mind and if they really try it could be good.

Next should be a game about Gray Fox or Liquid Snake
 

E the Shaggy

Junior Member
Yeah, I mean they can take the skeleton of MGSV and wrap a new story around it, but they'll muck it up along the way.

Hopefully they'll at least drop the "Solid" to recognize the transition.
 
As someone who's followed the series for over 15 years, I can definitely say the series doesn't need Kojima. Granted it won't be exactly the same... but after 4 and 5's stories, I'm ready for a fresh take.

I thoroughly enjoyed Ghost Babel and the Ac!d games. But what I'm really curious to know is how many people who worked on those games are leaving with Kojima.

I would love to see another contained side story from Shinta Nojiri, or maybe they can hire back Fukushima san. Wherever he is.
 

sjay1994

Member
Threads before MGSV's release: Man, fuck Konami, MGS is a Hideo Kojima game

Threads after MGSV's release: Man, fuck Kojima, MGS doesn't need him

MGS should just end. I don't want another story about the ever changing war economy, I don't want them to fucking pull out solid from the grave for some useless side story that fills in blanks I don't need filled, I don't want the boss in world war 2, I don't want anther villain who fucking misinterpreted the boss's will.

To me a Hideo Kojima game is more important because of its ridiculous attention to detail, ever since MGS 1 where the soldiers noticed your footprints in the snow. Its why MGSV to me is still a MGS game because it still retains Kojima's attention to detail in terms of gameplay.

This games story should end, and I don't want anymore of it. Unless its rising 2 (which I am not even sure will happen because Kojima was the one who reached out to P* in the first place) I am not interested in anything with the words Metal Gear in it anymore.
 

sjay1994

Member
I would love to find out where all the Konami talent will go. There has to be an exodus coming and key talent will end up everywhere.

They will make their own island studio with out a publisher.

développeurs sans frontières

Who knows...at this point, I just wish them the best
 

Ashura_MX

Member
Threads before MGSV's release: Man, fuck Konami, MGS is a Hideo Kojima game

Threads after MGSV's release: Man, fuck Kojima, MGS doesn't need him

MGS should just end. I don't want another story about the ever changing war economy, I don't want them to fucking pull out solid from the grave for some useless side story that fills in blanks I don't need filled, I don't want the boss in world war 2, I don't want anther villain who fucking misinterpreted the boss's will.

To me a Hideo Kojima game is more important because of its ridiculous attention to detail, ever since MGS 1 where the soldiers noticed your footprints in the snow. Its why MGSV to me is still a MGS game because it still retains Kojima's attention to detail in terms of gameplay.

This games story should end, and I don't want anymore of it. Unless its rising 2 (which I am not even sure will happen because Kojima was the one who reached out to P* in the first place) I am not interested in anything with the words Metal Gear in it anymore.

I can agree with this.
 

Screaming Meat

Unconfirmed Member
I think that both have actually been done better...

Sniper fight: Sniper Wolf, the End, hell even Crying Wolf.

Mech fight: Metal Gear Ray(s), Metal Gear REX, Shagohod.

Crying Wolf and Sniper Wolf are not good sniper battles. The latter has a better character, sure but that's it. The former is a terrible fight in it's totality, ruined by the presence of FROGs.

Ray and Shagohod are not good Mech fights. The first is a slog against multiple stationary enemies that have three very predictable moves, the second has a mecha drive around in circles.
 

A-V-B

Member
And after converting Silent Hill 2 to pachislot and robbing us of a Kojima/Del Toro/Junji Ito horror extravaganza, I've decided I don't need Konami.
 

kmax

Member
bagdad-bob.gif
 

Sayad

Member
MGS V Makes it clear Kojima has run out of ideas for this series anyways (plot/character wise) he needs and wants to work on something else.
That was apparent since MGS4, it's kinda expected when you're forced to work on something you don't want to work on.
 
This article strikes me more as "community manager says things that will keep him employed" more so than any real indication of Konami's direction for the future, but who really knows?
 

A-V-B

Member
Me too. I am with you Boss provided Fukushima is brought back :D

Of course, if Fukushima is anywhere near as valuable to MGS as we seem to think, then he takes Kojima's wonderful-but-bizarre stream of thought ideas and gives them weight, structure, and approachability. Without Kojima, what exactly is going on? You need both or it ain't the band.
 
I guess I don't much like "boss fights" against groups of nameless characters that are all the same. Like the Ocelot Unit fight. I mean, that was kinda cool when trying it all stealthy but I don't count them as a boss you know? Because they lack personality and character.

Like to me, a Metal Gear boss fight is against Psycho Mantis or Solidus or The End or Laughing Octopus. Interesting and creative fights against cool things (even if the B&B unit are blank non-characters). MGSV really only has 2 good boss fights and one of them has been done better in two previous MGS games.

The Ocelot Unit fight is not a boss fight, but it is hands down the best non-boss encounter in the entire series history. Especially on European Extreme.

MGSV bosses are mostly trash. The Quiet one doesn't hold up to MGS3 and 4 Sniper fights. The only semi-good one was Eli, more for the mis-en-scene than the fight itself.

Sahalanthropus was interesting and epic, but far too easy compared to past games.

Man on Fire was dissapointing and easy.
 

redcrayon

Member
I'll be totally honest, I'm a huge Castlevania fan and I love most of IGA's games. I was unhappy that they took him off the series but if it had gone in a direction that I liked I would have stuck with it.

IGA did not create Castlevania, the series existed and I was a fan of it long before he ever touched it. That being said I liked a lot of what IGA did and I funded and am looking forward to Bloodstained.
I'm the same way- I've loved Castlevania since NES but only IGA was making the (2D) games that I wanted for its last few years. I'd be happy to see it continue, but both that online 2D one and Mirror of Fate were awful.
 
Until someone makes a good Star Wars movie without him, I'm going to agree on that.

Uh George put out the original trilogy. But he also put out Episodes 1-3.

Creators often burn out and can no longer replicate the magic of their previous films. Look at Akira Toriyama. I mean I'm definitely not saying Kojima is washed up or he can't do MGS anymore I'm just saying the idea that a MGS without Kojima would be garbage is a little presumptuous.
 

Stealth50

Member
I think it would be best if they reboot the story so as to not ruffle any feathers. Big Bosses sperms have been frozen for X years and now someone has decided to with the help of nano-machines recreate the legend in a completely independent story-arch. MGS: V laid the foundation for such an awesome and unique kind of open-world gameplay that I wouldn't even care if the story was completely trash.
 

Sayad

Member
Any semi decent developer with access to MGSV as a base could shit out an excellent game. I doubt Konami could make a decent "from the ground up" MGS game though.
 

Phocks

Member
I'll play a new MGS game if they make it like Gundam and do alternate continuities. If not I think I'm fine with dropping the franchise.

Edit: Even if the don't fuck with the story I have very little faith in Konami anyways. Expecting another game I shell out full price that'll have more F2P features like FOB and another useless currency.
 
What I can't seem to get over is their viewpoint on Kojima. Just how much of a massively dismissive ahole do you have to be to say MGS 'doesn't need' the man who created it?

The world may never know.
 
If it's due to translation issues where are all the Konami console announcements? Hiding in the same basement they had IGA locked in for all those years?

What they really mean is "Anything with a negative connotation toward us is incorrect, you must have misheard. Anything that feels positive, yes that's what we said."

Same thing that every company says anytime anyone reacts negatively to them. It rarely ends up being an actual translation issue, they just want people to feel differently about it.
 

Grady

Member
In a honesty i dont see why mgsv would have needed kojima. After 80 hours so far its still just npcs at some outpost to infiltrate. Doesnt seem a that complex. Almost 0 cut scenes involved.
 

Neff

Member
Uh George put out the original trilogy. But he also put out Episodes 1-3.

Yeah but I loved I-III.

Good for you. But in the same time frame on the ps360 generation they released more games and some new IP. What you seen until today from them?

Indeed they did, but this was true for pretty much every studio last gen. Publishers are being far more conservative this gen, with fewer projects, longer development and thus barer release schedules. So far I'm happy with Dead Rising 3, Revelations 2, Street Fighter V and their numerous remasters.

I'm even happy with Konami, simply based on MGSV and their VC/Arcade Archives releases. Would I like more? Sure. Is it financially viable for Konami to pump out big budget iterations of Goemon, Castelevania, Contra, Gradius and so forth in 2015? Highly unlikely.
 

Lynx_7

Member
It's kinda sad to see people trying to discredit Kojima and suddenly paint Fukushima as this behind-the-scenes Wizard-Writter extraordinaire who was totally responsible for the first 3 games' stories being better than the latter ones. I don't really buy that idea. I think the reason 4, PW and V are perceived as having worse writting is just a matter of franchise fatigue on Kojima's part. Also the fact that back then he had to worry less about an increasingly convoluted continuity and could focus more on telling a fairly self-contained story (2 less so since it relied heavily on 1's story, but that was used for thematic purposes and even then that's still significantly less baggage than 4 had to deal with).

I'd also love to hear what makes some of you think this will go down better than what happened to Silent Hill and Castlevania. Do you really believe Konami is gonna listen to you and bring the new hero Fukushima back or even the other staff of Kojima Productions? Will Konami even have a decent team to work on a MGS after KP disbands?

Ask yourselves which is the more likely scenario: Konami outsorces MGS to a somewhat cheap studio who can shit out new entries fairly quickly for some easy cash, or will they actually put in the effort, money and time to make something that would rival what Kojima Productions (not just the man but the whole team) has done so far? Honestly ask yourselves that.

Also, it's really bizarre to see some people bash 4, Phantom Pain and Peace Walker while praising fucking Portable Ops. Seriously?
 
Yet it's in Subsistence's boss rush equivalent, Duel Mode.

Ocelot Unit is one of the best Boss Battles in MGS3. Terribly underrated battle. One of the few encounters in the series that actually relies on stealth. I mean yes, you can go out guns blazing and kill them all, but playing that battle in a stealthy manner is so rewarding and fun.
 

Seik

Banned
They can do another MGS without Kojima, without a single doubt.

It just will never be canon, even if Konami says it is.
 
Metal Gear doesn't need Kojima?

Who does it need? An outsourced western company that will water it down and it make it lose its prestige like Silent Hill and Castlevania?

I'm wondering, since they fired the whole of KojiPro, if they can even use the Fox Engine now. I know the guys who make the soccer games can use it, are they making the next metal gear? They gonna send some soccer dev to some dirt cheap euro dev and teach them how to metal gear?
This shits over, at least as a quality series. Konami should just sell the ip, and the engine. Make it official, the AAA market has no room for half ass publishers like Konami in it.
 
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