Tag: Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection

It is public knowledge that the relationship between Konami and Hideo Kojima is not the best in the world. The Japanese studio and the creative mind severed ties in a very public and acrimonious manner, even if the specific details of their split never fully came to light. That’s why it shouldn’t surprise us if people choose to scrutinize everything both parties do concerning Metal Gear, even when hasty conclusions are drawn in that regard.

On October 24th, Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 will be released, a compilation that includes the first three Metal Gear Solid games and the first two Metal Gear games for all current consoles and PC. Due to some people receiving copies of the game ahead of time, gameplay footage has been seen on streaming platforms like Twitch. This has led to a discovery that shouldn’t be surprising to anyone: Hideo Kojima is not credited in the collection.

Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection includes credits for everyone who worked on the ports of these iconic games created by Kojima and his team, with a final acknowledgment to “the entire original Metal Gear series team and the fans.” This has sparked outrage among many, but also some misinformation from some individuals.

Although it might be stated otherwise in many places, Konami has not removed Hideo Kojima from the credits. Each of the individual games still has its own credits, listing the original team of each game, including Kojima. Therefore, Hideo Kojima is still credited as the director in each and every one of them.

That doesn’t mean it’s not inappropriate to omit him from the credits of the collection as the original creator of the game. As the mastermind behind the entire franchise, not giving him recognition seems out of place, but Konami has the right not to do so, even if it’s in poor taste. Therefore, while it would be easy to react with shock, this isn’t another attack by Konami on Kojima; it’s simply an example of the often terrible internal policies that most companies in the industry have. Policies from which not even someone like Kojima is exempt.

Today, October 24th, Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection has been released. Amidst various controversies, considerable interest, and the debate over whether Hideo Kojima appears in the credits or not, this compilation of the main games in the franchise up to Metal Gear Solid 3 has already hit the shelves. Consequently, it has also made its way into the hands of many users. This has allowed the most adept among them to delve into its depths to discover if there is more information than what we know. Something whose answer seems to be yes.

Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection uses a hub from which each game is installed separately. It is not, therefore, a single game. As its name suggests, it is a collection. This means that dataminers, individuals who examine the code of games to uncover their intricacies, have been able to find clues about the future volumes. Discovering explicit references to other installments in the series that are not the ones we already know.

In this way, via Wario64, we have learned that, at least in the Switch version, there are references to seven different games. Their names are MG12, MGS1, MGS2, MGS3, MGS4, MGS5, and MGSPW. MG12 refers to Metal Gear 1 and 2 from MSX, and MGS1, MGS2, and MGS3 are the first three installments of the Metal Gear Solid franchise, included in this first volume of the Master Collection. Therefore, it is not difficult to conclude, nor was it hard to infer, that the second volume will include Metal Gear Solid 4 and Metal Gear Solid 5. The inclusion of the former is especially noteworthy, as it was never released on any other console or platform other than PlayStation 3.

Now, some people might wonder what MGSPW refers to. The answer is simple: it stands for Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. This installment of the franchise was originally published for PSP and takes place between Metal Gear Solid 3 and 5. It laid the groundwork for what the latter would achieve in the epic conclusion of the saga.

Therefore, if confirmed, this would provide a solid foundation for a second volume of Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection. However, to truly be the definitive collection we need, a third volume would be necessary. This volume should include, at the very least, the Game Boy game, the remaining PSP games, and the exceptional Metal Gear Rising.