The future of the series

[NateDog]

...or if there even is one?

OK that's a little facetious. KONAMI clearly have finally realised the significance of the Metal Gear Solid IP and that they have room to move forward with it. Kojima was supposedly itching to get away from it for over a decade and it all ended up spilling over into an unpleasant ending.But it seems like Kojima long ago accepted that he was never going to own the IP and that it would likely continue on after him.

So where do we think KONAMI will go from here? MGS had been in the wilderness for almost a decade when they announced that they were going to rerelease most of the games in the series, alongside pushing out merch that we haven't seen before (vinyls, bags, pins, heck even clothing collaborations with Uniqlo). We've since of course been preparing for the release of Delta (Δ) and there have been plenty of rumours about the next collection of re-releases (and let's be honest, you're not going to specifically title a collection "Vol. 1" if you don't have more planned). It seems like the industry is clamouring for remakes and re-releases, all you have to do is look at the pile of money Druckmann sleeps on after Naughty Dog's latest release, The Last Of Us Remaster's Remaster Remastered or Skyrim FINALLY getting its 1324th release to tell that.

Personally I'm not surprised that they decided to go with Snake Eater for Delta. It is far and away the best received MGS title and the most well-known, alongside being the chronological starting point of the series. I don't love it like other people do by any means, but I will say I enjoyed my replay of it last year more than I did on any previous occasion. I still don't care for Big Boss nor do I look forward to retreading his life story of pining for The Boss whether alive or dead. But it makes sense.

For me the dream would be this leading us towards a full and proper remake of Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. I played them for the first time last year when I decided to replay the series (before the collection was even announced). Metal Gear is really forgettable apart from the general setup and ending, but MG2 is so enjoyable. I never knew how much my favourite game (MGS) borrowed from it, to the point where I do find it hard to argue with people that regard MGS as a 3D remake of MG2 (albeit with a lot of differences in narrative of course). That being said, this would be a huge undertaking, something along the lines of the Final Fantasy VII remake project although naturally smaller in scale. But a prologue of Metal Gear into a full retelling of MG2 would be superb.

I honestly can't really say what I expect though. If Δ performs well then maybe nothing can be ruled out, but I also wouldn't be surprised to see this turn into a series of more straightforward like-for-like remakes (I guess that'd include MGS2, Peace Walker and maybe MGS4 although I'd still be unsure on that).

This was supposed to be a brief question topic but here I am. I missed this series dammit despite all of its problems. What do you all think happens going forward, what are you hoping for?

[BULUPTAX]

I feel like they'll play it safe and stick to remakes for a bit if all goes well with Delta, maybe they'll do an MGS1 remake next as it's the other most beloved game in the series.

Then after that maybe they'll kind of try to dabble in a bit of remake and a bit of new game for a MG1&2 remake? It could be a neato idea if they added some more themes and/or story beats to beef up the run time and modernise the games a bit

[Aragorn]

Make Rising and MGS4 playable on consoles that aren't on the extinction list, for starters. It's a bit sad how inaccessible a lot of these games are. MGS4 runs a real risk of becoming lost media.

[NateDog]

Make Rising and MGS4 playable on consoles that aren't on the extinction list, for starters. It's a bit sad how inaccessible a lot of these games are. MGS4 runs a real risk of becoming lost media.

I think a lot expect those to both be in the Vol 2. MGS4 being stuck on THE CELL PS3 isn't great but it's hardly inaccessible nor is it difficult to find a copy now. If we make it another 10 years with nothing then maybe you could make that point but it's miles away from being regarded as lost media for now I think.

[Aragorn]

Mind you not much of value would be lost with MGS4 (still a hater to the die I day) but Rising....PLEASE I NEED IT IN MY VEINS especially with CAG games making a comeback and the almost memetic status it has acquired.

[Null]

All I want is a Metal Gear 1987 full on remake, ala FF7 to FF7 REMAKE

THAT IS ALL!

[Departed]

What I would honestly love is if they go the Silent Hill approach that they've taken. Konami left SH dormant for over a decade, but despite some shaky releases like "Short Message," dropped an absolute banger in Silent Hill 2Make, and honestly, f looks incredible. And there's already rumblings that another remake is around the corner. I feel like they could do the same with MGS and split the difference between remaking classic MGS games and also doing something new the way f is. Metal Gear itself can continue without MGS and I feel like it really should because there's a lot more you can do with this really great arcade-style stealth action formula.

There's a lot of rumors that more remakes and another Master Collection is on the horizon, and I'd love to see both of those things come true. For me, the best "new" idea they could do is as NateDog suggested; remake MG1 and MG2. The bones of MG1 are so basic that the story could be completely new with the main ideas staying true, and MG2 can be expanded upon as well. I feel like that would be the happiest middle ground of remake and new territory. After that, I'd be completely in favor of doing more self contained Metal Gear stories like many of the spinoff games, but with Delta's gameplay as opposed to the more gimmicky stuff most spinoffs provided.

[NateDog]

Mind you not much of value would be lost with MGS4 (still a hater to the die I day) but Rising....PLEASE I NEED IT IN MY VEINS especially with CAG games making a comeback and the almost memetic status it has acquired.

I've been replaying it recently and am struggling with it, even on Act 1 and 2 which are the best parts of it. Rising should be an easier feat, need to replay that myself.

[Aragorn]

What I would honestly love is if they go the Silent Hill approach that they've taken.  Konami left SH dormant for over a decade, but despite some shaky releases like "Short Message," dropped an absolute banger in Silent Hill 2Make, and honestly, f looks incredible.  And there's already rumblings that another remake is around the corner.  I feel like they could do the same with MGS and split the difference between remaking classic MGS games and also doing something new the way f is.  Metal Gear itself can continue without MGS and I feel like it really should because there's a lot more you can do with this really great arcade-style stealth action formula. 

There's a lot of rumors that more remakes and another Master Collection is on the horizon, and I'd love to see both of those things come true.  For me, the best "new" idea they could do is as NateDog suggested; remake MG1 and MG2.  The bones of MG1 are so basic that the story could be completely new with the main ideas staying true, and MG2 can be expanded upon as well.  I feel like that would be the happiest middle ground of remake and new territory.  After that, I'd be completely in favor of doing more self contained Metal Gear stories like many of the spinoff games, but with Delta's gameplay as opposed to the more gimmicky stuff most spinoffs provided.

Remaking MG1 and 2 could salvage MGS V for a lot of people too, actually. But that would require that Konami actively rewrite the game and while i'm perfectly fine with that i'm sure the purists will whinge.

[Dirty Duck]

MGS seemingly does actually have a future for the first time in a long time which is exciting. It will be good for Vol. 2 to put a lot of games newer fans may not have played in front of them. I'm personally not loving how Delta looks but maybe they'll develop more of an art style in future original/remake projects. That being said I'm not really into the idea of remakes of any of the Solid games. They all hold up well imo and from what we've seen with Delta they're not really doing much to shake the games up. Like sure they could remake MGS1 but I'd rather have something 'new,' MG1+MG2 remakes fall more into that territory obviously as they'd have to really expand on everything to make even the two together fill a modern AAA game. It's an obvious idea and it's crossed everyone's minds but whether or not it would actually make for anything interesting is still up in the air.

I personally worry they'd take a cowards route and retcon the retcons of MGSV out if they remade Metal Gear + Metal Gear 2. I was surprised to see that FF7 remake included stuff from all of the Compilation of FF7 content but I really respected it not just ditching stuff from projects that were received worse. If you're going to remake them find a way to make them work with the latest canon imo. Doesn't have to be too invasive but don't just ditch it altogether. Venom's gotta be there somewhere!

Time has gone on and they've obviously abandoned the Fox Engine(?) so this idea isn't as cost effective as when I first proposed it after MGSV but I do still think a Philanthropy game set between MGS1 and MGS2 as well as between MGS2 and MGS4 would have worked so well with the framework set up by V. Mission based gameplay involving Snake and Otacon tracking down and destroying Metal Gears all over the world. Doesn't need too intricate of a story, plot already set up and canon, lots of free reign to do what any writer wants to do with it within that smaller scope. Multiple Ground Zero sized areas that feel totally different from one another. Heck if KONAMI wanted a games as service type thing they could even have this work like Hitman and gradually add a new Metal Gear to deal with in a different location every couple of months for years. It's non invasive to the established canon of the saga, while still using a fan favourite character during a period we know happened but haven't seen, and gives lots of opportunity for marketable mech designs and to keep players on it for years without having to reinvent the wheel too much. You could have used so much of what TPP already developed and just expand on that. Anyway enough fanfiction about a fake game!