Highlights
- Metal Gear Solid Delta faces the challenge of balancing reverence for the original game’s boss fights with the need for originality to excite fans.
- The remake may struggle to upend player expectations in the same way the original did without series creator Hideo Kojima’s involvement.
- Metal Gear Solid Delta will need to carefully balance honoring the iconic boss encounters of Metal Gear Solid 3 while introducing new mechanics to bring the gameplay into a modern context.
After years of rumors and speculation regarding its existence, the remake of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, dubbed Metal Gear Solid Delta, was finally confirmed earlier this year. Since the official announcement and reveal trailer, fans have been treated to some in-engine footage showcasing the significant visual uplift that developer Virtuous is giving to Metal Gear Solid 3, which is all the more apparent given that the PS2 original still holds up as one of the best-looking games from the 6th generation. While players have a glimpse at Metal Gear Solid Delta‘s visuals, one thing that’s not yet clear is how the remake will attempt to toe the line between honoring its source material and upending player expectations.
2023 has been a year awash with quality remakes, each of them carefully balancing nostalgia and innovation in how they bring classic experiences to a modern audience. Both Dead Space and Resident Evil 4‘s excellent remakes from this year carry over much of the DNA of their original games, but they also implement new features that make them exciting for series veterans. One area that may prove difficult for the Metal Gear Solid 3 remake to get right in this regard is the boss fights, especially considering that the game has one of the best boss galleries in a series known for them.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Every Game Developer Virtuos Studios Has Worked On
Metal Gear Solid Delta co-developer Virtuos has an impressive resume of previous titles it has worked on, placing the MGS3 remake in good hands.
Each game in the Metal Gear Solid series is practically defined by its rogues gallery and boss encounters. At some point during Snake’s briefing (whether referring to Solid Snake, Raiden going by his original code name, or Naked Snake), he’s given a rundown of the threats he can expect to have to overcome before eventually making it to each game’s version of the titular walking nuclear battle tank. These introductions aren’t just a warning, either – they’re a veritable “who’s who” of each respective game in the series and serve to hype up the moments when players eventually encounter them in battle.
Every one of the Metal Gear Solid series’ boss fights are the highlights of their individual games, and each encounter is absolutely bursting with series creator Hideo Kojima’s unique and signature approach to turning common game mechanics on their heads. It begs the question, then, of how a remake of what might be the best game in the Metal Gear Solid series without Kojima’s involvement can live up to the expectations set by its source material. After all, if the initial boss fights already upend player expectations, the developer of Metal Gear Solid Delta is stuck between a rock and a hard place in terms of how to rework them for both newcomers and veterans.
In terms of modern remakes that approach this subject carefully, the Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4 remakes are great examples. Both games treat their initial source material with reverence but also find clever ways to toy with veteran players’ memories, using their own nostalgia against them in certain scenarios. That said, the boss fights in these games are largely the same, except for incorporating the new mechanics that each remake introduces to help bring the gameplay into a modern context.
In comparison, Metal Gear Solid Delta doesn’t have this same luxury, and presenting the boss fights exactly as they are in Metal Gear Solid 3 or altering them significantly is sure to stir controversy among the fan base for different reasons. Memorable moments such as The Sorrow’s boss fight where Snake has to come face-to-face with every act of violence he’s committed or the notorious sniper battle against The End are so ingrained into the experience of Metal Gear Solid 3 that they’re practically “sacred cows”, yet to leave them as-is will fail to excite longtime series fans. In terms of its boss encounters, Metal Gear Solid Delta is going to have to carefully balance reverence and originality.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater was initially released in November 2004 and is a prequel to the Metal Gear Solid series. The game differentiated itself from its predecessors with its jungle setting. Stealth is still the core mechanic, though players don’t have access to the many high-tech gadgets as before and must use the nature around them to their advantage to survive.
- Released
- November 17, 2004
- Genre(s)
- Stealth
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, Sexual Themes
- How Long To Beat
- 16 Hours
