Interview: Konami on MGS: Twin Snakes

8th Mar 2004 | 18:12

Back in the dark days of the twentieth century, if you wanted to play the extremely cool Metal Gear Solid on home console and didn't have a PlayStation, you were sadly out of luck.

Five years on and Solid Snake's wondrous stealth-based PSone title is finally about to appear on Nintendo's GameCube, in enhanced altered form. Visuals and moves have been taken straight from the unforgettable MGS2: Sons Of Liberty, while the same sterling gameplay that made the PSone game such a hit is back.

We grabbed Konami's senior marketing manager Hans-Joachim Amann for a quick chat about the title...

Firstly, can you tell us what film director Ryuhei Kitamura has brought to the title?

Amann: It is well-known that Mr Kitamura is a fan of Metal Gear Solid since the original game came out in Japan 1998. Directing movies like "Sky High", "Alive" and "Versus", Mr. Kitamura brought all his experience into Metal Gear Solid: The Twin snakes, when re-inventing all the fantastic cinematics, which are - we should never forget - real-time and not pre-rendered!

Mr Kitamura was excited having the possibility to re-tell the story of the Shadow Moses Project and his cinematic experience give the cinematics a fantastic own touch.

With Silicon Knights responsible for putting the game together, how do Shigeru Miyamoto and Hideo Kojima fit into the development?

Amann: Both gentlemen had a lot of interaction with the project. Their experience and visions were very valuable during many meetings and discussions and are reflected by the finished game.

How did it come about that Silicon Knights were asked to work on the title?

Amann: Mr Miyamoto and Mr Kojima were talking for a while about this project, but Kojima-san's team was busy with the creation of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. Silicon Knights, as high-quality second-party publisher for Nintendo, was perfect for this job and they were happy to take on the chance.

The game is essentially a remake of the PSone game with additional gameplay features, such as the first person view, from Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Are there additional plot twists and new features in the title that you can hint at?

Amann: Actually the script has been revised, but not in the essence of the story. Therefore there are no new plot twists to be found.

Does Snake have any new abilities that haven't been demonstrated before?

Amann: He can do a lot of stuff he was never able to do in the original Metal Gear Solid on PSone, but in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty on PS2. The essence of both games allows him a huge variety of movements. But there are no never-seen-before movements compared to the predecessors.

What kind of bonuses can we expect to figure in the game once you complete it?

Amann: Well, we don't wanna spoil any possible surprises, do we...?

Twin Snakes is potentially a huge title on GameCube; how important is it for Konami, and indeed Nintendo, that this game does well on the 'Cube?

Amann: Every title from the Metal Gear Solid universe is very important for Konami, and Twin Snakes is no exception. But this is not purely linked to a financial success. The goal is always to create something very special that players all over the world will love and judge as a masterpiece.

We know that GameCube sales could be stronger and hopefully Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes can add a bit to the success the GameCube deserves.

Is there the possibility of a completely new Metal Gear Solid title for a Nintendo console on the horizon?

Amann: For the moment the team around Hideo Kojima is tied up with working on Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater on PlayStation 2. We'll see what happens afterwards...

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes appears on GameCube from March 26.

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