The Metal Gear series is arguably best known for its characters. There have been too many to name over the past thirty years, but there are always a few who never made it into the franchise to begin with– having been cut for one reason or another.
Most interestingly, these facts date back as far as the MSX2 with Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. Just how many character were cut from the Metal Gear franchise, and why were they even cut in the first place? On that thought, are there others out there? For now, let’s dive in and find out what could have been with these ten entries.
10 Metal Gear 2: Salty Dog
In a design document for Metal Gear 2, Hideo Kojima outlined the map of the game along with noting ideas on the sides. Enemy placement is just one example. In 2018, Twitter user Arc Dog translated the documents and found out a few things. One was Salty Dog, presumably another elite boss in Zanzibar Land. Based on the name one could assume he may have been a sailor.
9 Metal Gear 2: Maniac Cop
Another villain uncovered in Arc Dog’s search was Maniac Cop. Now, Kojima’s love of film is very apparent. He draws a lot of inspiration from them. Maniac Cop could have been based on the 1988 film of the same name. Presumably he would have been a rogue cop turned mercenary.
8 Metal Gear Solid 2: The Eastern Warrior
There was going to be a member of Dead Cell from China in Metal Gear Solid 2. He was supposed to fight Raiden in the pump area, right where Vamp’s boss battle was. His dragon tattoo would have apparently come to life at some point along with him drawing Raiden into the water for a fight. This is all outlined in another, more well-documented design outline of the game. It goes through a lot of cut content from the PS2 classic. One of the reasons he was cut is probably due to his offensive name.
7 Metal Gear Solid 2: Old Boy
Also from that document is Old Boy, who also went under the names of Old Man, or Oldman. He was going to be Big Boss’ mentor, but for whatever reason he was scrapped. Based on his face, he looks a lot like The End. Old Boy’s idea was probably split between him and The Boss in Metal Gear Solid 3, so at least he wasn’t completely cut out.
6 Metal Gear Solid 2: Maxine "Max" Work
Maxine Work, shortened to Max, was going to be a support character for Raiden. Her role would have been similar to Mei Ling’s from Metal Gear Solid in that she would have saved the game. She even looks a little like Mei Ling. She would have also quoted Shakespeare to give Raiden a morale boost. This was in the aforementioned design document as well.
5 Metal Gear Solid 2: Dr. William Wilson
The last piece of trivia from the MGS2 design document is about Dr. William Wilson, who would have gone by Doc.
He would have also been part of Raiden’s support team and would comment on marine life as Raiden came across certain sections of the game. Overall, Raiden’s support via Codec was a lot more limited in the end. Why that was remains to be seen.
4 Metal Gear Solid 4: Adam
While not known prior to the game, fans that bought the book, Metal Gear Solid 4: Master Art Works, were treated to a series of concept art and characters. Not much is known about Adam, but his outfit calls back to the Russian uniforms of Revolver Ocelot’s unit from Metal Gear Solid 3. Unmasked, Adam’s hair looks a bit like David Bowie, who Kojima also loved.
3 Metal Gear Solid 4: Snake-Man
Snake-Man can also be found in that art book. His face looks like Raiden, in that he has a typical pretty boy anime look, and his armor looks a lot like Solidus’.
He may have been another planned clone of Big Boss, or maybe even Raiden. He might have just worshipped Solidus and took on armor to be like him tentacles and all. Fans may never find out definitively.
2 Metal Gear Acid: Dr. Flemming's Subordinates
Dr. Flemming is one of the big bads in Metal Gear Acid. For those unaware, as this was a spinoff for the underutilized PSP, Acid was a tactical card RPG and is meant to be seen as a side universe. That is to say it is not canon. Presumably these two characters would have acted as boss fights somewhere in the game, maybe even as guardians for Dr. Flemming.
1 Metal Gear Solid 5: A Different D-Dog
This is more of an example of a replacement rather than a cut character. D-Dog was originally planned to be a Rhodesian Ridgeback instead of wolf. There is concept art of it along with the Diamond Dogs logo being that of a Rhodesian Ridgeback. That didn’t change. Also, when Kojima was teasing out his Fox Engine in 2011, he had a child run around with one in the jungle. Funnily enough, PC mods for Metal Gear Solid V put the Rhodesian Ridgeback back into the game.