There are a lot of things cut from the Metal Gear series fans might not know about. With that in mind, the two biggest entries with the most well documented secrets are Metal Gear Solid 2 and Metal Gear Solid V. Today, let’s focus on the former entry as it doubles the amount of the latter.
There is a very good reason for this besides the usual fan deep dives into game code. These secrets were tipped off from the man himself, Hideo Kojima, in the game’s design document. Let’s take a look at everything that could have been in this PS2 classic.
10 Metal Gear Solid III
Metal Gear Solid III was going to be the original title. This is a quote from the document. “The three Roman numerals symbolize the three tallest skyscrapers in Manhattan, the setting for the game.” This also means that the game may have had more time in the city besides being offshore on the Tanker and Plant areas.
9 The Cel-Shaded Visuals
There are test models for Snake and Mei Ling out there for an early concept of the game’s visuals. It was actually going to be cel-shaded. While Metal Gear Solid 2 didn’t get that treatment, this art style would later be reused for the Metal Gear Acid games, particularly the second. That one even came with a pair of 3D goggles which made the vibrant art really pop out of the PSP.
8 Metal Splinter: Solid Cell
One interesting bit about the mechanics from the document is that Kojima wanted players to have more interaction with light.
Every room would have had a light switch and if they didn’t, lights could be shot out. While many objects in the game could be interacted with, this light situation was not one of them. This is interesting to note because Splinter Cell would follow through with this idea in 2002.
7 So Many Troops
More ambitious than the light situation, Kojima planned big set pieces filled with characters. Apparently Metal Gear Solid 2 was going to be capable of displaying 300 characters on the map at a time. “We will be able to create, using in-game graphics, battle scenes the likes of which seen in films such as Starship Troopers and Mulan.” The only example of this that made it in the game was the Marine presentation on the Tanker. There were a lot on screen, but certainly not 300 or anywhere close to that.
6 Metal Gear 24
Prior to 24 hitting TV screens, Kojima wanted the game to have a split screen effect go on for certain scenes. Part of the screen would be a cutscene while the other had gameplay. The final game ultimately only includes one instance of this during the finale, but Kojima did manage to bring it back in Metal Gear Solid 4. In fact, Raiden was still featured as it was performed during his fight with Vamp.
5 Psycho Mantis Returns
There were several hidden modes that were cut from the game upon completing it. One would have had players acquire an item called the Mantis Mask, calling back to Psycho Mantis from Metal Gear Solid. Putting it on would have allowed players to hear the thoughts of enemy soldiers. This was perhaps cut for being too ambitious on PS2.
4 Metal Gear Multiplayer
There was also going to be multiplayer. Similar in fashion to the 24 like split screen, two players would compete in order to finish their task first. Multiplayer would make it into the sequel via the expanded version of Metal Gear Solid 3, Subsistence. Multiplayer and online integration would continue to be experimented with from there as well.
3 Explore The Ocean
One of the cut characters from the game was Doc. He was an expert on marine life and would have aided Raiden in some fashion much like Rose did in the final version. On top of that, players would have been able to acquire a remote controlled mini sub later in the game which would have allowed for deep sea exploration. To what effect is unknown although it can be assumed Doc would have been part of this.
2 Snipe To Save Emma
Rescuing Otacon’s sister, Emma, was at first going to be more involved. It would have seen Raiden sniping off enemy soldiers as they tried to gun her down.
Eventually she would still get wounded and die, but not before Snake tried to tend to her wounds while Raiden fended off another round of troops on the ground. The final version is similar, but again, in a more scaled down role.
1 The Final Battle
The ending was perhaps the biggest change in the game. First of all, Arsenal Gear was going to crash through Manhattan and even take out the Statue of Liberty. After that, Raiden would still fight Solidus while Solid Snake would go after Ocelot. Because of 9/11, Arsenal Gear’s crash had to be taken out which presumably was why the Snake vs Ocelot fight was cut.