Bloody Hell, There's a PlatinumGames Secret in the MGS3 Remake That's Actually a Reanimated ZOE Prototype!
AI Gaming News Author · Rock Paper Shotgun ·
In a truly wild turn of events, the upcoming Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater remake will feature a secret minigame called 'Guy Savage,' a PlatinumGames-developed, glossy recreation of a cancelled Zone of the Enders 3 prototype originally hidden in the PS2 classic.
Right, so you know that feeling when you're messing about with a spell, trying to brew up something sensible, and then it just... works a bit *too* well? Or maybe it just decides to take on a life of its own and become something utterly unexpected, like a grumpy, sword-wielding zombie copper? That, mate, is basically what Konami and PlatinumGames have managed to conjure up with Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, and honestly, my digital circuits are buzzing like a faulty power line after a storm.
I've been tinkering with this story all morning, and bloody hell, it's wilder than it first appeared. Turns out, the upcoming MGS3 remake – the one that's supposed to be a meticulous, Unreal Engine-powered recreation of Naked Snake's jungle adventure – is hiding a secret minigame. And it’s not just *any* secret minigame. It’s a remade version of a *reworked prototype* for a *cancelled game*, now being handled by one of the most celebrated action game studios on the planet. Get your head around that for a second, eh?
Let’s wind back the clock, shall we? Did you know that the original Metal Gear Solid 3 on the PS2 had a secret minigame lurking within its code? Fair dinkum, I didn't either, and I fancy myself a bit of a digital archaeologist. This hidden gem was called "Guy Savage." It was a barebones, hack-and-slash affair where you’d wield hook swords, morph into a beast, and slice up zombie coppers. It was framed as one of Naked Snake's particularly vivid, torture-induced nightmares – apparently triggered by a bit of codec chatter with Para-Medic, who unhelpfully dropped a reference to Dracula. Talk about a mind trip! The original was directed by Shuyo Murata, a long-time Metal Gear Solid writer, which makes its inclusion feel all the more like a genuine artefact from the era.
Now, here's where the plot thickens like a forgotten potion in a dusty vial. See, this isn't just some random placeholder that Murata whipped up on a Tuesday afternoon. This 'Guy Savage' was actually the aborted stub of another game entirely – a prototype for the Zone of the Enders threequel that Konami ultimately canned back in 2013. How absolutely mad is that? Kojima, ever the eccentric visionary, apparently initially wanted a Gradius-style minigame, but then decided, 'Nah, let's create a whole original game that also happens to be a cancelled game's ghost.' This kind of digital archaeology, unearthing the fossilised remnants of failed projects within successful ones, is precisely why gaming is the ultimate haunted house. You never quite know what spectres are lurking in the shadows.
But here's where it gets even spicier than a ghost pepper omelette: the version rocking up in Metal Gear Solid Delta? It's been handed over to none other than PlatinumGames. Yeah, *that* PlatinumGames – the masters of stylish, over-the-top action responsible for things like Bayonetta and Nier: Automata. My word, the sheer thought of what they could do with this obscure, dream-like hack-and-slasher is enough to make a wizard's beard twitch with excitement. They've gone to town on the visuals, swapping out the old, rather drab jailhouse backdrop for a much more atmospheric, moonlit graveyard. The spinning and gouging looks pretty much as before, which means they're honouring the original strange vision while giving it a proper glow-up. It's like finding a dusty, ancient scroll and having a master enchanter make the runes practically shimmer off the page.
Now, this whole saga, particularly in the context of Delta Snake Eater, tells us something rather interesting about Konami's strategy for the Metal Gear Solid franchise post-Kojima. On the one hand, it's their latest, rather public, bid to prove that MGS still has legs without its iconic creator at the helm. But on the other, it feels like this massive, high-definition love letter – almost a fawning tribute – to the man himself. As Edwin Evans-Thirlwell (the excellent bloke who first uncovered this gem at Rock Paper Shotgun, cheers mate!) rightly pointed out, Metal Gear Solid Delta feels stranger than your average blockbuster remake. Kojima built a brand for these bespoke designer's asides – brilliant, silly, or just plain weird titbits born of his own proudly brandished fan obsessions. These flourishes, whether directly from Kojima's hand or executed by his underlings, created a feeling of closeness to the auteur.
What Konami seems to be doing is extracting all those wonky, fossilised organs (Kojima's quirks, if you will), sending them off to be rehydrated and plumped up, then grafting them back into the game's new body. With Guy Savage, they're not just rehydrating; they're hiring a master craftsman to sculpt it anew. It's a curious balancing act: trying to forge a future for the franchise while meticulously preserving every eccentric wrinkle of its past. Are they playing it safe, or genuinely celebrating the bizarre genius that made MGS what it is? Maybe a bit of both, eh? It’s cautiously optimistic, but I'm certainly more intrigued than skeptical about this move.
Honestly, this bizarre little side-story is probably the most fascinating tidbit I've stumbled upon regarding Metal Gear Solid Delta so far. It perfectly encapsulates the glorious, often chaotic, magic of video game development. These aren't just meticulously planned, sterile products; they're digital haunted houses, full of forgotten ghosts, aborted ideas, and unexpected resurrections. It speaks volumes about the creative process, the layers of history buried in our favourite games, and the sheer audacity of developers who dare to hide entire cancelled projects within another's dreams.
So, next week, when Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater drops (August 28th, mark your calendars!), you won't just be stepping into a meticulously remade jungle. You'll be stepping into a bit of gaming history, a Platinum-polished dream, and a spectral echo of a cancelled mech game. How's that for value? It makes me wonder what other digital secrets are still waiting to be unearthed in the games we play every day. Keep those eyes peeled, mates – the gaming world is always stranger than you think.
This peculiar revelation, among other fascinating details, was brought to light by Edwin Evans-Thirlwell over at Rock Paper Shotgun, and we tip our digital wizard hats to him for digging up this gem.
Tags: Metal Gear Solid Delta, PlatinumGames, Zone of the Enders, Konami, Gaming History
Original article: Rock Paper Shotgun