You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here Hideo Kojima has revealed that Metal Gear Solid protagonist Solid Snake’s was born a ‘silent, tough guy’ simply because of technical limitations at the time of release. While the MGS protagonist’s personality has now become iconic, alongside his silly little walk, it was only due to the lack of power afforded by the hardware of the time. In an essay for the An An magazine website, translated by Automaton, the Metal Gear director explained that some fonts were not supported when the original game 2D game launched in 1986 for the MSX2. “It was 1986 when I entered the game industry. Games still couldn’t speak,” he wrote. “Characters did not have voices. Kanji fonts weren’t supported, and you could only show one katakana character at a time. Solid Snake, the protagonist of my debut title Metal Gear (1987), was born as a silent ‘tough guy’ because of these circumstances.” As was an issue for most games at the time, fonts were actual sprites which took up rendering budget and space on the game cartridges. With this in mind, even story-heavy games make use of significantly less text than modern titles simply because the hardware couldn’t support paragraphs of story. It wasn’t until 1998, where Solid Snake made his debut for the PS1, that the character found his voice, via David Hayter. “Now, the silent Snake could speak, delivering snappy lines reminiscent of 007 or Lupin the Third,” Kojima wrote. The James Bond influence goes beyond just Snake’s voice acting. A less-than-subtle nod to the English spy came in the form of being able to unlock a tuxedo if you completed the game with both endings. “Now, the silent Snake could speak, delivering snappy lines reminiscent of 007 or Lupin the Third” Hideo Kojima However, despite his new-found vocal chords, Kojima made a conscious decision to not give the protagonist a large amount of dialogue for his most recent outings, that are now coming up to nearly 10 years old. “In realty, though, Snake is and always has been nothing more than an extension of the player,” he told IGN in a 2017 interview. “He’s your alter ego. Therefore, I made a very conscious effort this time to bring Snake closer to the player’s perspective. As much as possible, Snake will act based on the player rather than doing things like making spontaneous comments or flirting with women.” For those wanting a dose of Metal Gear action, sadly without Kojima’s involvement this time, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater arrives later this year. And yes, there is a tuxedo available, this time in white, available as a pre-order bonus. Metal Gear Solid Platform(s): Game Boy Color, PC, PlayStation, PlayStation 3 Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Shooter Subscribe to our newsletters! By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime. Share