Konami has been riding a downward spiral for the past decade with goodwill from fans plummeting along with it. So it comes as a shock to finally see some good news from the company with the latest Metal Gear Solid Delta showcase. Is it just a fool’s hope to get hyped for a MGS3 remake from modern-day Konami? Or, is this the one project they seem to be getting right? We’ll explain why Metal Gear Solid Delta may just be the diamond in the rough for Konomi and could even be on track towards being one of the greatest remakes of all time.
What immediately stands out in the gameplay trailer is just how faithful MGS Delta is to the original source material. David Hayter’s recognizable gravelly tones echo from Naked Snake’s mouth like it’s 2004 all over again. Yes, all voice lines in MGS Delta are reused from the original game, as confirmed by Konami rep Tommy Williams. Speaking of sound, we can likely expect a lightly arranged version of the original soundtrack, if the trailers are anything to go by. The odds are pretty good that we’ll be able to switch between classic and MGS Delta soundtracks just like we are with the camera angles and control scheme, as we discuss further in the article.
And then there’s how the trailer is shot and framed. There are nearly a dozen 1-to-1 shots you can compare with the original, and it all looks so faithfully captured and enhanced. The cockpit inside the helicopter looks particularly stunning in MGS Delta. Just look at that dimly lit center console topped with oodles of dials and switches; it really does put the original shot to shame despite how good it looked back in the day. Slow panning shots make for great sun flare moments, and that’s exactly what the MGS Delta trailer showcases with its recreation of Snake shimmying across the bridge edge as the sun glimmers through the ropes.
The most interesting shot comparison to me is when Snake sneaks across the scaffolding above the broken wall. The original had a cloud of mist enveloping the surroundings, which provided lower visibility and a unique atmosphere. MGS Delta’s version of this scene clearly shows every bush and cranny with remarkable detail and narry a cloud to be seen overhead. I’ve heard some say they prefer the foggy atmosphere and color filter of the original, but the clarity of MGS Delta retains the classic MGS3 look with added realism giving a slightly different vibe.
Unlike other recent remake projects (I’m looking at you, Silent Hill 2), the redone characters look amazing without any instances of uncanny valley plaguing character faces. Snake looks exactly how we’d expect him to look with the modern fidelity treatment and I wouldn’t change a thing about his new design. Augmenting Snake’s facial design are his characteristic animations, which the trailer captures perfectly. I especially like Snake’s eyes scanning the environment with separate iris movement. MGS Delta’s character animations manage to look natural while fitting the mannerisms and familiar motions from the original. And you know what defined MGS3 back in the day? Rain. The rain looks spectacular in the Metal Gear Solid Delta trailer, with little dapples of drops flitting about in between the jungle branches. My goodness, it all looks so good. Konami is clearly putting that Unreal Engine 5 shadow technology and Lumen lighting to good use here.
The visual tone seems too good to be true, but what about the unique Kojima aspects? Kojima’s quirky tone even seems untouched in Metal Gear Solid Delta. For example, that classic Rambo Snake scream when firing the LMG is alive and well, along with the iconic exclamation mark visual cue and sound. Based on the trailer, we have little reason to doubt that Konami will keep all the zany Kojima aspects from the original into MGS Delta. Everything the trailer showcased has been an enhancement of the original game with little altercation to the intent or artistry of the original, so we’re hopeful the full experience delivers a full-blown modern enhancement of the classic.
This is exactly what fans want, and if the final game can stick the landing of what the trailer showed, how can Metal Gear Solid Delta not be a beloved remake? The original game wasn’t perfect though; certain gameplay elements are rough to return to, defining the janky controls of games from the era. Thankfully, MGS Delta is giving us a new control scheme that addresses many of the original’s shortcomings. Konami calls this modern control scheme, ‘New Style’ and will also include a classic ‘Legacy’ control scheme to compliment it. The New Style control scheme incorporates a dynamic over-the-shoulder camera and updated third-person shooter controls.
You can already see some of this control scheme in action with Snake smoothly going prone and aiming the gun while crawling backward in the trailer. And please, please give us finely tuned gradient aiming this time. The finicky sensitivity of the previous versions’ aiming is notoriously clunky. The Legacy controls feature the classic overhead camera and, in the words of Konami, “the original controls from the original Metal Gear Solid 3”. It’s such an awesome package having both control schemes in one, and it gives us hope that the original soundtrack will be an option as well.
We have yet to see or hear any details on how menus are implemented in Metal Gear Solid Delta. Based on all the improvements shown so far, it would be shocking if they didn’t fix the unintuitive menu hopping of the original. Remember having to manually update camouflage and refill stamina every time you stepped into some new terrain? That constant in-and-out of menus was a flow-breaker, but thankfully patching up wounds has been updated in a big way in MGS Delta, giving us confirmation that they’re overhauling healing.
Metal Gear Solid Delta is going all-out on the wound healing system, now making wounds permanently visible on Snake even after healing them. Footage shows just how detailed Snake’s wounds look. Bullet wounds and deep scars remain on Snake’s body even after healing him, resulting in a dynamic real-time wound system that adds even more player connection to Snake based on how we perform in the game. There’s plenty of other gameplay details that we don’t have info on. Like, are they overhauling the Survival Viewer? Is the Tranq Gun better balanced so it isn’t as game-breaking this time around? Only time will tell! I’m curious about boss fights. Konami has an excellent opportunity to fix the shoddy CQC mechanics of the Volgin fight, in particular. Some of the boss arenas were too open for stealth to function prominently in the fight, so hopefully we’ll get some enhanced stealth boss mechanics.
Lastly, MGS Delta also marks the first time we’ll likely have a version of MGS3 that is well-optimized for PC. The Master Collection is tied to the internal game speed making the game feel fast-forwarded and clunky when playing it above 30 fps on PC. MGS Delta is likely giving us that consistent 60 FPS PC release we’ve been waiting for. The unanimous fan approval the recent trailers have received is a clear sign that Metal Gear Solid Delta is shaping up to be a solid (pun intended) remake. Think about it, It’s not an easy task to satisfy fans for a game as sacred and beloved as MGS3, yet the latest MGS Delta showing did just that. Konami just needs to fulfill what the trailers have promised and we’ll have one of the best remakes we’ve ever had. MGS Delta hits all the requirements for a great remake: faithfulness, enhancement, and fixing archaic design. We’ll have to wait and see if Konami nails this one, but it already looks like it has the potential to be one of the best remakes of all time with what we were shown.
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