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- Konami Has Now Confirmed Use Of Original Voice Clips
When the long-rumored remake, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater was revealed with a cinematic teaser trailer at Sony's May 2023 PlayStation Showcase, it led to some speculation surrounding who from the original 2004 title was returning, especially as the one character who did appear in the footage, Snake, didn't speak. This was in part due to the controversial casting shake-up in which the series' regular voice actor for Snake, David Hayter, was replaced by Kiefer Sutherland for the series' last mainline entry, Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain and its prologue Ground Zeroes.
Being replaced in MGS5 was not Hayter's choice as he was openly a huge fan of the series. He later spoke out in interviews about how Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima wanted to get an A-list celebrity actor to play the role of Snake, with Hayter having to re-audition to play Naked Snake in the original Snake Eater, as other names such as Kurt Russell were banded about for the role. Although Kojima and publisher Konami had a public falling-out prior to the release of MGS5, there have been rumors that Kojima's consulting on the Snake Eater remake, which led some to wonder if this meant Hayter and the original cast would be replaced once again.
The Original MGS3 Cast Will Be Returning
There was some confusion surrounding whether the remake would be using the original audio or actually bringing back Snake Eater's original cast to re-record dialogue for the game. As reported by The Verge, Konami’s head of communications, Tommy Williams, confirmed that Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater will reuse the voice lines from the original game with no changes, meaning that the main improvements in the remake will be for visuals and gameplay.
An official press release from Konami also confirmed a multi-platform release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X, and PC, alongside a re-release of Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and the original Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, marking the first time the 1998 classic has been made available on current-gen devices, as the latter two were part of an HD collection that's currently backwards compatible on Xbox Series S/X. This press release stated that "the [Snake Eater] remake will star the original voice characters, rich storyline and expansive features of combat survival in harsh environments evolved with unprecedented graphics and immersive sound".
Using The Original Voice Clips Bodes Well For A Faithful Snake Eater Remake
Snake Eater received high acclaim for its storytelling and acting as it depicted the origin story of the famed Big Boss during Operation Snake Eater, and is often billed as one of the Metal Gear series' high points and a staple of the stealth genre. With Konami stating that it wants MGS Delta: Snake Eater to be a "faithful recreation of the original story and game design", having the original voice acting bodes well for this goal.
Some fans have raised concerns that the original recordings could harbor artifacts that will become more apparent on modern hardware, given the two decades since they were recorded and the generational leaps in technology. The original cast members have returned to re-record dialogue for a Metal Gear Solid remake in the past, as Hayter even took a pay cut to appear in the 2004 Nintendo GameCube exclusive remake of 1998's Metal Gear Solid, called Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes which makes it surprising that they would not be returning to record new performances again.
Given the state of most modern remakes and the role of performance capture in today's game development, it's surprising that Konami is opting to use the original voice recordings rather than recording whole new performances for the upcoming title. Given how beloved the original cast's performances are, however, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is on track to please many nostalgic fans of the iconic espionage title.
UPDATE: 2023/06/01 11:22 EST BY NATASHA MARTELL
Konami Has Now Confirmed Use Of Original Voice Clips
This article has been amended to reflect new information from Konami confirming that Metal Gear Solid 3: Delta will only use original voice clips from MGS3. Please see paragraph 3 for further info.
Source: Konami, The Verge, PlayStation/YouTube