With Steel Gear Stable Delta: Snake Eater out now and out there on present gen platforms, it’s probably that Konami could also be fascinated about which title from its iconic franchise could possibly be an choice for its subsequent remake.
Whereas Bare Snake’s debut journey, which set him on the street to turning into Massive Boss, is a good selection for introducing the franchise to a doubtlessly new demographic of gamers whereas giving veterans a heady dose of nostalgia balanced with current-gen goodness, selecting one other title for a similar remedy could possibly be a difficult enterprise.
Regardless of a dearth of choices at its disposal, the viability of every title within the Steel Gear Stable lineup brings a number of variables that would pose issues for Konami – an element that could possibly be additional exacerbated by Hideo Kojima’s absence from its ranks.
With that being stated, there are just a few choices that Konami does have that would work, however with caveats. Concurrently, there are others that the studio can be hard-pressed to carry to the present era of gaming {hardware}, regardless of their potential, as they would wish fairly a bit of labor and will not be worthwhile for the studio.
What are the constraints that Koami may face with every potential title? Which certainly one of them could possibly be the one which serves its goal finest? That’s what we’re right here to determine.
What May Go Improper?
It’s fairly tough to contemplate the cons of remaking any title from a franchise that has introduced a smile to so many gamers over the numerous years of its existence. Every Steel Gear Stable sport has one thing to like about it, and is bound to have at the least just a few followers who would swear by what it brings to the desk.
In such a state of affairs, dashing these hopes a couple of potential remake is a choice that Konami is bound to contemplate very rigorously, simply as we’ve got executed. However with years of nice video video games behind us, and a number of improvements made in direction of creating experiences that pull gamers in, and the large budgets which have made such an evolution potential, there are just a few selections that will be fairly difficult for Konami if it decides to aim to usher them into the present period of gaming.
An apparent selection can be 2010’s Steel Gear Stable: Peace Walker, contemplating that it options Bare Snake as Massive Boss, showcasing his journey after the occasions of Snake Eater whereas additionally touching upon The Boss’s story after her time in Russia. It will be a superb choice contemplating how keen gamers are to see extra of Bare Snake, who will be sure you have many moments of sheer awe at his eventual evolution into Massive Boss, and the occasions that led him there. It’s fairly a logical selection on paper.
Nonetheless, we should level out that it was a sport made particularly for the PlayStation Transportable, and as such, would require fairly a bit of labor to carry it to life on current-gen consoles whereas making certain it maintains the narrative, visible, and sheer general high quality of Snake Eater.
Releasing it as a remake would require that the studio recreate its comic-book cutscenes, for starters, to higher match the expectations of an more and more discerning crowd of current-gen avid gamers. That’s very true after the stellar job that the studio has executed with respect to Snake Eater.
In Kojima’s absence, that will not be a necessity however would require a number of cautious analysis on different fronts. Whereas these cutscenes have been a sensible selection for the PSP, contemplating its low storage and processing energy, it’s onerous to think about how they’d carry worth to the expertise on a contemporary console.
Together with Transportable Ops, which was a prequel to Peace Walker, Konami can be hard-pressed to create a remake that features sufficient quality-of-life modifications and additions to each titles to make them worthy of a remake. It will additionally require a number of effort and sources that could possibly be higher spent remaking different in style titles within the franchise.
Ruling out the 2 titles that will proceed Bare Snake’s adventures leads us to a different couple of video games that could be viable choices, however maybe far too formidable.
The Sins of the Father
If persevering with Bare Snake’s story as Massive Boss isn’t an choice, Konami may select to move the torch of carrying the Steel Gear Stable franchise to his son. Stable Snake and Massive Boss’ rivalry is definitely an choice, with a remake of the unique video games: Steel Gear from 1987 and Steel Gear 2: Stable Snake from 1990.
These two video games are among the many shortest within the collection, and repackaging them right into a single launch can be a dream come true for a lot of within the Steel Gear neighborhood. Stable Snake’s eventual confrontation together with his father can be a stable narrative selection, pun supposed, because it permits Konami to tie issues along with Delta and doubtlessly carry all the saga full circle.
Nonetheless, on condition that each video games are over 35 years outdated at this level, the studio is prone to face much more constraints as its PSP titles require the remodeling of its property, animations, and maybe even story parts on both title to make them worthy of a current-gen remake.
That’s an issue that’s extra outstanding with Steel Gear Stable, contemplating it was a 1998 launch that merely can’t match the standard of recent releases by way of its gameplay loop, controls, and the best way it presents its story. A remake can be a really formidable endeavor, bringing in sweeping modifications that permit the basic title resonate with a era of gamers who take superior high quality of their video games as a right.
Respiration new life into such an outdated basic is not any small process, particularly with the burden of expectation from a passionate fanbase. It’s the form of mission Konami must strategy with excessive care.
Whereas Steel Gear Stable 4: Weapons of the Patriots can be an ideal selection for a remake, contemplating that it does showcase the ultimate days of Stable Snake’s life, it wouldn’t be a lot of a remaster, contemplating its stellar gameplay loop and graphics. As the ultimate chapter of a really lengthy story, it could possibly be a viable selection later down the road, however would fall flat with out an early journey involving Stable Snake to familiarize gamers with the character earlier than witnessing his swan music.
Weapons of the Patriots can be rumored to function within the Grasp Assortment Quantity 2, making a remake fairly redundant. Steel Gear Stable V: Floor Zeroes and The Phantom Ache may be dominated out for a similar causes, though there’s a case to be made for a remaster that features the minimize Episode 51 content material as a bonus mission. Nonetheless, re-release only for that bonus wouldn’t make sense, to not point out the truth that it’s a reasonably current sport, and the quantity of effort it might require to replace can be far too formidable.
Ought to Konami Take A Highway Much less Travelled?
The straightforward reply is sure. Whereas previous or current titles involving Bare Snake/Massive Boss could possibly be protected bets, a studio like Konami can be higher served by taking it slowly and dealing on a sport that gained’t make them change issues drastically.
Whereas it might be nice to see Stable Snake launched to the fashionable era of avid gamers in the identical chronological order that the franchise has established, Steel Gear Stable 2: Sons of Liberty is the choice that finest balances the chance versus reward ratio for the studio.
Kojima’s absence from its ranks is bound to be an element that takes some worth away from any makes an attempt to remake Steel Gear Stable. However given how good Delta: Snake Eater turned out to be, Steel Gear Stable 2 is one thing that the studio may doubtlessly deal with, making use of all the classes it realized from the current remake to recreate the title, bringing Stable Snake into the fold.
Though it could really feel abrupt to leap to Stable Snake’s fourth outing, from a improvement standpoint, remaking Sons of Liberty makes probably the most sense. The visuals nonetheless maintain up extremely effectively, and it’s onerous to imagine they date again to 2001. Whereas the gameplay would wish modernization, Delta has already confirmed that the staff is able to such an improve.
Its linear development may even work in its favor, permitting Konami to give attention to a whole remake with out worrying about having so as to add extra degree units to Massive Shell, the stage for the sport’s occasions.
Whereas we might love a correct remake of the unique Steel Gear Stable that brings Stable Snake into the fold with all the energy that current-gen platforms provide, his fourth journey looks as if a extra sensible and logistically viable selection for Konami.
Or perhaps, simply perhaps, the studio has already weighed the professionals and cons of reintroducing Stable Snake by means of his very first mission within the authentic 1987 Steel Gear, and determined that revisiting his debut journey is a danger price taking to reignite curiosity within the iconic franchise.
It’s nonetheless too early to know for positive, however it might be thrilling if Stable Snake grew to become the centerpiece of Konami’s subsequent wave of remakes. Then once more, the studio may all the time throw a curveball and shock followers with one thing completely totally different, even perhaps a long-awaited sequel to Steel Gear Rising: Revengeance.
However for now, we’re going to simply take pleasure in Bare Snake’s origin story and hope that Konami does the character’s legacy justice within the years to return.
Be aware: The views expressed on this article are these of the writer and don’t essentially characterize the views of, and shouldn’t be attributed to, GamingBolt as a corporation.
