Metal Gear 2’s foundations in Metal Gear Solid: Kojima’s 2005 MSX Magazine interview

A 2005 commemorative issue of MSX Magazine featured interviews with Hideo Kojima and Metal Gear 2 sound designer Kazuhiko Uehara, looking back at their work on Konami’s MSX games. Thanks to @Arc_Hound, we can read the interviews in English.

It’s interesting to revisit what Kojima said about Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake and Metal Gear Solid at the time. For fans who have never played MG2, the extent of its foundational story and gameplay ties to MGS can be easy to miss. Much of the conversation around MGS focused on its technical advances, but its roots run directly through the MSX sequel.

In the interview, Kojima recalled how 3D hardware offered the chance to develop the hide-and-seek concept further, while much of MGS’s content still closely followed MG2. He even pointed to the idea of finding a radio frequency on the back of the game box.

He also remembered MG2’s development as a particularly joyful period. The translated interview offers a wider look at Konami’s MSX department, the hardware limitations that shaped Metal Gear, and the working environment behind those games.

You can read the full translations through the links below.

Sources

MSX Magazine — original Japanese interviews
Arc Hound — Kojima interview translation
Arc Hound — Uehara interview translation
Our original X post