The Secrets of MGS2's Script
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- Опубліковано 21 жов 2024
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In this entry in my ongoing look back at 2001's METAL GEAR SOLID 2: SONS OF LIBERTY, I take a deep dive into all the things that make the actual script of the game, included in the 'Document of MGS2' European release, a masterwork in its own right.
Ever wonder how key scenes are described in the script? What was cut from the finished game? How much Olga or President Johnson knew about the S3 plan? What mysteries are conclusively spelled out...and which ones are left intentionally ambiguous? Find out all these little details and more, in this in-depth video no MGS2 fan will want to miss!
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"The long awaited sequel to the PlayStation game Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty was released on November 13th, 2001. MGS2 does not star the former FOXHOUND agent Solid Snake. Instead, Hideo Kojima took players into the mind of super soldier Raiden, a stealth operative on his first live combat scenario. His objective is to stop a group of terrorists, calling themselves the Sons of Liberty. This includes blowing up a large oil cleanup facility and killing the President of the United States.
MGS2's innovations included its introduction of the laser sight mechanic for more accurate aiming, and a refined cover system that allowed both players and enemies to shoot from cover. It also introduced collective enemy AI routines that relied on squad tactics rather than working individually, while individual enemies expressed fear and even birds had their own AI routines. MGS2 was considered to have the best enemy AI in gaming for many years. The physics was also a major step forward for gaming, particularly the sophisticated particle effects for its time (including for individual drops of rain) and the way objects moved.
The game earned both critical and commercial acclaim upon release, with the highest sales and review scores in the series. However, the game's convoluted story, excessive use of Codec conversations and new protagonist Raiden was criticized by a number of fans, temporarily relegating him to a joke character (even with Kojima himself) until his popular transformation in Metal Gear Solid 4.
Despite the controversy surrounding the unexpected bait-and-switch and convoluted storyline at the time, Sons of Liberty is today seen as a landmark title in the history of video games. It is considered the first truly postmodern video game, is frequently cited as a primary example of artistic expression in video games, and is generally considered one of the most influential games of the past decade, both for its artistic influence on later video game storylines (most notably Eternal Darkness, Killer7, Portal, and especially BioShock, which even featured a very similar plot twist) as well as its influence on the gameplay mechanics of many action games since."
www.giantbomb....
Here's the transcript I used, taken from the Document of MGS2 (A European only PS2 release): gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps2/914506-the-document-of-metal-gear-solid-2/faqs/27630
The Document of MGS2 is not European only. It was released in Japan, North America, and Europe. Apparently, the European release was only included with MGS2: Substance. It didn't receive a standalone release like the other countries.
@@AfterlifeGames it's not very hard for pirates to find either
You're one of the only content makers who keeps MG community alive with quality content. Thank you, man
Ahh what about George? ua-cam.com/channels/AT0smlt-45NdjpMbVnAvhA.html
we need an episode about the military tech in MGS2 and the way the uniforms, missions, language, and procedures strategically disengage from realism over the course of our descent into the beast and strive to parallel and represent both the technology of the Playstation 2 and the status of the sequel, as well as communicating the notion of a military fantasy and subtly commenting on our willingness to reject realism to embrace our role as a FOXHOUND commando.
I've gotta tell you, I love this idea!
i commented before on how the USP is literally a sleeker, more compact, more realistic update to the SOCOM, and how it was adopted to replace the SOCOM, literally serving as a "sequel" to the handgun snake uses in MGS1 (and passes down to a new generation by giving it to raiden, much like his torch metaphor at the end of the game)
but that's only scratching the surface of what this kind of analysis can tell you. for example, without even leaving the USP behind, there's a dead cell/red cell connection. Dick Marcinko names the USP 9 as his preferred sidearm by name in every one of his fictional books. it never escapes detailed mention. so snake's preference for the USP 9 can be seen as an engagement by the game with genre siblings, the same way that the SOCOM in MGS1 might have partially been inspired by Kurt Russel's use of the gun in Executive Decision. we know the connection between solid snake and kurt russel already.
then you can get weirder. the beretta 92 in the game is NOT a beretta 92. even snake never acknowledges it, but the model is VERY specific, it's a Knight's Armament XM9. the XM9 is specifically designed to replicate the function of the Mk .22 Hush Puppy that snake will carry in MGS3. it also is possibly the one handgun in the world that is more associated with shady government wetwork than the SOCOM. there's an explicit hierarchy of secrecy associated with these weapons. the XM9 really DOES have a feature that locks the slide to make it extra quiet, at the expense of its' semi automatic fire. this is a weapon for assassinating an unsuspecting target, it's the turning point where fun special ops infiltration crosses over into immoral and illegal black ops. and yet, in our hands, the XM9 is less than lethal. i don't know what to make of that, exactly. there's a connection there, between the high skill of nonlethal play, the fantasy of being a secret commando, and the morality of a sneaking mission.
and this is literally just like, handguns. we get into shit like what LBE snake wears, what radios they use, peter stillman, who's realism makes him stand out like a sore thumb, and who arguably must be killed in order for the game to become a metal gear solid game, and a question like "what is the navy's history with rail guns?" and shit starts to get psychedelic
@@madeleineoiseau4676 even just your comment is psychedelic
This game is even more magical to me seeing these little details in the script.
Rupert MacSeoin Johnson one grabbed the crotch because he thought raiden was a girl and about to get laid to her, right?
Forreals great 👍 job!
An absolutely essential piece of prescient journalism which should be required watching for all MGS2 enthusiasts.
being a massive and obsessed fan of MGS since my childhood, I didn't think there was any information about the games left for me to discover on youtube, as I had watched so many videos about the games already, but I really found quite some novel and fascinating new stuff here. I'm glad youtube recommended one of your videos to me.
dude this is like some premium premium content
18:57 - While Flynn isn't reading the lines properly at times, Raiden definitely is incredulous about Snake insinuating it is mind control
I just started MGS2 for the first time in my life. Nice to see it's still loved
"still" is an understatement my man! Enjoy the ride and play definitely 👌 mgs1
You're in for a ride. Stop watching these videos until you've completed the game.
Just don't spoil Pliskin's true identity to yourself
Doesn't just saying that bring it in to question? The video already spoiled it anyhow.
DanteDMCry He’s joking! Lol.
It’s pretty obvious who Pliskin is, no?
Just found your channel, glad to see you dont upload every 2 months or something. Not to mention the quality of them all
This game is brilliant, easily the best of the entire saga , it's sad that is so underrated, it's fascinating how time passes and they keep finding all these interesting and awesome details, i got mindblown by the fact that vamp realized Pliskin identity due to him smelling like Solidus, never thought that but it makes so much sense
I have so much respect for the amount of research that must have gone into these analyses.
If you watch the graphic novel, you'll notice that they added in some details that didn't make it to the final game. In example, Karen Hojo, the news reporter and segwaying from the Tanker chapter to the Plant chapter, through Raiden being revealed as being in VR. (Although in the novel, the VR happened to be disguised as a flashback to the events near the end of MGS1)
I immediately remembered the news report from the MGS2 DGN when I heard that part in this video.
Luv this channel this game is truly a masterpiece, after years upon this games release every time I analyze it, I’m always learning something new. I didn’t even know the tanker itself was like a mini shadow Moses until you look at it carefully, the Olga fight mimicking the ocelot fight from MGS1 the shootout with the Russian soldiers before you enter the holds with Scott dolph mimics the genome soldiers shootout with Meryl in MGS1, Metal Gear Ray being in the holds mimics Metal Gear Rex being in the underground maintenance base, the amount of soldiers patrolling the tanker is exactly the same amount of soldiers patrolling shadow Moses, and last of all the tanker ending with a Metal Gear, snake and liquid having a stand off much like in MGS1 this is just brilliant 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Fantastic video... I love how almost 20 years later I'm still discovering new things about this game! I don't even think MGS2's true delayed appreciation has hit yet.
I started another play through for the first time in over 10 years after watching these mgs2 videos. Thank you for your excellent, compelling essays.
Excellent work! This answered questions I've had for almost two decades! Thank you so much!
Every time I see something related to the Metal Gear Solid 2 Script I'd like to think that someone, somewhere, has a KCET branded PlayStation 2 development kit in his/her house with the full original Hideo Kojima's version of the game installed on its hard disk without all the changes/cuts made before the release due to the Twin Towers incident on September 11th 2001 in New York...
I'd love to see the ending as it was intended... That would be something to behold, I'm sure. They apparently scrambled big time to make the changes by the deadline.
The fact that so much of this script is built upon epistemological crises for the player, on top of themes of AI controlling the context of what people consume is just proof of how much of a visionary Kojima was with this game.
He was trying to prepare us for the world we are living in today, and so many people missed the warning.
This whole game(and MGS1) went so over my head when I was young, but I think it’s is also what made my love of true narrative:)
Excellent, as always! I do very much enjoy the more long form essays!
I had the biggest crush on Fortune as a kid. Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet) from the Cosby Show was my first crush and she felt like a super hella badass Denise to 12 year old Veespa, haha
Great video, watched it all with a smile of intrigue on my face
The grand gameplan (junkerhq.net/MGS2gameplan.pdf) has some pretty out there stuff too, like how Johnny was supposed to be a major character in MGS2, two whole games before 4.
In the scene where Raiden meets Pliskin an interesting tidbit I always found was how he immediately gets called when he affirms "Are you saying VR is some kind of mind control?" as to distract him from the bullseye he hit. The voice direction also has a lot of nuance, like how Raiden is trying to do an impression of Snake until he gets his codename assigned, and how the Colonel sounds robotic and monotone but just human enough to be believable in a first run.
I'm still pissed to this day that Meryl actually got married to Johnny !
Will never get over the fact that the original ending was just 9/11, yet written before 9/11 happened
What's your source? Which version of the script are you using?
Dead Drop it’s a game faqs transcript of the one included in The Document of MGS2. I checked it for accuracy of course, and it’s correct despite some minor typos
@@FuturasoundProductions could you please link it? would be nice to read it all
@@FuturasoundProductions Thanks for the info. I'm sure others would appreciate a link to the specific transcript you used.
I pinned a comment with the link, hope you guys enjoy!
Fantastic video. I've been waiting for an MGS2 script breakdown like this for awhile.
I wish this channel receives more attention 👍🏻👍🏻
Dude .. Your content is crazy for a MGS fan! Keep it up!
I've always wondered, how does the "you have to beLIEve me" line work in Japanese?
I came across the answer a few years ago. iirc this was only in the western localization, not in the japanese game
The JP script notes that Rose says the line like it's a straight-up lie and that is what it comes across as when you listen to it. There's like overly dramatic intensity in the delivery like "Of course I do, Jack! Believe me!" The JP script also notes that the English captions will be written as "beLIEve me!"
@@gamer4087 amazing thanks
@@gamer4087 That moment when a writer is good enough to use a foreign language as well as their native
This game was very relatable to me when I played it and even though I was young, I picked up on a lot of the things you have been covering. I find this so entertaining great job man 🤘🏻💯
Oh yeah, this is gonna be a good one.
Dio
This is patreon level analysis and content quantity. Thank you!
Another amazing insight into a series that most people don't take the time to understand. Layers upon layers of meaning, disenchantment, dissolution and subverting of expectations
Having not played MGS1 and MGS2 in a while, it feels good to see one particular line about "an annoying fly". And I feel like an idiot at my assumption of what Vamp was saying at the Pliskin and Vamp introduction.
Highly recomend watching secrets.hidden mgs2 on youtube if your a fan . hour and 20 mins long it has opened my eyes to amazing this game really is
Cream of the crop material here man, can't understand how videos like this don't have millions of views!
Tfw Jorin hits you with "Until next time, Boss"
Mgs2 will always be my favorite
I hated mgs2 when it first came out. The introduction of Raiden, the lack of playing Snake, Metal gear Ray, the plot. But as I grew older it started to make more sense and I grew to like and respect it. Kojima's vision and story showed so much forward thinking. Great game. From favourite to least.. MGS1 MGS4 MGS3 MGS2 MGSGZ MGSPP MGSPW. WIll sub to channel as a massive MG fan
mgs5 has the most disappointing story as it doesn't seem like it goes anywhere and alot of it seems like filler in the series but it also has plenty of positive as well like art direction, graphics, some level of humor, and easily the best stealth action gameplay in the series.
It’s narrative is massively flawed but damn there’s still a lot to be obtained from it.
I can understand why people don't like it though.
@@Gadget-Walkmen It took me like 3 hours to complete the 1st mission XD.
@@chrysm6842 really? The one in the hopsital or Afghanistan.
Another spectacular video!
Please keep up your amazing work!!
How many times did the team ask themselves “wtf is he talking about”
Great work as usual!
Raiden's voice change is an indicater of the patriots control of him the grizzled voice is a reflection of the amount of vr training as snake his voice changes when he is given the name raiden. Also the tanker mission we play is raiden in vr the tanker mission we see in clips is what actually happened Raiden: I've undergone that tanker mission in vr Snake: yeah i doubt it actually recreated what went down on that mission.
I always thought the voice changed somewhat since he removed the mask...
@@chrysm6842 two different tones with the mask on grizzled experienced once the fake Campbell gives him the raiden codename tone changes to a more inexperienced novice tone.
Great job!!!!.....
Keep them coming👍
More MGS2 content to fuel my addiction
What a mindfuck
I'd really like to see a fan render of the Arsenal Gear Crash that is accurate to the original script. I think that would be cool
MGS2 is way too underrated but it's the one that goes the deepest in plot twist and storyline
True
Yeah well... not many understand the Postmodernist philosophy that spawned this headfck.
We need a mgs2 remake
Yet again another amazing video 👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾
I believe the original script was also leading the final battle on the towers, but due to the 2001 event, this was changed.
well put
Best one yet. I could write an essay on how great this video but it's all been said below :) great work. Also Idk why people bitch about your ads. They should appreciate that they get to even see this
Damn. Kojima should have written a book with that descriptive language. I kinda wanna just read the script for MGS2 and see the stuff I never picked up on there
Great video!
I wish there would be an HD "directors cut" with all of this stuff in it. Especially the end where Solidus dies, you can tell by the camera placement that the flag waving was important to the scene, especially when Raiden cuts it and it falls and drapes over him. I get cutting out seeing NYC get destroyed bc it was so close to 9/11 but I cant see how the flag part would be seen as offensive or "too soon" at all
It's implied that Solidus is severely injured but not dead after the final encounter since he carefully looks at where he's about to fall (and he arrives on the G.Washongton's statue, if I remember correctly)...
A great vid, just like how great mgs 2 is
I would KILL to read the TPP and GZ scripts.
Makes me think how great a mgs book would be. But the impact of metal gear would be lessened by so much if used in any other medium
There are tons of books based on MGS. Novels and comics for instance.
9:36 idk why this frisking flip haunts me ....on streams I watch I always rage , how she doest swing her arms to do it....( irl you use your arms in EVERY/ANY FLIP ) ..this is fine bc she is wearing exoskeleton leg piece under the camo.
Now....an Arabian ( in Europe anyway ) is a flip that starts as a back somersault, but you turn 180 at the top of the jump and tuck then....resulting you doing a front flip...so this looks like a sideflip in this scene......I should be working rn instead of typing nonsense
Around 12:30 white mass-produced mech may have had been an End Of eva reference
First?
Thanks for the upload man!
YES
Great quality
Excellent!!
where can i find this script
Was there ever a decent explanation for Raiden’s amnesia?
Nanomachines, son!
Regarding the fact that he was a child solider or regarding 300+ VR missions he covered? My best guess is that he wanted to forget about his past...
Is there a copy of the script of MGS2 online anywhere?
I need scissors! 61!
Man; i love this shit.
Great video. The colors are a bit messed up, very saturated.
Fatman is so cute please talk about him more
Wish they would’ve called him Thiccman 😖😩💦
I love this!
I bet the game would have been even better if Quentin STUCK THE THE SCRIPT AYY
YEEEEEEESSSS
"Fortune was meant to hum the games end theme." Sounds like Kojima recycled that idea into Quiet, three games later. Very neat
!
This is one of the many reasons MGS2 is better than MGS3
By not being a programmer do you mean his position or the fact that he can't program a video game because he doesn't know how?
Doesn't know how. If he knew how to program then he could write the script to accommodate this. However he doesn't know the limitations that well
That's a colossal WOW for me. Didn't know that....I think that should be a MUST when you're in charge of a studio (even if you put the money to create it yourself)
@@ffx5846 It worked out in the end didn’t it?
Could you put MORE ads in? :/
Doesn't it suck when a highly qualified creator deserves to be paid for his tireless efforts to provide you free content?
Couldn’t make it through the video because every line is “quote/end quote.” It’s not like a disclaimer you have to say, it’s pretty distracting.
He’s reading excerpts from a script, it’s kinda just doing due diligence.
I always hated the color palette of MGS2, is so bleh, there is any meta-explanation to that?
Since in Resident Evil 5 there's an image filter called "sepia", I thought it was the same used in MGS 2 since they're both "red". But, I've just learnt sepia is actually brown... So I'm confused... At 1st, I thought Kojima used this red filter on screen as an homage to the cinema since everybody knos he's a huge cinema lover but...
Too many ads.
Doesn't it suck when a highly qualified creator deserves to be paid for his tireless efforts to provide you free content?
MGS2 is overrated as a videogame, but it's Kojima's Masterpiece artwork and as such it transcends its own medium. I'd say it's Kojima's "Andy Warhol - collage of Campbell's soupcans" artpiece.
This was Postmodernist philosophy in a game. No one cares about Postmodernist philosophy.
Can you explain why you feel it’s overrated as a video game? It was legitimately revolutionary at the time of release. Not just story, gameplay and visuals too.
Another one who thrown the word ‘overrated’ without even explaining why. I’m not sure which one i must hate more; how overused ‘overrated’ this days or the people who used this word just to make them looks smart :/
@@nickd1978 Since you ask nicely; The things people truly remember MGS2 for, are: 1. The Tanker chapter/the MGS2 demo which came with Zone of the Enders and 2. The gigantic mindfuck Finale at the end, when the entire Patriots plot unravels. What MGS2 zealots ignore to see and acknowledge includes: 1. The aweful and uninspiring Big Shell level design, with just as much, if not more backtracking and merry-go-round routing than in MGS1. People might say the shiny new look works because of story. Well hey, Kojima is the narrator here, so he could have come up with a narrative premise for a way more compelling level design (just google rusty old Maunsell Sea Forts - For example; in contrast to the actual MGS2 story, the "toxins" could have been written to actually have a huge corrosive & toxic effect on the whole structure). MGS1 and MGS3 prove that varied and distinctive/gritty looking level design help both player immersion (Konami's own Silent Hill 2 proves this can be done) and gameplay aspects. Sure, shiny new walls&floors and hexagonal shapes are easier from a game development& design perspective, but it doesn't achieve greatness in this case. Guards in MGS are also just 1, 2 or 3 character models. It's just literally copy paste. And for that matter, they don't even have individual faces (fewer polgons required since there's a lack of a defined nose and mouth). That makes it all very easy on system resources and development time, whereas other stealth titles often feature a way more diverse number of NPC's with unique looks and capabilities in gameplay (yes, I know about the masses of marines in the Tanker holds but they're basically constricted to that one specific room and they just pivot around) 2. The crazy amount of efforts which went into micro-detail such as breaking bottles, breaking glass panes, destructible pantry contents and destructible magazines on shelves and Raiden's wavy hair physics, which ALL could and should have better been used for better level design (could have been used for soft body geometry in level design for example and more verticality to the stealth aspect such as interaction with rafters, zip lining, rappelling). 3. The FACT that MGS2 gameplay actually isn't a giant leap over MGS1 - I mean, running past guards' backs without them noticing just because you're not within their cone of vision and that Kojima didn't even manage to implement the light & shadow gameplay mechanic as intended in the MGS2 design document. (oh wait, that other stealth franchise picked up that mechanic and ran with it). MGS3 proves this even further, as it breaks away from the MGS2's binary mechanics; since guards can now actually hear your footsteps behind their backs and their vision isn't restricted anymore to a cone of vision or a prescripted long range view (such as the guards on top of the Shell1 core) 4. Super lame sections such as the Fortune "boss fight" (it's not even a true boss fight) and the Plant level swimming sections add zero depth to either the stealth or action aspects of the gameplay (it results to even more back tracking). So, I still think MGS2 is Kojima's digital version of Andy Warhol's "Campbell's soup cans"; a genius piece of art which forces you to ponder its themes and social message, but its quality of craftmanship (gamedesign in MGS2's case) is OVERRATED - I'm not saying it's bad, just overrated. Plenty of titles on PS2 and on other systems of that same game generation which are as good if not better/more enjoyable stealth games than MGS2.
@@thepuppetmaster9284 The things people truly remember MGS2 for, are: 1. The Tanker chapter/the MGS2 demo which came with Zone of the Enders and 2. The gigantic mindfuck Finale at the end, when the entire Patriots plot unravels. What MGS2 zealots ignore to see and acknowledge includes: 1. The aweful and uninspiring Big Shell level design, with just as much, if not more backtracking and merry-go-round routing than in MGS1. People might say the shiny new look works because of story. Well hey, Kojima is the narrator here, so he could have come up with a narrative premise for a way more compelling level design (just google rusty old Maunsell Sea Forts - For example; in contrast to the actual MGS2 story, the "toxins" could have been written to actually have a huge corrosive & toxic effect on the whole structure). MGS1 and MGS3 prove that varied and distinctive/gritty looking level design help both player immersion (Konami's own Silent Hill 2 proves this can be done) and gameplay aspects. Sure, shiny new walls&floors and hexagonal shapes are easier from a game development& design perspective, but it doesn't achieve greatness in this case. Guards in MGS are also just 1, 2 or 3 character models. It's just literally copy paste. And for that matter, they don't even have individual faces (fewer polgons required since there's a lack of a defined nose and mouth). That makes it all very easy on system resources and development time, whereas other stealth titles often feature a way more diverse number of NPC's with unique looks and capabilities in gameplay (yes, I know about the masses of marines in the Tanker holds but they're basically constricted to that one specific room and they just pivot around) 2. The crazy amount of efforts which went into micro-detail such as breaking bottles, breaking glass panes, destructible pantry contents and destructible magazines on shelves and Raiden's wavy hair physics, which ALL could and should have better been used for better level design (could have been used for soft body geometry in level design for example and more verticality to the stealth aspect such as interaction with rafters, zip lining, rappelling). 3. The FACT that MGS2 gameplay actually isn't a giant leap over MGS1 - I mean, running past guards' backs without them noticing just because you're not within their cone of vision and that Kojima didn't even manage to implement the light & shadow gameplay mechanic as intended in the MGS2 design document. (oh wait, that other stealth franchise picked up that mechanic and ran with it). MGS3 proves this even further, as it breaks away from the MGS2's binary mechanics; since guards can now actually hear your footsteps behind their backs and their vision isn't restricted anymore to a cone of vision or a prescripted long range view (such as the guards on top of the Shell1 core) 4. Super lame sections such as the Fortune "boss fight" (it's not even a true boss fight) and the Plant level swimming sections add zero depth to either the stealth or action aspects of the gameplay (it results to even more back tracking). So, I still think MGS2 is Kojima's digital version of Andy Warhol's "Campbell's soup cans"; a genius piece of art which forces you to ponder its themes and social message, but its quality of craftmanship (gamedesign in MGS2's case) is OVERRATED - I'm not saying it's bad, just overrated. Plenty of titles on PS2 and on other systems of that same game generation which are as good if not better/more enjoyable stealth games than MGS2.
One of my biggest disappointments in gaming ,, thank god for mgs3
*Raiden responds:* _"So that's it! They just set all this up to cap you guys!"_