The Shocking Development History Of Metal Gear Solid 2 (Ep.1) | State of the Arc Podcast

[@maxderrat]

Listening to this while prepping Christmas dinner! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to the Resonant Arc crew and the viewers!!!

[@nobodyexceptme7794]

Big max up in this piece! I was just telling someone on Xmas day to follow ur channel now that they beat silent hill 2 remake! 😂

[@DJTS1991Yes]

Will we be making a sneaky appearance next episode? ;)

[@yorshka6955]

Listening to this while playing MGSV!

[@justingindhart3493]

Max we need a new MGS video!

[@Snakeskin94]

Oh look. The person who ruined Metal Gear discussion.

[@travelsizedlions]

Right now, my wife and 2 year old daughter are several states away celebrating Christmas without me due to a problem with our flights. It's been a lonely day. Thanks for choosing to upload this on Christmas. It's nice to hear some friendly, familiar voices, even if only over a podcast.

[@The810kid]

Merry Christmas fellow Resonant Arc channel fan.

[@tcomshere]

Merry Christmas from someone overseas for work. I feel your troubles and wins when you can take'm.

[@redomagnus4762]

Merry Christmas and Happy Hilidays! Hoping you get to see them soon!

[@eternalbraid]

Merry Christmas! Wishing you the best to get to your family soon.

[@phialpha88]

agreed this was really nice to have

[@michs7451]

The introductory sequence was fantastic. Never thought I needed a Snake Casen until now.

[@LPN00b]

Plisskasen

[@shpladau]

​@@LPN00b You're more creative. I was gonna say Snasen.

[@waveplay3978]

the cadence of speech was absolutely spot on

[@JayLeeGames]

I personally love the deception by Kojima regarding Raiden. Does it cross a line? Absolutely. But in doing so I feel it strengthens the themes of misinformation in the modern internet era, which feels even more relevant today with the use of AI and deepfakes. For me it makes the narrative choice of addressing this problem in game so much more poignant by making the audience literally go through it themselves out of the game. Art playing with reality.

[@redomagnus4762]

Also, it’s just rad.

[@0Fyrebrand0]

I remember the first time I played MGS2, Raiden's voice clearly doesn't sound like Snake at all but he's wearing the diving mask and is being called "Snake" so I fully believed it was Snake. I think the voice actor even talks slightly raspier to sell the illusion. The gaslighting was very effective on me. Of course, once the mask comes off that changes things, but the surprise of playing as someone other than Snake all of the sudden was very disorienting. Even when you meet Snake in Big Shell, he gives an obvious alias and the Colonel says there's no way that can be Snake, and I didn't know what to think. The previous game had so many wild plot twists, and we know there are clones of Big Boss, so it's not unreasonable to think this guy might not be Snake. But he might be, too. It's such a confusing experience the first time through, I don't know how to judge reality or determine what is true anymore. I think it was a very effective use of misinformation to drive home the point which would ultimately be revealed much later.

[@JayLeeGames]

@@redomagnus4762radical is a very appropriate term for this!

[@JayLeeGames]

@@0Fyrebrand0completely agree!

[@shpladau]

The first time I played this game, I just thought this game was going to be played in multiple chapters. I was playing as Snake on a tanker, then Raiden on a plant, and then I thought it would keep cycling through characters, which honestly filled me with dread. Thankfully, they allowed me to get attached to Raiden by the end.

[@quinnobi]

This channel is criminally underrated. You deserve so many more subs and views for the level of conversations and analysis being had. The holidays can be really hard and I’m thankful for your videos!

[@michaelmott1420]

I try to mention checking out Resonant Arc to any friends who may remotely be interested in the content. You're right that it is just that good.

[@ryandude3]

Hear hear!

[@AlexKavalkanti]

Think sooner or later they will get broader audience with such always green content.

[@reenchanted]

That intro was great! I love the little touches like Mike’s mic having some intermittent bit-crush distortion. Casen repeating everything Mike says as a question, haha! So good!

[@mitchdouglas9844]

"Resonant Arc? Video game analysis?" "That's right Snake! You see, back in 1958, William Higinbotham created "Tennis for Two", the first 'video game' using a rudimentary oscilloscope display. This began a series of events that would accumulate across decades to this moment!" "Tennis for two? Oscilloscope?" "Ever since that day, we have been waiting for the moment to enact our glorious plan; to use the 'video game' meme in society to bring about complete control of the world! By embedding our message into the podcast known as 'Resonant Arc', I will soon have the President BEGGING me to borrow my PSX. But I won't give him it, Snake!" "You're a monster!" "But I am a monster created by this society of 'gamers'. It is our collective will that has seen this plan through. Now, everyone watching will soon Like and Subscribe to the podcast. And my memes will be spread far and wide!"

[@orcbrand]

liked subscribed commented doing my part for big boss

[@noctissama3146]

Did anyone else read this with the correct voices?

[@arcturionblade1077]

​@@noctissama3146You're pretty good!

[@TheBatman582]

The reason for the deceptive marketing was to play to the theme of misinformation and "fake news" that the game was themed to in its story. It was deliberate deceptive marketing to illustrate a point that would only become apparent when playing the game itself. This idea that anything you're told or shown on the internet is true, you can argue that it doesn't make it okay, but that was the intent behind it, and I think given the games reputation it speaks for itself how ultimately successful it was.

[@jayham8533]

my god the intro is sick!

[@kylechwk]

Right? It's so well produced

[@omensoffate]

My god my god the intro intro sick sick ! !

[@jayham8533]

@@omensoffateyeah I mistyped

[@omensoffate]

@ I know I just had a good laugh it’s all good dude

[@ibikun5493]

No it wasnt

[@funakiexpressV2]

And to be fair Mike's hair with the bandana is very Snake Plisken like lmao

[@Rithysak101]

Eye patch Casen is crazy intimidating not gonna lie.

[@RyanMustang09]

I respectfully disagree around the 1 hour mark Mike. Now I agree you really shouldn't lie to people about your product that's absolutely true but this is the one time I feel this approach is congruent with its themes. Spoilers for MGS2. I personally believe having Raiden not be mentioned as the main character with the trailers before release, prominently showing Snake as the player character is exactly in line with one of the core themes of the game and not just solely of misinformation in the digital age just being part of the games narrative, but from the get go we all experienced exactly the developers intentions before even playing. Manipulating information and showing what people want you to see but not the full truth. It completely strengthens that core theme that Raiden isn't told anything truly about his mission and is even lied too repeatedly.. just like we were going into MGS2 with set expectations, so we can feel for Raiden more and have first hand experience what Kojima and Fukushima the writers are preaching. False information shown and deliberately misleading people for certain goals. They showed us the Tanker which is exactly the sequel fans were wanting but instead we got the rug pulled and our eyes opened to something that will stand the test of time more than a fanservice follow up but something we didn't know we needed and to look beyond what is just presented as truth and fact but use critical thinking to make up your own mind and if something feels too good to be true it usually is. There's so much more to MGS2 than this but unlike something like TLOU2 that feels twisted and manipulative in the wrong way with its lying in trailers just to surprise you with what I feel is thematically shallow themes of "revenge is bad, did you know everyone has feelings and their own ties, thoughts and relationships too?" Yes no kidding, now you're going to hit me over the head with that for 20 hours. In comparison MGS2 has a purpose for withholding it's cards and asks people to really think for themselves, even Kojima didn't fly as close to the sun after this game but I'm so happy we have this wonderful, experimental, borderline prophetic experience 🥲

[@pinnacalada9448]

Apparently, this is the theory behind why they purposely deceived their audience. Kojima knew the audience would whine and complain about playing as Raiden for most of the game, which is why he created that character in the first place. Raiden is a novice who is easily rattled, inexperienced, and complains a lot. The character serves as a metaphor for the player, a stand-in who is easily manipulated, told what to do, and influenced about what to believe throughout the game just like the audience. And how overtime the core audience opinion on the game would eventually change and how they would mature just like the character Raiden. I’m not sure if this theory is true, but it’s what I’ve heard, I’ll need to look it up

[@possiblefossilrecords]

Its actually deeper than that. Raiden was trained on VR as a child where he played as Solid Snake playing out his previous missions as training excercies. This mirrors how the player has played as Solid Snake in previous genes. He is saying the player themselves have been brainwashed and had memes forced down their throat, just like Raiden. It helps make the player feel themselves as being brainwashed and detaches you more from reality as the player.

[@maskedbadass6802]

I respect how you mentioned that you don't want to get in the way of America's media machine when it's ramping up for war. It's a subtle nod to all of us who know exactly how untrustworthy our own media is yet have to deal with the frustration of so many people who blindly believe what the media says as long as it helps their political side "win."

[@ryandude3]

When it comes to the irony that these games are both hyper-realistic in ways and super fantastical in others, I think Casen's point at 36:16 is spot on. Being grounded in certain and/or enough places is key to allowing a storyteller to then go to extremes in other aspects of the story without completely breaking the viewer's/reader's suspension of disbelief. I think this grounding is essential for Fantasy and Sci-Fi stories in general.

[@ManiacalForeigner]

Regarding the music, I'd just like to point out that the great majority of the soundtrack (what plays during the gameplay) was actually composed by Norihiko Hibino. Harry Gregson-Williams' cinematic score for most of the major cutscenes adds up to less than an hour's worth of music.

[@leif54]

Did he score MGS1?

[@ManiacalForeigner]

​@@leif54 No, his first work at Konami was Metal Gear: Ghost Babel on the Gameboy (released as just Metal Gear Solid in the West). The composers for MGS1 did not return, at least not _as_ composers. The lead composer, Kazuki Muraoka, did come back as sound director. He actually wrote the music for the NES port of Metal Gear, as well as the original Contra.

[@leif54]

@@ManiacalForeigner I did not know this. I prefer MGS1 OST over 2,3 and 4. Ludvig Forsell on V is the one I like the most after 1.

[@newdarkcloud]

I think Casen might be fascinated to learn that despite what it might seem, Y2K actually *was* a genuine concern back in the day, because so much of the code used in every major institution wasn't equipped to handle the rollover. It *was* correct to sound that alarm. The reason nothing happened is because so many people raised that alarm that engineers and programmers went through extreme crunch and extreme triage to make sure that those systems were patched and ready before the dawning of the new year. We remember it as "just a scare" precisely because we took the precautions necessary to make sure that's all it was.

[@ResonantArc]

Ah, this is very interesting. I don't know all the programmatic reasons behind it all, I've only ever heard it brushed off as a simple thing

[@newdarkcloud]

@@ResonantArc No worries, I figured that was the case because most people just don't know the behind-the-scenes story of it. It's amusing in a way that it's often used to show that people are quick to needless raise the alarm, when in truth it is in fact evidence that raising the alarm early and often can serve to prevent massive catastrophic events preemptively.

[@pinnacalada9448]

They say mgs2 is kojima"s magnus opus. its his most important story

[@phialpha88]

y’all killed it on the intro. afraid I’m going to need the headband and the eyepatch for every episode of this now that I’ve got used to it

[@Garlic-Baguette]

The news that the podcast was picking this up made me finally play mgs2 for the first time and I was blown away. Such a phenomenal and important game. I’m glad y’all picked this and introduced me to it. I’m about four hours in and so ready for more.

[@arttavarez]

I loved the part of this discussion looking back at the turn of the millennium. There was so much excitement AND uncertainty. Technology was growing rapidly to a point where it felt like, and still does today, like we will never be able to catch our breath. I remember MGS2 being the first game I played on the PS2. And it tapped into ALL of those feelings of excitement and unease. We also spent a lot of time on the Tanker mission, just so we could savor playing as Snake. Collecting all the dog tags. Shooting the bottles in the cafeteria section and being bewildered at how some elements of the background were effected by our actions. It really felt like a whole new world and generation. Looking forward to hearing your guys thoughts on this game, and looking forward to playing along with you.

[@henrytep8884]

Memetic theory was developed by rene girard. The main thesis is that memes are part of human nature, it is what separates us from other animals and definition of memesis is that human imitate one another in a meaningful way. Imitation matters to humans, which is what separates us from other animals.

[@Inf1n1ty11]

That intro was so spot on, even the inflections. Loved it!

[@jamesk2325]

Love the video! Super excited for this one guys! Important context, Y2K actually genuinely would have been devastating... But a MASSIVE and extremely expensive coordinated international effort managed to prevent the foreseeable disasters. It was one of the most impressive efforts of its era. Downplaying it after the fact as society has done has largely undermined the respect the people who saved the day deserved.

[@rmsgrey]

It's the paradox of preventative measures - if they work, then the disasters they're meant to prevent never happen (so "clearly" they were a waste of time and resources). But if you don't do them, then you get the disasters instead (and the same people who complained about the cost of the precautions you did take complain that you didn't spend the money). There's a related theme in a number of high-profile accident reports: "cost-cutting [...] reduction in maintenance budgets [...] failure leading to deaths"

[@coolrebirth6869]

Casen I kept waiting for you to go "What!?" in the intro. You guys friggin' rock. My fingers are crossed for Mike to be able to move full time for the pod cast soon. Keep up the great work gentlemen.

[@ScottWaltonDev]

1:24:12 Y2K was absolutely an issue, however a LOT of systems were updated to work around the issues at great expense. It looks trivial in hindsight because of the work done.

[@MiBrCo4177]

15:18 The game boy color version of metal gear solid is Metal Gear: Ghost Babel. And it's surprisingly well made and still holds up today. There is something about it that has a charm to it that a lot of games today miss out on.

[@JanneOksanenMusic]

That thumbnail is…pretty good.

[@oboronyon]

What an intro guys ! Loved it >< About the extreme details helping to ground story elements that go crazy sometimes. What you both said reminded me of what one of the few good (living) writers we have here in France said once in an interview. He was laying out the reasons why modern french comedy lacked in terms of sheer quality in writing and overall conception compared to what anglo-saxon cinema offers : "Comedy is a serious genre. [...] for example, the music of "Monty Python and The Holy Grail" is very beautiful. It is extremely epic [...] there is no cheap tricks and yes, sometimes they're on a tight budget so they use coconuts instead of real horses sound but still [...] there are castles, there are wide open spaces... [...] comedy only works if the danger is great and real (for the characters). Comedy must be solidified. You have to put pillars and stuff on it... the more solid it is, the better !" - Alexandre Astier, interview for the Konbini KZbin Channel -

[@juansolis4796]

Amazing intro. First video, new subs. 2:48 minutes in and I already can tell that you are a fan. I love The metal gear solid saga.

[@joelmaxey9947]

Love the aizuchi from Casen in the intro. I bought MGS1 along with my pre-ordered PS2 on the day PS2 was released, in anticipation of MGS2, solely based on how awesome MGS2 looked in reviews. I've been a MGS fan ever since. I replayed MGS2 again last year, and it's mind blowing how relevant this game still is today. Been following your channel since your FFVIII breakdown. Love you guys. You talk about so many of my favorite things! Keep up the great content.

[@michaelpalma6346]

People talk about MGS3 but to me at least MGS2 is the better game. The contribution to video game history can’t be denied. MGS2 is in my top 5 video games of all time.

[@andreweshelman6377]

I listen to you guys on a podcast app, but had to stop it and check KZbin to see if the video matches the awesomeness in the opening bit. Keep it up guys!

[@lakedentist4819]

THE OPENING OF THIS VID IS THE BEST THING IVE EVER SEEN, THIS IS WHY I LOVE YOU GUYS

[@victorholmes7075]

On Metal Gear’s hyper realism vs supernaturalism: For me these two have helped provide strong characterizations for the Snakes (Solid in particular) as well as helped bond me to them. Snake and the regular enemies “play by the rules” for a vast majority of a game but that gets flipped on its head whenever there’s a boss battle. To me, the supernatural elements create a chaos in the game that elicit similar feelings to what we feel when something truly unexpected and challenging happens in our lives. Bosses are often tied thematically to an emotional/mental state. The supernatural elements also make it so that Snake is much closer to the power of the player than the enemy and that the only way to overcome these consistent overwhelming odds for both player and character is to use some combination of skill, perseverance, luck, and help from others. Ordinary people in the MGS universe call Snakes legends (Solid usually rejects the notion, Big Boss would eventually manipulate it) but a Snake NEVER has the upper hand in any encounter with the supernatural or the various Metal Gear models and yet they persist.

[@pingpong5877]

Memes. The DNA of the soul.

[@hamblok0]

Some indulgent part of me really wanted the whole episode to be in the intro's format but in hindsight that probably would have been too much lol

[@DashXero]

Metal Gear Solid on the GBC is an alternate universe. The funny thing about that is that alternate universes became a thing in Metal Gear lore because of Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance. It becomes even more hilarious when you find out that the easter egg for 100%-ing Ghost Babel is finding out that the whole thing is one of the VR simulations Raiden went through. The cross-promo was wild. EDIT: You kind of touched on this, but the main appeal of Solid Snake is what he's able to accomplish with the limited tools of his basic training. Yes, he's often up against the supernatural or the finest death machines the world's militaries can create, but as long as he keeps a cool head, picks his shots, and stays on his toes, he can come out on top. One thing that made MGS2 so interesting was that we got to see how Snake's appeal works from the outside. And the one time Snake had to fight a boss without us being there in any capacity was the one time Snake was defeated. When I consider that now, given what has rubbed off on me from watching this channel for such a long time, in a sense, I get the feeling that Snake's appeal wasn't just in Snake himself, and that Snake's X-factor was in the spark of us operating through him. A huge part of the reason I don't like Twin Snakes as much is because it loses track of Snake's appeal. When you have Snake hopping off of missiles, it fails to portray Solid Snake. No military in the world teaches people to hop on missiles.

[@sjoerdhogervorst]

From what I've heard, I think MGS on the PSX was how Shadow Moses actually happened, and Twin Snakes was how people retold it later, the story of the legendary mercenary Solid Snake. Details tend to get more overblown in each retelling...

[@DashXero]

@ Ah. MGS as told by a kid at school whose parents obviously needed to keep a better watch on. That makes more sense and gives me an actual appreciation for Twin Snakes. A small one, but it’s better than out and out disdain.

[@AroldoReiss]

The thing with Raiden isn't about him acting in a feminine way but he has that bishonen look. He is the Griffith to Snake's Guts.

[@PSYHICDODO]

You guys are dorks in the best possible way, Merry Christmas, I love you guys and the show!

[@TheLuNaMaStEr]

Aww the passion is real. Merry Christmas Resonany Arc!

[@DanielSantosAnalysis]

You guys killed it with the intro!

[@khallil]

25th December? No, it's April 30th. Long live Resonant Arc ♥️

[@thevirtuouscollector]

I was lucky enough to play this game when it came out and it ended up as my favorite game of all time due to the themes of (at the time a 17 year old me without internet could process as) looking beyond the text of the game and extrapolating value off it while embracing the good and the bad of the incoming digital age. Over the years the game has brought me great value and fortune in life and was influential in my career decision. A loooot of fans have given me hate for saying this but I keep insisting that this was indeed the final "real" MGS game as Kojima intended, evidenced by interviews and marketing at the time, such as "Only "2" is where MGS could end" whereas future games were born less out of the need for storytelling and more because the series had to continue thus Kojima commanded that ship long past when it already concluded it's voyage and I always see the later, Big Boss heavy games as a soft reboot, a sequel comic book to an arc already concluded. I've also been lucky enough that the series has brought me great joy-- I got to meet the reclusive composer Norihiko Hibino and the dude spoke fluent English and the nicest guy ever. He smiled in a sarcastic way when I lamented that his name should have been credited alongside Gregson Williams since he was the one that actually did the bulk of the music. In 2011 I got 8th place in Konami's MGS art contest. I also had my dumb music video I made in college noticed by Konami as they were looking for inspiration for the boss music for Metal Gear Rising, and my work served as a template to the musical vibe of that game and I had my friends who made the music for my video actually work on Rising's boss music. In 2015, Kojima out of nowhere retweeted one of my figurine painting and my brain exploded and finally just a few months ago, I tweeted to David Hayter as he was coming to my state for a con if he would accept one of my custom Snake statues as a gift, and he sent me a PM saying he'd "be honored" and not only did I got to give him my work, met him and his wife but once he got back to the states he showed me that my Snake statue is on display in his office.

[@MiBrCo4177]

I remember getting PS2 and MGS2 the year that it launched for Christmas and I was absolutely blown away and It completely changed the way I view games now. It was so innovative for the time. Everything about it changed the gaming landscape forever. I'd always look at other PS2 games and ask "why did they make this look and play so terrible when MGS2 can do what they did on the same machine?" Lol

[@agourd8873]

The best Christmas gift I could have asked for.

[@SuperSlide]

The purpose of hiding the fact that you played as Raiden was a sort of 4th wall break. The mechanism of the Patriot's plot at the end of the game was "information control" and "context control" in the digital era. That is, if you control the information and the context, you can control people's beliefs and actions. I think this was being done at a meta-level with the changing of the trailers, and controlling the information around Raiden as the playable character. You, the gamer, were being controlled by information and context, similar to Raiden himself at the end of the game. Maybe you even bought the game when you wouldn't have if you'd have known Raiden was the playable character. It fit perfectly with the game and I think is one of the things that makes this game so brilliant.

[@TheDraco175]

If either of you make an autobiography you should name it "The Shocking Development History of Mike/Casen".

[@sxztube]

Great video! I would also suggest reviewing Michael Saba’s video on MGSV. It’s a spectacular deconstruction.

[@michaelmott1420]

Love that you both are having a lot of fun and being creative with the podcast!

[@CoffeePotato]

Technically, legally, the misleading stuff *was* in the game. Now I can't speak to the launch version, but the Subsistence and Vita versions I played have Big Shell sections with Snake. They're in the extra missions from the menu, up to and including investigating and fighting a building sized genome soldier that makes Godzilla noises. Snake spots him from the Big Shell as he swims in the bay.

[@wysewind]

Solid Mike and Colonel Casen is something I didn't realize I needed. Would have been cool if entire discussion was done in a codec call format lol

[@DavePoint84]

Great discussion. I have never played MGS2 before but I've been made aware of a lot of the themes and twists through nerd osmosis. I am a big fan of the book club format and will be playing along, so I am glad I discovered your channel. Keep up the great work :)

[@Real2KRosters]

123:30 Fun fact, when Y2K happened my area in NYC lost power about 5 seconds after Midnight. I was like oh fetch it's really happening. Apparently someone lit a firecracker that hit a powerline, power was back in 30 mins. But that first minute was like whattttt

[@seatea4142]

That intro was so awesome, geez you guys are the best. I hope you both and your families had a very Merry Christmas!!!

[@Flako-dd]

0:20 "Casen, please turn Aizuchi to 100%" - Aizuchi to 100%? Got you!

[@fattmusiek5452]

Oh hell yes. What a great gift.

[@tayloranderson9304]

Catching up on these videos.. the opening alone made me crack up. Love you guys. I am here for all the Kojima nonsense. On my second playthrough of Death Stranding. Nothing really to add.

[@Apostolinen]

Killer intro 😂. Hyvää joulua sinnekin.

[@kylechwk]

Totally. Kiitos from a half Finn

[@TheBeird]

That opening codec was spot on. I can't wait for you to do one in the style of MGS4. This'll be a podcast series I'll be ahead of the game on, as I played this game to death this year trying to get the Platinum Trophy. And it was playing it over again, on the different difficulties, where it finally clicked how brilliant a game this is. As for the story? I kinda proves Quantum Mechanics are true. Because it's both awful and awesome at the same time! Well, it's mostly awesome if I'm honest.

[@Zyel21]

Started buffering the video and I see Pirate Casen on pause. Love it! This could be a screensaver. Merry Christmas guys!

[@WeaponsRemorse]

You should’ve done the entire podcast in the MGS style cut scene

[@IWFDI]

The intro is amazing!

[@Maz345]

MGS2 is a rare example of a game I hated when it first came out because of the subversion of expectations, but continued to get better as time went by as I started unraveling the themes and messages. MGS2 is truly a fine wine. Also, I'm curious if you guys will touch on the ending of Neo Genesis Evangelion, since it influenced Kojima in similar fashion with MGS2's ending.

[@MNZANO]

heard the intro in podcast format in the car and knew I had to catch the youtube vid. love the intro, will be playing through this again now!

[@Wicked061]

Man. Thank you guys so much. Im bedridden from a hernia plus the flu. This video really brightened my day. My christmas just got alot better. Happy holidays RA.

[@payphone86]

I can’t wait to see this series progress forward; MGS2 is a big favorite of mine. Arsenal Gear is when this story goes off the rails crazy, and I can see a while episode dedicated to that small section of game because of how dense the story is.

[@fambamboy]

That intro was GOATED! looking forward to this series

[@monsterartist231]

i think that is the most bad ass intro of all in youtube history!!! brings a smile to my face from ear to ear!! love it!!

[@MiBrCo4177]

It would have been freaking amazing if they could have got David Hayter to come on the podcast in the future maybe?

[@leif54]

Agreed!

[@stanm4410]

Great episode. Loved the discussion.

[@Lee86THUNDER]

Cool intro lol. Looking forward to listening fully later on. Merry Christmas everyone.

[@ZweihanderSteve]

The mic filter on the intro is perfect 😂

[@ghost-in-the-ciel]

The first Metal Gear game I ever played was MGS2, so I thought absolutely nothing of the tanker and Snake. It just seemed like a regular prologue, the way you follow a different character for an introduction in many stories, like FF12. It never really occurred to me that the generic army guy Raiden was talking to on the codec was "supposed" to be the main character

[@johnmckeough4368]

The accents, cadence, costumes, even down to the izuchi - 11/10 intro

[@Windraesa]

Merry Christmas from England lads

[@patsg1146]

Great video as always! Love to watch your podcast! As for the trailer, I actually like that they lie by not showing Raiden! This is a game about information control and deception in a digital age, so it makes them part of the experience. Actually showing images from these trailers later on in the game reinforces that point.

[@CoffeePotato]

I really, REALLY hope we get to at least hear some discussion over the connection between MGS2 and the Gameboy one. Somewhat Canonically Raiden was trained on a Gameboy. What series could get away with that?

[@adrianhuaman]

would be cool if you can do an additional set of episodes for mgs: ground zeroes / the phantom pain someday. cheers guys and thanks for the company, pleasure to listen in 👍🏻

[@GuardianArk15]

14:30 I beg to differ. Mgs4 was the first one I played having only seen my friend speedrun twin snakes a handful of times before. While I was a little lost I find they did a good enough job explaining things in a way that attentive players could still enjoy the ride.

[@grahamwade5932]

Ohhh i dunno man. I played all of them religiously and I cannot fathom how someone could get much out of 4 without at least one prior games worth of knowledge

[@AshenVictor]

In the prerelease trailers for MGS3 they did a better job of hiding the scope and theme of the game. All of the prerelease trailers were only from the first hour or so of the game but framed as if it was going to be the whole plot.

[@savage7832]

The intro was so funny and well done! 😂

[@TheTyphoonSwell]

I've been waiting for this for so long. Thank you for this gift, merry Christmas!

[@christopherjbsnow]

This intro is incredible!

[@omensoffate]

Casens eye patch moving in the cuts is hilarious

[@cr-nd8qh]

I needed a 👍 video. Thanks I'm really struggling right now Thanks

[@jsizzle-o7p]

this intro is going to go over really well

[@blabony]

Can’t wait!!! I wouldn’t mind if you go through the lore as well (please 😅!). I played it when it first came out and had absolutely no idea what was going on 😅.

[@quiddity131]

I played the game for the first time a couple of months ago, completely unspoiled and as such had no idea that one plays most of the game as Raiden instead of Snake. It did seem a bit odd at first, but overall I didn't really mind it and the way it goes with the game's themes works quite well. Thus far with MGS, especially 2 and what I've played of 3 thus far it seems like the series both has some really good thematic stuff but also can't help with over the top campiness either. Such as the ridiculousness that is the Fatman boss fight. Xenogears had this at times too (ex. grand philosophical concepts in one moment, lines like "Master, did you like my mad skillz?!" in another) but MGS has topped it there...

[@jinli2776]

Loved that intro! If that played during the game I wouldn't blink an eye lol

[@suditeh]

15:30 Casen, the Game Boy game is NOT an adaptation of Metal Gear Solid. In fact, it has more in common with The Phantom Pain's plot that MGS 1. In Japan that game was called Metal Gear: Ghost Babel and takes places in a timeline were Big Boss died on the original Metal Gear (msx) and Metal Gear 2 (msx) never happened.

[@Elvisbackpack]

I love Metal Gear. I've been playing it steady since a Pizza Hut demo disc from either late 97 or early 98 (David Hayter used the name "Sean Barker" there, his character from Guyver 2)... But my greatest takeaway from this fantastic podcast is that YOU'RE DOING MORE XENOGEARS?! I can't wait.

[@uchytjes10]

1:00:34 Spoilers below for those who care about them: The reason, at least artistically, for hiding Raiden is that it replicates the feelings that pretty much everyone with a physical presence has towards Raiden throughout the Big Shell chapter, that being an intense feeling of 'Who the hell even is this dude?' The dude is such a fish out of water and so out of left field that even the player didn't expect to see him there. The issue that people ran into (at least in my opinion) is that they didn't get a very satisfying answer to that feeling by the time they'd already gotten frustrated and essentially checked out from the game as any information for that is backloaded hard. The love story between him and Rose didn't do much to help either as, at least in my opinion, it was not written in an interesting way.

[@aarons.2323]

You guys mentioned Gareth Edwards. I think he's the only person that's directed a truly great Disney era Star Wars movie. But he's not out of the Hollywood machine yet. He directed the next Jurassic World movie, which is another soft reboot of the series (goodbye, Chris Pratt. Hello, Scarlett Johansson).

[@Estes87]

The best Christmas gift. Great podcast!

[@patrickweller5254]

Merry Christmas! I've been waiting for this.

[@jamesgriffyn]

I remember the movie Drive had someone who sued the filmmakers or the theater because it didnt match what the trailers advertised. They thought it was going to be a straight up action movie from the trailers. Might be something to bring up since people LITERALLY be suing entertainment for false ads 😅

[@travelsizedlions]

Merry Christmas everyone! And happy Hanukkah tonight!

[@viddysgamingviddyos4710]

I'll listen to all of this episode asap, but first things first. That intro was awesome. And Merry Christmas [or whatever it is you celebrate] to all of you. [Edit after listening to episode]. Well, I'll be darned - you described the 'academic' definitions of memes pretty fetching well, and after I thought for years that memes were mostly just 'jokes on the Internet, mostly with pictures that have words on em'. And I knew about Raiden for years before playing MGS2 in 2016, I mostly just didn't know how much of the game you play as him. Anyways, I wasn't prepared back then for the thematic journey that I'm sure the rest of this podcast series will touch on.

[@joshray3855]

Minor nitpick, when Casen says "How gameplay tells the story?" I think we all know Snake would say, "tells?" ;) All kidding aside, I'm stoked to go on the MGS2 journey with you guys.

[@Mastersaifer]

this intro is the best thing I've ever seen