Virtuous Mission

The plane in the opening sequence is numbered "000", meaning it is an experimental aircraft.

The aircraft is the MC-130E Combat Talon, which really began combat participation in 1966. They are most likely approaching from China in the East, or from Asia in the South. You can see the "beard" at the nose of the plane used as catcher.

The date and location captions appear one word at a time, in the 60's fashion.

Pilot : "パキスタン上空，高度３万フィート。 Pakistan air space, altitude 30 thousand feet." With the MC-130E, its factual height limit is 33,000 feet, approximately 10,000 meters. The road master is in the same cargo as Snake, even though he's not in the screen.

Zero is wearing a leather bomber jacket. Beside him is Para-Medic. The Virtuous Mission is only an estimated 3 hour mission, so they are monitoring from the air space above.

Because the MC-130E is on a no-support single-plane operation, it is equipped with loads of highly sophisticated sensors. Showing on the screen is weather radar information.

The inside of the aircraft was complimented by the US marines as being very well made. The cigar is a Havana. If you chose "I like Metal Gear Solid 2" at the beginning, originally there were two separate lines planned for the road master, with the different line being "…あの優男、大丈夫か？" ("...That gentle man, is he up to it?"). But this extra line was cut due to disk space. Also, is it possible to light a cigar so high up in a pressurized space? This was a scene filled with considerations.

Choose "New to Metal Gear Solid series" or "I like Metal Gear Solid 1": Road Master : "…あの男、素人か？ ...That man, is he an amateur?" Choose "I like Metal Gear Solid 2": Road Master : "…あの優男、素人か？ ...That gentle man, is he an amateur?" (Taken from the original script, the initial finished script with which all voices were recorded.)

Snake's mask was designed after the image of "ハエ男の恐怖 (Fear of the Fly Man)". Both to create the atmosphere of the 60's, and to make a tie in with Raiden's mask in MGS2. Look at all the lights of the monitors reflect on the mask's goggle. The cigar rolling towards Snake, that was because tossing a lit cigarette into the Hudson Bay led to a lot of angry responses, this time we made sure to stamp out the cigar before heading off to the mission.

The line "鳥になってこい！幸運を祈る！" ("Become a bird! We wish you luck!") was very well received among the staff. It's one of the famous quotes. Also, Snake's posture during his drop, going from a stretched body into a curled up body, that was an homage to "仮面ライダー (Mask Rider)".

The briefing scene took place before they boarded the gun ship. There are only the voices of mission commander Major Zero and Jack, or Snake. This is the same radio show we have always done, both in MGS1 and MGS2, using the least possible information to produce dramatic effect.

The flashback sequence here is comprised mainly of Art Director Shinkawa Yoji's artwork. It was popularly referred to as the "Shinkawa Theater". You can watch it in the Briefing Files. It's got real life footage of Gagarin, space development, the Berlin Wall, etc. This is a theme in MGS3. The copyright fees we had to pay for these footage were very expensive. We used enough footage to make several television documentaries. The original footage were in color. We changed the color, and ran them through a filter to create a stock film feeling for them.

Before we acquired footage of the Berlin Wall, we were going to use illustrations of the Berlin Wall drawn by Shinkawa.

In the sequence are several photos taken by hidden camera of Sokolov. He's a middle-aged man, with a tall and thin torso, and wearing glasses. His face has the look of a nervous person (神経質). There is also a photograph of him with his family, his wife and daughter. This is a reference link with something later on in the game. (This family photo is not present in the finished game, it is cut.)

During Snake's parachute descent, if you press the R1 button you can go into first person view. Look up and you'll be able to see that there is a FOX logo on the parachute. This is a sneaking mission, is it alright to have that logo on there? (Laughs)

The first person views are in place to fully make use of the qualities of the real time polygon demos. In MGS3 the cinematic cutscene demos are like always, done with real time polygon demos. As much as possible, we want to make it that during demo playback pressing the first person view button switches to first person view camera. However, first person view camera can not pan. Because of the art composition, motion, effects, performance direction, and continuity connection reasons, like always not all scenes can be made into first person view. Like before, the Right Stick can be used to zoom in. During demo scenes, whether or not the scene can be switched to first person view will be notified to the player by a "主観 Own View" or a "R1" mark at the bottom of the letterbox screen. Only sequences with the mark will be switchable to first person view. Especially the HALO jump and the thick forest scene, the waterfall and river dive, and the alone down the fast turbulant stream scene, the feeling of being in the scene (臨場感) will be enhanced with first person view. Also all the binocular scenes will be first person view able. And all the scenes where The Sorrow appears. (The zoom in function is assigned to the Triangle Button in the finished game, with the Left Stick being pan. The "R1" mark is placed at the top right of the letterbox screen in the finished game.)

The method of attaching a person on a balloon and then retrieving him with an airplane is called the "Fulton Recovery System". The actual usage of this system was a little later than this 1964. Originally we were going to explain it with some artwork, but because it doesn't really matter, we cut it.

Zero : "もしスムースに運ばなければ…夕食だけではなく朝食も、今後の食事はジャングルで取ることになる If the mission isn't carried out smoothly... It won't only be dinner but also breakfast, and all the meals from now on will have to be taken in the jungle." This is a foreshadowing reference to the survival game ahead.

The sneaking mission begins with the usual famous quote "こちらスネーク、待たせたな" ("This is Snake, sorry for the wait"), said by the "Snake" through the ages - 大塚明夫 Ootsuka Akio. This is a sequence with only Akio and 銀河万丈 Ginga Banjyou (v.a. Major Zero, Liquid Snake) acting against each other.

小島秀夫 & 大塚明夫

If you chose "This is my first time in the Metal Gear Solid series", after Snake takes off his mask it will be Snake's own face. Of course I want people to choose "I like MGS2". Also, Snake's actions during this sequence is quite cute. He seems to be in a state of ecstasy before returning to himself and quickly hiding behind a tree. What was he doing? (Laughs)

It is kind of a cheap setting, the clone thing. To make the main character Naked Snake, who Solid is cloned from. The human-made clones, Solid Snake and Liquid Snake. It's like the story of Frankenstein, of man-made man (人造人間), not a living creature that happened in the world naturally. A man-made monster, and that's Solid Snake. On a character perspective, Naked Snake is more full of human feel (人間味) to him. At the time of the Snake Eater mission, he's still too pure, like The Boss said, still filled with the sense of justice. We made his movements and actions, his dialogues and the voice portrayal, more human like, as compared to Solid Snake. He's more sensitive to feelings and pain. Solid Snake is not like that. He is a created monster. Feelings are against his character and personality. He just follows orders. There is this kind of difference in character between the two of them.

In the game world, Solid Snake is Naked Snake's clone. But in the real world, Naked Snake is really Solid Snake's clone, isn't he. (Laughs)

Snake : "俺の名前なら…ジョン・ドゥだ If you're wondering about my name... it's John Doe." Para-Medic : "それでジャックなの？ Is that why it's Jack?" Of course that can't be it. Para-Medic : "まるでネモ船長ね？ Just like Captain Nemo?" He's a character in French novelist Jules Verne's "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea". "Nemo" in Latin means nameless or anonymous. (Jules Gabriel Verne, 1828.2.8 ～ 1905.3.24. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, published 1870.) (In the 1990 Gainax anime series inspired by the Verne novel, "ふしぎの海のナディア Nadia of the Mysterious Sea", Ootsuka Akio was also a voice actor, with his character being Captain Nemo. Other MGS series voice actors also in Nadia include 銀河万丈 Ginga Banjyou (Liquid, Zero), 塩沢兼人 Shiozawa Kaneto (Cyborg Ninja), 井上喜久子 Inoue Kikuko (The Boss, Rose), 藤本譲 Fujimoto Yuzuru (Kenneth Baker), and 堀内賢雄 Horiuchi Kenyuu (Raiden).)

The Virtuous Mission, like its name, it is a VR (virtual) Mission. It is the first mission in the game, it is also there as a practice for the players, a VR mission. Originally in the beginning of the scene, Snake's finger is inserted into the trigger. One of the development staff, Hirano, he said that made Snake look like an amateur. He said for a pro, the finger wouldn't be on the trigger unless preparing to fire. So he changed the position of Snake's finger in the scene on his own. There are a lot of people very fussy about military stuff in our development staff.

If you kill an enemy soldier you get one item. If you make him fall asleep you get two items. If you hold him up you get four items, sometimes even special items. Even though the battle is a lot of fun in this game, it is preferred that you advance without engaging in battles too much.

The MK-22 was also known as the "Hush Puppy". It was modified from the M39 which was the side armament of the American Navy SEALs. It was a pistol used for special operations, such as assassinations. In addition to silencer equippable, its safety can be set with the hammer cocked. The cock and load mechanism makes it capable of immediate action. The "hush puppy" was a kind of fried bread for dogs. This weapon was also referred to as such because it can pacify - meaning eliminate, dogs - meaning enemy soldiers. The gun was officially enlisted into use in 1969. According to historical records, in the year 1964 which is the stage of MGS3, this weapon was not used in actual combat.

When Snake is looking through the binoculars, if you press the R1 button, you can see the hornet's nest above the soldier's head. Release the R1 button at this point to see Snake's face. He is showing a menacing smile. As if saying "I'll shoot down that hornet's nest and surprise that soldier." Let's save here.

The Godzilla fan conversation of Para-Medic was written by Murashyuu (scenario team). The pictures were picked by me, I picked the three most famous Godzilla cuts and put them in the game.

Para-Medic's mention of Godzilla celebrating its 50 years in 2004 is a prediction into the future, and is a reference to "Godzilla FINAL WARS". Para-Medic is a movie otaku. It is our wish that after playing the game, you will want to go out and watch the movies Para-Medic likes. The monster B-movie genre used in the game is not the type of movies I'm interested in though.

When you're at the abandoned factory (Rassvet), break all the windows and stuff. Because when you come here again later, all the windows are already broken. Also if you crawl under the floors, there are rats and snakes there, so make sure to crawl under there. From under the floors, bullets can penetrate through, you can defeat enemies above the floors that way.

When you meet with Sokolov, Snake's camouflage outfit and face paint will be the same as the ones you are currently using. In MGS3, all the polygon demo scenes change according to the camouflage outfit and face paint the player is currently using. Also, this scene was set with the characters all speaking in Russian. In the script it was noted that the dialogues are "in Russian". Ootsuka asked if it's alright to record in Russian. Actually, I had wanted to do all the dialogues in Russian, but in the end we did it like "U571", and took the easy way out Hollywood movie style.

The documents Sokolov is burning are actual early designs and rough sketches, of Shagohod and other things.

Sokolov's single-eye glasses are pretty cool, isn't it. Also, Sokolov is wearing a leather coat, his fashion sense is that of a gentleman. Also, when Snake is speaking over the radio, the way Sokolov looks over at Snake is fun. Because he's a scientist, it is his nature to be extra curious. Also, Snake's pose is worth paying attention to. Because he's not speaking via nanomachines, he has to put his hand to his ear.

The scene of Snake and Sokolov coming out into the open is a scene I like a lot. Snake is trying his best to move while remaining hidden, but Sokolov is just walking normally attracting attention, and after seeing the way Snake is walking, Sokolov mimicks the CQC movements. Among the staff that was referred to as the "Sokolov CQC" (bursts out laughing). This was really a much longer scene, but it was cut (laughs). Also, when the enemy soldier appears for a moment, that was an homage to John Carpenter.

At this time, the KGB and the GRU are not friendly with each other. Also, Ocelot's pose of him doing that finger thing. That was the suggestion of motion actor Kanazawa Tarou (Ocelot). The music is the Macaroni Western style guitar sound of the 60's. (Spaghetti Western in the West.)

Ocelot's technique is called the "装填撃ち" chamber-fill-shooting. Manually filling the first bullet and shooting. This is the newest technique to ensure the filling of the chamber with the first shot. This is where it jammed. Afterwards, you arch the elbow during shooting, to absorb the recoil. It looks like an over-action, but really it is a high level technique. However, blowing the gun after shooting is Ocelot's personal habbit. But the Macaroni Western was born in 1965. Probably influenced by "The Magnificent Seven" (1960)?

In the action sequence we wanted to show the players CQC, even though in the sequence Snake is doing a little more CQC than his regular move sets. This part is like an action movie. To emphasize how powerful CQC is, but not make the scene over the top, took a lot of work. When flipping the enemy, at the instant he hit the ground, we made the sound something like an explosion, to help the graphics in trying to demonstrate the frightening power of CQC. We wanted to get the power of the impact across by using sound.

Snake's line "いいセンスだ" ("You got good senses") is remembered by Ocelot. Tens of years later Ocelot repeats this line to Solid Snake. This is where Ocelot starts to like Snake. Also, if you kill Ocelot here, it will turn into a "Time Paradox" and game over. Don't you think it's a great invention? This system of ending the game if something happens that doesn't connect with the events of MGS and MGS2.

After the abandoned factory, communication with The Boss will be disconnected. If you still try to call her, a "psychic phenomenon" will happen. Snake : "ボス！？ Boss!?" Voice : "悲しい…悲しい… Sorrow... Sorrow..." Snake : "？？？ ???"

The cases The Boss is carrying contain the Davy Crockets. In reality the combined total weight would be around 300 kilograms. The Boss is really strong.

The sound of the bees switches seamlessly into the sound of the helicopter propellers. It's a morphing of sounds. And here we go! The appearance of the Cobra Unit!

Having the helicopter appear out of nowhere seemed really odd, this is something that makes no sense which we often see in movies, where something appears from off-screen and surprises the characters when it makes no sense their existence before entering the screen wouldn't have been noticed. In this case, a helicopter couldn't appear out of nowhere, even if you didn't see it approaching, you must hear it. We tried a trick here, by using bees, and blending the sound of the bees into the sound of the helicopter, we hope the player wouldn't notice the helicopter's sudden appearance being odd. (The surprising appearance that makes no sense scene was present in MGS2 as well, during the Shell 1 Shell 2 Connecting Bridge cutscene, right before Raiden fights the harrier, the harrier's appearance surprising Snake was one.)

Here we see The Boss perform even more extreme CQC moves than we have already seen Snake perform. Also the "field strip" technique of barehandedly disassembling a pistol is also faithfully and authentically performed. Pulling out the pin, stripping the slide... Even though according to Mori (Motosada, military adviser), this kind of thing is impossible in real life (laughs).

We just saw in the previous scene Snake using CQC to neutralize so many enemies, without any trouble. And now faced with The Boss, Snake's CQC becomes completely useless. This shows how strong The Boss is, Snake can't even compare.

The appearance scene of Colonel Volgin. Already he says "Kuwabara kuwabara". That and releasing electricity are his habits. I heard that overseas people call him Colonel Kuwabara. The scars on his face are burnt by himself.

Snake's trademark bandana is really The Boss' bandana. Here is where Snake obtained the bandana. Snake then uses it as a sling, and brings it back with him. And in the main game he uses it as his bandana.

The Boss' words, "流されて行け、私は留まるしかない" ("Be carried away by the drift, I have no other choice but to stay"), those who have seen the ending I think should understand the meaning. It's because The Boss herself couldn't follow the drift of the changing era, but must stay behind to complete the mission. Even in the end, when she tells Snake to kill her, it's the same message. Snake must continue down the path, to follow the drift of the changing era, but she has to die and stay behind, to complete her mission.

The setting is that Snake regains consciousness two hours after falling from the rope bridge and into the river. The sky has darkened because it is later in the day. I don't think this came across all that clearly. During this two hours, the Colonel's men attached the Shagohod to the Hinds, and had just taken off from the ground.

After Snake cures his severe wounds, press R1 and look at the side of the river to see The Sorrow of the Cobra Unit. Actually, this place is where The Sorrow died two years ago. Because he had become a ghost that is tied to the place of his death (地縛霊).

When The Boss reaches out her hand on the helicopter, this was originally where she drops her bandana, and it floats down and reaches Snake. But during motion capture for the fight scene, the motion capture team came up with the suggestion to put this there, so Snake getting the bandana was changed to the fight on the bridge.

Originally we had wanted a bigger transport helicopter to transport the Shagohod, but it made no sense to create a separate model just for this one scene, so we changed it to Hinds instead.

I requested for The Colonel's acting on the Hind to be like Carl Weathers (CIA agent role) in "Predator". Acting overjoyed by the success.

With Tatyana, using the same polygon model but with combed up hair and glasses we wanted to make two persons with different feels to them. But after we made it, no matter how we looked at it, it was just Eva with her hair up, it doesn't look like a different person at all. It's not really what we wanted, but there's nothing we can do about it. It is the same model. In MGS1, Liquid also disguises as Master Miller as a spy, for the player to find out. It's kind of the same thing here, instead it's not for the player to not know, but for the player to already know.

Tatyana's lipstick pistol "Kiss of Death" is a real life spy goods of the 60's. I was told the real thing is displayed in an American spy museum. I was going to visit and look at the real thing, but was not able to in the end. It is very regrettable.

The Colonel's line of not forgetting the Alamo is a reference to the real life person Davy Crocket at the Alamo Fort. The Colonel knows well about the West side. And then comes the nuclear explosion. This time it is a story that begins with a nuclear explosion. Snake also becomes nuclear affected here. And then the title song starts. Like the style of Hollywood movies, the 15 minute opening sequence. Finally, "Snake Eater" begins.