TT Top Five: What We Hope to See from Kojima

By Brandon Fusco,

With Kojima-san now running free without Konami and with his newly minted, independent Kojima Productions, it seems likely that he will stick to his word this time and that The Phantom Pain will be his last Metal Gear Solid game. What does the future hold for such a successful industry icon, and where will his new freedom take him? Here are five things that we hope for from Kojima Productions.

5. Retro-Gear Solid

Kojima isn't the first high profile developer to leave the company that they've called home for an extended period. Both Keiji Inafune and Koji Igarashi have broken away from large publishers before going back to their roots to make games in the style for which they became famous. Much in that way, it would be interesting to see Kojima go back and revisit some of his earlier work. What kind of game would he make if he was pared back down to the core 2D days of the Metal Gear series? Let's just hope he doesn't become the George Lucas of game mechanics.

4. Anime

In an interview recently with IGN, Kojima and his team expressed an interest in expanding beyond the confines of games, citing "animations" as a potential avenue. He's always had a flair for injecting borderline supernatural elements into his games, and the idea of exploring the hidden things that lie just beneath the world we see has long been a popular theme among anime and manga. A hyper-stylized anime with plenty of room to bend your mind seems like a win if Kojima is involved.

3. Pacific Rim Solid

During that same interview, making a jump to some kind of film was also listed as a possibility. Considering Kojima's affinity for cinematic story-telling, this is a no-brainer if he can figure out the finer points of making a movie. Thankfully, he already has a relationship with director Guillermo Del Toro, who is still interested in working with Kojima, be it "a game, a movie, anime". Del Toro himself has a history of both tense, character driven narratives and spectacularly bombastic experiences. Perhaps Kojima could have a hand in Pacific Rim 2?

2. More Cyborg Action

Several years ago, Konami announced that Kojima Productions would be creating a spin-off series from Metal Gear Solid. This game was eventually handed over to PlatinumGames and released as Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Despite being a departure from the main series' stealth based gameplay, it was received well with critics and ended up with a low 80's metacritic score. Discarding what remained of MGS' grounding in reality, Revengeance wasn't afraid to get cartoony with an intense style and nimble gameplay. While it's unlikely that any such game would be tied to the Metal Gear franchise, it would be great to see what Kojima would have done with the franchise, or even just to see the team pair up with PlatinumGames again for a spiritual successor.

1. Silent Towns

The Silent Hills Playable Teaser, despite its brief life, was one of the most exciting return to forms we've seen in a while. It was a great promise to revitalize what had once been a hallmark series in the Survival Horror genre, and its "not cancellation" hit a lot of people quite hard. While the game would almost certainly never bear the Silent Hill title, hopefully Kojima and Del Toro can get together to make something like this happen. Call the game whatever you want, but please bring it back from the dead and scare our pants off.

Honorable Mention: The Phantom Pain 2

There's a simple truth to Kojima's legacy: he's made a beloved and enduring franchise that grew over time. While each person will have their own personal favorite in the Metal Gear Solid series, it's undeniable that The Phantom Pain is a marvel. Considering the small scale and likely the smaller funding of the new Kojima Productions, not to mention the loss of access to the Fox Engine, it doesn't seem like any such game would be possible for them for the foreseeable future. But in an ideal world, Kojima would be able to find a way to expand on the great gameplay freedom and make a sequel to his most recent game.

Whatever comes next for Kojima, the gaming world is already waiting with bated breath. Will it be crazy, or will he surprise us with a simpler and more grounded approach? Let us know your theories below!

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Written by Brandon Fusco

Brandon is an Editor and TGN's Host with the Most. The most what? The most opinions, the most understanding wife, and the most *funny cat videos. Previously Host of the Trophy Talk Podcast. (*Not Verified)