After earlier confirmation, Death Stranding had a pretty meaty stage presentation at TGS 2018, and though the highlight of the show may have been a short albeit very cool looking trailer, we got tons of info on its development otherwise too, shared mostly by Hideo Kojima and the game’s Japanese voice cast, who were all in attendance. Credit to YouTuber YongYea, who was tweeting updates with new information the entire time (you can find these tweets below).
The question we’re all asking most often is- how far along into development is Death Stranding exactly? (Actually, the question we’re all really asking is when the game will come out, but just ignore that for now). Kojima says development on the game has progressed into the thick of things, with him either being on the controller everyday for playtesting, or supervising things such as the acting performances or the movement in the game.
About the acting performances, that’s where the bulk of information comes from. The Japanese voice cast for the game was recently revealed, and a fair bit of time was spent talking about them on-stage. One of the people confirmed for the game was Kenhiro Tsuda, who Kojima feels is perfect for the Japanese voice of Sam (who’s being played by Norman Reedus in the game’s English version). Kojima was so convinced of this, in fact, that he went around Tsuda’s agent and sent the actor a DM to offer him a role.
Akio Otsuka, who’s been the Japanese voice of Snake in Metal Gear Solid since the very beginning, plays the role of the commanding officer of the organization that Sam is part of- beyond that, neither Otsuka nor Kojima gave any more information about the character, but did hint very heavily that they have something very exciting in store. Otsuka also confirmed that so far only voices for the trailers have been recorded.
Otsuka also talked about how he’s been working on projects with Kojima for over twenty years, and is glad for another opportunity to do so. This sentiment was shared by Kikuko Inoue, who’s given the Japanese voice for several major characters in Metal Gear Solid games- Rosemary, Sunny, The Boss, and Chico. Inoue will be providing the voice for Lindsay Wagner’s character, while the voice for Lea Seydoux’s character will be done by Nana Mizuki (the voice of Paz Ortega in Peace Walker and The Phantom Pain).
Oh, and here’s something else that’s cool- Satoshi Mikami, who was the Japanese actor for Ocelot in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, is giving the Japanese voice of the character in Death Stranding being played by Troy Baker. Troy Baker played Ocelot in the English version of The Phantom Pain– which, Mikami feels, is a cool connection (and I agree). It also looks like Kojima asked Mikami to play the character as a “cool” villain.
Also, Kojima also confirmed that he’s found the person he wants to play the Japanese voice of the character being played by Mads Mikkelsen. Though he won’t be announcing that yet, he feels he’s the perfect fit. Additionally, Kojima also confirmed that though Guillermo del Toro has provided motion capture and his likeness for a character in the game (whom we’ve known about for a long time now), he didn’t actually give the character’s voice. That said, though the character is based on del Toro, Kojima has made him a funny character. Kojima feels he’s probably the funniest character in the game, with Otsuka’s character being next in line for that title.
Kojima was also asked by Tomokazu Sugita, the Japanese voice of Kaz Miller in Metal Gear Solid, and whether the actor will be involved in Death Stranding. Kojima responded by saying that Sugita hasn’t been cast “yet”. Additionally, he also spoke briefly about the release date, mentioning that there is no change on that front- but again, he added a “yet”.
Death Stranding is scheduled for a launch on the PS4, but a release for the game hasn’t yet been confirmed. Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more coverage.
4) Host: How far is DS into development? Kojima: Started by finding an office, finding engine, etc. Now, he's working on game from morning to evening, every day he's on the controller, supervising acting, movement, etc.
— Yong Yea (@YongYea) September 23, 2018
Voice acting:
16) Kojima feels Tsuda is perfect for Sam. Since he sounds like the Japanese voice of Steven MacQueen, he'd be perfect for Sam in Death Stranding.
— Yong Yea (@YongYea) September 23, 2018
18) Kojima feels as though he didn't make a mistake choosing Tsuda. It's as if hearing Norman in Japanese.
— Yong Yea (@YongYea) September 23, 2018
21) PS: Inoue plays Lindsay Wagner's character, Nana plays Lea Seydoux's character.
— Yong Yea (@YongYea) September 23, 2018
36) Mikami (Japanese Ocelot) plays the character acted by Troy Baker (MGSV Ocelot).
Mikami: He's the voice of Ocelot, so we have that connection.
— Yong Yea (@YongYea) September 23, 2018
29) Akio Otsuka: I can't say who I play yet, but…
— Yong Yea (@YongYea) September 23, 2018
30) Kojima: His setting has been confirmed. Host: Can we see it? (Akio Otsuka's character art appears on screen)
— Yong Yea (@YongYea) September 23, 2018
31) Kojima: The new character is the president of the company Sam works for.
— Yong Yea (@YongYea) September 23, 2018
33) Kojima: He's the captain of the same company/agency Sam works with. We can't say who yet but please be excited.
— Yong Yea (@YongYea) September 23, 2018
34) Translator's note: perhaps more appropriate word instead of "captain" is "commanding officer".
— Yong Yea (@YongYea) September 23, 2018
43) Kojima: It's super hard to find someone to voice Mads, but I've found him. I won't say who. I'd offend Mads fans in Japan if I chose wrong, but he's perfect for Mads.
— Yong Yea (@YongYea) September 23, 2018
44) Kojima: Mads's character is a super important role, so keep a lookout soon.
— Yong Yea (@YongYea) September 23, 2018
45) Kojima: We got someone else to voice Del Toro but the mocap is by Del Toro. Akihiko Ishizuku is the voice of Del Toro, mainly an American film dubber. Since he's Del Toro, we want to make him funny and interesting. He speaks the most in the game.
— Yong Yea (@YongYea) September 23, 2018
46) Kojima: Second in line is probably Akio's character (the black mask).
— Yong Yea (@YongYea) September 23, 2018
55) Inoue: Do we have a casting for Sugita (Japanese voice of Kaz)? Kojima: We can't assign a character for him at this time.
Kojima: The release date for Death Stranding hasn't changed… yet. Please wait a bit more for it. Thanks.
— Yong Yea (@YongYea) September 23, 2018
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