Earlier today, Konami finally did the inevitable. They announced pachislot for Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater which will release later this year in Japan. A pachislot in Japan isn’t a new thing and for the most part it’s quite popular in that part of the world. A Metal Gear Solid pachislot was always on the cards regardless of whatever happened between Hideo Kojima and Konami. The Japan based company always wanted to bring over its franchises to pachislots and Metal Gear Solid is just one of the many entertainment properties that have crossed the bridge. To be honest, this news should not come off as a big surprise given that Konami had already trademarked the words “Big Boss” for pachislot last year.
Regardless, the trailer for the Metal Gear Solid pachislot looks pretty amazing. The game uses in-game cinematics which are rendered in Fox Engine, the same engine that powered last year’s Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain across five different platforms. The trailer features crucial scenes from Metal Gear Solid 3’s ending and it also features extremely high end in-engine cutscene (the hair simulation and lighting being the standout features). Not only that but several bosses form the game such as The Fear, The End and The Sorrow have been intricately rendered as well. To be honest, I am quite amazed at the lengths Konami has gone to market the latest pachislot. Heck, even the lip syncs of Snake and The Boss are perfect.
It almost makes me assume that Konami are secretly working on a Metal Gear Solid 3 Remake something that I would totally buy in a flash. Unfortunately, the reality is sour and in many ways this is a missed opportunity for Konami to redeem themselves. They could have easily invested in a Metal Gear Solid 3 remake and use the profits to fund a main Metal Gear Solid game. Metal Gear Solid 3 is by far one of the best games in the saga which somehow managed to maintain the perfect balance between story and gameplay, unlike the convoluted mess found in Metal Gear Solid 2, 4 and 5. In many ways, it was much more closer to Metal Gear Solid in terms of story telling and gameplay mechanics.
However this is Konami we are talking about, a company that currently does not have anything besides the annual PES series in mainstream gaming. Konami had this chance to reinvent themselves and make amends for the mess they created last year. If they can develop such high end cinematics using the Fox Engine for a mere pachislot, one can only imagine how beautiful a revamped version of Metal Gear Solid 3 will look like.
In fact, one Youtuber actually went ahead and edited the trailer to include lines from the English version of Snake Eater. Take a look at the video below.
Who could have imagined that one day the power of the Fox Engine will be used to develop trailers for a pachinko machine…