That being said, it’s still interesting to consider what Metal Gear Rising had looked like if Kojima did stay fully committed to the project, and not began work on Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes. Thankfully, the prolific developer has clued us in to one of his initial development decisions — one that is sure to excite fans about what might have been.
Speaking with IGN about the early development of Revengeance, which at the time was simply called Metal Gear Rising, Kojima reveals that his idea was not to have Raiden at the center of the game’s story but someone else. That someone else is a character we haven’t seen in quite some time, the cyborg ninja Gray Fox (real name Frank Jaegar).
However, as the quote above explains, casting Gray Fox would mean Hideo Kojima would have to be “really committed,” which suggests he doesn’t like when other creative personnel craft stories involving characters he has created. Kojima does, however, want to foster young talent and give complete control to a different development team.
And then that development hit a wall and Platinum Games stepped in, and most importantly Raiden was cemented as the game’s hero. Kojima is still on hand to consult, as we’re sure he was for Kojima’s development, but he ultimately doesn’t control all aspects of the production.
So while it would have been a great treat for fans to play as Gray Fox in a Metal Gear game — something this writer has been dying for the opportunity to do — that isn’t going to happen any time soon. Nevertheless the fact that Kojima still considers Gray Fox a character worth exploring, even starring in a game, suggests he is not done with Jaegar’s story.
Are you disappointed that Gray Fox is not the star of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance? What other Metal Gear games would you like to see star in their own game?
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance releases February 19, 2013 for the PS3 and Xbox 360.
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Source: IGN
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