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Kojima: Do you think of him differently after Metal Gear Solid 5 ? (NO SPOILERS)

Justified

Member
My opinion of Kojima has not change. My opinion of his hardcore fans have though.

MGSV (while have excellent game play) was a good, but not great game for me. I dont see how anyone could fault Konami for that after the amount of time and money they gave him.

Im enjoying Mad Max much more the MGSV, so The Witcher is still my GOTY.
 

Zomba13

Member
Absolutely not. The game is truly amazing, and the gameplay is quite literally the most fluid gameplay in all of gaming.

This game is just a different type of Metal Gear that no one was expecting.

People are just misunderstanding the story and characters.

I do agree it got a little thin towards the end but it's nothing that ruined the game for me.

We stil have much to understand.

Kojima is still king.

That made me laugh. Thanks :D
 

CHC

Member
I know he tried but I think of him and MGS in general as past their prime. There was a time when he was capable of some degree of control and self-editing, but MGS4 showed his ridiculous indulgences and MGSV was a showing of those indulgences leading to failure.

Everyone blames Konami, and they are definitely partially to blame, but Kojima frankly failed to make a game that was concise, well-written, and able to exist within the parameters set by the project. I applaud his ambition but he's a bit like a George Lucas at this point.

I look foward to whatever he does next but I think that he is becoming out of touch with the basic mechanics of storytelling and game design - how to characterize, how to setup a conflict, how to wrap things up, etc.
 

Solid Raiden

Neo Member
Absolutely not. I still think he is brilliant despite the missteps in MGSV. MGSV was not what he normally delivers and it's amazing at how brilliant most of the game is for being so far out of his comfort zone. MGSV is still GOTY and will certainly be a GOTG contender. People are putting too much stock into the cut content that they fail to realize just how much game is here. It's kind of funny to read so many people screaming about how they were ripped off and bought an unfinished game with missing content when the content we did get is more than 99% of games out there. How can you put 100+ hours into a game and scream about not getting enough content? It sucks about the cut content but content is cut from most games. They just hide it better.
 

SovanJedi

provides useful feedback
Up until now (and that absolutely includes MGSV) I've thought of him as an overrated game developer and one of the biggest hacks in videogame storytelling, but also a man with a passion for making games and, at least, has a fantastic sense for polished gameplay and thinking out of the box. He'd be an amazing game designer if he just backed the fuck away from trying to chase Hollywood movie making and just made smaller, simpler games again, like Boktai.

I think, in spite of my faults with the man, I am more excited about Kojima now that he's no longer working on Metal Gear. It feels like he's wanted to break away for some time, and now it's time for him to run freely again. I think he has the potential to be an amazing indie dev if he was relinquished of his input on storytelling.

Oh and as for MGSV, I blame most of that on Konami. Well, except for Quiet. That's just him being a pervy old man.
 
My opinion of him as a game developer has fallen greatly after MGS V. The story was dreadful, the open world was barren and unnecessary, and worst of all, the game wasn't even close to being finished. I've played some great games in 2015, but MGS V is not one of them.
 

ZombAid82

Member
My opinion of him changed with MGS2.

I didn't know of him before MGS1. Mags talked him up. Some stupid things in MGS1, but could be chalked up to many things. MGS2 demonstrated his shortcomings. He shouldn't lead a team. No one like should lead a team.

Yes, this excatly!
 

Zomba13

Member
I agree, and I'm really confused by people who are saying that we don't play MGS for the gameplay, before MGS V, the series didn't have the best gameplay in the genre, but the gameplay was solid , entertaining and unique.

for me, the series has always been about the full package: Gameplay, story, boss battles, humor, attention to details and the craziness.

And MGSV has:

Gameplay
Attention to detail (kind of)
Craziness (again, kind of)

It definitely lacks on the story, humour and boss battles though.
 

Purdy

Member
My opinion of Kojima has not change. My opinion of his hardcore fans have though.

MGSV (while have excellent game play) was a good, but not great game for me. I dont see how anyone could fault Konami for that after the amount of time and money they gave him

Assuming your opinion of the hardcore fans has gone down because they supposedly blame konami?

Most of the 'hardcore' fans actually blame Kojima for the games narrative shortcomings, 'hardcore fans' who just pick up the media are in full blame Konami mode.

Nobody knows outside of them who to blame though so its all pointless. The horrid micro transactions are the worst though.
 

Alebrije

Gold Member
MGSV is a great game , but sometimes Kojima uses a lot of purple prose that takes time and ands little to story.
 

Hoje0308

Banned
He finally learned how to make a game that plays well, but doubled down on his teenage sense of sexual edginess. He's a pretty bad writer, in my opinion, but at least past games were bad in a good way. The story in TPP is just awful and, as a director, I can't believe he thought some of those scenes sounded good from a voice acting standpoint. My opinion of him has been in decline since MGS4 and TPP did nothing to change that.
 

Forkball

Member
I recognize him as a great game developer who should have his blood alcohol level tested before he pens the script.
 
Actually I never played any of the previous MGS games. I started with Ground Zeros. Coming into the game (and that starting) I had great expectations of the master story telling (from GAF and the trailers), but I am not sure I see any of that.
 
I think V's issues are 40% on him, 60% on Konami fuckery. He messed up, but at least he probably didn't want the freemium bullshit. Just think he was too interested in experimentation and sacrificed the plot and pacing mostly.
 

Zomba13

Member
I'm 100% sure you don't understand it. I've been dissecting the story piece by piece over on the reddit 'neverbegameover' and there is so much people have missed and don't get.

I suggest you check it out and join us.

Just checked it out and a lot of the topics there seem typical MGS tinfoil hat Kojima the best ultra trickster #TeamCG, Chapter 3 on 9/11 conspiracy theories and reading too much into things.

"You don't understand! That random XOF soldier was just like us!"
"Check out Triangle Soldier, look how interesting he is! Notice he isn't mentioned? Conspiricy!"
 

KJRS_1993

Member
I said that Kojima was a god awful storyteller long before MGSV came out, and after playing the game, that verdict has definitely not changed :p
 

Boogdud

Member
I think Kojima is (and has always been) fantastic at gameplay and action direction, but horrible at writing.

I swear 90% of the story feels like you're watching a fansub run through google translate.
 

Garlador

Member
He's still Kojima...

But MGSV played up some of his worst characteristics and downplayed some of his best, creating a less favorable picture of the man than I'm used to.
 
I've thought of him differently since post-MGS3 (almost started with MGS2 but MGS3 brought me back on board) and nothing he's made since then has changed my opinion for the better. In fact it's only gotten worse. As a game designer there are still things he values that I love, those little details that have become synonymous with "A Hideo Kojima Game" in stealth gameplay and animation, but most of whatever talent I thought I had as a game director and project lead in terms of steering the ship and crafting a compelling whole is all but gone after MGS4, Peace Walker, and MGSV. PW and MGSV in particular bring up such strong feelings of alternating dislike and apathy that I almost can't believe it's the same series. Couldn't even be bothered to finish either game due to how much I didn't enjoy the structure, pacing, boss battle, narrative, and tonal changes. The dry, personalty deprived, grindy, busywork mini-mission, Mother Base heavy approach to MGSV was the straw that broke D-horse's back. Brilliant mechanics/stealth systems sitting on top a mountain of uninteresting, flat, odd game design and narrative decisions. I can only hope whatever he does next brings the spark back. Silent Hills might have been that actually, but it was too good a collaboration for this world.
 

eksy

Banned
I will dearly miss him. The only director who unabashedly has boob/ass camera shots, and any reason for a skimpy outfit. There is not another like him, and I'm hopeful he paves the way for others to not GAF about what prudes think
 
Good game designer, terrible writer
Quite narcissistic

Nope, nothing has changed
Pretty much. I love half the MGS games but the fan base, its hero worship (get it), and the developer's response make me feel weird. Like the FF group, but not Sonic fan territory.

If anything the output post 3 proves, its that he desperately needs an editor. The stories, characters, and lore degraded into self parody at his command- only it's not funny but awful.
 

Justified

Member
Assuming your opinion of the hardcore fans has gone down because they supposedly blame konami?

Most of the 'hardcore' fans actually blame Kojima for the games narrative shortcomings, 'hardcore fans' who just pick up the media are in full blame Konami mode.

Nobody knows outside of them who to blame though so its all pointless. The horrid micro transactions are the worst though.

I will blame both Kojima, and Konami for mismanagement of MGSV, unless the game is as intended to be; in that case I blame Kojima. Whatever the case I think Kojima is the majority "blamee"

He vision, his attention to detail his dedication is second to none, but outside of that I dont know whats going on. Whatever happen between him and Konami I do not think it affected the game, based off what IS there.

The micro-transaction are horrid,I agree, however I dont blame Konami, because that the way the industry is going.

In fact didnt even touch any micro-transaction for me to not like the games, so the inclusion of them doesnt effect my opinion of the game
 
Less of him from a story perspective for sure.

For me it's three strikes you're out, and that's pretty generous.

MGS4 was horrible script and story wise.
Peace Walker was not good, but not as bad as MGS4.
MGSV is as empty as you can get and literally added nothing to the overall game lore. Honestly I say MGS4 was just full on character assassination, but I think MGSV might take the cake considering how fucking bland Snake and Ocelot were.
 

Toa TAK

Banned
I still love him for the great things he's given. MGSV's gameplay is a godsend, even if he told a crappy story with it.
He wins for MGS3 alone.
 
I think less of him.

As a writer, he's been on a steady decline since MGS3, and MGSV is about as rock bottom as he's gotten, in my opinion.

As a game designer, he's also been on a bit of a decline since MGS3. It's really hard to make a good (Rockstar is really the only dev that I'd say is consistently good at it) open world, and Kojima doesn't have what it takes. The gameplay itself is fine. It would've been better utilized in a game consisting of a bunch of smaller, Ground Zeroes type environments, rather than two big, empty maps dotted with outposts and two or three actually decent sized bases. For al the talk about how massive the maps are, they sure do use a lot of impassable mountains to shunt you down specific paths.

Hopefully he's not snatched up by another big publisher. He could stand to have his budget and timeframe cut down substantially. It'd force him to get creative again instead of trying to beat western developers at something they're clearly better at.
 
Yes, i think Konami did the right thing by giving him the boot (im only talking about their decision to fire him).
its fucking embarrassing to think that he spent 5 years and shitton and money and this is what he have to show for it.

- Bad open world.
- Repetitive missions (reminded me of early AC games).
- Laughable story.

At this point im not even acknowledging it as a metal gear game, Rising is my MGS 5.

LOL @ not acknowledging 5 but acknowledging rising, which has a much much much worse story. I can't take gaf seriously sometimes.
 

Macrotus

Member
MGSV definitely had the best gameplay imo.
I'm not talking about the repetitive missions, but the mechanics, AI etc.
But the story/plot were no where near good as MGS1, 3.

It felt unfinished and while I hate Konami forcing the game out (thats how it looked to me), Konami did give him lots of money and time after all and as a director, Kojima had the responsibility to filter out what kind of features he could put in the game or not within that time frame and dev cost.

To me it looked like, he really spent too much time on the little things and forgot to finish one of the core part of the game, which is the story and the maps to go with it.

I have mixed feelings now. I'm still having fun screwing around with the enemy and thats because he put a lot of effort in to gameplay mechanics and of course I wouldn't have been able to play MGS1 or the other sequels if it weren't for him.
 

Eusis

Member
My opinion mainly bombed after beating MGS4 in that I wanted him to just stop with Metal Gear entirely, then recovered a bit when I saw Peace Walker was still a really fun game. So I guess as long as the games were fun I didn't care if the stories weren't as entertaining as they were before, though I did hope for a return to form.

Well, I guess he's free from MGS officially, hopefully he doesn't leave game development entirely and I can see something interesting again from him. Like Snatcher was, but perhaps that was more a product of its time and a greener Kojima.
 
As someone who purchased the limited edition PS4 and was so hyped to play the game I am greatly dissappointed.

This isnt the Metal Gear Finale I envisioned. Weak story, bland empty open world, mission based game structure, missing chapters, F2P mobile wait mechanics and motherbase insurance that actually costs money.

If this was his grand vision for Metal Gear Solid, fuck that I am out. Give me Metal gear solid 4 any day.

He needed to leave the franchise years ago. My hope is Sony Japan hire him and get him to make a new IP
 

ironcreed

Banned
As someone who purchased the limited edition PS4 and was so hyped to play the game I am greatly dissappointed.

This isnt the Metal Gear Finale I envisioned. Weak story, bland empty open world, mission based game structure, missing chapters, F2P mobile wait mechanics and motherbase insurance that actually costs money.

If this was his grand vision for Metal Gear Solid, fuck that I am out. Give me Metal gear solid 4 any day.

He needed to leave the franchise years ago. My hope is Sony Japan hire him and get him to make a new IP

In a nutshell. Well said.
 

valkyre

Member
Good god why would I have a different opinion on him? Even if MGSV was like the worst videogame of all time, would that suddenly make Kojima useless and incompetent?

The negativity is extremely strong these days.

The guy is brilliant. He always was. And people can say what they think about MGSV, but most people at least appreciate and acknowledge the fact that he created one of the best 3rd person gameplays ever to grace the videogame world with V.

I think less of him.

As a writer, he's been on a steady decline since MGS3, and MGSV is about as rock bottom as he's gotten, in my opinion.

As a game designer, he's also been on a bit of a decline since MGS3. It's really hard to make a good (Rockstar is really the only dev that I'd say is consistently good at it) open world, and Kojima doesn't have what it takes. The gameplay itself is fine. It would've been better utilized in a game consisting of a bunch of smaller, Ground Zeroes type environments, rather than two big, empty maps dotted with outposts and two or three actually decent sized bases. For al the talk about how massive the maps are, they sure do use a lot of impassable mountains to shunt you down specific paths.

Hopefully he's not snatched up by another big publisher. He could stand to have his budget and timeframe cut down substantially. It'd force him to get creative again instead of trying to beat western developers at something they're clearly better at.

I have said it many times and its worth saying it over and over again until this is universally acknowledged. Rockstar is GREAT at creating impressive worlds but as far as gameplay goes, GTA games are the most linear shit that exists out there.

Can you approach missions in GTA differently? No. Can you avoid shootouts? No. Do you have to follow a linear path to complete your mission? Yes.

GTA games are immerssive and open world only in concept and when you are freeroaming. The rest of the time, while on missions, its the most linear and repetitive thing that exists in videogames. Take any mission of MGSV and you can complete it in an amazing number of ways and even if you dont follow the missions instructions, the objectives adapt accordingly, providing an experience that always requires you to adapt as well. This si great game design. GTA games are devoid of anything that has to do with variety on how to approach your objectives. Hell you cant even properly stealth in GTA and its supposed to be a mechanic. Let alone the fact that GTA games control like they are coming straight out of 1999... with that god awful player movement in tight spaces and overall poor controls.
 
And MGSV has:

Gameplay
Attention to detail (kind of)
Craziness (again, kind of)

It definitely lacks on the story, humour and boss battles though.

I liked the story, it isn't the best in the series, but I really enjoyed it, the language theme resonated with me. I liked the boss battles in MGS V and the encounters against the skull unit. Humour is lacking? I don't think so. The gameplay is filled with humour: CQCing motherbase soldiers, cadrbox posters,D horse shiting on the rode to make vechiles slip and many more and Kaz's hamburger stuff is great.
 

Shinjica

Member
LOL @ not acknowledging 5 but acknowledging rising, which has a much much much worse story. I can't take gaf seriously sometimes.

Rising was not serious to begin with. A cheap story just to justify you cutting things.

MGSV try to be a serious story failing miserably
 
Yes, I think of him more highly now.

He's shown me he can put aside his crazy focus on a shitty story to focus on great gameplay. Much better then the awful shit that was MGS4.
 

Wagram

Member
Not really. He didn't make a home run for me this time, but he made 4 previous ones that can't be discounted. I feel as if he has become too ambitious for his own good though. Developers work better under strict budget rather than with endless cash flow.
 
Yes, I think of him more highly now.

He's shown me he can put aside his crazy focus on a shitty story to focus on great gameplay. Much better then the awful shit that was MGS4.

What made the Metal Gear Solid franchise unique was its crazy and original story. Everybody bought a Metal Gear game for its story
 

Anth0ny

Member
nope. he's still one of the all time greats this industry has ever seen. I think the game turned out the way it did because konami rushed him and the working condition for him and his team were god awful.
 
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