MGS5 - "Snake won't really speak much at all. More of a silent protagonist."

Didn't think this would spawn a 13 page thread. Folks following the game have known this for ages, and I thought most of the issues were ironed out.

Regarding Richard Doyle as Big Boss: he got the facial expressions to pull it off:

Doyle would've been GREAT. However Cygan gets my vote. His voice just sounds so strong, commanding and full of authority, even "evil". Unlike Kiefer's, which sounds too soft and lacks character.

And it would even make sense, Solidus being the perfect clone of Big Boss and all.

I mean, just imagine Big Boss' voice in The Phantom Pain like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVzzwZdaEpk&t=886

PURE

PERFECTION.


Don't listen to this raving lunatic. You have a problem and you should seek help. You need the truth, good sir. I can provide it.

Stay away, you heathen!
 
I think the problem with the "big boss has seen some shit" argument is that it would mean that for the first time in probably the entire series a character internalized their pain instead of philosophizing at length about it.

It's just not very Metal Gear.
 
If snake doesn't wax philosophical about cardboard boxes or totally goof off about inane rubbish then I don't know if I can still get behind this
 
Doyle would've been GREAT. However Cygan gets my vote. His voice just sounds so strong, commanding and full of authority, even "evil". Unlike Kiefer's, which sounds too soft and lacks character.

And it would even make sense, Solidus being the perfect clone of Big Boss and all.

I mean, just imagine Big Boss' voice in The Phantom Pain like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVzzwZdaEpk&t=886

PURE

PERFECTION.




Stay away, you heathen!

My man! I've been saying since it was revealed Hayter wouldn't be voicing Big Boss that Cygan would be the perfect fit for the character.

There's an alternate universe out there where we get Solidus voiced Big Boss in MGS5, and there's no "silent protagonist" talk going around.

I very badly wish I lived there.
 
This sounds fucking terrible.

I mean they are good imitations, sure, but it is awful.

It's not a masterpiece, but I think it was pretty good for a fan dub. With better direction, it could've been truly fantastic.

Still, the point still stands, Cygan would've made a PERFECT Big Boss.

My man! I've been saying since it was revealed Hayter wouldn't be voicing Big Boss that Cygan would be the perfect fit for the character.

There's an alternate universe out there where we get Solidus voiced Big Boss in MGS5, and there's no "silent protagonist" talk going around.

I very badly wish I lived there.

I would pay lots of moneys to have DLC for voicetracks from Hayter, Doyle and Cygan.
 
Yeah! His imitations are obviously not perfect, but I loved how he copied them down to the accents and intonation. Brought a smile to my face.

I think that clip just illustrates my point further. It's not the same voice actors but they imitated the original actors and we were able to associate each voice with the particular character because the original performances had idiosyncrasies that made them that character. If someone imitated Sutherlands Ground Zeroes performance I highly doubt anyone would be able to recognise that performance as Big Boss. Simply because Sutherland didn't provide the necessary personality in his performance.
 
I think that clip just illustrates my point further. It's not the same voice actors but they imitated the original actors and we were able to associate each voice with the particular character because the original performances had idiosyncrasies that made them that character. If someone imitated Sutherlands Ground Zeroes performance I highly doubt anyone would be able to recognise that performance as Big Boss. Simply because Sutherland didn't provide the necessary personality in his performance.

Let's be fair, there's barely any dialogue in GZ. I think in the MGSV trailers he's been pretty good. The clip with Quiet is one of the best bits I've seen, it feels professional and has a gravitas I've not seen in MGS before.

Kiefer could end up being terrible, but it is far too early to be jumping to any conclusions. I remain optimistic.
 
Hey, it's less Hayter so it's a step forward

If you don't want to hear Hayter you shouldn't be playing a MGS game IMO.

I'm not a fan of the implications this has for codecs. This is sounding more and more like a fake MGS game.
 
Let's be fair, there's barely any dialogue in GZ. I think in the MGSV trailers he's been pretty good. The clip with Quiet is one of the best bits I've seen, it feels professional and has a gravitas I've not seen in MGS before.

Kiefer could end up being terrible, but it is far too early to be jumping to any conclusions. I remain optimistic.

Robin Atkin Downes was in Peace Walker as well as the clip you mentioned. So are we to believe David Hayter was solely responsible for the lack of "gravitas" of previous MGS entries?
 
I don't like this at all. Snake almost never spoke in MGS4, either, and it led to him just being endlessly monologued at for the entire game and only grunting in return, which is a really shitty way to write a game. That scene at the start of the Afghanistan mission where Ocelot just talks to thin air while Big Boss never once even acknowledges his presence looks and feels extremely unnatural and contrived.

Goddammit, this is supposed to be the point in the MGS saga where Big Boss 'goes bad'. This is the game. If there's any game where BB needs to stand up, take charge and voice some goddamn opinions it's this one. Silent protagonists are fine enough when they're just faceless non-characters following orders for the entire game, but Big Boss is supposed to be a leader. He's supposed to be calling the shots; this is his base and his army and his vendetta. I don't want him just wordlessly moping through a whole game, getting sent on errands by the NPC characters who actually appear to be competent.
 
Hahah people overreacting here. The truth is none of us will know until we play the game how good or bad it will be.
 
This still irks me. Let's take the most recognizable character voices in gaming, replace it with an expensive actor who in no way is known for his voice, and in the end cut a bunch of dialogue to save money.

Sure Hayter is a little cheesy, but he was Snake. Every time I heard Snake speak it brought me back to the way I felt when I first played the MGS1 demo.
 
I don't like this at all. Snake almost never spoke in MGS4, either, and it led to him just being endlessly monologued at for the entire game and only grunting in return, which is a really shitty way to write a game. That scene at the start of the Afghanistan mission where Ocelot just talks to thin air while Big Boss never once even acknowledges his presence looks and feels extremely unnatural and contrived.

Goddammit, this is supposed to be the point in the MGS saga where Big Boss 'goes bad'. This is the game. If there's any game where BB needs to stand up, take charge and voice some goddamn opinions it's this one. Silent protagonists are fine enough when they're just faceless non-characters following orders for the entire game, but Big Boss is supposed to be a leader. He's supposed to be calling the shots; this is his base and his army and his vendetta. I don't want him just wordlessly moping through a whole game, getting sent on errands by the NPC characters who actually appear to be competent.
You can say less and still be coercive. Some would argue that being more silent and selective in your words does make a more dauntless leader. Just look at the Quiet cutscene.

I think the term "silent protagonist" set off a bunch of people in here on the wrong path.
 
I don't really like that idea about a "silent protagonist", I hope we still get interesting and long cutscenes like in previous MGS titles. I didn't just enjoy the gameplay of previous MGS titles but also the cutscenes and dialogues. Probably we will miss the codec calls and some other dialogue features.
Or maybe Snake is indeed Frank Jaeger and not the real Snake according to some theories with interesting evidence...
 
My guess is this is because the game has a very open structure, so the lines would quickly stop making sense depending on which actions you've done earlier. The core story is probably very short.
 
It feels like, in terms of story and character, this is going to be the least 'fun' MGS. Ground Zeroes was pretty bleak in that area too, but the gameplay itself fun and quirky. I wonder if the juxtaposition between serious and silly throughout the series is intentional? Collecting toy Kerotans in the middle of a Cold War espionage adventure sounds wrong... but it felt so right.

As for silent Big Boss and no Hayter, I think Kojima did the right thing. Despite being a clone, Solid Snake is completely different to Big Boss. The former is a rogue with a sense of justice and purpose, the latter is
a psychologically broken tool that murdered his 'mother'.
They are different both in terms of character and ideology, so it makes sense to have a different actor.
 
If you don't want to hear Hayter you shouldn't be playing a MGS game IMO.

I'm not a fan of the implications this has for codecs. This is sounding more and more like a fake MGS game.

I've allways enjoyed Metal Gear for the gameplay rather than the story.
And it's not like I'm going to ignore a franchise I enjoy because of one voice actor.

But Hayter sucks. I'm happy his terrible amateur level of acting is gone and I'm happy Kojima is aiming for more playing and less talking
 
I've allways enjoyed Metal Gear for the gameplay rather than the story.
And it's not like I'm going to ignore a franchise I enjoy because of one voice actor.

But Hayter sucks. I'm happy his terrible amateur level of acting is gone and I'm happy Kojima is aiming for more playing and less talking

Remains to be seen. All this says is Big Boss is talking less. As I said before, I'll believe Kojima magically became a more concise, subdued storyteller when I see it.
 
I don't like this at all. Snake almost never spoke in MGS4, either, and it led to him just being endlessly monologued at for the entire game and only grunting in return, which is a really shitty way to write a game. That scene at the start of the Afghanistan mission where Ocelot just talks to thin air while Big Boss never once even acknowledges his presence looks and feels extremely unnatural and contrived.

Goddammit, this is supposed to be the point in the MGS saga where Big Boss 'goes bad'. This is the game. If there's any game where BB needs to stand up, take charge and voice some goddamn opinions it's this one. Silent protagonists are fine enough when they're just faceless non-characters following orders for the entire game, but Big Boss is supposed to be a leader. He's supposed to be calling the shots; this is his base and his army and his vendetta. I don't want him just wordlessly moping through a whole game, getting sent on errands by the NPC characters who actually appear to be competent.

From what I've seen so far, Big Boss kind of feels like a king, and Ocelot and Miller are his hard-working. chatty advisers and what not. The Quiet cutscene really seems centred around Big Boss's presence earning the command.
 
i don't see why people are blaming sutherland for this.

mgsv is obviously inspired by mad max 2, just like kojima says. with or without sutherland i think it was always going to be like this.
 
My guess is this is because the game has a very open structure, so the lines would quickly stop making sense depending on which actions you've done earlier.

This is a good point, nobody has really talked about how open world will effect the sequence of events and cutscenes in the story.
 
That's basically how it has always come across to me, and so far that notion just seems to keep getting reinforced.

The problem with this is that for future MGS games, what's going to happen? Since Kojipro has burnt their bridges with Hayter and Sutherland is too pricey, are we going to see a mostly silent Snake henceforth?
 
i don't see why people are blaming sutherland for this.

mgsv is obviously inspired by mad max 2, just like kojima says. with or without sutherland i think it was always going to be like this.

Some people are silly enough to think Kojima would write his script based on what Konami would pay Sutherland.

Because it's not like Kojima is a high ranking executive who almost certainly decides his own budget and it's not like Keifer is actually a barely sought actor to begin with and and
 
i don't see why people are blaming sutherland for this.

mgsv is obviously inspired by mad max 2, just like kojima says. with or without sutherland i think it was always going to be like this.

This - and you are correct.

Like it has been stated elsewhere, I find it fascinating that many people here think Kojima wrote the script with Kiefer in mind, even though it has been stated that the decision to make Big Boss speak less was made long before they even hired Kiefer.
 
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

I don't care what the haters said, I loved the long cutscenes & the hilarious codec conversations.
 
better he not say much then just repeat variations of things people constantly exposition his way

Repeat variationsnoighuhguhthroatnoises?

Nah but really, we're just gonna get a ton of

"SO SNAKE, HOW ARE YOU GETTING ALONG WITH THAT ROBOT ARM?"

"........"

"SNAKE, IT'S TIME TO LET THE LEGEND COME BACK TO LIFE"

"............"

"SNAKE, LISTEN TO MY PHILOSOPHICAL MONOLOGUE"

"................."


Wow. Much tortured soul. Many drama.
 
From what I've seen so far, Big Boss kind of feels like a king, and Ocelot and Miller are his hard-working. chatty advisers and what not. The Quiet cutscene really seems centred around Big Boss's presence earning the command.

To me it seems more like Big Boss is a withered old half-dead king and Miller is the devious, scheming adviser who's actually running the show. Like a Theoden/Grima arrangement.

That speech at the end of Peace Walker is the only time I can remember Big Boss actually seeming like the legendary leader he's supposed to be. The rest of the time it seems like he's just an errand boy for Miller. "Boss, I'm going to set up this oil rig for us to use as a base, and handle all the logistics and brainwash all the soldiers you capture and build all the stuff and set up all the missions and do all the research. You just sit there and look pretty".

If it turns out we're just wordlessly following orders from Miller and Ocelot again I'm going to be really disappointed. I can't handle another MGS4. I need Big Boss to fucking raise some objections, express opinions, argue ideologies, say shit. The time for the MGS player character to be a clueless order-follower is over; that writing style no longer fits the story. That Quiet cutscene is good, and that's the kind of thing I want to see more of. The Ocelot briefing scene in Afghanistan is really awkward, though, and comes off like Kojima just didn't give BB any lines in a scene where he should be saying things. I guess we'll have to wait and see how the full game turns out.
 
Remains to be seen. All this says is Big Boss is talking less. As I said before, I'll believe Kojima magically became a more concise, subdued storyteller when I see it.

I play these games precisely because they aren't concise or subdued. That is why this is bad news for me.
 
To me, it already started with MGS4. Weren't nearly as many codec conversations and I love 'em all!
It's irrational, but a part of me still wishes Kojima is fucking with us and is totally playing us like a fiddle!
Keifer could very well still be in the game as a different character though (Ishmael), and THAT I wouldn't mind at all.
 
This is really really disappointing, I can't believe Kojima listened to the people that never liked Metal Gear in the first place.

I hope Kojima is trolling us right now, but with how some people have been begging him to shorten the cutscenes & make MGS less cinematic, it's hard to tell.
 
This still irks me. Let's take the most recognizable character voices in gaming, replace it with an expensive actor who in no way is known for his voice, and in the end cut a bunch of dialogue to save money.

actually he is quite known for his voice. some of his roles have been nothing but voice over for the entire film till the last minute.
 
I'm still hoping for:

Big Boss/Naked Snake = Sutherland

Solid Snake = Hayter

I think lots of us are still hoping for this. It seems pretty clear to me that Kojima will end up remaking Metal Gear 1 & 2 one last time (or at least parts of it) and hopefully when he does, he'll bring back Hayter.

As much as I love Keifer's voice in general, I think the campiness of Hayter's voice is perfect for the silliness of MGS. I imagine Hayter's voice, not Keifer's, in a game where I put balloons on donkeys and launch them into the air.
 
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