5 Ways Konami could make a Metal Gear Solid 1 remake work

After years of keeping fans waiting, Konami finally revived its Metal Gear series with Metal Gear Solid Delta last month. It’s already garnered rave reviews, with many praising its improved graphics, loyalty to the original, and superb voice acting, which has largely remained unchanged since the game’s original 2004 release.

However, many fans have been wanting Konami to look into remaking the first Metal Gear Solid from 1998. For many, this was their first entry point into the series, with plenty of iconic gameplay moments and more that defined the series and others since. But as a longtime fan of the series as well, I’ve got five ways how Konami can approach a remake of the title.

The Escapist recaps

• The Metal Gear series began in 1987, with the first entry arriving on NES, MS-DOS, MSX, and other platforms.
• Metal Gear Solid came out in 1998 for the original PlayStation, developed by Konami, and is chronologically the first entry in the whole series.
• The title arguably rebooted the stealth genre, but took it to another level, thanks to the voice acting, music, and much more.
• The remake of the third game, Metal Gear Solid: Delta, came out on August 26 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X, and PC.

Stick to Hideo Kojima’s vision 

Let’s be honest, Metal Gear Solid was Hideo Kojima’s baby and the game that skyrocketed him to superstardom – and rightly so. His controversial exit from Konami makes remaking MGS1 without him a tricky task, but after the success of Delta, it could be done, as long as the developers respect Kojima’s original. 

So a MGS1 remake would need to pay homage to Kojima’s original claustrophobic game world, recreating it loyally and without changing too much for the sake of it. A great example of a game that didn’t stray too far from the original was Resident Evil 2, released in 2019. Despite starting in the streets of Raccoon City, you were soon led to the Police Station, where walking in tight corridors and eventually the sewers stayed true to the original game. 

For MGS1, Shadow Moses was arguably a character in its own right, and a remake should respect that. What made the game so good was the narrative that you were infiltrating a base, and the top-down viewpoint helped with that. But the claustrophobia absolutely made it, from crawling in vents to fighting bosses like Vulcan Raven and Revolver Ocelot. It added to the tension and the realism that you were sneaking around in a base.

For a remake, certain features from recent titles could help add to the claustrophobia. Having a similar over-the-shoulder camera from Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater could help with this, as it could give the player a different viewpoint of Shadow Moses entirely. Even graphical effects, like steam from the vents, ice slowly melting on the walls in some areas, as well as making the outside areas even more vibrant than what appeared in Metal Gear Solid 4, could elevate Shadow Moses into something familiar, but new.

Build on the foundation of the Twin Snakes

Technically, MGS1 already has a remake, the Twin Snakes, which was released on the GameCube, then nowhere else. The game has its detractors, but that doesn’t stop it from being an underrated and faithful remake of the original Metal Gear Solid 1. 

The Twin Snakes used the Sons of Liberty engine to bring quality of life improvements to the game, such as the option to go into first-person, like you could in MGS2 and MGS3, helping it feel like the definitive version of MGS and rounding out the trilogy.

A fresh remake of MGS1 should build on this foundation, but this time, use Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater as a template, modernizing the experience all over again. After all, this remake has already done some of the heavy lifting a second remake would require. 

The Twin Snakes actually holds up rather well in 2025, and it’s a huge shame that it was never remastered or ported to other consoles. A new MGS1 remake could fix this, bringing this legendary experience to a new generation of players. 

Be more meta with the Psycho Mantis fight

One big moment that fans remember from Metal Gear Solid 1 was fighting Psycho Mantis. He would scan your Memory Card and read out games like Castlevania and Super Mario Sunshine. The screen would go black, too, fooling the player into believing the channel had changed. He’s also vibrating the player’s controller on the floor, making it look like he was using telekinesis to move it. 

Mantis could also read Snake’s mind, so he could counter all attacks, making him almost impossible to beat. It wasn’t until the controller was set to port 2 that Mantis couldn’t ‘read’ your every move. All of this was incredibly innovative for its time and redefined what a boss fight could be. Gimmicks like this won’t be effective in 2025, but they could evolve the fight to do other things.

Perhaps have ‘fake’ notifications pop up that mimic those seen on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S|X consoles. Also, instead of switching the controller to another port, perhaps change up the control scheme, and have Mantis look at the achievements you’ve gained so far, instead of your saved games. 

Of course, it depends on whether any of this is possible, but if it is, it would be a fresh way for Mantis to ‘read’ your mind instead of expecting him to just read your game progress.

More VR Missions with Cyborg Ninja

A big part of what helped give MGS1 extra longevity was the initial VR Missions, followed by the full set the following year, released as an expansion pack. Not only would you complete missions with certain weapons and sneak past guards, but you would have to solve mysteries, spot an imposter, and even play as the Ninja. 

Even the updated edition of MGS3 in 2006, called Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, had great additions on its own, like Boss Rush and Snake vs. Monkey. All of these were incredibly fun, but the VR Missions should be included in a remake as a priority. 

They offered plenty of depth to the main game, and it would be great to have additions like a leaderboard, ghost runs to see your friends complete certain missions, and perhaps co-op missions. 

In addition, more than the three levels of playing Ninja would be a great touch, too. Perhaps have these new stages set across Shadow Moses, or even one that pits you against Metal Gear Rex as Ninja, but where you win.

Add a multiplayer mode

Shadow Moses would be the ideal playground for multiplayer, especially for those who grew up playing Metal Gear Solid and have a lot of nostalgia built up. With Delta’s multiplayer mode, ‘Fox Hunt’, set to arrive later this year, a remake of MGS1 could offer an expansion of that in the coming years. 

Imagine modes like cops and robbers, but players take on the roles of soldiers, bosses, and Snake himself, where they try to catch each other. Or there are more common modes like Deathmatch and Capture the Flag, but perhaps it’s a twist on a Cardboard box, instead. Or trying to outsnipe another player on the snowfield! The possibilities are endless. 

The setting of Shadow Moses can work well in multiplayer, as well as the VR missions, but it depends on how Konami approaches it. Nevertheless, it could be a fun addition to the main game that fans may not expect to see.

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References

1. MGS VR Missions (Ninja Mode Complete) (YouTube)
2. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater – FOX HUNT Game Mode Extended Look Trailer (YouTube)