Although he vowed to never work on one without Kojima, Snake’s Japanese voice actor wants to see another Metal Gear game

The Japanese voice actor of Solid Snake in the Metal Gear Solid games says he thinks Konami should make another one, even if Hideo Kojima isn’t involved.

Prolific voice actor Akio Otsuka – who has been working since the late ’80s and voiced Solid Snake, Naked Snake, Solidus Snake, and Venom Snake in the Metal Gear Solid series – told Japanese publication Bunshun that while he vowed never to work on another Metal Gear game following the departure of Hideo Kojima, he still believes fans should get one.

Otsuka was asked about his working relationship with Kojima, and he expressed his admiration for how he managed to keep working after his split from Konami.

“After Kojima-san left Konami, he must have felt completely lost, right?” he said (via machine translation). There were even projects that weren’t finished yet.

“So he built a small boat called Kojima Productions and set out, facing all sorts of twists and turns along the way. Sony came to his aid, and the game that was finally completed as a result was Death Stranding.

“He went through so many hardships after leaving the company and managed to pull off this massive project. When I think about that, it brings tears to my eyes. After all, we’ve been working together all this time.”

He added: “Kojima is the same age as my younger brother, so he’s just a little younger than me. Since we’ve lived through and grown up in the same era, our mentalities are very similar.

“He’s in a position where he has to lead his team, but he’d left the company to go independent and had no money. I think he was battling the fear of what would happen if  Death Stranding flopped.

“After all, if it failed, he’d easily end up with debts he couldn’t pay off, even if he worked his whole life. It’s only natural to be scared, right? So when it was finished and they announced ‘it’s releasing’, I just burst into tears.”

“Let’s make one more Metal Gear game” for the fans, Otsuka says

Otsuka’s admiration for Kojima led to him previously stating on YouTube show Mori no Su that he never wanted to work on another Metal Gear Solid game if Kojima wasn’t involved in it. In his new interview with Bunshun he appears to be sticking to this.

“Basically, our job as voice actors is to do whatever we’re asked to do,” he explained. “However, when it comes to the Metal Gear series, it’s something Director Kojima created, and I take pride in having helped build it.

“That’s why I said ‘I don’t want to do any Metal Gear that doesn’t involve Director Kojima’. Now that I’ve said it, I can’t back down,” he laughed.

Despite this, Otsuka does still feel that Konami should make another Metal Gear Solid game, even without Kojima’s input, because he feels the fans would like one.

“I really do think so,” he said. “For Metal Gear fans all over the world. There are fans all over the world eagerly waiting for it. So let’s make one more Metal Gear game for them. I figure, since he’s making his own thing with Death Stranding, why not?”

Asked whether he had actually told Kojima about his desire to see a new Metal Gear Solid game, Otsuka laughed and replied: “I’ll leave that to your imagination.”