The Video Game With The Biggest Cut Content
The Game With the Biggest Cut Content
Top 10 Biggest Video Game Fails of 2018
Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’re talking about our #1 pick from Top 10 Biggest Cut Content From Video Games. Ladies and gentlemen, the Game With the Biggest Cut Content is none other than “Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain”. We had several other contenders for the number one spot - games that would have played dramatically different than their finished product and could have possibly had their history rewritten. However, “Metal Gear Solid V” had so much going on both before and after its launch in 2015 that we had to give it the top spot. If you’re curious as to what the rest of the ranking consisted of, be sure to check out our list on the Top 10 Biggest Cut Content From Video Games after the video. Anyone who keeps up with gaming news would have a hard time forgetting about what went down in 2015 as it was a rocky year for both series creator Hideo Kojima and publisher Konami. As Kojima and his team were approaching the end of “Phantom Pain’s” development, they were already starting a new game in the “Silent Hill” franchise with Guillermo del Toro and Norman Reedus on board with the project. Once Konami had announced the sudden cancellation of Kojima’s “Silent Hills”, the publisher drew much ire from critics and fans alike. It’s safe to assume that this (along with some restructuring within Konami) sparked the end of a business relationship between the publisher and Kojima Productions. It also didn’t help that speculations had risen in March 2015 about Kojima leaving Konami. To Konami’s credit, “Metal Gear Solid V” was becoming an incredibly expensive game having cost more than eighty million dollars to develop. Given that this cost was revealed in April 2015, you can almost bet your bottom dollar Konami had to spend almost double for the game’s marketing and promotional materials. However, it isn’t difficult for one to sympathize with Kojima and his team as they were given tight deadlines. These deadlines were so strict likely due to Kojima announcing he would be leaving Konami as soon as “Phantom Pain” was finished. With Kojima and crew having to rush through the rest of “Phantom Pain’s” development, how did the supposed final chapter of “Metal Gear Solid” pan out with players? While it was heralded as one of the best games of 2015 due to its incredible stealth-action gameplay and multifaceted missions, the game came with some glaring flaws. The second half of the game, dubbed “Chapter 2” was bloated with recycled missions from earlier in the game, albeit with a modifier like “Don’t get spotted” or “Can’t use weapons”. The final mission in particular was a full redo of the prologue mission with only a few minor differences, made all the more unbearable by it’s slow crawl pacing. Although, the biggest complaint was how the game’s ending failed to resolve particular plot points and left loose ends untied. Because of this, critics deemed the game was shipped unfinished. As for Kojima and Konami, the fallout lasted for an uncomfortably lengthy period of time. It wasn’t enough for Kojima to have left the company in July 2015; Konami proceeded to attempt to scrub Kojima’s name from their IP. Kojima Productions had been removed from anything involving the “Metal Gear”series, and a new “Metal Gear” Twitter account was created in order to expunge any reference to Kojima and Kojima Productions. Despite Kojima making it clear he was leaving, Konami would attempt to cover up the drama by denying his departure and claiming he would still be a part of the franchise in future installments. Some time after these claims, the publisher would block Kojima from attending the 2015 Game Awards. In a way, yes, “Metal Gear Solid V” was shipped in an unfinished state, and that belief only grew stronger when the game’s Collector’s Edition began shipping out to customers. While it was discovered that the game was to feature several more copyrighted songs, cutscenes, and gameplay features, the Collector’s Edition revealed a crucial part of the game that was left on the cutting room floor - Episode 51. This lost segment of the game known as “Kingdom of the Flies” would have addressed Eli’s fate and circled the series back to the first “Metal Gear Solid”. So, now the question that remains is “if Episode 51 had made it in the final build of ‘Phantom Pain’, would it have made a difference?’” The short answer is a resounding yes simply due to how it closes the franchise and solves a few plot holes. However, Episode 51’s rough state raises a few questions. Exactly how far along was Episode 51 in development before its removal? Given that the fallout between Kojima and Konami had lasted roughly half of a year before “Phantom Pain’s” launch, we can easily disregard the notion of the fallout possibly causing its removal. It is likely that by that point, the game had already entered beta and was getting bugs squashed which makes sense considering how long the game is. This brings us to Konami’s statement in August 2016 when the publisher finally acknowledged Episode 51’s existence. Through the Metal Gear Twitter account, Konami clarified that Episode 51 was removed before development was finished, labeling Episode 51 as “additional content”. Despite many articles and forums criticizing the removal and arguing why it should be finished, Konami has insisted that the game’s ending isn’t missing and “Phantom Pain” is not the end of the “Metal Gear” franchise. Yeah, “Survive” really shows how bright the future is! If there’s anything that Episode 51 shows it’s that the “Metal Gear” series will never be the same again. Fans know how the series could have ended, and they seem to have their hearts set on that. Regardless, Konami seems intent on continuing the franchise even if certain aspects don’t make any sense (i.e. “Survive’s” co-op zombie theme). On top of that, we’re faced with the sad truth that Kojima may never work another “Metal Gear” game again; the fallout between him and Konami was too severe, and Kojima seems pretty comfortable with the newly reformed Kojima Productions. Because of the fallout, shady behavior, and failing to understand the IP (again, look at “Survive”), Konami is going to have a lot of resentful eyes watching should they bring “Metal Gear” back again. Whether we’ll get a “Metal Gear Solid 6” or some contrived “Metal Gear: Battle Royale”, one thing’s for certain - Episode 51 would have made “Phantom Pain” a beautiful send-off for Snake. And that’s why we listed “Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain” as the Game With the Biggest Cut Content.
