Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is, for the most part, a serious, thought-provoking game, but it does have some light-hearted moments. One such example of this is the game’s Snake vs. Monkey minigame. In this standalone mode, players play as Naked Snake, who is tasked by U.S. Army colonel Roy Campbell to capture a group of monkeys wreaking havoc in the jungles of the Soviet Union. These animals, however, are not normal monkeys, but are instead the apes from Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Ape Escape series. This Snake vs. Monkey minigame is only available on the original PS2 version of Metal Gear Solid 3 and, due to licensing issues, has not been included in any of the game’s subsequent re-releases; that is, until now.
Konami officially confirmed during the February PlayStation State of Play that the Snake vs. Monkey minigame will finally make its return in MGS 3‘s upcoming multiplatform remake, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. This Ape Escape crossover content will, however, only be available in the PlayStation 5 and PC versions of the game, and not the Xbox Series X/S port. Fortunately, though, Xbox players are not going to be left out entirely, because the Xbox version of Metal Gear Solid Delta will have its own, exclusive Snake vs. Bomberman mode. These platform-specific features in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater bear a surprising resemblance to the ones from the hit fighting game, Soulcalibur 2.
Related
Metal Gear Solid Delta Fans Aren’t Happy With Paid DLC Pack
Following the release of a new trailer, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater fans express their concerns over the game’s paid DLC pack.
MGS Delta’s Platform-Specific Modes Are Similar to Soulcalibur 2’s Exclusive Guest Characters
Each Console Version of Soulcalibur 2 Had Its Own Unique Guest Character
Bandai Namco’s Soulcalibur series is not talked about much these days, but back during the 90s and 2000s, it was a staple of the fighting game genre. The one game in the franchise that truly made the franchise popular, though, was Soulcalibur 2. Contrary to its name, Soulcalibur 2 was the third entry in the Soulcalibur series, and one of the only installments to be released on sixth-generation consoles. The game originally came out in arcades in 2002, but it was later ported to PlayStation 2, GameCube, and the original Xbox in 2003.
Soulcalibur 2 was the first game in the series that featured guest characters from other franchises. These particular characters were, interestingly enough, different depending on the platform that players bought the game for. The PlayStation 2 version of Soulcalibur 2 included Heihachi Mishima from the Tekken franchise, the Xbox version had the famous antihero Spawn, and the GameCube version, most notably of all, had Link from The Legend of Zelda series. The platform-specific guest characters were a major selling point for Soulcalibur 2, and Namco made sure to advertise them front and center on the cover arts of the game’s respective console ports.
Platform-Exclusive Content is Rare These Days, Which Makes MGS Delta’s Modes an Outlier
Back during the 2000s, platform-specific features in video games were not uncommon, but these days, they’re increasingly rare. While there are some multiplatform games that have exclusive content on certain consoles, such as the PlayStation-only Spider-Man character in Crystal Dynamics’ maligned Marvel’s Avengers game, there aren’t many titles out there that have attempted to do what Soulcalibur 2 did. This is why the platform-specific features in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater are particularly noteworthy. The fact that Konami decided to give the Xbox and PlayStation versions of the game their own exclusive modes is unusual, but it at least makes each console port special in its own way.
Like MGS Delta, the Xbox and PlayStation versions of 2014’s Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes also had console-exclusive content.
The Console-Exclusive Modes in MGS Delta: Snake Eater Are a Great Marketing Tactic
Some may argue that it’s better for all games to have content parity across the board. Most players, after all, probably do not want to buy several copies of a game to experience everything it has to offer. In Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater’s case, though, the platform-specific features can serve as a great marketing tactic for the game. Konami can take advantage of players’ nostalgia with the PlayStation/PC-exclusive Snake vs. Monkey mode, and it can also promote its Bomberman franchise with the Xbox-exclusive Snake vs. Bomberman mode.
Shooter
Adventure
Stealth
