Key Takeaways
- Hideo Kojima’s favorite song from Metal Gear is “Can’t Say Goodbye to Yesterday” from Metal Gear Solid 2.
- Kojima is known for his handpicked music in games, including memorable tracks like “Heaven’s Divide” and “Snake Eater”.
- Kojima may not return to Metal Gear, but fans should keep an eye out for his PlayStation exclusive espionage game, “Physint”.
Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima has revealed that Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty‘s “Can’t Say Goodbye to Yesterday” is his favorite song from the entire series. The jazz song, performed by Carla White, plays during the end-credits of Metal Gear Solid 2.
Besides featuring Kojima’s prophetic storytelling, games directed by him also often reflect his sophisticated taste in music, and the same is true in Metal Gear‘s case as well. The game industry legend has historically been very involved in curating the music for his games, going as far as handpicking songs for those projects. As a result, when fans usually recall the stealth-action franchise, they also go back to memorable tracks, such as Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater‘s title song and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker‘s “Heaven’s Divide.” While there are multiple songs featured in the series that are popular among players, one particular song from 2001’s Metal Gear Solid 2 apparently ranks the highest on Kojima’s list.
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Despite having a messy breakup with Metal Gear publisher Konami about a decade ago, veteran game director Hideo Kojima still occasionally revisits the time he spent working on Metal Gear titles. In one such instance, on Twitter, he recently shared the story behind the making of “Can’t Say Goodbye to Yesterday,” his favorite song “out of all the music in the Metal Gear Solid series,” which was recorded “well ahead” of the game’s launch. Kojima recapped the arduous process of finding the right voice for the Rika Muranaka-penned track. Talking about how he “pushed hard” for his first choice, he revealed missing out on getting Helen Merrill to perform, due to her age—she was 71 at the time Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty came out. The Japanese gaming icon reminisced going through “5-6 vocalists” before eventually finding “the one,” namely Carla White, when Muranaka shared the American vocalist’s work with Kojima.
Hideo Kojima’s post revealing his favorite pick from the variety of songs featured in the long-running series received several emotional responses from Metal Gear fans. Some users recalled listening to “Can’t Say Goodbye to Yesterday” back in the day, with one of them sharing, “I remember staying up all night, playing the game when my best friend and I were in middle school.” A few different replies acknowledged that the Carla White-performed song suits Metal Gear Solid 2, highlighting how its “somber” mood fits the game’s theme. On the other hand, some fans revealed their own favorite tracks from the world of Metal Gear, including “The Best is Yet to Come” from the original Metal Gear Solid and “Sins of the Father” from Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain.
Even though Kojima may have closed the door on a return to Konami’s IP, it definitely doesn’t look like he’s done with the stealth genre. The Kojima Productions head is currently working on multiple projects, one of which is a PlayStation exclusive espionage game titled “Physint.” Keeping in mind how this could be the closest Kojima gets to making a Metal Gear game again, longtime fans would want to keep an eye out for Physint.
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