Akio Otsuka, the Japanese voice for pretty much every Snake in the Metal Gear Solid series, has said Konami should release a new game in the series, even if Hideo Kojima isn’t involved.
While David Hayter is synonymous with Snake for many, Otsuka perhaps has the most prolific run as the character in the series history. Not only did he – like Hayter – play Solid and Naked Snake, but he also provided the voice for Metal Gear Solid 2’s Solidus Snake (played by John Cygan) and Metal Gear Solid 5’s Venom Snake (played by Kiefer Sutherland). In fact, the only time Otsuka didn’t play Snake in the series was Big Boss’ appearance in Metal Gear Solid 4, where he was fittingly played by Chikao Otsuka – the actor’s father.
Otsuka previously said that he was not interested in returning to the series if Kojima wasn’t somehow involved, but appears to have changed his mind. Speaking to Bunshun (translated via TheGamer), Otsuka admitted he made that comment due to a “sense of pride” for having worked with Kojima, but he thinks Konami should make a new Metal Gear game
“There are Metal Gear fans all over the world, and they have been waiting patiently for it. So, for their sake, let’s make one more Metal Gear,” Otsuka says, noting that since Kojima is “making his own games with Death Stranding, I think, ‘Why not? It’s okay to do it.’ That’s how I feel.”
Otsuka would continue to collaborate with Kojima, providing the Japanese-dubbed voice for Die-Hardman, but when asked if he’d spoken to the director about collaborating again, Otsuka reportedly laughed, saying, “I’ll leave that to your imagination.” Now that Kojima is working on Physint, his own Metal Gear spiritual successor, perhaps it could be a full-circle moment for the duo, although I don’t know that the 66-year-old’s voice coming out of 36-year-old Bill Skarsgård’s character’s mouth would be the most fitting.