Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eateris, 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’sApe Escapeseries. This Snake vs. Monkey minigame is only available on the original PS2 version ofMetal Gear Solid 3and, 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 thatthe Snake vs. Monkey minigamewill finally make its return inMGS 3’s upcoming multiplatform remake,Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. ThisApe Escapecrossover 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 ofMetal Gear Solid Deltawill have its own, exclusive Snake vs. Bomberman mode. These platform-specific features inMetal Gear Solid Delta:Snake Eaterbear a surprising resemblance to the ones from the hit fighting game,Soulcalibur 2.
MGS Delta’s Platform-Specific Modes Are Similar to Soulcalibur 2’s Exclusive Guest Characters
Bandai Namco’sSoulcaliburseriesis 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, wasSoulcalibur 2. Contrary to its name,Soulcalibur 2was the third entry in theSoulcaliburseries, 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 2was the first game in theseries 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 ofSoulcalibur 2includedHeihachi Mishima from theTekkenfranchise, the Xbox version had the famous antihero Spawn, and the GameCube version, most notably of all, had LinkfromThe Legend of Zeldaseries. The platform-specific guest characters were a major selling point forSoulcalibur 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 asthe PlayStation-only Spider-Man characterin Crystal Dynamics' malignedMarvel’s Avengersgame, there aren’tmanytitles out there that have attempted to do whatSoulcalibur 2did. This is why the platform-specific features inMetal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eaterare particularlynoteworthy. The factthat 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.
LikeMGS Delta, the Xbox and PlayStation versions of 2014’sMetal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroesalso 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.InMetal 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 itsBombermanfranchise with the Xbox-exclusive Snake vs. Bomberman mode.
