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Song: Old Snake
Composer: Harry Gregson-Williams
Game: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3, 2008)
Length: 3:53
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain may be the last Metal Gear game Hideo Kojima will ever direct, but in the complicated chronology of gaming’s most intricate anti-war stealth series, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (as was originally planned for the title) is still the ending. Solid Snake, the charismatic, mostly heroic antihero protagonist from Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, returns to the battlefield one more time to save the world from the new nanomachine infused warfare that’s happening all over the world. Despite his techniques, training, and super soldier genetics, Snake has something hindering his ability to complete this final mission. As he is a clone, he is aging at an accelerated rate, and his body is barely fit for battle. A state-of-the-art camouflage and muscle suit, as well as his knowledge and experience are all that are keeping him going. Old Snake is the theme of the game, and its melancholy and intensity frame the events of the plot, and reflect the state of our deteriorating hero. The most poignant use of the song is during the final boss battle.
**Spoilers from the ending of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots in this paragraph**
In the final fight against series long ambiguous ally/adversary Ocelot, Snake fights him in hand to hand combat. Having just made it through a punishing microwave tunnel, his body and suit are badly damaged. Both soldiers are weary, but determined to defeat the other. When the fight starts, life bars appear for both characters, identical in appearance to the ones from Metal Gear Solid, and the iconic Encounter theme plays. After the first phase of the fight, the life bars change and the music transitions to Tanker Incident from Metal Gear Solid 2. Metal Gear Solid 4 is the finale of the franchise, and Hideo Kojima made the last fight a final tribute to every title by including their music and HUD. Metal Gear Solid 3 is next, with the appropriate health meter and the gloriously cheesy James Bond theme–esque Snake Eater. After Ocelot has been knocked down enough in this phase, it’s time for the MGS4 quarter. Ocelot rises and shouts his borrowed catchphrase as the haunting melody of Old Snake slowly emerges. With only the sounds birds chirping, their own footsteps, tired breathing, and the sorrowful sound of Gregson-Williams’ Old Snake, the age, withered combatants give it their all to end this battle, swinging for the fences with their last bit of energy. (Old Snake begins at 12:31 in the video below)
Many fans believe Metal Gear Solid 4 might be an allegory about Hideo Kojima’s feeling about the series. Since Metal Gear Solid 2, the creator has been saying he’d hope that each game would be his last, because he wished to work on other projects. Solid Snake would be a representation of Kojima, a tired warrior called back to the battlefield one last time. Old Snake as a theme works with this interpretation as well. Starting off with the tired guitar, ramping up into an intense action piece, and ending again quietly with the guitar until rest. The guitar is alone at the end of the composition, and these final notes feel conclusive. Metal Gear Solid 4 is closure for fans of the series, and Old Snake fits it wonderfully. Solid Snake and Kojima have earned their respite.
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Written by ChronoSloth
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Video game reviewer who particularly loves the fourth and fifth generation of consoles. In an exclusive polygamist relationship with Nintendo and PlayStation. Fluent in Al Bhed and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 combo notation. Follow him on Instagram to see lots of pictures of video games.
