Metal Gear (Sample, Family Computer)
(Image source: Yahoo! Japan Auctions)
Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima was not happy with the Nintendo Entertainment System port of his stealth action classic. In an interview with Nintendo Power, he said:
“I had absolutely no participation in the development of the NES version. The NES version was a pitiful title developed cheaply and simply by a small team in Tokyo. That was during the bubble economy where anything and everything that was released would sell. I came across the game in a bargain bin and tried play it, but the game design is pretty bad. There is some gameplay that includes infiltrating a base that didn’t exist in the original. However, even I, the developer of the original game, was unable to infiltrate the base even once.
“Furthermore, being Metal Gear, it goes without saying that Metal Gear should make an appearance at the end. However, from what I’ve heard, due to the technically difficulties in displaying the sprite on the screen, they swapped Metal Gear out for a gigantic monitor. That made me see that whoever created the game had no sliver of appreciation for the players. However, even thought it was an abomination, it was during the bubble economy and it sold millions overseas. That title has only soiled my reputation” (link).
(Image source: Yahoo! Japan Auctions)
This Metal Gear sample cartridge sold on Yahoo in June for 14,944 yen (~$185).
Interestingly enough, the buyer used Rinkya, a Japanese deputy service that allows people in other countries like the United States to place bids on Yahoo.
Snake, where are you?
(Image source: Yahoo! Japan Auctions)
This single screenshot of the title screen does not reveal much of anything, as it appears to be identical to the Japanese game. The U.S. version was published by Ultra, a subsidiary of Konami, to circumvent the five game limit that Nintendo had in place at the time. No software restrictions were placed on the Family Computer, so Konami didn’t have to hide behind another name.
