The nightmare dream sequence will probably be changed in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake EaterIn the original release, while sleeping in an enemy detention cell, Naked Snake imagined he was the protagonist of another Konami project, Guy Savage. This action segment had very little introduction, a completely different art style, and no real narrative. But it was very memorable, and some players even kept a separate save game to play more of it.

Early previews have shown that Konami wants to present a familiar game experience as much as possible in MGSD: Snake Eater. Leaving in the nightmare dream in some way would be very entertaining and delight fans of the series. But it makes no sense to showcase a game concept that was scrapped nearly 20 years ago. That vacant space can still be taken by another dream, such as any new prototype Konami can tease.

MGS’s Guy Savage Tease That Never Became A Full Game

It Could Have Been Konami’s Next Big Game

Guy Savage was a potential new game for PlayStation 2. Its inclusion in Metal Gear Solid 3 was meant to be a teaser for a new title. It is unclear if this had been directed by Hideo Kojima or another team at Konami.

Midway through Metal Gear Solid 3’s story, Naked Snake is captured by the main antagonist, GRU Colonel Volgin, and held prisoner within the main fortress of Groznyj Grad. While the GRU confiscates his weapons, Naked Snake can still communicate with his team via his radio. Opting to save the game by calling Para-Medic leads to her talking about the film Dracula. Snake berates her as he has a major fear of vampires.

Under normal circumstances, MGS3 continues as normal. However, if one exits and loads this save game, they will instead find themselves in the world of Guy Savage. They control a dual-wielding swordsman with a short bob cut, long coat, chains, and buckles around his wrists and ankles. He can slash with the swords, jump, dash, and even unleash a spin attack.

An endless wave of zombie-like foes will appear and attack Guy with hook weapons. Defeating enough will empower the player with stronger and faster attacks. The mode only ends if Guy dies. This is immediately followed by a return to Groznyj Grad, where Naked Snake yells at Para-Medic for talking about vampires.

The Guy Savage project was eventually scrapped, though Kojima or Konami never gave a reason, with the former sometimes coyly acting like no such sequence was in MGS3. In the 2023 release of Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol.1, the nightmare was removed entirely, including any mention of Dracula. This makes it even more obvious that Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater will also change things.

Gradius & Zone Of The Enders Were Originally Planned For Snake Eater

Using The Intended Kojima Concepts Is Possible

However, the inclusion of Guy Savage was somewhat last minute. In interviews during the mid-2010s, Hideo Kojima stated that he initially planned for Gradius to show up during the dream in MGS3. This would be very easy to implement into MGSD: Snake Eater, as the gameplay and animations in that shooter tend to be simple. It would fit the game’s original vision, though they would likely need to change which film Para-Medic mentions and Snake’s reaction. This would be a departure as Konami is mainly using old voice clips.

After deciding against the Gradius idea, the next potential dream would have been for Zone of the Enders 3. This is where the Guy Savage project even began, using assets and ideas left over from ZotE3’s engine. But, this is less likely to be the dream featured in MGSD: Snake Eater, as that franchise was another one of Hideo Kojima’s pet projects.

Ape Escape’s Return Or Another Konami Franchise Could Replace The Dream

The Nightmare Can Still Be Playable

Rather than going with the original plan, Konami could also use another franchise and place it in the nightmare of MGSD: Snake Eater. In a bit of a surprise, the latest February 6 release date trailer teased that the Ape Escape monkeys are returning. This will probably be the classic Snake vs Monkey mode, featuring Solid Snake and Colonel Campbell. But it would be an easy change to put a mandatory match on while Naked Snake has a dream.

But, with Para-Medic’s mention of Dracula and vampires, the most obvious Konami IP is Castlevania. Konami could capitalize on the success of the two Netflix series by putting a new demo right in the middle of MGSD: Snake Eater. They haven’t shied away from including characters and skins in other recent titles, such as Dead by Daylight and V Rising. But this would only make sense if a new Castlevania is released in a year or two. If it is too far out, then have a tease in MGSD: Snake Eater may either lose momentum or not represent the finished product.

Snake could fight vampire versions of GRU soldiers using CQC or non-firearms. This would maintain his hatred of vampires without having to build an entirely new set of game assets.

The simplest solution would be to give Naked Snake a skin of Richter, Trevor, or another Belmont. Keep in the dream sequence using Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater’s native gameplay and controls. Snake could fight vampire versions of GRU soldiers using CQC or non-firearms. This would maintain his hatred of vampires without having to build an entirely new set of game assets.