It was recently revealed that Hideo Kojima, legendary creator of the Metal Gear Solid series, originally wanted none other than the legendary composer Hans Zimmer to create the score of Metal Gear Solid 2, but was unable to hire him due to cost.

It is well known throughout the gaming world that the eccentric director of the Metal Gear Solid series Hideo Kojima is a cinema lover. He regularly reviews movies on his Twitter account and constantly works in references to his favorite films in his games. Knowing that, it should come as no surprise that he wanted to work with one of Hollywood’s most celebrated composers on the sequel to his first 3D outing.

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In a recent interview, series producer Rika Muranaka divulged some details about the Metal Gear Solid series as a whole, but paid special attention to the sequel Metal Gear Solid 2. Muranaka recounted the original game’s more synthetic and mechanical soundtrack. Since the sequel had a bigger budget, the development studio wanted to create more robust audio and even have a fully orchestral score. When the team approached Zimmer about the project, he declined, citing that the payout was not sufficient.

Ultimately, Metal Gear Solid 2 would be shipped with a soundtrack by someone working under Zimmer, a man named Harry Gregson-Williams. Muranaka recalls him being “an upcoming composer,” but he would go on to provide some of the Metal Gear Solid franchise’s most iconic melodies. Gregson-Williams said that he had not considered video games at that time, and he went on to describe the challenges that came with the interactive medium.

While Hideo Kojima has moved on from the Metal Gear Solid series, it is interesting to get a peak behind the curtain at his original vision. Though Hans Zimmer did not contribute a score to Metal Gear Solid 2, he would eventually go on to compose for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, as that game had the budget necessary to entice him.

Though Metal Gear Solid fans missed out on a Zimmer score, the work that Gregson-Williams provided on the series turned out to be exactly what it needed. When Kojima shifted the setting of the series in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, he was influenced in part by Gregson-Williams’s interest in composing something more jungle themed. The series would have no doubt been different under Zimmer’s control, but there is an argument to be made that it would not have been nearly as iconic without Harry Gregson-Williams.

The future of Metal Gear Solid is uncertain, but it is nice to know those involved in creating the series are still able to look back on it so fondly, even if it did not turn out the way they initially expected.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty released for PC, PS2, and Xbox.

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Source: Game Developer