You either love it or you think it’s a complete mess. Honestly, there isn't much middle ground when you bring up Metal Gear Solid TTS—or The Twin Snakes for the uninitiated—in a room full of Kojima diehards. Released in 2004 for the Nintendo GameCube, it was supposed to be the definitive version of the 1998 PlayStation classic. It had the graphics of Metal Gear Solid 2, re-recorded dialogue, and cutscenes directed by Japanese action filmmaker Ryuhei Kitamura. On paper? A masterpiece. In practice? It’s complicated.
Snake backflips over a missile. Yes, that actually happens. It’s one of those moments where you realize this isn't the gritty, low-poly thriller you played on a CRT TV back in the late nineties. It’s something weirder. Silicon Knights, the team behind Eternal Darkness, handled the heavy lifting here under the watchful eye of Hideo Kojima and Shinkawa-san. They wanted to modernize Shadow Moses. But in doing so, they accidentally broke the game's balance.
The First-Person Problem in Metal Gear Solid TTS
The biggest gripe purists have—and they’re kinda right—is the inclusion of the first-person aiming mechanic. In the original Metal Gear Solid, you were locked into an overhead perspective. You had to time your movements, watch patrol patterns, and feel the claustrophobia of the corridors. Metal Gear Solid 2 introduced the ability to pull up your gun and aim through the eyes of Raiden or Snake, which worked because the levels were designed for it.
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When you drop that mechanic into the 1998 map layout of Metal Gear Solid TTS, the challenge evaporates. Take the Revolver Ocelot boss fight. In the original, it’s a tense game of cat-and-mouse around a room rigged with C4. In the remake? You can just stand in a corner, go into first-person mode, and shoot him in the head. It’s basically a cheesing simulator at that point. The guard AI tries to keep up, but they weren't built to handle a protagonist who can tranquilize them from across a hangar with surgical precision.
This creates a weird dissonance. You're playing a game that looks like a high-budget 2004 blockbuster but plays with the skeleton of a restricted 1998 maze. It feels "off" to people who spent hundreds of hours mastering the PS1 version. Yet, for a newcomer in the mid-2000s, it was the only way to experience the story without squinting at pixelated blobs that were supposed to be faces.
Kitamura, Matrix-style Action, and the Tone Shift
If you’ve seen Versus or Godzilla: Final Wars, you know Ryuhei Kitamura’s style. It’s loud. It’s kinetic. It involves a lot of slow-motion and gravity-defying stunts. When Kojima asked him to direct the cinematics for Metal Gear Solid TTS, Kitamura originally tried to keep them close to the original. Kojima told him no. He wanted Kitamura’s signature flair.
The result is a version of Solid Snake that feels less like a weary soldier and more like a superhero from The Matrix.
- Snake kicks a locker to catch a falling gun.
- He jumps off a flying Hind-D missile.
- The sniper duel with Sniper Wolf becomes a stylized ballet rather than a desperate struggle in the snow.
Some fans argue this ruins the grounded (well, grounded for MGS) atmosphere of the Shadow Moses incident. Others think it’s a blast. If you view the remake as a "legend" being retold—like a movie version of real events—the over-the-top nature starts to make sense. It’s the "Hollywood" version of the 1998 events.
The voice acting also changed. The entire cast came back to re-record their lines because the original PS1 audio wasn't high enough quality for the GameCube's hardware. You can hear the difference. Mei Ling and Naomi Hunter lost their accents. David Hayter’s voice as Snake became much grittier, leaning into the "gravel" tone that would define the character in MGS3 and MGS4. For some, the new performances feel a bit bored or clinical compared to the raw energy of the 1998 sessions recorded in a rug-lined studio.
Technical Prowess and the Nintendo Factor
It’s easy to forget how impressive Metal Gear Solid TTS looked at launch. The GameCube was a powerhouse, and seeing the MGS2 engine applied to the helipad or the nuclear warhead storage building was breathtaking. The textures were sharp. The lighting was moody. It even utilized the GameCube’s unique controller, though the lack of pressure-sensitive buttons (which the PS2 had) meant you had to click the analog stick to aim, which felt clunky.
The game also kept the "Psycho Mantis" fourth-wall breaks, but adapted them for Nintendo fans. If you had Super Smash Bros. Melee or Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker save data on your memory card, Mantis would comment on them. It was a nice touch that showed the developers cared about the platform's ecosystem.
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But let's talk about the music. The original score by the Konami Kukeiha Club is iconic. The "Encounter" theme is the heartbeat of the franchise. In The Twin Snakes, the soundtrack was replaced with a more cinematic, orchestral, but ultimately less memorable score. It lacks the melodic hooks that made the original so haunting. It’s another example of the remake choosing "modern" over "personality."
Is It Still Worth Playing?
Despite the flaws, Metal Gear Solid TTS is a fascinating artifact. It’s a bridge between two eras of Kojima’s career. It’s also incredibly expensive now. Finding a physical copy with the original black-and-silver discs can set you back a couple hundred bucks on the secondary market. Since it has never been ported to modern consoles—likely due to the complex web of rights between Nintendo, Konami, and the now-defunct Silicon Knights—it remains trapped on the GameCube.
If you’re a series veteran, you play it to see the differences. It’s like watching a cover band play your favorite album; the notes are the same, but the soul is different. If you’re a casual fan who can’t stand the "jank" of 1990s controls, this version is undeniably more accessible. You can hang from railings, hide in lockers, and drag bodies—features that wouldn't officially arrive at Shadow Moses until the "Shadow Moses" chapter of Metal Gear Solid 4.
The reality is that Metal Gear Solid TTS isn't a replacement for the original. It’s a companion piece. It’s the flashy, weird, slightly broken cousin of the 1998 masterpiece.
How to approach the game today
If you're looking to dive into this specific version of the story, don't go in expecting a balanced stealth experience. Treat it as a high-octane action game.
- Embrace the Cheese: Don't feel bad about using the first-person view to snipe guards that weren't meant to see you. The game gives you the tools; use them.
- Check the Settings: Adjust the camera sensitivity. The GameCube's C-stick is small and can make the first-person aiming feel twitchy.
- Appreciate the Visuals: Even twenty years later, the art direction holds up. Look at the way the condensation forms on the walls in the cold storage area.
- Source the Hardware: While emulation is an option for many, playing this on an actual GameCube or a Wii with a GameCube controller is the only way to truly feel how the "Z" button and the analog triggers were meant to function.
The legacy of The Twin Snakes is a reminder that "better graphics" don't always mean a "better game." Sometimes the limitations of the hardware define the brilliance of the design. When you remove the limits, you risk losing the tension. But hey, watching Snake kick-flip off a door is still pretty cool.
To get the most out of the experience now, your best bet is to play the original PlayStation version first via the Master Collection Vol. 1. Once you have that baseline of how the game was intended to feel, jump into the GameCube remake. You'll appreciate the bizarre creative choices much more when you can compare them side-by-side to the source material. If you're hunting for a copy, check local retro game stores rather than big auction sites, as prices have spiked recently due to the renewed interest in the MGS franchise.