Kojima explains Metal Gear Rising switch to Platinum

Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima has explained his decision to switch development of Rising from Kojima Productions to Bayonetta creator Platinum Games.

The original Rising, unveiled in 2009, got to the point where the staff no longer knew what the core of the game should be, Andriasang reports.

Kojima believed the project would probably not be completed, and so it was cancelled in secret. Then, Platinum, which expressed its love of the concept, stepped in. The Bayonetta, Anarchy Reigns and Vanquish developer took the half-done game and remade the story.

Over the weekend Konami revealed Metal Gear Solid: Rising had been rebooted and renamed. It is now called Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, and features over-the-top action gameplay. Platinum's Atsushi Inaba is involved, but Hideki Kamiya is not the game director. The director will be announced later.

Following fan reaction to the trailer, Kojima took to Twitter (via Andriasang) to reveal new game details.

Metal Gear Solid Rising was changed to Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance to reflect that this isn't Solid, but is rather being made as a Metal Gear spinoff featuring Raiden as the main character. It is now set after Metal Gear Solid 4.

According to the Kojipro official Twitter: "We've only said that the period setting is several years after MGS4. Metal Gear Rising is not part of the Metal Gear Solid series. At present, we can't say more than this."

Kojima said: "When entrusting the next title to the Kojima Productions staff, I'm always told, 'For the fans, it's no good if it's not the director's Metal Gear.' [The director meaning Kojima.] This isn't the case, though. Saying, 'If it's a spinoff can it bit done?', I entrusted the old Rising to the young staff.

"However, I feel certain that if their Rising had been released to the world, there would have been many people who felt, 'This isn't Metal Gear.'"

Kojima reassured concerned fans that Rising retains the slicing mechanic revealed in its E3 2010 trailer. The original Rising let you slash everything, even things near and far in the background. However, this ended up destroying the game design. The rebooted Rising lets you slash enemies and objects wherever and whenever you want.

Producer Yuji Korekado said: "hardly anything has been removed from the trailer that was shown at E3 2010." The concept of "zandatsu," or "cut" and "take," is still in the game, but to convey the "refreshing and speedy feeling of slashing" things up, they've changed the flow from "Aim, Slash, Take" to "Slash, Slash, Slash, Take".

Meanwhile, Kojima has confirmed Rising will run at 60 frames per second.

"The old Rising that was being prototyped at Kojima Productions looked visually like Metal Gear, but it was 30 frames per second and required complicated controls," he Tweeted (again via Andriasang).

"I made one request of Platinum: a cool Raiden who moves nice and smooth at 60 frames per second."