In the second part of the interview, David touched on the tragic yet beautiful character that is The Boss from Metal Gear Solid 3. He also goes in to great detail on the differences between the voices of Big Boss, Solid Snake, and Old Snake. At one point he even goes into what he wished we could of seen in regards to the older stories of the Metal Gear franchise.
Peter
Alright, moving on from that. For me, something I hold dear to my heart, one of the characters is The Boss from Metal Gear Solid 3. The voice work was amazing and the character development was amazing. Everything was fantastic about that character with what you find out at the end. Not just because she’s a female, I always say I love that character but not just because she’s a female. I was a young teenager at the time, it actually opened me up to these powerful female characters and it didn’t matter what their genders are. What are your thoughts on that character?
David
Well I agree with you, I think that not only is she a powerful female character but the fact that she’s female doesn’t really enter into it. She’s tougher than Snake, she’s faster than him. If she wasn’t so determined to finish her mission the way she finishes it Snake would never beat her. I always thought that was amazing. I just thought that the writing of it was so clever because Snake who got to know as this ultimate badass was clearly so beneath her. She was clearly the mentor and he was still learning. Every time they had a physical confrontation she was ahead of him. Then Lori Alan’s performance was so commanding and masterful. It wasn’t one these characters where it’s like we’re going to turn a male character into a female character. She’s clearly a woman and a strong woman that’s got a pretty clever complex plan unlike the standard male plan which is just burst in and kill everybody.
Peter
To this day, just that character… someone posted on Twitter asking what was the greatest boss fight and I was like THE BOSS - THE GOAT.
David
Well that final fight with the cherry blossom is just so beautiful and tragic. It is. It’s one of the greatest boss fights. It’s one of the greatest cinematic achievements in any medium I think. The fact that it’s a video game, the fact that it’s technically a boss fight, the fact that she is THE BOSS is pretty ultimate. I agree with you.
Peter
That’s the thing I love about these games, I was so young and they kind of introduced me to feel emotion in a game. Most of the time it was Mario or Zelda but no game has made me feel that way, I think to this day honestly, the way that Metal Gear Solid 3 and 1 did. With Meryl, Meryl died at the end of my first run through of the first Metal Gear and I felt really bad. I was sad.
David
Yeah, well, you gave up on your torture.
Peter
(Laughing) Yes! Exactly. I made myself play through it again once I found out that there was another ending.
David
Right, you want to save her life and then that Sniper Wolf death scene is so tragic and beautiful. My friend Tasia Valenza is amazing and Debi Mae West as Meryl they’re amazing. Of course Christopher Randolph as Otacon is just the beating heart of the whole thing. I agree. I was equally moved.
Peter
Funny story mentioning Christopher Randolph. I listened to Edward Snowden’s audio book, Permanent Record, the guy sounds JUST like him. I had to look it up. I think it would have been fitting for him to read it too but it was not him. It sounded just like him. I couldn’t believe it.
David
Wow. That’s funny.
Josh
I couldn’t agree more about The Boss. I was saying before and Peter would agree, not only is her sacrifice so great and meaningful but it’s literally the ultimate sacrifice. Not just losing her life but also her name is slandered. All her credibility is out the window. She’s dubbed as a villain and no one will ever know. That’s what’s so emotional about her sacrifice there.
David
Yeah, she gives everything for her country. She’s the ultimate patriot and she’ll be branded a traitor. It’s a pretty amazing story. I wish I had written it.
Josh and Peter
(Laughs)
Josh
How in depth are you into the Metal Gear lore. Anything you would of liked to see happen personally? Anything you would have changed in the past titles?
David
I’m pretty steeped in the lore, I was there for most of it. I really loved Solid Snakes ending in Metal Gear 4. I thought that was really tragic and beautiful and sad. I was very happy with the way that ended up. I think it would of been very cool to see Big Boss go up against Solid Snake in Zanzibarland. I never played the NES games. I think it would of been very cool to see Frank Jaeger/ Gray Fox. I think there were a lot aspects in the story they could have gone into the same retro way they did Metal Gear 3.
Josh
I can agree with that 100 percent.
David
Because he’s a clone, it would of been cool to play against myself. (Snake’s voice) To play an older Big Boss against a younger Solid Snake. It would of been a really fun challenge to take on. It’s a shame we didn’t get to see that but we got a lot of Metal Gear out there. I’m not really complaining. It was a pretty good run.
Josh and Peter
(Laughs)
Peter
It was “pretty good.” Did you actually change your voice a little bit for 4 because he was older? Did you try make it gruffier?
David
(Old Snake’s voice) Old Snake. Original Solid Snake is my voice with a little bit of edge to it. (Big Boss’s voice) Big Boss’s was a little gruffer. Depending on where he was in his age. (Old Snake’s voice) But then OId Snake was like this and throughout the game he’s falling apart. His larynx is letting go and it just gets harder and harder for him to talk. That was the concept for Metal Gear 4.
Josh
Jesus.
Peter
We’re all just geeking out here.
Josh
I have a HUGE smile on my face right now.
David
I know. I get so sad when people say he always sounds the same or whatever.
Josh
No I definitely can tell the difference 100 PERCENT.
David
Well that’s really cool, thank you. Yeah, I tried to give him a little different flavor for each time. So in Metal Gear 3 (Big Boss’s voice) He’s the Boss, so he’s edgy, he’s got more gravel to him than Solid but he’s young. He’s on top of the world and he’s just taking things on. He’s going to get messed around with pretty badly. (Big Boss’s voice) By the time he’s doing Peace Walker, It’s you know. Kaz, what are doing? He’s older, he’s beaten down and he’s not quite optimistic. Those were sort of the different voices of Snake.