Original MSX Metal Gear Recreated in Striking New Fan Animation

Artist Mitchell Hammond releases Metal Gear Snake Returns, an independent animated sequence faithfully adapting Hideo Kojima's 1987 MSX2 original.

Solid Snake has returned to the version of Metal Gear that started it all through a new independent animation from artist Mitchell Hammond. Titled Metal Gear Snake Returns, the project recreates a sequence from Hideo Kojima's original 1987 MSX2 game rather than drawing primarily from the later PlayStation-era Metal Gear Solid titles. The animation follows Snake after his imprisonment, including his escape from the cell, his encounter with the shotgun-wielding Shotmaker and the recovery of his confiscated equipment. Hammond previously attracted attention with the Metal Gear Warhead Activate project in 2024 and has spent roughly two years away from the series before producing this new instalment. The presentation uses detailed comic-book-style artwork while incorporating numerous references to the original game, from environmental layouts to FOXHOUND imagery and even an MSX2 computer appearing among the visual details. Hammond also explicitly states that the project was produced without generative AI. No regular release schedule or promise of a continuing animated series has been announced, although several instalments of Hammond's Metal Gear work are now available. For fans of the franchise's earliest period, the project is particularly interesting because the original MSX games receive far less visual reinterpretation than Metal Gear Solid and its sequels, despite establishing many of the stealth mechanics and characters that defined the later series.