Incredible Metal Gear Animation Takes Us Back To Outer Heaven

Earlier this year marked the 35th anniversary of Metal Gear for the MSX, and though we still don't have a remake to speak of, we came across something that might soften the blow.

Scrolling through Twitter, we recently stumbled across the work of New Zealand animator Mitchell Hammond, who has been busy making a fan-animated version of the original Metal Gear over the last few years. According to a tweet by Hammond, when he originally started working on it, he had no intention of ever finishing it, but it eventually became part of a daily routine. And, ever since, he's found his way working through the game's key moments.

In the video embedded below, for instance, we see Solid Snake's initial infiltration of the base, his rescue of Frank Jaeger (the future Gray Fox), and the construction of the TX-55 bipedal tank.

Something that's amazing about this isn't just seeing how certain elements have been transferred over from the original game, but also looking at how Hammond has introduced changes to account for the recent updates to the lore. For instance, in one animation he posted online, we get a closer look at Venom Snake, who we now know was Big Boss in command at the time of the Outer Heaven Uprising, thanks to Metal Gear Solid V.

Hammond has been working on the animation for a while now and judging from his Twitter, things haven't always been easy for him. He's had to contend with people constantly stealing his animations and reuploading them elsewhere. This includes one Brazilian hip-hop artist who used his animations in a music video without his consent. All of this has led him to private most of the videos on his YouTube channel, and switch to posting updates mainly on Twitter.

We recommend following Hammond there to follow his incredible work and to get updates on when it will eventually be finished.

Have you played the original Metal Gear? Comment and let us know your favorite memories from the game!