Hideo Kojima Denounced “dishonest characters” 26 Years Ago but Went Back on His Words in Metal Gear Solid 5

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Hideo Kojima Denounced “dishonest characters” 26 Years Ago but Went Back on His Words in Metal Gear Solid 5

Japanese video game designer Hideo Kojima is a well-respected figure in the gaming industry. He initially gained popularity for his work on 1987’s Metal Gear, laying down the foundation of the beloved Metal Gear franchise we know today. Kojima’s work stands out as he provides players with a unique blend of cinematic techniques with gameplay.

Hideo Kojima created the iconic Metal Gear franchise (Image via Konami)

Kojima is extra careful with his characters and about 26 years ago, he predicted the strategy that many video game developers would use to promote their games. Unfortunately, Kojima also ended up doing the same while working on 2015’s Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, his last game with Konami.

Hideo Kojima explained 26 years ago that he hated “dishonest” characters that are meant to be “visually stimulating“

Shift Up was accused of objectifying Eve to promote Stellar Blade (Image via Shift Up)

We’ve seen many video game developers objectifying their female protagonists in order to promote their video games. About 26 years ago, Hideo Kojima appeared for

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with designer Yoji Shinkawa. During the conversation, Kojima talked about such characters, explaining that he doesn’t approve of them,

Designs that are ‘dishonest’, weird, or that are just meant to be visually stimulating – like female characters with huge busts (laughs) – I don’t like those. I wanted characters who, just from looking at their clothing you’d be able to tell what kind of person they were, and what their motivations were.

Shift Up’s 2024 game, Stellar Blade, is a perfect example of this. The game was praised for its mechanics, visuals, and combat, however, the studio was accused of objectifying the character in order to attract the male audience.

When Kojima made that statement, there was one franchise at the time that was criticized for the portrayal of its female lead: Tomb Raider. In the late 1990s, four Tomb Raider games were released to positive reviews, however, some people believed that Lara Croft’s outfit was solely designed while keeping the male audience in mind.

Hideo Kojima included a “dishonest” character in Metal Gear Solid V

Quiet’s depiction in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain was heavily criticized (Image via Konami)

Although Kojima made it clear that he hates such characters, he went back on his words while designing one particular character for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Quiet, a prominent character in the game, was criticized as many saw it as an overs*xualization of the character. Shortly after the game’s release, it was pointed out the story did not sufficiently justify her outfit choice.

Even the actress who played Quiet, Stefanie Joosten, admitted that the character’s outfit was not practical at all. She stated in an interview with

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,

Quiet’s outfit is not practical at all. Even with the explanation of her breathing through her skin, there were so many other options you could have gone with.

Kojima always hated characters that were added just to be visually stimulating, however, he went on to design a character like that himself. It was strongly believed that Quiet was objectified and used as a selling point, in fact, Kojima himself advertised Quiet’s action figure which featured soft plastic b***sts.

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