A programming enthusiast and Solid Snake fan shared an interesting video, showing off what appears to be a Metal Gear Solid prototype running on a Sega Saturn.
The video was published by French modder Frogbull, and begins with the Sega Saturn boot screen, followed by the Konami and Konami Computer Entertainment Japan logos. Instead of the original 1998 game’s extensive intro sequence, the video only shows the difficulty options and a brief Codec scene between Snake and the Colonel, before jumping to the opening on the docks. We watch the player explore game mechanics and receive a Codec call, this time from the iconic Segata Sanshiro, Sega’s Japanese mascot.
In the video description, Frogbull shared additional insights. He mentioned rumors of a canceled Metal Gear Solid version for the Saturn following the Dreamcast announcement, challenging doubts about the Sega Saturn’s 3D capabilities relative to the PlayStation. The video sparked debate online, leading Frogbull to invite interested parties to visit his Patreon for more information.
Frogbull clarified that the prototype was developed over months on the XL2’s Z-treme engine and runs on a Sega Saturn emulator via RetroArch, with a CRT shader added. Although he chose not to share the ISO publicly, he expressed the possibility of continuing the project in the future. The authenticity of the video was corroborated by image verification, carried out by homebrew developer Saturn XL2, which confirmed the legitimacy of the prototype, even though it was not tested on real hardware.
Metal Gear Solid was released in 1998, only for the first PlayStation. It even got a remake for GameCube, but the original version was only re-released on later Sony consoles, until the current collection arrived, to bring the classic to PlayStation consoles, Xbox consoles and the Nintendo Switch. Despite Konami working on releases for the Saturn, the game, which would be released for the 3DO and was later moved to the Sony console, never reached the SEGA console.
XL2 also offering support to Frogbull, sharing source code and suggestions, in hopes that the project will evolve.
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