The Kojima fever isn’t over just yet. After yesterday’s “Beyond the Strand” showcase for his upcoming titles OD: Knock, a Death Stranding Anime, and PHYSINT, the time to be a fan of Kojima Productions’ titles has never been better.
But as I stare at his 20-year roadmap, I’m more than excited to see what Hideo Kojima is cooking when it comes to the music choices of his upcoming titles. This man has been responsible for providing me with a new discography of artists after every Hideo Kojima game I play.
So here I am now, talking about each time Hideo Kojima’s good music taste influenced mine as well.
Metal Gear Solid Series
The early Metal Gear Solid games didn’t have many licensed tracks beyond the iconic Snake Eater theme by Cynthia Harrell. Most of the soundtrack was composed by his team of talented composers, with no big-name artists taking center stage.
It wasn’t until Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain that Hideo Kojima started adding licensed tracks from third-party artists, and that’s exactly the moment I fell in love with music players in games. Whenever I boot a main mission in Afghanistan, I make it a habit to queue up one or two songs from the iDroid menu’s music player. When I feel like I could take over an entire base, I’d play Spandau Ballet’s “True.” If I need to catch my breath, I’ll play Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart.” The Phantom Pain’s cassette catalogue offers a variety of choices that harken back to the glory days of the 70s and 80s.
Some of these songs I already knew, but hearing them as I stroll around Mother Base makes them much more memorable. There was even a time I queued up “Gloria” by Laura Branigan and raided a soldier base just for the giggles. I’d say that was a damn good time.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Despite not being a true Hideo Kojima product, Revengeance’s vocal tracks have stayed in my playlist for years. I’d always make an effort to play Sundowner’s “Red Sun” theme or Jetstream Sam’s “The Only Thing I Know For Real” whenever I’m doing chores and other busywork.
It’s one of those games that I really wanted to see getting Remade or Remastered in the near future. I’d be buying it day one as long as they keep its heavy metal soundtrack intact.
Death Stranding
Now this is where I truly appreciated Hideo Kojima’s music taste. Call it glazing, but this man has been responsible for adding fresh tunes to my dated Spotify playlists, mostly filled with shoegaze, dream pop, and indie rock artists.
The first Death Stranding game was an experience I’d never forget. While everyone is calling it a ‘walking simulator,’ I’ve always felt like it was something more. It’s a riveting, meditative experience, and it’s made even better by Kojima’s music choices. I never would have known about the Icelandic indie rock band Low Roar if it weren’t for Kojima’s carefully curated tracks for the game. After I rolled the credits for Sam and BB’s journey, my playlist was already full of Low Roar.
Then came Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, a game that I wholeheartedly enjoyed despite a few setbacks to its story. It’s where Kojima continued to add more licensed music into the mix, even adding artists that I’m already a fan of, like Chairlift’s Caroline Polachek, Glasgow-band CHVRCHES, and Pop Virus singer Gen Hoshino. Perhaps the biggest surprise for me in Death Stranding 2 was his introduction to the band Magnolian, which quickly became one of my favorite indie bands. After hearing their song “Indigo” for the first time, I was in complete awe and immediately headed to Spotify and listened to their entire discography.
Twitter and Instagram Posts
Of course, Kojima is also known for sharing his music tastes across social media. It’s usually songs that I already know and have heard, but the fact that this guy is still expanding his music taste bodes well for me for one obvious reason: I get to hear more from my favorite artists in his future titles. Maybe PHYSINT will feature 90s grunge, or OD: Knock might hide a layer of contemporary pop songs in its soundtrack. Who knows?
That "One Duran Duran Song"
One of the biggest contributions of the internet meme culture is how it successfully gaslit Metal Gear Solid and Kojima fans into believing that Duran Duran’s “Invisible” is part of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain’s soundtrack. This is false, obviously, but this hilarious internet phenomenon never fails to crack me up. It always catches me off guard when I see a random TikTok video talking about it.
Hideo Kojima’s music taste in his games is fantastic. Which is why I always gravitated to his titles, despite many finding them polarizing. His Death Stranding games have expanded my Spotify indie playlists tenfold and introduced me to artists I immediately loved. From one music lover to another, I’d say this parasocial relationship I have with Hideo Kojima is something special.
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