Metal Gear Solid 2: Bande Dessinée (French for "Franco-Belgian graphic novel style") is a digitized version of the Metal Gear Solid: Sons of Liberty comic book released as a DVD Video in Japan on June 12, 2008, the same day Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots was released worldwide. This digital version of the Sons of Liberty comic has been edited to features sound effects, animations, and music in a matter similar to Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel for the PlayStation Portable, only with full voice acting added as well, essentially turning the comic into a movie. The Japanese DVD release includes a second disc containing a redone version of the original Digital Graphic Novel with full voice acting. Both movies was released in a single Blu-ray Video disc as part of The Legacy Collection, added in so the player can get through the story in case they weren't able to actually beat the game. The North American version has been dubbed into English.
Story
- For a detailed overview of the story, see Tanker Incident and Big Shell Incident.
The story is based on the Metal Gear Solid: Sons of Liberty comic which was written by Alex Garner and illustrated by Ashley Wood.
Story differences between the game and Bande Dessinée
- Rather than being shown in full at the beginning, the Tanker Incident of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is portrayed through flashbacks at several points throughout the story.
- Peter Stillman never fakes being unable to walk and never mentions the church bombing that haunted him in the game. He accompanies Raiden to the battle Fatman, and helps distract the mad bomber by throwing him a fake bomb and challenging him to defuse it, allowing Raiden to sneak up on him and knock him unconsious. While Stillman trying to defuse the bomb hidden on Fatman's body, Fatman wakes up and takes Stillman hostage, but Raiden saves him by shooting Fatman in the head, killing him. Stillman later attempts to defuse the C4 found in Strut H, but in doing so activates a second bomb hidden within it with not enough time for him to get away. A video pops up on a nearby monitor of Fatman, who calls out Stillman by name and gloats about how he had the last laugh.
- Several scenes are inserted in which the spirit or persona of Liquid Snake enters Revolver Ocelot's mind and talks with him about how he is able to possess him and why he chooses to. The Sorrow also appears in one of these scenes, and chastizes his son for being so easily controlled.
- During Raiden's torture under Solidus Snake, he experiences a flashback to his past as a child soldier in Liberia that wasn't in the game. Raiden (then known as Jack the Ripper) is shown on his tenth birthday in 1990, cutting off the heads of ten captured Liberian terrorists on Solidus's orders, as the latter's "birthday present" to the former. Raiden also experienced a monologue about how, by that point due to the bleak nature of his situation, he became nihilistic by that age. Colonel Campbell and Rosemary (implied to be manifestations from Raiden's nanomachine base) attempt to tell Raiden that Solidus was lying, while Solidus informs him that this is indeed what happened. It then cuts back to onboard Arsenal Gear, where Solidus noted that Arsenal has a foreign agent onboard, and tells Ocelot to investigate.
- Much more focus is put on Solid Snake, compared to the game where Raiden is at the center of most of the events on Big Shell. Snake is the one to fight Vamp in the purification chamber and escort Emma Emmerich to the computer room, though it is still Raiden who sniped Vamp while he has Emma hostage on the oil fence. Later during the fight atop Federal Hall, Solidus knocks Raiden out. Snake then appears, having failed to follow Liquid Ocelot in the stolen Metal Gear RAY, and challenges Solidus to a sword duel. Snake is victorious, stabbing Solidus and causing him to fall off the roof.
Japanese voice acting changes
Like in the first Digital Graphic Novel, Ikuya Sawaki replaces the late Koji Totani as the voice of Revolver Ocelot. On the other hand, Ryotaro Okiayu reprises his role as Vamp, despite being replaced by film director Shinya Tsukamoto in Metal Gear Solid 4. Kikuko Inoue also voices newscaster Karen Hojo, a character she voiced in Policenauts, in addition to her usual role of Rose. The Sorrow, a character from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, makes an appearance in the comic. He was voiced by Yukitoshi Hori.
English voice acting changes
For the English dub included in The Legacy Collection, several voice actors did not reprise their roles from Metal Gear Solid 2. Rose is voiced by Kari Wahlgren, rather than Lara Cody who voiced her in both Metal Gear Solid 2 and 4. James C. Mathis III, who replaced Greg Eagles as Donald Anderson in the dub of the first Digital Graphic Novel, also replaces him as Peter Stillman. Phil LaMarr replaces Kevin Michael Richardson as Scott Dolph, and H. Richard Greene replaces Paul Lukather as President James Johnson.
Mirroring Metal Gear Solid 4, Ocelot is still voiced by Patric Zimmerman while his body is possessed by Liquid, though Cam Clarke reprises his role in several scenes unique to the comic that show Liquid's spirit or persona communicating with Ocelot. Newscaster Karen Hojo, whose role was cut from the game but restored in the comic, is voiced by Kim Mai Guest, and David Thomas reprises his role as The Sorrow, who originally made his debut in Metal Gear Solid 3.
External links
- Official website (in Japanese only)