Snake Eater’s composer on its enigmatic lyrics and staying power
polygon.comMusician Norihiko Hibino didn’t have much material to work with when composing “Snake Eater,” the iconic theme song for Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. He had an unfinished script of the game’s story, some early concept art, and the knowledge that Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima really liked James Bond music.
Hibino also knew what Kojima didn’t want for Metal Gear Solid 3’s lead song: the tune originally intended to be the game’s theme, “Don’t Be Afraid.” That composition from fellow former Konami musician Rika Muranaka wound up playing much later in the game.
“[‘Don’t Be Afraid’] was originally the main theme, but it was too quiet and too smooth as a main theme,” Hibino told Polygon in a recent interview. “Mr. Kojima was thinking about a more James Bond-ish style, and since we did not have any more budget for new songs, I came [up with something] myself, writing the music and lyrics. I presented it to Mr. Kojima and he really liked it. That was the beginning.”
Hibino joined Konami in 1999, not out of passion for video games, but for music.
“I really didn’t care about what kind of genre I was gonna work in,” Hibino said, “as long as I could create good music in a good environment. I didn’t even know about Metal Gear until I got into Konami. In the first few weeks there, they asked me to play Metal Gear Solid, the original PlayStation version, and it was so hard for me to clear the game. That was the hardest mission for me.”
Konami hired Hibino to work on Metal Gear Solid’s 2001 sequel and to collaborate with the main composer of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Harry Gregson-Williams. “I could speak English,” Hibino said, “so I was kind of in charge of connecting with those Hollywood studios on how we create the music.”
It was a job, and Konami had something Hibino desperately wanted: the budget to pay for the best music gear and technology. Hibino was used to having access to Pro Tools, Adobe Premiere, and other expensive tech during his studies at Berklee
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