The June 1987 issues of the Japanese publications MSX Magazine and MSX Fan both contain a two-page ad by Konami featuring what could be the first screenshots of Metal Gear ever released to the public. These screenshots have a few details that differ significantly from the final version.
The HUD in the pre-release screenshots have an oxygen gauge beneath the life gauge that is missing from the finalized game (your health is simply depleted when you're underwater or in a gas-covered room without the proper equipment). As a result, the player's current class was displayed in the middle instead.
The white frames that surround the life gauge, item icons, and weapon icons are missing.
The wire fence on the courtyard of Building No. 1 was originally a wooden fence.
The weapon icon on the same screenshot appears to be an unusual gun that was either changed for the final game or removed entirely.
In 2011, Hideo Kojima revealed portions of original proposals and development documents for the MSX2 versions of Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, as well as the original Snatcher, on Twitter, giving insights on how each game was made.
An early draft of the game dubbed "Version 1" that was dated for the fiscal year 1986 with a red rejection stamp over it. The handwritten note on the cover says that this document was abandoned in favor of a revised draft dubbed "Version 2" on January 7, 1987, which presumably evolved into the finalized game. N313 was the production number of the project, which is referenced in the game as the codename of Snake's mission. Note the alternate title of "Intruder" written next to "Metal Gear".A rejected draft of the title sequence. The logo would've faded into the screen with a palette adjustment. This would've been followed by the words "Metal" and "Gear" sliding a bit upward and downward respectively, leaving shadows where they used to be (much like the logo used on the game's packaging), causing a sound effect to be played. The additional text below the logo would've then appeared into the screen afterward.A hand-drawn map of the first floor of Building No. 1.A handwritten script of the game's codec dialogue. This page contains the first few conversations with Big Boss in the game (including the initial mission objective). They don't seem to differ that much from the finalized script, aside from the fact that the word "CODE" in "OPERATION CODE" on the first conversation was hastily dashed out in favor of "INTRUDE" (which the finalized game uses instead).A handwritten script for the English version. Note the hex variables assigned to certain words.
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