Cant Say Goodbye to Yesterday is a song. The song. The song in the credits of Metal Gear Solid 2, sure, but also one of the most compelling tracks I’ve heard not just in video games but in media as a whole. And I think there's a reason that whenever this song plays in my playlists I pause to revel in it.
Jack throughout the game is repeatedly met with contradiction after contradiction, information that doesnt make sense with what his superiors tell him, characters who lie and have ulterior motives, just generally put through more and more bizarre situations. But in all of it, his one anchor? Rose. His partner. Even with all of the high octane nonsense of the main plot, when you go to save and Jack has a little chat with Rose he acts entirely differently. While he acts a bit indignant and is fairly dry with the others (this is just his job after all, he makes it very clear he merely sees it as such at least in the beginning) with Rose he is playful. He talks about things like what they should eat together when the missions over, wistfully remember about the time they first met, and of course Jack getting reminded on this “April 30th” date he keeps having fly over his head much to Rose's chagrin.
And occasionally, you'll have those little moments when he and Rose get completely side tracked in a conversation and that's when you hear the track.
The song plays as Jack fondly recalls the day he met Rose, one of the few moments where it seems Raiden recalls something of his past with sincere joy. It plays when Rose talks of Jack always keeping her at a distance and seeing his utterly lifeless room. And it plays when Jack finally reveals the truth of his past and how he can never forgive himself, while Rose pleads she will try her best to support him even while knowing what he's done. And finally, at the very end, it plays when Raiden finally sees Rose in the flesh. After all the lies, from Snake, from the Patriots, from even Rose herself, he finally sees a singular truth that is Rose being there for him.
This song, to me, represents Raiden and Rose of course but also represents the concept of sincerity. The honesty and vulnerability one has to endure to truly, genuinely connect with others. It's hard, uncomfortable, painful even at times. But it is the only way to form genuine relationships with others. It's why it plays simultaneously when Raiden and Rose are at their happiest and their lowest. Sincerity is what allows you to live, not merely a shell of what others have projected onto you, but your true "self", whatever you may come to define that to be.
tangentwithtanner
romaincrisis
theartofmadeline
titsay
turnnoffyourmind
discoholicmusic
gracieabrams
pixelskylines
stormborns
