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Very few games developers get to become synonymous with a massive global franchise, but Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima reckons the fame isn't all it's cracked up to be.

As the critically acclaimed stealth espionage series celebrates its 25th anniversary, he's spoken with EGM about the downside of being known as the father of Solid Snake. "I'm often misinterpreted," he said. "I've always said that I want to work on original properties, but Metal Gear offers plenty of benefits."

One of those benefits is being able to use the guaranteed sales the series generates to fund new technology, such as the Fox Engine which will power Ground Zeroes, the open world Metal Gear game now in development. "We were only able to develop it because it was intended for the next Metal Gear," Kojima admits.

However, the veteran developer hopes his legacy counts for more. "I'll admit that I hope my future endeavours are thought of as 'works by Hideo Kojima' rather than 'from the creator of Metal Gear," he said. "I haven't really shown the world what else I might be capable of yet. This may sound pretentious, but I don't like being thought of as 'the Metal Gear guy.' There's a lot more I can do."

You can sample one of Kojima's other works in the new Zone of the Enders HD Collection, on sale now for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, as well as revisiting the classic adventures of Solid Snake in the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection. The series next entry will be Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, an action-based spin-off developed by Bayonetta developer Platinum Games under Kojima's watchful eye.