“You may be playing the hero in the video game, but what if the girl you were in relationship with called you to ask stuff like, 'Do you like me?' or 'Don't you remember me?' We never had a character like that.”
Kojima defended the design of Rosemary (MGS2, recorded around 2000) as a deliberate provocation: he presented Rose as a seemingly stereotypical woman who nevertheless has a backstory and repeatedly asks about things like April 30 even in the middle of combat, a choice he made on purpose to make her feel real. He accepted the cost that users might find her a bit obnoxious, explaining he wanted the relationship to feel authentic — you may be playing the hero, but the girl you were dating could call and ask whether you like her or whether you remember her — and concluded that at first glance Rosemary seems like a typical Kojima character but actually is not. It was also the period when Kikuko and he became genuine friends.
“Anyways, the character of Rose is a pretty stereotypical woman, right? She actually has a backstory. You know how she keeps asking about, like, April 30th and stuff? She does this even when you're dying in battles. […] But I did that on purpose to make it seem real. […] The users may think she's a bit obnoxious. […] I wanted it to feel real. […] At first glance, Rosemary seems like a typical character of mine, but she actually isn't.”