The History of Metal Gear Solid

Metal Gear Solid is one of the most revered game series of all time. A unique blend of stealth, storytelling and style, Hideo Kojima’s tactical espionage action combines a compelling story, inspired direction and philosophical debate with genuine humor, hilarious quirkiness, brilliant boss fights and ingenious design decisions. If there’s another game that involves hiding in a cardboard box, we haven’t played it yet.

But Metal Gear Solid is the Marmite of games. Critics consider it the work of a failed filmmaker, closer to an interactive movie than a game. But fans loved the intricate plot, postmodern twists, and clever stealth. With Snake’s final mission looming ever closer, we took the opportunity to look back at the best and worst of Metal Gear Solid through six major themes.

Still not sure what to expect? Check out the MGS Timeline!

Gear – Metal Gear Begins (MSX & NES, 1987, 1990)

Also: Snake`s Revenge (Unofficial) (NES, 1990)

The first Metal Gear Solid was released in the UK in 1999, but the Metal Gear saga without the “Solid” began in 1987. MSX and NES Metal Gear and its sequel Metal Gear: Solid Snake, released in Japan only on MSX in 1990, introduced Solid Snake, his secret government unit FOXHOUND, and his solo mission to rid the world of the titular mobile tanks with nuclear weapons Bos5000.

Slipping past patrolling enemy soldiers who only attack when they spot you is the height of sophistication.

But it was the unusual concept of a hide-and-seek game that inspired creator Hideo Kojima. In an era of sideways platforming and rudimentary artificial intelligence, slipping through and passing patrolling enemy soldiers who would only attack when they saw you and hunt you when you hid was the height of sophistication.

The plot was also something special, peppered with deception, double-dealing and real shocks. FOXHOUND commander Big Boss was a terrorist leader in the first game and revealed to be Snake’s own father in the sequel, but that didn’t stop Snake from murdering him in an emotional, bittersweet 8-bit finale. Epic and fascinating even in 2D, Metal Gear 1 and 2 remain milestones in video game history. Both can be found as bonuses in MGS3: Subsistence.

Gene – Metal Gear Solid (PSone, 1999)

Also: MGS: VR Missions (1999), MGS: The Twin Snakes (GC, 2003), MGS: Digital Graphic Novel (PSP, 2006)

Twelve years later, Metal Gear Solid has arrived on Sony’s market-leading PlayStation. Snake’s mission was to infiltrate Shadow Moses Island in Alaska and thwart a nuclear attack by FOXHOUND, a rebel force made up of Revolver Ocelot, Vulcan Raven, Sniper Wolf, Psycho Mantis, Decoy Octopus and their mysterious leader, Liquid Snake. But little did Snake and the player know that he was only a vessel for FOXIDE, a deadly virus transmitted by nanomachines in his body and designed to attack the terrorists’ DNA.

It was a huge success. Its top-down view, on-screen enemy radar, 3D gameplay packed with nifty gadgets, and exciting storyline put it beyond anything else in the genre. Metal Gear Solid was a clever game. Eliminating enemy soldiers required meticulous planning and ruthless execution. One wrong move and you found yourself being chased by armed terrorists as a timer excitedly counted down.

And it was imaginative. One boss had to replace the connector on his joypad because he could no longer read minds. Kojima even had players scratching their heads trying to find the radio frequency. “It’s on the box,” he was told. Players then frantically searched Snake’s inventory and the game world. Eventually, they found it in a screenshot on the back of the box of the game itself.

Inspired in design and with a satisfying finish, this was one of the best games of its time.

Metal Gear Solid is one of the few games that encourages players to think beyond the boundaries of its world. It also didn’t shy away from referencing its extensive backstory, which allowed players to continue reading about the events of the old NES game. Few video game stories have as much depth.

Metal Gear Solid’s theme was genetics. In the final act, Snake and Liquid are revealed to be clones of Big Boss, the products of a project to create the perfect soldier called Les Enfants Terrible. Snake, who slipped through the Genome Army (itself optimized for combat by Big Boss’ DNA), eliminated the villain FOXHOUND, defeated Metal Gear Rex, killed his genetically superior twin Liquid (thanks to FOXDIE), and rescued Rex’s designer, Hal “Otacon” Emmerich, and the young soldier Meryl Silverburgh, proved that his own choices and personality mattered more than his genetic legacy.

Metal Gear Solid itself was proof that the PlayStation was a gaming console. It set new standards in production, inspired in design, and ultimately satisfying. It was one of the best games of its time. It was criticized for being short (over 12 hours of playtime, less than 5 if rushed) and for relying heavily on an interactive codec (Snakes In-Ear Radio) to tell the story, but it still had no equal. A PS2 sequel was at the top of everyone’s wish list.

Meme – Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PS2, 2002)Metal Gear Solid 2 on PlayStation 2

Also: MGS2: Substance, (PS2, Xbox, 2004)

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty was hailed as a “killer app” and delayed in the UK to block the Xbox launch, but it turned out to be a controversial successor. What caused a lot of excitement was the fact that Solid Snake, Metal Gear Solid’s tough hero, was replaced by a girly, white-haired Raiden for the majority of the game. Nobody saw that coming.

Furthermore, Kojima didn’t cut the plot with words, confusing it with elaborate codec dialogue, long cutscenes, and crazy scriptwriting, reinforcing what made MGS1 so controversial. Ocelot was grafted with Liquid Snake’s arm, which somehow carried over. FOXHOUND was replaced by another group of super-powered freaks called Dead Cell, one of whom, Vamp, appeared to be immortal. And the drawn-out climax suggested that, in effect, the whole thing had been swept under the rug. Many were confused. Some were disillusioned and vowed to abandon the series for good. It was a shame, because the intermission, Sons of Liberty, was fantastic. First of all, it was full of production quality. With unparalleled graphic detail and a soundtrack by Hollywood’s Harry Gregson-Williams, led by an emotive reworking of the MGS theme. Sons of Liberty is a contradictory game in retrospect, but it’s still a true blockbuster action-adventure.

Gameplay followed suit, too. It was an extrapolation of everything Metal Gear. Refined AI, new heist techniques, and some cleverly designed rooms gave MGS2 a sandbox feel. Lockers, tables, first-person perspectives, and hiding of corpses made sneaking more exciting, but at the same time more open to interpretation. And the Patriots’ Big Brother-esque plot twist recontextualized the entire story.

Everything was bigger with MGS2. It showed that Kojima wasn’t afraid to sacrifice public opinion to pursue his vision. Sons of Liberty is incomprehensible at its most bombastic moments, but at its peak it’s compelling, playable, and surprisingly surreal. In retrospect, it’s a game of contradictions, but it’s still a true blockbuster action-adventure.

It also further developed Kojima’s narrative. Although controversial, playing as Raiden led to a new respect for Snake. This topic also developed and became a meme. Kojima wanted to express that we should choose our own ideas, culture and beliefs and inherit these memes to shape the future.

The story of MGS2 reflected this, with Snake and Liquid’s brother, clone Solidus, becoming terrorists and rebelling against the covert censors of the Patriots who control all of the powers. The Patriots have become a menacing, faceless, oppressive super-enemy that has yet to be defeated, and that’s what makes Metal Gear Solid 4 so fascinating.

Scene – Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PS2, 2005)

Also: MGS3: Subsistence, (PS2, 2006)

The stage was set for an exciting battle between Snake, Liquid and the Patriots, but Kojima instead made a prequel. Set in the Cold War era, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater sees Snake and Liquid’s father Big Boss turn evil in the style of Darth Vader, leading to the events of Metal Gear on the NES. This was Kojima’s Revenge of the Sith.

The themes, the scenes were somehow different. Kojima was researching genes and heredity. He specialized in memes and conveying values. But the scene was about adapting to the here and now. This was also expressed in the gameplay, with Snake adapting to the jungle-like environment by camouflage and eating wild animals. And it was explored in a story about how people, politics and national values ​​change over time.

At the same time, Metal Gear Solid 3 detailed the origins of the Patriots, which would eventually become a political thread. A world depicted by Metal Gear technology and Big Boss himself, who goes by another codename: Naked Snake.

Snake Eater played off the Darth Vader-esque turn of Snake and Liquid’s father Big Boss into evil. This was Kojima’s Revenge of the Sith.

But there were plenty of interruptions. This first quarter of the longest Metal Gear game ever was more than 20 hours of cutscenes and codec dialogue. Healing and feeding menu screens also impacted gameplay. Meanwhile, the jungle offered few places to hide. To be spotted, you had to run between areas (with long loading screens) or hide in foliage for a few minutes. Snake Eater was a grueling process.

But once you got going, MGS3 was a triumph. The 1960s setting made it a low-tech Metal Gear Solid without on-screen radar or high-spec equipment, but it made the story much easier to follow. Snake’s mission to rescue Soviet scientists and destroy nuclear-armed Shagohod tanks (the precursor to the Metal Gear robots) featured a cast of unforgettable characters, including young Ocelot, megalomaniac cyborg Colonel Volgin, femme fatale Eva, and Snake’s mentor, The Boss. Accompanying her was her team, the Cobras.

Aside from a slow start, MGS3’s main criticisms were the lack of depth of the camera and Cobra. The bosses in MGS1 and MGS2 had complex histories, but here they were just boss comrades. Still, they made for some epic battles, and when Subsistence re-released MGS3 the following year with a new free-floating camera and online multiplayer, fans and critics agreed that Metal Gear Solid 3 was yet another poorly-made blockbuster by Kojima.

Small – Handheld Metal Gears (GBA, PSP)

In addition to the famous home system versions, the Metal Gear series has spawned a number of stylish portable spin-offs with varying degrees of success. Here are the portable titles that any true Metal Gear player will want to pursue:

Metal Gear: Ghost Babel (2000): A Game Boy Color title that plays similarly to the original NES Metal Gear, and was renamed simply Metal Gear Solid in the West. Starring Solid Snake, this story was later described by director Kojima as “another sequel to Metal Gear.”

Metal Gear Ac!d 1 & 2 (2005, 2006): Replaced the action of MGS with a turn-based card battle system. Ac!d is not a typical Metal Gear, but it is the biggest cult release among fans of the series.

Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (2007): A scaled-down version of the real MGS game, it is a direct sequel to MGS3, with Naked Snake/Big Boss again as the protagonist, this time in the 1970s when he leads the main characters. The young troupe FOXHOUND is founded.

Portable Ops was the first to feature a squad system, allowing players to recruit soldiers and utilize their unique abilities. It also features Wi-Fi-enabled online multiplayer, which inherited a lot from Subsistence, which was a big success for Sony’s smaller system.

Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus (2008): Portable Ops Plus offered players additional multiplayer content in the form of new characters (including Raiden), new missions and tutorials, and a new single-player component that set the story aside. Focus on randomly generated missions. One for fans of the first game’s online offering.

Sense – Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3, 2008)

Genes, memes and scenes from Metal Gear Solid 1 to 3 were central themes of passing on information to the next generation. MGS1 was genes. MGS2 was memes. MGS3’s scenes explained how the time and place we live in determine the information we see and share. Metal Gear Solid 4’s Sense focuses on how perceptions and emotions influence these decisions.

What we know about Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots makes us very excited. Five years have passed since Sons of Liberty, and Snake’s clone body has aged considerably. His final mission is to stop Liquid, who controls Ocelot’s body, from staging a military coup against the United States, which is secretly controlled by the Patriots.

Snake’s final mission is to stop Liquid Ocelot from staging a military coup against the United States, which is secretly controlled by the Patriots.

MGS4 spans five locations around the world, including the Middle East and a snowy region that looks suspiciously like Shadow Moses from MGS1, where Snake encounters new bosses with familiar codenames: Crying Wolf, Raging Raven, Screaming Mantis, and Laughing Octopus. The final chapter brings together all the remaining stories of the vast ensemble cast, especially Snake who has had a gun put to his mouth multiple times.

The scythe can be seen in Old Snake’s new arsenal. The Solid Eye combines binoculars, thermal imaging and night vision goggles into one multi-purpose visual system. The Octo Cammo suit mimics the appearance of any surface it comes into contact with to hide Snake from view. And the Metal Gear Mk.II can scout ahead and stun enemies, making it an advanced option for eyes, ears and attack.

The new stress and mentality system also makes sense. The explosiveness of MGS4 warzones causes Snake’s stress to surge, increasing his accuracy and damage resistance for a short period of time, but at the cost of eventually breaking his mind and draining his stamina and health. For so many fans, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots will be a fitting finale to the groundbreaking series.

It promises a certain balance, maintained by cigarettes, adult magazines, and a stealthier approach. However, if you want, you can go all out and earn Drebin Points to buy new weapons from MGS4’s weapon cleaner. And of course, the whole thing is framed by spectacular cinematography, impressive sound, and the ability to see flashbacks to previous Metal Gears games.