Just about two days ago the start of the Lunar New Year occurred, and I along with many others went and celebrated this occasion. My family drove out, had a good meal together, bought a ton of goodies, and watched a dragon dance. A cultural tradition, but with the new year comes a new change. A theme to spice things up, and in the case of the Lunar New Year it’s each year being themed around a different animal. Last year it was the dragon and this year the snake, so why not do something special by reviewing a game containing a snake? THE SNAKE, as we’re checking out a title I’ve been meaning to play for a long time, Metal Gear Solid. Developed by Konami before they went under and directed by Hideo Kojima, an icon of the gaming industry. The first three Metal Gear Solid games are considered some of the best games ever. The earliest stealth games out there which paved the way for the genre and evolved in interesting ways with each entry. The original Metal Gear Solid specifically kick started the genre alongside the first Thief and Tenchu back in 1998 on the original PlayStation. It wasn’t the first Metal Gear game to be made, but it was the starting point of Hideo Kojima’s massive blastoff towards success.
The first two Metal Gear games were NES games more focused around action and exploration rather than stealth. There was stealth, but technical limitations at the time prevented developers from creating a lot of the dynamic systems and mechanics we see now in stealth. That and the first two games were so mid that it could’ve honestly led to the death of the franchise, but they didn’t. Konami stuck around with Metal Gear and when video game tech started getting better Kojima decided to push it to the brink. Creating not only a revolutionary game for its time but also testing what a video game can be. Not saying video games back then weren’t art, but trying to communicate a message to its players. Explore real world themes, ideas, politics, and criticize a lot of the rules and standards modern day society lives with even today. Metal Gear Solid was ahead of its time not because of how it set up the stealth formula, but what it managed to say and do.
I’ve always respected the Metal Gear Solid franchise and Hideo Kojima. Some of his ideas may be a bit whack, but he’s a creative auteur and I respect folks who have the guts to explore touchy themes. However, the only games I’ve played from Hideo Kojima were Metal Gear Solid 5 and Death Stranding. I reviewed those games a very long time ago, but since then I’ve grown further appreciation for them. The Phantom Pain had some of the most gut wrenching depictions of war I’ve seen since Spec Ops: The Line, and Death Stranding is an experience I never stop thinking about. One of few games to emotionally move me with the protagonist’s journey and make me cry by the end. Always wanted to play the earlier Metal Gear Solid games, but if it’s anything we’ve learned is that major game companies do a pretty bad job with video game preservation. Often making it difficult for fans to acquire copies of the older titles. Which then leads to a large margins resorting to emulation, but that has risks to it in the form of laws. Almost two years ago though Konami put out the Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection. Modern ports of the first three games. Probably to make up to the embarrassment that was Metal Gear Survive in 2018.
Now the master collection has received a lot of criticism from fans of Metal Gear Solid. They’re not the greatest ports in the world, they charged sixty dollars for two decade old games in 2023, and there were a fair share of bugs at launch from what I’ve heard. Even someone who hasn’t played these games isn't quite sure if this is the best way to experience those first three games, but again I’ve never played these games and for me this is the best legal option for me to play them for the first time. Got the collection during a sale and finally got around to playing the first game. Metal Gear Solid was a game I would constantly hop in and out of. It being an older game meaning it has some strange moments, and sometimes I would quit because it was either boring or frustrating. I forced myself to sit down and beat the entirety of it recently and I can safely say that it’s still a pretty darn good game. Not entirely timeless, but one that left a strong impression on me and has gotten me excited to see how future entries have improved since then. So that’s what we’re here to do today. Let’s discuss why Metal Gear Solid is the beloved classic it is.
Story
The year is 2005, and war is about to break unless an elite US government agent is sent to stop it. You are Solid Snake and you’re the best infiltrator the US has on offer. Having trained all your life to become what you are now, fighting in several past wars, and being given high tech gear to make each mission an astounding success. Snake gets called on a new mission and this one just might be the fiercest one yet. Sneak into an island named Shadow Moses and reclaim the assets stolen by the US military. Guarding the island is an elite force named FOXHOUND, and they have threatened to use a giant robot they acquired called REX unless they are given the remains of one of the greatest soldiers who ever lived, Big Boss. REX is one of few Metal Gears to be developed by the government in the case of war where it gets extremely bad between them and a rival country, and they need an easier way to transport and fire off nuclear armaments. Those are the goals of FOXHOUND, but it’s unclear what else they have planned to do with REX. Not wanting to see World War III happen they send Snake, and once he manages to sneak into enemy territory he locates two hostages he was told about. The DARPA Chief and ArmsTech president.
Both individuals explain to Solid Snake how REX works. What dangers it is capable of creating and why it’s important for him to either destroy or reclaim the robot. REX cannot be activated as of right now as FOXHOUND lacks the tools needed to get it working under their command. The two individuals die of mysterious heart attacks, which leads Snake to sneaking further into the treacherous ground of Shadow Moses. Learn more about FOXHOUND and what they plan, try to stop each of their key members, figure out who is in charge, stop them as well, and save the day once again. Snake will make unlikely allies on this journey and he may even learn more about the government he works for. The horrors they have been planning and what their original intentions were with Metal Gear REX.
Good luck Snake.
Gameplay
Being one of the first of its kind, Metal Gear Solid is a top down stealth game where you sneak past enemies, explore the environment, unlock new gear that lets you progress forward, and try to meet whatever objective is on hand. Stealth is self explanatory as every video game has stealth now. Avoid an enemy’s line of sight, because if you get spotted they’ll alert other guards and try to kill you. If you do get spotted by a patrolling guard the best thing to do is fight back if needed, retreat, go into hiding, and stay out of sight for a short period of time until enemies stop pursuing you. Dying leads to a game over and forces you to start from the beginning of a room, which you don’t want and that’s why you should be sneaking around in the first place. You can hide behind cover or crawl beneath small spaces. You also have a radar that notifies you of enemies and any cameras ahead, and their field of vision. Allowing you to predict patrol roots, see things off screen, and now where you shouldn’t and should be so you don’t get spotted more easily.
This isn’t to say stealth is your only option. You can use melee attacks as a last resort in the hope of knocking out foes, and if not then the assortment of guns you may unlock through carefully exploring the environment and checking rooms. The first you get is a pistol and later on you can pick up a silencer. An assault rifle, a sniper rifle, remote control rocket launcher, and a heavy power rocket launcher with heat seeker missiles. There’s also a variety of explosives to throw and place like grenades, C4 for remote detonation, mines, and this one grenade to deactivate any cameras. Finally you have equipment which can help you during certain occasions if you know how they work. Thermal goggles, night vision goggles, body armor, mine detectors, and rations to heal up when low on health. Progress far enough and eventually you’ll run into a boss. One of many FOXHOUND elites who possess unique skills to utilize in the battlefield. Each boss has a unique gimmick to them whether that be shooting a projectile that ricochets off the wall, turning invisible, or fighting from a distance you can’t reach. The best course of action is to use the tools you have unlocked and try to work around the uneven playing field. Rig the game that is working against you, and soon enough you will get it. Besides that there’s really nothing else for me to say besides my overall opinion. It’s an early stealth game, so the basis here is simple. Let’s just hope you can stop this operation from happening and prevent World War III.
Thoughts
The original Metal Gear Solid is a phenomenal classic I found myself getting turned on and off from constantly. There’s a couple things that didn’t age well with it and at times it frustrated me, but I kept finding myself coming back to it until I rolled credits. It’s a product of its time, but you can appreciate what it managed to do for a 1998 title. Especially for one of the first stealth titles of its time. The stealth and the mechanics work quite well even today. Metal Gear Solid rewards players who play cautiously and take their time. Sneaking from cover to cover, checking what lies ahead, observing their environment, using the radar to see what is off screen, etc. While I do wish selecting different equipment and guns to use was more intuitive I’d say the controls are good. Running around with Snake is fluid and despite some jank the control scheme is simple so that you can instantly tell what button does what within the first section. In fact, the first section does a good job priming you for what is to come. Giving you a room you can run around and cover to hide behind. There’s a few guards patrolling the area and this teaches the player how to avoid them or what’ll happen if they don’t avoid them. The elevator that leads further into the island is something you must wait for, and a guard comes out when it arrives. Teaching you the game will have multiple sections you must wait things out, or be cautious of what’ll come.
A design I can somewhat appreciate despite it leading to a lot of annoying moments and running back and forth between areas is exploring for equipment. There’s a lot of rooms, especially early on that you can’t access. You need to upgrade the keycard to unlock these rooms, and the rooms will often contain equipment you may need for later. Good example is the thermal goggles. The goggles let you see invisible motion detection lasers and later on help you with a boss fight who can turn invisible. These goggles are placed in an early room, but you can’t get them unless you can open the door. You’ll need them, because the only way to venture forth into the next area is for you to see the laser you have to sneak past. Once you learn this it’ll make you consider other goodies that may be lying around. Stuff that’ll help you and if not acquired will lead to suffering sometime down the line. I know this because it happened to me on multiple occasions, and this is where we get to the annoying part. This game is not afraid of making you backtrack across long stretches, and it’s to a degree you question why it is the way it is. Miss those thermal goggles from earlier? Too bad, because now you’re deep into the second area and if you haven’t made an earlier save you can’t fight the second boss here. Need a sniper rifle to fight this long range lad? Run back to the armory which was two to three whole areas ago, otherwise 3-4 hours.
That last example didn’t make sense to me, because there are times the game will place items nearby for a section in the same area. A puzzle in the second area requires you to disable a floor of electricity. You can’t reach it, but are told to use a remote control missile to hit the switch. If you use the nearby elevator to explore a floor just above you can find the Nikita Launcher. This will allow you to hit the switch panel, and if you explore more you can find the gas mask. This lets you breathe the toxic fumes in the air and make rooms that can be flooded with gas easier. Notice how the game chose the convenient route here, but not the sniper bit. That’s what I’m trying to get at with Metal Gear Solid. It feels great to play when isn’t throwing adventure game bullsh*t you would probably see in a click and point game. Then there’s the stuff it poorly tells the player. Remember the sniper bit, again? You need a pill to use the sniper rifle, because if not it waves around crazily. Pills that you either haven’t found yet, or have a small supply of. A moment that is baffling to me.
The bosses are clever, but sometimes they aren’t fun to fight. I appreciate when a game tests a player in different skills besides combat. It’s a realization I’ve grown to come accustomed to as I play more games, but at the same time you have to ask if the mechanics at play are good. First of many bosses is Revolver Ocelot and he can be either annoying or frustrating depending on how you approach him. The whole game up until that point has been sneaking around, but he goes against this. Running around an open room and ricocheting bullets off the wall, and you cannot hide or sneak up behind him. The literal best strategy is to run, hope you get close enough, and shoot while running. Something the game doesn’t even teach you how to do. Then you have the Psycho Mantis fight, while awesome, requires you to have thermal goggles for the second phase because if not it’s impossible. If you have no save files up until meeting Meryl you’re f*cked as she will not allow you to backtrack. What makes this worse is that more often than not if you die during a boss fight you have to redo all the cutscenes and dialogue you went through.
Metal Gear Solid has aged alright in terms of its gameplay. Not every segment of the game was fun and you can see why there were times I dropped it and came back days later, but I do think the foundation here is good. On paper it works, and it’s lovely to see how this foundation would expand with future stealth games. The flexibility and options given in titles like Dishonored, the recent Hitman titles, Splinter Cell, etc. I appreciate what is here and was able to endure it for the other aspects of the game. The reason why I kept playing Metal Gear Solid is because of the story. It’s fantastic and even today comes across as one of the best political narratives in a video game. Showing the politics behind war and maybe the United States aren’t exactly the good guys we showcase them as. That in some way we’re to blame for some of the conflicts and suffering in the past, and the reason war persists despite some conflicts being easily solvable by saying no is because of those who gain something from it all. War economics as we know them, and by god they are some of the most soulest people to ever be born into society. Even ignoring the politics I’m engaged with the characters and who they are. Meryl is a young woman who joined the army to make her family proud. Otacon had the dream of making robots that could help others, only to be devastated with what his work would be used for. The villains each went through different tragedies all of which were from war. Resulting in them going down dark paths and becoming who they are now. Then there’s you, Solid Snake, the main protagonist
There’s a point in Metal Gear Solid where a character criticizes who you are. Most people see a protagonist in games as the hero. A person who can do no wrong, but Metal Gear Solid tries to critique this philosophy. Making us question who Snake is, what he has done, what he stands by, and if everything we’ve done is truly righteous. We have a lot of blood on our hands and we’re serving a country that only thinks for itself and nobody else. We’re someone who has never even thought of the idea of finding peace, and begins to question his purpose in the grand scheme of things. Then we learn who we really are and it still is one of the biggest revelations in gaming. The story of Metal Gear Solid is the most timeless aspect of the game. Some of it is real dialogue heavy and there are parts where I feel they re-explain information we learned minutes ago, but what is here is brilliantly written. Top that with great presentation, cinematography for the time, and voice acting that surprisingly aged really well too! I love the cast here and I’m shocked all these years later none of it comes off as cheesy, campy, or something you can’t believe in. Other aspects I appreciate are the art direction and look of the game. Graphically it’s not the best, but I still like the look of. It gives off charm and reminds you of the limitations back then. What the developers of old worked around and were able to create even with the low polygons & textures. Metal Gear Solid is mostly timeless. The game is certainly more than the sum of its parts and if you can get past the dated gameplay you’re in for a stellar narrative that hasn’t aged a day. In the end I give Metal Gear Solid a 9/10 for excellence at best.
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