Metal Gear Solid

When looking at a game with such a powerful legacy as this one, a couple of things need to be kept in mind. One is that, due to how influential it was, the tropes and design elements used have likely been borrowed and improved on by later works in the medium, e.g. “Seinfeld is Unfunny.” The other point to note is, and this is especially true for video games, the work in general will feel dated, mostly because some parts of its design or playability that were more acceptable on release are now criticized and antiquated.

Specific to Metal Gear Solid, it manages to dodge quite a few of these complaints, and in some ways it still outshines many present-day games both in storytelling and presentation. Based on the script writing, lengthy cutscenes, and general presentation, it’s clear MGS was going for that “movie-like” feel, a term commonly used to lambast modern games for not meeting the full potential of games as a storytelling medium. And yet MGS manages to skirt around that criticism by both taking advantage of video game storytelling in many parts of the game (like using the codec and active breaking of the fourth wall), and by just killing it on the presentation front. Seriously, these cutscenes don’t just emulate the feel of movies; Kojima clearly has an understanding for the cinematography, acting and sound design that makes movies as effective at telling stories as they are. Even with faceless dolls, flat polygons, and obvious video file limitations splitting up cutscenes, the story he tells is fantastic, bombastic, and kinda moving at points.

And just to go a bit further on that, Solid Snake is such a compelling character here. I always knew Kojima liked his postmodern, strange stories, but all the talk I’ve heard about Snake over the years–always hovering near the top of any “Top 10 BADASSES in Video Games” listicle–is a far cry from the cold, depressed loner without a purpose he’s actually written as. By presenting the game entirely from his POV, the player themselves can share that “what am I really doing here?” feeling as all the machinations play out, revealing Snake for the pawn he is. When he’s questioned on that purpose, all Snake can say is “I have a job to do,” with the same energy as Cpt. Willard from Apocalypse Now saying “I am an assassin.”

But now for the part where Metal Gear Solid’s gray hairs are most obvious: the gameplay. On one hand, Kojima and co. clearly put a lot of effort into the design and programming to make this the best stealth and action gameplay on PS1, and to some extent they succeeded. On the other hand, this game feels like a 3D remake of the original Metal Gear, with some design elements not translating over as well as others, and the PS1’s limitations significantly holds it back. It’s crazy how some elements now seen as basic in stealth games like picking up and moving bodies, moving while in cover, or even just walking slowly are not here. You can’t even knock out enemies in a way that leaves them incapacitated longer than a minute, all you can really do stealth-wise is avoid. It doesn’t help that trying to see anything without the radar is a struggle because of the zoomed-in overhead perspective and lack of camera control, besides being able to see in first-person by pressing triangle. I wouldn’t care about that so much if they didn’t turn off the radar for hard mode; I switched to normal after struggling with it for a while, it’s obvious hard mode is intended for a replay with some memorization of guard placement, because the game is otherwise too reliant on the radar to go without it on a first playthrough. Like it’s built to use the full top-down view of the original Metal Gear, but it doesn’t have that so the gameplay just doesn’t work as well. At least the AI being kinda dumb helps with that (though at the time, it was revolutionary enough for a guard to say “who’s footprints are these?” in the snowy areas). I’m also aware of the “Twin Snakes” GameCube remake, which makes it play closer to MGS2, but that brings in the opposite problem of things designed around the original’s gameplay now being much easier, like the Sniper Wolf fight. Also Snake jumps on a missile on that one…it ups the ridiculousness to almost Bollywood levels.

I’ve already played through MGSV, and gotten a taste of 2, 4, and the original Metal Gear. I wanted to do a playthrough of each MGS game starting with this one, and so far it’s off to a great start. While it definitely has its dated bits, Metal Gear Solid overall stands the test of time and makes for an enthralling playthrough, with a movie-like presentation that remains unmatched. While later games of the series do expand on this game’s ideas with more resources and better hardware, I’ve yet to see if they use that to present their stories better. Here’s hoping.

Didn't aged that much tbh I must be a zoomer of some sort

Revolução em forma de jogo. Como Kojima e cia. conseguiram entregar isso no Playstation 1 é de cair o queixo.

What more can you say? So much has been said about this game that it seems like all there is to do now is defend it against detractors, of which Kojima has accrued a lot in his career--especially as it intersects with his work on Metal Gear.

Is this a movie game? Does it feel bad to play? Did it "age well"? I find it impossible to get outside of my own head on these questions, since this is a game I've been playing here and there since it was new. The one thing I can be sure of: no one had ever done this before, and outside of the MGS series I think it's hard to find any real peer. MGS is such an event that it not only inspired a lot of games to ape it, but also caused a long wave of games that were basically reactionary to it.

At the end of the day this game has stuck with me for so long that at this point I find every room, every area, every encounter, every item or weapon iconic. Nothing looks like this game, nothing plays like it, nothing sounds like it. It is one of the most intuitive early 3D games in the entire era, and for all of the complaining done about how it controls I find it remarkably well thought-out, it just happens to be the first entry in what would become the "house style" of the series. This game will tell you everything about itself and it wants to, so let it. And make sure you make plenty of your own CODEC calls, there is so much to miss.

When the PlayStation is ancient history, this will be the one game people will remember it by.

An unprecedented cinematic epic with great visuals and a brilliant soundtrack. In this sense the game stunned back then and still stuns today thanks to superb presentation and cutscene direction.

Juxtaposed with Metal Gear Solid's ageing gameplay, though, the overall package takes a hit and is held back from greatness. Aiming is awkward, often requiring that you spray-and-pray entire clips at enemies just off-screen, and movement has a general clunkiness to it, making the couple of hand-to-hand boss fights in the game more frustrating than perhaps was intended. Worse, a handful of significant pacing issues take a sledgehammer to the storytelling's flow and sense of tension: namely, having to backtrack multiple times in critical moments.

Despite its flaws, Metal Gear Solid is an enjoyable look at the series' modern history and remains an impressive example of ambitious elevation in video game storytelling, nearly a quarter-century on.

Having just completed my very first (roughly 17 hour) play through of the endlessly inventive and shockingly modern Metal Gear Solid, I now join you lovely folks at Glitchwave in an attempt to discuss what I love about this fantastic game. It should be stated that this is the first Ps1 era game I have played to completion, and is certainly the oldest game to keep me invested until the end credits.

Characters
To begin, I think that it's important to note that I have not yet played either of the original Metal Gear games, but that I did play quite a lot of MGSV without context back in middle school. Metal Gear Solid does an outstanding and largely unmatched job of introducing you to its diverse and unique cast of characters. Amongst the various helpful individuals you will associate with throughout the game, Dr. Emmerich (Otacon) sticks out as the lovable weeb you keep around if for no other reason than their general good energy. Mei Ling takes time to discuss bits of Chinese philosophy with Snake in between espionage antics, an individual calling themselves DEEPTHROAT will sometimes pop in to say what's up. Stuck on a particularly ruthless trap? How about contacting the cool-as-ice Natasha Romanenko... The list goes on.
I really loved the Codec in this game. I can understand how some more action-driven characters could find the constant expository interruptions to be bothersome, but for a gamer who largely loathes combat encounters (or anything particularly stressful), I gladly took these moments of interaction as time to breath and remind myself what I was fighting for.
I could write an entire paper on the villans in this game, so (aside from discussing some standout boss-fight moments) I will try to keep it brief by saying that any one of Metal Gear Solid's lesser known villains would be interesting enough to facilitate an entire game in their honor. Liquid Snake boss fight out here feeling like Twin Peaks s2e22 for NO GOD DAMN REASON. Psycho Mantis is cool or whatever too.

Shit.... I have 10 more things that I want to talk about (Story, Vibe (Setting, ambience, themes), Gameplay (gadgets, bosses, exploration, combat)), but I'm too damn tired for now! GO PLAY MGS1 rn! Merry Christmas Glitchwave! Good night.