Metal Gear Solid

Metal Gear Solid

"It's Showtime!" - Solid Snake

Protagonist:	Solid Snake
Genre:	Action Adventure Stealth
Platforms:	PlayStation Microsoft Windows Nintendo GameCube (The Twin Snakes)
Release Date:	PlayStation: JP: September 3, 1998 NA: October 21, 1998 EU: February 22, 1999 Integral (VR/Special Missions): JP: June 24, 1999 NA: October 12, 1999 EU: October 29, 1999 Microsoft Windows: NA: September 24, 2000 EU: October 20, 2000 *Nintendo GameCube (The Twin Snakes):* NA: March 9, 2004 JP: March 11, 2004 EU: March 26, 2004
Developer:	Konami Computer Entertainment Japan Silicon Knights (The Twin Snakes)
Publisher:	Konami
Franchise:	Metal Gear
Previous Game:	Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
Next Game:	Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty

Metal Gear Solid (Japanese: メタルギアソリッド) is an action-adventure stealth video game developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and first published by Konami for the PlayStation in 1998. The game was directed, produced and co-written by series creator Hideo Kojima, and serves as a sequel to the MSX2 videogames Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, which Kojima also wrote and directed.

The title was a huge success, which prompted the release of an expanded version for the PlayStation and PC, titled Metal Gear Solid: Integral, as well as a remake for the Nintendo GameCube in 2004 titled Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes.

Plot

The story is set in 2005, six years after the events of Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. The American spec-ops group FOXHOUND has gone rogue and is leading an armed rebellion on a remote island in Alaska's Fox Archipelago. This island, codenamed "Shadow Moses", is the site of a nuclear weapons disposal facility. Led by a mercenary known as Liquid Snake, FOXHOUND has acquired a nuclear-capable mecha, Metal Gear REX, and are threatening to launch a nuclear attack if the U.S. government fails to hand over the remains of the "legendary mercenary" Big Boss, along with a $1 billion ransom, within 24 hours. Solid Snake is forced out of retirement by Colonel Roy Campbell to infiltrate the island and neutralize the enemy threat.

Why It Rocks

Awesome and memorable soundtrack, composed by a variety of artists.
Groundbreaking stealth-based gameplay.
Excellent graphics for the PS1.
Great voice acting, with such talent as David Hayter (who voiced Tamahome in the English dub of Fushigi Yuugi) and Paul Eiding (who voices Max Tennyson in the Ben 10 series), among many others.
Lots of likable characters like Meryl Silverburgh and Hal "Otacon" Emmerich. On top of that, the personalities of Snake and Colonel Campbell have been expanded, making them feel more real.
Epic and memorable boss battles.
The alternate ending where Meryl dies, despite not being canon, is still a well-written ending.
In one particularly memorable case, one of the bosses, Psycho Mantis, will use his psychic abilities to break the fourth wall and mess with Snake's head (and by proxy, the player's). For instance, he will ask you to put your controller on the floor so he can "move the controller with his mind", which activates the rumble feature. He will also read Snake's mind by commenting on his performance during the mission until now, the amount of times the player has saved the game, and on the presence of saves from other games inside the player's memory card. In the PlayStation version, he recognizes Azure Dreams, Suikoden, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Vandal Hearts (plus Policenauts and Snatcher in the Japanese version, both of which were written by Kojima), while in Twin Snakes, he recognizes Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Mario Sunshine, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem. Also, in order to defeat him, you have to plug your controller into the second controller port (or the 4th controller port in The Twin Snakes).
- In the Metal Gear Solid: Integral version, he turns the craziness dial up to eleven by being able to open the player's Codex and force-call the Colonel, and even turn off your TV set and change the selected video input of the console!
One of the greatest, most memorable plot twists in videogame history.
The Metal Gear Solid VR Missions expansion would add more challenges to the game, expanding it to 300 challenges.
Grey Fox is an awesome character. You even get to play as him in the VR Missions.
The famous quote (Snake? Snake? SNAAAAAAAAAAAAKE!!!) when you get a Game Over.
When unlocking the Good/Canon ending, you acquire the Infinity Bandanna, which gives infinite ammo; and when unlocking the Bad/Alternate ending, you get the Stealth Camouflage, which allows you to be completely invisible. Completing both endings and playing the game for a third time without using any of the special equipment will even give Snake a tuxedo!
There's a section in the extras that gives backstory to the events leading up to the game. This is especially helpful, since most outside of Japan never played the original two.

Bad Qualities

The sniper rifle controls in the original PS1 version were awful.
The voice acting and cutscenes in Twin Snakes are said to be inferior by fans.
The time to get 1st place in some of the VR Missions are far too strict to accomplish.
The Torture Chamber section is very difficult, mainly because you have to keep button-mashing the circle button so much and so fast. What's worse is that you have to do this if you want the Good/Canon ending, and if you die, not only you get a Game Over, but you cannot continue, meaning that if you didn't saved the game before the section, you need to do everything you lost again! Alongside with that, you also cannot use a controller with Turbo buttons, since doing so will instantly kill Snake.
The fight with Ocelot in the Twin Snakes version can be ridiculously easy, especially with the ability to aim in first-person.

Trivia

The game was originally going to be called Metal Gear 3, but was renamed to Metal Gear Solid instead because of the shift in graphics to 3D and because the other Metal Gear games weren't released worldwide back then.
It was meant to be a 3DO game, but due to the console's death and the PS1's popularity, the game was released for the PS1 instead.
Having a save file of Policenauts and Snatcher on the PS1, along with a save file of MGS, will unlock a video of Kojima thanking you for supporting his work. Unfortunately, this is exclusive to the Japanese version since Policenauts and Snatcher weren't released outside of Japan (not officially at least).
Konami hinted in 2019 that there might be a second remake of this game.