Metal Gear Solid Review

Despite its enormous success, Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear series has always been somewhat divisive, even amongst its fans. Idiosyncratic to the bone, and generally leaning more towards a quirky, interactive movie-like experience instead of a more traditional video game, every single instalment was loved by some and hated by others, leaving the rest somewhere in the middle. The following somewhat alternative retrospective of Metal Gear Solid comes exactly from the perspective of someone who never really fell in love with the franchise, but didn’t hate it either – Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots excluded. In many ways this age-old PlayStation classic is the perfect specimen to dissect, as it’s probably the most balanced and the most “reserved” in the series. As a whole, this is a blend of some things that are awesome, some that are not, and some that are straight up bad. The end result is entertaining, no doubt about that, but is it really the fantastic classic that most make it out to be? After a recent review of the updated collection of the first three entries, here’s a look at the one that brought the series into the spotlight.

From the top-notch direction and editing to the music and the briefing that can be heard as the protagonist infiltrates a high-security facility, the first five or so minutes of Metal Gear Solid feel like watching Michael Bay’s The Rock, as well as many other military-themed movies, with plenty of anime coolness added to improve the recipe. This is a movie influenced by other movies, influenced by otaku culture. Only it’s also a video game. You are soon given control of the main star, and it’s up to you to make the credits roll. Nowadays that ain’t something special, but back in the ‘90s most video games were still…well, video games. Kill those enemies! Hack and slash those monsters! Drive that car to the finishing line! Eat the cherry! This was something more.

Contrary to what many a young gamer thought back then, Metal Gear Solid wasn’t the first entry in the series. Solid Snake, its now extremely popular protagonist, began his adventures on the MSX line of home computers in Japan, with two subpar appearances on the NES. With the emergence of the fifth generation of consoles, Hideo Kojima could finally create something much closer to his original vision. The PlayStation enabled him to craft a “complete” experience, with 3D graphics, voice-overs, and an atmosphere-enhancing soundtrack. It can’t be emphasised enough: this is a movie and you control the main star. Even the moments where you are actually in control of Snake feel like they are part of the cinematic experience. You don’t just move a character but are in control of the film.

How good is that movie, then? Well, without exaggerating, it’s overrated. Is it bad? No, no, no, no, no! It’s darn good, with plenty of moments that are fantastic…but also some that haven’t aged that well. Metal Gear Solid is basically the story of a one-man mission to stop a bunch of terrorists from launching nuclear missiles and destroying major capitals. It initially approaches the whole affair in a somewhat realistic fashion and honestly nails that aspect. The first three areas really make you feel like a soldier that tries to infiltrate a military compound and nothing more than that. After a while some “fancier” elements will make their appearance. High-tech weaponry, genetic experiments and super soldiers, and so on and so forth, but even then it all feels, well…real. Then things start going crazy.

Cyborg ninjas, psychics, bipedal tanks that act like dinosaurs, and more. Surprisingly, it nails that aspect as well. Kind of. Mostly. The change is somewhat sudden, and those who prefer the initial semi-realistic approach will be disappointed by those things that are too…anime-ish. Thankfully, while these fictional elements are there for the cool factor, their main use is the exploration of the theme of war – maybe more than any other game in the series, along with Snake Eater. The writing can occasionally feel hokey and melodramatic, but it mostly succeeds in capturing the terror of armed conflict. The best moments are when Snake respectfully kneels in front of the body of a dying boss character, listening to their final words. It can definitely feel cliché and corny, but for the most part the whole thing is pulled off rather well, and with far, far more restraint than subsequent entries.

Since it is a movie-like experience, audio-visuals play a pretty large role as well, and, without a single doubt, both the look and the sound aspects are perfect. Distinct and almost synonymous with the PlayStation, from the character and level design to the “blocky” textures that decorate the whole thing, everything is excellent. MGS has a flawless art style, and that makes it timeless, no matter how much TV resolutions and power of graphics engines will increase throughout the years. This is a great example of an old-school title that does everything it can with what little it has on its hands. As an example, there’s a lack of facial features, and yet through the use of exaggerated, theatrical movements, you can always tell what this or that character is thinking. Even when still, Solid Snake feels much more “alive” than many modern video game protagonists. The elevator scene where he is finally revealed to the player is nothing sort of classic.

A great narrative technique that’s actually optional and thus doesn’t break the pace is the use of the codec, which is basically a system in which Snake can talk to various characters by selecting their frequency. What’s neat about this system is that it depends on the situation. When in a boss fight, for example, talking to Natasha the weapon expert will provide info about the best possible solution, and talking to Snake’s commanding officer while searching where to go next will offer a nice hint. It goes beyond this typical use, with characters being able to make comments about all sorts of things, with one notable example being Snake’s conversation with Naomi (the doctor of the team) when he smokes a cigarette, which has her going on a long lecture about how bad smoking is and how it affects something-something gene, which leads to cancer and whatnot, with Snake’s response being, “Yes, but you don’t know how good a cigarette tastes in the morning.” *badass guitar riff sound*

The story, overall presentation, and writing have a few downs, but they definitely have way more ups to talk about. As a game, however, Metal Gear Solid isn’t – and was never – the fantastic experience anyone was saying it was. The first problem is that it isn’t really about stealth. The first two or three introductory areas are quite possibly the best, as they provide a relative sense of freedom. You are tasked with observing the surroundings, forming a plan, and deciding whether to approach your goal from A or B. After that the whole thing becomes an almost straight line where stealth kind of gets pushed aside, and with each locale adding different kinds of challenges…that aren’t really that challenging. See a line of surveillance cameras? Throw a jamming grenade and run past them. You get a warning about mines? Get a mine detector and just avoid them.

Now, fans who read this are already thinking of the many “tricks” Snake can use. He can smoke and detect laser beams. He can use a box to hide. These just scratch the surface of what can be done, but all of them have something in common: they are not major components of the gameplay. Metal Gear Solid is full of little things that the first time will make you go “Wow,” simply because they’ve never be done in video games before, but that doesn’t automatically make the whole thing better. Take the many meta elements at hand. A mind-reading boss predicts your every move. How can you beat him? Why, by using the second controller port! An important codec frequency is on the CD cover. On an in-game CD cover? Of course not! It’s on the cover of the actual game. Cool and all, but nothing more than that.

Being a title with a heavy cinematic vibe, Metal Gear Solid is also painfully linear and full of scripted sequences. These aren’t bad the first time around. In fact, it always feels like something is happening. You play a bit, cut-scene, play some more, another cut-scene, move from A to B, this and that appears and surprises you. After the first playthrough the cracks can now be seen. There are many parts that are flat-out boring. The cyborg ninja is super cool in the cut-scenes? Yes, but when you get to fight him, you realise that he is an annoying bullet(punch)-sponge that takes way too long to go down. The ascent towards the communications tower is challenging and atmospheric? In reality it’s mostly a long staircase that leads up. Oh, and please get ready for three moments that require backtracking, with the third one right before the very end being the worst offender by far.

The previous paragraph feels like it was written by someone who hates Metal Gear Solid. Not true. If there is a hot take to read here, it is that this PlayStation classic, and quite possibly the series as a whole, is highly overrated. Not a collection of bad games (Metal Gear Solid 4 once again excluded), but not exactly that fantastic either. Of course, it might probably be a matter of taste. Yours truly loves the cut-scenes, story, and movie-like experience offered here. He adores the few moments of actual espionage and the challenge they provide. He appreciates the many little touches that are sprinkled all over the place that give it its unique character and charm. He can even enjoy those moments where it drops the serious face and goes full anime. He just doesn’t like how they are all combined into one.