Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear saga has been one of my very favorite video game franchises for over five years, but because of Konami's abandonment of the series, it's been tough to actually play all of its games. The only console that has access to all of the main games in the series is the PS3, but I never had one, so I just assumed that I wouldn't be able to play Metal Gear Solid or Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots until I got my hands on a used one, but since my sister got a PlayStation Classic while I was in York for my first term at university, I was finally able to play through this game for the first time. For a PS1 game, Metal Gear Solid really impressed me from a technical standpoint, as the atmospheric sound design and detailed visuals really brought the snowy exteriors and mechanical interiors of Shadow Moses Island to life. The terrific and distinctive voice acting was especially great, as they strengthened the already excellent dialogue and character writing, with David Hayter giving one of the most iconic video game performances ever as Solid Snake.
For me, enjoying the Metal Gear franchise means appreciating both the gameplay and the story equally, and while I still haven't played the MSX games that came out before this, I was still glad to see that the blend worked so well this early on in the series. The plot of Metal Gear Solid is pretty much flawless, as its compelling atmosphere of hi-tech espionage amplified the impact of each twist and narrative beat, as well as the game's themes regarding the effects of war, the search for purpose, and the human condition. Snake's arc of trying to find out who, what, and why he keeps fighting while also reckoning with his own existence as a killing machine was incredibly enthralling, and it also blended really well with the game's commentary on how its player mindlessly followed its orders. On top of being incredibly well written, Metal Gear Solid is also very fun to play. While the game's stealth mechanics are fairly simple, evading Genome Soldiers was still exciting and adrenaline-inducing, and the game was also chock-full of challenging, yet creative and satisfying boss fights.
Metal Gear Solid was a great game that had an especially well-told story, but that doesn't mean that it was flawless. Although the first half of the game struck a good balance between stealth sections and action sequences, the second half of Metal Gear Solid was almost entirely dedicated to boss fights, and I really wished that there was some breathing room in between them rather than constant action. Generally, I didn't mind the game's controls when it came to sneaking around enemies or fighting a boss, but during scenes such as the stairway chase and the elevator fights, the clunkiness and imprecision really began to show, and that was made even worse due to the PlayStation Classic's delayed button inputs and shoddy emulation. Neither of these aspects of the game compare to the game's tedious backtracking, as you constantly have to go back and forth between areas you've already went through, even when you aren't dealing with temperature-changing PAL keys or a missing sniper rifle. I can't really say that I'm able to look past these aspects of the game, but what Metal Gear Solid did right more than made up for its shortcomings, and the result was a great game that is still fun to play 24 years later.
For me, enjoying the Metal Gear franchise means appreciating both the gameplay and the story equally, and while I still haven't played the MSX games that came out before this, I was still glad to see that the blend worked so well this early on in the series. The plot of Metal Gear Solid is pretty much flawless, as its compelling atmosphere of hi-tech espionage amplified the impact of each twist and narrative beat, as well as the game's themes regarding the effects of war, the search for purpose, and the human condition. Snake's arc of trying to find out who, what, and why he keeps fighting while also reckoning with his own existence as a killing machine was incredibly enthralling, and it also blended really well with the game's commentary on how its player mindlessly followed its orders. On top of being incredibly well written, Metal Gear Solid is also very fun to play. While the game's stealth mechanics are fairly simple, evading Genome Soldiers was still exciting and adrenaline-inducing, and the game was also chock-full of challenging, yet creative and satisfying boss fights.
Metal Gear Solid was a great game that had an especially well-told story, but that doesn't mean that it was flawless. Although the first half of the game struck a good balance between stealth sections and action sequences, the second half of Metal Gear Solid was almost entirely dedicated to boss fights, and I really wished that there was some breathing room in between them rather than constant action. Generally, I didn't mind the game's controls when it came to sneaking around enemies or fighting a boss, but during scenes such as the stairway chase and the elevator fights, the clunkiness and imprecision really began to show, and that was made even worse due to the PlayStation Classic's delayed button inputs and shoddy emulation. Neither of these aspects of the game compare to the game's tedious backtracking, as you constantly have to go back and forth between areas you've already went through, even when you aren't dealing with temperature-changing PAL keys or a missing sniper rifle. I can't really say that I'm able to look past these aspects of the game, but what Metal Gear Solid did right more than made up for its shortcomings, and the result was a great game that is still fun to play 24 years later.