While Metal Gear 2 was already a fantastic sequel that managed to fix so much wrong, Solid continues this upward trend and stands tall as one of the best games on the original Playstation.

The transition to 3D was beautiful for Metal Gear, as Shadow Moses is a phenomenal setting dripping with detail. From big things such as the Nuke Room to smaller details like all the wolves in the bigger areas make it far more impressive compared to Outer Heaven and Zanzibar Land. Another huge production jump would be that of the presentation, with MGS being the first game with a fully voiced cast and man they knocked it out of the park with this one. Alongside a much more gripping story filled with the twists and turns the series is known for. Metal Gear really started to take form with Solid. On the gameplay side of things its mainly the same from MG2 but some nice additions exist. The card system has been simplified to just one which is an ABSOLUTE GODSEND that makes the menu surfing less of an issue (though it still does exist because of just how much stuff you get in comparison to the MSX games). It also feels more like a proper stealth game due to the bigger areas, as the enemies constantly hound you and make life a living hell. The exploration also feels much better and I never needed a guide because of how smart the level design was, alongside a much better sense of progression.

Where a lot of my issues with MGS come from is when it isn't a stealth game. While I don't mind things like being able to die fast (even with Body Armor) and the constantly respawning enemies in STEALTH, the moment things become hectic it becomes an issue. The entire tower section was an absolute nightmare, with things like the random rope gimmick also not helping matters. The bosses in particular suffer from this odd design too. While some like Gray Fox and Psycho Mantis are pretty fantastic, others can be absolute slogs like both Sniper Wolf encounters and the back to back final bosses. On the non gameplay side of things I only have one which is the story taking elements from MG2. While some like the female solider aren't too bad and are actually intelligently remixed, others are MUCH more shameless and ruin the experience. Seeing Gray Fox is neat and his story is genuinely tragic but so much feels like a retread, with the entire deepthroat bit being a complete repeat. Also I wish you could fast forward dialogue because some of the codec calls are pretty damn long and are repeated on death in some situations.

Despite all that Metal Gear Solid is still one of the best in the franchise and will be hard to top going forward. Whether its through the classic editions or the Master Collection you can't go wrong revisiting this absolute classic.

9/10