Sebs
BACKER
Note: this will be mostly spoiler-free concerning the story. However, I will go a tadge in-depth concerning the combat and mechanics, as well as the characters you travel with.
I began playing the Like a Dragon series about a year ago. Starting with Yakuza 0, I sprinted through every game in the main series until I finally got to Gaiden in mid-December. I've been preparing. I feel an extreme emotional attachment to the characters and world. And it has finally come to a head in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.
First, I want to get the minigames and side content out of the way - it's top tier in the series. I played almost all of the side content in 0, Kiwami, Kiwami 2, and Yakuza 7. And, of those, I would pick Infinite Wealth's content every time. At first, I thought the substories were slightly weaker overall, but the stories told were longer and more meaningful. That is, until I got to Kiryu's substories. They take a pretty decent collection and elevate it to referential yet meaningful stories for Kiryu to experience. Not to mention, a lot of the stories have little specific minigames and experiences within the game that can't be otherwise accessed. Ichi's stunt film substories are specifically a standout.
These substories aren't even including all of the actual minigames though. Almost all of the sports games are back, including Darts or Pool. The karaoke in this game is unmatched, featuring the most songs in the franchise thus far. Can Quest and the new Crazy Delivery modes are as fun as they were, and the Delivery mode was specifically a standout. The Sicko Snap mode is hilarious and quick/easy fun. These minigames do a lot of heavy lifting to make the new locale fun and lively. Not to mention the Aloha Links, which make RANDOM NPCs INTERESTING, which is SUCH an achievement.
However, in terms of side content, the highlights of the game are the Bucket List/Life Links, the Drink Links/Bond Actions, and, of course, Dondoko Island. To speak quickly on Drink Links, these are far and away better than 7's. They have better stories, there are more of them, and the actual content relates to the main story better than they had before. The Bucket List is genuinely a highlight, and I found myself intensely interested in pointing at my screen for every reference to a previous game they made. This includes games I haven't even played yet. The Life Links are incredible, with characters returning that I never thought I would see again. And all of these things have an intense relation to combat, whether it gives a summon (poundmate), or if the drink links allow your teammates to help out and do more damage per turn.
But, of course, the king of side content is Dondoko Island (and the related Sujimon quests). Sujimon are so much better in this game. They have become a fully fleshed out (and well-written) story, with fun, pokemon-like gameplay. Their real use, however, is working on Dondoko, an animal crossing-like island. It's here where I was able to decorate and upgrade my own spot of land in the Pacific. The amount of depth in this minigame is actually incredible. It could have been a game all on its own, to a certain degree. It takes a lot of the fun and peaceful portions of Animal Crossing, and adds some story-based tension to up the stakes and entice the player to finish upgrading the island. I finished the island within 20ish hours, but I easily could spend a hundred just fine tuning my land and upgrading my house. There is so much content, and it alone guarantees a fun time if anyone is willing to make it through a very long portion of the game to get there.
I still intend to keep this review completely spoiler-free, but at this point, I'm going to talk about my feelings about the plot in this game. Feel free to skip this next paragraph if you want no prior thoughts about the plot.
Regardless, I generally really enjoyed the plot of this game. Like most of the games I would consider my favorite, this game does have a major flaw and I think it's the story in this entry. It's good. Great, even. But it does slightly suffer after coming off of Yakuza 7, which contains the only story to rival Yakuza 0 and Yakuza 4's (in my opinion). But these flaws are not devastating by any means. It's really just a very unevenly paced ending, with an emotional core that doesn't totally pay off by the end of the game. The new characters are a fantastic addition, and the opener to this game is incredible. In fact, the way this story weaves all the characters together is really well done and it ambitiously attempts to do way more than any other Yakuza game (maybe other than 5).
The game's storytelling is not confined to its plot, however. "Environmental storytelling" is honestly an overused phrase within the medium, and LAD8's use of it is mixed. The returning cities are mostly kept the same (from what I could find), which is almost disappointing when it comes to how many changes the maps go through inbetween entries. Honolulu, the new map, is probably even the best map that RGG has made. They've come a long way from the many, sadly mid maps they made for Yakuza 5. Consolidating into one really big and cohesive map does wonders for this game. I only brought up the fact that the phrase is overused because of how much it doesn't matter that RGG didn't change much. Yeah, it's somewhat disappointing, but this game is doing so much more with its premise that I cannot fault this small "oversight," if you can even call it that. Hell, I'm sure I missed certain things within the three explorable maps. I only bring this up at all for those who might really care about that storytelling - I know it was very cool when Kamurocho Hills came into existence, or the retroactive changes between 0 and Kiwami. Don't expect anything like that in this game.
In Yakuza 7, one of my biggest issues was with the combat. Again, I love that game to death, and a lot of the faults didn't matter to me in the end, but I can admit that the combat in that game tends to be rough.
None of that is present in this game.
The combat is sharp, smart, and engaging. Hell, adding the ability to move around solved nearly half of the issues. The inherited skill system is tons better, with more build options presented to the player. And, while yes it is disappointing that there are classes locked behind a paywall (not to mention NG+), as someone who preordered the deluxe edition the Footballer and Tennis Pro jobs are two of the most fun jobs. The amount of fun combinations you can make is stunning. The Tag Team and Special Attack animations are amazing again, with the Poundmates really getting more attention this time around. Additionally, Kiryu's Dragon job is rightfully the best job in the entire game, with so much versatility and fun.
Overall, through all the hemming and hawing about various different thing, it might be confusing as to why I would consider this my new favorite game of all time. A lot of this is definitely due to certain story beats and moments that I wouldn't spoil here. But in any case, as an overall package, I cannot believe how stunning this game is. I cannot wait for the next installment, even if I feel pretty sure that nothing will feel this ambitious for a long time. RGG outdid themselves, and I can't believe how amazing of a product this is. Before, I was sure that LAD/Yakuza 7 was going to be the lasting JRPG for RGG. Now I realize that this game is the one that deserves to be canonized into the JRPG hall of fame, sitting along big hitters like the FF or DQ series. Incredible work. I am so glad that I was able to work through all of the Yakuza games' ups and downs in order to get to this singular project. I don't have better words to give it.
I began playing the Like a Dragon series about a year ago. Starting with Yakuza 0, I sprinted through every game in the main series until I finally got to Gaiden in mid-December. I've been preparing. I feel an extreme emotional attachment to the characters and world. And it has finally come to a head in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.
First, I want to get the minigames and side content out of the way - it's top tier in the series. I played almost all of the side content in 0, Kiwami, Kiwami 2, and Yakuza 7. And, of those, I would pick Infinite Wealth's content every time. At first, I thought the substories were slightly weaker overall, but the stories told were longer and more meaningful. That is, until I got to Kiryu's substories. They take a pretty decent collection and elevate it to referential yet meaningful stories for Kiryu to experience. Not to mention, a lot of the stories have little specific minigames and experiences within the game that can't be otherwise accessed. Ichi's stunt film substories are specifically a standout.
These substories aren't even including all of the actual minigames though. Almost all of the sports games are back, including Darts or Pool. The karaoke in this game is unmatched, featuring the most songs in the franchise thus far. Can Quest and the new Crazy Delivery modes are as fun as they were, and the Delivery mode was specifically a standout. The Sicko Snap mode is hilarious and quick/easy fun. These minigames do a lot of heavy lifting to make the new locale fun and lively. Not to mention the Aloha Links, which make RANDOM NPCs INTERESTING, which is SUCH an achievement.
However, in terms of side content, the highlights of the game are the Bucket List/Life Links, the Drink Links/Bond Actions, and, of course, Dondoko Island. To speak quickly on Drink Links, these are far and away better than 7's. They have better stories, there are more of them, and the actual content relates to the main story better than they had before. The Bucket List is genuinely a highlight, and I found myself intensely interested in pointing at my screen for every reference to a previous game they made. This includes games I haven't even played yet. The Life Links are incredible, with characters returning that I never thought I would see again. And all of these things have an intense relation to combat, whether it gives a summon (poundmate), or if the drink links allow your teammates to help out and do more damage per turn.
But, of course, the king of side content is Dondoko Island (and the related Sujimon quests). Sujimon are so much better in this game. They have become a fully fleshed out (and well-written) story, with fun, pokemon-like gameplay. Their real use, however, is working on Dondoko, an animal crossing-like island. It's here where I was able to decorate and upgrade my own spot of land in the Pacific. The amount of depth in this minigame is actually incredible. It could have been a game all on its own, to a certain degree. It takes a lot of the fun and peaceful portions of Animal Crossing, and adds some story-based tension to up the stakes and entice the player to finish upgrading the island. I finished the island within 20ish hours, but I easily could spend a hundred just fine tuning my land and upgrading my house. There is so much content, and it alone guarantees a fun time if anyone is willing to make it through a very long portion of the game to get there.
I still intend to keep this review completely spoiler-free, but at this point, I'm going to talk about my feelings about the plot in this game. Feel free to skip this next paragraph if you want no prior thoughts about the plot.
Regardless, I generally really enjoyed the plot of this game. Like most of the games I would consider my favorite, this game does have a major flaw and I think it's the story in this entry. It's good. Great, even. But it does slightly suffer after coming off of Yakuza 7, which contains the only story to rival Yakuza 0 and Yakuza 4's (in my opinion). But these flaws are not devastating by any means. It's really just a very unevenly paced ending, with an emotional core that doesn't totally pay off by the end of the game. The new characters are a fantastic addition, and the opener to this game is incredible. In fact, the way this story weaves all the characters together is really well done and it ambitiously attempts to do way more than any other Yakuza game (maybe other than 5).
The game's storytelling is not confined to its plot, however. "Environmental storytelling" is honestly an overused phrase within the medium, and LAD8's use of it is mixed. The returning cities are mostly kept the same (from what I could find), which is almost disappointing when it comes to how many changes the maps go through inbetween entries. Honolulu, the new map, is probably even the best map that RGG has made. They've come a long way from the many, sadly mid maps they made for Yakuza 5. Consolidating into one really big and cohesive map does wonders for this game. I only brought up the fact that the phrase is overused because of how much it doesn't matter that RGG didn't change much. Yeah, it's somewhat disappointing, but this game is doing so much more with its premise that I cannot fault this small "oversight," if you can even call it that. Hell, I'm sure I missed certain things within the three explorable maps. I only bring this up at all for those who might really care about that storytelling - I know it was very cool when Kamurocho Hills came into existence, or the retroactive changes between 0 and Kiwami. Don't expect anything like that in this game.
In Yakuza 7, one of my biggest issues was with the combat. Again, I love that game to death, and a lot of the faults didn't matter to me in the end, but I can admit that the combat in that game tends to be rough.
None of that is present in this game.
The combat is sharp, smart, and engaging. Hell, adding the ability to move around solved nearly half of the issues. The inherited skill system is tons better, with more build options presented to the player. And, while yes it is disappointing that there are classes locked behind a paywall (not to mention NG+), as someone who preordered the deluxe edition the Footballer and Tennis Pro jobs are two of the most fun jobs. The amount of fun combinations you can make is stunning. The Tag Team and Special Attack animations are amazing again, with the Poundmates really getting more attention this time around. Additionally, Kiryu's Dragon job is rightfully the best job in the entire game, with so much versatility and fun.
Overall, through all the hemming and hawing about various different thing, it might be confusing as to why I would consider this my new favorite game of all time. A lot of this is definitely due to certain story beats and moments that I wouldn't spoil here. But in any case, as an overall package, I cannot believe how stunning this game is. I cannot wait for the next installment, even if I feel pretty sure that nothing will feel this ambitious for a long time. RGG outdid themselves, and I can't believe how amazing of a product this is. Before, I was sure that LAD/Yakuza 7 was going to be the lasting JRPG for RGG. Now I realize that this game is the one that deserves to be canonized into the JRPG hall of fame, sitting along big hitters like the FF or DQ series. Incredible work. I am so glad that I was able to work through all of the Yakuza games' ups and downs in order to get to this singular project. I don't have better words to give it.
This review contains spoilers
The Man Who Sold The World and The Man Who Saved It: A Short Retrospective on The Metal Gear Franchise
Note: this review covers my thoughts and feelings about the entire Metal Gear Franchise. Please skip to the bottom for my thoughts on just MGSV. Spoilers for each game follow.
Metal Gear
On December 23rd, 2023, I sat down and opened Metal Gear for the NES. Yes, the NES version, and not the MSX version. By today's standards, it's not a good game. The environments are bland, the combat is clunky, and the inventory systems are frustrating at best - debilitating at worst.
Despite this, it did two things that immediately kept me on the line: for one, the game is actually interesting. It's finishable. Not to come off as a Gen Z-er that can't play old games, but if I'm being honest Metal Gear is supremely accessible for what it is and when it came out. The video-gamey name of Big Boss and the interesting appearance of Gray Fox are chuckle worthy at a glance, and it creates a really unique tone that stays all the way throughout the series until (I'd argue) Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.
The other thing that Metal Gear does that creates its appeal is actually in conjunction with Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. It's the birth(s) of the stealth gameplay system.
^not the first but you know what I mean.
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
In Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, it seems to be played off as a
fun, slightly bullshit revival when Big Boss is revealed to be alive. But, it never mattered because these are NES era games. Hell, I welcomed it. Despite my frustration with Metal Gear, I really do think that Big Boss was interesting, even though I never knew anything about him. It even wasn't until later on in this series that I realized how important these events are.
On its own, though, this game is actually really decent. I can fully see why these games became a phenomenon when it comes to this game, despite its clunky backtracking and flawed UX/design philosophy.
Metal Gear Solid
Metal Gear Solid is finally a turning point in quality though - while there are many conventions established before this game, they're all solidified by this entry. The codec calls, the saving, the fourth wall breaks, the actually excellent stealth - it's all perfect. Moments like Psycho Mantis' boss fight, or the end credits scene are stand out moments to an already great game with inventive boss fights and wonderful level design. I do take most issue with the final boss sequence, which is honestly pretty frustrating because everything else is so good. But as an entry in the franchise, it's evident why almost every game that followed carried the SOLID subtitle.
There are a few negatives that have been carried through the series thus far, though. By this point in the series, the very genes of the series include incessant backtracking, frustrating combat (even in Solid, at times), difficult menu-ing, and despite some interesting stories, the characters sometimes feel flat.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty changes everything. It's impossible to put into words what makes this game special even among the series' entries. I can say with certainty that this is its best entry, in my opinion. The ending in particular is possibly one of the best, albeit indulgent, hours of gaming created thus far.
I am fully aware of the disdain for Raiden at this point. I unequivocally disagree with this general take. His tragic story felt very new and fresh for the series. While I liked Solid Snake, I knew that there was very little they could do to make him interesting at that point. Making him a side character, honestly, was one of the best options. He's characterized through Raiden, who's juggling conversations with "Rose" and "The Colonel" alongside completing his mission. The map design almost mirroring a Resident Evil type game with its comfortable, samey, yet easy to backtrack and explore design was a huge plus. This is especially true retrospectively. Again, the series exemplifies incredible boss design and it boasts possibly the best story in the franchise.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater feels like the next turning point in design philosophy. I almost would split the franchise in three parts - this game is the beginning of the second part. This is the beginning of the linear, mission-based gameplay. This game also contains possibly one of the best video game OSTs in the medium, alongside, again, an incredible story. (Getting a little repetitive, right?) Playing as Big Boss was an extremely interesting experience, especially knowing what he was to become later in the series' timeline. The End, The Sorrow, and The Fear are three of the series best boss fights, and the franchise as a whole has another tone setter in this game.
However, this game also marks a turning point in its intended audience. This, of course, is not necessarily a bad thing. However, it becomes more evident from this point on that Kojima and Konami were developing for Western audiences more and more.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots continues that trend from the very beginning of the game. This game contains a new difficulty selection - the difference between Solid Normal and Naked Normal. A Western Normal, and an Eastern Normal. It mirrors an addition in Metal Gear Solid 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3 - the European Extreme - but this time, more and more players can engage with a difficulty select that mirrors Western audiences' capabilities with shooters. It's also more possible than before to play Metal Gear Solid 4 loud rather than quiet.
This game, from my understanding now, was not well received on launch. I think I can see why that was the case. Mission 3's tailing mission, Old Snake's addition and rationale for existence, and the cutscene lengths are especially unique to this entry. And yet, it finally feels like an ending to the franchise. And if I'm honest, it's a damn good ending. The twists are good, the last boss is amazing and mirrors everything great and bad about the franchise. It embraces it all. That's really Metal Gear Solid 4's strength.
The franchise could have just stopped there. I could have stopped playing the games and be happy the rest of my life knowing that the series ended there.
Both fortunately, and unfortunately -
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is my least favorite game in the series. Remember how I said that this franchise can be split into three parts? We're now fully in the last part. I'll save most of my main criticisms for this game when I get to Metal Gear Solid V, but there are so many things I fundamentally disagree with when it comes to the game philosophy going forward.
Reaching back into the franchise's roots, the game features plenty of misguided, absurd, and non-explanatory functionality especially surrounding its base building systems and Metal Gear Zeke building. It also features an absurdly convoluted secret ending sequence, which, to be open, I couldn't get! It's too hard! and literally every website has a different explanation on how to get it, and none of them worked. The gameplay mirrors Metal Gear Solid 3, but a lot of this game is part of the new push towards Fulton Gaming, or otherwise kidnapping the enemy for more base building. This is an art in and of itself, and it's a boring one.
Additionally, the time sink for this game, a PSP game, is abhorrent. It's really cool for those looking for a game to play long term, but as someone who played only the singleplayer functionality, it doesn't work. Metal Gear Zeke building also relies on repeated boss fights, which checks one of my gaming cardinal sin boxes.
Lastly, the story of this game is extremely lackluster, and the cutscene design is very hard to look at. This game also includes some really uncomfortable moments during cutscenes, such as being able to x-ray some characters' clothes.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
I don't feel the need to say a lot about this game - it's been talked to death in the past three years. But I do have some criticisms that people don't typically talk about from what I usually see.
For one, the stealth in Metal Gear Rising is abhorrent if not nonexistent. The movement is way too clunky to do minute movements for stealth actions, and none of it works that way. Secondly, going into the game, I was happy to see more Raiden and in a role that people really like him in. But I realized pretty quickly that Raiden really has no personal attachment to the events transpiring like he does in 2 (and kinda 4). It's slightly disappointing. Lastly, the game lacks enemy variety and that is probably its biggest issue.
Again, I loved the game, but anything I could say about it has already been said a lot, very recently. As a side note: after playing Metal Gear Solid 4, it's really strange to know that people play this game standalone. The story doesn't work standalone lol. It is so necessary to play 4.
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Alright. Finally. The ending of the entire franchise.
Let's get the comparisons to the previous entries out of the way. This game has very little in common with anything else going on in this franchise. The fun little UI bits during cutscenes, the fourth wall breaks, the hard hitting story, the lovable and flawed characters - GONE. None of it is here. The game has replaced all of the style of the series with gameplay. Luckily, this means there is so much gameplay. So much. But I can't help but miss a lot of what makes these games so good. Tongue is no longer in cheek.
The gameplay in this entry is revolutionary. I kept thinking about how this style hasn't really been emulated again - the stealth/open world combo worked incredibly well. Items and development and hell, even the side ops in the combined open areas were so well designed. I think that some of the game gets a little, a tadge, a smidgen repetitive. But every time I felt that way, I switched up my style. I picked a new weapon, a new arm, a new buddy. Boom - new game. It feels so good to experiment.
I did about 150 of the 157ish side ops in the game. Similar to Peace Walker, these did not feel important, but the gameplay does genuinely make them work in this format. It was lowkey strange to see "important side ops" (why not make them main missions???) but the nonimportant ones were decent encounters to tackle.
However, what the game gets so, so wrong are the boss fights. Sahelanthropus is a pushover. The Skulls are exceedingly difficult. Quiet is fun, but it's one of the only, very very short instances of great boss design. It's disappointing.
The game does not have a particular take on killing or going non-lethal, which felt really out of place. I did mostly non-lethal, and the only real indications for these things are the shrapnel and the codenames you receive. It's another disappointing part of the game.
Metal Gear Solid V's story gets really close to being great. I would probably say it's just good. Maybe just decent. There's not a whole lot of it. And had I stuck with just the first credit roll, the one after Chapter 31, it's bad. The twist(s) after are really good, and the way it recontextualizes the original games (where are the remakes!!) is incredible. Really what sucks is the prevailing theme that this Boss is just a terrible person. He's an antagonist in the franchise for a reason. So is Ocelot. It genuinely is hard to play as Big Boss sometimes, even during cutscenes. There are many, many uncomfortable torture scenes, some filled with gore and other impossible-to-look-at scenarios. I have a pretty good stomach for these things and yet this game pushed my buttons.
This brings me to probably the most conflicting and confusing part of Metal Gear Solid V - the game is cruel. It's weirdly cruel. I had this thought many, many times throughout the game. The torture scenes are one thing, but even then this game generally just seems to have a disposition towards making the player do more and more difficult things for no real reason. The sickness in the game is tragic but the game never makes you feel the weight of the losses in a meaningful way. Even the ashes scene is very short lived and doesn't actually account for anyone in the first wave of the sickness. We stopped Skull Face from unleashing his language disease throughout the world and I don't feel like a hero. You're not supposed to. It's intentional, and yet I feel bad. The strong feelings the game elicits out of me are worth the discussion for sure, and it feels intentional to feel this way, but I'm not a fan of this decision. This is especially true knowing that Kojima goes to Death Stranding next, a game build on love and connection - these games are night and day. So strange.
I have a lot more I could say on each game I mentioned. But I don't want to bloat this retrospective up. I played every game within a month, and I would need more reflection on each anyways. I know that 2 is my favorite, but 4 is the one I want to replay the most. V feels like such a black sheep, and it's not even the worst game in the franchise. If you've made it this far, you've most likely already played these games, but if you haven't, please do give them a try. Even V and Peace Walker. I knew going in that this was a massive hole in my library, and I feel changed after this series in a way that I couldn't explain in words. It's too bad that V feels this way, but the main universe and vision that Kojima and crew had when making these games is so unique and wonderful and grounded and real and fantasy. This dichotomy is what made this series such an amazing experience.
I wanted to write this retrospective on the whole series but focus on V (this is the V page and all) but I do have a lot more thoughts on each game. Feel free to pick my brain (especially about V, 4 or 2 smile) or criticize my takes in the comments. Can't wait for Death Stranding 2 and OD. Thanks all.
Note: this review covers my thoughts and feelings about the entire Metal Gear Franchise. Please skip to the bottom for my thoughts on just MGSV. Spoilers for each game follow.
Metal Gear
On December 23rd, 2023, I sat down and opened Metal Gear for the NES. Yes, the NES version, and not the MSX version. By today's standards, it's not a good game. The environments are bland, the combat is clunky, and the inventory systems are frustrating at best - debilitating at worst.
Despite this, it did two things that immediately kept me on the line: for one, the game is actually interesting. It's finishable. Not to come off as a Gen Z-er that can't play old games, but if I'm being honest Metal Gear is supremely accessible for what it is and when it came out. The video-gamey name of Big Boss and the interesting appearance of Gray Fox are chuckle worthy at a glance, and it creates a really unique tone that stays all the way throughout the series until (I'd argue) Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.
The other thing that Metal Gear does that creates its appeal is actually in conjunction with Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. It's the birth(s) of the stealth gameplay system.
^not the first but you know what I mean.
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
In Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, it seems to be played off as a
fun, slightly bullshit revival when Big Boss is revealed to be alive. But, it never mattered because these are NES era games. Hell, I welcomed it. Despite my frustration with Metal Gear, I really do think that Big Boss was interesting, even though I never knew anything about him. It even wasn't until later on in this series that I realized how important these events are.
On its own, though, this game is actually really decent. I can fully see why these games became a phenomenon when it comes to this game, despite its clunky backtracking and flawed UX/design philosophy.
Metal Gear Solid
Metal Gear Solid is finally a turning point in quality though - while there are many conventions established before this game, they're all solidified by this entry. The codec calls, the saving, the fourth wall breaks, the actually excellent stealth - it's all perfect. Moments like Psycho Mantis' boss fight, or the end credits scene are stand out moments to an already great game with inventive boss fights and wonderful level design. I do take most issue with the final boss sequence, which is honestly pretty frustrating because everything else is so good. But as an entry in the franchise, it's evident why almost every game that followed carried the SOLID subtitle.
There are a few negatives that have been carried through the series thus far, though. By this point in the series, the very genes of the series include incessant backtracking, frustrating combat (even in Solid, at times), difficult menu-ing, and despite some interesting stories, the characters sometimes feel flat.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty changes everything. It's impossible to put into words what makes this game special even among the series' entries. I can say with certainty that this is its best entry, in my opinion. The ending in particular is possibly one of the best, albeit indulgent, hours of gaming created thus far.
I am fully aware of the disdain for Raiden at this point. I unequivocally disagree with this general take. His tragic story felt very new and fresh for the series. While I liked Solid Snake, I knew that there was very little they could do to make him interesting at that point. Making him a side character, honestly, was one of the best options. He's characterized through Raiden, who's juggling conversations with "Rose" and "The Colonel" alongside completing his mission. The map design almost mirroring a Resident Evil type game with its comfortable, samey, yet easy to backtrack and explore design was a huge plus. This is especially true retrospectively. Again, the series exemplifies incredible boss design and it boasts possibly the best story in the franchise.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater feels like the next turning point in design philosophy. I almost would split the franchise in three parts - this game is the beginning of the second part. This is the beginning of the linear, mission-based gameplay. This game also contains possibly one of the best video game OSTs in the medium, alongside, again, an incredible story. (Getting a little repetitive, right?) Playing as Big Boss was an extremely interesting experience, especially knowing what he was to become later in the series' timeline. The End, The Sorrow, and The Fear are three of the series best boss fights, and the franchise as a whole has another tone setter in this game.
However, this game also marks a turning point in its intended audience. This, of course, is not necessarily a bad thing. However, it becomes more evident from this point on that Kojima and Konami were developing for Western audiences more and more.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots continues that trend from the very beginning of the game. This game contains a new difficulty selection - the difference between Solid Normal and Naked Normal. A Western Normal, and an Eastern Normal. It mirrors an addition in Metal Gear Solid 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3 - the European Extreme - but this time, more and more players can engage with a difficulty select that mirrors Western audiences' capabilities with shooters. It's also more possible than before to play Metal Gear Solid 4 loud rather than quiet.
This game, from my understanding now, was not well received on launch. I think I can see why that was the case. Mission 3's tailing mission, Old Snake's addition and rationale for existence, and the cutscene lengths are especially unique to this entry. And yet, it finally feels like an ending to the franchise. And if I'm honest, it's a damn good ending. The twists are good, the last boss is amazing and mirrors everything great and bad about the franchise. It embraces it all. That's really Metal Gear Solid 4's strength.
The franchise could have just stopped there. I could have stopped playing the games and be happy the rest of my life knowing that the series ended there.
Both fortunately, and unfortunately -
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is my least favorite game in the series. Remember how I said that this franchise can be split into three parts? We're now fully in the last part. I'll save most of my main criticisms for this game when I get to Metal Gear Solid V, but there are so many things I fundamentally disagree with when it comes to the game philosophy going forward.
Reaching back into the franchise's roots, the game features plenty of misguided, absurd, and non-explanatory functionality especially surrounding its base building systems and Metal Gear Zeke building. It also features an absurdly convoluted secret ending sequence, which, to be open, I couldn't get! It's too hard! and literally every website has a different explanation on how to get it, and none of them worked. The gameplay mirrors Metal Gear Solid 3, but a lot of this game is part of the new push towards Fulton Gaming, or otherwise kidnapping the enemy for more base building. This is an art in and of itself, and it's a boring one.
Additionally, the time sink for this game, a PSP game, is abhorrent. It's really cool for those looking for a game to play long term, but as someone who played only the singleplayer functionality, it doesn't work. Metal Gear Zeke building also relies on repeated boss fights, which checks one of my gaming cardinal sin boxes.
Lastly, the story of this game is extremely lackluster, and the cutscene design is very hard to look at. This game also includes some really uncomfortable moments during cutscenes, such as being able to x-ray some characters' clothes.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
I don't feel the need to say a lot about this game - it's been talked to death in the past three years. But I do have some criticisms that people don't typically talk about from what I usually see.
For one, the stealth in Metal Gear Rising is abhorrent if not nonexistent. The movement is way too clunky to do minute movements for stealth actions, and none of it works that way. Secondly, going into the game, I was happy to see more Raiden and in a role that people really like him in. But I realized pretty quickly that Raiden really has no personal attachment to the events transpiring like he does in 2 (and kinda 4). It's slightly disappointing. Lastly, the game lacks enemy variety and that is probably its biggest issue.
Again, I loved the game, but anything I could say about it has already been said a lot, very recently. As a side note: after playing Metal Gear Solid 4, it's really strange to know that people play this game standalone. The story doesn't work standalone lol. It is so necessary to play 4.
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Alright. Finally. The ending of the entire franchise.
Let's get the comparisons to the previous entries out of the way. This game has very little in common with anything else going on in this franchise. The fun little UI bits during cutscenes, the fourth wall breaks, the hard hitting story, the lovable and flawed characters - GONE. None of it is here. The game has replaced all of the style of the series with gameplay. Luckily, this means there is so much gameplay. So much. But I can't help but miss a lot of what makes these games so good. Tongue is no longer in cheek.
The gameplay in this entry is revolutionary. I kept thinking about how this style hasn't really been emulated again - the stealth/open world combo worked incredibly well. Items and development and hell, even the side ops in the combined open areas were so well designed. I think that some of the game gets a little, a tadge, a smidgen repetitive. But every time I felt that way, I switched up my style. I picked a new weapon, a new arm, a new buddy. Boom - new game. It feels so good to experiment.
I did about 150 of the 157ish side ops in the game. Similar to Peace Walker, these did not feel important, but the gameplay does genuinely make them work in this format. It was lowkey strange to see "important side ops" (why not make them main missions???) but the nonimportant ones were decent encounters to tackle.
However, what the game gets so, so wrong are the boss fights. Sahelanthropus is a pushover. The Skulls are exceedingly difficult. Quiet is fun, but it's one of the only, very very short instances of great boss design. It's disappointing.
The game does not have a particular take on killing or going non-lethal, which felt really out of place. I did mostly non-lethal, and the only real indications for these things are the shrapnel and the codenames you receive. It's another disappointing part of the game.
Metal Gear Solid V's story gets really close to being great. I would probably say it's just good. Maybe just decent. There's not a whole lot of it. And had I stuck with just the first credit roll, the one after Chapter 31, it's bad. The twist(s) after are really good, and the way it recontextualizes the original games (where are the remakes!!) is incredible. Really what sucks is the prevailing theme that this Boss is just a terrible person. He's an antagonist in the franchise for a reason. So is Ocelot. It genuinely is hard to play as Big Boss sometimes, even during cutscenes. There are many, many uncomfortable torture scenes, some filled with gore and other impossible-to-look-at scenarios. I have a pretty good stomach for these things and yet this game pushed my buttons.
This brings me to probably the most conflicting and confusing part of Metal Gear Solid V - the game is cruel. It's weirdly cruel. I had this thought many, many times throughout the game. The torture scenes are one thing, but even then this game generally just seems to have a disposition towards making the player do more and more difficult things for no real reason. The sickness in the game is tragic but the game never makes you feel the weight of the losses in a meaningful way. Even the ashes scene is very short lived and doesn't actually account for anyone in the first wave of the sickness. We stopped Skull Face from unleashing his language disease throughout the world and I don't feel like a hero. You're not supposed to. It's intentional, and yet I feel bad. The strong feelings the game elicits out of me are worth the discussion for sure, and it feels intentional to feel this way, but I'm not a fan of this decision. This is especially true knowing that Kojima goes to Death Stranding next, a game build on love and connection - these games are night and day. So strange.
I have a lot more I could say on each game I mentioned. But I don't want to bloat this retrospective up. I played every game within a month, and I would need more reflection on each anyways. I know that 2 is my favorite, but 4 is the one I want to replay the most. V feels like such a black sheep, and it's not even the worst game in the franchise. If you've made it this far, you've most likely already played these games, but if you haven't, please do give them a try. Even V and Peace Walker. I knew going in that this was a massive hole in my library, and I feel changed after this series in a way that I couldn't explain in words. It's too bad that V feels this way, but the main universe and vision that Kojima and crew had when making these games is so unique and wonderful and grounded and real and fantasy. This dichotomy is what made this series such an amazing experience.
I wanted to write this retrospective on the whole series but focus on V (this is the V page and all) but I do have a lot more thoughts on each game. Feel free to pick my brain (especially about V, 4 or 2 smile) or criticize my takes in the comments. Can't wait for Death Stranding 2 and OD. Thanks all.
it's kind of like breath of the wild if they fixed nearly every single issue i ever had with it
2023
absolutely blown away by this game, uncompromising and confident and visionary. my personal GOTY 2023.
2023
pure adrenaline, great visual style, 99% of gamblers quit right before they shoot themselves in the face
I clocked a very solid 60 hours into Granblue Fantasy Relink. The game is amazing in so many ways. The story is really well done, and actually engaging despite only experiencing a bit of the world of Granblue through Versus. I did experience some bugs - an ugly crashing one made me repeat the Chapter 8 boss two or three times - but otherwise it was a very fun and seamless experience.
But the story wasn't why I bought the game. No, it felt like a bonus to the excellence that was the post-game. I was promised an action RPG with MMO-like mechanics, and I was provided that on a varying scale, but an otherwise very fun one. A lot of the extra bosses are throwaways, with no unique mechanics. However, the bosses with actual mechanics that felt interesting to fight made the "struggle" all worth it. I won't spoil those bosses, but regearing and retooling my build was exorbitantly fun during this process.
Sigils are fun to pull for, weapons are interesting, and build variety feels good. The 'messiness' of fights and variety of build options means that "optimal" is hard to find in a game like this. Some might like this, some might not. For me it felt like a double-edged sword, where it felt like I wasn't stressed about building correctly, but I never felt secure in my build. It also admittedly felt like making after fight adjustments didn't always do something - sometimes it was just stat changes/increases over time that would help with a fight.
Coming from FFXIV Savage raiding, the game is great. It definitely doesn't reach that difficulty. The hardest it gets is maybe an Extreme Trial. But those clears feel incredibly satisfying, and the character variety along with engaging gameplay made this a very, very fun time. I hope that they decide to release more DLC/expansions past May, and that their roadmap extends.
But the story wasn't why I bought the game. No, it felt like a bonus to the excellence that was the post-game. I was promised an action RPG with MMO-like mechanics, and I was provided that on a varying scale, but an otherwise very fun one. A lot of the extra bosses are throwaways, with no unique mechanics. However, the bosses with actual mechanics that felt interesting to fight made the "struggle" all worth it. I won't spoil those bosses, but regearing and retooling my build was exorbitantly fun during this process.
Sigils are fun to pull for, weapons are interesting, and build variety feels good. The 'messiness' of fights and variety of build options means that "optimal" is hard to find in a game like this. Some might like this, some might not. For me it felt like a double-edged sword, where it felt like I wasn't stressed about building correctly, but I never felt secure in my build. It also admittedly felt like making after fight adjustments didn't always do something - sometimes it was just stat changes/increases over time that would help with a fight.
Coming from FFXIV Savage raiding, the game is great. It definitely doesn't reach that difficulty. The hardest it gets is maybe an Extreme Trial. But those clears feel incredibly satisfying, and the character variety along with engaging gameplay made this a very, very fun time. I hope that they decide to release more DLC/expansions past May, and that their roadmap extends.
2023
Terrifying. Absolutely chilling. I genuinely felt so much during my short time with MyHouse, a map so liminal and passing that it perfectly mimics the feeling of growing up and the loss of innocence. There are those who complain that the 'story' behind the map is fake, or too manufactured, or even just too weird or played out. But at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter. If we're looking at real loss, MyHouse becomes a touching tribute complete with meditations on grief, moving on, and revisiting the past on a very human level. If it's just how it was written, then I don't think much is lost anyways if the audience is able to connect with the material's ideas and emotional core.
This is the type of map that should get someone hired in games immediately. I feel changed and unsettled from such a deep, immersive, and emotional-yet-short Doom II map/hack.
This is the type of map that should get someone hired in games immediately. I feel changed and unsettled from such a deep, immersive, and emotional-yet-short Doom II map/hack.
2024
I don't want to dissuade people from playing this game because there is a lot of quality here. But despite its appearance as a highly polished portal game/mod, the actual puzzling out feels a little half-baked. A lot of the solutions have to do with rethinking your understanding of cube replacement/respawning, not to mention the lack of a real game changing new mechanic. The closest things were the power switch and the new laser cubes. These both were very good additions, but there weren't enough puzzles concerning them where I could feasibly feel tested by their mechanics. There is a pretty high difficulty spike midgame punctuated by really long walking sections, which is the worst when considering the last, unfortunately easy, test chambers. The story is generally lackluster, and feels like a retread of a lot of what made Portal 2 so interesting. It ends really abruptly, which also sours my experience a little bit. For a (free!) fangame, I can recognize the work and quality that was put in, but I did not gel with a lot of this game. I may have been spoiled by Portal Reloaded to be honest.
1998
This was honestly almost a perfect game until the last like 30 minutes. That final boss is not very fun, and the escape sequence is a little more frustrating than fun. But oh man if I played this 15 years ago my mind probably would have been blown. The story and the gameplay and the exploration and the stealth and ugh. everything. it all holds up. what a GREAT game.
2023
They had a whiteboard with one word on it, that word was "swag" and they ran with it
2023
Looking forward to what this developer does next. The movement in this game is pretty incredible.
The story is inconsistent but everything overall is really impressive. Got the plat in 22 hr, short and sweet game.
A future classic metroidvania. There were definitely some compromises made to get this to work on a Nintendo Switch, and it shows. Some of the character animations are kinda cheap looking, and while the art style is very fun, I almost wish it could have been a bit more refined. Additionally, I think the choice to have teleporters separate from bonfires (trees) was a mistake with how big the map is. But despite this, the boss design and combat is incredible, alongside how much variety the map had. Finding different powers (including some really surprising ones) felt really really good. The story is a little lackluster but it takes itself seriously and I appreciated that. I wish the ending had a couple more minutes to wrap things up a bit better if anything.
And I spent so long on this game! 28 hrs on a metroidvania is super sick. Just a great game overall.
And I spent so long on this game! 28 hrs on a metroidvania is super sick. Just a great game overall.
i don't really have any words to describe how good this game is
Clean up the needless backtracking, the asinine answers to dumb problems (like keycard 9), and make a couple more interesting boss fights and this 2D series could have really been something to talk about. As is this game is really impressive, and I actually enjoyed it quite a bit, but it's fundamentally flawed. This is despite it's genuinely good story and great stealth mechanics. Onto Solid.