The first Metal Gear game I actually played on release. Honestly, despite the slightly higher rating I'd say my second favorite Metal Gear fluctuates between this and Metal Gear Solid 2 depending on the day. One big area that I think Snake Eater shines over its predecessor though is its environments. The Big Shell was a very confined space with a lot of identical looking structures and poorly defined landmarks. Comparatively, Naked Snake has much more room to breathe in the lush jungles of... R... Russia? That can't be right...
Look, it's probably best to not think too hard about the setting. Kojima wanted to tell a story set during the Cold War and he also wanted a Metal Gear game that takes place in the harsh, dense landscape of a jungle, so that's exactly what he did. This is a game where a guy shoots bees out of every orifice in his body, and twinks call for backup by meowing. Let the man have his fun. Really, I was surprised how much more funny Snake Eater is over the last two games. Volgin is a great, wacky villain, the bosses are cartoonish and unencumbered by weepy backstories, and your radio crew is perhaps the best gaggle of weirdo freaks to show up in a Metal Gear yet.
The story is also the most emotionally impactful of the series, with Snake's relationship to his mentor, The Boss, acting as the core upon which everything else hangs. By now I think most people already know where Kojima goes in his exploration of Snake and The Boss' relationship, but if you for some reason are still unaware then I really wouldn't want to spoil any of it. Snake Eater deals heavily with the idea of a soldier's duty to the mission being above all else, and how their heart can strain this sense of absolute loyalty to its breaking point.
It's also about having a good time! The jungle is a great place to set a Metal Gear and opens up a ton of potential for new stealth tactics and gameplay challenges. The camo index influences how well Snake is hidden, with anything over 85% being so effective that enemies can practically walk on top of you before spotting you. Likewise, enemies also blend into their environment much better than they have in the last two games, and by losing the soliton radar you have to rely on scoping out what's ahead and carefully planning your route based on what you observe rather than by glimpsing at your map for their sight line. Unfortunately, the fixed camera in the base game is a carry over that is counterintuitive to this new gameplay approach, and is one of the main reasons the enhanced edition, Subsistence, is the better option. The free cam just works a whole hell of a lot better.
The dense jungle flora also does a better job of hiding traps. Trip wire lines and C4 are a lot harder to spot, which helps ratchet up the tension for those who have maybe gotten a bit too comfortable with these games. There is also a new hunting mechanic that was front and center in MGS3's marketing. It's a big part of the game but one that just didn't gel well with me. Snake has to consume food regularly or his stamina drops, which results in all kinds of problems like reduced aim, or making it easier for Snake to pass out. The problem is his stamina ticks down too quickly, and having to constantly jump into the menu to chow down screws with the pace of the game. On the other hand, watching a little video of snake chomping right into a whole-ass fish or proclaiming something is "dis-gusting!" is great, I just think they could have toned down the rate of stamina degradation is all. Similarly, I wasn't a huge fan of dressing Snake's wounds in the menus. It's a novelty, sure, but there's a reason this hasn't made its way into any Metal Gear game since.
The boss battles are in top form, with The End being a series highlight. The final fight against The Boss serves as the best climax to a Metal Gear, easily. Snake Eater is also perhaps the most packed with secrets than any game in the series before or since. The amount of small things you can find is staggering. Hidden codec channels, being able to take out a boss before getting to their boss fight, or getting admonished as a coward for waiting out the battle until they simply just die, or finding a bizarre Devil May Cry inspired minigame by reloading a save at just the right moment... There's just so much to find, I was still learning of little things I missed years after first paying the game.
I can keep coming back to Snake Eater just as easily as I can Metal Gear Solid, though I do think the latter is pretty well solidified as my personal favorite in the series, even despite Snake Eater's numerous strengths. Still, if there's one Kojima game I would recommend to people above any other, it might just be this. There's a lot of winks and nods to later events in the Metal Gear chronology that certainly make it better enjoyed with a broader context of the series and its narrative, but being set that the earliest point in the story makes it easy to slip right into, and the mechanics of the Solid series are at their most refined here. Just a damn good game all around.
Look, it's probably best to not think too hard about the setting. Kojima wanted to tell a story set during the Cold War and he also wanted a Metal Gear game that takes place in the harsh, dense landscape of a jungle, so that's exactly what he did. This is a game where a guy shoots bees out of every orifice in his body, and twinks call for backup by meowing. Let the man have his fun. Really, I was surprised how much more funny Snake Eater is over the last two games. Volgin is a great, wacky villain, the bosses are cartoonish and unencumbered by weepy backstories, and your radio crew is perhaps the best gaggle of weirdo freaks to show up in a Metal Gear yet.
The story is also the most emotionally impactful of the series, with Snake's relationship to his mentor, The Boss, acting as the core upon which everything else hangs. By now I think most people already know where Kojima goes in his exploration of Snake and The Boss' relationship, but if you for some reason are still unaware then I really wouldn't want to spoil any of it. Snake Eater deals heavily with the idea of a soldier's duty to the mission being above all else, and how their heart can strain this sense of absolute loyalty to its breaking point.
It's also about having a good time! The jungle is a great place to set a Metal Gear and opens up a ton of potential for new stealth tactics and gameplay challenges. The camo index influences how well Snake is hidden, with anything over 85% being so effective that enemies can practically walk on top of you before spotting you. Likewise, enemies also blend into their environment much better than they have in the last two games, and by losing the soliton radar you have to rely on scoping out what's ahead and carefully planning your route based on what you observe rather than by glimpsing at your map for their sight line. Unfortunately, the fixed camera in the base game is a carry over that is counterintuitive to this new gameplay approach, and is one of the main reasons the enhanced edition, Subsistence, is the better option. The free cam just works a whole hell of a lot better.
The dense jungle flora also does a better job of hiding traps. Trip wire lines and C4 are a lot harder to spot, which helps ratchet up the tension for those who have maybe gotten a bit too comfortable with these games. There is also a new hunting mechanic that was front and center in MGS3's marketing. It's a big part of the game but one that just didn't gel well with me. Snake has to consume food regularly or his stamina drops, which results in all kinds of problems like reduced aim, or making it easier for Snake to pass out. The problem is his stamina ticks down too quickly, and having to constantly jump into the menu to chow down screws with the pace of the game. On the other hand, watching a little video of snake chomping right into a whole-ass fish or proclaiming something is "dis-gusting!" is great, I just think they could have toned down the rate of stamina degradation is all. Similarly, I wasn't a huge fan of dressing Snake's wounds in the menus. It's a novelty, sure, but there's a reason this hasn't made its way into any Metal Gear game since.
The boss battles are in top form, with The End being a series highlight. The final fight against The Boss serves as the best climax to a Metal Gear, easily. Snake Eater is also perhaps the most packed with secrets than any game in the series before or since. The amount of small things you can find is staggering. Hidden codec channels, being able to take out a boss before getting to their boss fight, or getting admonished as a coward for waiting out the battle until they simply just die, or finding a bizarre Devil May Cry inspired minigame by reloading a save at just the right moment... There's just so much to find, I was still learning of little things I missed years after first paying the game.
I can keep coming back to Snake Eater just as easily as I can Metal Gear Solid, though I do think the latter is pretty well solidified as my personal favorite in the series, even despite Snake Eater's numerous strengths. Still, if there's one Kojima game I would recommend to people above any other, it might just be this. There's a lot of winks and nods to later events in the Metal Gear chronology that certainly make it better enjoyed with a broader context of the series and its narrative, but being set that the earliest point in the story makes it easy to slip right into, and the mechanics of the Solid series are at their most refined here. Just a damn good game all around.