5 stars instinctually feels excessive for a game with so many problems, but it hardly leaves my mind when thinking of this series. 2 should have never had a sequel, but 4 is such a fascinating chapter in the series when it comes to Kojima himself and the fans of the series.
Despite my issues with it, I still believe 4 contains the best highs of the series (and also the lowest lows)
The BnB unit is terribly written but make for halfway okay boss fights most of the time. The story over explains everything from the prior games and almost ruins certain story elements or character motivations. As much as I recognize the bloated writing in 4, I still find myself captivated by it. This game equates to Kojima making sure he will never have to make a sequel ever again. It doesn’t leave a single thread loose. Old Snake represents the game itself. He’s old, not as heroic as he used to be, falling apart but forced to play his role in this conflict, held to the standards of his past etc. I also find tremendous humor in the fact that this is yet another Metal Gear game that refuses to let you play as the “ideal” solid snake. 2 took that away from you, 3 was close enough but is still a completely different character, and 4 brought him back as an elderly man that’s always coughing and throwing his back out. Unless we count Twin Snakes, Kojima never let us play as Snake in his prime again. It’s very representative of the series. Kojima didn’t want to follow up 2 so he made 3 a prequel. He didn’t want to direct 4 but fell to the pressure of his fans that practically forced him to take back control. Snake feels like his self insert in this game. Not to paint kojima as a deity figure that created the series on his own, his whole development team deserves equal praise, but snake’s role in 4 feels like a mirror to how this series just won’t end even though it should.

This isn’t really a criticism. We Love Katamari is one of my favorite games and it too was a sequel that likely shouldn’t have existed because the director didn’t want to make a sequel - but instead of half assing it due to obligation, they used those expectations of a sequel to create a very specific tone and style that had a strong voice behind it.

MGS4 is a train wreck but it feels like a game made by a team that really loved its fans and wanted to go out with a memorable bang. Despite the obvious narrative problems and incomplete gameplay ideas, MGS4 succeeds in having one of the most emotionally engaging finales of any video game ever made. It kind of lands on its feet somehow despite its almost intentional desire to ignore pacing structure. It’s such a weird game. Nothing like it exists, even within the series it’s a part of. I love it even if I feel like I should hate it sometimes. Complicated feelings like this are meaningful to me. I don’t rate this 5 stars because it’s mechanically perfect and an ideal example of game design or story telling, I rate it high because it just feels monumental when I engage with it. My favorite experiences aren’t what I consider objectively perfect, they’re the ones that stick with me and refuse to let go.
I value a flawed game that feels special to me over a technically perfect game that doesn’t provide a strong personal experience (which includes being simply fun). Personal experiences are important in art and I object to the obligation of grading a game like a homework assignment based off the standards of others. It’s why I only use star ratings when it’s a 5 star. I like to highlight games I’d consider my favorites, but my time with games or movies shouldn’t be boiled down to a math equation. Some people enjoy that process which is totally fine, but this is my subjective way of engaging with media. My experience is more important than my rating.

I’m incredibly curious how the public will react to MGS4 when it inevitably is ported to modern systems. Will reevaluation be favorable? It won’t impact how I view the game, but I have a feeling it’ll be far more jarring than when it initially released. It’s going to be fun to talk about it again with a bunch people who play it for the first time, whether they love it or hate it.