So I recently purchased Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1 on Steam. I remember these games being unreal. After finishing the first two Metal Gear Solid games, those memories definitely did not let me down. Hideo Kojima delivered the goods as both are still an absolute blast. I’d highly recommend using the MGSHDFix mod to adjust the resolution and add some much needed improvements to Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3. You can nab that on their GitHub. For the original Metal Gear games and Metal Gear Solid, you’ll need this one. Just follow the instructions and you’re good to go. Anyway, I’m currently making my way through Metal Gear Solid 3 which I never got around to playing back when it released and so far it’s pretty fantastic. Taking a slight detour before starting Metal Gear Solid 3, I played the original Metal Gear. I’d always heard good things about the originals so I thought I’d give them a go.
Konami originally released Metal Gear on the MSX2 in 1987. It saw a fairly limited release in Japan and some parts of Europe. The game was then re-worked and ported over to the original Nintendo and released into international markets. The creator, Hideo Kojima, actually had nothing to do with the Nintendo version, for whatever reason. I’ve heard he is less than enthused at its existence, but I don’t really know the whole story. I’m really not sure if the later games would have existed without the popularity of the Nintendo version internationally, but I’m just speculating. Metal Gear kinda reminds me of the original Zelda games on Nintendo and Super Nintendo in terms of gameplay and graphics. The MSX does seem to be a bit more detailed than the original Nintendo but not as advanced graphically as the Super Nintendo. Here, you have guns and other tactical espionage equipment as opposed to a sword and shield. Pretty similar game concepts though, move through each screen or area, solve puzzles and take out enemies as required then rinse and repeat. You play as a much smaller, pixelated Solid Snake than you’d otherwise be used to but the idea remains the same as the Metal Gear Solid games. Infiltrate the base, find and rescue hostages then destroy a giant killing machine. Sounds like a good time, eh?
I still remember my brother tinkering around with MSX emulators back in the day to get the original Metal Gear games running. I had no idea what an MSX was. I still don’t really know outside of an old PC that was popular in Japan. Now, that brother is all for using guides and walkthroughs right off the bat, where my older brother and I would rather play out the story ourselves until we got stuck and then we might sneak a peak at a walkthrough to solve the specific part we were stuck on. Look, I’m all for playing games how you want, I am. I’m certainly no elitist. But to me, it just seems like a bit of a waste to start a game and know everything single little thing you need to do to progress right from the opening credits. I find that playing games this way is more like you’re just ticking things off an interactive checklist rather than a fun gaming experience. I find it far less enjoyable than watching the story unfold as you play and progress as you’re supposed to. I really don’t feel the satisfaction of solving puzzles that way. Physically, yes, you are solving the puzzles but it just feels a bit cheap as it’s handed to you on a platter. You may be wondering, why all the crapping on about guides and walkthroughs? When it comes to the original Metal Gear, you’re gonna need one.
I initially started Metal Gear with no guide and no walkthrough. I actually had a pretty ok time to start. But Metal Gear is a game that is fairly set in it’s ways. I mean, there is one solution for each puzzle and it doesn’t stray from that. Similarly for bosses, you can only take them out one possible way. I did try a few alternate solutions, warning: spoiler for nearly 40 year old game, the remote missiles or C4 do not work against the Hind D. Both are also explosives, which I would have thought would also do some damage. Nope, not a scratch. I guess that was my fault for not picking up the grenade launcher. But, I didn’t even know there was a grenade launcher in this game. So, I looked at a guide and I backtracked to get it. That’s kinda how the rest of the game played out. There is also a few people you’ll need to contact by codec, but blink and you’ll miss the transmission and soft-lock yourself. You’ll have to get used to backtracking between the buildings of the base, there is a lot of it. Oh, you bet, it is tedious as all hell. Miss an item and you’ll be kicking yourself pretty hard that you have to go alllllllllllll the way back to retrieve it. The game only runs about 3.5-4hrs long, but if you took out the backtracking it would probably knock that down about an hour. There are some nonsensical puzzles along the way, again these soft-lock your game if you don’t complete them. A guide is essential after a certain point in the game, which really makes it fall flat.
The original Metal Gear might be worth a look if you’re curious about the original games, but it’s hard to recommend as a fun gaming experience. It’s not because it’s old or looks dated graphically, but honestly it is just not a good game. The bosses you come up against, these are all fairly primitive and just don’t pose a great challenge. Some of them you can literally just run up next to them and just start firing away to take them out which is not overly satisfying. I will say, controls wise on the Steam Deck the game does work absolutely perfect out of the box and you can control Snake with both the d-pad or the left stick along with the triggers and the face buttons. Metal Gear has some pretty simple game mechanics, both movement, actions and combat are all quite basic. The controls are probably the highlight of the entire experience. You do have a range of different weapons and items to use to get you through the game. Some of them you won’t even know exist until you run into a situation where you can’t progress and have to backtrack to find it. Playing Metal Gear for the first time has some profound frustrations. Backtracking is top of the list. You typically won’t even know you need to backtrack until you run into a situation you can’t navigate through. Or your current weapons are useless against the boss you’re up against.
The stories of Metal Gear 1 and 2 are referenced in the later Metal Gear Solid games and these give enough of a snippet that you can easily pickup the story. You probably don’t need to put yourself through the original games. If you’ve played the first two Metal Gear Solid games already, it does make the ending a bit of a non-event. The gameplay is really what you would expect out of 1987, it is incredibly basic but still functional. The environments are also basic when it comes to detail. Limitations of the time, I guess. It’s still a pretty distinguishable action-adventure game and has it’s place among the likes of the original Zelda games. As I said earlier, it is a fairly similar in game mechanics that you are cycling through different screens, taking out or avoiding your enemies and solving puzzles to move through the story. There isn’t much of a music presence, it’s really just the same background track throughout the entire game which gets old pretty quickly. When it comes to the game story, it is very barebones. You’re Solid Snake and the mission is to infiltrate the base Outer Heaven, rescue the hostages including Foxhound operative Grey Fox and investigate and destroy the giant killing machine Metal Gear. The story itself sounds pretty good, but the execution is lacking. Is it the age of the game? Is it the mechanics? It’s neither. Both puzzles and bosses only have a single, inflexible solution. Backtracking is also a massive part of the game and it really isn’t done particularly well. The fact that a guide is required to finish the game is also a major letdown. I usually quite enjoy retro games, but I simply cannot recommend this one. Even if it’s from an overall very good series.
Verdict:
The original Metal Gear is definitely an interesting relic. Even for fans of the series, it is far from a must play. The game design is quite obviously outdated. Both bosses and puzzles really only have a single solution, where there could have been multiple. The amount of backtracking is extremely frustrating, as is the need for the use of a guide or walkthrough. Legacy is definitely important, but this simply does not hold up.
Deck Compatibility: 10/10
Overall Game Rating: 3.5/10 – It Stinks.
Dad with a Deck 
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