Metal Gear Solid (BECAUS WE NEED THIS!!!)

[Zup]

Nah 2 is the one that's pretty polarizing, and 4 is generally seen as weaker amongst the numbered ones. 3 is almost unanimously considered the best, and I can see why even if I still prefer 1 because of how perfect a little package it is.

Ain't any more difficult than the other games; most'a the other mechanics like the camo, the food, the self surgery, etc. is pretty optional. When you get banged up you do needa heal yourself but it's pretty easy ta do. However, if you like that thing, there's a lotta options so that you can play around with it.

[LegaiaWiki]

I only like the odd-numbered installments in the series. 1 and 3 are great whereas 2 and 4 are overly contrived and pretty stupid as a whole, imo. Especially MGS2. The whole bait and switch with Raiden being a surprise main character (and a bad one to boot) was irritating. Dead Cell was a terrible group of villains (a vampire, a fat guy on skates, some chick with a gun that can't be hit by bullets). The Big Shell was the worst location in the series by far (similar looking bland struts). And the story was just ridiculous even for MGS standards.

I hope Kojima gets to make that open world remake of MGS1 like he said he wants to.

[Lonewulf]

Im in the minority as i kinda liked 2 (didnt love it) but didnt like 3...the story was good but i hated playing it. 1 is amazing but i havent played 4.

[IronJustice]

I only like the odd-numbered installments in the series. 1 and 3 are great whereas 2 and 4 are overly contrived and pretty stupid as a whole, imo. Especially MGS2. The whole bait and switch with Raiden being a surprise main character (and a bad one to boot) was irritating. Dead Cell was a terrible group of villains (a vampire, a fat guy on skates, some chick with a gun that can't be hit by bullets). The Big Shell was the worst location in the series by far (similar looking bland struts). And the story was just ridiculous even for MGS standards.

I hope Kojima gets to make that open world remake of MGS1 like he said he wants to.

I agree completely.

I think MGS2 had potential though, and wasn't wrong for the ideas, but the execution is where they really fell. I can accept and enjoy an eccentric group of semi-realistic rogues like Dead Cell, but they weren't even trying to be semi-realistic in the portrayal. As far as Raiden being the main protagonist, I wasn't crazy about it but I can't fault them for wanting to try something new. The problem isn't that it wasn't Snake, its that Raiden sucks. He's whiny and bratty. Sure they were going for a character that was more of a novice and very different from snake, but don't make him unlikable. When filling the shoes of the legendary Solid Snake, they really needed to try harder to make this guy have more power to carry the narrative. Big Shell as a location was alright... Its different I guess. The Tanker was awesome, very enjoyable to play and navigate.

[LegaiaWiki]

The first section with Snake was great. Raiden wouldn't have bothered me much if there was at least some indication of his inclusion in the teaser trailers. As far as everyone knew, Snake was going to be the main character from the beginning, then you play it and suddenly Raiden comes from nowhere and I'm like, what the heck, who is this guy? And those conversations he had with his whiny gf Rose made it even worse.

Fortunately MGS2: Subsistence lessened the annoyance with the Pliskin missions, VR training, and fun skateboarding mini-game.

[Gameplaer90]

True....true...

[Gameplaer90]

The first experience that I remember that I had with the Metal Gear Series was when I was 2 years old (or 3) I put the game in my brother`s PSX and started to run arround with the Stealth Cammo and choke people or shooting them with the SOCOM. Years later I actualy played the game and loved it other than that Danm torcher sequence...The only one I hated more was the one on the PSP Peace Walker...

[Zup]

While I feel MGS2 wasn't nearly as amazing or tightly-knit and impactful as MGS1, I still defend the game because it's still genius. Spoilers for why I love Raiden:

First off -- Raiden is a whiny little Miley Cyrus, and nowhere near the man Snake was. He's not nearly as captivating a lead character, he's not cool, and he cries too much. I am not denying that, that is the exact same sentiment I had when I first played the game, and it's basically fact.

That bein' said, that was all intentional. Lemme get this first part outta the way -- Raiden looks like a girly pretty boy because Kojima got fanmail from Japanese girls sayin' they didn't wanna play as some old man and wanted someone cuter'n 質 because Japanese girls have poor taste in men. Movin' on.

For one thing, Raiden was meant ta replace Snake so that Snake could be explored from a third-person view. A lotta people notice (and poke fun at) the fact that, in MGS1, a lotta Snake's dialogue is just repeating a key word from some other character's dialogue with a question mark. This is, obviously, so that you as the player can get the proper exposition. However, it's a pretty silly thing for Snake ta be clueless 90%'a the time because he's s'pose' ta be this huge genius badass soldier. It makes much more sense for someone like Raiden to question things, and when you play MGS2, you should notice that Snake isn't asking for exposition dumps anymore -- he tells Raiden several times that he's dumb and a rookie and then explains 質 himself. This makes much more sense given his character.

What makes Raiden waaaay more inneresting than his first impression gives only comes in when you play through the game and pay attention ta the game's major themes. A lot of it (and the series as a whole) revolves around manipulation -- in MGS1 this is super clear. Snake, despite bein' a huge badass, was bein' manipulated the entire time (like how he was tricked inna activating REX when he thought he was stopping it) or for how he was a vessel for FOXDIE. MGS2 beats this inna your head -- every time Raiden successfully accomplishes something in the story, he gets slapped in the face as it's revealed he just made things worse because one'a the villains had planned for that the entire time. He gets zero victories throughout the game, despite completing his objectives.

The other big theme, and this is where 質's the best -- Raiden is meant to represent the player. This is why you're prompted ta put your own name on his dog tags, this is why Raiden's VR training is about MGS1, this is why Raiden becomes "Snake", this is why Big Shell mirrors Shadow Moses (as a major plot point even), etc. One'a the jokes later on is when you're told ta turn off your fuggin' console.

The reason it's so cool is that Raiden is you. You are not Solid Snake. You are not a grizzled badass war vet one-man army, you are a nerd playin' a video game and "pretending" to be him. Likewise, Raiden is a nerd doin' a VR mission "pretending" to be Solid Snake, more or less.

It isn't until the end'a the game that 質 comes full circle. The game fuggin' tells you ta stop wasting time playin' video games, and Raiden is told ta move on with his life. This is when he takes your dog tags and throws them out. He's not you anymore, he's not playing a video game anymore, he's not roleplaying as Snake anymore, he's becoming his own person.

Then he becomes a sick cyborg ninja (although Gray Fox is still leagues cooler).

I skimmed over most of it, and you can find all sortsa analyses and write-ups on this stuff, which I recommend you do because it's inneresting (although you should finish the game first).

While I still hold that MGS2 isn't nearly as gorgeous and well-packaged as MGS1, there's a lot going on with it that people don't mention, which is a shame because it's genius stuff and it's exactly the kinda stuff I myself like seein' in fiction. I don't like Raiden nearly as much as Snake, but what Kojima did with him was brilliant, and I respect and adore it. Plus, he becomes a lot cooler in MGS4 and Revengeance, so all's forgiven.

I do get that a lot of the outrage is because peeps were tricked inna thinkin' they were gettin' another Snake game and were instead givin' the antithesis to Snake, which is totally understandable, but as for me personally, I think it worked out and made the game much more inneresting than if it was just about Snake again. I don't believe the game woulda had the same impact and perfection that MGS1 did, so it would ultimately just end up as a better-playing, better-looking, but much-less-inneresting sequel, rather than something completely different with layers'a theming and commentary.

[Gameplaer90]

They take that "Main character is you" Even further on Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. With the fact that Venom Snake is supposed to be you if you play the Mission "Truth: The Man who sold the world"

[Zup]

'm 'onna get 100% and then I'm 'onna replay through the entire series again. V might just be my favorite in the entire franchise.