Hideo Kojima is a bit of a madman. Honestly, there’s no other way to describe a guy who decided to turn a 1980s military stealth game into a decades-long soap opera featuring clones, nanomachines, and a man who controls bees. When you look at every Metal Gear game, you aren't just looking at a list of software. You're looking at the evolution of cinematic storytelling in a medium that, frankly, wasn't ready for it back in 1987.
The series started because of technical limitations. The MSX2 couldn't handle too many bullets or enemies on screen at once. So, Kojima thought, "What if you just... don't fight?" It was a radical idea. It changed everything.
The MSX Era where it all began
Most people think Metal Gear Solid on the PlayStation was the first one. It wasn't. The actual origin lies in 1987 with Metal Gear on the MSX2. If you played the NES version back in the day, you actually played a vastly inferior port that Kojima famously dislikes. The NES version changed the level design and removed the actual Metal Gear tank battle at the end. Talk about a letdown.
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Then came Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake in 1990. This is the "hidden" masterpiece. It introduced crouching, crawling, and enemies with a field of vision that wasn't just a straight line. It’s wild how much of Metal Gear Solid was actually just a 3D remake of the mechanics found in this 8-bit title. The plot got dense, too. It dealt with nuclear proliferation and the "war economy" long before those became the series' buzzwords.
Metal Gear Solid and the 3D Revolution
1998 changed the world. Metal Gear Solid (MGS1) didn't just play differently; it felt different. It used the game's engine for cutscenes instead of pre-rendered FMV, which was unheard of. Remember Psycho Mantis? The guy who read your memory card and told you how many times you saved or if you liked Castlevania? That wasn't just a gimmick; it was breaking the fourth wall in a way that made the player feel vulnerable. It was genius.
Then came the "Snake Tales" controversy, sort of. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is probably the most misunderstood game in history. Everyone wanted more Solid Snake. Instead, we got Raiden—a blond, whiny rookie. People were furious. But looking back in 2026, MGS2 feels prophetic. It predicted the rise of digital misinformation, echo chambers, and the control of information by unseen algorithms. Kojima wasn't just making a game; he was writing a warning.
The Prequel Pivot
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater took us back to the 60s. Cold War vibes. Survival mechanics. You had to eat snakes (obviously) and perform surgery on yourself. The boss fight with The End—an ancient sniper—remains a series peak. You could literally wait a week in real life for him to die of old age. That kind of detail is why people obsess over these games. It’s also where we meet Big Boss, the man whose DNA basically fuels the rest of the franchise.
The MGS4 and Peace Walker Bridge
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots was meant to be the end. It was a 20-hour movie masquerading as a game. It tried to tie up every single loose end, even the ones that didn't need tying. Why are there nanomachines? Because of course there are. While the cutscenes were famously long—one clocks in at over an hour—the "OctoCamo" system was a technical marvel for the PS3 era.
Then came the PSP. You’d think a handheld game wouldn't matter, but Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is essential. It introduced the Mother Base management system. You weren't just a soldier; you were a commander building a private army, Militaires Sans Frontières. This loop of kidnapping soldiers with balloons (the Fulton system) became the core of the series' future.
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The Phantom Pain and the Kojima-Konami Split
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is a tragic masterpiece. It is arguably the best-playing stealth-action game ever made. The "Fox Engine" allowed for a level of emergent gameplay that still hasn't been topped. If you want to finish a mission by dropping a supply crate on a target's head, you can.
But the story is unfinished.
The public fallout between Kojima and Konami led to "Mission 51" being cut. The game ends on a twist that still divides fans—the realization that you aren't playing as the real Big Boss, but as a body double. It’s a meta-commentary on the player's role in the legend, but it left a lot of people feeling cold.
The Spin-offs: The Good and the Weird
- Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance: A high-speed hack-and-slash by PlatinumGames. It shouldn't work, but it does. Memes from this game still dominate the internet.
- Metal Gear Acid: A turn-based card game. Surprisingly deep, but definitely a niche taste.
- Metal Gear Survive: The one we don't talk about. A zombie survival game made after Kojima left. It lacks the soul, the politics, and the weirdness that makes the series great.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Timeline
The chronology is a mess. If you want to play every Metal Gear game in order of the story, you don't start at the beginning. You start with MGS3 (1964), move to Portable Ops and Peace Walker (1970s), then Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain (1975-1984). Only then do you hit the original MSX games from the 80s, followed by MGS1, MGS2, and finally MGS4 in 2014.
Trying to follow this linearly is a recipe for a headache. The real way to experience them is in release order. You need to see how the technology evolved to appreciate why the story became so bloated and beautiful.
Why Stealth Still Matters
Stealth games today owe everything to Snake. Modern titles like Hitman or Splinter Cell (if Ubisoft ever brings it back) utilize the "hide in plain sight" or "line of sight" mechanics perfected in Metal Gear. Kojima's insistence on "non-lethal" runs also pioneered the idea that players should be rewarded for restraint rather than just high kill counts.
Taking Action: How to Play Them Today
If you're looking to dive into this madness, don't just hunt for old discs. The Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 is the easiest entry point for modern consoles. It contains the MSX games and the first three "Solid" titles.
For the best experience, start with Metal Gear Solid 1. Ignore the dated graphics. The voice acting by David Hayter and the atmospheric music by Tappi Iwase hold up better than most games released last year. Once you finish that, move to MGS2, but keep an open mind. It's going to get weird.
If you find the controls of the older games too clunky, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater (the remake of MGS3) provides a modern control scheme while keeping the original's harrowing story intact. Focus on the environmental interaction. Use the camouflage. Listen to the codec calls—there are hours of hidden dialogue about movies, Godzilla, and military history that most players skip. That's where the real heart of the series lives.
Next Steps for Players:
- Grab the Master Collection Vol. 1 on Steam, PlayStation, or Xbox.
- Disable the "Special" items on your first run of MGS1 to keep the challenge real.
- When playing MGS3, don't forget to call your support team after every major event; the dialogue changes constantly.
- Prepare yourself for the emotional wreckage of the MGS4 ending—keep tissues nearby.