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Metal Gear Solid, (Japanese:メタルギアソリッド ) commonly abbreviated as MGS, is a stealth-based game developed by Konami and first published for the PlayStation video game console in 1998. It is the third canonical game in the Metal Gear series, produced and directed by Hideo Kojima, with artwork by Yoji Shinkawa. Metal Gear Solid alternates stealth gameplay and expository cinematic sequences. It has been frequently selected by gaming publications as the greatest PlayStation game ever made.

Metal Gear Solid was groundbreaking in its use of spoken dialogue, an intricate plot, and cinematic presentation. The availability of 3D graphics and the extensive storage capacity of the CD-ROM format compared to what the Metal Gear team had to work with in 1987 and 1990 made it possible to create a more complete version of Hideo Kojima's vision of what the previous games for the NES and MSX should have been.

After a teaser showing at E3 in 1997, it became one of the most highly anticipated games of its time. It topped the sales charts upon its release in 1998, and held the number one spot in the ELSPA UK videogames chart for eight consecutive weeks, a record at the time.

To date, Metal Gear Solid has spawned one sequel (Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, released in 2001) and a prequel (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, released in 2004). A fourth game, titled Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, is currently in development, set for a 2007 release. MGS1 has been enhanced and remade for the Nintendo GameCube with the subtitle The Twin Snakes.

Plot summary

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In February of 2005, during a training mission on Shadow Moses, a nuclear weapons facility on a remote island off the coast of Alaska, the Next-Generation Special Forces unit rebels against the United States government, led by the covert black ops team FOXHOUND and its senior member, Liquid Snake. Their target is the advanced weapon system "Metal Gear REX", a giant bipedal tank with a railgun capable of shooting uninterceptable stealth nuclear warheads at anywhere in the world ("stealth" because traditional systems track missile exhaust, which this system lacks). They have one demand: the body of the greatest soldier who ever lived, Big Boss. The Next-Generation Special Forces (colloquially known as the "Genome Soldiers", because of their advanced gene therapy) need the genes of Big Boss to rectify the genetic defects caused by their gene therapy, saving their lives and turning them into the ultimate soldiers. The government cannot let this happen. At the request of the Secretary of Defense, Colonel Roy Campbell, the former commander of FOXHOUND, summons Solid Snake out of retirement (reluctantly) and sends him to infiltrate Shadow Moses in one last solo covert operation. His objectives are to find out if Foxhound have nuclear strike capability, and to recover the hostages, ArmsTech President Kenneth Baker and DARPA Chief Donald Anderson.

Though Snake will be going in alone, he has significant intelligence support via his two-way "Codec" radio. Col. Campbell is in operational command of the mission. Mei Ling, a genius at improvisational hardware, handles Snake's data needs (IE saving the game), as well as inspirational quotes from both Eastern and Western cultures. McDonell "Master" Miller, a war buddy of Snake's, passes along advice on Alaskan conditions and wildlife. Nastasha Romaneko, a civilian weapons specialist in Los Angeles, California, provides data and operating instructions on most of Snake's weapons and equipment. Dr. Naomi Hunter, who can only be accessed via Campbell's frequency, augments Campbell's experience with FOXHOUND members from her experience as the unit medic. Finally, several residents of the base—REX's designer, Dr. Hal "Otacon" Emmerich; Meryl Silverburgh, Col. Campbell's niece (or daughter, depending on what ending the player gets); and a mysterious informant calling himself Deep Throat—occasionally work alongside Snake, but mostly can only be contacted by Codec. All of these characters have their own histories and personal demons, which can be explored via Codec conversations (the game includes over four hours of recorded dialogue).

After a successful insertion, Snake meets with DARPA Chief Anderson and confirms that FOXHOUND has his half of the codes necessary to launch a nuclear weapon. Shortly after, Anderson is killed by what looks like a heart attack. Snake's suspicions are aroused when ArmsTech President Baker dies of similar causes. Before he dies, however, he explains that to arm the nuke, FOXHOUND will need three special card keys. Anderson gave his single key to a woman, Meryl, whom Snake meets with. In the process, Snake meets several members of FOXHOUND: Revolver Ocelot, a skilled and grizzled gunslinger; Vulcan Raven, an Inuit shaman who attacks Snake using an M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank, and the bizarre levitating telepath Psycho Mantis.

Since FOXHOUND appear to have most or all of the ability to launch a nuclear weapon, Snake makes contact with Otacon, REX's primary designer. First, though, he must rescue him from an odd cyborg ninja who thirsts only for battle. This mysterious figure turns out to be Gray Fox (Frank Jeager), Snake's former FOXHOUND comrade, thought dead for six years. Snake, with Meryl in tow, then attempts to cross to REX's hanger on the other side of the Shadow Moses complex. They successfully fight off and kill Psycho Mantis, despite his occasional possession of Meryl. The journey to the hangar, on the other hand, is less successful: it involves a long concrete alleyway with a communications tower at the other end, the perfect place for a sniper ambush. Snake is able to dodge fire from FOXHOUND's Sniper Wolf, but Meryl is shot in both legs and an arm. To save her, Snake must backtrack to one of the first buildings in the game and retrieve a PSG-1 sniper rifle, and then duel Sniper Wolf at long range. Meryl, however, has been captured during the interval; and when Snake attempts to cross after defeating Wolf, he too is captured, and meets Liquid Snake, the man who shares his code name. He reveals that they are twins. Each of them is a genetically-manipulated clone of the 20th century's greatest soldier, Big Boss, and both of them were created as part of a secret genetic manipulation and cloning project titled "Les Enfants Terribles." Liquid hates Snake, as he believes that Snake was given all of Big Boss's dominant traits, while Liquid was given the recessive traits.

After a torture mini-game in which the player must repeatedly pound a face button, Snake finds himself in a holding cell with a roommate: the DARPA Chief, who seems to have been dead for a lot longer than a few hours. In the game, there are several ways to escape from the cell. In what appears to be the "intended" method, Snake enlists Otacon's help in escaping. Otacon can't fight, but he finds a specially-colored bottle of ketchup, which Snake uses to fake a bloody death, and then escape when the panicking guard (Johnny Sasaki) comes to investigate. Snake may also hide under the bed in the cell when the guard leaves; returning to think that Snake has dissapeared. If the player has not figured out a way after an extended period of time, the mysterious cyborg ninja will come and unlock the door. Snake returns to the communications tower and climbs it, but before he can cross a bridge to its other half and descend again, Liquid destroys the bridge in a Mi-24 Hind-D attack helicopter. Snake escapes and crosses using a lower bridge. Searching for something to use against the Hind, like a Stinger missile launcher, he meets up with Otacon—who, improbably, has fallen in love with Sniper Wolf and begs Snake not to harm her. Snake manages to shoot down the helicopter, and finally descends to the bottom of the second tower. Just outside it, however, Sniper Wolf is waiting. Snake disables her, and Otacon arrives in time to bid her a tearful goodbye.

Snake has finally reached the Underground Base where REX is kept. At this point, Master Miller calls with startling news. Naomi claimed earlier that her Japanese grandfather worked in the FBI under Hoover—which, according to Miller, is a lie. Snake then encounters Vulcan Raven, this time equipped with an M61 Vulcan gatling gun. After being defeated, he reveals that the DARPA Chief Snake encountered was not the real one, but was rather Decoy Octopus, FOXHOUND's impersonation specialist. Why he did this, Raven leaves Snake to figure out for himself. Finally, Miller informs Snake and Col. Campbell that "Naomi Hunter" is no such person; she must be, in fact, a spy affiliated with FOXHOUND. He also reveals some sort of secret weapon: "FOXDIE," a secret assassination weapon—a genetically engineered virus that kills only specific people. Supposedly, it was deployed by Snake during this mission... And it kills by simulating a heart attack. With all this in mind, Naomi is placed under arrest.

Otacon, who has been hacking his way into Shadow Moses's files, has finally figured out the secret of the card key Snake got from Meryl. The nuclear weapon requires three card keys, but the single key Snake has is all three of them, because it is made of a "shape memory alloy" and will change form when exposed to different temperatures. The card keys are one-use-only: inserting them when the nuke is armed will disarm it, and vice-versa. Snake uses his three-in-one card key—and then, to his alarm, hears the computer report that the nuke is armed. Liquid Snake, chortling triumphantly, reveals how he's been manipulating the mission from the start: by posing as Master Miller. He explains that the DARPA Chief died under Ocelot's torture without revealing his half of the nuke's arming codes, but from Baker they learned the existence of the three-in-one key, which functions regardless of arming codes. Decoy Octopus then disguised himself as Chief Anderson to fool Snake into arming the nuke, exactly as he just did. Snake now has only one option: destroy Metal Gear REX.

Snake is in trouble until Gray Fox reappears. At the cost of his own life, he destroys REX's radar dish, forcing Liquid to open the cockpit itself and observe the situation manually. Snake succeeds in totalling REX, but is knocked unconscious, while Liquid remains intact. He lectures Snake for almost half an hour on the details of the Les Enfants Terribles project, not to mention the gene therapy that created the Genome Soldiers, and reveals Meryl, bound and near death. Campbell then calls and explains that he has been removed from command in favor of Secretary of Defense Jim Houseman, who is about to drop nuclear weapons onto Shadow Moses. Liquid and Snake duel hand-to-hand aboard the carcass of REX, and after Snake wins, he escapes in a Jeep, using its mounted machine gun for a final confrontation with Liquid (who appears to be impervious to bullets; it's FOXDIE that ultimately does him in). Finally, Campbell reasserts his command by getting in contact with President George Sears, recalls the bombers and nukes, and helps arrange for Snake's departure.

The game features two possible endings, affected by performance in the torture session. The player is given an option to 'break' and surrender, but if s/he does, Meryl is revealed to have died during Snake's bout with Liquid, and Otacon drives the jeep. If the player succeeds in withstanding Ocelot's torture, however, Meryl lives and drives the jeep, while Otacon stays behind in the "doomed" base. The game's sequel, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, makes it clear that the "Meryl" ending is canonical.

Finally, after the credits, the player is treated to a one-sided telephone report between Revolver Ocelot and a mysterious party. Ocelot reveals to his superior that Liquid was wrong: Snake was, in fact, inferior on a genetic level. Ocelot also retains data from the test-firing of REX's nuclear railgun, and plans to sell it on the black market. In the "Meryl" ending, he reveals that neither Solid nor Liquid knew of the existence of their third twin: Solidus Snake, a "well-balanced individual" and the man with whom Ocelot is now conversing. Finally, he signs off: "Yes. Thank you. Good-bye. Mr. President."

Game details

Cinematic presentation

The entire game was fully voiced, with an unprecedented amount of quality voice acting talent. The majority of the game's dialogue takes place during radio conversations between Solid Snake (Akio Otsuka/David Hayter, Japanese and English respectively) and other characters through a transmitting device called a "Codec". The player was also free to initiate additional Codec calls during gameplay, which allowed additional details outside of the core storyline to be gleaned. Upon completion, the game features a rolling demo mode, in which the player may watch every cutscene and Codec conversation in the game without actually playing through it. The game contains over four hours of dialogue, which contributed to its shipping on two CDs.

The rest of the plot unfolds during fully-voiced cut scenes of ground-breaking quality. These scenes featured motion captured movements, elaborate camera shots, and special effects. They were rendered in real-time using the game's 3D engine. This decision to go with real-time rendering cost the scenes some realism: the characters' mouths did not move during dialogue and instead a slight jiggle of the head was used to represent speech.

Real-world references

The game, though set in (what was then) a near future, retains many elements of today's global, political, economic and military climate. Part of The Pentagon's urgency on Snake's sneaking mission is that the President is about to sign the fictional START III treaty, which REX's nuclear railgun violates. Of course, President Sears has not been fully briefed on REX's abilities, for reasons of plausible deniability. Nastasha Romaneko's parents died of cancer from helping clean up after the Chernobyl disaster. Finally, many of the game's gadgets and weapons (the USP SOCOM pistol, the FAMAS assault rifle, Ocelot's dual Colt Single Action Army revolvers) are drawn directly from real life, though a number of others (the Soliton radar, the Codec radio system, optic camouflage, and Snake's infinite-ammo bandanna) are purely fictional.

Breaking the fourth wall

A stylistic quirk, Kojima's script breaks the fourth wall in a number of places.

• In the PlayStation version of the game, Psycho Mantis performs a variety of stunts to prove the truth of his telepathic and psychokinetic powers. First, he scans the player's memory card for save files from other Konami games and drops pithy comments if he finds them. (In the Japanese version, if save files from both Snatcher and Policenauts are found, Mantis delivers a message of gratitude from Kojima himself.) He also asks the player to drop his DualShock controller on the ground and then invokes the controller's vibration function in a violent manner. As one of his battle attacks, he is able to turn the game's screen black, with only the word "HIDEO" on the top corner of the screen, as if the player's television were malfunctioning. Finally, to counter his "mind-reading ability", the player must unplug the controller from Controller Port 1 and insert it into the infrequently-used Controller Port 2 instead.

• In both PS and PC versions, the Codec frequency for Meryl can only be found on the back of the game's box or jewel case. (This was initially commissioned in an effort to curb piracy, as without contacting Meryl, the player cannot progress in the game.) However, this trick could be side-tracked (possibly for those who lost their case) by calling Campbell via CODEC five times in a row. This puzzle is not completely original to Metal Gear Solid, as the MSX2 version of Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake also required the player to look behind the game's packaging when Campbell changes frequency number.

• In the conversation with Mei Ling, pictured below at right, Mei Ling tells the player (a.k.a. Snake) that they should be thankful that they have enough time to play video games. Master Miller also instructs Snake to "trust your instincts as a soldier, as a gamer..."

• During the battle with the Hind D, the Colonel will advise Snake that he can determine the gunship's position by following the sound of its rotors. However, if the player has set the game's sound to monaural mode, Campbell and Mei Ling will express pity.

• Finally, during the Revolver Ocelot torture sequence, he warns about the player using a controller with an auto-fire function; if the game detects an unlikely number of controller inputs, the player hits a game over. After the first two torture sessions, Naomi Hunter, in a Codec conversation, comforts Snake's wounds—the player's sore arm after the torture sequence—by asking the player to place the controller on his shoulder. The controller then vibrates, under the guise that it is the nanomachines in Snake's blood that is easing his tense muscles. If the game is played without the DualShock controller, this feature is simply not presented.

The moral

Metal Gear Solid was one of the first video games to carry a definable "moral" and "meaning". It was vehemently opposed to nuclear proliferation, and broached such themes as love and killing. It also made the scientific suggestion that people should not be quick to blame their problems on their genes. Some players and critics mark it as the first video game to suggest to a wider audience that games could also function as works of art.

Alternate versions

Japanese premium package

Two versions of Metal Gear Solid were initially released in Japan; a stand-alone version containing the game itself, and a premium package containing the game, a t-shirt, a B4-sized pamphlet, memory card stickers, a serialized FOXHOUND dog tag, and a CD soundtrack containing music from the original MSX versions of Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. The premium package that was sold to the general public in Japan came in a silver-colored metallic box, while a gold version was given to Konami stockholders. Both the premium package and the standard release came with a demo version of Gensô Suikoden II.

North American release

Metal Gear Solid was released first in Japan, prior to the North American release. As a result, the American version has some minor refinements added during the localization process, such as adjustable difficulty settings (the Japanese version only featured the "Easy" setting, with an unlockable "No Radar" mode), a demo theatre and an unlockable tuxedo outfit for Snake in addition to the red-colored Cyborg Ninja from the Japanese version. The features added in the English-language version, including the English-language soundtrack, appeared in Metal Gear Solid: Integral, released only in Japan.

The English script was translated by Jeremy Blaustein, who localized the English script for the Sega CD version of Snatcher. While his work in Metal Gear Solid was accurate to the original Japanese script, many of the lines in the games were Americanized by Blaustein. One of the most drastic differences between the original script and Blaustein's was the fact that Mei Ling only quoted Chinese proverbs in the Japanese version, whereas in the English script, she also quoted from western authors and literature.

European release

In the European releases of Metal Gear Solid some countries received a version of the game dubbed in their own languages, such as Spanish, French and Italian. In contrast, the European releases of later Metal Gear titles featured only English dubbing with subtitles in the respective country's language. The European versions included a playable demo of Silent Hill. A premium package was also released in Europe; however, the contents of it are different from the Japanese version. It contains the game, its soundtrack, postcards, dog tags, a reversible poster, and memory card stickers. The dogtags in this package have a generic design with the Metal Gear Solid and Konami logos, instead of the FOXHOUND design from the Japanese version. The European version also differed from the American version by introducing 'Extreme' play mode, on top of the 'Easy', 'Normal' and 'Hard' modes. This version was more difficult as it introduced more restrictions on the player, for example extended guard vision distance.

Metal Gear Solid: Integral and the PC version

Released on June 24, 1999 in Japan only, Metal Gear Solid: Integral was a typical international version release. It included the additional features added in the North American release (such as the English-language voice acting and an additional unlockable oufit for Solid Snake), several entirely new features, and an extra disc of entirely new content.

The new features added to Integral that weren't present in the North American release include an additional difficulty level ("Very Easy", which gives the player a submachine gun with unlimited ammo and silencer already equipped), a new costume for Meryl based on Solid Snake's sneaking suit, unlockable first-person view and "Alternate Round" (which has different placement and routes for guards) modes, and two additional radio frequencies with messages from the developers and secret music. Players could also download their clear data to the PocketStation, to play a special classified mission with Naomi or exchange their clear data with other players.

The third disc, composed of entirely original content, includes 300 virtual reality training missions, ranging from simple tests of sneaking or fighting skill, to various absurd tasks like fighting Genola (a massive soldier with some very Godzilla-like tendencies) or battling Solid Snake as Cyborg Ninja. This disc also included pre-release trailers for Metal Gear Solid, a photoshoot mode where the player could take pictures of Mei Ling and Naomi, and an unlockable preview picture of Metal Gear RAY from Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.

While Metal Gear Solid: Integral was never released outside of Japan, it was adapted for western markets. The third disc was released in North America and Europe (on September 30, 1999 and October 29, 1999, respectively) as Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions (in North America; in Europe it was titled Metal Gear Solid: Special Missions). Also, the Microsoft Windows version of Metal Gear Solid released in 2000 in North America and Europe is based on Integral instead of the original North American PlayStation release, and as such includes all of the extra features (save for the PocketStation link) and the VR Missions disc.

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes

In the first quarter of 2004, an enhanced remake titled Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes was released for the Nintendo GameCube. It features re-recorded voice acting, updated graphics, and gameplay features borrowed from Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. It was directed by Ryuhei Kitamura and developed by Nintendo's then-second-party developer Silicon Knights.

Metal Gear Solid comic book

In September 2004, IDW Publications began running a comic book version of "Metal Gear Solid" that is written by Kris Oprisko and illustrated by Ashley Wood. The comic mimics Yoji Shinkawa's gritty style using a palette of greys and rough, sketchy paintings as panels. This first arc is now available in two paperback volumes, each with 6 issues and a cover gallery. More recently, a new arc has launched telling the tale of "Sons of Liberty", including a special issue #0, containing character info and a special 5 page story.

Metal Gear Solid Digital Graphic Novel

In January 2006, Kojima Productions announced a new title for the PlayStation Portable with the working title Metal Gear Solid Digital Graphic Novel. It is based on the comics by IDW Publications, and includes enchancements such as sound effects and animation.

Cast

Metal Gear Solid's English-language voice cast is a typical cross-section of the voice-acting talent in at the beginning of the 21st century, and many of the voice actors in both major and minor roles are experienced voice actors. Other studios that have drawn on this pool of voice-acting talent include LucasArts (particularly Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic) and Hanna-Barbera Productions (including such shows as The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy). Despite their experience, however, the majority of the credited cast, save for David Hayter and Doug Stone, were credited under pseudonyms. Unusually, the European edition manual (but not the actual game) credits Hayter under the pseudonym Sean Barker.

Lead cast:

• David Hayter lent his voice to Solid Snake, and it has since become his highest-profile speaking role and, save for his later screenwriting work on comic book movies X-Men and its sequel, X2: X-Men United, his highest-profile role of any kind. (Veteran seiyuu Akio Otsuka voiced Solid Snake in the Japanese-language version.)
• Cam Clarke, already noted for his work in Robotech, the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, and the English-language adaptation of Akira, voiced Liquid Snake. He used the pseudonym "James Flinders". (Banjō Ginga voiced Liquid Snake in the Japanese-language version.)
• Debi Mae West, credited as "Mae Zadler", voiced Meryl Silverburgh. (Kyoko Terase voiced Meryl in the Japanese-language version.)

Supporting characters:

Incidental voices:

Music

Metal Gear Solid's score was composed by a number of in-house musicians at Konami, including Kazuki Muraoka, composer of the soudtrack of the NES version of the original Metal Gear. The in-game music has a more synthetic feel, often similar to ambient music, which increases pace and begins to introduce strings during the more tense moments. It has a distinctly videogame-style looping nature. Cut scene music, however, is more overtly cinematic, with stronger use of orchestral and choral elements.

A relaxing and contemplative ending theme by Rika Muranaka, titled "The Best is Yet To Come", covers the game's end-credits sequence and features Irish lyrics sung by Aoife Ní Fhearraigh. An alternate ending theme, which is heard upon completing the game three times, was written by composer TAPPY. This theme was previously featured in the game's trailers, and also set the style for later Metal Gear games.

These three styles (synthetic game music, orchestral cut-scene music, and a vocal ending theme) are revisited throughout the later games such as Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. (A brassier, more orchestral soundtrack, inspired largely by the soundtrack of the James Bond films, was recorded for Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.)

The music used during the VR missions is a reworking of the main theme from the original MSX version of Metal Gear.

External links

Official

• Metal Gear Solid official website (Japanese)
• Metal Gear Solid: Integral official website (Japanese)
• Metal Gear Solid Windows version official website

Others

• Metal Gear Solid at MobyGames
• Metal Gear Week on 1UP.com, with Hideo Kojima interview
• Metal Gear Solid at the Metal Gear Wiki

• 1998 computer and video games
• 1999 computer and video games
• 2000 computer and video games
• Cancelled Nintendo 64 games
• Metal Gear games
• PlayStation games
• Stealth computer games
• Windows games