Metal Gear Solid series discussion.

[Sprague Cleghorn]

First MGS i played was IV back in 2015, so i can say that theres pretty much no nostalgia involved in my rankings.

1. MGS1: Best story of the series. Actually, one of the best ive ever had the pleasure to experience. Gameplay is fine, even for 2018 standards. Controls and camera arent too annoying, but idk how much of it has to do with me playing the Ps3 port instead of the OG PS1 version.

2. MGS3: Excellent story but not as good as 1. Controls were a significant improvement over II. Good balance of gameplay and story.

3. MGS5: Best gameplay by far and thats including every game ive ever played. Story was weak though i think kojima ran out if time? Its a shame cuz it couldve been a masterpiece.

4. MGS4: First one i ever played. 2nd best gameplay, and 3rd best story. Ive heard of the criticisms that it felt like a movie instead of a game but i didnt mind it.

5. PW: The one that set the groundwork for V. Love the gameplay especially coop special ops. Story was decent.

6. Mgs2: Controls and camera somehow felt more clunky than a ps1 game. Story was good but the gameplay just brings it down.

 

[X66]

I think people hate on MGS4 way too often. I really still do like that game.

Metal Gear 4 was awesome, and it tied a lot of things well. You kinda did get the feeling that they tried to jam everything in with characters across all of the games, but it was still awesome.

If it wasn't so obvious how rushed Phantom Pain was, I'd have no problem ranking it the best Metal Gear ever. It was still an excellent game but it felt too rushed.

 

[Warden of the North]

Ive played and beaten 1, 2, 3, and am about 75% of the way through 5. Did not play 4.

3 is my favourite by a long shot. I enjoyed the setting and style of the game, and the boss fights were very memorable. 5 is OK, but somewhat disappointing. I find the base building micromanaging bothersome. And I dont feel MGS is suited to an open world type game. I'd rather focused mission areas with a somewhat linear progression like the older titles. I dont remember a ton about 1, and all I remember about 2 was being pissed that I wasnt Snake.

I cant be the only one whos played most of the mainline story games (all except 4) and is still utterly confused about what the hell is happening, though, right? I mean, I know what Metal Gear is, but the whos who of Boss' and Snakes confuses me to no end. Maybe its because I only played each game once, and have spread them out over a near 20 year period that my recollection of what is happening its poor.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

I played them a bit growing up, but it wasn't until a couple years ago that I decided to beat them all, so here is my ranking as a somewhat late bloomer



Phantom Pain - Gameplay was just too good. Story wasn't as good as some of the others but it was just too fun to not put as #1. My only real complaint was no great boss battles.

Snake Eater - Perfect blend of story and good gameplay. Best boss fights in the series.

MGS1 - I'll probably take some heat but this hasn't held up as well as other old games. The story will always be great, but it just feels so clunky compared to 3/5/PW, etc. Certain parts felt like a chore replaying it a few years ago. The twist in this one remains king.

Sons of Liberty - Similar sentiments to MGS1 for me. A little less clunky though. Only placed lower than MGS1 because I gotta pay respect to the original.

Peace Walker - One of the best games gameplay wise, but lack of any real boss kind of sucked. And every mission kind of felt the same in how you approach it. I would always play every level the same stealth wise, whereas MGSV I felt like I had to change my approach depending on the situation. But it was fun gameplay and the framework for mother base and stuff was cool although not as fleshed out as MGSV.

Guns of Patriots - Some pretty good boss fights, nostalgia of Shadow Moses was good fanfare too. Just got kinda weird at some points.




That said they are all great. MGS Rising was fun too but very different (and difficult). Some day Ill get around to playing the original Metal Gear games and Portable Ops.

I think going forward they should just do remakes of some of the older games (like Snake Eater) with the engine they used for MGSV. That way you are staying true to the original story, and not bastardizing it like they are with MGS Survive.



And just for fun:

• Storyline - MGS3
• Gameplay - MGSV
• Setting -MGS3
• Characters - hmm... I feel like most of the good characters were villains and thats a separate category. Maybe I'll go MGS4 because it has BB, SS, and Raiden
• Villains - MGS3

Agreed with pretty much everything here. great breakdown of the games. The ranking is pretty spot on too.

I did see a "leaked" E3 set-list that included a MGS3 re-make on it... However I'm not sure the validity of the "leak" was ever confirmed.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Ive played and beaten 1, 2, 3, and am about 75% of the way through 5. Did not play 4.

3 is my favourite by a long shot. I enjoyed the setting and style of the game, and the boss fights were very memorable. 5 is OK, but somewhat disappointing. I find the base building micromanaging bothersome. And I dont feel MGS is suited to an open world type game. I'd rather focused mission areas with a somewhat linear progression like the older titles. I dont remember a ton about 1, and all I remember about 2 was being pissed that I wasnt Snake.

I cant be the only one whos played most of the mainline story games (all except 4) and is still utterly confused about what the hell is happening, though, right? I mean, I know what Metal Gear is, but the whos who of Boss' and Snakes confuses me to no end. Maybe its because I only played each game once, and have spread them out over a near 20 year period that my recollection of what is happening its poor.

MGS3 really seems to be where everything lined up. Every MGS is a hit, but with Snake Eater they really knocked it out of the park.

Definitely a hard storyline to follow, especially over the course of a long time. lol. Also, MGS4 really clears up a lot of the storyline between Big Boss and the Snakes and really ties up a lot of story aspects.

When MGS4 came out I was 15 and my best friend's parents were out of town for a couple weeks. I stayed at his place and watched him play straight through the entire game like a movie. It was pretty incredible.

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

Funnily enough, Kojima originally didn't want to do MGS anymore (I think so anyways). He came back and literally saved MGS3 and made it probably the best in the series.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

First MGS i played was IV back in 2015, so i can say that theres pretty much no nostalgia involved in my rankings.

1. MGS1: Best story of the series. Actually, one of the best ive ever had the pleasure to experience. Gameplay is fine, even for 2018 standards. Controls and camera arent too annoying, but idk how much of it has to do with me playing the Ps3 port instead of the OG PS1 version.

2. MGS3: Excellent story but not as good as 1. Controls were a significant improvement over II. Good balance of gameplay and story.

3. MGS5: Best gameplay by far and thats including every game ive ever played. Story was weak though i think kojima ran out if time? Its a shame cuz it couldve been a masterpiece.

4. MGS4: First one i ever played. 2nd best gameplay, and 3rd best story. Ive heard of the criticisms that it felt like a movie instead of a game but i didnt mind it.

5. PW: The one that set the groundwork for V. Love the gameplay especially coop special ops. Story was decent.

6. Mgs2: Controls and camera somehow felt more clunky than a ps1 game. Story was good but the gameplay just brings it down.

That's interesting to get a perspective from someone who doesn't have the nostalgia factor. I've heard from some other people that were late to the MGS series that MGS2 does not hold up. I always found it to be a pretty weak game, the storyline is cool throughout, the ending is like Kojima dropped a hit of acid that day during development. lol.


I was saying in another comment that I was at my friend's house when this game came out and I watched him play it straight through as though it was a movie. It was a great experience. It's interesting that you played that one first, because a lot of the storyline really ties up a lot of loose ends throughout the overall story of the other games.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Funnily enough, Kojima originally didn't want to do MGS anymore (I think so anyways). He came back and literally saved MGS3 and made it probably the best in the series.

Yeah man, that is a crazy curveball. I think MGS3 is really where everything came together, and it laid all the original groundwork for the beginning of the Big Boss timeline and all that.

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

I've had arguments before that while I liked MGS5's gameplay above any of the other games (it's so f***ing good compared to most games), the story and payoff made less sense than MGS4. There are those that think that even though MGS5 isn't a finished game, that it's still a better story and less stupid than MGS4. I'm going to have to just straight up disagree there. While MGS4's plot is way more involved, it has an actual beginning, middle, climax, and end. Tying most things into a nice knot for the most part.

 

[X66]

Here is my take on MGS5

I was fully invested into the game(still loved it) and it was tracking to be the best MGS for me, up until:

Spoiler: Spoilers for those that completed the game

Chapter 2 had me SO hype, I was ready to play for countless more hours. And then I started playing it and it was so unbelievably rushed, even though it had so much potential to branch further.

Spoiler: Boss Battles

I think of the entire series, MGS5 had the least memorable boss fights, which is a bit disappointing because I think there was a lot of potential here. Don't get me wrong, it had the best Metal Gear fight in the series, and the Man on Fire sequences were awesome, but I feel the other games had more memorable fights.

My buddies and I always talked about how we would have ended the game, and this was my wish, tell me if it sucks or not(l0l)

Spoiler: My Ending

When the reveal of who Punished Snake really was, I wish the game transitioned to outer Haven, only this time you control Solid Snake, who is voiced by David Hayter, and having the HUD look more like the old MGS just for that encounter. This way it ties into what happened at Outer Haven, because not a lot of people played the NES games and I think it would have been pretty awesome lol.

 

[Unholy]

4 I think is actually my favorite.. such good gameplay and could not stop playing it.

2 and 3 are probably a lot closer for me than anyone else. Most times I feel like replaying 2 than 3.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

4 I think is actually my favorite.. such good gameplay and could not stop playing it.

2 and 3 are probably a lot closer for me than anyone else. Most times I feel like replaying 2 than 3.

2 is an easy pick-up-and-play, whereas 3 is a bit more involved.

 

[crowi]

I also feel MGS4 gets disliked a bit more than it deserves. Granted it's a short "game" - more like an interactive movie.

My list would be (games I've played):
1. MGS3
2. MGS4
3. MGS1
4. MGS5
5. MGS2

The game I felt most immersed was MGS4, very easily. Oh the tears, finished it right before I had to get ready to go watch a hockey game. For gameplay it's MGS5.

"This is good, isn't it?"

 

[syz]

MGS3 is legitimately a bad video game. Always amazed at how many people seemed to apparently enjoy all the unfun, micromanaging bullshit that game was filled with. I mean the series wasn't exactly known for its gameplay until 5, but all the camo/food nonsense in 3 was just insane.

Cool story, though.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

I also feel MGS4 gets disliked a bit more than it deserves. Granted it's a short "game" - more like an interactive movie.

My list would be (games I've played):
1. MGS3
2. MGS4
3. MGS1
4. MGS5
5. MGS2

The game I felt most immersed was MGS4, very easily. Oh the tears, finished it right before I had to get ready to go watch a hockey game. For gameplay it's MGS5.

"This is good, isn't it?"

I think that is the problem with MGS4. It ties up a lot of loose ends in the story, but it plays more like a movie than a game, especially toward the end of the game.

MGS3 is legitimately a bad video game. Always amazed at how many people seemed to apparently enjoy all the unfun, micromanaging bull**** that game was filled with. I mean the series wasn't exactly known for its gameplay until 5, but all the camo/food nonsense in 3 was just insane.

Cool story, though.

That's fine that you don't like it, but remember that's just your opinion. If you don't like the food/camo aspects then just set the difficulty to "Very Easy" and run around with the EZ Gun. 80% camo all the time, decreased stamina consumption, and unlimited tranquilizer darts with a suppressor.