The Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection is an exhaustive bundle of stealth classics

When discussing his inspiration for the unique 1987 Metal Gear sport, collection creator Hideo Kojima has usually referred to the restrictions of the MSX2 system it was designed for. With arduous limits on the quantity of sprites the machine might present on display and restricted assist for scrolling graphics, the designer determined to make a sport that eschewed all-out fight in favor of the stealth gameplay that might go on to outline the Metal Gear franchise.

I thought of this design philosophy lots whereas working my manner by way of the Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1, a sprawling assortment of video games from the Metal Gear collection that spans almost twenty years. I performed the gathering on the PS5, however it’s additionally out there for the Xbox Series X and S, PC, Nintendo Switch, and PS4.

Obviously, the {hardware} most of these video games had been made for was not almost as restricted as the unique MSX2. But all through his profession, Kojima has usually designed his video games with particular {hardware} in thoughts, whether or not it’s the wired controllers of the PS1 or the Blu-ray disc drive of the PS3. These options make porting a sport like the unique Metal Gear Solid to different consoles trickier than your common rerelease. 

But let’s again up a second. The $59.99 Master Collection Vol. 1 doesn’t simply embrace the unique Metal Gear Solid. It bundles collectively wherever from half a dozen to a dozen or so totally different releases from the collection, relying on the way you depend them, protecting most (however not all) of the video games between the unique 1987 Metal Gear and 2004’s Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. So you get the unique two Metal Gears from the MSX2, Metal Gear Solid from the PlayStation, and its two sequels — Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater — from the PlayStation 2. 

Then there are extra curios just like the NES model of the unique Metal Gear and its non-canonical sequel Snake’s Revenge, the graphic novel variations of MGS1 and 2, and three additional Metal Gear Solid releases containing additional content material like VR missions (VR within the sense that the characters are in digital actuality coaching simulations, I ought to word, not that they’re performed on a VR headset). 

It’s a reasonably exhaustive assortment. Yes, if you wish to break up hairs, it could have been cool to get the GameDice remake of the unique Metal Gear Solid, Twin Snakes, or the Game Boy Color sport often called Ghost Babel. But even I’m resigned to the truth that Konami had to attract the road someplace, and I assume there’s all the time the implicit second quantity of the Master Collection to sit up for.

Twenty years on, I feel the core Metal Gear Solid trilogy titles stay three of the best action-adventure video games ever made. They not solely pushed the boundaries of the sort of cinematic storytelling that video games are succesful of, however revisiting them, I used to be additionally stunned by how effectively their core gameplay — that compelling loop of hiding, sneaking, and boss preventing — holds up. There’s even lots to love in regards to the comparatively unloved center little one within the trilogy, Sons of Liberty, even when my wi-fi controller did sometimes fall asleep throughout its notably prolonged cutscenes. 

It’s robust to speak in regards to the particular adjustments that Konami has made to those three video games as half of this Master Collection launch as a result of until you’re actually paying consideration, it’s straightforward to overlook them. 

Sometimes, that’s a very good factor as a result of of how well-integrated the restricted adjustments are. There are button prompts which have been up to date to match fashionable controllers whereas maintaining the model of the unique sport. As an instance, simply take a look at how period-appropriate and low-res the PS5 substitute for the “Start” button immediate on the principle menu for Metal Gear Solid is.

But, as I alluded to in my introduction, there are limits to how far this restrained method can take you with Metal Gear Solid, a sport firmly designed with the unique PlayStation in thoughts. Characters will verbally inform you to press buttons that don’t exist in your controller and use controller ports that don’t exist in your console. And, naturally, there’s the notorious puzzle that asks you to have a look at the again of the sport’s authentic PS1 CD case for the answer. 

Konami has accomplished sufficient to make sure that none of Metal Gear Solid’s fourth wall-breaking options aren’t additionally game-breaking within the Master Collection. You can toggle a menu overlay to change the digital controller port that your gamepad is plugged into if want be, and there are even digital variations of the video games’ retail bins so you may take a look at their backs. 

(Plus, as a short apart, I do need to point out what may be the good inclusion in your complete Master Collection, which is that it’s doable to create dummy save information for a variety of Konami PS1 video games like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Vandal Hearts to sit down in your digital reminiscence card when you play by way of Metal Gear Solid. The choice is somewhat buried within the “Manage Saved Data” menu, however it’s value doing earlier than you begin the sport.)

From a technical perspective, Metal Gear Solid feels each bit like an authentic PlayStation sport. Konami might have listed its body charge as 30fps, however in observe, it usually feels a lot slower, and its authentic decision is so low that working it on a contemporary 4K TV offers its graphics a shifting, wavy high quality. 

There’s one thing to be mentioned for prioritizing an genuine recreation of the unique sport slightly than trying to improve and enhance upon it. Just take a look at the messy Grand Theft Auto remasters for an instance of how this method can go incorrect. It is, I feel, an excellent factor that Metal Gear Solid is now playable in its (principally) authentic kind on fashionable {hardware}.

But it’s attention-grabbing to match this method with the variations of Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 which have additionally been included on this assortment, that are an incredible instance of how one can remaster and replace traditional video games whereas maintaining true to their authentic imaginative and prescient. These two video games are each based mostly on the HD remasters from Bluepoint launched in 2011 for the PS3 and Xbox 360. Although Konami hasn’t upgraded them to assist newer options like 4K, I felt like their HD presentation held up simply positive on a contemporary TV.

Obviously, there’s an even bigger gulf to cowl in the event you had been to attempt to modernize the unique PlayStation-era graphics of MGS1 in an analogous manner — and that’s earlier than you get into all its express references to the unique {hardware} it was designed for. But it appears a disgrace to not see even technical enhancements like widescreen assist, if solely as an non-compulsory additional.

Beyond the video games themselves, there’s a number of extra Metal Gear content material. There are scripts to flip by way of, a digital soundtrack, and a collection of digital “Master Books” to browse that supply plot summaries, background data on the sport’s characters, and even guides to the numerous easter eggs they comprise. 

But the odd factor about these Master Books is how they gloss over Hideo Kojima’s function in a franchise that he prominently helmed for nearly three a long time till his acrimonious break up with the corporate in 2015. In one of the Master Books, we’re advised that “in the late 1980s, action games were designed around taking out enemies” and that “Metal Gear turned this concept on its head,” however there’s no point out of the director and workforce that truly made this occur. 

This highlights my core criticism with the Master Collection, which is that, within the absence of the inventive forces that shepherded the franchise for nearly three a long time, Konami has chosen to play issues as secure as doable. Rather than make inventive choices about tips on how to tweak and modernize these video games, the corporate has primarily opted out and pursued authenticity in any respect prices. 

I’m not going to say I’m disillusioned with the outcomes. I feel it’s nice that such an enormous swathe of Metal Gear historical past is now available and simply playable on fashionable programs. But there’s additionally an element of me that thinks Konami missed an alternative to provide Metal Gear Solid particularly a recent coat of paint and replace it for a contemporary viewers. 

My hope, now that Konami has preserved the video games precisely as they had been earlier than Kojima left the corporate, is that it will permit the writer to take extra dangers with the long run of the franchise. With a full-on remake of Snake Eater named Metal Gear Solid Δ ready within the wings, perhaps we’ll see some bolder swings sooner slightly than later.