/vg/ Metal Gear General FAQ Ver. 1.3

Welcome to Metal Gear General. The following is a list of Frequently Asked Questions meant to help newcomers familiarize themselves with the series.

>What is Metal Gear?
Metal Gear is a series of stealth action games produced by Kojima Productions (formerly Konami Computer Entertainment Japan). The series dates back to the 8-bit MSX2 home computer in 1987, simply titled Metal Gear, but it wasn't until the release of its third canonical installment, Metal Gear Solid, that the series managed to achieve mainstream success, leading to the rebranding of the series under the Metal Gear Solid title for future sequels.

>Who is the lead designer of Metal Gear?
Metal Gear is the creation of Hideo Kojima, who directed, wrote and designed almost all of the major games in the series since the MSX2 original. Outside the Metal Gear series, he directed the graphic adventure games Snatcher and Policenauts and served as producer for Zone of the Enders, Boktai and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. He is a massive cinephile whose love for movies has heavily influenced his work on the Metal Gear series and other projects.

>How many games are there?
Excluding spinoffs, expanded editions and remakes, there are currently nine canonical games in the series, with a tenth entry in production. In order of release and platform of origin, they are:

Metal Gear (1987, MSX2) - MG1
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (1990, MSX2) - MG2
Metal Gear Solid (1998, PS) - MGS1
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001, PS2) - MGS2
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004, PS2) - MGS3
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (2006, PSP) - MPO
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008, PS3) - MGS4
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (2010, PSP) - MGS PW
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (2013, PS3/Xbox 360) - MGR
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (TBA, PS4/PS3/Xbox One/Xbox 360) - MGS V

For a more comprehensive list, check out Kojima Productions' official lineup, which have the games listed from newest to oldest.
http://www.konami.jp/kojima_pro/japanese/lineup_mg/

>What is the easiest way for newcomers to get into the whole Metal Gear series?
For PlayStation 3 owners, they can get Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection. It includes all the games in the series directed by Kojima, along with motion comic adaptations of the MGS1 and 2 graphic novels by Ashley Wood.

Xbox 360 owners on the other hand, have no choice but to settle with the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, which includes MGS2, 3 and PW, as well as the early MSX2 games. MGS1 and MGS4 are the only essential games not available on the 360.

For PC gamers, only MGS1 and MGS2 had official PC ports (both which are now our-of-production), although there are rumors that MGR and MGSV will be released as well.

>What's the chronological order of the series.
1964 - MGS3
1970 - MPO
1974 - MGS PW
1975/1984 - MGS V
1995 - MG1
1999 - MG2
2005 - MGS1
2007/2009 - MGS2
2014 - MGS4
2018 - MGR

While it might seem tempting to play the games in chronological order, each new Metal Gear game builds over the established storyline of its predecessor and it's easy to miss out a few important details or subtle references if you're a newcomer.

>What's the deal with Portable Ops (MPO)? Why was it not included in the Legacy Collection? Is it canon or not?
MPO was a PSP-exclusive game that was developed without the direction of Hideo Kojima, who was busy working on MGS4 at the time. At the time of its release, Konami heavily promoted MPO as a full chapter of the Metal Gear canon (http://www.konami.jp/mg/mgsaga.html), the "missing link" that tied up all the loose ends between the events of MGS3 and MG1 (PW did not exist at the time) and essential to understanding the plot of MGS4.

However, Kojima Productions has since downplayed MPO's importance to the canon. The newest version of the official MGS timeline omits MPO completely (http://www.konami.jp/mg25th/truth/), while PW, the PSP Metal Gear game that Kojima later directed, barely acknowledges the events of MPO. Miller's line at the beginning of PW, where he tells Snake to "leave all that crap in San Hieronymo behind" (San Hieronymo being the setting of MPO), is commonly interpreted as an allusion of Kojima's feelings for MPO, essentially telling the player to ignore the events of that game.

>What about Metal Gear Rising (MGR)?
Metal Gear Rising is a spinoff developed by a different studios (PlatinumGames) under the supervision of Kojima Productions. Like MPO, Kojima had no direct involvement with the development of MGR, as he was (and still is) busy working on MGS V. The game system is completely different from traditional Metal Gear titles, being a 3D hack 'n slash in the vein of Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden or Platinum's own Bayonetta, rather than a stealth shooter. The game is set after the events of MGS4 and stars MGS2's surprise protagonist Raiden, following his reinvention as the new Cyborg Ninja in MGS4, making it the latest game chronologically, Kojima personally considers MGR to a parallel sequel that branches off from MGS4.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6OGvhlKNzw

>Is Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (MGS TTS) a good substitute for MGS1?
TTS is a remake MGS1 for the Nintendo GameCube developed by the now-defunct Canadian studio Silicon Knights (of Eternal Darkness fame). While the storyline remains essentially the same, the soundtrack is different, the cutscenes were redone under the direction of filmmaker Ryuhei Kitamura (Versus) and the game system has been updated with features previously introduced in MGS2. Some fans of the original feel that the added play mechanics from MGS2 ruined the game's balance thanks to the fact that the level designs and boss battles were left largely unchanged and the controls didn't translate well to the GameCube controller (due to its lack of pressure sensitive buttons). TTS is recommended as a substitute only if you don't have access to the original PS version (or its PC port).

>What about the Game Boy Color version of Metal Gear Solid?
The GBC version of MGS is actually an original game and not a port. Its Japanese title was Metal Gear: Ghost Babel and it serves as an alternate 2D sequel to the original Metal Gear.

>Are the two Metal Gear games on the NES the same ones that were released on the MSX2?
In a word, no. The NES version of the first Metal Gear, while technically a port of the MSX2 original, is a very different game due to drastically altered level designs and mechanics, numerous bugs and the fact that the actual Metal Gear tank itself never appears in the game. Kojima has gone on record that he considers this version of MG1 to be a shoddy product for various reasons and not an ideal representation of his original vision.

The other Metal Gear game on the NES, Snake's Revenge, is a non-canonical sequel that was developed by Konami for the western market without Kojima's involvement in response to the surprise success of the NES Metal Gear. Snake's Revenge actually preceded Kojima's official Metal Gear 2 and was in fact his inspiration for developing Metal Gear 2 in the first place.

>What's the deal with Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain?
Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain are the titles of the different portions of the upcoming Metal Gear Solid V, with Ground Zeroes serving as the prologue and The Phantom Pain being the main story. Kojima has yet clarified how these different portions will be distributed other than Ground Zeroes might be released by itself sometime before The Phantom Pain as a sort-of appetizer/demo for the main experience.

>Does Sins of the Father (the MGSV song played on the E3 2013 trailer) have a release date?
No release date has been announced yet.