Metal Gear (video game)

Did You Know?

• The MSX2's hardware limited on-screen bullets and enemies, leading Kojima to reverse the focus from shooting to avoiding capture, inspired by The Great Escape.
• When Snake is discovered, the gameplay changes to become a puzzle game like Pac-Man, where guards behave like Pac-Man ghosts.

Plot

Metal Gear takes place in 1995, though the Japanese MSX2 version does not define the year, referring to it as 19XX; Metal Gear Solid later established the date. The game forms the first entry in an overarching plot concerning Solid Snake, with origins later explored in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. The player controls Solid Snake, a rookie FOXHOUND operative on his first mission, assisted via radio by his commanding officer Big Boss, who provides mission objectives and item information. Snake can also contact members of a local resistance: leader Schneider, a former architect who guides Snake through the fortress; Diane, a former punk vocalist who provides enemy information; and Jennifer, an inside agent who infiltrated Outer Heaven's medical staff. Among the prisoners Snake rescues are Grey Fox, a FOXHOUND agent captured on a previous mission; Dr. Pettrovich, a robotic engineer forced to work for Outer Heaven; and his daughter Elen, kidnapped to coerce him. Bosses include Shoot Gunner, a former Spetsnaz agent; Machinegun Kid, a former SAS operative; Fire Trooper, a former GSG 9 operative; Coward Duck, a terrorist who uses hostages; Arnold, two TX-11 androids; and the legendary mercenary who founded Outer Heaven, whose identity is unknown until the end. The West discovers a weapon of mass destruction being built inside Outer Heaven, a fortified state founded by a legendary mercenary 200 km north of Galzburg, South Africa. FOXHOUND sends Gray Fox to infiltrate and neutralize the threat, but loses contact; his last transmission is Metal Gear. Commander Big Boss sends Solid Snake on Operation Intrude N313 to find Gray Fox and destroy Metal Gear.

Releases

Metal Gear was originally released on the MSX2 in Japan on July 13, 1987, with an English version released in Europe the same year. Due to memory constraints, the Japanese version uses katakana with Roman letters for character names, while the English version is entirely uppercase with erroneous grammar and misspellings, and retains 56% of the radio calls with shortened messages. The MSX2 version was released as a Virtual Console download for the Wii in Japan on December 8, 2009, using a modified ROM. A port for the Family Computer was released in Japan on December 22, 1987, followed by an English NES localization in North America in June 1988 (published by Konami's Ultra Games division) and in Europe and Australia in 1989. This was the first version released in North America, as the MSX2 was not sold there. According to Hideo Kojima, the port was developed by another Konami division in Tokyo using the source code without the original team's consent. Due to hardware limitations, the Metal Gear boss was replaced by a Supercomputer guarded by four soldiers.

Legacy

Metal Gear's success led to two separately produced sequels: Snake's Revenge for the NES in 1990, and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, developed by Hideo Kojima for the MSX2 the same year as a response. The latter was followed by Metal Gear Solid for the PlayStation in 1998, and numerous sequels and spinoffs. The intro theme Operation Intrude N313, main theme Theme of Tara, and game over theme Just Another Dead Soldier from the MSX2 version were reused for the VR Training theme in Metal Gear Solid, and later in Metal Gear: Ghost Babel and Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance. Theme of Tara appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and can be selected in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Metal Gear is recognized as the first mainstream stealth game and a pioneer in stealth mechanics and storytelling via a portable radio. Splinter Cell and Far Cry 2 designer Clint Hocking stated that every stealth-action game owes its existence to Metal Gear and that without it there would be no stealth games. Unreal and Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski cited Metal Gear's military themes and action gameplay as a major influence, naming Gears of War in homage. Tenchu creator Takuma Endo also cited Metal Gear as an influence. In 1988, Konami published a gamebook adaptation set two years after the game, in which Solid Snake is called back after terrorists obtain Metal Gear plans; the book portrays Snake as an unsuccessful illustrator in his personal life.