Where to start MGS?

[Cognitive Gear]

I will be completing the game I am currently playing in about a week or two. As such, I need something new to spend my gaming time on. I would like to start playing the Metal Gear games.

My problem is that The original MGS has three versions.

1. The original Playstation game

2. The enhanced re-release, Metal Gear Solid: Integral

3. Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes

Now, I would normally just grab the most recent version, Twin Snakes, if it weren't for the fact that I've heard that it is lacking in some way. Can anyone shed some spoiler-free light on this subject?

My second question is: MGS2 & 3 are prequels. Would it be more appropriate to play them in chronological order or in the order of release?

[Fish and Chips]

I've only dabbled in the original MGS on Playstation, but I've heard from other people that the Game Cube port is the one to shoot for, so I'd opt for that on.

MGS3 is a prequel, but MGS2 is most certainly a sequel. I happen to have been playing them in chronological order, but it shouldn't really matter. MGS3 is fairly self-sufficient on its own level, it just has references, tie-ins, and set ups for the "Future" games that people who are familiar with them will catch. That's all.

[Bobtheduck]

MGS1, MGS2, and MGS3 all stand alone. Really... MG:PO, on the other hand, is a direct sequal to MGS3 that is much harder to pick up than any of the other games if you haven't played the previous game.

Twin snakes wasn't made by Kojima... It wasn't even really made by Konami. They couldn't get ahold of all the same voice actors, so a couple of them were missing, and the scenes went from cinematic (PS1) to just about absurd (Twin Snakes) though, ironically, some of the Scenes in MGS3 approach that level of absurdity, but never quite make it... I don't know, I think the PS1 version is much more subtle and is actually the game Kojima made, so I prefer that one. Plus, Gamecube is a more powerfull system than PS2, and it still looked worse than MGS2... That shows a bit of laziness on the part of the devs... Also, the levels in MGS weren't meant to have the same camera system and control scheme as MGS2... Giving it first person aiming, among other changes to make it more like MGS2 (such as the lockers), just doesn't feel right...

That's for someone who was a huge fan of the original. For someone who's never played a Metal Gear game, it's possible playing twin snakes will make the transition into MGS2 a bit easier. 2 and 3 got crazier than 1 did in terms of cinematics, so it may actually fit better that way.

[Fish and Chips]

I've never played Twin Snakes, I've just heard that it was preferable by some people (not magazines, not spokespeople, just people). Of course, some of these same people also didn't care for the gameplay in the first MGS. Personally, I think the original was just fine, so if you have a Playstation or Playstation 2 on deck (you'd better, if you want to play MGS2 and MGS3), yeah, just go for that.

[Cognitive Gear]

Thanks for the info, guys. I'm thinking that I will likely go for the Cube version, since the main differences aren't gamebreaking. It also has the advantage of being developed by one of my favorite developers, Silicon Knights. There is bound to be easter-eggs in it for their fans.

[Fish and Chips]

Thanks for the info, guys. I'm thinking that I will likely go for the Cube version, since the main differences aren't gamebreaking. It also has the advantage of being developed by one of my favorite developers, Silicon Knights. There is bound to be easter-eggs in it for their fans.

Heh. In the original MGS, one of the villains is psychic, and he proves it to you my reading your game stats, how often you've saved, causing your controller to vibrate, stuff like that. And if you have other Konami games on your memory card, he compliments you on your good taste. With the Silicon Knights revamp, though, he'll do the same thing, just for Silicon Knights games instead.

[Shinja]

i thought the twin snakes was an awsome remake of the original with probaly todate the best graphics of any mgs game. sure it wasnt a kojima production but it was licenced by him and is just as good as the original with much better grafics and gameplay, the ps1 game was awsome but having analog sticks makes it all the better!

[Tommy]

Really... MG:PO, on the other hand, is a direct sequal to MGS3

I get how you made that mistake.
At first I thought you were just smiling because that's where "pee" would go.
Yeah, space out after colons.

As for me, I played the following MGS games in the same order I will post them:

MGS1
MGS2
MGS3
MG
MG2 (Still haven't beat.)

[Bobtheduck]

i thought the twin snakes was an awsome remake of the original with probaly todate the best graphics of any mgs game. sure it wasnt a kojima production but it was licenced by him and is just as good as the original with much better grafics and gameplay, the ps1 game was awsome but having analog sticks makes it all the better!

Well, as I got my PS1 with Dualshock, I not only had analog sticks, I had rumble. And Dualshock 2 works just fine on a PS1. Rumble and analog support was part of MGS from the beginning. I just hope "sixaxis rumble" or whatever will come out in time for rumble to be coded into MGS4... Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, though. I just thought there was something wrong about TS, though like I said it may not matter for someone who's never played the series before.

And, Tom, yes I hate stupid smileys... MG : PO. That's what I meant to say.

[Rocketshipper]

I've played both the PS1 and Gamecube versions of MGS and I think I prefer Twin Snakes. I'm a sucker for insane Matrix-inspired action sequences and TS was crammed full of them (the cutscene after the Occelot boss battle, when the Ninja first appears...O_O!!!!) They are pretty unrealistic though, and TS is a lot easier than the PS1 version of MGS (the first person shooting does it). And if you skip the PS1 version you miss out on the VR training levels ^^.

I'd recommend playing the games in numbered order, rather than chronological order, at least at first. Though the games do stand alone well, MGS3 does contain a lot of refrences, inside jokes, and little details that you would only get if you'd played MGS 1 and 2. You *can* play MGS3 first, without knowledge of the other games, but you'd probably get more out of it if you play it in numbered order.

[Fish and Chips]

and TS is a lot easier than the PS1 version of MGS (the first person shooting does it).

Bah, you crazy kids and your first person action. Everyone knows the real Metal Gear experiance is bird's eye view or slanted over the shoulder.

[Shinja]

i will say this playing mgs1 on the original playstation was one of the best gaming experiances i had second to the all night 007 goldeneye touroments in highschool^^

[Nightshade X]

Heh. In the original MGS, one of the villains is psychic, and he proves it to you my reading your game stats, how often you've saved, causing your controller to vibrate, stuff like that. And if you have other Konami games on your memory card, he compliments you on your good taste. With the Silicon Knights revamp, though, he'll do the same thing, just for Silicon Knights games instead.

Actually, what he'll do is start naming off some of the Nintendo titles in your card. For example, he commented on my apparent affinity for Super Smash Bros. Melee and The Legend of Zelda.

Either way, I thought it was cool. That and the part when Mantis told you to put the controller on the ground and Snake looks into the camera and nods, in a way, to tell you "It's okay. Go ahead." I'm rather easily amused, I think.

[Fish and Chips]

Actually, what he'll do is start naming off some of the Nintendo titles in your card. For example, he commented on my apparent affinity for Super Smash Bros. Melee and The Legend of Zelda.

...Alright, I think I should shut up about ports I've never played from now on.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I will just chime in and say that Snake Eater is my favorite out of all of them. The last few hours of the game were just... mind-blowing.

[Fish and Chips]

I will just chime in and say that Snake Eater is my favorite out of all of them. The last few hours of the game were just... mind-blowing.

Unquestionably seconded.

[For_Him]

I've played all the Metal Gear games, including the originals, and I've completed all, except the originals.
Here they are in chronological order, including the not yet released MGS4. And don't get on my back about forgetting MGS: The Twin Snakes, MGS2: Substance, MGS3: Subsistance, and MGS: Digital Graphic Novel. They are basically the re-amped versions of the originals.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
Metal Gear
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
Metal Gear Solid
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

There are even side stories.
Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions
Metal Gear Solid: Ghost Babel
Metal Gear Ac!d
Metal Gear Ac!d 2

[Bobtheduck]

Remember the only way to BUY Metal Gear 1 and 2 in the US is to get them on Subsistence, even if that does mean we don't get so see Sean Connery as Big Boss... You're the man now, snake...

So, you may actually want to start your purchases with MGS3:Subsistence so you can get Metal Gear 1 and 2... That should be the first game you get whether you go Chronological or release order.