21 August 2023 , 07:00
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Konami has put together a solid package primed to celebrate the original trilogy in the Metal Gear Solid series.
It’s odd to be six years into a console’s lifecycle and still get excited when an old, but beloved game comes to the platform. That’s the power of Nintendo Switch though, as the likes of Metroid Prime Remastered and Red Dead Redemption have recently proven. And it's the position I found myself in when previewing a near-complete build of Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 at a recent Konami event.
I got a hands-on with the first three Metal Gear Solid titles completely unhindered, and from what I played – hardly to the surprise of anyone – it’s shaping up to be a solid package.
For those unaware, Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 is a compilation of titles that primarily includes the first three games in the series – namely Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater – that’s set to launch on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S on October 24, 2023 (with a PS4 release coming later on). As a collection it really feels like the definitive way to jump into the series, and the slickness of the collection’s presentation only helps reinforce this.
All three games are loaded up individually as separate files on your console’s dashboard, popping you into a very pristine and sleek-looking menu complete with artwork from the relevant Metal Gear Solid game when opened. Crucially, it’s not just the game itself you’ll find there either, but rather any alternate regional versions, digital art work, graphic novels, and even screenplay books that contain literally all the text and dialogue of the appropriate entry. Konami is clearly trying desperately to justify the £49.99 / $59.99 / AUS$74.99 price point by throwing in the entire kitchen sink.
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Jumping into the games themselves, I was immediately curious about how the very first Metal Gear Solid would handle. Originally released for the PS1 way back in 1998, it appears that very little has been done to the game itself, outside of character voice lines that relay platform-specific instructions being removed, and in-game button prompts being changed to make sense for the platform you’re playing on. Even still, being able to play the original Metal Gear Solid (not 2004’s The Twin Snakes remake for the GameCube) on a Nintendo console initially felt odd – but in that cool, breaking-down-barriers-between-platforms sort of way.
The original Metal Gear Solid obviously looks a lot blurrier compared to its two direct sequels, especially since it’s the HD versions of the latter that Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 opts to include. It still plays great though, and its cinematic charm hasn’t aged a day. Swimming up to the surface from the water, waiting for the elevator arrive and then watching Snake disrobe only for the logo to be revealed… the magic very much remains. Admittedly that magic is still framed in a 4:3 aspect ratio, complete with artwork bars on the side, instead of widescreen. But it's there nonetheless.
What a thrill
Loading up Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty next, and if the inclusion of a 2012 copyright trademark under the game’s title wasn’t clue enough that this is the Metal Gear Solid: HD collection version (initially released for PS3 and Xbox 360) then the appearance of Bluepoint Games’ logo certainly hit it home. This HD version of Raiden’s adventure aboard the Big Shell oil rig was a marked improvement visually 10 years ago, and it still is now, despite Konami not doing much else to freshen it up.
The same is true for Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater – by far the most modern-feeling game of the collection. Again, this is to be expected given that not only is Konami releasing the 2005 jungle classic as its souped-up Subsistence version as part of this package, but via its own remake as Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater sometime in the near future. For now, however, this is the game I can see myself spending the most time with due to the full 3D camera controls and its systemic mechanics.
That said, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater was the game that chugged the most during my short gameplay session. In handheld mode on Nintendo Switch it ran mostly fine, but whenever I entered dense areas sporting a lot of foliage in docked, there were some brief signs of framerate dipping. This obviously shouldn’t be the case given that the two other main games ran fine and Metal Gear Solid 3 is almost 20 years old, so hopefully Konami irons out the technical kinks before its release later this October.
Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 isn’t the most revolutionary package; neither is it necessarily the best or most revolutionary way to play these classic games centred on tactical espionage action. However, having the very first Metal Gear Solid playable on Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X is indeed a case of the historical barriers being broken, as prior to this it was the one game in the series confined to PlayStation (at least on consoles).
I maintain that including Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes on Nintendo Switch would have been a better choice given the potential for further variety between versions, but it’s ostensibly the same experience.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, by comparison, look and handle just as brilliantly as they ever have. Aside from some sleek menu layouts and some much-appreciated digital extras, Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 mostly looks to lay the groundwork for the inevitably (and far more intriguing) Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2.
This package is absolutely fine and is the perfect entry point, yet I can’t help but feel that as Konami digs deeper into the Metal Gear Solid back catalogue, the best is yet to come.