Kojima has always been rather shaky on just when exactly the Metal Gear series would end. At different points in his career, nearly every game has been conceived at some point as the last. But the almighty dollar is the true decider of these things and the success of Metal Gear Solid 2, both commercial and critical, would ensure that a sequel be made, even if Kojima had originally intended for the series to end there. The question for Kojima was, “Where do I go from Metal Gear Solid 2?”
Metal Gear Solid 2 only works once. Another sequel tackling the same themes is doomed to fail so the series would have to evolve in a different way, even after just deconstructing itself. No simple task to be sure, as Metal Gear Solid 2 left players with questions than it did answers. Rather than having to confront the mess of a plot that had erupted from Metal Gear Solid 2, Kojima instead decided to reel back on the insanity and bring the story back to its roots and quite literally so. Before going forward, Kojima looked back to where his universe all began: with a Cold War and the greatest soldier who ever lived.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is, chronologically speaking, the earliest game in the series. It begins with the Virtuous Mission, where Naked Snake, the man who would become the villain of the series and the genetic father of series protagonist Solid Snake. Is sent on a mission deep into the heart of Soviet Russia to rescue a Russian scientist named Sokolov who is developing a top secret weapon capable of launching invisible nuclear missiles. Everything goes smoothly until Snake’s mentor and consultant on the mission, a legendary soldier named The Boss, defects, injuring Snake, taking back Sokolov and teaming up with a rogue Soviet unit led by Colonol Volgin. The Boss gives Volgin a portable nuclear weapon, which he then fires upon his homeland, making it look like an American attack. Krushchev, under pressure from his advisers, gives President Johnson one week to obtain proof that the attack was unauthorized by the US government, pin the blame on The Boss, recapture Sokolov, and stop Volgin’s weapon from going online. In just a short time following the failed Virtuous Mission, Snake is sent back to the same place for Operation Snake Eater.
Prequels are usually rather dull affairs. Unless given enough distance from the material they come from, they serve only as an exercise in reaching a foregone conclusion, the ending predetermined. And while it is fair to say that the journey is more important than the destination, in the case of prequels the interesting story is usually the one that was told in the first place. Lifting on the veil on certain elements of a story or narrative can actually serve to hurt it, see the Star Wars prequels.
Video games, however, don’t have to strictly follow the same rules and can instead rely on gameplay refinements and innovations to help carry what might otherwise be a weaker entry, especially for games that are less concerned with narrative than they are with just being games. However, Metal Gear Solid is a game concerned with narrative, so it must be taken into account as well. Fortunately for Kojima, he decided that the convolution of MGS2 should be reigned in to allow for a simpler, character-driven story that is equal parts spy-thriller and anime zaniness. For whatever reason, whether through some cosmic alignment or sheer random chance or anything in between, this idea worked. It worked like a charm.
I’ve never really organized a “Top 10 List”, but if I had to Metal Gear Solid 3 would be on there somewhere. Realistically, the same Kojima problems are all there: the bad writing, the juvenile humor, the overwrought and overlong cutscenes. But this time it all came together near perfectly, managing to make what is essentially a James Bond homage and turn it into something a lot more. I was worried when I began this replay of the series that it wouldn’t hold up nearly as well since the last time I had embarked upon it seven years ago, but, disregarding the first game, which hasn’t aged well, so far my replay has reminded me of why I loved this series in the first place.
Much of this resides on the fact that Kojima, for once in his career, manages to make an emotionally resonant story, built on the relationship between characters rather than the a grander theme of “Gene” or “Meme”, like his previous games did. Having the game take place in an alternate history help to ground it just a bit, rather than the techno-babble future of the other games. Most importantly though, and one of the reasons this game is remembered as fondly as it is, is the character of The Boss, both her relationship with Snake and country, along with the general “badass” vibe she gives off in every single one of her appearances. Though Snake may be the protagonist of the story, Boss’s actions are the ones dictating the flow of the game. She’s not a particularly well written character — no one in this series is, though she gets closer than the rest — she manages to give a multidimensional performance, playing equal parts soldier, traitor, mother, mentor, and patriot, all in an effortless manner. When the twist ending, one that is focused around characters rather than giant conspiracies, reveals that the Boss willingly allowed herself to be branded a traitor and a war criminal in order to prevent nuclear war, sacrificing herself as well as her legacy for the betterment of both the world and her country, you can actually feel the impact on Snake, an actual story development with actual weight.
Though Boss may be the most prominent of the reasons this game works better than the rest, she isn’t the only thing. Ocelot, who appears as his younger self in this game, manages to have probably the most development of any character in the game, shaping him to be the villain he will eventually become. Seeing his transformation from a Soviet-loving lackey to idealizing Big Boss to revealing himself to be a planted CIA agent, Ocelot gets to have a lot of fun beating up and being beaten up throughout the game. Volgin is also a fantastic villain, a bisexual, sadomasochist who can channel electricity for some reasons and actually looks like a physical threat. The Shagohod, the earliest incarnation of Metal Gear, is also a really fun design and is the centerpiece of the series best on-rails segment.
But there is more to the game than just a competent story on behalf of Kojima, the entire groundwork of the stealth gets an overhaul with this edition as well. Snake now has a camouflage, which appears as a percentage of visibility that can be changed by entering the menu, which adds a new layer to the stealth gameplay. Snake now also has a stamina meter, reflecting the game’s outdoor environments and survival aspects, where he must hunt and kill animals to eat in order to restore the meter. Snake can also now suffer debilitating injuries that need to be cured from the menu as well. Offensively, Snake now uses Close Quarters Combat, a martial art that is absolutely still foreign to me to this day. It’s really not intuitive and the standard Kick-Kick-Punch still did just fine for me throughout the game. Hilariously enough, the changes added here I find all underwhelming or underdeveloped and, especially in the case of the ones that require going into the menu, to frequently interrupt the flow of gameplay.
What is added that has any value is much bigger and more open environments, greater player control, and excellently executed set pieces. The larger environments give more options to players in an of themselves, but players can remain more involved in the game at all times, even in cutscenes. During specific cutscenes, players are prompted to optionally hold a button to see the cutscene through Snake’s eyes and give a limited amount of control. Not only does this help add an interactive element to an non-interactive segment, but it’s unique way to portray more information to the player as well as take advantage of the medium. It’s such a simple thought I wonder why more games don’t do it, but giving players even the most limited control of cutscenes can give a creator more room to work with as well as help keep the player active in the events of the game.
The game truly shines during its boss fights, which are the best in the series by far. Boss’s old WWII unit, the Cobra Unit, is just another collection of nutjobs for the player to fight, but the added vertical and open elements of the game’s design allow for some spectacular boss fights, from an old West shootout with Ocelot to a standout game of cat and mouse played with the squads sniper over three large maps, the bosses really feel as though they utilize the games mechanics and setting well.
I can’t deny that MGS3 isn’t without flaws, they are definitely present. EVA, Snake’s love interest and Bond-girl incarnate, will find any reason to change in front of Snake, even when it is entirely unnecessary and actually conflicts with continuity in certain scenes. Visually, the game shows its age as a PS2 title though it looks fine on the HD edition. Kojima still can’t write a thank you note without it turning into a sophomoric paper on why war is bad. But the good in Metal Gear Solid 3 gives it a lot of wiggle room and there is quite a bit of fun to be had. Who knows, you might shed a tear at the end. I know I almost did.
The ABC's of Gaming 