Tears, Fears, and Metal Gears

Slava · October 1, 2023

Welcome to Tears, Fears, and Metal Gears, the thread where I write about my favourite video game experiences. This is not a trophy checklist. More like a review checklist. I have a very specific set of goals in mind, so not every game I've played is going to appear here. Some games stick with you for years, or even stay with you until the end of your life. Here, you can expect to see the games that proved to be the stickiest of them all, personally speaking. If the gaming world is a big city, then this thread is me inviting you to the places I keep coming back to, the streets that hold special memories. Join the discussion if you wish, share your takes, ask questions, have a debate (respectfully), bring up movies, post memes of dogs (please do).

The name:

Why did I choose this title? It sounds cool, and it rhymes. The other, less important reason has to do with my favourite games I've played this year so far. "Tears" corresponds to Persona 3. The end credits song made me cry. "Fears" is related to Parasite Eve, a game the combines survival horror with RPG. That rat transformation is still unnerving 25 years later. "Metal Gears". Do I need to explain?

The main focus:

The games' stories and themes
All the cool little things I noticed

Gameplay will also be covered. It's still the main reason I play games in 2023. But it's not the main reson this thread exists. Expect 20% gameplay talk, 60% - story and themes, 20% - how they work together and complement each other.

The goals:

Long posts, multi-part series
Convincing you to check out the mentioned game
Improving my writing skills
Initiating conversations about interactive storytelling

There's a lot I want to share, and it's going to take more then one post. You'll se why. In terms of improvement, my English isn't perfect, my general writing skills aren't either, so this thread may help to minimize the language barrier and express my thoughts more clearly and confidently.

Optional goals:

Making a drawing for games I cover
Receiving game and movie suggestions

I haven't drawn anything in a while. Most of my sketchbook consists of fan art already. This thread may act as another source of inspiration. So why not? As for game recs, I may not be able to get around to playing everything. Life's been rough around here. It doesn't mean you can't recommend stuff. Throw suggestions. And don't forget movies, I love them too.

Links to posts (list updated periodically):

Metal Gear Solid Review/Retrospective

Upcoming posts (list updated periodically):

Deep dive into the story and themes of Metal Gear Solid
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty review
Deep dive into the story and themes of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Persona 3 review
Deep dive into the story and themes of Persona 3

Old reviews and/or trophy thoughts:

Edited November 12, 2023 by Slava

GothGirlMaxine · October 1, 2023

Unrelated but I immediately thought of Tears For Fears :giggle:

Slava · October 1, 2023

27 minutes ago, Maxine said:

Unrelated but I immediately thought of Tears For Fears

Yeah, it was the first thing that came up when I googled my title to see if it has been used anywhere 😁. I saw people did MGS edits to Mad World. Somebody else was wondering why the band isn't featured on The Phantom Pain OST.

I can't say I'm familiar with their discography except for a couple of songs. The aforementioned Mad World and Everybody Wants to Rule the World, which is my favourite of the two.

PooPooBlast · October 1, 2023

57 minutes ago, Slava said:

Upcoming posts (list updated periodically):

58 minutes ago, Slava said:

post memes of dogs (please do)

Are other animals allowed? 🤔🤔

Slava · October 1, 2023

2 minutes ago, PooPooBlast said:

Are other animals allowed? 🤔🤔

Is there anything to talk about in terms of story in Mirror's Edge that I haven't said in the old review? 😁

Allowed, we do not discriminate here. Monke is cool too. That said, dogs are still the best.

Slava · November 12, 2023

Tears, Fears, and Metal Gears: Episode 1 - Metal Gear Solid Review/Retrospective

What this game means to me

It feels like Metal Gear has always been there in my life. The series about legendary soldiers with erotic codenames like Solid Snake and Naked Snake followed me from the early 2000’s to now, as evident by my recent completion of BluePoint’s remaster of Sons of Liberty. PlayStation was the first console I owned. I loved games like Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Resident Evil, Need for Speed. But MGS stood out. First reason was the opening scene that set the mood perfectly, effortlessly placed me inside cold bases of Shadow Moses, and got me intrigued in the story. The second reason is that I couldn’t understand 90% of what the hell was happening. Lack of a guide, an internet connection, or a person familiar with the game meant that the sense of intrigue would stay for a long time until the language barrier could be broken. Still, the first few areas that I used to replay as a kid kept me mesmerized. I remember the feeling of watching Alaskan snowflakes travel across my CRT TV screen while monitoring the movement of intimidating enemy soldiers.

Fast-forward to 2014. I was 20, my English had improved and I’d played and finished many PS1 and PC games by then. I was connected to the Internet. I even had a PS2. I’ve also become more familiar with Metal Gear as a series through various media including YouTube videos. That’s when I returned to MGS, reached the game’s credits for the first time, and it became one of my favourites. After so many years since release, the game’s epic stealth action gameplay and crazy story were both engaging throughout the entire playtime, and had me on the edge of my couch multiple times. There was still more to uncover, and the game only kept getting more interesting with each playthrough. But enough of the life story of a poor Russian kid, let’s talk about what you do in the game.

My first playthrough vs the second playthrough. The first result screen is painful to look at .

Evolution of gameplay

Solid Snake, a former member of a Special Forces unit called FOXHOUND, is taken from his retirement to eliminate the terrorist threat once again. He’s the perfect man for the mission; no one can kill enemies and infiltrate enemy bases as masterfully as him. And that’s exactly what he and the player have to do, but this time in 3D. For many franchises, the PS1 generation was the time of transition to 3D graphics. Hideo Kojima, a creator who loves his cutting edge tech as much as he loves good stories, wouldn’t miss the chance to take his 11 year old “tactical espionage” game series and make the jump.

The third dimension makes it possible to build levels with multiple floors and gives the player the ability to go up the stair without changing screens. That’s just one example. The main difference is of course the camera, which is no longer static. It follows the protagonist, switches to a more cinematic angle when you lean against a wall, and goes into the first person view when you crawl under objects or interact with elevator buttons. You can also go into the first person view whenever you want with a press of a button. On top of that, you have binoculars that allow you to look around the cold 3D environments (which were famously designed with the help of Lego bricks) from far away. Not to mention the soliton radar in the corner of the screen that shows enemy movement and their field of vision, a useful feature when you’re on your way and don’t have time to use the binoculars. All of the above justifies the word “tactical” in the game’s “tactical espionage action” subtitle – you’re supposed to observe, plan your route, and then go from point A to point B unseen. Crawl under tanks, hug the walls to avoid surveillance cameras (or take them out of commission for a few seconds with a chaff grenade), hide in plain sight with the help of the iconic cardboard box, make a sound to attract a guard and open the route – you have plenty of choice with Kojima’s stealth mechanics.

The other pillar of gameplay in MGS is combat. That’s where the “action” part comes in. Whenever you’re discovered or bored of sneaking, your guns and fists can take charge. You can punch and kick, you can throw enemies over your shoulder, you can grab and choke them, you can shoot them, and you can blow them up with various explosive devices. Even though things like auto aim make the combat simple, fighting your way through the base is not recommended. Snake is strong but still vulnerable to the lead. Getting swarmed by genome soldiers is the last thing you want to do, and it’s usually the result of you failing to stay unseen. The alert phase removes your soliton radar visuals, and your focus shifts to dealing with the enemy. If you want to get rid of a guy, you better sneak from behind and give his neck a tight hug. That said, Kojima still throws an ambush at you once in a while to make sure you remember how to use a gun.

Then the boss battles come in to play and change up the pace. That’s when your arsenal of weapons and gadgets finds most use. From the revolver-wielding old man straight out of a spaghetti western to a big native Alaskan dude in a tank, each boss is unique and has its own weaknesses. Sometimes, you only have to shoot your gun when the boss presents an opportunity, sometimes you just need to punch the shit out of them. It’s not long until you’ll need to figure out a pattern that looks something like this: “hide to avoid the attack – stun with the chaff grenade – shoot a rocket”. Anytime you’re confused or out of ideas, just call your team on the codec. Colonel Campbell will usually help you with a general advice, while Nastasha Romanenko and Otacon have useful things to say about tech and weapons. And then there is a stand out part with Psycho Mantis – a boss fight memorable for its mind-blowing 4^th wall breaks and unexpected solutions (which you can still get from codec calls). Unfortunately, I couldn’t reach this part as a kid, so by the time I played MGS properly, I already had an idea what to do. That battle did not feel as special as result, that's why I like to say that Decoy Octopus was my favourite boss .

Other than that, an occasional set piece introducing a new mechanic will enter the picture. The torture sequence is one of them. After mashing the triangle button in a mini-game where Snake’s body is subjected to withstanding electric currents, you get a “prison cell escape” mini-puzzle. You also scale down a building on a rope while dodging gunfire at some point. There’s even a questionable choice to add a new mechanic at the very end during a chase sequence. All of that serves the purpose of making the player feel like a Hollywood action hero. Metal Gear Solid is many things. When it’s not slow and methodical, it’s a full on thrilling “do or die” ride. The balance is definitely the key here. Does the game manage to hold a good balance between its many aspects? Before I answer this question, let’s discuss the narrative.

Evolution of storytelling

Hideo Kojima is a game designer, but above that, he is a story-teller. If he wasn’t directing games, he would be directing movies. Or writing scripts. Or books. In his MSX Metal Gears, he was already placing the focus on gripping storylines and plot twists. He even released two adventure games (Snatcher and Policenauts) where he ventured into the art of movie-inspired interactive storytelling, putting sophisticated gameplay mechanics on the sidelines. As you would expect, this influenced his vision for the next project, while the PS1 technology gave him the opportunity to tell his craziest story yet in all of its big budget cinematic blockbuster glory.

Before the game puts you into the shoes of Snake, you get a mission briefing in the beautiful title intro followed by the opening cutscene. There’s also the “briefing” section in the menu filled with details about the upcoming operation. There’s so much information even in the very beginning that an impatient player will start losing their mind before making the first step on Shadow Moses.

The story is presented in two ways: cinematic cutscenes and codec calls. Movie-like scenes are used for bigger story beats, while the visual novel style codec calls are meant for longer detailed conversations and topics, which are often optional. That way, Kojima ensures (or tries to, anyway) that people who are there for a more tight experience can choose to avoid his graphomania. The aforementioned briefing section is skippable, as is the large amount of codec calls about everything that’s happening in this fictional world as well as what’s happened in real history. For example, if you want to learn more about nuclear weapons, nuclear waste, nuclear accidents, and political actions in that field, you can keep calling the weapon specialist Nastasha Romanenko throughout the game. Your interest will be more than fulfilled. But if you don’t want the info about that, or about your arsenal, you may avoid her completely.

Does that mean that this game’s gameplay/story balance is perfect? Short answer: no. The path from one plot point to the next is, at times, 15 steps long. This is most noticeable at the final part of MGS, where multiple backtracks are filling the runtime for Kojima to tell the rest of the story. At that point, it feels like there wasn’t enough game built for it.

In Metal Gear Solid, it's definitely the PAL card manipulation part.

This game is only the beginning, by the way. The sequels will provide you with 40 minute long scenes when your controller is going to be resting. If you don't like the first MGS, your next and only option is probably going to be The Phantom Pain, if any.

Also, it has to be mentioned that the game has two endings. One is canonical, the other ("bad" ending) isn't, but it is also interesting because it gives more information that is not present in the “good” ending. More on that in the next episode of Tears, Fears, and Metal Gears.

Themes

I will be diving deeper into the themes of this game next time. So I’ll only touch upon them briefly here. And of course: spoiler warning.

Most people know of Metal Gear Solid as an anti-war story. From beginning to end, the importance of peace and nuclear safety especially is very pronounced. How do you deal with the nuclear threat? Does the reduction of the number of warheads help if a terrorist organization captures even one? What if they build their own? You’ll hear different arguments from the game’s characters.

But the main theme of Metal Gear Solid is GENE. What does that mean? Starting with this game, Kojima gives each MGS title a one word theme. In each iteration of the series, this respective word is what the whole plot and sub-stories are built around. Metal Gear Solid tells a story about two clones of the legendary soldier called Big Boss. Two results of the experiment to replicate a perfect warrior are estranged until they finally meet. Our antagonist Liquid Snake never finds a good way to cope with who he is, and his whole life becomes defined by his DNA. Ultimately, he follows the same path as Big Boss trying to build a nation of soldiers, most of which have undergone gene therapy. Solid Snake, on the other hand, sees his natural talent for killing as a problem. He quits being a soldier even before the events of MGS start. By the end of the story, he revaluates his life. Unlike his brother, he understands that he can pursue more things than he was designed for.

But that’s only one of the ways the genetic code theme is explored. Every single character that appears in this story has something to share about genes, relatives, family, and the stuff they have inherited. Naomi Hunter, the doctor, probably has the most interesting story thread. She grows up an orphan, becomes a doctor to research DNA and learn about her family, about who she is. Suddenly, the found family in the form a new brother becomes much more important and takes her on a journey of revenge. There’s many more stories from other characters including Psycho Mantis who went insane from reading minds, most of which were filled with thoughts about passing genes (in other words, they were disgustingly horny ). There’s also an interesting analogy between an army and a family, an idea that you inherit more than genes (sins of the fathers you hold responsibility for), and more. The more you play the more meanings you find. This is what I like about Metal Gear in general.

One of the first “cinematic” games

In 2023, pretty much every AAA game is a cinematic experience. Realistic graphics, high quality voice acting, movie-like cutscenes with actual camera work – these qualities are ubiquitous in games now. But this wasn’t the case in the year 1998 when MGS came out. Games like Final Fantasy VII had stylised graphics and no voice acting. Resident Evil looked more realistic, but the VA was not very good. Half-Life went a different route. It didn’t really have cutscenes (I believe, everything in that game happens in real time in first person). Naturally, Metal Gear Solid stood out.

The cutscene direction here is not quite as strong as in later iterations of the series, but you get the hints, the cool little touches in editing and camera choices. The use of first person view is notable. It’s used wisely in a couple of parts, both times where Snake regains consciousness, which does a great job of immersing you in the situation.

Was Metal Gear Solid the best looking PS1 game? Probably not. On one hand, locations, tech, and vehicles looked great. There are reflective puddles and mirrors. There are surfaces you can leave footprints on. Cutscenes looked even better and featured decent animations and primitive depth of field effects. On the other hand, the characters didn’t have fully modelled facial features, or any kind of facial animation, unlike many other games of the time. Instead, you see a texture that loosely resembles Yoji Shinkawa’s art (he’s the art director and character designer of the series). Maybe actual eyes looked worse; maybe they weren’t as necessary when the camera is far above the head during gameplay all the time, unlike the Crash Bandicoot boulder levels. Maybe both.

Speaking of Shinkawa, his art direction is great, and his characters all have a memorable look. From the nerdy engineer, to a cyborg ninja – he can do it all. Even Metal Gears themselves are his designs. Kojima makes sure you see Meta Gear Rex plenty of time throughout the game. As for character designs, you see a lot of them in codec call screens. Shinkawa’s art comes to life during these dialogue scenes thanks to great voice acting.

When you talk about Metal Gear Solid’s voice acting, you have to bring up the localisation. Because translating and adapting that amount of script for an English ear is not easy, but very important. The game’s dialogue sounds natural as a result, features bits of military lingo, and reminds of an 80’s action movie. Apparently, Kojima wasn’t happy when he learned about numerous small changes (he was still salty about the NES versions of Metal Gear 1 and 2 he had no control over), so this game’s English translator who, by the sound of it, improved the game for the western audience, couldn’t return to do the sequel. As a reminder of what the game would sound like without these changes, we have the “Could love bloom even on the battlefield?” line, which Konami insisted should be left as is.

As for the voice actors, they did an impeccable job. I’d even go as far as saying it still holds up well, albeit feeling a little cartoony compared to an average modern Sony exclusive. David Hayter’s rough and gruff voice performance creates an image of Snake that fits the role really well. It’s become iconic and almost inseparable from the character. Cam Clarke’s Liqiud Snake is probably my favourite here, though. His British accent and arrogant pathos are so enjoyable to the ear, I could listen to him monologuing even more than what we got. Christopher Randolph does a great nerdy engineer. Revolver Ocelot is great, Naomi is great, colonel is great, Meryl too. Mei Ling feels the most cartoonish, probably, and I can see why people say her accent feels a little racist. Nastasha’s accent is a bit too much for me as well, especially because I speak Russian. It’s noticeable where it goes away and where it comes back. But otherwise, solid work. Thanks to the cast and bravo to Kris Zimmerman for putting it all together.

Sound of danger

When you talk about MGS, you can't avoid mentioning the game's music and sound design. PS1's technology allowed a new level of game graphics. Likewise, the sound capabilities also improved drastically. It won't come as a surprise, that Kojima wanted a movie-like music score for his new game. So Konami's composers took a trip to Ireland, picked up a few sounds while being there, and composed an outstanding soundtrack. Moody music tracks filled the environments with tense atmosphere. Take a listen to the Psycho Mantis mind control music. Hearing this for the first time gives you a memorable feeling, like what's about to happen in the video game is going to be very bad. On the other hand, the enemy encounter theme offers a faster tempo and an energetic vibe. Also very memorable. And then there's The Best Is Yet to Come, the song composed by Rika Muranaka and performed by Aoife Ní Fhearraigh that plays in the intro and during the end credits. The song is so good, that it almost feels like a reward for beating the game.

I've used the word "memorable" twice already, but prepare to hear it for the third time. I mean, fourth. Somehow, the sound design is so good, that every menu sound, every sound that corresponds to any kind of action is also memorable. The iconic MGS alert sound probably just played in your head as you were reading this. Some of you probably know it without playing the game. You can give me the full sound library, and I will tell you which is which. Anyway, incredible job by the sound team. That's how things like this should be done. These small things matter too.

Rika Muranaka's The Best is Yet to Come - what a beautiful song. Somehow, it fits the game so well, even though you wouldn't think so before playing.

Sense of humour

Giving an entire section to humour and jokes may be too much, but I have to talk about this. It is rather astonishing how Kojima can show an unconscious naked guard lying ass-up and covered by a mosaic and keep a serious face two seconds later. This balance is remarkable. It’s so easy to go overboard with goofiness (exhibit A: any cutscene in MGS: The Twin Snakes), but he never does it.

Of course, similar to other aspects of the game, jokes are inspired by Hollywood and a little bit of anime and tokusatsu. Snake even says a one-liner just like an 80’s action hero would: a helicopter falls and explodes in a fire that goes up to the sky, to which our protagonist comments: “That takes care of the cremation”. Pretty tame by Kojima’s standards, but there’s much wilder stuff. Taking advantage of the guard’s diarrhea and faking your death with ketchup, hearing “You idiot!” from Ocelot in the "game over" screen during the boss battle when you accidentally (or purposely) blow up the hostage, etc.

There are also not exactly comedic moments, but simply light-hearted ones, like Mei Ling’s numerous Chinese proverbs when you save the game that are all somehow relevant to your mission. It adds a lot of charm.

Level of detail

Let’s talk about another thing Metal Gear games are known for: the insane attention of detail. I’ll just list some of the examples.

· The unique game over screen during Ocelot boss fight mentioned above

· If you don’t pick up a gun before meeting Meryl, her cutscene will play out differently

· Colonel will comment on how fast you get out of the first location, be quick, and you’ll hear “Age hasn’t slowed you down one bit”

· When you check Meryl’s pulse before the Psych Mantis fight, you’ll feel her heartbeat through the Dualshock vibrations

· Mantis himself has tons of unique and optional dialogue based on your save files, including but not limited to genre preferences, and the number of alerts/game overs/deaths to traps

· Ocelot will know if you’re using the turbo controller during the torture mini-game

· Colonel will have a line when you play with mono sound during the helicopter boss

· If you call Mei Ling too many times in a row and not save, she’ll be annoyed.

There’s more, but that’s what I could dig up from my memory while writing. The sequels get even crazier with contextual dialogue and the “whatever you can think of, you can do” gameplay scenarios.

If you want more

The original Metal Gear Solid has the VR training mode that consists of a few VR missions. Bite-sized challenges where you either sneak from point A to point B or eliminate every enemy in the shortest amount of time. It teaches you the basics. For the Japanese expanded release called Integral, a pack of 300 more missions was made. Later, it was released on a stand-alone disc called VR Missions, or Special Missions. This collection of levels gives much more variety, and puts you in more gameplay situations that you won't find in the main game. I posted a status about it 3 years ago, so you can see more of my thoughts on Special Missions there. If you felt like MGS's gameplay was lacking in volume, like it could've used its mechanics in more ways then it did, this should be perfect for you.

In the next episode of Tears, Fears, and Metal Gears…

… we dive deeper into the themes, the substories, the inspirations, and the references of Metal Gear Solid. Thanks for reading!

Edited November 12, 2023 by Slava

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