Metal Gear

Metal Gear
The cover illustration depicts the protagonist Solid Snake prominently, with the titular mecha below him. The illustration is in fact a reproduction of a picture of the character Kyle Reese from the 1984 film The Terminator, played by actor Michael Biehn.
Developer(s)	Konami
Publisher(s)	Konami Ultra Games (North American NES version)
Designer(s)	Hideo Kojima
Composer(s)	Iku Mizutani Shigehiro Takenouchi Motoaki Furukawa
Series	Metal Gear
Platform(s)	MSX2, NES, PC MS-DOS, Commodore 64, Mobile Phone, GameCube, PlayStation 2
Release date(s)	MSX2 JP July 12, 1987 EU September 1987 NES JP December 22, 1987 NA June 1988 EU March 1989 PC MS-DOS / Commodore 64 NA June 1990 EU June 1990 Mobile phone JP August 18, 2004 NA 2008
Genre(s)	Stealth action
Mode(s)	Single player
Media	Cartridge (MSX2, NES) Floppy disk (PC, C64) Download (mobile phone)
Input methods	Controller, keyboard

Metal Gear (メタルギア^?, commonly abbreviated MG) is a stealth game designed by Hideo Kojima.^[1] Metal Gear was developed and first published by Konami in 1987 for the MSX2 home computer. The game is considered to be the progenitor of the stealth game genre, in which avoiding direct encounter with the enemy is emphasized over attacking openly.

The premise revolves around a special forces operative codenamed Solid Snake who goes into a solo infiltration mission into the fortified state of Outer Heaven to destroy Metal Gear, a bipedal walking tank capable of launching nuclear missiles from anywhere in the world.

The MSX2 version was initially released only in Japan and parts of Europe. A heavily altered port for the Japanese Family Computer was released months afterwards, followed by an English localization for its western counterpart, the Nintendo Entertainment System, in 1988. The original MSX2 version would be ported to mobile phones in Japan in 2004, followed by its inclusion in Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (alongside Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake) for the PlayStation 2 in 2006, which led to a more widely available English localization of the original MSX2 game in North America and Europe.

Gameplay

Solid Snake avoiding a visual encounter with enemy soldiers (MSX2 version).

The player must navigate the main character (codenamed Solid Snake) through various locations, while avoiding visual contact and direct confrontation with patrolling guards. If the player is seen, the game enters the "Alert Mode." In this situation, the player must hide the character in order to leave the mode. The method of escaping varies depending on the circumstances behind discovery:

• If a player is seen and only a single exclamation mark (!) appears over an enemy's head, only the enemies in the player's present screen will attack and an escape can be made by moving to the adjacent screen.
• However, if two exclamation marks (!!) appear over the enemy (or the player triggers an alarm by being spotted by a camera, infrared sensor or by using an unsilenced weapon), reinforcements from off-screen will appear as well. The player can only escape by eliminating all incoming enemies or by simply moving to a different floor.

The player starts the game unarmed, but eventually gains access to a variety of firearms (starting with the Beretta M92F) and explosives and working his way up to machine guns and guided rocket launchers. Ammo and supplies for each weapon are limited, but are easily replenished. Weapons can not only be used to kill enemies, but also to clear obstacles (such as hollow walls or electrified floors). Snake can also use his fists to punch and defeat patrolling enemies. Occasionally if the player defeats a guard with punches without alerting anyone, the defeated guard will yield a single unit of rations or an ammo box that can be picked up.

The enemy base consists of three different buildings, with multiple floors (including basement levels) within them. The player uses key cards and other items to unlock doors or explore new areas. Doors will only open to their corresponding key cards. Bosses also appear throughout the game to interfere with the player's progress.

Information can be obtained by rescuing hostages being held captive within the buildings. After rescuing five hostages, the player is given a promotion, increasing their "Rank" (up to four stars max), allowing for bigger ammo capacity and maximum health. However, if a hostage is killed, the player is demoted to the previous rank.

A transceiver is available for the player to communicate with their commanding officer (Big Boss) or one of the resistance members operating covertly within the fortress. Each of Snake's allies has an extensive knowledge on specific subjects. The transceiver system is completely room-oriented, as certain radio transmissions occur only in certain locations.

Plot

Characters

See also: List of characters in the Metal Gear series.

The player's character is Solid Snake. A rookie member of the fictional special forces group FOXHOUND sent on his first mission. He is assisted via radio by his commanding officer Big Boss, who offers information about mission objectives and items; as well as a local Resistance movement composed of Schneider, who provides the locations of important items; Diane, who provides information on how to defeat the game's bosses; and Jennifer, who assists Snake as an inside agent. Among the prisoners Snake rescues includes Gray Fox (Grey Fox in the MSX2 version), a FOXHOUND agent who was captured during a previous mission; Dr. Drago Pettrovich Madnar (Dr. Pettrovich in the MSX2 version), the scientist who designed the Metal Gear weapon; and his daughter Ellen (Elen Pettrovich in the MSX2 version), who was kidnapped along with him.

The bosses of the game includes Shotmaker (Shoot Gunner^[2] in the MSX2 version), a former Spetsnaz agent specializing in the riot gun; Machine Gun Kid, a former SAS operative armed with a machine gun; Fire Trooper, a former GSG 9 operative who uses a flamethrower; Dirty Duck (Coward Duck in the MSX2 version), a boomerang throwing terrorist who shields himself with hostages; Bloody Brad (Arnold in the MSX2 version), an android designed by Dr. Madnar; and the legendary mercenary who founded Outer Heaven, whose identity is unknown until the end of the game.

Story

Sometime near the end of the 20th century (established as 1995 in later games), 200km north of Galzburg, South Africa, lies Outer Heaven, a fortified state founded by a "legendary mercenary". Word had gotten out to the western world that deep within the Outer Heaven stronghold, a weapon of mass destruction is being constructed. Special Forces unit FOXHOUND sends Gray Fox, one of their top agents, to infiltrate the fortress, assess the situation and neutralize the threat. Days later, contact with Gray Fox is lost and his last transmission simply reads "METAL GEAR..." Operative Solid Snake, FOXHOUND's newest recruit, is ordered by squad leader Big Boss to rescue Gray Fox and carry out his mission, "Operation: Intrude N313".

Upon insertion into Outer Heaven, Snake makes contact with local resistance members Schneider, Diane, and Jennifer. Using all of his skills and the equipment he procured on site, he manages to rescue Fox. He learns from Fox that Metal Gear is the codename of a nuclear warhead-equipped bipedal walking tank, which can engage and dominate in all forms of combat as well as launch its nuclear warheads from any location. Outer Heaven plans to use Metal Gear to impose itself as the new world superpower.

In order to destroy Metal Gear, and topple the Outer Heaven mercenaries, Snake rescues the lead engineer of Metal Gear, Dr. Pettrovich, and his daughter, Ellen. Armed with information on how to destroy Metal Gear, his skill and indomitable spirit, Snake fights through the entire Outer Heaven force. He begins to notice that traps being set for him are too precise, and wonders how information on his activities is being tracked. Moreover, Schneider is ambushed by hostiles and is presumed dead after losing contact with Snake.

Big Boss reveals himself to Solid Snake in the game's final battle (MSX2 version).

Upon breaching the core of the base, Snake is able to neutralize Metal Gear before it reaches completion. As he makes his way out of the compound's basement, he is confronted by the mercenary leader of Outer Heaven, who turns out to be Big Boss. The corrupt leader reveals that he had been using his connections to steal military intelligence, establish his own mercenary force, and fund his activities. It was his aim to have Outer Heaven become the world's greatest superpower, able to bring even the western nations to their knees. He had the rookie Snake sent in, hoping to have him captured and feed misinformation to authorities, but had quite obviously underestimated Snake's capabilities.

Having lost Metal Gear and much of his force, Big Boss starts the self-destruct sequence for the compound, and promises he will not die alone; Snake will join him. An underground battle ensues, and despite injury, Snake defeats Big Boss and escapes the Outer Heaven compound as it crumbles in flames behind him. After the end credits, a message from Big Boss is displayed saying that he will meet Solid Snake again.

Release history

MSX2

Metal Gear was originally released on the MSX2 home computer in Japan on July 12, 1987, with an English version released for the European market sometime afterwards. Most of the radio messages were edited or removed in the English version, including Big Boss' comments on every item and weapon found by the player. According to a fan-translation project, only 56% of the original Japanese text was translated in the English version.^[3] The translation contains many examples of Engrish, such as consistently misspelling "destroy" as "destoroy". The Japanese manual contains exclusive content not found in the English manual, such as character profiles with illustrations, brief descriptions of the game's bosses, and the complete specifications of the Metal Gear tank.

Nintendo Entertainment System

NES cover artwork of Metal Gear.

A reprogrammed version for the Family Computer was released in Japan on December 22, 1987. While the MSX2 version of this game was never released in the U.S., the Nintendo Entertainment System version came to North America in June 1988 (published by Konami's Ultra Games division), followed by PAL version in Europe and Australia in March 1989. The MSX2 version's designer Hideo Kojima, who was not involved in the NES port, has been vocal about his disappointment at the quality of the NES version,^[4][5] going as far to regard the game as "complete garbage".^[6]

The outdoor area prior to entering the first base was not in the MSX2 version.

The biggest change to the game was in the overall level design. The game features a new opening sequence showing Solid Snake and three other soldiers (who are never seen nor mentioned in any other part of the game) skydiving into the jungles of Galzburgh. The game begins in a brief Jungle area added to this version and the player must reach a transport truck that takes Snake to the front entrance of Building 1. The player can also enter other transport trucks that takes Snake to the entrances of the other buildings, allowing the player to skip most of the game. The basement floor that connects Building 1 and 2 in the MSX2 version is turned into two separate (but interconnected) buildings, Building 4 and 5 respectively, that are only reachable by going through a maze first. The Metal Gear mecha in the end of the game is missing; instead the player destroys an immobile Super Computer guarded by four soldiers.^[5] The Hind D boss on the roof of Building 1 was also replaced by two armed turret gunners called Twin Shot. Other subtle changes includes the lack of the double exclamation mark alert, different background music, the removal of the Flying Army's ability to hover and the removal of Big Boss' message after the end credits. Like the English localization of the MSX2 version, the English localization of the NES game contains numerous examples of grammatically-incorrect phrases, such as "Contact missing our Grey Fox"^[7], "The truck have started to move!"^[8], and "I feel asleep!!"^[9]

Additionally, the English NES version's manual and packaging swayed from the game's official storyline. The game's main villain (whose identity is intentionally kept secret in the game) is mentioned to be "Col. Vermon CaTaffy", a mangled parody of Libyan dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi. Snake's commanding officer is referred as "Commander South" (a play on Southern Command). Moreover, Snake is mentioned as having participated in the Grenada invasion prior to joining FOXHOUND. This localized version of the game's story is only referenced in the packaging and manual, but not in the actual game itself.

A limited edition of Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes that was released only in Japan included a bonus game disc which featured an emulation of the Famicom version of Metal Gear.^[10]

PC MS-DOS and Commodore 64

The NES version of Metal Gear was the basis of two computer ports that were released in 1990 for PC MS-DOS and the Commodore 64 in North America and Europe. The PC MS-DOS conversion was programmed by Charles Ernst, while the Commodore 64 conversion was handled by Unlimited Software Inc. The PC MS-DOS version contains many minor changes, such as a faster-depleting health bar. However, the Commodore 64 version is closer to the NES version, with only small musical and visual changes. A third computer conversion for the Amiga is listed on the rear packaging of both computer versions, but was never released.

Mobile phones and PlayStation 2

A version of Metal Gear was released for mobile phones in Japan on August 18, 2004. It could be downloaded on the i-Mode, EZweb and Vodafone services. Although based on the MSX2 version, it includes several new features and changes. This same version of the game was included as a component of Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence for the PlayStation 2. The North American version included a retranslated English script, as well as an optional Spanish script. In 2008, Konami began offering the mobile phone version of Metal Gear to North American players via their Konami Mobile service. ^[11] The re-released versions were programmed by Aspect Co., Ltd. under Konami's supervision. It is also available for Nokia N-gage gaming platform.

New features include two difficulty settings ("Original" and "Easy"), an unlockable Boss Survival mode and an infinite bandana which provides the player with unlimited ammo when equipped (similar to the one featured in Metal Gear Solid). Some of the boss characters were renamed as well. In the Japanese version, the script was changed to include kanji and hiragana, in addition to katakana and romaji. The English version uses a completely new translation different from the early MSX2 and NES localizations.

Virtual Console

The MSX2 version of Metal Gear is currently scheduled to be released for the Wii Virtual Console in Japan for sometime during November 2009.^[12]

Reception

The NES version of Metal Gear was rated the 104th best game made on a Nintendo System in Nintendo Power's Top 200 Games list.^[13]

Its success led to the creation of two separately produced sequels; the first one, Snake's Revenge, was produced specifically for the NES in North America and Europe in 1990 and the other, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, was the sequel developed by the original game's designer and released in Japan for the MSX2 during the same year as a response to the former's creation. The latter was followed by Metal Gear Solid for the PlayStation in 1998, which was in turn followed by numerous sequels and spinoffs (see Metal Gear series).

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, which in turn was reused in Metal Gear: Ghost Babel and Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance. "Theme of Tara" is one of the tunes that can be heard in the "Shadow Moses Island" stage in Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii, the music for the beginning section of the Battleship Halberd Interior stage of the game's Adventure mode, where Snake officially enters the storyline, and can also be selected as music with an iPod item in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.

Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008 awarded Metal Gear with the world record as the First Ever Stealth Video Game.

References

External links

• Metal Gear at MobyGames
• Official Metal Gear site at Konami (Japanese)
• Official Website for the Mobile Phone version (Japanese)