Metal Gear Solid
ReleaseDate: Sept 3, 1998
Platforms: Playstation Originally but is now on Windows, Switch, Xbox and PSN
Developer: Konami Computer Entertainment Japan
Publisher: Konami
Genre: Stealth Action
Prep: Originally released on Playstation 1 the game has since been released and remastered on most stores. The definitive way to play it is on one of the HD Remaster collections. The game also had a remake on Nintendo Gamecube called Metal Gear Solid Twin Snakes. Which is the game made in the Metal Gear Solid 2 engine.
EXPM March 2026
Pre-Game: by Filbert and MsMoon (Audio in the video)
When a video game director wants to become a movie director the product is Metal Gear Solid. The series creator Hideo Kojima had an early desire to create films. He has always had a passion for film and Metal Gear Solid was him who brought his love of movies to games. The average play through of Metal Gear Solid is around 11-12 hours. Of which about 2 in a half are cutscenes and another 2 hours are codex calls. You might average 40% of your play time by watching the game giving no input. There is the presentation of the game in which every time a new character is introduced not only is the character's name on screen but the credit to their voice actor. You can also see a more typical 3 act structure as you normally see in a movie.
Other games in this era and before, typical JRPGs, were known for their narrative story telling. Still in 1998 Metal Gear Solid had the ambition of doing all of these with voice acting and a major reliance on cutscenes and video. In the mid and late 90s if a game pushed a deeper narrative it was typically an RPG or JRPG. Often using lore constructed in the game, told through a handful of cutscenes and text that often wasn’t voice acted. Even when this was done well it rarely was a consensus experience. You were along for a longer journey with multiple arcs.
The other way many narratives were told were more simple straight forward narratives that were told between missions. You had clear game play segments which were separated with bits of story. You typically play a level, then watch a cutscene or read next, then press start to continue to the next level. Kojima and Konami were some of the first to attempt a cinematic experience in a video game. A game that though was 3-4 times the length of a movie it felt as if it had the same pace as one. One that invested a lot of resources in appearance and delivery. A game which took many real world aspects into account to tell its story.
Metal Gear Solid captures one of my favorite aspects of a narrative. Whether a video game, book, or movie. It’s always been challenging for me to describe but I have a fondness for a story that as the protagonist I feel the foundation for the start of an adventure. The stakes are set up and I have the journey laid out in front of me. Through the experience there is both discovery and power gained. Then, as the third act you not only can tell but can feel everything is leading up to a finale. At this point in the story a point of no return has been crossed.
It’s not just the typical 3 act structure I am describing. That might be the scaffolding of it. What I am describing is something only great stories provide. It requires pacing, setup, pay off, and most importantly development all to work in tandem. It’s hard for me to explain the feeling but it is one that only a few stories ever give me. The ones that does feel epic.
Metal Gear Solid was the first game to present this aspect of story telling me that I didn’t gain from a movie. Before Metal Gear Solid I had played or watched other games with deep or interesting stories. Often though those were long JRPG experiences. More akin to a TV Season rather than a movie. The magic of how much of this is done is how Metal Gear Solid blends all the cutscenes and codex calls throughout the game. These narrative breaks could easily feel as interruptions but instead bind with the gameplay and the story in a satisfying way. Often in this era reaching a cutscene was a reward for gameplay, and if you become invested into the story of Metal Gear Solid it is not only a special experience but a unique one in many ways.
There are certain games which for many of us we played or were exposed to and they left a major impact in one way or another. Before I share my thoughts I want to introduce one of EXPM members MsMoon. Who is going to share her thoughts on MGS.
Please watch the video for MsMoons contribution and thoughts on MGS
For me personally MGS takes me back to the late nines as a kid. I’ve mentioned it many times before but I am the youngest of 5 and I have so many memories of SNES and PS1 games. I would watch my brothers play RPGs or more complex games. And be invested in these games as I hung out with them. It was not that different from binging a TV show. MGS will always take me back to watching my brothers take on Sniper Wolf or taking a giant walking robot head on. It would have been some of the first times I heard about concepts like nuclear war and military industrial complex. As an adult I became very invested in military history and geography. I truly think a lot of that influence came from MGS. I would have been 8 or 9 and wanted to learn where Alaska and Russia were. I remember asking the teachers in school about the USA and Russia since I was coming to understand about the cold war and what was then a new recent peace.
As MsMoon stated it brought into ideas of nature vs nurture. At that age I still wasn’t grasping those concepts but I recall wanting characters to change or fight back against urgers. As I reflect on those thoughts as a kid I can recognize that though I wasn’t aware of it I was hoping characters would break the bounds of nature vs nurture.
As a game I just go back to my early statements. It was a game that felt like a journey. Whether I was watching or playing it often reflected in gameplay. Early on me and my brothers were much more likely to do silly things in the game or treat it more like a sandbox. As the game continued though I wanted to complete certain tasks to advance the mission. Then, as the game comes to a close you reach that point of no return. Snake and the characters in the game will never be the same. You must press on. The original mission feels like a dream now. There is a bitter sweetness to closing the final chapter on this experience.
If you haven’t I recommend you play Metal Gear Solid. If it has been a long time I recommend you pick it back up and give it a fresh playthrough. As always check out EXP Monthly. Join us to share your experiences and thoughts on the game. And be a part of an awesome community and podcast.
