Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake

LET'S DIVE INTO THIS THING.

Truly a fine title to a fine game.

Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake is, quite frankly, one of the best 8-bit games I've ever played. Kojima clearly had bottled lightning back in 1990, for this game set the groundwork for the more popular entry and game-changing sequel, Metal Gear Solid. The gameplay and plot beats were replicated in such a fashion that anyone familiar with MGS would be able to recognize and get through quite a bit of Metal Gear 2 based on retroactive familiarity. That's not even a thing, is it...

Anyway, Solid Snake once again stars fan favorite, er, Solid Snake in the year 1999. The world's petroleum reserves are running low and OILIX, an algae that can synthesize petroleum-grade fuel, has been created to solve this issue; and its creator, Dr. Kio Marv, is the beginning of Metal Gear 2. He and a few others were kidnapped after the doctor's reveal of OILIX by agents of Zanzibar Land, a country in Central Asia. Under FOXHOUND's new commanding officer Roy Campbell, Solid Snake is pulled out of retirement to rescue Dr. Marv, and deal with on-site procurement in an espionage mission that soon becomes a lot more than it appears, as will soon be Metal Gear tradition.

I love the goofy FOXHOUND logo. So playful!

Metal Gear 2 was the true start of a lot of the series' staple features, from how it handled stealth to its intricate and escalating plot and well-rounded characters to its fourth-wall-breaking gameplay and overall presentation. All of this would heavily-influence the series' true breakout moment eight years later in Metal Gear Solid. The three-stage Alert system, the means of remaining stealthy via cardboard boxes, crawling under tables and tanks, the multiple uses for weapons and items, the fourth-wall-breaking moments (including resorting to the manual to decipher morse code); it's all here. As stated before, many fans familiar enough with Metal Gear Solid will find much of its gameplay and flow in 2D form here in Metal Gear 2.

The shoulder buttons work the inventory and weapons. Card Keys are somewhat simplified to avoid frustration this time around. Characters will talk more and make more sense via Codec, though it's still not as useful/in-depth as Solid-entry Codec conversations. Master Miller rocks shades. Roy Campbell is in his prime as CO, and I like him. Plot points avoided at the end of Metal Gear get resolved here, including a blast from the past as well as Gray Fox's fate. It's nice to see the AI get upped from strict-compass-directions to make for more reasons to avoid them. The late-game backtracking is still a thing and is to be watched out for. That snake in your inventory should burn in a fire! The final boss fight was awesome to figure out, and I barely won by the skin of my teeth. Lots to love in this game, and I recommend it whole-heartedly to those comfortable with 8-bit controls.

You gotta pretend this is a minefield for future reference.

As a sequel, it expands upon Metal Gear in every way possible. The plot is more pronounced (get used to that!), the gameplay is expanded on in obvious and subtle ways, it looks pretty great for an 8-bit game, the soundtrack is varied enough, the characters have personalities, albeit simplified by today's standards; Metal Gear 2 is an excellent game. As a prequel, it holds up remarkably well, being the basic blueprint of Metal Gear Solid, and that's a true form of praise for a complicated 8-bit game to be so ahead of its time with such a successful foundation.

Though for as amazing as it is for its generation, I don't have a lot to say about it that won't be said -and with greater fanfare- for its sequel and spiritual remake, Metal Gear Solid. It's no fault of Metal Gear 2, it's just that it was so well-done here and was only improved upon in the series' transition to pseudo-3D. At this point, the first two Metal Gears are awaited by fans to get a remake, right under a proper remake for Metal Gear Solid using the Fox Engine, and I'd love them to do such. Both Metal Gear 1 and 2 are readily available via the HD Collection, and are recommended to fans as more of a curiosity more so than plot relevance.



This could be a movie poster or book cover - I love it!

It's one of the best 8-bit games I've ever played, and any fan of Metal Gear Solid would do well to play it, if not to see MGS in 2D.

-Main Series-
1. Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
2. Metal Gear

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Looking on this, I'd've been better off typing a succinct "Play this if you like Metal Gear Solid to see it in 2D!" Good thing I'll go more in detail on MGS proper, and with more vigor! I really like MG2, I just like MGS more. Make sense? I hope so.

Ciao!