Metal Gear
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- This article is about the 1987 video game. For the entire video game series, see Metal Gear (series). For other uses, see Metal Gear (disambiguation).
| Metal Gear | |
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 The cover illustration depicts the protagonist Solid Snake prominently, with the titular mecha below him. Solid Snake's pose was based on actor Michael Biehn. |
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| Developer(s) | Konami |
| Publisher(s) | Konami Ultra Games (North American NES version) |
| Designer(s) | Hideo Kojima |
| Series | Metal Gear |
| Platform(s) | MSX2, NES, PC MS-DOS, Commodore 64, Mobile Phone, PlayStation 2 |
| Release date | 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 |
| 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 Metaru Gia?) (commonly abbreviated to 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 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 game is considered to be the progenitor of the stealth genre, in which avoiding direct encounter with the enemy is emphasized over attacking openly.
The MSX2 version was initially released only in Japan and the Netherlands, although a heavily altered port for the Japanese Family Computer and its western counterpart, the Nintendo Entertainment System, was released months afterwards. The original MSX2 version would be ported to mobile phones in Japan in 2004, followed by its inclusion in Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence for the PlayStation 2 in 2005, which led to a more mainstream English localization of the original MSX2 game in North America and Europe.
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[edit] Gameplay
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.
At first, 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 4 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.
[edit] Plot
[edit] Characters
Note: The characters are primarily listed by the names/spellings used in the original MSX2 version, followed by the names used in the re-releases in parenthesis.
[edit] FOXHOUND
- Solid Snake
- The player's character. A rookie member of FOXHOUND, Operation: Intrude N313 (the events of the game) is his inaugural mission as a FOXHOUND agent. Kojima describes Snake's role in the original Metal Gear as the "player's presence", explaining the paradoxical codename of Solid Snake to suit both, the player's personality and the character's toughness, contrasting the defined personality Solid Snake acquired in Metal Gear Solid.[2]
- Big Boss
- The commander-in-chief of FOXHOUND and the player's commanding officer. Prior to forming FOXHOUND, Big Boss served in numerous special force teams such as GSG9, the Green Berets and the SAS. He provides general gameplay advice and information about items and weapons via the transceiver, serving as Snake's primary radio contact. Near the end of the game he tries to mislead the player with false advice until revealing himself in the game's final battle as the leader of the Outer Heaven militia.
- Grey Fox (Gray Fox)
- A FOXHOUND agent with a "Fox" codename, the highest commemoration within the team. He has been sent to Outer Heaven during a previous mission, but was captured. It is the player's initial objective to regain contact with him.
[edit] Resistance
- Schneider
- The leader of the resistance movement against Outer Heaven. He was once the lead architectural engineer of Outer Heaven, but formed an underground movement after the death of his wife and child. He assists Snake via the transceiver and provides the player with the location of important weapons and items. Near the end of the game, he learns the identity of the Outer Heaven leader, but is silenced before mentioning his name. His full name is given as "Kyle Schneider" in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake.
- Diane
- A resistance member who was formerly a vocalist for a positive punk band called "Thin Wall." She provides the player with information on how to defeat certain bosses. When Diane is unable to assist Snake during battle, a man named Steve will answer her calls instead, who eventually demands Snake to stop pestering Diane.
- Jennifer
- A resistance member who has infiltrated Outer Heaven fortress as part of its medical staff in order to rescue her elder brother. She will only communicate with Snake if the player has achieved a class/rank of four stars (the highest possible) and only then she will provide the player with rocket launcher and the compass, two key items needed to complete the game.
[edit] Civilians
- Dr. Pettrovich
- The Eastern scientist who designed the TX-55 Metal Gear mecha, as well as the TX-11 Cyberoids. While seeking asylum in the West, his plane was hijacked and he was taken to Outer Heaven. If the player rescues him and his daughter, he will reveal Metal Gear's weakness to the player. His full name is given as "Petrovich Madnar" in Metal Gear 2 and as "Drago Pettrovich Madnar" in the re-releases.
- Elen Pettrovich (Ellen Madnar)
- A Bolshoi Ballet dancer and Dr. Pettrovich's daughter, Ellen was taken captive in Outer Heaven in order to blackmail her father to develop Metal Gear. Her full name was originally given as "Elen Pettrovich" in the MSX2 version of the game, but was changed to "Ellen Madnar" in the re-releases.
[edit] Outer Heaven
- Shoot Gunner (Shotmaker)
- An Outer Heaven mercenary who serves as the warden in the prison where Fox is being kept. A former Spetsnaz agent and an expert in the riot gun.
- Machine Gun Kid
- An Outer Heaven mercenary formerly with the SAS who is armed with a machine gun.
- Fire Trooper
- An Outer Heaven mercenary formerly with GSG 9 who uses a flamethrower.
- Coward Duck (Dirty Duck)
- An Outer Heaven mercenary who was formerly a sub-leader of the terrorist group "Egg Plant." He attacks with boomerangs and shields himself with a group of hostages, with Jennifer's brother being one of them. His name might be a reference to Dirty Duck.
- Arnold (Bloody Brad)
- A TX-11 cyberoid designed by Dr. Pettrovich who is invulnerable to all weapons except the Rocket Launcher.
[edit] Story
In the year 19XX (later established to be 1995 in Metal Gear Solid), 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. Government officials order the high-tech Special Forces unit FOXHOUND to infiltrate the fortress, assess the situation and neutralize the threat. In his mission, FOXHOUND operative Gray Fox infiltrated the Outer Heaven stronghold. 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 Kyle 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. Drago Pettrovich Madnar, 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. One of the final hostages Snake rescues tells him that the mysterious "mercenary leader" of the entire base is none other than Snake's C.O., Big Boss, and that Outer Heaven is under his command.
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 Big Boss himself; the corrupt leader had been using his connections within the U.S. government 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 most powerful nation, able to bring even the western nations to their knees. He had the rookie Snake sent in, hoping to have him captured and feed the U.S. government misinformation, 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 ending credits, a message from Big Boss is displayed saying that he will meet Solid Snake again.
[edit] Release history
[edit] 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.
[edit] Nintendo Entertainment System
A graphically modified 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 March 1989. Konami produced this version without Kojima's direct involvement and several changes were made as a result. Kojima has been vocal about his disappointment at the quality of the NES version[4], going as far to regard the game as "complete garbage".[5]
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 Garzburgh. 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. The Hind D boss on the roof of Building 1 was also replaced by two armed gunners. 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 ending 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"[6], "The truck have started to move!"[7], and "I feel asleep!".[8]
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." 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 for Snake's Revenge (which features a similar discrepancy between the manual and the game's version of the story) and is never referred in the Metal Gear Solid series.
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.
The Famicom version of Metal Gear is included in a bonus disc that was packaged with Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes for the Nintendo GameCube in a special console bundle released only in Japan.
[edit] 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. [9] The re-released versions were programmed by Aspect Co., Ltd. under Konami's supervision.
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 character 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. The North American version of Subsistence also includes a Spanish translation of the game.
[edit] 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.[10]
Its success led to the creation of two separately produced sequels; the first one (Snake's Revenge) was produced specifically for the Western market for the NES and the other (Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake) was the canonical sequel developed by the original game's designer and released in Japan for the MSX2 in response to the former's creation. The latter was followed by the successful Metal Gear Solid, 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.
[edit] References
- ^ Jeremy Parish, “Metal Gear,” Electronic Gaming Monthly 225 (January 2008): 93.
- ^ METAL GEAR SOLID 4 INTEGRATED SITE.
- ^ Nekura_Hoka's Metal Gear Code Site.
- ^ Steven Kent. Hideo Kojima: Game Guru, Movie Maniac. “HK: I really don't like saying this, but it really wasn't up to my standards. The care that I put in the original wasn't there. It [the Famicom version] was a more difficult game. In the very beginning, when you go from the entrance into the fortress, for example, there are dogs there. In the Famicom version, the dogs just come after you and you get killed. It was too difficult to get into the fortress. The fun stealth element was not there, and the actual Metal Gear, the robot, doesn't appear in the game.”
- ^ Metal Gear Saga Vol. 1, Konami, 2006
- ^ The first radio transmission in the game.
- ^ Whenever Snake enters a moving truck
- ^ Whenever an enemy soldier wakes up from his sleep.
- ^ KONAMI MOBILE.
- ^ “NP Top 200”, Nintendo Power 200: 58-66, February 2006.
[edit] External links
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