Ranking 11 Metal Gear Solid Games (Worst to Best)

Ranking 11 of the Metal Gear Solid games- worst to best.

[ThePope]

I have a really hard time not naming MGS as the best MGS game of all time. When my buddies and I beat that we talked about it for months. It was a water shed moment for gaming. IMO.

[Shaun2k5]

To be fair, the top 2 could be switched round with little argument from me. The big sell for why I put 3 first was purely because one made me go "Wow" but MGS3 was like "Woooooow". It blew my expectations out the water.

[Razputin]

Have to agree with this. 1 and 3 can be changed interchangeably, but it depends the person.

3 - Snake Eater, had better controls and the fact that they changed the camera for Subsistence, made it that much better.

If you can get over the controls, camera, and limitations of Metal Gear Solid in its original form, now, than it is one the best games hands down in my opinion.

I've set bars for myself to beat the original 3s in less than 3 hours each, with no cutscenes.

One hell of a franchise, though I can't get myself to beat Metal Gear Solid 5, and 4 was great, but nothing in comparison to the original 3.

And honestly have to say if it wasn't for MGS1 coming out first, 3 would have been that much more amazing.

Hell I'm going to install 1 and 2 on PC today.

[Gaming101]

There are two aspects to MGS games - the gameplay and game design elements, and the stories.

Gameplay got better every single game, it never really got worse. There were always strides of improvements, there's no doubt.

Story is subjective. I'm a diehard MGS fan, and MGS 1 still has far and away the best story. It's not even close.

MGS3 story is ok but it got really ridiculous and overly Japanese with the subtext and the nuance of why things were happening.

MGS2 will go down in history as being the most convoluted and confusing, over bloated story in gaming history.

MGS5's ending was so stupid, it insulted the intelligence of gamers, and its own head is so far up its own ass it chews its food twice. A shame, given how brilliant the gameplay was.

[PLASTICA-MAN]

He forgot Metal Gear Solid Mobile which a canon MGS game that happens between MGS1 and MGS2.

[formanbradley]

I personally think MGS1, 2, and 3 can be swapped for the #1 place depending on who you are.
And The Phantom Pain is better than MGS2? LOL I'M DYING, I CAN'T, PLEASE STOP IT.

[Movefasta1993]

4 and 5 for me,and the reason for that is because of the controls.Pre 4,the tank controls annoyed me,i still finished the games but when i go back to play 2 and 3 i do not have fun.But recently,i began my 6th playthrough of 4,and the controls are just soo much better,the aiming,the crouching,just the overall movement makes the gameplay so much more enjoyable.And 5's gameplay is absolutely incredible.But yeah that's my biggest gripe with the old mgs games.
If i have to rank them off nostalgia,then 2 and 3 are my favs...easily.But overall,4 is the greatest .

[Rebel_Scum]

I've only played MGS and MGS3. I'm trying to play through the series now in chronological order but Portable Ops is killing me. Its so bad.

[Lukejrl]

It is pretty rough cause of all the damn dragging.

[formanbradley]

It's not even full canon, skip it and read the wiki. Start Peace Walker

[nevin1]

MGS4-A Blu Ray movie

MGS3- The mechanics were outdated

MGS5- Fun gameplay but flawed open world structure and repetitive missions.

MGS2- Really fun but goes full retard when you start as Raiden.

MGS1- Masterpiece

[silvacrest]

MGS2 gets unnecessary hate just because of raiden who isn't even a bad protagonist, the codec calls you get with him and rose just wouldn't happen with snake.

The story is so interesting and is still relevant over a decade later.

It looks better then MGS3 (graphics) even though 3 came after it.

I wont go on but i suggest the haters watch someone who knows the game in and out play it and expose everything it has to offer

[-Foxtrot]

" the codec calls you get with him and rose just wouldn't happen with snake"

They would have worked with Snake and Meryl

Over the course of the game you slowly open yourself up to Meryl and at the end you are crushed to find out it's just the System.

Why would that not be good? You see a guy who is emotional close, get friendly (maybe a little flirty) convos throughout the entire game only to see him being manipulated by the A.I system

Plus it would make more sense that the Colonel and Meryl are helping the main character together then him and a new character you've never heard of before.

[silvacrest]

@-Foxtrot

Perhaps but then then you need to have a reason for meryl to be there, just retconning her for rose wouldn't work

Maybe he would open up to the AI meryl and not notice its not her but the colonel who he has known for over a decade? i doubt it

Basically MGS2 portrays raiden as the VR noob with no real experience, snake is the Highly experience super soldier, chances of him being duped by AI are pretty low

[formanbradley]

MGS1's staircase is anything but a masterpiece.
And look up Super Bunnyhop's critical analysis of MGS2, it might change your opinion from "going full retard" to "I'm literally a retard because this story is so complex I can't grasp it"

[NapalmSanctuary]

Metal Gear 1 & 2 are good also, especially 2.

[franwex]

Yeah, MGS is is practically a metal gear 2 remake in 3D slash sequel

[silvacrest]

I disagree with this list, mostly putting TPP so high, think about the following scenario, you play or watch someone play every game in this list back to back, at least 5 times, you will soon realise just how inadequate TPP is compared to the rest of the series.

Repetitive beyond anything else in the series except revengance but that is a hack n slash so....
Unfinished and missing content
Fake guns (some people dont care but it is something lacking that other games had)
The open world is a mostly empty world
Skull face had potential but ended up being a joke and meme factory
Fultoning changes the way you play, from sneaky stealth to recruitment by force
The battlegear ends up being nothing
Ocelots character is so screwed, from ruthless triple agent interrogator to glorified hand-holder/ tutorial
Unskipable helicopter rides to missions are annoying beyond belief
Legendary boss fights the series is known for have been reduced to fighting nameless, faceless enemies
SPOILERS - you aren't who you think you are and the reveal of that feels empty

I could seriously so on and on.

[Chaos_Order]

Not to mention the level design was lacking. Such a case of quantity over quality... I actually thought Ground Zeroes was a much better experience while it lasted. The level allowed for a wide range of routes, access points and different strategies, while still retaining thoughtful design for each section. TPP just felt like generic settlement after generic base, not a single memorable area among them.

[silvacrest]

Good point, also i'll add to that because why not.

Forced side missions to progress main story
"Extreme" difficulty for specific missions rather then selecting a difficulty from the start of the game (a first for the series)
Fake important side missions, some are just mandatory to progress the game like huey's
Want to listen to tapes while doing missions? go ahead but prepare for kaz/ocelot and random soldiers to interrupt often.
Epic music from the trailers is missing in the final game
Trailers spoiled almost everything good/interesting in the game
Personal preference here but the trailers got me hype so the disappointment from the end product was quite profound.

[mochachino]

I'd put 4 before the unfinished story less game that was 5.

[dizeestl]

mgs 1 2 or 3 are all good picks. peace walker is a solid game too. if anyone says any of the other games are their favorites, they simply have very poor tastes. phantom pain is the worst in the solid series by a large margin. even 4s joke story was atleast a finished product.

[warriors_13]

to this day i have still not completed mgs3. the story looks cool and i want to get through it but i just can't handle the controls.
the aiming and shooting in this game is so awful.

any tips/suggestions would be great as i'd love to get through this game

[Becuzisaid]

Are you playing the remastered version? This has the updated controls and camera that came with the subsistence version back when it came out. A clear improvement over the original.

If that is the version you're playing, can't help you. If you're having trouble with the controls practice a bit, and forget modern concepts like strafing. Give it time, it's one of the best action games you'll ever experience.

[microgenius]

I know will get disagrees but to me MGS4 is the best

[Chaos_Order]

For me, MGS4 only just, by a hair's breadth, takes the top spot for me, with 3 aan extremely close second and 1 and 2 a close third and fourth.

MGS4 had its flaws, absolutely, but I felt like the moment to moment excitement I felt from start to end was a cut above the other games. Plus the controls were a big improvement.

While I think MGS3 has a better story (and The Boss is just an awesome character) if you look at them as standalone games, I love the fact that MGS4 was actually able to end it in a satisfying way. So many stories, TV shows and games weave these long-winded sagas and create umpteen questions that go to the wind. Shows like Lost were full of intrigue, but the writers had no idea how to end the damn thing! The Metal Gear series is far more complex (and admittedly convoluted) but MGS4 did the impossible and actually tied it all up, answered questions that we'd had for years, and gave us a concrete ending to the series, with a little bit left open to your imagination. The fact it pulled that off when so many have failed miserably is what nudges it to the top spot for me.

[burza1982]

This ranking is exactly same like my.

[philm87]

This list would change massively from person to person. MGS V wins hands down for me, obviously the others were great for the time they were released. Love the freedom Phantom Pain gives you to complete the missions. I've heard people say the missions are repetitive, but they're only as repetitive as you make them, there's so many ways you can do each mission. FOB is pretty damn cool once you get into it too. The story has got a lot of criticism, I think they probably made a mistake putting a lot of it on the tapes rather than more in cut scenes, but I enjoyed it and it makes sense if you understand the timeline and story from the other games.

[pyroxxx]

This ,.. Think it is so incredibly subjective,.. but bottom line,.. Awesome games. 5 is also pretty damn great,..People freaking about not having 12 hours worth of cut-scenes as 4,..Yes could be 2 times longer over all but really don't get that part,.. Since such great games,.. Doubt when people are replaying them ,..They don't skip 90% of it from the get go. Except can totally understand people going for Platinum trophy and 100%,.. That shit was a pain the ass,..(clearing all objectives took 2 weeks) but game is still fun like 200 (don't really know what the actually game-play was of fucking with menus,..) hours in,.. (which is amazing)

[2pacalypsenow]

No way is MGS 5 better than 2 or 4

My list

1. MGS
2. MGS3
3. MGS4
4. MGS2
5. MGSPW
6. MGS5
8. MGS PO
9. MG 2
10. MG
11. MGS Ghost Babel

[pyroxxx]

Here is my list.
4 (controls, still story based and actual end screen,.. even too much of it),5(amount of pure fun gameplay which is basically endless),2 (controls felt better than 3 subsistence, awesome music),3(only played Subsistence and controls felt even more clunky than with static camera or simply never got used to it and lack of radar) ,1 ,.. not counting peace walker,..(which is also fantastic)

All are pretty amazing though,.. Really cannot complain,..

[-Foxtrot]

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain...NUMBER 3

Get the hell out of here with that, even Ground Zeroes despite being a glorified demo for MGSV felt more like a MGS game then that.

Should be waaaay down the list.

I mean better then MGS4...lol

[TheTony316]

MGS1 by far IMO. It had the best story, characters and boss fights.

[OoglyBoogly]

What about the Metal Gear Ac!d games?

Only ones I've played are MGS 1,2,3,4, and 5. Tried emulating Peace Walker on my PC but honestly couldn't stand the controls.

I think out of the ones I played MGS5 is by far the worst. Game play was top notch but it was nearly everything else that took a major step back. Even the story and the way it was told was worse than MGS1!