Hideo Kojima remembers Metal Gear Solid 1

“It was a very pure experience,” says Kojima of the game that sparked his PlayStation love affair. “I was just making the game I wanted to make."

[DonaldBeck]

easily my top 5 gaming moments in my entire history of gaming, the others being ocarina of time, uncharted 2, demons souls, mario brothers and resident evil nemesis.

[LightSamus]

That makes six.

[buddymagoo]

It will always remain my best gaming experience ever.SPOILERS Getting the codec calls, The smoking to reveal lasers, Knocking on walls to catch enemys, Sniper wolf, Switching controller ports to defeat Mantis, The lift moment, Grey Fox, Hiding in a box, it was all just incredible and like nothing I have experienced before or after.

[gaffyh]

@buddy - Yeah, for a PS1 game, it was amazing. I still think it is one of the best games ever made, and I hope they remake it one day.

[Snookies12]

Actually they did remake it, Twin Snakes on Gamecube. However, there are some things that they redid which killed my experience of it. The main two I found was that they changed Grey Fox's voice actor as well as changing the boss music... Why change such amazing music!? Especially to something that barely sounds like music. Anyway yes, MGS1 was amazing, it was beyond amazing. I doubt a game will impact me as much as that one did back in the day ever again.

[gaffyh]

Yeah, I mean like what they did with Shadow Moses Island on MGS4. Twin Snakes kinda ruined it because they changed a lot. When they remake stuff, they should keep everything the same other than the graphics and maybe some gameplay mechanics.

[cee773]

that double cd case is legend

[antz1104]

@ Buddy,

Lol don't forget the ketchup bottle in the cell. Very classic!

[ProjectVulcan]

This is also the greatest gaming experience i have ever had, the most impactful. Nothing before or since has changed the way i imagine a videogame could be as much as Metal Gear Solid played on a Playstation with a Dual shock.

The game was quite short but i didn't care, i could play and watch it over and over and i did, completing it dozens of times over the years. The start hit you like a movie. As soon as you saw the credits rolling over the top of the opening as you began to play it you knew you had something special.

Every single boss battle- EVERY ONE was a complete classic and unique. How many games can claim that? It was constantly breaking the fourth wall and speaking out to YOU, the player. All the controller trickery, memory card reading and box codec frequencies.... It was a game, that knew it was game, but still delivered deep immersion.

The sound and music could not have been more perfect (i have the soundtrack there is just not enough superlatives for it), the voice acting and casting was spot on. This was ONLY possible because of sony's gamble on the the CD format. The translation and localisation thanks to Jeremy Blaustein was immaculate- this was at a time some Japanese titles were notoriously poor at this important aspect.

Production values were immense- did you see many glitches? It was a labour of love and polished to perfection. Visually the game was so superb for the time even the cut scenes worked with the in game engine.

The atmosphere really topped the whole lot off, you could easily believe you were sent to this island alone full of lunatics and that feeling of isolation ebbed and flowed thanks to the association particularly with Meryl- added to the eerie wolf encounters and ghostly frozen exteriors.

Really you could write a book on this one game thoroughly exploring every fine detail and the impact they have. There is just too much to talk about.

But really even with all these components the game was truly more than the sum of these extraordinary parts- this is the game that always makes me secure knowing games CAN be art.

[Shane Kim]

Vulcan summed it up perfectly. MGS series (and MGS1 in particular imo) are THE best games ever created, and it's not just my opinion, it is FACTS!

[hiredhelp]

Hard to forget one most classic games ever.

[Batzi]

yet it is easy to forget most of the crap that was released this generation. I miss the PS1 days when we didn't have to worry about the graphics and enjoy good gameplay and awesome storytelling.

[hiredhelp]

I AGREE Batzi

[StrongMan]

Back then there was also no group of people trying their hardest to convince you that if the game didn't sell 3 million week one then that game was not good and didn't matter.

[hay]

MGS visuals were stunning at the time. It was one of it's attributes and part of the reason why we love this game now.

'Cause it was all-around fantastic experience.

[BlmThug]

Salut to that. Today we live in an age where innovation is out the window and in its place is cash whores.

[dirthurts]

This is one of my favorite games ever. Something about it, just so great.
Twin Snakes was great for the Gamecube. I wish they would remake the original. It's totally doable with enough effort.

[ape007]

Twin snakes.....awesomeness

[NBT91]

Shadow Moses was in MGS4, so I would agree. However, the interior settings of it such as the Nuke Storage Building felt very cramped considering the rest of the game was outside in the open.

Thats my concern, if it were remade it would be extremely short and the playing areas would be extremely small. I think a remake would taint the game tbh with you, Twin Snakes very nearly did already.

[dirthurts]

You could always add more areas to the game. As long as the core elements were intact, some extra content wouldn't hurt. Although it wouldn't be completely true to the original, I wouldn't complain about the extra content. I personally liked the cramped spaces. It felt more intense and strategic. At least to me.

[DW74]

Thing is, it *was* extremely short. I bought the game back in 98, played through it all on a Saturday marathon, and returned it on Sunday. That was back when Electronics Boutique allowed returns no questions asked.

I enjoyed it a lot, but a criticism I would levy against it would be it's length. It didn't feel worth $50 for one day's play.

(since re-bought it on PSN, hehe)

[TheDivine]

Loved twin snakes to death. Still really dissapointed it wasnt in the hd collection, that 2 and 3 fit together like a trilogy for me. Id die for it to be ported to the 3ds like snake eater.

Mgs was way ahead of its time and still looks and plays perfectly especially on psp. I go back and replay the series every now and then, right now im on mgs4 again.

[ape007]

what a shocking game at its time, u almost never find games that as shocking in modern day gaming, I think video games in general kinda hit a plateau in terms shock value and innovation, we moved from 2D to 3D and then from 3D to better 3D(still fresh), then to HD\online\motion integration and the next step is.........???? nobody knows but i don't think that will ever come games as shocking as mgs1, mario 64, resi1, halo 1, gta3, zelda oot etc...... ever

and I hope im wrong

[roadkillers]

Bioshock was pretty shocking (no pun intended... Seriously)

I think the next step is just immersion like Half-Life and Bioshock provide.

[ape007]

agreed, we got shocking games this gen like bioshock, gears 1, gta 4, mgs 4, GRAW etc......

[LettingGo]

I've never liked that phrase.

Maybe "Hideo Kojima reminisces about Metal Gear Solid"?

[KimoNoir]

Wow hideo remembers mgs? Amazing.

[TopDudeMan]

That game is legendary. Still hold up well, too, compared to modern games.

[NBT91]

The thing is MGS1 is STILL great, it doesn't need a remake... Ever really until such a point where playing it is barely even possible any more (I.E if the PS4 has no way to play it at all).

But I will say, Metal Gear 1 & 2 - need remakes. Why fans of the series would rather have MGS1 remade is beyond me, when we could be sneaking up on and burning Big Boss alive with an aerosol can, or fighting Grey Fox in the middle of a minefield.

[Inception]

"But I will say, Metal Gear 1 & 2 - need remakes."
This!
I hope Kojima remakes it with Fox Engine and i will pick it up on day 1!

[Yui_Suzumiya]

Snatcher is my all-time favorite game. Funny enough, it's by Kojima as well. Since I bought at launch, it's kind of tied with Snatcher.

[ZBlacktt]

I got this game for Christmas 1998. I started playing it the next day. Been hooked ever since. I still own that game. Along with every one that came afterwards. I even still own the PS1 I was playing on.

http://i1199.photobucket.co...

[Der_Kommandant]

WHAM! THE VIDEO????

Anyway... your MGS collection is impressive :D

[ZBlacktt]

LOL, that was something I bought my older brother as a joke for Christmas a few years back. He was SO into that group back in the 1980's. I went to give it to him and he wouldn't take it....lol. I'm into Metal. Always have been always will be.

I have the new HD Collection as well. I've already beat MGS3. I'm in the middle of MGS2. I love the new graphics and trophies this time around.

[Undeadwolfy]

Im jelly bro. :( that's going to be worth alot of money in the future. Bubbles for hardcore fan. :)

[chaos-lockheart]

they said they didnt have the remake then what was the GC version, that could of been the HD version

[Bimkoblerutso]

It's still the best in the series as far as I'm concerned. It was the first game I ever REALLY got emotionally invested in. It had the melodrama and twists and turns that are present in the sequels, except at that point it wasn't COMPLETELY off the deep end to the point of self-parody.

And it's still got some of the cleverest little details in all of gaming: the Mantis fight, the cigarette smoke trick, the codec code on the back of the CD case, etc. It's just a genuine masterpiece through and through.

[griffy]

The music and atmosphere in this game made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. The first game I really got sucked into, so tense!

[xtreampro]

"If you change anything, you change the game – and I want to avoid that. If you bring the gameplay up to modern standards, then you lose a bit of the original game. It was a game made for a certain era – not just the story, but the controls and everything about it reflect that era in which the game was made"

This also applies to FF7 so please could you people stop asking for a remake.

[DW74]

In an article where no one mentioned FF7, and a comment section where no one was mentioning FF7, you decide to be the first(and only). Go you.

[xtreampro]

I wasn't referring to anyone in this article, my comment is aimed at the countless numbers of people who keep on asking for a FF7 remake.

I was just trying to point out that the reasons Kojma gave for not wanting to remake MGS1 applies to FF7.

[Donnywho]

I ran out and bought MGS HD right before Christmas. It's pretty crazy how dumb games have gotten these days. It took me a while to remember how smart these games were. I remember thinking that all games would have to keep up with the new standards of games like MGS. But instead games have just gotten dumber and dumber.

[ovhaum]

TRUE!

I was playing Alice madness yesterday, and the game hold you hand so much. Its like: "hey dumb, you dont need to think, come this way you dumbass", Its not even easy.

[Inception]

I'm remembered the first time playing MGS 1 with my friends. When facing psycho mantis and suddenly the screen goes blank with 'insert controller 2' or something like that. LOL, we thought that our controller are broken, but that is the only way (cmiiw) to defeat mantis. And Meryl's codec are in the back cover of the CD. Haha, what a great time. And thx to Kojima-san for creating such masterpiece ;)

[RedDead]

Playing with controller 2 was a secret or something. Big green "HIDEO" came up when the screen went black

[BiggsnWedge]

Siphon filter and MGS1 were games I played all the time

[Foxgod]

Still my favorite metal gear, all those tie ins and flashbacks with the original metal gear on the msx where amazing.

I also loved all the conclusions in MGS4 that tied in with MGS1

[leahcim]

Sniper Wolf, Vulcan Raven, Revolver Ocelot, Liquid Snake, Psycho Mantis, are by far the most legendary crew of bad guys