Metal Gear Solid (Japan / Asia / Ichi / Premium Package)
PlayStation
💿💿
🇯🇵
Reviewed in 1998
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✪ Reviewed on January 28, 2023
89
Metal Gear Solid is one of the greatest masterpieces in video game history. Hideo Kojima revolutionizes stealth games with exceptional cinematic staging, a dense and complex scenario, memorable bosses. Solid Snake at Shadow Moses remains an unsurpassed experience.
Your verdict
Category
Action Adventure1 player16+
Description
Legendary stealth action by Hideo Kojima, where Solid Snake infiltrates the Shadow Moses nuclear base in Alaska to neutralize the FOXHOUND terrorist group. Created by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and Konami, released in 1998 in Japan and the United States and in 1999 in Europe, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Asia with revision and Premium Package, Ichi and Ni editions. Top-down 3D view and enemy alerts, five-hour cinematic storyline, codec radio and Hollywood-style soundtrack. Multi-regional edition with revision and Premium Package.
Metal Gear Solid review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
MAX
Story
★★★★★
"Masterful"
Cinematic staging, icy industrial moods and design by Yoji Shinkawa: the infiltration takes on the air of an action film. The top-down view, the careful lighting and the expressive faces deepen the immersion. This visual direction, dark and controlled, revolutionised video-game storytelling.
Infiltrating an isolated nuclear base becomes the pretext for a breathless espionage thriller, where betrayal lurks behind every codec call. Cloning, deterrence and the burden of heredity feed a surprisingly grave reflection. Cinematic staging and finely honed dialogue made it a monument of video games.
Gameplay
"Masterful"
Slipping through the shadows, reading sight lines and improvising when the alarm sounds: stealth finds here a readability and a tension that have lost nothing. The level design, tailored for cunning, and the inventive staging carry a playstyle of constant intelligence. The fixed camera surprises today, but the joy of outwitting the guards stays as keen as on day one.
Fun
"Pleasant"
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Slipping in unseen, studying enemy patrols and improvising when the alarm rings sets up an espionage tension where each room cleared calls for the next. The gadgets, the inventive bosses and the shifts in tone keep reviving your curiosity. The handling has aged a bit, but the cinematic staging and the genius of the level design pull you to the very end.
The Japanese and Asian Premium Package of Metal Gear Solid, a limited edition enriched with collectible items around Kojima's monument. Markedly rarer than the standard runs, this boxset appeals to enthusiasts wanting the most accomplished form of the object, its value measured by the complete set. Its desirability rests on this top-tier scarcity and the game's cult status.
Memorable bosses
Few rosters rival this gallery of adversaries: Psycho Mantis, who seems to read your mind, the melancholy Sniper Wolf, or the steel colossus Metal Gear REX. Each imposes a duel with its own rules, blending cunning, infiltration and ideas that break the fourth wall. Strong personalities and a theatrical staging make these confrontations a benchmark for the genre.
A cult cover
A painted close-up portrait of Solid Snake, steely gaze under cold blue-gray light: the Western cover plays cinematic realism and the tension of the infiltrating soldier. The icy tones and tight framing convey the mission's solitude and danger. Restrained and magnetic, it set the visual codes of the stealth blockbuster.
When the game breaks the 4th wall
An infiltration landmark that takes wicked delight in stepping out of its own fiction: a telepathic foe scans your memory card and reacts to the controller in your hands, while a crucial code hides on the back of the case rather than inside the game. These breaks, equal parts dazzling and unsettling, remain among the most quoted in the medium.
Is Metal Gear Solid still worth playing in 2026?
Metal Gear Solid is one of the greatest masterpieces in video game history. Hideo Kojima revolutionised stealth gaming with exceptional cinematic staging, a mature political spy scenario and Tappi Iwase's sublime orchestral score. Solid Snake at Shadow Moses Island faces FOXHOUND in an unforgettable experience, with revolutionary meta-narration (the Psycho Mantis fight, memory card reading). Absolutely essential.
