There are few gaming stories as tragic as Konami’s. The Japanese game publisher used to be a household name, putting out hit after hit in legendary franchises.Castlevania,Silent Hill, andBombermanare three of its greatest achievements, but onlyBombermanis still getting new games.TheCastlevaniaNetflix seriesis persisting alongside some re-releases, and rumors abound of several newSilent Hillprojects, but the fact remains that after doubling down on Pachinko and the expulsion of its star developers, Konami just hasn’t been the same.
Perhaps the greatest victim of this was theMetal Gearseries. Led by auteur developer Hideo Kojima, theMetal Gearfranchise is celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2022. Unfortunately, neither the series' founding father nor many festivities are to be found at Konami. As part of its shift into other markets and growing tensions between Kojima and Konami’s management, Hideo Kojima was let go shortly afterMGS5’s launch in 2015. He took a lot of his old co-workers with him, though enough were left for one finalMetal Geargame to be made in his absence. No one knows what will come of theMetal Gearfranchise now, but it’s a shame to see how far it’s fallen after such a strong start.
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The Early Years of Metal Gear Were Its Best
On July 13th, 1987,Metal Gearwas released for the MSX2 computer. This was Hideo Kojima’s first time in the director’s chair, and he made sure that it would leave a lasting impression. It is considered to be the title that popularized the stealth genre, and it received a console port to the Famicom a few months later. Eventually it got a sequel in 1990 and both came overseas, and the rest is history. TheMetal GearandMetal Gear 2: Solid Snakeduology is a bit awkward to return to nowadays, but fans have these games to thank for whatMetal Gearbecame.
A full eight years afterMetal Gear 2,Metal Gear Solidwas released in 1998 for the Sony PlayStation. While it does take place chronologically after theMetal Geartitles and starts with Solid Snake coming out of retirement, it is essentially a3D remake ofMetal Gear 1and2. This game and its two numbered sequels form the basis for many veteranMetal Gearfans' love for the franchise. The amount of care poured into the series from 1998 to 2004 shows in every aspect of these games. While the controls are slightly dated by modern standards, they are definitely worth revisiting to experience the military intrigue, goofy Easter eggs, and ingenious design that started it all.
Metal Gear Fell Apart At The Finish Line
After several years of spin-offs,Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriotsreleased as a PlayStation 3 exclusive in 2008. It had some controversial elements, but nowadays, fans just want the chance to play it again on a modern platform. AsMetal Gear Solid 4brought the modernSolidera to a closeand the futuristicMetal Gear Rising: Revengeancepicked up afterwards, it seemed like the only place to go was back. Picking up after the PSP-exclusivePortable Opsset inMGS3’s mid-1900s era, the 2010 PSP titlePeace Walkerled into 2014’sMetal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroesand 2015’sMetal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. All of this bridged the story gap betweenMGS3andMetal Gear, but at a great cost.
Many fans had been frustrated with the franchise sinceMGS4, andMGS5hit a breaking point for some.Ground Zeroesis a dense and well-polished premium demo with less than an hour of story content, andThe Phantom Painwas seemingly unfinished due to Konami forcing the game out the door. In spite of its gameplay being praised as some of the best stealth action ever made,MGS5couldn’t hide its empty open world, intrusive live service multiplayer, and abrupt ending. After Kojima left, the 2018Metal Gear Survivewas the nail in the coffin, being a widely panned zombie survival game.Metal Gear Rising: Revengeancehas revived itself via memes to entertain a new generation of fans, but veterans can only hope thatMetal Gearwill return with a new vision someday.
