I don't think I can overstate enough how amazing it feels to hear cutscenes from this era with an actually solid english dub. the mgs casting team never lets up with perfect actors that make a game feel game-y without feeling cringe. in fact, the cutscenes in this game as a whole hold up remarkably well, chunky models and jittery talking animation notwithstanding. it's a patently ridiculous story but an exciting one, filled with kojima's trademark off-kilter monologues and anti-nuclear messaging that feels thoughtful even if it's not as pointed as later kojima stories. the characters here are gripping as well, and many of them feel nuanced no matter which side they're on or how long they show up on-screen. it's a great middle-point for all of the tropes of kojima and tomokazu fukushima's writing.
the biggest thing that marks this game's age is the stealth system, which reflects the franchise's roots in 2D much more than the later 3D entries. it's laughably simple even in comparison to mgs2, and really does play like "pac-man with guns" (quoting from a podcast). given the nonexistent aiming, and by extension the lack of any ability to instantly knock out an enemy from afar, the game encourages a non-lethal style focused on watching soldier cycles and moving at the right time. that's certainly a solid framework for a stealth game, but it's not complex enough to force the player take on risk by making dangerous (but necessary) decisions. of course, I played this after both mgs2 and 3, so my perspective is skewed on how difficult this gameplay is. I've found that people who play this game first in the series experience the mechanics as intended while learning the broad strokes of the mgs series gameplay loop in the process.
this game is famous for having classic boss fights, and on this I can absolutely agree. grey fox, psycho mantis, and especially vulcan raven have fun fights that instantly pop into my mind whenever I think about the game. overall, and I can't say I've thought this for any other game, I think it's a little overloaded with boss fights. especially in the first half the game seems to put in a boss fight literally wherever it can, with the stealth sections being almost an after-thought. there are other forced combat encounters as well, which are especially frustrating given the piss-poor gunplay. the tower climb and the elevator fight specifically come to mind... forced combat encounters didn't end with this game but they were significantly less annoying once first-person aiming (and eventually third-person) were added.
another big selling point for this game is the environment, shadow moses island. the alaskan island is absolutely the best single locale in the series in terms of atmosphere, with the thick snowfall and dark lighting being perfectly rendered on the psx. each building also is unique and memorable, probably surprisingly so for a military base but it feels very game-y in how everything's laid out. the only part of the environment that suffers is the actual level design. individual rooms are good, no question, but the overall layout is functionally two straight lines of rooms (one for each disc). this wouldn't be an issue if not for the multiple points where the game requires backtracking, with the player having to walk straight through all the rooms they just snuck through and then back again. the major two sections that come to mind are retrieving the sniper rifle and the infamous temperature keycard section that was lifted from metal gear 2. it's extra padding on a game that didn't really need it.
I've mentioned plenty of creaky, dusty elements of the game up to now, but don't let it fool you into thinking this entry isn't worth playing (or god forbid, that you should play twin snakes instead). in fact, as I said earlier, I think this is a better entry point than mgs3 for those looking to explore the series, as the stealth here will certainly hit harder if you aren't used to the more complex mechanics of the later games. it's still filled with so many exciting touches, from the gorgeous codec portraits to the way your health bar solemnly extends as snake stands over the body of a boss he's just felled. it's in every way just as cinematic and surprising as it was back then, and it's absolutely worth trying, even if it feels a little old-fashioned.
the biggest thing that marks this game's age is the stealth system, which reflects the franchise's roots in 2D much more than the later 3D entries. it's laughably simple even in comparison to mgs2, and really does play like "pac-man with guns" (quoting from a podcast). given the nonexistent aiming, and by extension the lack of any ability to instantly knock out an enemy from afar, the game encourages a non-lethal style focused on watching soldier cycles and moving at the right time. that's certainly a solid framework for a stealth game, but it's not complex enough to force the player take on risk by making dangerous (but necessary) decisions. of course, I played this after both mgs2 and 3, so my perspective is skewed on how difficult this gameplay is. I've found that people who play this game first in the series experience the mechanics as intended while learning the broad strokes of the mgs series gameplay loop in the process.
this game is famous for having classic boss fights, and on this I can absolutely agree. grey fox, psycho mantis, and especially vulcan raven have fun fights that instantly pop into my mind whenever I think about the game. overall, and I can't say I've thought this for any other game, I think it's a little overloaded with boss fights. especially in the first half the game seems to put in a boss fight literally wherever it can, with the stealth sections being almost an after-thought. there are other forced combat encounters as well, which are especially frustrating given the piss-poor gunplay. the tower climb and the elevator fight specifically come to mind... forced combat encounters didn't end with this game but they were significantly less annoying once first-person aiming (and eventually third-person) were added.
another big selling point for this game is the environment, shadow moses island. the alaskan island is absolutely the best single locale in the series in terms of atmosphere, with the thick snowfall and dark lighting being perfectly rendered on the psx. each building also is unique and memorable, probably surprisingly so for a military base but it feels very game-y in how everything's laid out. the only part of the environment that suffers is the actual level design. individual rooms are good, no question, but the overall layout is functionally two straight lines of rooms (one for each disc). this wouldn't be an issue if not for the multiple points where the game requires backtracking, with the player having to walk straight through all the rooms they just snuck through and then back again. the major two sections that come to mind are retrieving the sniper rifle and the infamous temperature keycard section that was lifted from metal gear 2. it's extra padding on a game that didn't really need it.
I've mentioned plenty of creaky, dusty elements of the game up to now, but don't let it fool you into thinking this entry isn't worth playing (or god forbid, that you should play twin snakes instead). in fact, as I said earlier, I think this is a better entry point than mgs3 for those looking to explore the series, as the stealth here will certainly hit harder if you aren't used to the more complex mechanics of the later games. it's still filled with so many exciting touches, from the gorgeous codec portraits to the way your health bar solemnly extends as snake stands over the body of a boss he's just felled. it's in every way just as cinematic and surprising as it was back then, and it's absolutely worth trying, even if it feels a little old-fashioned.