Or Metal Gear: Ghost Babel as it was released in Japan. This was originally solicited by Konami's European branch to be a bite-sized portable port of the PS1 classic, similar to what Max Payne on the GBA (which is fantastic BTW) would be for its home console counterparts years later. At some point during its development though it took on a life all its own, becoming an alternate timeline sequel to the 1987 title that started the whole franchise. You can definitely see some overlap between the two games when it comes to certain story beats and gameplay set pieces, but for the most part this is an entirely distinct, standalone product.
Ghost Babel really helps reveal exactly what kind of narrative material Tomokazu Fukushima, who co-wrote the first three main Solid entries and receives the sole writing credit here, brought to the series. It shares its predecessor's penchant for lengthy (for a GBC release) cutscenes and Codec conversations, but gone are most of the fourth wall breaking antics and goofy comedic bits. This is a very serious, even grim tale with themes of abuse, racism, and references to ethnic cleansing to go alongside all the political treachery and double-crosses. Those who prefer the hard-edged government conspiratorial and wartime tragedy side of the series to Kojima's trademark silliness may find this to be their ideal Metal Gear yarn.
Don't let the limitations of the handheld hardware trick you into thinking this will be a severely scaled back version of the "tactical espionage action" we'd seen prior. The style may be of a throwback nature to the two early MSX2 installments, but what you'll actually be tasked with doing offers a very close approximation to what's present in that first 3D outing. I was regularly impressed with the variety of scenarios and their complexity. They extend far beyond what anyone would reasonably expect from a Game Boy spin-off. The only issues being some frustrating design choices (oh yay, a boss that spams flash grenades... Terrific...) and a lot of backtracking to previously visited rooms that calls to mind that infamous shape memory alloy card-key mission and the very worst tendencies of Metroidvanias, but it isn't like that sort of stuff wasn't par for the course to this point.
The fact that this takes place in a separate branch away from the primary canon shouldn't be a deterrent for fans. It's just as big of a must experience as the core numbered chapters directed by Hideo himself are due to the strength of its plot and playability. Both of which stand as particular high points in a brand well-known for regularly receiving acclaim for its levels of quality in those areas. Who would've thought that one of the best Metal Gear offerings would be hiding on the GBC!
9/10
Ghost Babel really helps reveal exactly what kind of narrative material Tomokazu Fukushima, who co-wrote the first three main Solid entries and receives the sole writing credit here, brought to the series. It shares its predecessor's penchant for lengthy (for a GBC release) cutscenes and Codec conversations, but gone are most of the fourth wall breaking antics and goofy comedic bits. This is a very serious, even grim tale with themes of abuse, racism, and references to ethnic cleansing to go alongside all the political treachery and double-crosses. Those who prefer the hard-edged government conspiratorial and wartime tragedy side of the series to Kojima's trademark silliness may find this to be their ideal Metal Gear yarn.
Don't let the limitations of the handheld hardware trick you into thinking this will be a severely scaled back version of the "tactical espionage action" we'd seen prior. The style may be of a throwback nature to the two early MSX2 installments, but what you'll actually be tasked with doing offers a very close approximation to what's present in that first 3D outing. I was regularly impressed with the variety of scenarios and their complexity. They extend far beyond what anyone would reasonably expect from a Game Boy spin-off. The only issues being some frustrating design choices (oh yay, a boss that spams flash grenades... Terrific...) and a lot of backtracking to previously visited rooms that calls to mind that infamous shape memory alloy card-key mission and the very worst tendencies of Metroidvanias, but it isn't like that sort of stuff wasn't par for the course to this point.
The fact that this takes place in a separate branch away from the primary canon shouldn't be a deterrent for fans. It's just as big of a must experience as the core numbered chapters directed by Hideo himself are due to the strength of its plot and playability. Both of which stand as particular high points in a brand well-known for regularly receiving acclaim for its levels of quality in those areas. Who would've thought that one of the best Metal Gear offerings would be hiding on the GBC!
9/10
2 Comments
Yeah the plot really is just Metal Gear Solid without all of the cartoonish stuff. Ghost Babel often gets used to lend credence to the fan argument/theory that it was really Fukushima who was responsible for all of the “good” writing in the series.
FallenGrace
1 year ago