#1: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
If you have yet to guess what is the No. 1 spot in our list is, wait no longer its is the origin story of Big Boss, the story that put everything in motion for the next 40 years. Metal Gear Solid 3 is a predictable answer for most, the game had revolutionary gameplay for its time. This was a difficult choice to make, but if you actually take a look back at the franchise, MGS3 Snake Eater is the game I want to play over and over again.
MGS 3 takes place in the midst of the Cold War while players take control of Big Boss. This is literally how it began, everything stemmed from the Virtuous Mission, the twists, emotions and suspense were in high fashion.
The controls were redefine from allowing players to perform CQC, hunt for food and explore and open world jungle. Players obviously didn’t have the freedom that they will in the Phantom Pain, but it was a giant step forward for a Metal Gear game.
We were accustomed to a facility, or base of some sort for the entirety of the game, but with Mgs3 it changed that format completely. Allowing us to never know what to expect, players were on the edge of their seat the whole way, and that is exactly why, MGS 3 holds the No. 1 spot in the franchise.
#2: Metal Gear Solid 1
When ranking a franchise as great as Metal Gear, you must understand the difference between nostalgic feelings to actual gameplay. Metal Gear Solid 1 falls into this category, and this is why it stands as the 2nd best game in the series.
MGS1 at the time blew people away, 3D stealth action game that had a great and engaging story, it had it all. Seeing Solid Snake in glorious 3D fashion had many players ecstatic, both new and veterans of the franchise.
Thanks to this game, MGS 1 is where the franchise really started to build some steam. The voice acting was impeccable, the characters were unique, and the boss battles were clever, MGS 1 literally was the bomb back in the day, and as it can still hold its own against the rest of the franchise, I could say its not the best one.
#3: Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes
The latest Metal Gear to release was by far the most impressive game. To graphics to gameplay, Ground Zeroes gave us a glimpse into how The Phantom Pain will play out. The core game was extremely short, making players somewhat resent the price of the game. Speed runners were beating the game within 4 minutes, so you can understand how short the game can actually be.
But if you take price out, you are left with one of the best looking, detailed games for the next gen hardware alongside some of the most fluent gameplay mechanics in any Metal Gear game.
They are other missions besides the main campaign, these side ops could range from rescuing hostages like Kojima himself to extracting two specific soldiers from the field. Side Ops gave a little more insight on how the game will play, different routes, and your own method of executing the mission were up to the player, of course it was on a small scale, but in hind sight Konami was showing off the promises The Phanom Pain had to offer.
#4: Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons of Liberty
What can I say about Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons of Liberty? Every trailer, every showing, every press release shown off, was about Solid Snake and his next mission, but Kojima pulled the rug from everyones feet when we were introduced to a whole new character. At first many people, including myself, were disappointed, coming off MGS 1 all everyone wanted to do was get some more of Solid Snake, but instead Raiden was our protagonist.
As the game progressed, peoples minds opened up, the story got deep, twisted and the plot thickened which led to more questions being asked and more people being intrigued. At the end of MGS 2 Sons of Liberty it all started to make sense on why Kojima went this route, it was risky, but it did pay off.
#5: Metal Gear Solid: Peacewalker
Peacewalker was originally developed for the PSP back in 2010 and it brought some outstanding new features to the franchise. From adding an online multiplayer functionality to base building, Peacewalker brought Snake to a whole new level. The story of Peacewalker takes place right before the events of Ground Zeroes, which then will lead right into Phantom Pain.
This is where players will get familiar with players like Paz, Chico, Huey, and Kaz, which all will be present in The Phantom Pain. Kojima really changed up the format in Peacewalker, instead of taking on one giant mission like previous games, players will be given multiple missions where they can move at their speed, and since it was made for the PSP, it makes sense to have these little 10-15 missions instead.
#6: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of The Patriots was the last major Metal Gear game to release on consoles, which launched with the PS3 back in 2008. The game followed our beloved hero Solid Snake, and while it is technically the last game for the time line, it wasn’t the last game Kojima directed.
If you pop in MGS 4 today, the graphics still hold up, the capabilities of the FOX Engine allows the game to hold its ground to games late in the PS3s life cycle like The Last of Us or Gand Theft Auto 5.
Many state that MGS 4 was a playable movie, and as their is some truth behind that, the game gave new players an insight of the overall story while it also gave some closure to veteran fans of the franchise.
#7: Metal Gear Solid 2 (MSX)
The story of making Metal Gear 2 is one of the most inspiring tales ever told for a game developer. Hideo Kojima had no plans on creating a sequel until he bumped into someone who was working on a knockoff sequel of the game, which then led him to write the draft of Metal Gear 2 the same afternoon. After the huge success of the first game and the botched up knockoff sequel, Konami put Kojima and the original team back to work, where they created one of the best sequels to a game ever.
Metal Gear 2 offered players radars, a crouch button and a smarter AI.The game followed the story of Solid Snake, but this time he was under Colonel Cambells orders and his mission was to infiltrate Zanzibar Land and rescue hostages including Dr. Marv.
This would be the last pixelated Metal Gear game from Kojima, from here on out 3D development came into place and this where the franchise took a whole other groundbreaking step forward in the industry.
#8: Metal Gear (MSX)
This will be the first Metal Gear game Kojima creates, but little did he know, it wouldn't be his last. This game sets off telling a story of a rookie soldier named Solid Snake, this was obviously the first time we were introduced to him and we didn’t know what to expect. The story soon delivers a plot twist that will have players left in awe, we would also be introduced to main characters that are established in the universe like Big Boss and Grey Fox, who later would become Cyborg Ninja.
Metal Gear 1 is by no means a bad game, the games after this only got better, they grew each title becoming more and more ambitious, leaving players with higher expectations than last.
With Metal Gear Solid 5 The Phantom Pain rapidly approaching, and with the outstanding reviews it has been receiving, there has never been a better time to reflect on the franchise as a whole. Hideo Kojima, the man who started the series way back in 1987 didn’t know how wildly successful the game would be, let alone span across a dozen of games and spinoff titles. Metal Gear is one of the most iconic franchises in the gaming industry, offering players deep gameplay mechanics to an unique storytelling.
As Kojima stated many times before, MGS 5 will be the last entry in the series, giving players the complete time line and fill out any missing story plot points. The Phantom Pain is, by the looks of it, shaping out to be one of the most ambitious games of the year and an all time high for the franchise.
Here at GameZone we decided to rank all of the direct canon Metal Gear games , check our list and let us know your ranking for the franchise!
