Have your thoughts on the series changed over the years?

[Bread]

Honestly, I need to do a replay of the series. I don't think I've played through any MGS games since V came out in 2015. But I don't think my thoughts on any of the individual games have changed since I first played them. 1 = brilliant, 2 = very good, 3 = GOATed, 4 = excellent, V = disappointment.

Whether any of these games stand the test of time from my perspective remains to be seen, these games were still all relatively young when I last played them.

[TomRL101]

It's so good to see the Departed again. One of the best MGSF members. I had a lot of respect for your essays on MGSV.

Ngl my opinion has remained solid for the ten years I've been off the forum. 2 and 3 are the best, V is up there, and 4 is weaker than those three. However, there have been two changes.

First one is small. Every time I play MGS2, I think "This is the time I get sick of Kojima's writing and realize that it's not that smart and groundbreaking", and every single time I'm blown away. The game just gives you so many interesting ideas to chew on. I love it. It's overwhelming. The game has got stronger with every playthrough for over twenty years now. 3 however, continues to deflate a bit more every time. The game ties the ideas in very elegantly, but there is overall not as much to think about. It's more of an emotional punch, which naturally gets weaker with each playthrough. The awkwardness of using the mechanics turns me away from having fun and experimenting with them too(That's where Delta comes in). Also, we all know that the tranquilizer is the most op weapon ever in a video game. So I've finally decided that 2 is the strongest of the two. It's the best Metal Gear. It was tough to decide because they're so different.

The second change is pretty massive. I just realized that MGS1 is literally a piece of shit. It's weak in every respect. Every single one. Most of these can't be hand-waved away with age either. Good writing is eternal. Good level design is eternal. The only thing that holds up from MGS1 is the music and atmosphere. I wrote a document on how to fix MGS1. If only I knew how to mod old games.

I do still love MGS1 though.