Have your thoughts on the series changed over the years?

[NateDog]

MGS1: my initial thoughts were this is not only the best game of its generation but one of the GOAT games. There's so much packed in to what is now considered a short game it's truly outstanding. One thing I love that a lot of people forget is just how much interaction Snake has with his adversaries. They're not just characterless boss fights (which aren't always bad). They're all distinct and memorable and the series never reached that peak again. My thoughts have not changed.

MGS2: I liked MGS2 but didn't love it initially. My appreciation for the game has grown immesaurably. I do think the game would be improved with the removal of the Emma section, but also like its predecessor, it's absolutely one of the games of its generation. I equate this game to Masters of Reality by Black Sabbath, I do love it, but if people say it's their best work I completely understand but fundamentally disagree.

MGS3: If you look at some of my older posts on MGS3 on MGSF you will see it's not kind. I hated the game because of the deification of The Boss and believe that the series never recovers from that error. However, I now think those crimes actually come POST MGS3, rather than because of it. In a vacuum, this game is a masterpiece and I let the sins of later creative decisions cloud my judgement and I am looking forward to Delta.

Portable Ops: Better than Peace Walker but has some flaws that I think are hard to look past. My thoughts are in the Peace Walker thread.

MGS4: MGS4 is the most dissapointing thing since my son. I think this is one of the first games I had experience with where online discourse could start to shape the feelings fans as a collective had and having not played it in so long I'd actually like to replay it on more modern hardware with a brain (i'd like to think) that is less suseptible to external influence. I think I ill enjoy it more but to go back to Black Sabbath, this is Technical Ecstacy. Yeah it's got some good stuff but ultimately the ideas aren't fresh and you're (Kojima didn't do PLOPS) trying to follow up the masterpiece that is Sabotage, it's not going to go well. Also The Boss simp mode is in full effect.

I never realised how close your and my feelings on these ones are. My mind on MGS3 mainly changed recently when I replayed it last year on the Vita and forgot how fun it could be to play, Delta should be extra fun for me now given that it was a bit awkward with the Vita's controls. Still can't stand The Boss but I do like most of the rest of the story and have a much better appreciation for the interactions with Ocelot now.