Have your thoughts on the series changed over the years?

[Departed]

Back in the day, I used to be really vocal about how much I didn't like MGS1 or much of MGS2, and how I flat out hated MGS4. If I'm honest, as time has gone on and newer games appeal to me less and less, I kind of have a whole new love for the entire MGS series. I have criticisms of every single game, some more so than others. But MGS is the one series where I can come back into any one game and just pick up and play. No fatiguing commitment like with most open world games, and no long stretches of following characters slowly and listening to them talk in-game because it's cheaper than doing cutscenes, despite what it does to a games' pace.

Collectively, I've just come to love the entire MGS series all over again.

Individually, I think the games I've come around to most are MGS1, Peace Walker and MGS4.

I used to say that MGS1 was my least favorite MGS game because I used to get so hung up on what I felt the game should've been, that I wasn't able to fully appreciate what it was. It's a game that has about 3 hours of in-game content, more like 2-ish if you ditched all the backtracking. And in that tie, you get some solid levels to sneak through, 11 unique boss encounters (13 if you include the ambush minibosses), some action set pieces and everything moving at a pretty brisk pace. I maintain the first half of MGS1 is much better than the second half but I honestly have fun with the tower rush because I blend run-n-gunning with my FAMAS with planting claymores behind me in a way that has a fun little rhythm to it. I don't like the boss fights against Wolf or the Hind, but most of the bosses are fun, some are downright amazing, and they come so fast that it keeps the game consistently feeling fresh.

For as much as I used to dunk on MGS4, it is a game I have a lot of fun with now. Utilizing Octo-Camo to sneak past enemies has such a gratifying feel to it, so does picking them off one by one. The boss fights lean into action more but they're still incredibly fun, well imagined bosses that are engaging to go up against. Yeah, Act 3 is obviously the weak point, but the tailing part is only about 10-15 minutes long, and still not as tedious as escorting Emma or the PAL sequence. I wish the game maintained its battlefield stealth, but what it has for the remainder of the game, to me at least, is still entertaining. 

What surprised me the most though is Peace Walker. It's honestly become one of my favorite Metal Gear games and I used to be really down on it for a lot of reasons. But what I realized is it's a game with a ton of content that's really replayable and just as gratifying to zero trace as it is to go guns blazing. I prefer human bosses and was disappointed by the lack of stealth in any of the boss fights but like the MGS4 fights, I can't deny that they're at least fun encounters. I think the games short burst nature works in its favor, but so does having some genuinely good level design that makes sneaking around and zero tracing feel so good. I also love the sheer variety of different levels the game has. From jungles, mountains, fortresses, plantations, military bases and underground facilities. There's a shocking amount of variety and it comes back to just feeling good to bypass enemies. But also having dozens of unique toys to play with for messing around with enemies too. Or having some fun bonus missions to mess around with it.

One thing that's always been consistent for me is the strength of any MGS games' writhing or story isn't what dictates my love of the games. They all fall under the same area for me in that regard, but I can appreciate the sincerity and earnestness in Kojima's stories and his themes. But when all is said and done, it's always gonna be the gameplay first that drives me and whatever the flaws of any MGS game, there isn't a single one where I'm just not having fun. It's a big part of why MGSV and MGS3 are my favorite games of all time and why I've replayed them so much, but when I look back on other games I've replayed dozens of times, the rest of this series is right behind them for just doing so much to keep me coming back decades later.

And with how much games of today feel like they need to either be these massive open worlds or more cinematic and character-focused to the point where gameplay is compromised for the sake of expanding on characters, I can appreciate MGS that much more for going out of its way to keep gameplay and story separate. So if you replay these games, you can skip all the cutscenes and just stick to the raw gameplay and just have a lot of fun with it. Especially since MGS has so much to offer in so short an amount of time usually.

That's my two cents at any rate. How have your guys' thoughts on these games shifted as the years have gone on?

[Dirty Duck]

I'm one of the people who never hated any of them honestly. Every single entry I enjoyed when I played it, and I may have gripes but I never felt like any of them were 'shit.' As I've gotten older my appreciation for how unabashedly 'pretentious' Kojima could be only grew to be honest. I appreciate games like MGS4 and Peace Walker for leaning so heavily into the consoles they were made for. Peace Walker pushed the PSP to its limits but was at its core a PSP game. It wasn't like the slew of Vita launch titles that were PS3 games running on a handheld. Peace Walker was a handheld game with a handheld design philosophy souped to the nines. You could play Peace Walker on a 20 minute bus journey and complete a mission. It's a design philosophy that has fallen to the wayside since there're no true handhelds anymore; only hybrids.

My admiration of MGS2 has probably grown the most. I never had any issues with it but to appreciate that Kojima made that game when he did and the narrative and themes he put into it is just incredibly. I used that final Snake quote to end my dissertation when I finished university.

This series is many things, and what it is has changed over time but it has never been predictable. Does Kojima sometimes prioritise themes and meaning over sheer fun? Sure. But despite that they are still fun! And I respect the decision to consistently refuse to give the fans exactly what they want. MGS4EVER!!!1

[NateDog]

Mine haven't changed much, but I think I've come to understand how good a series this really was in its prime.

In terms of individual titles:

MGS: No change, it has been my favourite game of all time for a long time and it still is.

MGS2: No real change, perhaps some of its themes have hit closer to home in recent years than they did when I was a teenager but I still think it is excellent.

MGS3: Still not its biggest fan. Has some good sections for sure (I love the sections with buildings and disguises), fun to play but I just do not love The Boss and still feel irritated that the entire series became twisted around her from this point.

MGS4: The love wore off with this very shortly after release. I certainly don't hate it but it is a mixed bag at best. 2 excellent acts followed by 3 that just feel so out of place for a MGS game. The cutscenes too man. The one where you're introduced to Drebin goes on forever.

MGS:PO: I still like it man. It's flawed for sure and parts are uncanon or retcons but I still enjoyed it and love the characters.

MGS:PW: I fucking hate this shit. OK it's fun to play but the bosses are repetitive. See MGS3 for the narrative reasons why I hate it. Not to mention the awful cast and plot that is complete filler.

Ground Zeroes: I love GZ. The map is so well designed and it's easy to tell that when you can play multiple different missions on it and they all feel fresh and unique.

Phantom Pain: I just never liked it that much. Much like PW it does nothing for me regarding plot and the map was too open and large. More buildings and intimate areas like in GZ would have been fantastic. Instead I remember getting to that area where Sahelanthropus is being held and getting so excited to finally play a mission in what should have been a big, indoor facility, and what happens? The mission ends and you never go in. Think that was the point I checked out and never really came back. Yes, the game was unfinished and rushed, but that mission and map layout had to have been there from early on.

[Revolver_FOX]

If anything, MGS's demise has been a huge loss for the gaming community. I'm glad Delta is bringing it to a new audience, but I think Kojima made MGS stand the test of time. Outside of maybe Shigeru Miyamoto, I don't think any single game creator has made as big of an impact on the industry as Kojima did. You could make the case for Hidetaka Miyazaki, but IMO he came too late into game development to have the generational impact MGS had. Each series kinda raised the bar for game development.

I joined the forum originally when I was around 25, and now I'm a 35-year-old man, lol. But Metal Gear has always been my comfort series, and as I've gotten older... It resonated more with me. My only wish was the TPP had more areas like in GZ. I feel like more Inside / Building Interior missions would have benefited it.

[Aragorn]

What surprised me the most though is Peace Walker. It's honestly become one of my favorite Metal Gear games and I used to be really down on it for a lot of reasons. But what I realized is it's a game with a ton of content that's really replayable and just as gratifying to zero trace as it is to go guns blazing. I prefer human bosses and was disappointed by the lack of stealth in any of the boss fights but like the MGS4 fights, I can't deny that they're at least fun encounters. I think the games short burst nature works in its favor, but so does having some genuinely good level design that makes sneaking around and zero tracing feel so good. I also love the sheer variety of different levels the game has. From jungles, mountains, fortresses, plantations, military bases and underground facilities. There's a shocking amount of variety and it comes back to just feeling good to bypass enemies. But also having dozens of unique toys to play with for messing around with enemies too. Or having some fun bonus missions to mess around with it.

You all cooked me when I said it was my favorite game never forget!

In all honesty, I look back at the series with a lot of fondness but it's hard to draw the line between how much of it is driven by the games itself, and how much of it is because of MGSF and the big part it played in my life. I know it sounds like a strange and silly distinction; but what i'm mainly referring to is it's hard for me to say if my old criticisms are still there or weather I feel softer towards all of them because MGS and what it stood for collectively (including its community) is a bygone, formative memory at this point.

I got the HD collection and I tried replaying 3 but honestly these games really didn't withstand the test of time with the control scheme. I got past the intro and kind of fell off because actively fighting the game's control scheme is not something I felt like doing in big 2025; and while I understand that there is an argument to be made for frustrating controls being a driver of tension - there are significantly better ways to balance your stealth game than that.

I really really liked MGSV when it first came out and was an ardent defender but looking back it had issues, and Ground Zeroes really was the best part of that experience in isolation even though it was an effective rip off - and while MGS V has great potential as a stealth action sandbox; its level design let it down in that regard as you'll spend a lot of time in big empty areas. FOX is right - it needed more interiors and carefully curated sequences that allow you to get creative in ways that aren't just ''do you snipe with bullets or tranquilizers'' as the optimal engagement method.

[DoubleO]

MG - We need a remake

MG2 SS - Pure greatness and we need a remake

MGS1 - Pure greatness and we need a remake or remaster à la Tomb Raider trilogy.

MGS2 - Made more legendary as time goes by, I wish THIS Kojima made MGSV.

MGS3 - Still a great story and I can't wait to see what they do with the Remake. I love how it felt very simple compared to the rest of the lore.

MGS PO - Low key a bit better than PW at least in terms of story but also too tedious. 

MGS4 - Never understood the hate, felt like a love letter to the fans, I think a lot of fans had their own idea of how the fight against the patriots should go post MGS2 reveal and MGS3 build up and it never matched.

MGS PW - Too tedious, has same issues as MGSV but not as bad. I'd love a more streamlined remake of this and Portable Ops with actual cutscenes and the mechs aren't bullet sponges and more of the main lore shown on screen and not hidden in optional tapes. The stupid critique of MGS4's cutscenes caused the dumbass tapes. 

MGSV - Still pisses me off. Great protentional squandered by Kojima's weirdness.  Again the stupid critique of MGS4's cutscenes caused the dumbass tapes. 

MG R - Still have not played it to this day, was never interested cos it felt almost like an alternate reality game like Ghost Babel or something, but I will one day.

[hollyberry]

When I first played through MGS3 it was my instant fave. I have played it more than any of the others. Big Boss is more personable than Snake, and little me couldn't get enough of the misunderstood villain trope that Big Boss was written to be. Having replayed it after a good 8ish year gap I feel that hinging Big Boss' crash out over the Boss is a stretch. I know Kojima reaches ALOT but I guess I just buy it a little less after its sat with me a few years.

I used to die on the hill that MGS3 was the greatest game of all time. I really came to appeciate MGS2 for how far forward thinking it was for a game released in what 2001? Amazing. I really feel like I was too young to appredciate its themes since I would of beeeeeeeeeen 9 at the time I first played it. Maturing is realising MGS2 is the best haha

[Wayno]

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.

PW: My initial thoughts were it was OK as I was playing it but after the dust settled I hated this. Again, thoughts in the PW thread but I think the story of the series is beyond repair after this.

Ground Zeroes:I enjoyed it but haven't replayed it because well, it's demo and we all know it.  Solo Inflitration?! No micromanaging a minigame squad of mercenaries which only serves to bloat the game?! Urban / indoor map reminiscent to MGS1/2?! Oppressive map design making poor descisions very punishing?! Jeez sign me the fuck up! I hope they continue this in MGSV!

MGSV: Oh. Oh... Mechanically it is a great game. One of the best I've played and it's genuinely fun. It's like what Peace Walker wanted to be but was limited by the system. However, it might be a better game, it's still a bad MGS game.  The side cast has been on a downward trajectory since MGS1 but truly nosedived after 3 and isn't saved here. The open maps were empty and lacked anything truly interesting.  These were my initial thoughts and they haven't changed. Not old enough to warrant a replay and I have no true nostalgia for it.

[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.

[Blueblob]

When my buddy moved nearby we decided to play through nearly all of the games for the lead up to Delta, mainly because even though he’s a huge fan he never actually played mgs1. I think mgs3 is still my favorite and am now aware that this is heavily due to nostalgia because I know objectively think mgs2 is the best in the series by far