Having a backlog of games that you never got around to completing is standard for any modern-day gamer. For the past 6 years, I have been making a conscious effort to try to work through some of these games to tick them off my list.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain has been on there since I picked it up at launch back in 2015.
Why have I not finished Kojima’s last Metal Gear game until a decade later, and what did I think after finally rolling those end credits? Allow me to walk you through my time with the series..
1999
I love the Metal Gear franchise. While I am not quite old enough to have started with the original Metal Gear, I played Metal Gear Solid close to launch as a kid on the original PlayStation, and it blew me away. The voice acting, the cinematic presentation, the puzzle-like solutions to defeat bosses, and the downright wackiness thrown in a somewhat serious narrative all came together in a wonderful way to make one of the best games of all time.
2002
Metal Gear Solid 2, I did not like at launch, thanks to the Raiden twist after the prologue. Like many, I was let down when I slowly realised that we were, in fact, not going to get to play as Solid Snake and were stuck with this whiny Jack character for the duration. Over time, especially after playing 4 and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, my opinion on Raiden changed, and I can now appreciate him as a character. But Kojima really toyed with us in MGS 2.
2005/2012
For Snake Eater, I actually gave up on the original version thanks to the awful fixed camera, and by the time I got Subsistence, which had better camera options, I had lost the will to play it. It wouldn’t be until the 3DS version launched that I decided to sit down and play it through. Of course, I now love the game and place it right next to MGS 1 in my favorite games of all time, but it took me a few years to get that one done. The recent Metal Gear Solid Delta remake/remaster I got through in less than a week, of course, now knowing the game like the back of my hand over the years.
2008
Metal Gear Solid 4, a game trapped on the PS3 thanks to only ever being released there, was more movie than game. I still plowed through the experience on launch day and barely left my spare room at the time until it was done. I was not as sold on 4 as I was on the previous games. Old Snake just wasn’t as cool as young Solid, and the post-apocalyptic environments with Metal Gear-like bipedal combat units roaming the ruined streets just wasn’t my idea of fun. Maybe when the game finally comes to Master Collection Vol 2, I will play it again and have changed my mind. I didn’t hate it, but I definitely did not enjoy it as much as the first 3 games. Kojima’s more wacky side came out further in this one, especially during the weird sit-down interviews with David Hayter spliced throughout the campaign. On reflection, it's as if Kojima was trying to redefine what being meta means.
But this isn’t about MGS 1-4 (or Peacewalker, but I’ll get to that), it’s about Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Kept you waiting, huh?
2014
I bought the first part of the game, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, at its launch, and lapped it up. I squeezed every bit I could from that slice of game that we got as a teaser since the main game wasn’t ready. See, Kojima and Konami hadn’t been getting along, and the studio had told Kojima he had to release something as the development was taking too long, and so we got Ground Zeroes, a snippet of what could be expected from the full release. This meant MGS 5 was split into two parts: Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain. Eventually, MGS 5 Definitive Edition was released, which contains both games, although Ground Zeroes still remains completely separate on the main menu.
Ground Zeroes is a short game. What we get is one area in Cuba and several variations of missions to try to complete. For most people, this wouldn’t count as a full game, but the quality of Camp Omega actually outmatches any area found in The Phantom Pain's open world. Set a few years after Peacewalker, Snake/Boss has to rescue Paz and Chico from the American black site, and it’s a sandbox of fun. See, while this is a prologue to the main game, albeit one that was never properly integrated once the entire package was released, it actually stands out as its own entity. Ground Zeroes is an absolute blast, and you should definitely check it out before playing TPP.
Now, onto The Phantom Pain.
2015
I don’t recall being so hyped and eager for a game to release like I was for Metal Gear Solid 5. I read every tidbit I could find online at the time, and I replayed some of the older titles in the run-up to launch. As it was in my years before I had children, and time was something I had more of, I also took the week off work to play the game. And I did, and loved it.
So why has it taken me a decade to go back and actually finish the darn thing? Well, after the initial launch hype wore off, I started having issues with the in-game systems, waiting for Mother Base developments to finish is an absolute chore, and I started to dislike the open world to the point where I did not want to play anymore. To me, Metal Gear Solid should be set inside a location, be it a secret military base, a laboratory, or even on an oil rig. I preferred my Snake contained. And yes, 3 does have its jungle area at the start, but it isn’t an open-world jungle; 5 just wasn’t feeling right for me, and I put it away.
Over the years, I would have the itch. I would dive back in and try to appreciate what we had, but nothing seemed to resonate. In fact, I would mostly load up Ground Zeroes and take on one of its missions instead, as it ticked all my boxes for a Metal Gear title. But TPP never did. Nothing about it felt right; the whole idea of each mission being cut into chunks with end credits just became annoying. And then it clicked.
Right after finishing Delta last month, I thought I would give it one more try. I had the Metal Gear itch again, so redownloaded 5 and got stuck in. The smaller missions no longer annoyed me, the lesser need for stealth and more forgiving nature for being caught suited me, and the wait time for developments of new gear was nothing. Yes, overall, the game feels fragmented, but this is reflective of the development team's real-life situation as outcasts at Konami, despite Kojima's claims that it would be episodic, like a TV show. And no, Keifer Sutherland is not as good as David Hayter, and I hope my suspicions of them re-recording those lines with David instead of paying another huge cheque to Keifer for the Master Collection re-release are true.
So what changed? The answer, my friends, is - I did.
See, when I was younger, with no kids and fewer responsibilities, I had all the time in the world (Bond reference). As an adult with children and many responsibilities, my free time to enjoy games is much less. The bite-sized nature of things fits into my life now, and having to wait real-life hours or days for new gear to be developed is no big deal. I no longer have the luxury of gaming all day without a care, and TPP slots right in.
Does this mean that I misunderstood the game at the time and was too harsh on it? No, not one bit. The real reason I didn't 'get’ the game was because I wasn’t ready for it at that stage of my life, and that’s ok. To be able to pick up a decade-old game and put some hours in without it feeling dated whatsoever is a testament to Kojima’s craftsmanship during difficult working conditions, as he still created what feels like a timeless (yet fragmented) masterpiece.
Finishing that last mission I was quite sad. Knowing this could be the last MGS game Kojima ever touches (I still have hopes bridges can be mended for him to consult on 6) it made me think of what could have been. The unfinished reputation of the game is certainly true, but that does not mean that it isn't worth playing. Once you settle into the cadence of the mission to mission gameplay, and realise the freedom you are given to carry out tasks, you'll have a ball. But now that the main series is over for me, what is next?
Oh, that’s right, Peacewalker. I said I would get back to that one. So, this game, while seen as a side entry due to being released on the PSP initially, was actually developed with the title Metal Gear Solid 5: Peacewalker until Kojima changed his mind due to the thinking that a main numbered entry should be released on consoles, not handhelds. These days, times have changed thanks to the Switch and Steam Deck, but back then, handhelds were seen as lesser systems.
I loved the PSP and had played the card-based Acid games and the semi full Metal Gear title Portable Ops; neither was a true experience, although the latter came close. Peacewalker came out later in the PSP lifecycle, and I never fully gave it attention. Heck, I never even gave the HD version a thought on consoles, as I saw it as a throwaway due to the lack of a number in the title. Now, from watching various YouTube documentaries and reading articles, I can see I have missed out on a huge slice of the story. But that's the beauty of it - I now have a full-blown Metal Gear game that is practically brand new to me that I can enjoy as I wait for the next remake or collection to come from Konami.
And so that brings us to the end of my little Metal Gear journey. If Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain didn’t land for you back in 2015, maybe pick it up again today and give it a go. I absolutely loved TPP (once I was ready for it), and perhaps that’s something we should all take a minute to consider from time to time.
Sometimes, a great game just comes along at the wrong time in life.