Metal Gear (メタルギア?) is a critically acclaimed series of stealth games created by Hideo Kojima and developed and published by Konami. In the series, the player takes control of a Special Forces Operative (Solid Snake in most games) repeatedly facing off against the latest incarnation of the eponymous superweapon "Metal Gear"; a bipedal walking tank with nuclear launching capabilities. The series is famous for pioneering the stealth game genre, for its lengthy cinematic cut scenes, intricate storylines and its exploration of the nature of politics, warfare, censorship, genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, loyalty, reality, subjective vs. universal "truths" and other philosophical themes.[1]
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The original Metal Gear, designed by Hideo Kojima, debuted in 1987 for the MSX2 computer platform in Japan and Europe. A heavily modified port produced by a different team was shortly released for Nintendo's Family Computer in Japan and its counterpart, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), in North America and Europe. Konami then decided to produce a sequel for the NES, titled Snake's Revenge, which was also done without Kojima's involvement and released in 1990 in North America and Europe. One of the designers who worked on Snake's Revenge became acquainted with Hideo Kojima and asked him to do a "real Metal Gear sequel". Kojima accepted his request and began development on his own sequel, titled Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, released in Japan for the MSX2 in 1990.
After Metal Gear 2, Kojima worked on other projects (notably Snatcher and Policenauts) before directing his third Metal Gear game, Metal Gear Solid, which was released for the PlayStation in 1998. The success of Metal Gear Solid inspired a series of sequels and prequels. Metal Gear Solid was followed by Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater for PlayStation 2, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops for PlayStation Portable, and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots for PlayStation 3.
Expanded versions and remakes of the games were produced as well such as Integral, Substance and Subsistence. Several spin-off games were also produced and set outside the series' main storyline. Metal Gear Solid Existence has been officially traded marked by Konami in Japan and America as of August 11th, 2008. It is not known what this project is at this time, just that Konami has officially taken the name[2]
| Metal Gear series fictional chronology |
|---|
| Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Metal Gear Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake Metal Gear Solid (The Twin Snakes) Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots |
There are seven games that officially fall into the Metal Gear canon. For each of them, several updated Versions and Expansions were released.
The seven games in the Metal Gear series continuity create a narrative that spans five decades. Of these seven titles, two are prequels set decades before the events of the original Metal Gear. The Metal Gear continuity is as followed:
| Title | Setting |
|---|---|
| Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater | 1964 |
| Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops | 1970-1971 |
| Metal Gear | 1995 |
| Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake | 1999 |
| Metal Gear Solid (also The Twin Snakes) | 2005 |
| Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty Tanker Chapter / Plant Chapter |
2007 / 2009 |
| Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots | 2014 |
Although the series has a war setting and is of the action genre, and thus contains large amounts of (occasionally graphic) violence, it has an underlying tone of pacifism. This is reflected throughout the series which has dealt with such themes as the futility of war, the absurdity of nuclear deterrence, the dangers of nuclear weapons in general, the psychological effects of warfare on children and adults, the concept that enemies are only enemies in relative terms, and motivations behind the different lifestyles people choose. This tone and some of these themes reflect the mindset of a large amount of the Japanese cinema made since the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Another recurring theme is the negative portrayal of centralized governments as seen in MGS2: Sons of Liberty.
The original Metal Gear, which was released in 1987 during the Cold War, dealt with the manipulation of soldiers by politicians of the East and West, countered by the concept of "Outer Heaven", a country without politics. Its sequel Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, which was released in 1990 at the end of the Cold War, expanded on this with themes regarding political intrigue, battlefield ethics, military history, and the negative effects of warfare.
The overarching theme of the Metal Gear Solid series is that of the "gene, meme, and scene" and how people are affected by these factors according to the game's producer Kojima — Metal Gear Solid deals with genetics and the moral implications of genetic engineering, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty deals with how identity can be affected by the philosophies of one's society (a 'meme') and the effects of censorship on society, and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater deals with how the time and place one lives in (a 'scene') affects their identity and how politics change along with the times.[4]
The longest running theme of the series is the continued manipulation of soldiers by politicians, countered in the series by a concept called "Outer Heaven". The original main villain, Big Boss, attempted to establish a purely military nation run by mercenaries solely for mercenaries. The succeeding games' villains felt they shared this ideal, coming up with new ways to create this so-called country without politics. Recently, the series has shown Big Boss in prequel games as the protagonist: a mercenary that is continually manipulated and forced through subsequent tragedies for political gain.
"Outer Heaven" has been attempted in many forms. Big Boss attempted to build his ideal state in Southern Africa in Metal Gear and in Central Asia in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. Liquid Snake spoke of turning a remote Aleutian island into a sovereign mercenary state in Metal Gear Solid. Solidus attempted to free Manhattan from "the Patriots" or "the La-li-lu-le-lo" in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. In Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, "Outer Haven" is a parent company for private military companies that employs thousands of soldiers without a country.
While every attempt to secure an "Outer Heaven" immediately results in violence, the series balances the argument with politicians continually throwing mercenaries and soldiers to the wind for personal or political gain. In Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, several protagonists from Metal Gear return as antagonists after being betrayed by their governments. In Metal Gear Solid, the game's protagonist is purposely infected with a bio weapon because he was expected to fail as well as repeatedly lied to about the nature of his mission. In Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, the main protagonist was raised as a child soldier and inducted into a non-existent covert ops group complete with artificial intelligence stand-ins for commanding officers and loved ones. The prequel game Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater shows Big Boss and his mentor's dialogue over the subject of loyalty to a fickle and temporary government while carrying out missions that only benefit politicians at the cost of a soldier's mind, body, heart, and future.
The main focus of the first two Metal Gear games for the MSX dealt with rivalry between protagonist Solid Snake, a rookie member of FOXHOUND, and antagonist Big Boss, who is initially introduced as the commanding officer of FOXHOUND in the original Metal Gear, but is later revealed to be the leader of the South African fortress of Outer Heaven. In the following game, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, Big Boss returns, taking control of the hostile nation of Zanzibar Land in Central Asia, confronting Snake for the second time. Supporting characters during this period includes fellow FOXHOUND agent Gray Fox and Metal Gear designer Dr. Drago Pettrovich Madnar, both of whom were on Snake's side during the first game, but became antagonists in the second.
Metal Gear Solid elaborates on the storyline of the early games, by revealing Solid Snake's heritage as a genetic clone of Big Boss, created from a secret government project. Here we are introduced to a new antagonist in the form of Liquid Snake, Snake's long-lost twin brother and leader of FOXHOUND after Snake's retirement. A third Snake brother also exists in the form of Solidus Snake, who is first introduced as the US President in the end of MGS and serves as the main antagonist of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Several notable supporting characters are introduced during this period, including Russian cowboy Revolver Ocelot, who serves as an evil henchman to both Liquid and Solidus, but is revealed to be a mole (and the main representative) of an organization known as The Patriots, Hal "Otacon" Emmerich, Metal Gear REX designer, who becomes Snake's sidekick and forms the Anti-Metal Gear organization of Philanthropy with him. Other notable characters include Roy Campbell, Snake's former commander from MG2, and his "niece" (Later revealed to be his daughter), Meryl Silverburgh, who is based on her namesake from Policenauts. Raiden, whose role as the surprise protagonist of MGS2, is considerably one of the most controversial characters in the series.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, which is chronologically the first game in the series, introduces a younger version of Big Boss during the Cold War, who goes by the codename of Naked Snake. The game focuses on the rise of Naked Snake from apprentice to legendary soldier, as well as the downfall of his mentor and matriarical figure, The Boss. The origins of the Metal Gear mecha, The Patriots, The Philosophers, and FOXHOUND are all explored in MGS3. The game also features a younger version of Ocelot, where his origin as a triple agent for the KGB, GRU and CIA is explored. The recent Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, serves as a direct sequel to MGS3 and features some of the same supporting characters, as well as young versions of Roy Campbell and Gray Fox.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots features the return of several characters that were in the first, second, and even third Metal Gear Solid games.
A motif in the Metal Gear Solid games is the presence of a specialized team of commandos with unique abilities that serve as the bosses in each game. Starting with Solid Snake's former unit, FOXHOUND, followed by Dead Cell and the Cobra unit in Sons of Liberty and Snake Eater, respectively. Portable Ops parallels Solid Snake's confrontation with FOXHOUND by having his genetic progenitor, Naked Snake, confront his own former unit FOX. In Guns of the Patriots there is new Special unit called Beauty and the Beast unit. Their names are reference to the names of FOXHOUND members from Metal Gear Solid and the Cobra Unit in Metal Gear Solid 3.
A recurring theme amongst the bosses of Metal Gear Solid is that they adopt a name in the form of "The Sons of...". Liquid Snake referred to his army on Shadow Moses as the sons of Big Boss, due to everyone possessing genes from Big Boss's remains. Solidus Snake labeled Dead Cell and the Gurlukovich mercenaries under the unifying name "The Sons of Liberty", to fit his goal of liberating a city from the Patriots. Though it was not mentioned as much in Snake Eater, The Pain and Colonel Volgin use the name "sons of the Boss" in conversations with Big Boss, referring to those who were trained and have fought alongside the Boss. In MGS4, the term "Sons of the Patriots" is coined.
Another motif is the presence of a Ninja-like character, starting with Black Ninja/Black Color in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, who was really Kyle Schneider, one of Snake's contacts in the original Metal Gear. The Cyborg Ninja is featured in the original Metal Gear Solid, and revealed to be none other than Gray Fox, Snake's former war buddy turned enemy. The identity is later adopted by another character (Olga Gurlukovich) in Sons of Liberty. The tradition of Ninja-like is continued by Null (who is revealed to be a younger Gray Fox) in Portable Ops and even Raiden himself (who now dons a Cyborg exoskeleton) in Guns of the Patriots.
A novel based on the original Metal Gear was published in 1989 as a part of Scholastic's Worlds of Power line-up of novelizations created by FX Nine based on third-party NES games.[5] It was written by Alexander Frost. The Metal Gear novelization is not based on the game's actual storyline (as Kojima was not involved in the production of the book), but rather on Konami of America's localization of the plot (as depicted on the game's manual). The book takes even further liberties by giving Solid Snake the name of Justin Halley (since refuted by Metal Gear Solid) and by changing the name of Snake's unit from FOXHOUND to the "Snake Men". Since the books were aimed at younger readers, Snake doesn't kill anyone and only uses his handgun once to destroy a lock. The cover artwork was airbrushed to remove Snake's gun.
In Japan, a Metal Gear gamebook was published on March 31, 1988, shortly after the release of the Famicom version as part of the Konami Gamebook Series, set two years after the events of the original Metal Gear.[6]
A novelization based on Metal Gear Solid by Raymond Benson was published on May 27, 2008.[7] A Japanese-language novelization of Guns of the Patriots by Project Itoh was published on June 12, 2008.[8]
A radio drama based on the original Metal Gear Solid aired in Japan from 1998 to 1999 as part of Konami's syndicated clud DB program. Directed by Shuyo Murata and written by Motosada Mori, the serial lasted over 18 weekly installments spanning three story arcs. The series was later collected as a two-volume set.[9][10]
The series serves as an alternate continuation to the events of Shadow Moses, with Solid Snake, Meryl Silverburgh, Mei Ling and Roy Campbell going on further missions as FOXHOUND operatives (Mei Ling and Meryl are depicted wearing a BDU and a sneaking suit respectively), although the stories are not considered part of the mainstream Metal Gear canon. The Japanese voice actors from the game (Akio Otsuka, Kyoko Terase, Takeshi Aono and Houko Kuwashima) reprised their roles for the series, while new characters are introduced as well.
A comic book adaptation of the original Metal Gear Solid was published by IDW Publishing in 2004. It was written by Kris Oprisko and with illustrations by Ashley Wood. The series is comprised of 12 issues and has been collected in two trade paperbacks as well as a single hardback collector's edition.[11] A comic book adaptation of Sons of Liberty has also been published by IDW, written by Alex Garner with illustrations by Ashley Wood.
The comics were released in digital formats in 2006 and 2007:
In 1999, McFarlane Toys, with the collaboration of Konami, launched a series of action figures depicting key characters from the original Metal Gear Solid video game.[12] In 2001, following the success of the first series, and with the release of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, McFarlane Toys and Konami combined their efforts to produce a line of action figures depicting Sons of Liberty's main characters. Each character has a piece of Metal Gear RAY, so collecting the entire set is essential to build the robot.[13]
Konami has also released 4" scale blind box figures based on MGS2 released in Japan, sons of liberty in 2002 and substance shortly after in 2003; the substance series was eventually brought to the US and UK markets packaged on card rather than blind boxed. During the release of MGS3 Medicom toys released 12" figures of Snake as part of their Real Action Heroes line. Medicom continued to support the franchise with the release of Kubrick figures for Snake Eater and Guns of the Patriots, which also included seven- and 12-inch versions of the game's characters.
Several promotional DVDs have been released detailing the Metal Gear series. Metal Gear Saga vol. 1 was released in 2006 as a pre-order disc for MGS3: Subsistence. It is divided into five chapters, each dealing with one game of the then five-part Metal Gear series in chronological order (beginning with MGS3), and each include discussions by Hideo Kojima. Metal Gear Saga vol. 2 was first shown at the 20th Metal Gear Anniversary Party, and then released as a pre-order disc for MGS4. In this, the video is presented as a pseudo-documentary about Solid Snake and is divided into a prologue and four chapters: Naked Snake-the birth of Snake (chronicling the events of MGS3, MG1, and MG2), Liquid Snake-the second snake (MGS), Solidus Snake-the third Snake (MGS2) and Solid Snake-the first Snake (setting the stage for MGS4).
In May 2006, Metal Gear series creator Hideo Kojima announced that a film adaptation of Metal Gear Solid was in development. The film was purported to be in English, said to be released some time in 2009. [14] Kojima also announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo later that month that he had negotiated a contract with a party in Hollywood to adapt the video game into a film.[15] Kojima also considered Alaska as the site of the film production, due to the game's setting in the state.[16]
David Hayter, the English voice actor for Solid Snake, had submitted his take for the movie but executives have passed on his script.[17] He has previously written the screenplay to X-Men and co-written X2 and The Scorpion King. There has since been a petition web site started in the hopes of getting David Hayter involved with the project.
Producer Michael DeLuca has expressed interest in having Equilibrium director Kurt Wimmer write the script for the movie. Later on Kurt Wimmer was opted to direct the movie adaptation.[18] Konami's Aki Saito had commented that There Will Be Blood director Paul Thomas Anderson was interested,[19] but DeLuca dismissed the claim.[20]
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