Metal Gear Solid is one of the most influential video games series of all time, and it helped Hideo Kojima make even more of a name for himself. Dating back to 1987 on the MSX2, Metal Gear has provided unforgettable experiences for decades, from massive open-world games to trading card focused battle systems.
While each Metal Gear game stands out on its own, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater remains the most unique title in the franchise. Despite being the third game, Snake Eater goes back in time to the 1970s and lays the foundation for what would happen later on.
In a franchise filled with great games, Metal Gear Solid 3 manages to be the most unforgettable experience. From gameplay to story, it shows Metal Gear Solid at its very best.
MGS 3 Flourished by Taking Solid Snake Out of the Equation
Solid Snake instantly became a gaming icon with the release of the first Metal Gear Solid, but MGS 3 surprised fans by totally breaking from the timeline the first two games set up. Instead, the game takes place in 1964 and follows CIA agent Naked Snake, the man that the clones of Solid Snake, Liquid Snake, and Solidus Snake would be based on. Not being bound to the past is by far the biggest advantage MGS 3 has, and it uses that to flesh out the world and characters to a tremendous degree. Solid Snake is a fantastic hero, but he's also a bit gruff and rigid. By comparison, Naked Snake feels more human and realistic, and he's even quite funny and charming to boot. After all, this is the man that details how he's afraid of vampires in the middle of a codec call.
Part of what makes Naked Snake so fascinating is that up until MGS 3 he'd simply been an enigma. In the first two Metal Gear games, he's painted as this enigma whose only goal is to plunge the world into chaos. Metal Gera Solid 3 provides so much more context and shows how Naked Snake is practically forced into becoming Big Boss against his will.
MGS 3 is Metal Gear At Its Very Best
Metal Gear Solid invented the "stealth-action" experience, and Metal Gear Solid 3 honed that formula to a sharp edge. The music and sound effects give off a James Bond spy drama vibe, and the new camo system makes sense for the time period and setting. Past all that, however, MGS 3 features some of the best gameplay in the franchise and absolutely nails its pacing. The jungle setting feels far more conducive to stealth than the military-industrial locations of the past two games, and MGS 3 mixes up stealth gameplay with story beats and action sequences. Hideo Kojima also managed to reign in some of the absurd weirdness of Metal Gear Solid, making for a more grounded, emotional story. Of course, MGS 3 still features some fantastic quirks, like being able to defeat The End by changing the PS2's internal clock to a week ahead, causing the boss to die of old age.
Metal Gear Solid 3 Tells the Most Emotional Story of the Series
Metal Gear Solid is known for its complex storytelling, filled with plenty of ridiculous plot twists, but Metal Gear Solid 3 features the most meaningful twist of all. The game features a ton of military conspiracies, but the crux of the story revolves around Naked Snake hunting down his former mentor, who's simply known as The Boss, who defected from the United States to the Soviet Union. That nickname instantly establishes her as a legendary character, just like when Naked Snake was first introduced to the series as Big Boss. Information on The Boss is drip-fed to players, but it's immediately made clear that Snake holds deep respect and love for her. Everything culminates in the most intense and heart-breaking boss fight of the franchise, as Snake faces The Boss in hand-to-hand combat in a field of brilliant white flowers. It's a gut-wrenching moment, especially once players learn details like Snake's bandana being a memento of The Boss.
Then the twist comes, when Snake finds out The Boss didn't defect but was an agent inside the Soviet Union. She gave up both her life and reputation to keep America safe, and this revelation causes Snake to question his allegiance to the government and his mission. It paints the U.S. government as one of the real villains of the series, and the revelation is the domino that starts a chain reaction for the entire series, ultimately resulting in Big Boss creating The Patriots, Outer Heaven, and more. The emotional weight of the final battle is enough, but finding out how it pushes Snake over the edge makes the ending that much more emotional. Metal Gear Solid 3 exemplifies Hideo Kojima's storytelling skills, helping cement it as the pinnacle of the Metal Gear series.