Metal Gear 1 (MSX, 2023 Ver.): Part 1: Beginning Operation Intrude N313
4My coverage of this franchise was a very long time coming. Although I have covered several Castlevania games at this point, that was actually not the Konami franchise I grew up with the most.
No, it was the one that was created by Hideo Kojima, one of the most popular video game creators in the entire history. THIS is the game that would start his legacy and that of this franchise.
I am playing this from the 2023 Master Collection Vol. 1 re-release, which itself is based on the earlier 2011 HD Collection re-release of Metal Gear Solid 3. As such, the game has a different translation from when it was originally released on the MSX.
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In the year 1995, deep within South Africa, a fortress was built to work on the destructive superweapon known as Metal Gear. This fortress became known as Metal Gear.
FOXHOUND, the special forces unit led by Big Boss, sends in their best soldier to stop this weapon's creation. A man codenamed Solid Snake.
While Snake only brought with him a pack of cigarettes, he is specially trained in the arts of Close Quarters Combat (CQC) and Tactical Espionage Action, giving him great knowledge of how to sneak around enemies, or take them head-on if need be. He is also able to utilize many different weapons and firearms, as well.
With his combination of combat, stealth, and weaponry, under Big Boss' orders, Solid Snake commences "Operation Intrude N313".
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The main deal with this game is that it's not necessarily about fighting enemy soldiers, but moreover sneaking around them. The game was actually forced to be this way thanks to the MSX limitations. Amazing how that worked out.
If Snake does get spotted soldiers will swarm in to attack him. If they're alerted with a "!", you can escape the alert by going into a different room. If they're alerted with a "!!", they'll be more aggressive and keep swarming Snake until you can clear them all out or reach a "safe" room, like the elevators.
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Over time, Snake will collect more things to help him with his mission, such as Rations to heal his health, other forms of equipment that will help you progress through the game in a Metroidvania-esque fashion, and a few weapons to waste enemies with.
Also... Snake... He's a smoker... He really only did bring cigarettes with him to start this game off, and if you equip these, they will very slowly drain his health. In enough time, they'll just outright KILL him. What a message to send!
HOWEVER! These cigarettes somehow have a secondary and much more helpful use. Even then, there's a different item that will function the same way WITHOUT self-damage, so...
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Your first weapon should be a Handgun. It only shoots straight ahead, but any normal enemy hit by this or other weapons JUST ONCE instantly dies and vanishes.
Speaking of which, enemy vision is so wonky in this game. Their field of sight is basically a straight line, so you can graze up to them at a corner and they WILL won't see you until you cross that line.
Shooting enemies is kinda funky, too, especially horizontally. It looks like that as long as your pixel bullets touch their sprites, they WILL get hit and die. For a horizontal aim, your best bet is to have Snake slightly lower than them so that his gun lines up with their body.
Even without weapons, you can just punch them to death, too, and it usually takes three fists. They STILL won't notice you if you're outside of their line of sight when you do this, and it's even recommended to kill them this away as there's a chance they will drop items such as Rations.
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Snake uses a radio to contact his mission control. He starts out with Big Boss, but you can discover or be told about others and the frequencies to reach them.
There's also a Class system. Outer Heaven is full of kidnapped hostages or POWs (prisoners of war). Save enough of them at a time and this will increase Snake's class up to Level 4, raising the maximum cap of his health and all of his limited capacity items and weapons. These POWs may also give him some hints to get through more of the base.
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Other important items and particular weapons that I get in this video include:
- The Gasmask, as there are several rooms plagued with poison gas that hurt you as soon as you step into them.
- Card Keys. There are several levels on these that work on different doors, and they DO NOT STACK. You HAVE to use a specific card level for each and every door.
- RC Missile, as in Remote-Controlled Missile. You launch a missile that you can control. Great for shutting down electrified floors.
- Grenade Launcher. Some bosses can only be destroyed by this weapon, you reach it in a room past a sealed room where you'll automatically be attacked by soldiers.
In this same room, if you can clear them all out, you can also pick up a Silencer for your Handgun.
You can save at anytime, but the game only truly maintains your saved progress at certain spots, such as elevator rooms.