Re-Mastering Metal Gear Solid: A Wish List

The internet is a-buzz this week with rumors of a remastered Metal Gear Solid pack featuring the first three games of the series, currently in the works for the PlayStation 3.  Being a love-struck fan of the series since its re-emergence on the original PlayStation, and having just had earnest discussions about a potential re-mastery, this news struck many delicious chords in my gamer-soul.  I love re-playing classic games, but living in an HD world often makes it painful to do so.  Games feel very different when returning to them years later, and advances in controls and technology often render the old ways obsolete.  With all this is mind, I decided to lay out what I would love to see from this re-mastery of a pack of masterful games.  Some of these wishes may be outlandish while some are completely practical.

Visuals

I don’t know how much work it would be (probably more than I can conceive), but seeing the first three games running on the MGS4 engine would probably turn me on in a strangely sexual, yet satisfying, way.  We’ve already seen part of the first game running it, and it was one of the most chilling scenes in the entire fourth entry.  Watching the entire series in 1080p would set a landmark far and above anything we’ve seen of these re-masters yet.  It also might be necessary given that the first game was on the original PlayStation, and to remaster a PS1 game into HD might be more trouble than re-doing it completely.  Yes, we have the GameCube version, Twin Snakes, but would they really want to re-master a re-master?

I can’t pretend to know the developers intentions, but we’ve yet to see Kojima and Company half-ass anything when it comes to Snake and Friends (aside from Portable Ops Plus).  Chances are real good we’ll see a God of War like re-touching of the second two games at least, but a man can dream.  Realistically, they would have probably had to start a project as big as what I propose right after MGS4 was finished, and given that they’ve been busy with other projects, that is quite unlikely.

Controls

As I mentioned in the introduction to this article, it’s not easy to return to a game with archaic controls.  Metal Gear Solid, for instance, is painful to play.  I ran through the game multiple times when I played it in the 90s, grasping for simple things like bandanas and tuxedos, but even playing through the brief part of MGS4 that took you back into the 32-bit era was difficult given the ease of control shown in the more recent additions.  Peace Walker and Guns of the Patriots feel like third-person shooters with stealth, making for a play-it-your-way scenario.  The days of tank controls are over (a lesson someone needs to tell Capcom).  Purists might maintain that the games should be exactly like their original counterparts, but in HD.  Realists will argue that purity is a stubborn concept and the beauty of the series wasn’t in its control scheme, but in its story, characters, and stealth abilities.  At the very least, all of the games need a rotating camera and over the shoulder or zoomed in gun mechanics.  I’d also love to see CQC integrated into the earlier titles more thoroughly.

Structure

Possibly the single best decision Kojima Productions made when crafting Peace Walker was to divide every mission into a list that could be scrolled through, with every main mission and side mission a separate entity.  This allows players to go back to any point in the game and replay that mission and only that mission.  This is something every single game needs to offer, in this humble writer’s opinion.  Games divided into chapters, in particular, have absolutely no excuse not to execute this type of mechanic.  This doesn’t limit players to anything.  You can still play through the game much as you normally would.  This merely allows players to pick and choose what they want to play, after they’ve already played it.  This makes finding items within levels much easier, practicing levels for potentially higher ranks simpler, and allows for a general higher enjoyment level when players can pick levels that they had fun playing whenever they want.

Sometimes I have avoided replaying an entire game due to one particular section that I knew would cause me an abnormal amount of grief.  I would also like to see any collectibles or mission optional particulars laid out where players can see them on each mission description, similar to what Uncharted does with its level treasures.

Trophy Support

This is almost unrelated because chances are fairly slim that they would release this collection with Guns of the Patriots included, but would it be too much to ask for some trophy support, finally, for that mightiest of games?  It seems a paltry thing for those who care not for gaming achievements, but for those of us who do, it has long been a desire.  What does it mean exactly?  It means that if we loved the game, really just adored it, that we could show that love off to everyone who decided to view our PSN profile.  This isn’t to say every game I’ve platinum trophy’d has been a game I’ve loved (I did it for The Last Rebellion simply because it was so pathetically easy), but when something is difficult to attain and we still strive to attain it, it shows a level of commitment and love beyond that of mere completion.  And with all the already present challenges and extras within the Metal Gear Solid games, it’s quite likely the trophies would be no mere afterthought as they are with so many games.  And even if Guns of the Patriots isn’t included with the pack, releasing a trophy patch with the release of the collection would be some huge fan service.

Snake

Thinking about my past with Solid and Naked Snake, I came to a realization; a realization that I had already had once in my life while playing through the second game in the series.  I never want to play as anyone but one of the two snakes (who, if you think about genetic offspring, are kind of the same character anyway).  I want the option to play as Snake in Sons of Liberty.  I don’t want to ever play as Raiden.  Am I alone in this?  I can’t be.  I don’t think anyone on the planet preferred to play as Raiden over Snake in the second game.  In fact, the game probably would have been twice as well-received had that simple change been reversed.  People didn’t like Raiden in that game, and it’s important to at least like the person whose shoes you happen to fill for the duration of a game.  Would it be so much to ask to change history just a little, and make the second entry a heaping spoonful more enjoyable?

And while we’re at all this skin-changing, why not have the option to play as any character, any time?  I’m not asking for any story re-writes, but extra skins being unlockable is common in gaming now, and playing through every game as Big Boss, or <gasp> The Boss herself, would be a dream come true.  Keep the story as it is, but just give me a different mask to wear while I’m running around with Raiden.  I don’t think that’s too much to ask.

Peace Walker

Just put it in the collection.  It deserves to be on the PS3.  It’s such a good game, and I feel like being on the PSP it’s simply not in enough peoples’ hands.  This is a console-caliber experience, and it needs a console to really shine.  Nothing would even have to change.  It controls better than any console game, and borrows many mechanics straight from MGS4.  I can’t particularly speak for Portable Ops or the Ac!d games.  I made it a quarter of the way through Portable Ops before the controls began to frustrate me.  Is it a necessary part of the story?  I don’t think so.  But Peace Walker is a straight sequel to Snake Eater, and plugging it in right after number three would be a truly complete pack.  In fact, the game already bears a striking resemblance to the PS2 titles as is, so re-mastering it for the PS3 should be as simple as it is for those other two titles.

Indeed, much of this is pure fantasy, and never in my gaming history has any developer gone as above and beyond as I would ask with these hopeful words.  But with the rumors abounding and people talking, it’s fun to speculate and ruminate on just what a beautiful piece of gaming history this Metal Gear Solid collection could represent.  The Snakes are an integral part of gaming’s lineage, and they deserve all the prestige and polish we can give them.  Regardless of what Kojima decides, I think we can all agree that this series has a definable right to a re-release.  I, for one, eagerly awaiting sneaking through many corridors and jungles once again.