Metal Gear Solid Master Collection 1 Switch Review

There’s no Shadow (Moses) of a doubt, that Hideo Kojima created one of the most iconic and intriguing worlds with the Metal Gear Series. Snake, Foxhound, and the literal army of supporting characters helped shape the series into the epic AAA Franchise it is today. The stylized action, coupled with the unique idea of stealthily sneaking around to achieve objectives was well ahead of its time. So, it goes without saying that Metal Gear fans the world over were veritably excited when the Metal Gear Collection Volume 1 was announced. The collection itself is home to Metal Gear 1 & 2 which were originally on the NES, The PlayStation Platinum hit: Metal Gear Solid, and both PlayStation 2 hits: Sons of Liberty and Snake Eater.

There’s a lot in this collection, so let’s take a look at the games, the extras, and most importantly, the execution of this package. Has Konami succeeded in honoring the source material? Or will Major Tom order an evacuation with the Fulton system? Let’s Halo Jump right in.

Metal Gear 1 & Snake’s Revenge

Starting with Metal Gear 1 & Snake’s Revenge, I feel like many gamers may be put off by these ones as they were limited by the technology of their time. For those who do persevere, you will be treated to a classic top-down sneak ’em up that tells the story of Snake as he infiltrates an enemy facility while evading detection. The gameplay was quite advanced for its time, but can be quite basic, and punishing these days which may be off-putting to some. Personally, I found it quite difficult, never having played it back in the day, but I persevered and found both titles to be enjoyable.

Metal Gear Solid

Metal Gear Solid is my pick of the collection. Sure, it hasn’t aged the best in terms of graphics, as the collection opted to use the PS1 version of the game over PC so you can play it in all its original glory. Metal Gear Solid still entertains today with its story, sneaking mechanics, and unique boss fights.

Gameplay was revolutionary for its time with interesting concepts like running in puddles alerting the enemy to your presence, and the ability to detect the use of auto fire during an infamous part of the late game. Close Quarters Combat and shooting mechanics meant that when detected, you can try to stand your ground or try to disrupt the enemy long enough to escape.

Metal Gear Solid also allows you to edit a fake memory card from the menu in the settings that allows you to experience the Psycho Mantis Fight in all its glory… something that was so cutting edge for its time, that I was blown away. While unfortunately, it won’t have the same impact due to changes in technology, it’s still a nice touch to add to this version of Metal Gear Solid.

The strong point of Metal Gear Solid is its unapologetic anti-nuclear stance which is layered carefully into the narrative. Like all his Metal Gear Games, Kojima carefully weaves a story full of intricacies, as well as twists and turns that will make you want to see it through right until the end.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

Sons of Liberty, in my opinion, is the weakest link out of the big 3 titles in this collection, not because it’s a bad game per se, but because you play the majority of the game as Raiden, a rookie soldier who takes a bit to get used to. It’s quite an adjustment seeing the perspective of Raiden to that of a seasoned veteran like Snake.

The gameplay itself is solid, and has several quality-of-life improvements on the original Metal Gear Solid game, as well as some intense real-to-life details about military options. This attention to detail made Sons of Liberty a huge advance in tactical games and paved the way for what would become a focus of the series moving forward.

Playing the game on Switch shows just how good it was for its time as it still holds up to this day. It should be noted that this version of Sons of Liberty runs at 30 frames per second, a baffling step back as it is native 60 fps on the PlayStation 2. As the Switch is more than powerful enough to run at this framerate, I have no idea why it doesn’t. While it doesn’t really affect gameplay, I just don’t know why it’s outperformed by the original release which came out 22 years ago.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

Hands down the most polished and in-depth title of the collection, Snake Eater takes us back in time before the previous entries to tell an amazing story about Foxhound and how pretty much everything came to be. It’s set in the ’60s and ’70s and has a Connery Era Bond vibe with slick cutscenes, compelling characters, and many amazing mechanics to keep you engrossed throughout the adventure.

It has a stellar sound design, immersive environments, and some really unique boss fights (and ways around them.) These clever loopholes allow a seasoned veteran of the series to power through the game and also help warrant a second playthrough for newbies.

Snake Eater also sees the implementation of a camouflage system, allowing you to combine different patterned uniforms and facepaint to make sneaking through the jungle easier, as well as refined shooting mechanics should things escalate… or if you are bad at stealth like me. There are also survival elements like having to source food and manage stamina that add new elements to the game.

Snake Eater also seems to be locked at a lower framerate for some reason, but that doesn’t stop it from being one of the most memorable titles in the entire franchise, as well as being the most accessible to newcomers.

What order should you play them in?

Chronologically speaking, the timeline unfolds by playing Snake Eater, Metal Gear 1 & Snake’s Revenge, Metal Gear Solid, and then Sons of Liberty. With that being said, Newcomers might find it hard to go back to the NES and PSX versions of the game due to the evolution of gameplay and quality of life changes. It may sound controversial, but I would play them in order of release as there are games that will no doubt be featured in the second Collection like Peace Walker and The Phantom Pain that slot in between these titles.

The Collection Package

The main glaring issue with this collection is that it’s haphazardly slapped into a package with minimal effort and afterthought. One would daresay the 3DS Port of Snake Eater saw more love and attention than what this iconic collection so deserves. While I’m not a purist in any form and simply just love to play video games and write about them, the fact that the Switch Cartridge contains the Nes Games and some bonus content only, and the performance of Sons of Liberty and Snake Eater somehow running worse than their original counterparts despite the more powerful hardware, is a shame.

Each game comes with a Master Book that is full of artwork and facts as well as a script for each game. There’s also a digital soundtrack that covers some of the tracks from each game, and there are 2 graphic novels that play out like a video covering Metal Gear Solid and Sons of Liberty. It’s a nice touch, and fans will certainly enjoy these added bonuses which do have to be downloaded separately, but thankfully for free.

Another complaint which may sound like a minor gripe to some, is that the Collection adds 5 icons to the home screen instead of being in one launcher, despite all games having a specific launch menu when you load them. This complaint doesn’t affect the final outcome of the review. I would have loved to enjoy all the content and games under one package.

Overall

Despite its performance shortfalls on the Nintendo Switch, there’s so much fun to be had with this collection. While the bonuses are somewhat disappointing, even to a more casual fan of the series, the games themselves are certainly worthy of your time. Some of the weirdly sexualized content and remarks within may have aged poorly, and Konami does acknowledge that, but the games and mechanics themselves still hold up to this day. I would recommend gamers dive in to enjoy the Metal Gear games for what they are; often stylish, sometimes over the top, and always a classic.