Summary
When remastering legacy titles from gaming’s past, there comes a point where the team needs to decide whether to modernize a feature or mechanic or update for modern audiences.Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1went for a more “conservation” approach, keeping many features as they were from the original titles.
That being said, there are some subtle and important differences between those games found in theMaster Collectionand their original editions.Despite fans having gripes with the PC version, including some performance issues, theMaster Collectiondoes the series justice. However, while it is packaged with an impressive number of additions to keep fans happy, there were also some omissions that only the most pepped-up genome soldier would have spotted.
7A Trip Down Memory Card Lane
Metal Gear Solid
While the series is chock-a-full of mind-bending moments, one of the trippiest is in MGS1, when Snake goes head-to-head with Psycho Mantis. Before the fight begins, Mantis demonstrates his ability to vibrate the player’s controller and “see into” the player’s past by reading their memory cards. While the games he lists may not be available on modern consoles, there is an option hidden away in the menu that allows players to add in these saves, replicating this legendary fourth-wall-toppling moment.
From the main menu (before starting up the game), select the option “Edit Saved Data.” There, players can select an empty space on the virtual memory card and “Add Virtual Saved Data"from classic Konami titles. Additionally, hardcore MGS fans may recall that switching controllers while fighting Mantis prevents him from being able to read Snake’s mind, making beating the boss much easier. TheMaster Collectionhelpfully includes a way to switch virtual controllers by entering the Stance Menu’s (R1 & L1) controller options.
6Integral English Integration
Metal Gear Solid: Integral
Being bundled as the “complete experience,” theMaster Collection Vol. 1contains a few editions of the original PSX game, most notablyMetal Gear Solid: Integral, which wasn’t released outside Japan (besides a stripped-down version for PC which omitted several features that madeIntegralso special) that non-Japanese audiences would have had a difficult time playing. SinceKonami has a fairly decent track record of producing quality collections, it comes as no surprise that they found the time to includeIntegralin Volume 1.
The big difference for theIntegralincluded in theMaster Collection Vol. 1is that players now have the option to switch the game’s dialogue audio between English and Japanese. The downside is that all item descriptions are still in Japanese. While there are so many benefits to playing this version over the original MGS (alternate music, guard routes, behind-the-scenes commentary codec calls, “very easy mode,” first-person mode, unlockable “VR” missions, and alternate outfits), the lack of English text means that it probably isn’t the best way for first-timers to experience the game.
5Naked Snake’s Missing Monkey & The Savage Nightmare
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
According to Konami, theMaster Collection(at least between the volumes) is intended to represent the whole set. There is even a disclaimer before each game warning that the games contain “expressions and themes that may be considered outdated.” warning the player about certain moments that may not have aged well in public perception. That being said, there is some content from the originalMetal Gear Solidgames that have been removed for other reasons, presumably for copyright issues.
InSnake Eater, there is a secret game hidden about halfway through the mission, seen when Snake takes a snoozeafter a particularly gruesome “conversation” with the big bad. The player takes on a hoard of undead as “Guy Savage,” a duel-crowbar-wielding hero. Additionally, the “Snake VS Money,” anApe Escapecrossover, was similarly removed, being that Sony exclusively owns the rights to the game about catching renegade monkeys with a butterfly net.
4Pausing For Thought
TheMetal Gear Solidfranchise is infamous for its excessively long cutscenes between gameplay segments. In the original trilogy, skipping crucial story moments was the only option available to players with intrusive family members or weak bladders. Thankfully, the ability to hit pause has been added to theMaster Collection Vol. 1’sedition ofMGS(L +R for Switch, LB + RB on Xbox, and L1 + L2 on PlayStation). Thankfully,a rumored bug that caused a 10-second delaywas patched before release.
Unfortunately, while this would have been a much-welcomed feature inSons of LibertyandSnake Eater(and much needed, considering the length of some of the cutscenes in the other two), the ability to pause is confined to the originalMetal Gear Solid, and only because the game is technically running on an emulator. However, Switch users may be delighted to discover that hitting the home menu will effectively achieve the same effect in the sequels.
3A Loss Of Substance
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty & Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Similar to the HD edition and Legacy Collection, theMaster Collectionuses Substance (MGS2) and Subsistence (MGS3) as the baseline for their ports. These are arguably the better versions of the originals (for example,Snake Eatergot much-welcomed third-person camera controls), but like the HD and Legacy bundles, not everything from the two updates made it. For example,Snake Eateris missing the “secret theater” (a blooper reel of a sort) and the boss rush mode.
Sons of Libertydropped the “Snake Tales,” missions from Snake’s POV, and a bizarre “skateboarding” game mode, in which Snake and Raidencould grind, kickflip, and ollie their wayacross the Big Shell. The Skateboard mode was the product of an MGS xEvolution Skateboardingcrossover, which probably wouldn’t hold in copyright court, regardless ofEvolution’s obscure status in gaming. As strange as this mode is, it still remains an important artifact of the games in the minds of many fans.
2Checking The Back Of The Box
This meta, fourth-wall-breaking puzzle stumped many PSX gamers back at the firstMGS’s release, and players who had previously played the game on PC via the GOG port would have been equally baffled. At a certain point in the Shadow Moses mission, Snake is instructed to “check the back of the CD case” for a crucial Codec number in order to progress the story.
However, having just been handed a CD item in the game, some gamers may not realize that they had toliterally look at the back ofMetal Gear Solid’s case art, where they would see the frequency displayed as a screenshot. TheMaster Collectionalleviates this issue for gamers without a physical copy by helpfully including the game’s case in the pause menu, immersively (or un-immersively) allowing players to discover the solution without looking up the answer online.
1Gracefully Aging Icons
Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty, & Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
A small but impressive detail about theMaster Collection Vol. 1’seditions of each game (the original PSX classic especially) is their masterful re-integration of in-game button prompts and icons. This was an essential change that benefits gameplay immensely for any players unfamiliar with the original PlayStation controls (and even those who aren’t).
A quick black box with the new control icons slapped over the old would have been an easy fix, but the attention to detail in having the icons seamlessly blend with the old-school, low-resolution graphics (in the first PSX game’s case) is a delight to see. However, one thing theMaster Collectioncouldn’t fix is the vocal button prompts as delivered by the cast. Snake will still be directed to “crouch with the X button” despite the controller’s actual button setup.
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