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1) PS1 version, playable on PS1, PS2, or PS3. This is the original release of the game. Alternatively you can opt for the Essential Collection, Legacy Collection, or PSN Classic releases. It's the way the game was meant to be played, and is easily available. 2) PS1 version, emulated.
I personally think that a first playthrough should be in release order. On subsequent playthroughs you can experiment however you want. I like to play this way: MG1, 2, MGS1, 2, 3, PO, PW, 5, 4, Rising. So basically I play in release order until 3.
having said that the phantom pain is a prequel so if you only want to know the story up to this game you'll need to play metal gear solid 3 snake eater, metal gear solid peace walker and metal gear solid ground zeroes (which is on steam and is included in the definitive experience) (or just watch a fullplay on youtube) #4.
There are three reasons. Let's start with the most obvious: MG for MSX has aged poorly, as you can expect from a game of the late '80s. Its sequel, MG2, is much more enjoyable, but you will be able (if you want) to play these two games later in time.
- The Metal Gear timeline spans across decades.
- Every IGN Metal Gear Review
- Metal Gear Games in Chronological Order
- 1. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
- 2. Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
- 3. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
- 4. Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
- 5. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
- 6. Metal Gear
- 7. Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
By Callum Williams
Updated: Aug 30, 2023 7:59 pm
Posted: Aug 13, 2023 7:00 am
Whether it’s Snake’s elevator ascent to the rainy cliffs of Shadow Moses or the climactic battle between student and mentor in the final moments of Snake Eater, Hideo Kojima and Konami’s epic spy thriller franchise, Metal Gear, is home to some of gaming’s most iconic moments. Telling a story that spanned multiple console generations and pushed the creative capabilities of video games to their limits, Solid Snake and Big Boss’ adventures are legendary, so much so that many claim they’re among the most important releases the medium has ever produced.
Back in 2015, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain seemingly ended the franchise for good, with Kojima leaving Konami and the Metal Gear Solid IP behind to form his own studio. However, Konami has since announced plans to resurrect the series through re-releases and an upcoming remake (you can read our preview of the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1 here). With so many new players experiencing this world of undercover espionage, shady government conspiracy and gruff-voiced dudes with cool eyepatches for the first time, we’ve laid out the chronological order of the Metal Gear Solid series so newcomers and returning fans can catch up.
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Not including remakes, ports or remasters, there are 17 total Metal Gear games: 11 mainline games, and five on handheld devices and one on mobile. Although that’s a lot of games, a decent chunk of them are considered non-canon, with their stories overriding events from the main saga and spinning off into their own unique takes on the universe.
2018’s Metal Gear Survive takes place in an apocalyptic reality where a zombie virus has overtaken the world, so it falls outside the main canon. As for the PSP’s Metal Gear: Acid and Metal Gear: Acid 2, they veer from the timeline and tell a new story, making them alternate-timeline spin-offs. Then there’s the Game Boy Color’s Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, which is an alternate-universe Metal Gear sequel that wipes away the events of Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, thus removing it from the timeline. And finally, Metal Gear Mobile and Snake’s Revenge have since been deemed non-canon by the community and Kojima himself in interviews.
These blurbs contain mild spoilers for each game, including characters, settings, and story beats.
The first slot in the saga’s timeline, Snake Eater follows a US Special Forces operative codenamed Naked Snake during the events of the Cold War. Sent to locate and extract a Russian scientist from the Soviet Union to prevent him from building a weapon of mass destruction known as the Shagohod, Snake’s shocked to find his former mentor, The Boss, has betrayed the US government and sided with the Soviets.
After a heated battle, Naked Snake is brutally defeated and left for dead in the jungle. Surviving the encounter, he’s tasked by his commanding officer, Zero, to return to Russia, find his mentor and kill her, all the while tracking down the Shagohod to prevent nuclear war. By the end of the story, Naked Snake adopts the moniker of Big Boss, becoming a legend among the US Special Forces. However, his battle with The Boss and the secrets he’s uncovered throughout his adventure leave him disillusioned with his duty and the government he serves.
Set six years after Big Boss’ climactic battle with his former mentor, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops picks up the legendary soldier’s story as he goes head to head with his former squad, FOX Unit. The game begins with Big Boss learning FOX has gone rogue, betraying the CIA and staging a revolt.
Captured and tortured on a Colombian base by FOX Unit, Boss breaks free but learns he’s been accused of treason. In a bid to clear his name, he decides to hunt down his former allies and pursue their ruthless leader, Gene. By the end of the game, Big Boss learns of Gene’s desire to create a nation of mercenary soldiers known as Army’s Heaven and acquires the mass of funds and equipment saved for the project. Returning to the US, he later forms a squadron of special ops soldiers known as FOXHOUND.
Four years after the events of Portable Ops, we catch up with Big Boss, who has left FOXHOUND and the Patriots. Since leaving, he’s formed a new band of mercenary soldiers known as Militaires Sans Frontières (or MSF) with Kazuhira Miller. Using their newfound army to protect countries that don’t have the forces or means to defend themselves, Big Boss and Miller wage war against an armed militia known as the Peace Sentinels after they invade Costa Rica.
During his investigation, Big Boss soon realizes that his former mentor, The Boss, is somehow involved in the Peace Sentinels' plans. Worse, they have access to nuclear weapons, wielding a supremely powerful mech called the Peace Walker. Rallying on an off-shore oil rig known as Motherbase, Snake and the Militaires Sans Frontières take the fight to the Peace Sentinels, attempting to discover their true motive and secrets. The game ends with Big Boss battling his former ally Paz, who turns out to be a secret agent of Zero’s shady government organization, Cipher.
A few months following the events of Peace Walker, Ground Zeroes acts as a prologue to the fifth entry in the Metal Gear Solid series: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. The story sees Big Boss embark on a new mission after learning that Paz survived their climactic battle during the final moments of Peace Walker and is being interrogated by Cipher at a mysterious military base known as Camp Omega. Knowing that she has crucial information about Cipher and could reveal secrets about MSF to the shadowy organization, he rushes to extract her.
While infiltrating the base, he discovers a mysterious Cipher cell known as XOF, which is led by a sadistic, severely burned commander called Skull Face. The prologue ends with Snake extracting Paz only to realize his allies are being attacked by the XOF back at Motherbase. The onslaught destroys the oil rig and eradicates Militaires Sans Frontières, leaving Big Boss on the cusp of death.
Nine years later, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain opens with a severely injured Big Boss waking up in a hospital in Cyprus. Evading an assassination attempt where he’s attacked by a man covered in flames, a telekinetic soldier and a master sniper, Boss is saved by Revolver Ocelot and returns to action as he leads a new mercenary group known as the Diamond Dogs.
Swearing to stop the XOF after they destroyed Militaires Sans Frontières, he adopts the codename Venom Snake and heads to Africa to pick up their trail, learning that the former-Cipher-affiliated group went rogue. Their leader, Skull Face, is instead working on a devastating parasitic weapon with the power to eradicate the Western world. The game ends with Big Boss setting in motion his plans to create a military nation known as Outer Heaven, where soldiers are free to live without being used to further shady government plans.
11 years later, the story catches up with the first entry in the series: Metal Gear. The game follows Solid Snake: a rookie soldier and member of FOXHOUND. FOXHOUND is once again run by Big Boss, who acts as Snake’s mentor and commanding officer. On his first mission, Solid Snake is sent to track down a weapon of mass destruction being constructed in a military nation known as Outer Heaven.
During his mission, he finds another agent codenamed Grey Fox, who was also sent to track the weapon. Grey Fox reveals the mysterious weapon is a mech codenamed Metal Gear, which has the power to launch nuclear bombs. The game ends with Solid Snake and Big Boss coming to blows, with the latter revealing he was behind Outer Heaven's plans.
Four years later, Solid Snake returns to action after he learns Big Boss survived the events of the previous game and is currently constructing a new Metal Gear for the fictional nation of Zanzibar Land.
Teaming with various characters, Snake infiltrates Zanzibar Land and attempts to destroy the weapon of mass destruction, battling Big Boss and his army of soldiers along the way.
Mar 26, 2021 · The Metal Gear Solid games span across decades, though not in chronological order. This should clear the timeline up.
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Jul 25, 2019 · This made newcomers believe that the games included in the collections should be played starting with Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and end with Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Although you can play these games in the story’s chronological order, it is not recommended.
