العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
EspañolMETAL GEAR
(Redirected from Outer Heaven)
{{Otheruses4|||
(commonly abbreviated to '''MG''') is a stealth game designed by Hideo Kojima. ''Metal Gear'' was developed and first published by Konami in 1987 for the MSX2 home computer. It was well-received critically and publicly, scoring 91% in GameSpot's aggregate and selling an estimated 700,000 copies (including various ports).
The premise of ''Metal Gear'' revolves around a special forces operative codenamed Solid Snake who goes into a one-man sneaking mission into the hostile nation of Outer Heaven to destroy the titular weapon, a bipedal walking tank capable of launching nuclear missiles from anywhere in the world. Most of the subsequent games in the series follow this same premise, often changing the characters, locations, and weapons.
Originally released for the MSX2 in Japan and Europe, the game was later ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System during the same year, although with many significant changes made to the game. This was followed with ports to various home computers, such as the IBM PC and Commodore 64. It was also ported to mobile phones in 2004 and for the PlayStation 2 in 2005 (as a component of ''), with several enhancements and changes, such as typo corrections and some grammatical changes.
Its success led to the creation of two separately-produced sequels; the first one (''Snake's Revenge'') was produced specifically for the Western market for the NES and the other ('') was the canonical sequel developed by the original game's designer and released in Japan for the MSX2 in response to the former's creation. The latter was followed by a successful series of sequels and spinoffs.
The player must navigate the main character (codenamed "Solid Snake") through various locations, while avoiding visual contact and direct confrontation with patrolling guards. If the player is seen, the game enters the "Alert Mode." In this situation, the player must hide the character in order to leave the mode. The method of escaping varies depending on the circumstances behind discovery:
★ If a player is seen and only a single exclamation mark ('!') appears over an enemy's head, only the enemies in the player's present screen will attack and an escape can be made by moving to the adjacent screen.
★ However, if two exclamation marks ('!!') appear over the enemy (or the player triggers an alarm by being spotted by a camera, infrared sensor or by using an unsilenced weapon), reinforcements from off-screen will appear as well. The player can only escape by eliminating all incoming enemies or by simply moving to a different floor.
At first, the player starts the game unarmed, but eventually gains access to a variety of firearms (starting with the Beretta M92F) and explosives and working his way up to machine guns and guided rocket launchers. Ammo and supplies for each weapon are limited, but are easily replenished. Weapons can not only be used to kill enemies, but also to clear obstacles (such as hollow walls or electrified floors). Snake can also use his fists to punch and defeat patrolling enemies and take any food, ammo, or any other important items (such as keys) they leave behind.
The enemy base consists of three different buildings, with multiple floors (including basement levels) within them. The player uses keycards and other items to unlock doors or explore new areas. Doors will only open to their corresponding keycards. Bosses also appear throughout the game to interfere with the player's progress.
Information can be obtained by rescuing hostages being held captive within the buildings. After rescuing five hostages, the player is given a promotion, increasing their "Rank" (up to 4 stars max), allowing for bigger ammo capacity and maximum health. However, if a hostage is killed, the player is demoted to the previous rank.
A transceiver is available for the player to communicate with their commanding officer (Big Boss) or one of the resistance members operating covertly within the fortress. Each of Snake's allies has an extensive knowledge on specific subjects. The transceiver system is completely room-oriented, as certain radio transmissions occur only in certain locations.
Due to space limitations, most of the characters' backstories are relayed through character descriptions in the game's manual in the original MSX2 version in Japan (these descriptions are omitted in later versions of the game). The player's character is Solid Snake. Not much is known about him at this point, other than he is a rookie member of the fictional special forces group FOXHOUND and that Operation: Intrude N313 (the codename of Snake's mission in the game) is his inaugural mission as a FOXHOUND operative. Snake is assisted via a wireless radio by his commanding officer Big Boss, the leader of FOXHOUND and a veteran soldier who previously served other special forces units. Big Boss provides the player with general gameplay tips, including information about weapons and equipment found on-site.
Snake is also aided via radio by a local resistance movement who are against the Outer Heaven regime. The resistance leader, Schneider, is a former Outer Heaven architect who knows the structure of the fortress. Because of his background, Schneider can provide the location of key items and weapons to the player whenever they're needed. Diane is a mercenary expert and recommends the best weapon to use against each boss. She communicates via her home and whenever she isn't available, her boyfriend Steve answers her calls. Jennifer is an inside agent that has infiltrated the ranks of Outer Heaven as part of its medical staff. Because she works from the inside, she can direct the player to key items and weapons that are essential to completing the mission, but she will only assist the player if they have attained a rank of four stars.
To complete his mission, Snake must save several hostages, including key characters such as fellow FOXHOUND operative Gray Fox, Metal Gear's designer Dr. Pettrovich and his young daughter, Ellen. Snake's main adversaries are the mercenaries of Outer Heaven; the names of each of the bosses reflect their specialities (a tradition in subsequent games); Shoot Gunner (sic; a former Spetsnaz and the warden of a secret underground prison), Machine Gun Kid (former SAS), Fire Trooper (former GSG9), Arnold (actually a series of powerful androids), Coward Duck(Dirty Duck) (a boomerang-wielding terrorist who uses hostages as shields) and the unknown leader of Outer Heaven.
In the year 19XX (later established to be 1995 in subsequent titles), 200km north of Galzburg, South Africa, lies Outer Heaven, a fortified state founded by a "legendary mercenary" in the late 1980s. Word had gotten out to the western world that deep within the Outer Heaven stronghold, a weapon of mass destruction was being constructed. Government officials order the high-tech Special Forces unit FOXHOUND to infiltrate the fortress, assess the situation and neutralize the threat. In a mission known as "Operation: Intrude N313," FOXHOUND operative Gray Fox infiltrated the Outer Heaven stronghold. Days later, contact with Gray Fox is lost and his last transmission simply reads "METAL GEAR..."
Operative Solid Snake, FOXHOUND's newest recruit, is ordered by squad leader Big Boss to rescue Gray Fox and carry out his mission, "Operation: Intrude N313".
Upon insertion into Outer Heaven, Snake makes contact with local resistance members Kyle Schneider, Diane, and Jennifer. Using all of his skills and the equipment he procured on site, he manages to rescue Fox. He learns from Fox that Metal Gear is the codename of a nuclear warhead-equipped bipedal walking tank, which can engage and dominate in all forms of combat as well as launch its nuclear warheads from any location. Outer Heaven plans to use Metal Gear to impose itself as the new world superpower.
In order to destroy Metal Gear, and topple the Outer Heaven mercenaries, Snake rescues the lead engineer of Metal Gear, Dr. Drago Pettrovich Madnar, and his daughter, Ellen. Armed with information on how to destroy Metal Gear, his skill and indomitable spirit, Snake fights through the entire Outer Heaven force. He begins to notice that traps being set for him are too precise, and wonders how information on his activities is being tracked. Moreover, Schneider is ambushed by hostiles and is presumed dead after losing contact with Snake. One of the final hostages Snake rescues tells him that the mysterious "mercenary leader" of the entire base is none other than Snake's C.O., Big Boss, and that Outer Heaven is under his command.
Upon breaching the core of the base, Snake is able to neutralize Metal Gear before it reaches completion. As he makes his way out of the compound's basement, he is confronted by Big Boss himself; the corrupt leader had been using his connections within the U.S. government to steal military intelligence, establish his own mercenary force, and fund his activities. It was his aim to have Outer Heaven become the world's most powerful nation, able to bring even the western nations to their knees. He had the rookie Snake sent in, hoping to have him captured and feed the U.S. government misinformation, but had quite obviously underestimated Snake's capabilities.
Having lost Metal Gear and much of his force, Big Boss starts the self-destruct sequence for the compound, and promises he will not die alone; Snake will join him. An underground battle ensues, and despite injury, Snake defeats Big Boss and escapes the Outer Heaven compound as it crumbles in flames behind him. After the ending credits, a message from Big Boss is displayed saying that he will meet Solid Snake again.
''Metal Gear'' was originally released on the MSX2 home computer in Japan on July 12, 1987 and in Europe in the same year. For the European release, Konami edited various radio messages and removed others entirely. Some of the removed messages include each of Big Boss' comments regarding an item and weapon, some of Schneider's messages, and practically all of Steve's calls. Reportedly, only 86 of the game's 155 messages were kept. These translated messages also contain some Engrish and a few typos, such as consistently misspelling "destroy" as "destoroy". The Japanese manual contains exclusive content not found in the European manual, such as character profiles with illustrations, brief descriptions of the game's bosses, and the complete specifications of Metal Gear TX-55.
A graphically modified version for the Nintendo Famicom was released in Japan on December 22, 1987 and Europe in March 1989. While the MSX2 version of this game was never released in US, the Nintendo console version came to North America on June 1988. Konami produced this version without Hideo Kojima's direct involvement and several changes and compromises were made without his supervision as a result. An emulation of the NES version of ''Metal Gear'' was included as part of a special bundle with '' in Japan for the Nintendo GameCube.
Despite this, it sold well, especially in the western market, with a million copies sold in North America. This, in turn, resulted in the creation of a ''Metal Gear'' sequel for the NES in the western market (the critically-panned ''Snake's Revenge'') without Kojima's involvement, although it did become the inspiration for Kojima's actual MSX sequel, ''.
The English manual and packaging swayed from the game's official storyline. The game's main villain (whose identity is intentionally kept secret in the actual game) is mentioned to be "Col. Vermon CaTaffy", a mangled reference to Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Snake's commanding officer (who is Big Boss in the actual game) is named "Commander South." Moreover, Snake is mentioned as having participated in the Grenada invasion prior to joining FOXHOUND, which contradicts the futuristic timeline of the later games. None of these terms and changes ever made it to the actual game, nor were they featured in the Japanese version's manual.
The English translation of the game itself contains a few examples of Engrish, such as "Contact missing our Grey Fox", "The truck have started to move!", and "I feel asleep!".
This version featured many non-graphical differences from the original:
★ The biggest difference between the MSX and NES versions is in the absence of the actual Metal Gear mecha in the NES version. Instead, the player must destroy a "Super Computer" which controls all of Metal Gear's activities in its place. The method of destroying it was also changed. While in the MSX version, the player must place 16 plastic explosives on Metal Gear's feet based on the order given by Dr. Pettrovich, in the NES version the player must simply place the bombs over the Super Computer on no specific parts (however, the player must have already rescued Ellen and Petrovich first).
★ In the MSX version, Snake performs an underwater insertion into Outer Heaven in the beginning of the game in the entrance of Building No. 1. Snake's entrance in ''Metal Gear Solid'' can be considered a homage to this. In the NES version, he performs an air insertion by skydiving and parachuting into the Jungle, similar to Naked Snake's entrance in ''Metal Gear Solid 3'', with three other soldiers who disappear after landing. They are neither seen nor mentioned again.
★ The level designs were altered greatly in the NES version. In the beginning of the game, the player must proceed through a jungle area before reaching the entrance of Building No. 1 through a truck. The first floor corridor of Building No. 1 was also remodeled greatly, with many of its trucks and rooms moved to other locations. The basement-level floors of Building No. 1 and 2 were made into separate buildings, Buildings No. 4 and 5, respectively.
★ In order to reach Building No. 4 or 5, the player must go through one of two jungle mazes located west to each of the outdoor areas. The solution for both mazes are the same, although it is never actually given within the game. (Go west two screens, north one screen, and west one more screen.)
★ Another boss, the Hind D, was replaced. Instead, the player faces a pair of gunners known as "Twin Shot" on the rooftop of Building No. 1.
★ Since the player no longer has to parachute to reach Dr. Petrovich's cell in Building No. 1, the parachute was removed. An Iron Glove was added in its place, which allows the player to break hollow walls. However, in some versions of the NES game, the Iron Glove has no real use.
★ The Flying Army located on the roof of Buildings No. 1 and 2 lost their ability to hover over the ground in the NES version.
★ In the NES version, the "high alert" (or double exclamation mark) mode was disabled. This means the player can always make their escape from alert mode by simply moving to the adjacent screen.
★ The player can no longer acquire rations or ammo by punching enemy soldiers in Sneaking Mode.
★ Solid Snake's face no longer appears in the transceiver mode's screen.
★ Big Boss's final message to the player after the closing credits was removed.
★ Some of the music (mainly, the two main themes and the alert mode theme) was changed in the NES version.
★ There are also several other minor differences in gameplay, including the addition of several bugs and glitches. Some of the radio conversations were "misplaced" as a result of the redesigned areas in the NES game. For example, if the player calls Schneider in front of the room containing the Gas Mask in Building No. 1, he will tell Snake the location of the mine detector instead. This is due to the fact that the same spot in the MSX version used to be a minefield. In addition, the player's bullets have a farther range than they do in the MSX version, and the player can shoot while wearing the cardboard box.
Identical versions of the NES ''Metal Gear'' were ported to PC MS-DOS and the Commodore 64. Both were released in North America and Europe in June 1990.
The PC MS-DOS version contains many minor changes, such as a faster-depleting health bar. However, the Commodore 64 version is more similar to the NES version, with only small musical and visual changes.
Although an Amiga version was never released, screenshots and descriptions from advertisements exist to reveal the game. All aspects (from graphics to gameplay) appear to be identical to the NES version. Ultra Games stated in their ads that the Amiga version would be the best of the three computer versions of Metal Gear.
After the release of the mobile phone version (see below), Konami began offering a downloadable version of the MSX2 ''Metal Gear'' for PC as part of their i-Revo service in Japan. The game is an unaltered emulation of the original MSX2 version. Customers can choose to "rent" the game for a period of 24 hours or seven days, or purchase the game permanently.
A version of ''Metal Gear'' was released for mobile phones in Japan on August 18, 2004. It could be downloaded on the i-Mode, EZweb and Vodafone services. Although based on the MSX2 version, it includes several new features and changes.
This same version of the game was included as a component of '' for the PlayStation 2. The North American version included a retranslated English script, as well as an optional Spanish script.
★ ''New Easy mode'' - Player can choose to play with the original MSX2 version's difficulty or with an easier difficulty setting.
★ ''Boss Survival mode'' - After clearing the game once (regardless of difficulty setting), a new game mode in which the player fight against all of the main game's bosses. The player will be awarded with a title based on their clear time (as well as in the main game).
★ ''Infinite Bandana'' - A hidden item which becomes available to the player after clearing the game once on either difficulty settings. Like the bandana featured in ''Metal Gear Solid'' and '', this will conserve the player's ammunition to the present amount while firing.
★ ''Rewritten script'' - The Japanese language script has been rewritten to include hiragana and kanji, in addition to romaji and katakana.
★ ''Name changes'' - Three of the game's bosses got their names changed in the mobile phone version.
★
★ 'Shoot Gunner' was changed to 'Shotmaker'
★
★ 'Arnold (TX-11)' was changed to 'Bloody Brad'
★
★ 'Coward Duck' was changed to 'Dirty Duck'
★
★ 'Dr. Pettrovich' has his full name changed to 'Dr. Drago Pettrovich Madnar'
★ In the cover art of the game, Snake was designed after actor Michael Biehn. The illustration is almost an exact reproduction of a publicity still from the first ''Terminator'' film. This was not unusual for video games in this period.
★ Another reference to ''The Terminator'' is in the form of the TX-11 series of "cyberoids" codenamed Arnold (in the MSX2/NES versions, and named Bloody Brad in later versions), named after actor Arnold Schwarzenegger for his role in The Terminator as the T-800 that the TX-11 is based on. The two Bloody Brad units share the T-800's resistance to virtually all sorts of firepower, forcing Solid Snake to resort to defeating them with the RPG-7 provided to him by Jennifer.
★
★ Official Website for the Mobile Phone version (Japanese)
{{Otheruses4|||
(commonly abbreviated to '''MG''') is a stealth game designed by Hideo Kojima. ''Metal Gear'' was developed and first published by Konami in 1987 for the MSX2 home computer. It was well-received critically and publicly, scoring 91% in GameSpot's aggregate and selling an estimated 700,000 copies (including various ports).
The premise of ''Metal Gear'' revolves around a special forces operative codenamed Solid Snake who goes into a one-man sneaking mission into the hostile nation of Outer Heaven to destroy the titular weapon, a bipedal walking tank capable of launching nuclear missiles from anywhere in the world. Most of the subsequent games in the series follow this same premise, often changing the characters, locations, and weapons.
Originally released for the MSX2 in Japan and Europe, the game was later ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System during the same year, although with many significant changes made to the game. This was followed with ports to various home computers, such as the IBM PC and Commodore 64. It was also ported to mobile phones in 2004 and for the PlayStation 2 in 2005 (as a component of ''), with several enhancements and changes, such as typo corrections and some grammatical changes.
Its success led to the creation of two separately-produced sequels; the first one (''Snake's Revenge'') was produced specifically for the Western market for the NES and the other ('') was the canonical sequel developed by the original game's designer and released in Japan for the MSX2 in response to the former's creation. The latter was followed by a successful series of sequels and spinoffs.
| Contents |
| Gameplay |
| Plot |
| Characters |
| Story |
| Versions and re-releases |
| MSX2 |
| Nintendo Entertainment System |
| Other home computers |
| Mobile phones and PlayStation 2 |
| Popular culture references |
| External links |
Gameplay
The player must navigate the main character (codenamed "Solid Snake") through various locations, while avoiding visual contact and direct confrontation with patrolling guards. If the player is seen, the game enters the "Alert Mode." In this situation, the player must hide the character in order to leave the mode. The method of escaping varies depending on the circumstances behind discovery:
★ If a player is seen and only a single exclamation mark ('!') appears over an enemy's head, only the enemies in the player's present screen will attack and an escape can be made by moving to the adjacent screen.
★ However, if two exclamation marks ('!!') appear over the enemy (or the player triggers an alarm by being spotted by a camera, infrared sensor or by using an unsilenced weapon), reinforcements from off-screen will appear as well. The player can only escape by eliminating all incoming enemies or by simply moving to a different floor.
The main character avoiding a visual encounter with enemy soldiers. (MSX2 version)
At first, the player starts the game unarmed, but eventually gains access to a variety of firearms (starting with the Beretta M92F) and explosives and working his way up to machine guns and guided rocket launchers. Ammo and supplies for each weapon are limited, but are easily replenished. Weapons can not only be used to kill enemies, but also to clear obstacles (such as hollow walls or electrified floors). Snake can also use his fists to punch and defeat patrolling enemies and take any food, ammo, or any other important items (such as keys) they leave behind.
The enemy base consists of three different buildings, with multiple floors (including basement levels) within them. The player uses keycards and other items to unlock doors or explore new areas. Doors will only open to their corresponding keycards. Bosses also appear throughout the game to interfere with the player's progress.
Information can be obtained by rescuing hostages being held captive within the buildings. After rescuing five hostages, the player is given a promotion, increasing their "Rank" (up to 4 stars max), allowing for bigger ammo capacity and maximum health. However, if a hostage is killed, the player is demoted to the previous rank.
A transceiver is available for the player to communicate with their commanding officer (Big Boss) or one of the resistance members operating covertly within the fortress. Each of Snake's allies has an extensive knowledge on specific subjects. The transceiver system is completely room-oriented, as certain radio transmissions occur only in certain locations.
Plot
Characters
Due to space limitations, most of the characters' backstories are relayed through character descriptions in the game's manual in the original MSX2 version in Japan (these descriptions are omitted in later versions of the game). The player's character is Solid Snake. Not much is known about him at this point, other than he is a rookie member of the fictional special forces group FOXHOUND and that Operation: Intrude N313 (the codename of Snake's mission in the game) is his inaugural mission as a FOXHOUND operative. Snake is assisted via a wireless radio by his commanding officer Big Boss, the leader of FOXHOUND and a veteran soldier who previously served other special forces units. Big Boss provides the player with general gameplay tips, including information about weapons and equipment found on-site.
Snake is also aided via radio by a local resistance movement who are against the Outer Heaven regime. The resistance leader, Schneider, is a former Outer Heaven architect who knows the structure of the fortress. Because of his background, Schneider can provide the location of key items and weapons to the player whenever they're needed. Diane is a mercenary expert and recommends the best weapon to use against each boss. She communicates via her home and whenever she isn't available, her boyfriend Steve answers her calls. Jennifer is an inside agent that has infiltrated the ranks of Outer Heaven as part of its medical staff. Because she works from the inside, she can direct the player to key items and weapons that are essential to completing the mission, but she will only assist the player if they have attained a rank of four stars.
To complete his mission, Snake must save several hostages, including key characters such as fellow FOXHOUND operative Gray Fox, Metal Gear's designer Dr. Pettrovich and his young daughter, Ellen. Snake's main adversaries are the mercenaries of Outer Heaven; the names of each of the bosses reflect their specialities (a tradition in subsequent games); Shoot Gunner (sic; a former Spetsnaz and the warden of a secret underground prison), Machine Gun Kid (former SAS), Fire Trooper (former GSG9), Arnold (actually a series of powerful androids), Coward Duck(Dirty Duck) (a boomerang-wielding terrorist who uses hostages as shields) and the unknown leader of Outer Heaven.
Story
In the year 19XX (later established to be 1995 in subsequent titles), 200km north of Galzburg, South Africa, lies Outer Heaven, a fortified state founded by a "legendary mercenary" in the late 1980s. Word had gotten out to the western world that deep within the Outer Heaven stronghold, a weapon of mass destruction was being constructed. Government officials order the high-tech Special Forces unit FOXHOUND to infiltrate the fortress, assess the situation and neutralize the threat. In a mission known as "Operation: Intrude N313," FOXHOUND operative Gray Fox infiltrated the Outer Heaven stronghold. Days later, contact with Gray Fox is lost and his last transmission simply reads "METAL GEAR..."
Operative Solid Snake, FOXHOUND's newest recruit, is ordered by squad leader Big Boss to rescue Gray Fox and carry out his mission, "Operation: Intrude N313".
Upon insertion into Outer Heaven, Snake makes contact with local resistance members Kyle Schneider, Diane, and Jennifer. Using all of his skills and the equipment he procured on site, he manages to rescue Fox. He learns from Fox that Metal Gear is the codename of a nuclear warhead-equipped bipedal walking tank, which can engage and dominate in all forms of combat as well as launch its nuclear warheads from any location. Outer Heaven plans to use Metal Gear to impose itself as the new world superpower.
In order to destroy Metal Gear, and topple the Outer Heaven mercenaries, Snake rescues the lead engineer of Metal Gear, Dr. Drago Pettrovich Madnar, and his daughter, Ellen. Armed with information on how to destroy Metal Gear, his skill and indomitable spirit, Snake fights through the entire Outer Heaven force. He begins to notice that traps being set for him are too precise, and wonders how information on his activities is being tracked. Moreover, Schneider is ambushed by hostiles and is presumed dead after losing contact with Snake. One of the final hostages Snake rescues tells him that the mysterious "mercenary leader" of the entire base is none other than Snake's C.O., Big Boss, and that Outer Heaven is under his command.
Upon breaching the core of the base, Snake is able to neutralize Metal Gear before it reaches completion. As he makes his way out of the compound's basement, he is confronted by Big Boss himself; the corrupt leader had been using his connections within the U.S. government to steal military intelligence, establish his own mercenary force, and fund his activities. It was his aim to have Outer Heaven become the world's most powerful nation, able to bring even the western nations to their knees. He had the rookie Snake sent in, hoping to have him captured and feed the U.S. government misinformation, but had quite obviously underestimated Snake's capabilities.
Having lost Metal Gear and much of his force, Big Boss starts the self-destruct sequence for the compound, and promises he will not die alone; Snake will join him. An underground battle ensues, and despite injury, Snake defeats Big Boss and escapes the Outer Heaven compound as it crumbles in flames behind him. After the ending credits, a message from Big Boss is displayed saying that he will meet Solid Snake again.
Versions and re-releases
MSX2
''Metal Gear'' was originally released on the MSX2 home computer in Japan on July 12, 1987 and in Europe in the same year. For the European release, Konami edited various radio messages and removed others entirely. Some of the removed messages include each of Big Boss' comments regarding an item and weapon, some of Schneider's messages, and practically all of Steve's calls. Reportedly, only 86 of the game's 155 messages were kept. These translated messages also contain some Engrish and a few typos, such as consistently misspelling "destroy" as "destoroy". The Japanese manual contains exclusive content not found in the European manual, such as character profiles with illustrations, brief descriptions of the game's bosses, and the complete specifications of Metal Gear TX-55.
Nintendo Entertainment System
A graphically modified version for the Nintendo Famicom was released in Japan on December 22, 1987 and Europe in March 1989. While the MSX2 version of this game was never released in US, the Nintendo console version came to North America on June 1988. Konami produced this version without Hideo Kojima's direct involvement and several changes and compromises were made without his supervision as a result. An emulation of the NES version of ''Metal Gear'' was included as part of a special bundle with '' in Japan for the Nintendo GameCube.
Despite this, it sold well, especially in the western market, with a million copies sold in North America. This, in turn, resulted in the creation of a ''Metal Gear'' sequel for the NES in the western market (the critically-panned ''Snake's Revenge'') without Kojima's involvement, although it did become the inspiration for Kojima's actual MSX sequel, ''.
The English manual and packaging swayed from the game's official storyline. The game's main villain (whose identity is intentionally kept secret in the actual game) is mentioned to be "Col. Vermon CaTaffy", a mangled reference to Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Snake's commanding officer (who is Big Boss in the actual game) is named "Commander South." Moreover, Snake is mentioned as having participated in the Grenada invasion prior to joining FOXHOUND, which contradicts the futuristic timeline of the later games. None of these terms and changes ever made it to the actual game, nor were they featured in the Japanese version's manual.
The English translation of the game itself contains a few examples of Engrish, such as "Contact missing our Grey Fox", "The truck have started to move!", and "I feel asleep!".
This version featured many non-graphical differences from the original:
★ The biggest difference between the MSX and NES versions is in the absence of the actual Metal Gear mecha in the NES version. Instead, the player must destroy a "Super Computer" which controls all of Metal Gear's activities in its place. The method of destroying it was also changed. While in the MSX version, the player must place 16 plastic explosives on Metal Gear's feet based on the order given by Dr. Pettrovich, in the NES version the player must simply place the bombs over the Super Computer on no specific parts (however, the player must have already rescued Ellen and Petrovich first).
★ In the MSX version, Snake performs an underwater insertion into Outer Heaven in the beginning of the game in the entrance of Building No. 1. Snake's entrance in ''Metal Gear Solid'' can be considered a homage to this. In the NES version, he performs an air insertion by skydiving and parachuting into the Jungle, similar to Naked Snake's entrance in ''Metal Gear Solid 3'', with three other soldiers who disappear after landing. They are neither seen nor mentioned again.
★ The level designs were altered greatly in the NES version. In the beginning of the game, the player must proceed through a jungle area before reaching the entrance of Building No. 1 through a truck. The first floor corridor of Building No. 1 was also remodeled greatly, with many of its trucks and rooms moved to other locations. The basement-level floors of Building No. 1 and 2 were made into separate buildings, Buildings No. 4 and 5, respectively.
★ In order to reach Building No. 4 or 5, the player must go through one of two jungle mazes located west to each of the outdoor areas. The solution for both mazes are the same, although it is never actually given within the game. (Go west two screens, north one screen, and west one more screen.)
★ Another boss, the Hind D, was replaced. Instead, the player faces a pair of gunners known as "Twin Shot" on the rooftop of Building No. 1.
★ Since the player no longer has to parachute to reach Dr. Petrovich's cell in Building No. 1, the parachute was removed. An Iron Glove was added in its place, which allows the player to break hollow walls. However, in some versions of the NES game, the Iron Glove has no real use.
★ The Flying Army located on the roof of Buildings No. 1 and 2 lost their ability to hover over the ground in the NES version.
★ In the NES version, the "high alert" (or double exclamation mark) mode was disabled. This means the player can always make their escape from alert mode by simply moving to the adjacent screen.
★ The player can no longer acquire rations or ammo by punching enemy soldiers in Sneaking Mode.
★ Solid Snake's face no longer appears in the transceiver mode's screen.
★ Big Boss's final message to the player after the closing credits was removed.
★ Some of the music (mainly, the two main themes and the alert mode theme) was changed in the NES version.
★ There are also several other minor differences in gameplay, including the addition of several bugs and glitches. Some of the radio conversations were "misplaced" as a result of the redesigned areas in the NES game. For example, if the player calls Schneider in front of the room containing the Gas Mask in Building No. 1, he will tell Snake the location of the mine detector instead. This is due to the fact that the same spot in the MSX version used to be a minefield. In addition, the player's bullets have a farther range than they do in the MSX version, and the player can shoot while wearing the cardboard box.
Other home computers
Identical versions of the NES ''Metal Gear'' were ported to PC MS-DOS and the Commodore 64. Both were released in North America and Europe in June 1990.
The PC MS-DOS version contains many minor changes, such as a faster-depleting health bar. However, the Commodore 64 version is more similar to the NES version, with only small musical and visual changes.
Although an Amiga version was never released, screenshots and descriptions from advertisements exist to reveal the game. All aspects (from graphics to gameplay) appear to be identical to the NES version. Ultra Games stated in their ads that the Amiga version would be the best of the three computer versions of Metal Gear.
After the release of the mobile phone version (see below), Konami began offering a downloadable version of the MSX2 ''Metal Gear'' for PC as part of their i-Revo service in Japan. The game is an unaltered emulation of the original MSX2 version. Customers can choose to "rent" the game for a period of 24 hours or seven days, or purchase the game permanently.
Mobile phones and PlayStation 2
A version of ''Metal Gear'' was released for mobile phones in Japan on August 18, 2004. It could be downloaded on the i-Mode, EZweb and Vodafone services. Although based on the MSX2 version, it includes several new features and changes.
This same version of the game was included as a component of '' for the PlayStation 2. The North American version included a retranslated English script, as well as an optional Spanish script.
★ ''New Easy mode'' - Player can choose to play with the original MSX2 version's difficulty or with an easier difficulty setting.
★ ''Boss Survival mode'' - After clearing the game once (regardless of difficulty setting), a new game mode in which the player fight against all of the main game's bosses. The player will be awarded with a title based on their clear time (as well as in the main game).
★ ''Infinite Bandana'' - A hidden item which becomes available to the player after clearing the game once on either difficulty settings. Like the bandana featured in ''Metal Gear Solid'' and '', this will conserve the player's ammunition to the present amount while firing.
★ ''Rewritten script'' - The Japanese language script has been rewritten to include hiragana and kanji, in addition to romaji and katakana.
★ ''Name changes'' - Three of the game's bosses got their names changed in the mobile phone version.
★
★ 'Shoot Gunner' was changed to 'Shotmaker'
★
★ 'Arnold (TX-11)' was changed to 'Bloody Brad'
★
★ 'Coward Duck' was changed to 'Dirty Duck'
★
★ 'Dr. Pettrovich' has his full name changed to 'Dr. Drago Pettrovich Madnar'
Popular culture references
Biehn as Solid Snake in ''Metal Gear'', Kyle Reese in ''The Terminator''
★ In the cover art of the game, Snake was designed after actor Michael Biehn. The illustration is almost an exact reproduction of a publicity still from the first ''Terminator'' film. This was not unusual for video games in this period.
★ Another reference to ''The Terminator'' is in the form of the TX-11 series of "cyberoids" codenamed Arnold (in the MSX2/NES versions, and named Bloody Brad in later versions), named after actor Arnold Schwarzenegger for his role in The Terminator as the T-800 that the TX-11 is based on. The two Bloody Brad units share the T-800's resistance to virtually all sorts of firepower, forcing Solid Snake to resort to defeating them with the RPG-7 provided to him by Jennifer.
External links
★
★ Official Website for the Mobile Phone version (Japanese)
This article provided by Wikipedia. To edit the contents of this article, click here for original source.
psst.. try this: add to faves
