Tragic Loss of Metal Gear Solid

There are certain gaming franchises that are so beloved that they almost feel like part of the family. Perhaps they’ve been with us since childhood, or they’ve made us feel emotions rarely experienced in other mediums, or they’ve been a solid fixture in our lives throughout the good times and the bad. Whether you love it or hate it, the “Metal Gear Solid” series is one such example for countless gamers. So, the idea that we’ll never get another true Metal Gear is a tragic loss for the gaming world on a macro level and an equally devastating loss on the individual & personal level. For almost 20 years, we’ve been privileged to reunite with Hideo Kojima’s latest vision time and time again, until the horrid relations between the Admired Game Creator and Konami broke down to a level beyond repair and left us with an amazing (although at times slightly unfinished) “Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain.” And, although Kojima is hard at work on “Death Stranding,” it’s still a tough pill to swollen when realizing that neither Solid Snake nor Big Boss will be a part of it. Sure, Konami attempted to sooth grieving fans with “Metal Gear Survive,” but it missed all the marks of what makes a Metal Gear game unique and felt more like a cash-grab using the MGS name and Fox Engine. There could be remakes of the older games in Konami’s future, and there’s a movie adaptation coming as well, but – as “Metal Gear Survive” proves – without the people responsible for creating the magic of the franchise we know and love… well… what’s the point? The loss of “Metal Gear Solid” games is just a void too big to be filled by remakes and adaptations. Yes, there will be other stealth/action games; but, odds are, they won’t be the beginning of something unseen or unheard of like “Metal Gear Solid” was back in 1998. Even “Death Stranding” will be hard pressed to revolutionize gaming the way Snake and The Gang did 20 years ago. It was a different way of playing games, adding levels of subtly and nuance not seen in the medium at the time, making death optional by encouraging and rewarding stealth and introducing complexity in characters and storylines that rivaled some Hollywood blockbusters. The depth of, say, a Sniper Wolf or a Grey Fox was truly impactful and memorable at the time– equal parts intimate portrayal of complex human beings and over-the-top video game personalities that just worked, and continued to work throughout the series. Even if another stealth/action game does come along and revolutionizes the genre, we’ll always compare it to “Metal Gear Solid” and long for the unattainable feeling we got when first experiencing it. And experience it we did! Oh, the memories! The series’ cinematics and cut scenes have always been a cut above the competition and even managed to envelope us during the PSOne Era with its blockly, polygonal charm. With all the grand theatrics of contemporary titles and current-gen graphics, there’s still few modern moments in games that can rival the shocking family dynamics or incredibly rich history of events underpinning “Metal Gear Solid” and its sequels – even in hindsight it’s still unique and impressive, which means that despite the now-outdated graphics of the early games, the story connected with players in a way that few have before or since. Sure, complex stories and lore exist in other franchises, but rarely has a series delivered five straight epic sagas like “MGS” has. The ideas and themes found within Kojima’s games made each entry in the series feel relevant and incredibly important, both politically and culturally – something not found in a lot of other games. The release of a new Metal Gear title often sent fans of the series off to find certain books and movies referenced in the games, which is a special achievement for a piece of art – to inspire its consumers to consume OTHER works of art in hopes of better understanding the source material. Nods to films like “Escape From New York” and “Apocalypse Now” (along with tips of the cap to musician David Bowie) surely inspired MGS fans to experience those pieces of art or artists on their own time. And, real-world themes like “the dangers of ideology” and “information as power” in “Sons of Liberty” surely resulted in many late-night Wikipedia searches or trips to the local library. It’s a rare feat when a video game inspires you to learn more about the real world, and Metal Gear did just that over and over again. The fact that there will be no more updates and gaps filled within this legendary narrative is truly heart wrenching and a loss for current and future generations of gamers. When games bleed over into real life, that’s where greatness takes place. But, let’s not forget the creative elements and fictional lore that kept us constantly wanting to learn more about groups and concepts like The Philosopher’s Legacy, The Patriots and the Fox Hound unit itself. These ideas were interwoven into past and current events like they were real things, and that made them feel real to gamers, which gave the series an intimate appeal that seemed to surpass fiction and enter reality. It made every event that took place in Kojima’s timeline from the 1950s and the Korean War right up to current civil wars all over the Globe feel crucially important. Yes, there are some plot holes and inconsistencies along the way, but the sheer scope of the series’ history and the unimaginably creative ways that fiction is woven with reality are more than enough to overcome a few narrative hiccups. Now that MGS is no more, that’s one less major title that can provide a seamless blend of fiction and reality. Games like “Red Dead Redemption 2” will help fill the historical-fiction gap; but, in our book, Metal Gear did it best, and so gamers will either have to resort to others mediums to get their fix or settle for less. We don’t want this send-off to Metal Gear to come off as overly serious, however, and so it’s important to look back on the series’ wackiness and over-the-top moments with equally fond measure as well. For every mention of the Cold War, there’s a child with telekinetic powers controlling a man on fire or a cyborg ninja with a heartbreaking past. If sometimes overly silly and melodramatic, such moments always kept things interesting, and it’s an element we came to treasure about the series. Metal Gear games were not afraid to step outside the box and risk failure with elements that just shouldn’t quite work in reality (we’re looking at you cardboard box!) but such elements (amazingly) rarely failed. There’s no doubt that the loss of MGS leaves a massive hole in gaming and the question of who can fill it is far from obvious – if it’s even answerable at all. Whether you love the series or hate it, one thing’s for sure: there’s nothing quite like it… and there may never be again.