Why?
MGS2 had the best gameplay of the series. The tanker portion is not only one of the top 2ish hours of the series, but some of the best 2 hours in all of gaming. MGS1 had the best moral and theme to the game with the "your genes dont always determine your fate in life".
MGS3's theme is probably tied with MGS2 for the 2nd best theme (MGS2's theme being your memes dont always determine your fate in life, MGS3's being the era you grow up in has a direct response to your personality)
As for gameplay wise, its probably 2 > 4 > 1 > 3. 2's gameplay just sets the bar
Story wise, its debatable all the way around, but the only thing id definitely say is 1> the rest. Id probably go something like 1 > 2 >>> 3 > 4 for the story, but id listen to an argument for 2, 3, or 4 in any order as long as 1> the rest.
Characters-wise, id tempted to go 1 > 3 > 4 > 2. MGS2 was kinda meh on characters due to raiden's portion (which is probably about 80% of the game). Dead Cell was also inferior to foxhound and the cobra unit. MGS4's beauty and the best unit was pretty boring, but all the other characters in mgs4 made up for it.
So ya, overall with the MGS series its like "pick whatever excellence", but id still say 1 > 2 > small but noticeable gap > 3 > 4.
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Pride. Passion. Excellence. Metal_DK
Currently playing: Sengoku Rance, Starcraft II