Current Events > Order to play Metal Gear games?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I think I have access to all of them now

1 = PS1 disc on PS3 (that works, right?)
2/3 = Xbox 360/One, HD (MSX games are on there too)
4 = PS3 disc, standalone (I never bought the complete PS3 set like most people did)
5 = PC
Peace Walker = PS3 download

I have a PSP if you think those are worth including, if they're affordable

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Play them in release order, but skip MGSV, it ruins a lot of stuff with its awful, barely tangible story.

You don't really need the MSX games, either, because Solid does a good job telling backstory and such. That said playing them might enhance the callbacks.

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Release order

Metal Gear > Metal Gear 2 > Metal Gear Solid > Metal Gear Solid 2 > Metal Gear Solid 3 > Portable Ops Metal Gear Solid 4 > Peace Walker > Ground Zeroes > Phantom Pain

Maybe use a guide to get through MG1 and 2 fast, but 2's pretty incredible, especially for back then. Portable Ops is good, but arguably skippable. I say play it if you're really into the series at that point.

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Definitely release order


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Release order.

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Personally, I started with Twin Snakes, which I felt was amazing.

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Release order because playing them in chronological order spoils things

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release order and you can stop after mgs3 and safely skip mg1 and mg2

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Kisai posted...

Personally, I started with Twin Snakes, which I felt was amazing.

Twin snakes is amazing for gameplay and graphical quality, but it's a lot sillier than the original in terms of cutscenes. Way more over the top action, although the story doesn't change any.

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I'm making a second New Years Resolution to not answer this question anymore after this.

The answer is always order of release. The gameplay and story expand with each installment.

MG1
MG2
MGS1
MGS2
MGS3
MGSPO
MGS4
MGSPW
MGSV

Oh whoops, didnt read that right

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At least play metal gear 2 if the old ones dont look your thing. It is a fantastic example of 8bit perfection.

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solosnake posted...

release order and you can stop after mgs3 and safely skip mg1 and mg2

You absolutely cannot skip MGS4. That's the game that makes the whole series perfect (except V). It does an amazing job of wrapping up the events in a satisfying way.

No spoilers, but do not skip 4.

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Gobstoppers12 posted...

You absolutely cannot skip MGS4. That's the game that makes the whole series perfect (except V). It does an amazing job of wrapping up the events in a satisfying way.

No spoilers, but do not skip 4.

It makes a mockery of the entire series and feels like a massive fan fic to try and tie everything up. One of the three most disappointing games of all time for me personally.

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Don't listen to everyone saying release order. Play them in chronological order.

MGS3
Portable Ops
Peace Walker
MGSV GZ
MGSV TPP
MG1
MG2
MGS
MGS2
MGS4
MGR

don't do this play them in release order

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Gobstoppers12 posted...

Play them in release order, but skip MGSV, it ruins a lot of stuff with its awful, barely tangible story.

Or play it but treat it as a non-MGS stealth game.

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Or just listen to the cassette tapes

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solosnake posted...

It makes a mockery of the entire series and feels like a massive fan fic to try and tie everything up. One of the three most disappointing games of all time for me personally.

I am gonna end this conversation with an extremely hard disagree, and leave it at that.

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Release order. And MGS5 is the absolute best in terms of gameplay. Blame Konami for the mess of a story, they didnt want to delay it again.

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In release order. Chronological doesn't really make much sense because there are references and shit you won't really get.

MGS>MGS2>MGS3>MGS4>PW>V

don't skip v that's dumb

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solosnake posted...

It makes a mockery of the entire series and feels like a massive fan fic to try and tie everything up. One of the three most disappointing games of all time for me personally.

MGSV did that for me

Besides the gameplay of course lol just too spotty.. I didnt really enjoy PW and MGSV just felt like thrown together like PW was

I think PO was more cohesive honestly, dunno why they didnt just build off that

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DocileOrangeCup posted...

don't skip v that's dumb

If you play V, don't take its story too seriously. It's a lot of retcons and strange decisions that don't feed well into the rest of the series.

Its actual gameplay is great, but... the storytelling actually sucks. Like, badly.

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Gobstoppers12 posted...

If you play V, don't take its story too seriously. It's a lot of retcons and strange decisions that don't feed well into the rest of the series.

The same could said about 4 honestly. V is basically just a big peace walker but everyone is angry and it has less story.
I will agree it has definitely the weakest story out of the series by far. Well I think, I never played portable ops


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if you want to avoid bad storytelling, then skip 4 as well. that thing is a giant cutscene full of shit, honestly. the only reason to play 4 is because it's the only thing that attempts to wrap things up and does so in the worst way possible.

let's forget the fact that V's story isn't even complete, but at least it didn't turn into the shitshow that was 4. it's like kojima was high on some FF X-2 craze while making it, it's such a terribly comedic entry to the series.

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Guerrilla Soldier posted...

if you want to avoid bad storytelling, then skip 4 as well. that thing is a giant cutscene full of shit, honestly. the only reason to play 4 is because it's the only thing that attempts to wrap things up and does so in the worst way possible.

let's forget the fact that V's story isn't even complete, but at least it didn't turn into the shitshow that was 4. it's like kojima was high on some FF X-2 craze while making it, it's such a terribly comedic entry to the series.

MGS4 is a perfect example of excellent fan service

Its a you had to be there type of moment in gaming when the MGS4 boards were ever flowing with the greatest online dissertations known to man

Its x10 better than the horseshit MGSV was (sorry MGSV - I still love you, okay?)

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Guerrilla Soldier posted...

if you want to avoid bad storytelling, then skip 4 as well. that thing is a giant cutscene full of shit, honestly. the only reason to play 4 is because it's the only thing that attempts to wrap things up and does so in the worst way possible.

let's forget the fact that V's story isn't even complete, but at least it didn't turn into the shitshow that was 4. it's like kojima was high on some FF X-2 craze while making it, it's such a terribly comedic entry to the series.

This guy gets it

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If you want to avoid bad storytelling skip all of them

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I dunno.... even the gameplay of Phantom Pain I wasn't a fan of. I think 4 for me did it better, just because of the little things. It felt like I could shoot any weapon even a silenced pistol in 5 and it would alert the entire base of my location, even if I hid inside of a box, building or anywhere hidden. Plus PP didn't allow the option of shooting walkie talkies to prevent allies from being called in. You were forced to find the radio transmitter to stop it from happening and even then there were no guarantees that they couldn't call in reinforcements somehow.

RedLuigi posted...

MGSV did that for me

Besides the gameplay of course lol just too spotty.. I didnt really enjoy PW and MGSV just felt like thrown together like PW was

I think PO was more cohesive honestly, dunno why they didnt just build off that

MGSV isn't fanfic-like at all. The story is sparser but the actual storytelling is pretty standard for the series even if you didn't like it

MGS4 is 100% like a fanfic though.The way it attempts to fill every plothole ever by randomly mashing together stuff from the previous three games is absolutely a child's idea of a really cool game plot. The stupidest moments of MGSV were the things that felt like they were transplanted from 4

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-Metal Gear Solid (or Twin Snakes if you prefer an easier introduction. PS1 version controls are a bit dated, but the gamecube's upgraded gameplay makes the game a bit too easy)
-Metal Gear Solid 2
-Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
-Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriot

you can skip portable ops. It barely gets referenced.

-Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (The HD collection has MGS2/3 and Peacewalker. Don't worry about trying to 100% this game. It's centered around 4 co-op so some side-missions are very difficult to do alone. You are able to solo the main story though.)
-Metal Gear Solid : Ground Zeroes
-Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

If you can get a hold of the MGS2: Substance/MGS3: Subsistence I would recommend playing those for the extra content . But if you just want to go through the story as fast as possible the original version is fine too.
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Do not listen to these people. Experience the saga yourself.

The controls will only seem dated if you play out of order. Each installment is a natural progression of gameplay. And the very first Metal Gear was highly innovative at the time. You still see gameplay from the early games in the MGSV.

yeah, if nothing else MGS2: Substance is probably the best way to play MGS2. The VR missions are a blast.

Play them in the order in which they were released. V is fun, dont listen to the naysayers.

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