The stealth game genre was once limited to a very specific niche with games of that ilk being extremely rare and mostly limited to the PC platform, but Konami’s revolutionary Metal Gear Solid was a game that was paramount to bringing that style of game to the masses. It was a revolutionary game in more ways than one and continues to be held in high regard even after all these years.
The original game was released on the PlayStation, and Konami tried to capitalize on that runaway success with a remake called Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes in 2004. As many might be aware, it was a very divisive game amongst fans – and was widely criticized on many aspects ranging from cutscenes to direction and much more. With Metal Gear Solid making a comeback in the form of Delta Snake Eater, we thought it would be a good time to revisit this classic and try to understand how it has aged after all these years.
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes is basically the original remade in the Metal Gear Solid 2 game engine, so the story is obviously a one-to-one recreation albeit with a few changes. Most of the original cast returned for the remake to re-record their voice lines, but the end result is notably inferior than before. While Metal Gear Solid was known for its impeccable voice acting, the Twin Snakes version doesn’t seem to have the same level of quality when it comes to delivering the voice lines. It feels somewhat bland in comparison, which can be off putting if you have spent some time with the original.
In addition to this, Twin Snakes changes up the cinematics to make it feel a lot more over-the-top than the original. These changes were made with the intent of the game feeling like a blockbuster action movie in a way that simply wasn’t possible on the PS1’s hardware, but the resulting cutscenes tend to rely too much on slow-motion action sequences which can get repetitive after a while. Again, it’s not too much of an issue – but it is definitely annoying on some level. And jump to the modern times where we have mostly done away from this kind of slow motion-driven action, returning back to it can also feel awkward in some sense.
As for the story itself, Metal Gear Solid’s narrative continues to be an excellent showcase of how to use enormous amounts of expositions and subplots to make you feel like you are going down a never-ending rabbit hole of mysteries and conspiracies. The many characters that you meet during your operation are pretty distinct from one another and have understandable motivations for their actions, which makes getting through the story a really engaging affair. Even after such a long time, experiencing Solid Snake’s first adventure remains an entertaining affair through and through in Twin Snakes – minus the over-the-top cutscenes, of course.
Moving over to the gameplay side of things, Metal Gear Solid takes the solid foundations of the original and brings it up to Sons of Liberty standards. The moment-to-moment gameplay revolves around the familiar loop of making your way through complex maze-like levels while avoiding enemies by hiding around corners or crawling whilst hidden under cardboard boxes, which remains as fun as ever before. The movement mechanics feel a lot more responsive and smooth thanks to an updated engine, and the difference between the original and the remake is pretty noticeable.
As you make your way through the many enemy-infested areas, you will be treated to a bunch of amazing boss fights that will stay with you long after the credits roll. The many bosses on offer not only look different in a visual sense but are also functionally distinct and require markedly different strategies to defeat. Psycho Mantis can get into your head with his insane fourth-wall breaks, the mano-a-mano fight against Liquid Snake will remain in your head for the coming days and weeks, and other boss fights have similar eccentricities that made them so memorable in the first place – and continue to be so even after all these years.
Metal Gear Solid Twin Snakes also introduces new gameplay elements into the mix, including but not limited to weapons like the Tranquilizer Gun. You can also aim in first-person mode, allowing you to finely target your shots. But those things can feel at odds with the original design of the game, and what happens is that Twin Snakes ends up being an absolute cakewalk with little to no semblance of difficulty unless you self-impose a challenge or something else.
And now coming to the visuals, Metal Gear Solid Twin Snakes is a big step up from the original Metal Gear Solid. It’s obviously dated by modern standards in a conventional manner, but it isn’t so dated that going back to it would feel cumbersome in any sense. And part of that praise can be attributed to the clean visual direction that’s timeless, which coupled with the astounding attention to detail makes going back to it an absolute breeze. The sound has also been changed in Twin Snakes with a soundtrack that’s mostly composed of electronic beats, and some fans might feel that the original felt more fitting with the overall theme of the game – but that’s a really subjective discussion and I feel that it’s equally good.
Looking at Twin Snakes as a whole, there are elements of the game that make going back to it a more convenient task – including but not limited to the visuals and updated control schemes. But it’s also important to understand that those features also have a knock-on effect on the game balance and tend to change the vibe of the experience – which can be off putting if you are familiar with the original release.
But looking at it in a vacuum, Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes is a great stealth action-adventure game with a strong story, crisp gameplay, and memorable boss fights. Despite it being almost 20 years old at this point, it holds up surprisingly well in most aspects and would still suffice as a great stealth game if it had been released today.
If you don’t have much nostalgia associated with the original rendition, I see little to no problem in recommending Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes if you wish to experience the humble beginnings of a blockbuster franchise without having to settle for inferior graphics or a cumbersome control scheme. Metal Gear Solid is also an interesting case study for how it laid the groundwork for the modern stealth game. Many of the defining mechanics like vision cones that have become staples of the genre can be traced back to this game, and it would have been a great stealth experience even if it was released today.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
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