The Metal Gear Solid franchise certainly has a long and complicated narrative with multiple characters and cascading plotlines. Those unique narratives have often worked in tandem with the franchise’s excellent gameplay loop to create experiences that have withstood the test of time – a rare feat in modern gaming.
Hideo Kojima’s creations continue to be relevant even today, and the remake of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is certainly proof of that. As the story that began the franchise, setting its protagonist up as The Big Boss, it’s an adventure that came with several twists and turns while introducing so many important narrative threads that would later surface in subsequent titles.
However, there is another title that directly continued that story, following Naked Snake’s adventures after events in Snake Eater. We’re talking about Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (MPO, as it’s commonly called), which was released for the PlayStation Portable back in 2006. While there were other PSP titles before it, MPO stands out among the crowd for several reasons. We would even go as far as to say that it deserves its own remake after Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater.
Let’s take a look at why this title is one that should not be allowed to fly under the radar and be overshadowed by other entries in the long-standing franchise.
Setting up Success
Our first reason for wanting a remake of MPO is the fact that it directly follows Naked Snake’s path to becoming Big Boss in the aftermath of the events in Snake Eater. It’s quite the story on its own but its significance lies in the many ways in which it takes the franchise’s narrative forward.
For instance, it’s set in 1970, just six years after Naked Snake and Operation Snake Eater, causing the former’s disillusionment with the way things were on the military front. We learn about the FOX unit from events in the game, and how their betrayal causes Naked Snake to seek help from the most unlikely people in the bargain. It’s a setup that works very well to present Naked Snake’s reasons for growing closer to accept the mantle of Big Boss, exacerbating the emotions he felt in the aftermath of The Boss’ death.
Being unjustly framed for a crime he didn’t commit, Naked Snake’s reunion with former allies that include Major Zero, Para-Medic, and Sigint along with certain surprising ones like Roy Campbell and Null (who turns out to be Gray Fox) adds a further layer of continuity to the game’s story. It effectively ties MPO’s explosive story to the franchise’s main narrative in a way that makes sense. It’s also a great way to explain many of the new mechanics that its players are introduced to, tying the story and gameplay into one complete package.
Furthermore, it gives us a window into the inner workings of the FOX unit while showcasing Naked Snake’s leadership abilities, something that his origin story could not achieve on its own. There is also Metal Gear, the first one in the series, and a host of powerful characters in the form of Python and Gene, who play major roles in the game. Especially, Gene and his interactions with Snake are pivotal to the overall Metal Gear Saga, something that will impact Snake in future games.
Another crucial aspect of the overall narrative that MPO touches upon is the Philosopher’s Legacy. With one half of it firmly in the possession of the American government, there are multiple parties interested in bringing an end to the shadowy organization. One of those parties is none other than Ocelot, the son of The Boss who served as one of Snake Eater’s antagonists to Naked Snake. As far as its ties to the franchise’s lore go, MPO is a game that fleshes out a lot of the story behind Naked Snake’s rise to Big Boss to which he would later on accept in Peace Walker.
Although there is a bit of debate about just how canon events in MPO really are owing to the fact that Kojima was only a producer on it, it is nevertheless a fascinating insight into a character that has remained a constant presence throughout the franchise, and can serve Konami very well if it were to make it to the current generation of gaming platforms.
It helps that Konami has since included the game’s developments in its Master Book series that presents a complete timeline of the overall story. It validates MPO’s narrative and could justify the effort and resources that a remake would entail.
However, the story is only one part of why MPO can and must be brought back into the fold.
The Makings of a Great Leader
Aside from MPO’s story being a great way to explore more of the franchise’s lore, it’s also quite a good stealth-action experience. It draws heavily from the gameplay loop of Snake Eater, expanding on its mechanics in a manner that fits its narrative while managing to remain engaging as well.
One of the ways it achieves this expansion of an already solid experience is by having Naked Snake needing to recruit allies to assist him in the field. With each mission requiring you to assemble a squad of specialists, each bringing unique abilities to the field, the game incentivizes a careful, methodical approach even more than other titles in the franchise.
Gaining squad members is no walk in the park, too. Taking out enemy soldiers using tranquilizers or by stunning them doesn’t automatically recruit them to your cause. Instead, they must either be transported to a vehicle or to one of your hidden squad members who can then take care of their safe passage. A few in-game days later, your new recruits are ready to bring their unique brand of chaos to each mission.
If you thought that was fascinating, there’s more. Your recruits are expendable, requiring you to be careful about the situations you send them to tackle. While characters central to the main story do come with plot armor, others are not so lucky and you will need to be quite strategic about taking them along on your missions. It does help that recruits belonging to a specific faction can have an easier time infiltrating regions that belong to their former comrades, though.
Bringing even more novelty to the recruit system is the fact that back during the game’s release, you could use the PSP’s in-built GPS or Wi-Fi capabilities to further expand your team in specific locations! All in all, MPO adds a lot of innovative modifications to the franchise’s core gameplay loop, making it an exciting way to enjoy the experience.
Some of these mechanics would later make their way to other Metal Gear Solid titles, such as the Mother Base mechanic in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and are arguably the foundation for Metal Gear Solid V’s forward operating bases. The very presence of these systems in future additions to the franchise’s lineup is another feather in MPO’s cap and makes a great case for Konami to commission a remake of it.
Considering the manner in which it builds on the franchise’s lore and gameplay, MPO is the perfect candidate for Konami’s next remake, allowing it to establish continuity while showcasing what the franchise is truly capable of to a new generation of players.
Keeping Up With the Times
It helps that the game’s audio and graphics were also quite good for a 2006 title. Konami’s decision to bring back voice actors from Snake Eater paid off while Ashley Wood’s designs fired on all fronts. Graphically, the title did a pretty decent job of bringing the game to life and we can only imagine what a remake would look and sound like if it were to come to fruition.
While the PSP’s lack of a right analog stick required that Konami get creative with how players were able to detect enemy presences in the original MPO, a remake would erase that problem entirely, allowing the studio to recreate the experience with an additional layer of convenience and interactibility that could change the way its players approach the game.
With all of these factors considered, it would be a damn shame for such an excellent representation of everything good about Metal Gear Solid to be locked to a handhelf that is now quite obsolete. MPO can be a great vehicle for Konami’s attempts to give the franchise a new lease of life.
It’s also an opportunity to further fine tune it in the same vein as Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. Fans of the franchise and newcomers alike could lap up more of Naked Snake’s adventures if the studio decided to bring MPO back into the limelight. Even the thought of getting to play it on a PS5 gives us goosebumps!
We hope that Konami is looking at this the same way we are, and that we could get to see Naked Snake take on rogue FOX members with all of the current-gen bells and whistles that we now take for granted from our games. As far as the potential for remakes goes, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops is a game that has it in spades!
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.
