Hideo Kojima and his team created one of the most popular series in video game history with Metal Gear Solid. Since the original MGS launched in 1998, Kojima and his team have topped themselves in one way or another in every future game. Whether that was jaw-dropping visuals, mind-bending stories, or vastly improved gameplay, every Metal Gear Solid game is at least bordering on greatness.
As you’d expect, that makes it tough to rank the mainline games, but we’ve put together a list of our favorite MGS games below.
6) Metal Gear Solid IV: Guns of the Patriots
Again, none of these are bad! In fact, many would call MGS4 one of the best games ever made. It features a revamped and improved control scheme, more free-form missions, and an astounding number of memorable set-pieces. It is deeply ambitious, and a game that only Kojima and his team could make.
On the other side of the coin, Kojima took this opportunity to try to tie up every loose end in the series, which made the story hard to follow at times. This is also Kojima at his most cutscene-dependent. Some players will love that, but others want more gameplay in their video games. MGS4 is absolutely worth playing. It’s also the game we least want to replay.
5) Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
Peace Walker has always been a strange game to rate because its original release on the PSP came as support for the console was waning. That meant only two million copies were sold on the PSP, and many players missed out on one of the best MGS games.
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Konami mixed in bits of Portable Ops (recruitment), MGS3 (the camouflage system), and MGS4 (simplified controls) to give fans what was essentially a “best-of” version of the series thus far. We believe it’s also the only game in the series with Monster Hunter crossover content, giving it a slight boost in the rankings.
4) Metal Gear Solid
The first Metal Gear Solid was mind-blowing in 1998. Players had never seen a game this cinematic before, and it helped establish Kojima as one of the great auteur game developers.
MGS also gave fans some of the best boss battles in the series. Most point to the Psycho Mantis fight, which is a great example of how to make a boss memorable without being tough, as the best one in the game, but we prefer the Sniper Wolf sequence. That said, the entirety of FOXHOUND are worthy challenge for Solid Snake.
This is the granddaddy of the series, but in some ways, it’s still the best. While we might prefer the next three games on a gameplay front, we wouldn’t be mad at anyone naming MGS as their favorite Metal Gear Solid game.
3) Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes/The Phantom Pain
The Phantom Pain is a weird one for most Metal Gear Solid fans. In a series filled with good-to-great stealth gameplay, MGSV plays the best. The massive sandbox might’ve made mission designs a little wonky, but the sheer creativity it adds to combat is worth the trade-off.
On the other hand, it’s hard to play through The Phantom Pain and not feel like it’s unfinished. This is the last game Kojima made before leaving Konami, and you can see how rocky the relationship got as you reach MGSV‘s finale.
That doesn’t mean the story isn’t worth diving into. It’s still a captivating, if messy tale. Regardless, it’s worth playing if only to experience the open-world hijinks in the densely packed world.
2) Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
The choice to switch out protagonists was a bold one that didn’t land with everyone, but showed that Kojima is always willing to take a risk. For its worth, Raiden is a great character who has gone on to shine in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.
The rest of the cast is equally stellar, with the members of Dead Cell serving as a great follow-up to FOXHOUND. From Fatman to Vamp to the sword fight against Solidus Snake, most of the boss battles are fan favorites (Fortune, notwithstanding).
We also have to mention the astounding level of detail for a 2001 game. The team even took the time to make ice cubes melt at different rates depending on how close it is to other cubes. There’s no reason for it outside of “realism,” and you have to give it up to the team for pushing tech forward, no matter how useful it is.
1) Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Snake Eater takes everything you love about the Metal Gear Solid series and makes it better. The camouflage system in the jungle was a stealth revelation. CQC combat gave Snake new options for dealing with enemy encounters. The upgraded life bar system meant you actually had to track and treat Snake’s injuries, adding a new layer to gameplay.
It doesn’t stop there. MGS3 has, for our money, the best collection of boss fights in the series. The Cobra Unit features memorable characters like The End, The Fury, and The Sorrow, who all have great boss battles. The End is particularly great because you can either face him in a tense sniper duel or turn your console off for a week and let him die of old age.
After that fight, players are treated to the famous ladder sequence featuring the beautiful, a cappella version of the “Snake Eater” theme. Then, you get to fight Volgin, The Shagohod, and The Boss, some of the best fights in the series.
Add in the most emotional and well-paced story in the series’ history, and you have the best Metal Gear Solid game. Every game on this list is firmly in the “must-play” category, but Snake Eater is at the top of that list.
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