Metal Gear Has a Bad NES Port

[@morsecode980]

There’s only a few things I like about the NES version more than MSX2: • The jungle mazes. It makes for a nice change in scenery and kinda adds to world-building at least to me. • I kinda like the soundtrack more. Turns out the same guy that made MGS1’s soundtrack helped with the NES port’s music too. • The menu being organized by item/weapon type instead of when you pick anything up. It’s a bit neater that way. • And finally, I kinda think “Big Boss’s” dialogue in English is a bit better. But other than those things, yeah the MSX2 original is way better.

[@morsecode980]

Oh and I forgot that bullets travel faster and all the way across the screen

[@meganimanic]

To me, there's just a lot of additional baggage that got introduced because of the measly amount of time the staff was given to port the game. Had more of the original team been brought over to assist, and they were given more time to adjust for the hardware limitations, I think something better would have come out of it. As it stands now, there's just so much that's changed between it and the original that it's really hard to ignore any of it.

[@ferdgerbeler8494]

I never had any idea that Metal Gear on nes was a port, or that there was a better version... guess i got an excuse to put a msx emu on my handheld now, thanks.

[@andrewjames5373]

The original NES Metal Gear was the first video game I ever beat as a kid. Used to play it with my dad and we always cracked up at some of the horrible translations in the game. "The truck have started to move". 30+ years later I still remember that line.

[@meganimanic]

For me, it was MGS1 on the PS1. My Dad and older brother had to help me with the electric bed torture sequence almost every time. I love hearing stories like this, these games mean so much to so many people.

[@dorpth]

"Oh no! I feel asleep!"

[@ninjaguyYT]

I feel asleep.

[@srujan00]

Check the way!

[@TheTruePacmanMG]

"I feel asleep."

[@dorpth]

Yeah by 1997, Metal Gear was mostly forgotten as a quirky old NES game that tried something new, but couldn't pull it off (the crappy Snake's Revenge didn't help). But then a weird thing happened where in 1998 it seemed like EVERYONE suddenly wanted to make a stealth game, a mechanic that mostly didn't exist up until that point. You had Tenchu: Stealth Assassins, Commandos, and Thief: The Dark Project. Metal Gear Solid hit just at the right time at the start of the stealth game boom. (The cherry on top being what you could argue was the very first successful "movie like presentation" in a video game)

[@markhovscrch4050]

My first Metal Gear experience was playing these NES Game on GBA Multicart using Nintendo DS Lite, never beaten due to save doesn't work.

[@CZeke]

My single favourite thing about this port (and there are so many to choose from) is that the Main Computer is completely skippable. Just press right in the doorway instead of advancing into the room! It may be the most glaring bug ever left in the final version of an otherwise decent game -- I did it by _mistake_ my first time through.

[@oinka720]

The worst thing about the NES port is the two jungle "mazes" where you have to go left, left, up, left to make it though. How the hell is anybody supposed to know that? The second worst thing is you can go all the way to the super computer without even rescuing Dr. Pettrovich. But if you do, the computer is invincible. You can put all the explosives you want on it and nothing will happen if you haven't rescued Pettrovich first. So dumb.

[@TehAwesomer]

Wow, 642 subscribers? Very high quality for such a small account, subbed!

[@meganimanic]

Thank you for that, I appreciate it a lot haha Welcome to the club!

[@tifosiv1222]

I'm sorry - did you say at 5:05 that the console war was between the genesis and the NES? That was not the war at all. The SNES & the Genesis. (NES and Master system, but it wasn't even a close race in the US)

[@meganimanic]

I'm not above admitting when I'm wrong! I definitely overlooked the life span on the NES and the release of the SNES when researching this video. You're indeed correct, the Master System was the NES' main competitor during the early 80's. I must've found an ill-researched article when I was doing my own sleuthing. Thanks for pointing that out, I'll definitely address it in a future video.

[@SuperJM9]

I agree with most of this, but there is one thing it's important to add context to. The translation of the NES version is indeed bad, but the translation you played through is a later fan translation. The fairer comparison is with the 1987 MSX2 translation, which is what the European release of the MSX2 version used. Having played through both on original hardware, I can say that while the NES version's mistakes are funnier ("I feel asleep!"), I actually felt that it was better done overall with fewer spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. For example, the MSX2 version constantly misspells 'destroy' as 'destoroy'. It's also unfortunate that there wasn't enough space in the MSX2 ROM to translate the whole thing, so only 56% of the Japanese text is present in the English version. Though interestingly the NES ROM is significantly smaller (78KB vs 128KB), so I'm not sure how they managed to include more (all?) of the Japanese text in that version. I can confirm that the 1987 MSX2 translation does include the line about turning off the MSX though. Aside from what you said though, what really kills the NES version for me is the alert system. The !! alert doesn't exist, which means you can cancel any alert by moving to another screen. This kills any sense of stealth, and the ability to shoot while in the box only make it worse.It also doesn't help that the manual's story was written by Konami Of America and has no relation to the actual story of the game. The MSX2 version's European manual, while slightly truncating the backstory and removing character descriptions from the Japanese manual, at least actually contains the real backstory from the game. Though they also forgot to tell you how to load the game in the 'Saving and Loading' section, even though it does tell you how to save.

[@DonnyKirkMusic]

To this day I still say "I feel asleep!" lol this was the first Metal Gear I ever played and actually might be the one I put the most time into? I really should play the good games in this series.

[@meganimanic]

There's definitely a lot to love about the entire franchise! Konami is currently pushing to get their games on more modern platforms, and I recommend the Master Collection Vol. 1 as a great place to start.

[@felman87]

Oh snap, youtube has been fantastic with the recommendations of small channels for me. Awesome Metal Gear NES vid.

[@kailaz6683]

nice audio quality, great presentation

[@meganimanic]

Appreciate that! Thanks for tuning in!

[@ShunyValdez]

Oh wow, you credited your source.❤ Lots of content creator essayist don't do that.

[@meganimanic]

I try to make it a point to do that if the content isn’t actually mine! Citing your sources was kinda drilled into me in school and it would feel wrong to claim the whole thing as mine if it all actually wasn’t.

[@pintspiesandpbs3198]

I'm fairly certain that if you choose the wrong elevator in the NES version, you can come down two screens and you are back at the bottom, regardless of how many screens you go up? I thought the jungle mazes were good, but the location of the flashlight made it long winded to get from Ellena to Dr Pettrovich, which was a bit frustrating. The main issue is the lack of metal gear at the end, but my understanding is that the team who made the port were on limited time and therefore had to take short cuts.

[@PredatoryQQmber]

18:30 Waaaait a minute! Wouldn't it mean that famous 'Scissors, 61' Colonel's scene from MGS2 was the throwback to this all along?

[@meganimanic]

Yes, and no! The AI Campbell in MGS2 certainly made multiple references to previous games in and outside of Kojima’s canon, including Ghost Babel and even Snatcher. But the fourth wall breaking dialogue is a trend in several Metal Gear games. Here’s a link to the Fandom Wiki page for the AI Campbell if you’re interested: metalgear.fandom.com/wiki/Colonel_(AI)

[@PeronJames]

Can't believe this only has 300 views. You should totally do a video on metal gear 2: solid snake

[@meganimanic]

I’m thinking a bit down the line, this year has already been all about Metal Gear for me haha

[@johnnybensonitis7853]

Well holy shit, glad I happened upon this vid. I didn't know that about the PAL region as far as the details that likely made it unattractive for the game devs of the time to develop specifically for. That was the info that really hooked me in and it was a great watch overall! You sure are polished to be what some might call a young channel, damn son!

[@meganimanic]

There’s a lot to explore and learn about in video game culture, and I’m doing my best to highlight the interesting stuff in my videos! It makes me happy that you enjoyed what I had to say.

[@mark-jensbarton8363]

KZbin algorithm suggested this for me. Hope you get more views and subs. This was great.

[@meganimanic]

I appreciate that very much! I guess sometimes the algorithm works in your favor haha

[@Kwoog]

how does this have only 20 views? this feels like a video that should be WAYYY more popular

[@meganimanic]

That really means a lot! Share this thing with your friends and send any Metal Gear fans my way. I love talking about these games and always value new insight into something I think I know the ins and outs of.

[@AndreSP89]

I few things I really liked about the NES version that I grew up with, was the bullets travel faster and across the whole screen compared to the MSX version they were slow and didn't go that far, the movement speed was much faster on NES it feels really stiff on the MSX also the NES version had some really cool music the Password Entry music was super cool and catchy the Jungle Music, Bass Infiltration the extra little bit they added to the game over music are sounds of my childhood, I only played the MSX version in 2004 when MGS3S came out and I really liked it as well, but the NES version even though it wasn't the true Metal Gear I still have alot of love for it. thanks for the cool video man!

[@blango-san]

yeah, a lot of ppl just gloss over the fact that Metal Gear for the Famicom has better graphics and music than MSX version

[@Dhalin]

My memory is foggy, but I think you can even skip the computer "boss" fight. As you go through the door, hold right on the D-pad and IIRC, this warps you into Big Boss's Room and you can kill Big Boss and not even have a timer at all on the NES version, lol

[@vladv5126]

I mean this has been an extremely well known and documented fact for forever but cool video nonetheless.

[@DarthKain0]

I FEEL ASLEEP

[@TheTruePacmanMG]

The NES version has some bangers though lol. The music in the original is super good, but if there is one thing worth playing it for it is the music.

[@Dacho_Shaki]

I tried to give it a go for the novelty sake and for upping up my credentials as a Metal Gear fan as it's one of the more obscure releases for the series, but, man, is it a broken pain in the ass to play. Compared to the bit more carefully design of the MSX game for the standards of 1987 that has bit more class, this NES version is one of the most broken, abysmally localized games I've ever played.

[@Upāsaka_11]

Broken but 100% awesome! You're right, though. After playing the MSX version, I couldn't help but laugh while doing a replay of the NES game

[@brandawgz]

Oh hell yeah, new 30 minute meganimanic for me to get high while watching lol I’ve never really played much of the metal gear franchise but your videos definitely have a way of getting me intrigued!

[@meganimanic]

If I've captured even a little bit of your attention, then I'll consider it a win haha Thanks for indulging me!

[@srujan00]

I enjoyed Snake's Revenge. It has one of the best soundtracks for the NES.

[@meganimanic]

I will admit, Snakes Revenge had a pretty great soundtrack, especially compared to the three repeating tracks of Metal Gear NES. Capcom and Konami had that figured out way early in video game design.

[@roermy]

but it has better music than the original!

[@gamesgonenuts]

this game is still great love this

[@striderskorpion]

IMO, the NES version is still a good game. Obviously, the MSX version is better, but I see this as similar to Konami's different ports of Dracula X. In both cases, the original MSX/PC Engine CD releases were great and their NES/SNES ports pale in comparison. Taken on their own, the ports are still very enjoyable and good games, just living in the shadows of their older "brothers". Translation issues are just a product of the time. Localizers didn't appear to speak English as a first language in this era (this is just a guess based on the silly translations we often saw on the NES).

[@thedrunkmonkshow]

I envy kids and younger gamers today because you're exposed to just about everything gaming related past and present because of the internet and social media. Our version of social media was word of mouth and magazines. I had no idea what Metal Gear was until one of my neighbors brought his copy with the map and manual over to my house and I watched him play which got me into the series back in 1990 or 1991 when I was 8 or 9 years old. For us in the US we had no frame of reference or heard of an MSX computer so the NES port and Snake's Revenge was our only entry point into the series. When people criticize the mistranslation it's like hello...does Simon's Quest ring a bell? What about, "All your base are belong to us?" That just came with the territory back then and you played past that if you were a hardcore gamer. I have beaten the original with fMSX on MSDOS as a teenager and while the original has better presentation a lot of people pretend like there's some night and day difference when really there's not. Ports back then were rarely ever 1:1 anyway because of hardware differences or different teams that could utilize the different platforms when the original teams couldn't. It's not like today when you can build something in an engine like Unity and port it everywhere with minor tweaks for it to run. Your review was great but just giving more context and perspective as a fan of the series and someone who was gaming back then. Also, I don't care what anybody says, Snake's Revenge is a great game that introduced mainstays to the series like guard towers (searchlights), guard interrogation (truth serum), oxygen tanks, crawling and so forth.

[@Upāsaka_11]

Im 42, and this is what we had at the time in the States. Hamburger and Filet Mignon are both delicious in their own way? 😅

[@justinw7323]

Metal Gear from Temu

[@theguyinthere]

haha dude's cartoon character looks like lupid the 3rd.

[@meganimanic]

Glad that came across well haha A friend of mine wouldn’t leave me alone until I watched Lupin III Part 2 and Cagliostro last year and I immediately got addicted.

[@tuxysmagicaljukebox5431]

You clearly did not do proper research, because Kojima was NOT disappointed with Snake's Revenge. Despite not being the canon sequel, he enjoyed it and thought it was true to the spirit of the franchise. I swear, do you people hate Snake's Revenge so much that you just purposely ignore this fact? Because any and all of you who constantly crap on the NES MG titles never acknowledge this at all. Even Rerez didn't do it in their unfair roasting of the game either. Yet people like you spend several minutes not only talking about how much he hated the NES/Famicom port of MG1, but flat out LYING about his opinion on Snake's Revenge. Also at least Snake's Revenge didn't have cutscenes that drag on for 15-20 minutes like the future titles in the franchise do.

[@meganimanic]

To be clear, I’m not one of those Kojima shills that think only his work on Metal Gear is the only stuff worth playing. Rising is entertaining, Portable Ops did well with the toolset it had on the PSP, and Ghost Babel is super interesting for a stealth game on the GameBoy. To your point though, it was tough to really nail down what exactly Kojima feels about Snake’s Revenge. He’s said in three different interviews that I could find, that he thought it had good spirit, that it was a “crap game,” and that he didn’t think it was “a bad game.” Not once has he come out and said that he liked the game for what it was. Granted, each of these were said in different times during his career, so I’m sure his opinion has changed throughout the years. But not once have I ever read or heard that Kojima actually liked Snake’s Revenge, and coupled with his distaste for the NES MG, with this context it can be believed and understandable that he was disappointed and even disliked the game as a whole. Also, I don’t know what to tell you about the long cutscenes in the 3D entries. That’s kind of a series staple and what they’re known for. Take it or leave it I guess?

[@tuxysmagicaljukebox5431]

@@meganimanic Direct excerpt from the Steven Kent interview he did in 1999: Steven Kent: Was Snake's Revenge your next game? Hideo Kojima: I had nothing to do with that game. Steven Kent: Not with MSX or Famicom? Hideo Kojima: I made Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, an MSX game. Steven Kent: And the Famicom game, Snake's Revenge? Hideo Kojima: No, that's completely different. When I was in this MSX division, this one guy in the Famicom division developed Snake's Revenge without talking to me or anybody else. One day this guy and I hopped on a train (the Tokyo transit system) together. We were talking to each other, and he says, "By the way, I'm developing this game called Snake's Revenge, but I know it's not the authentic Snake, so please create a new Snake game of your own." That was when I decided to create Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. Steven Kent: Interesting. What did you think of Snake's Revenge? Hideo Kojima: I thought it was very faithful to the Metal Gear concept. I enjoyed it.

[@RamenReignss]

Yes he fucking was. You don’t know wtf you’re talking about.

[@Rabbit-the-One]

​@@tuxysmagicaljukebox5431 what's got you so irrationally defensive? Do you have money riding on the public perception of this specific port of this 36 year old game?

[@tuxysmagicaljukebox5431]

@@Rabbit-the-One I'm tired of people getting their shit wrong and misinforming/misleading others about this subject and not doing better research on the matter, that's what.

[@shawnpaulzuccarellorizzo]

I'm a huge Metal Gear fan. I think I can honestly say that the NES port is just as bad as the MSX2 version. These games didn't even get interesting until MG: Solid. So, these aren't stellar games by any means. Played both versions, and the MSX2 version actually has more Engrish than the NES version. However, if you like it, I recommend getting the version at GOG. It's a native PC port. Also, since I'm old...I need to correct you on something. The reason America and Europe had different consoles and such had nothing to do with power consumption whatsoever. It was broadcast standards NTSC USA/JP=60hz vs PAL Europe=50hz but with a wider color gamut. And also due to European censorship laws. I dunno where this power consumption thing entered your mind. We didn't give a damn about that back in the 80s. That's a modern woke problem. lol Also, The Genesis was a direct competitor to the SNES having come out two years before it. The NES really had no competitors. Perhaps the Master System or the PC Engine...but not even close in the States. Thankfully the NTSC/Pal fiasco is finally being phased out for DVB-T in digital broadcasts. The problem still exists on physical media at the moment though.

[@Roob_the_Noob]

Please tell me your avatar's nickname is Lupin the Nerd.

[@meganimanic]

@@Roob_the_Noob Right now, he just kinda goes by my name, but I’ll be damned if that isn’t some good branding

[@LavaCreeperPeople]

Yes

[@meganimanic]

Indeed!

[@Boogie_the_cat]

I thought everyone knew this. The game has the brilliant line: "i feel asleep" If you were at all interested in getting anyone 30+ interested in your channel, maybe the video title should not attempt to insult our intelligence by stating the obvious. I know, the majority is under 25 so please just pander to them and isolate everyone else. Thats fine, but i won't watch your video if its only for babies that don't know any better. I doubt I'd learn anything, and I'm not a baby. Now where's my sippy cup?

[@meganimanic]

The goal for my channel is to appeal to as many people as possible! We're getting to a day and age where a lot of people who used KZbin before have grown up quite a bit, and the demographic for social media users in general is pretty young. My goal is to hook people who're in their 30's+ with nostalgia and also use eye-catching footage and titles to get younger folks to click on my videos. I definitely didn't intend to act like I was talking down to anyone who watches, so I apologize if that's how it appeared to you!

[@chaserush1382]

like everyone, i first heard of metal gear solid when the ps1 game came out. then later i found it on the nes, hoping it was good. lol that kind of hope that makes you keep playing despite that feeling you want to quit. i didnt finish the nes version until i was an adult. luckily we got the mgs collection now. i remember someone making a rom hack fixing everything in the first nes mgs game and even adding the final boss metal gear. i guess theres something about the nes games that keeps people coming back to it.

[@meganimanic]

The Master Collection is an amazing step forward in preserving video game history. For new and old fans it gives people the chance to experience the franchise as a whole instead of the weird pieces and parts we had to deal with in the 90’s and 2000’s. Here’s hoping MGS4 comes on the 2nd Volume!

[@e0liu]

Hi c:

[@meganimanic]

In my best possible Obi Wan voice... "Hello there!" Thanks for stopping by!

[@e0liu]

Legit surprised you don't have more subs, your videos are really high quality and entertaining @@meganimanic

[@meganimanic]

@@e0liu I appreciate that more than you know. I’ll be working hard in 2024 to get out and network a little bit and hopefully drum up more conversation around my content. Share with your friends! I love to talk about movies, games, and most pop culture.

[@jaamfan2516]

Please look up the definition of "port" when used in reference to video games

[@meganimanic]

Wikipedia defines video game porting as “when a video game is converted to run on a different platform, perhaps with some minor differences.” I think that applies pretty well to Metal Gear and its MSX2 and NES versions. The game was moved to a different platform, with (not so minor) changes programmed into them to make them suitable to play on the new version.

[@Upāsaka_11]

This is absolutely a port. Perhaps not a direct one as there are some changes, but a port nonetheless.

[@anthonymooney-gm9dm]

🥰

[@youtubeshadowbannedmylasta2629]

surprised didn't hear diversity more. that seems to be everyone's favorite word today and over the last ten or so odd years.