Metal Gear Solid Retrospective Review & Analysis | Game Discourses

[@busydad4858]

MGS1: contemporary masterpiece MGS2: postmodern flawed masterpiece MGS3: old-school masterpiece MGS4: futuristic flawed masterpiece

[@onatgz]

5: incomplete masterpiece?

[@shooter2409]

Great game. It used to be my favorite out of the series along with MGS3. Then I got older and appreciated MGS2 more because of it''s commentary on the internet and humans consuming unfiltered data from the point of view of an AI. Years later after it''s all over, MGS4 became my favorite game out of the series. From a fan''s perspective, It''s the greatest sequel a gamer can ask for from a franchise they grew up with. They don''t make games like MGS4 anymore. Not with the same depth and care. I didn't mind the long cutscenes either. In fact, I wish there where more... Yeah I said it! Anyway, Awesome video! Keep it up

[@AlleywayJack]

Thanks. Yeah I agree MGS4 is the perfect conclusive fan game. I find it hard to choose a favourite between them, as they all have certain unique features and characters. MGS2 is definitely the one I've played the most, and I've just started playing it again for the first time in years. But MGS3 and 4 were great for how they evolved gameplay and story, and bringing legacy characters together like Ocelot and Zero etc.

[@AlleywayJack]

Did you play Phantom Pain?

[@shooter2409]

@@AlleywayJack ​ Yes, ground zeroes as well. Even though I like them both a lot, I don''t like them for the same reasons as I did the previous games. Switching to open world instead of sticking to a linear (level-based)world was the next logical change they could make to the games after they changed the camera in MGS3(subsistence) and MGS4. But because of its open world and change in gameplay, I can''t rate GZ and TPP in the same list as the other games. But GZ and TPP were the first MGS games I bought and played at launch. The anticipation, theories and build-up to release was great. All the other games I grew up with, I played a few years after release.

[@AlleywayJack]

@@shooter2409 Cool, I was the other way round. I bought 1, 2, 3 on release... then didn't play 4 until about 2 years after release because I didn't have the latest gen console. I've thoroughly enjoyed all of them though, Snake and Big Boss are great characters and the whole narrative is just so murky in terms of perspective and conventional ideas of good/bad. I'm playing TPP at the moment and I'm really enjoying it... completely different gaming style though, as you mentioned.

[@burnt_ramen9757]

MGS4 is the greatest game of all time imo

[@franzpattison]

I hope you continue the series with further games in the franchise! It's been great

[@AlleywayJack]

Thanks! Currently playing MGS2 :)

[@magnoliamike]

Great work man loved the in-depth Analysis

[@AlleywayJack]

Thanks man, glad you liked it

[@williamdancer5649]

Fantastic video. I just beat this game for the first time. I think it holds up extremely well. It’s dated but still completely playable imo. Your analysis is spot on. Your commentary helped me draw parallels between Snake and Arthur Morgan from RDR2. Both are infected by a disease/virus that will ultimately kill them, which exacerbates already existing moral questions regarding their pasts and the decisions they’ve made throughout their respective games. Ultimately, allowing both of them to come closer to terms with who they are and to help them realize a more fulfilling purpose. Obviously, this doesn’t take into account of the mgs sequels cuz I’ve never played them, but even the concept of untrustworthy characters from mgs1 such as Master Miller and The Colonel parallel RDR2’s Dutch and Micah, etc. Anyway, I know this is off topic but your great commentary made me think if it.

[@williamdancer5649]

Lol as soon as I posted this I saw you had a rdr2 vid. I’ll check it out

[@AlleywayJack]

Good comparisons beyween MGS and RDR2. There's definitely similarities in the growing distrust in leadership figures and the betrayal of the hero!

[@SaberRexZealot]

Ironically this was the last game in the series I played, but it’s still a gem. I do find it the hardest to enjoy on a gameplay level though, especially coming after V.

[@AlleywayJack]

Yeah definitely. I'm playing Phantom Pain at the moment actually, having just played through 1 and 2, and the difference in gameplay is huge. Which is weird because the gameplay changes seemed so small over the years, but playing them back to back you can see how much they evolved it.

[@joevalle2630]

Turns out eli aka liquid snake was from south Africa... and got that accent .... Kojima made it all make sense "somewhat" years later .

[@AlleywayJack]

Ha! I know man... pure Kojima

[@plutonianmoon4805]

Really enjoyed this analysis! MGS1 is my favorite in the series. The experience is not as refined as it would become in later titles; but it does so much right in it's raw form.

[@AlleywayJack]

Agree, looked at retrospectively you can see how the later titles advanced but I absolutely love this game

[@foxhoundbridges4851]

Are you going to do a critique on MGS V? I would love to hear your take on it. Either way I really enjoyed this video along with your Final Fantasy content, and im looking forward to your future content.

[@AlleywayJack]

Still playing MGSV - I am enjoying it, radically different game style.

[@foxhoundbridges4851]

@@AlleywayJack yeah I really enjoyed the gameplay, I would love to hear what you think of the story after you completed it. Also I dont remember if I asked you about Death Stranding yet or not, but if I had I'm sorry. If I hadn't what did you think of it?

[@AlleywayJack]

@@foxhoundbridges4851 I still haven't played Death Stranding, I'm looking forward to it but I'm playing through 3 games simultaneously atm so couldn't commit.

[@foxhoundbridges4851]

@@AlleywayJack Oh I see, its the kind of game that requires 100% of your attention to really do it justice.

[@imreplyingtothiscomment2378]

Me after seeing days worth of hours of mgs vids: ohhh shit here we go again

[@AlleywayJack]

I hope it was worth it :)

[@neomcdoom]

This is really cool, I’ve been fascinated and dumbfounded by the series for months, as well as its creator. It’s great to hear a thoughtful analysis from a true fan.

[@AlleywayJack]

Thanks man, glad you like it!

[@davidsabillon5182]

Cool video man. Subscribing

[@AlleywayJack]

Thanks man!

[@FromHerotoZeroYT]

I never really got into the MGS series. I just kinda sucked at the games I guess, but this makes me want to try to get into the series again!

[@AlleywayJack]

Yeah I guess gaming's subjective and people are into different things... like, I've tried getting into the online craze of FPS and Fortnite style games and it's just not for me. Regarding MGS1, it was made unnecessarily difficult due to camera angles... but it's worth persevering if you were into the characters/story.

[@Gman941]

While, I think the series truly ended after 4. I always feel MGS 5 is probably Kojima's greatest artistic achievement. It's a work of artistic expressionism, even the name "The Phantom Pain" suggests his disdane for Konami for milking his vision to the point of abuse, destroying Kojima's interest in series to the point that Kojima trying to find something in the series that is no longer there While I love video games, I think Kojima is truly an progressive, and even at times, a transgressive artist, even if his ideas are truly questionable.

[@AlleywayJack]

Yeah I agree regards Kojima. He straddles the realms of artistry and auteurism very strongly - and I always felt videogames are almost a convenient vehicle for his ideas rather than a simple product he set out to produce on behalf of Konami, if that makes any sense. His relationship with the studio is regrettable and it's overshadowed a lot of the MGS legacy for some... but I do agree that MGS5 is great, I was playing it just yesterday and it's always been impressive to me.

[@foxhoundbridges4851]

What do you guys think of Death Stranding?

[@Exigentable]

Awesome video.

[@AlleywayJack]

Thanks man.

[@jameswalt1]

Awesome, thank you!

[@bromanultra6364]

I should probably play the metal gear series now! Would you be interested in covering the persona series as well?

[@AlleywayJack]

Hi Mike. Actually, I've not played any of the Persona games. My colleague has also recommended these to me, and he's loaned me Persona 5, which I've yet to start... so basically I'll be starting that game soon with no prior context :0

[@bromanultra6364]

@@AlleywayJack from what I understand I believe you will like them quite a lot, the persona 3 movies are excellent and touch on some fundamental philosophies

[@BradLad56]

Battle Royale is an underrated gem. Brutal as fuck but an awesome movie nonetheless.

[@AlleywayJack]

Love it. Haven't watched it in years so might have to give it another go soon.

[@resentedkhumbo7479]

do you have a source for kojima calling games not art? it confirms some suspicions I've had

[@AlleywayJack]

Yep it's from an old Eurogamer interview, source: www.eurogamer.net/news240106kojimaart The particular segment I reference is follows: [[ Kojima went on to say that "Art is something that radiates the artist," arguing that "If 100 people walk by and a single person is captivated by whatever that piece radiates, it's art... "But videogames aren't trying to capture one person. A videogame should make sure that all 100 people that play that game should enjoy the service provided by that videogame. It's something of a service. It's not art." ]]

[@resentedkhumbo7479]

@@AlleywayJack thank you very much