Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection belongs in a museum

31.10.2023 - 17:33 / polygon.com

In August, Konami announced that it would be celebrating the Metal Gear Solid series’ anniversary with a series of ports. Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 would bring games that were previously unavailable on modern consoles and PC to a new generation of players. The collection, which was released on Oct. 24, has provided something more than that: It’s made games available that were otherwise inaccessible without older hardware, extremely expensive physical editions, or emulation. It allows players to own these games without fear of them being delisted or vanishing.

While Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 may be somewhat spotty in its performance, what it brings to the table is important in terms of preservation, not just for the bundle of games included, but also the external materials. The collection comes with the script of each Metal Gear Solid game, ranging from the first installment on PlayStation up to Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. The scripts provide a glimpse into how the cutscenes for each game were laid out, giving an idea of how these narrative elements were constructed. It’s rare that video game scripts are published or provided to the public at all outside of Japan. Various collector’s editions sometimes include script books, mostly in physical editions, but the ones included in Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 are digital versions of these voluminous texts.

The collection also features an assortment of lore books, titled Master Books but labeled as digital archives of the respective games, that break down the events of the Metal Gear series game by game. These function as a translated version of Famitsu Perfect Guides that were exclusively released in Japan. They feature commentary about the individual themes of each game, detailed character biographies, and in some cases include map layouts or point out significant Easter eggs. The lore that the Master Books encompass doesn’t stop at Metal Gear Solid 3 and instead extends toMetal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, so they’re chock-full of spoilers. Regardless, it’s nice to have this on hand and not need to search for any physical volumes that may or may not be out of print, sold at an incredibly inflated price, or unavailable in English. It makes this information more accessible and keeps these pieces of media in circulation and alive.

The collection also features playable content that was otherwise region-exclusive. The collection includes the original game, the VR missions that were available in North America, the European version of these VR missions, and Metal Gear Solid: Integral. This is by far the most robust of the three included Metal Gear Solid games, as Metal Gear Solid 2 just features a language