20 years ago today (November 17), Naked Snake performed the world's first HALO jump into the jungles of Tselinoyarsk. Six years after Metal Gear Solid took the gaming world by storm, and three years after Kojima pissed everyone off by making Raiden the protagonist of Metal Gear Solid 2; once again players would be kept waiting for a second Solid Snake game (well, a fourth – but you probably missed those MSX2 games).
But rather than give the fans what they were desperate for, Kojima Productions once again flipped the script. Not only were you not playing as Solid Snake again, but you wouldn't even get a follow-up to Metal Gear Solid 2's wild ending. And thank god it did.
Instead of dealing with the proxy wars, cyborg ninjas, and memes of the mid-2000's Metal Gear Solid 3 takes things 40 years into the past – all the way back to the '60s, following the legendary Big Boss on one of his earliest missions during the height of the Cold War. And yet, despite ditching everything that had happened in the series until that point, Snake Eater infiltrated the series to become the perfect Metal Gear Solid game.
Remember the Alamo
Think back to infiltrating that moody Alaskan military base at the start of Metal Gear Solid. Colonel Campbell informs Snake that he is all alone; there's no backup coming, and any weapons or equipment he can use for the mission he has to procure in that base. Metal Gear Solid 3 opens in a similar way, besides trading out a stocked military stronghold for the jungle. Aside from a few basics, Snake has to find his own food, be his own medic, and once again find any equipment necessary to complete the mission – which isn't quite as plentiful in the swamps of the Soviet Union. Worst of all, if an American agent is spotted on Russian soil, the Cold War will erupt into World War 3.
While Metal Gear Solid and its sequel both took place indoors for the most part, Snake Eater's jungle adds a whole extra layer to stealth and infiltration, which expands on the ideas found in the prior games. No longer can you just stand behind some convenient boxes or a wall; all you have is nature to protect you. This felt like a true evolution of the stealth genre and would ultimately be the blueprint that later games followed. No longer was it a game about blocks and corridors; you had to become hyper aware of your surroundings to have a chance at survival.
Metal Gear Solid 3 introduced so many mechanics that would be meaningfully expanded on in later games, like CQC, Camo, and having to adapt your approach to specific areas – whether that's silently taking down one enemy after another, creating distractions to allow you to sneak by, or (worst case scenario) start blasting. These may have been perfected in The Phantom Pain, but they were here a decade prior.
But at the same time, Metal Gear Solid 3 – despite the massive shakeup in your surroundings – still felt in line with the PS1 classic. It was one long infiltration compared to the globe-trotting adventure of Metal Gear Solid 4. As much as I adore playing Metal Gear Solid 5, the mission-based structure took a lot of the impact out of the stealth. No longer were you stranded in enemy territory, you could call in ammo, allies, or a chopper to bomb the area while blasting Gloria by Laura Brannigan. The upcoming remake Metal Gear Solid Delta doesn't seem to stray too far from the original, but I do fear that making Snake the superhuman he was in The Phantom Pain could negatively impact the fine balance the original Snake Eater struck.
Too pure for us Cobras
Metal Gear Solid has always been a bombastic series full of silly, over-the-top characters; Snake Eater is no different.
There's a cutscene very early on in Metal Gear Solid 3; you're walking through the jungle when you reach a canyon with a bridge. Snake pulls out his binoculars to scope out the area when he notices a lone guard with a beehive above him. The camera pulls out to reveal that Snake has a massive shit-eating grin on his face. On the surface this just feels like a bit of comedy to alert the player to make use of their surroundings. And it is. But it's also a look into what this game could give us that Metal Gear Solid 1 and 2 didn't – emotion. Naked Snake isn't a genetically enhanced super-soldier designed specifically for warfare like Solid Snake was, nor was he the grizzled veteran he becomes by Metal Gear Solid 5. Naked Snake is just a man, and the writing team took full advantage of this.
Metal Gear Solid 1 and 2 did have emotional moments, but they were mainly at the expense of Solid Snake's companion Otacon and those around him. Solid Snake was almost robotic at times. Naked Snake, on the other hand, is incredibly affected by the events going on around him. Take Eva. She's presented as Snake's love interest throughout the game. While Solid Snake was always presented as cool, collected, and often flirty, Naked Snake is just an awkward dude. Eva will obviously make moves on Snake while he's rambling on about how cool he thinks her gadgets are (relatable). But she has her own mission, and is able to emotionally manipulate him throughout the story in service of it.
Meanwhile, Naked Snake's mentor: The Boss – who taught him everything he knows – defects to the Soviet Union, betraying the US, the mission, and Snake himself. A mere week later he's sent back into the jungle where he failed, on a mission to assassinate his mentor as a show of good faith from the US to Russia. Over the course of this game we see Snake broken down from a keen soldier to the disillusioned man who would later abandon the US to create his own PMC. This culminates in an emotional final confrontation between Snake and The Boss. It was the first time I ever cried playing a game, and it still hits me hard every time I replay it.
Later Metal Gear Solid games tried to go for 'the feels' – Metal Gear Solid 4 in particular felt like emotional torture at points from what it put its characters through – but none were quite as impactful as seeing this fresh-faced Snake go through the biggest trial of his life. Metal Gear Solid has always been a bombastic series full of silly, over-the-top characters; Snake Eater is no different with bosses ranging from the guy who shoots bees at you to a guy who can inexplicably harness electricity. Kojima Productions even threw in the grandpa of that guy with chronic IBS for good measure. It balanced the moments of levity so well in what is at its core a heartbreaking story.
Metal Gear Solid has never been quite as personal as it was with Snake Eater. Its mechanics make you feel more alone than ever, while the story digs deep into a very human character that's stuck in a mission with world-ending consequences. It takes minutes for Naked Snake to descend from the skies and land in Tselinoyarsk – but the aftermath of that iconic HALO jump made an impact that's lasted decades.
Check out our Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater Remake preview for more.
