Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake

Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
The cover illustration by Yoshiyuki Takani displays Metal Gear D prominently.
Developer(s)	Konami
Publisher(s)	Konami
Designer(s)	Hideo Kojima
Series	Metal Gear
Platform(s)	MSX2 Mobile Phone (2004) PlayStation 2 (2006)
Release	MSX2 JPN July 19, 1990 Mobile phone JPN October 1, 2004
Genre(s)	Stealth action
Mode(s)	Single player

Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (メタルギア２ ソリッドスネーク, Metaru Gia Tsū Soriddo Sunēku, commonly abbreviated MG2) is a stealth-based game that was written and directed by Hideo Kojima and developed and published by Konami. It was the second canonical game in the Metal Gear series and is not to be confused with the non-canonical Snake's Revenge. It was initially released only in Japan for the MSX2 on July 19, 1990. The game was not ported to another platform until 14 years later, as a downloadable game for mobile phones in Japan in 2004. The game was officially released in North America and Europe for the first time as a component of Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence along with the original Metal Gear in 2006.

In the game, Solid Snake must infiltrate Zanzibar Land (not to be confused with the real-life Zanzibar that is part of Tanzania), a heavily defended territory located between the Soviet Union, Afghanistan, Pakistan and China. Snake's mission is to rescue the kidnapped scientist Dr. Kio Marv, who has created bacteria that secrete artificial petroleum, and later, to seek out and destroy Metal Gear D.

Development history

After the success of the NES version of Metal Gear in the Western market (especially in North America, where Metal Gear reportedly sold over a million copies), the Famicom division of Konami began developing a sequel for the NES, Snake's Revenge (made specifically with the Western market in mind), without informing the series creator Hideo Kojima.

Kojima, who was not originally planning on producing a sequel to Metal Gear, didn't know that Snake's Revenge was being produced until he met a member of the Snake's Revenge development staff (from Konami's Famicom division) on a train ride in Tokyo. Kojima was then informed about the development of Snake's Revenge and was told "it's not the authentic Snake, so please create a new Snake game of your own." That was when Kojima decided to create a true sequel to Metal Gear. After being given the go-ahead by his bosses at Konami, he began developing Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake with the MSX division of Konami.

Due to conflicts with the release of Snake's Revenge in North America, and the decline of the MSX market in Europe, the actual sequel Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake was released exclusively in Japan for the MSX2, while Snake's Revenge on the NES became the Metal Gear sequel for the North American and European markets. Snake's Revenge was later removed from the series' canon, and is now considered part of a parallel universe.

Western gamers did not have the opportunity to play the true sequel Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake for many years after its release. The game's Japanese-only release on the MSX2, a computer system that was unavailable in North America, was a steep barrier to overcome. Moreover, the game did not receive a European version like the original Metal Gear did on the MSX2 due to the decline of the MSX market. Years after the game's release, a fan translation of the ROM image authored by MSX hobbyists Takamichi Suzukawa and Maarten ter Huurne was distributed through the internet along with a translation of the game's manual.

When Metal Gear Solid was released, plot summaries of the first two MSX games were included in the form of "Previous Operations" reports for players that never played either title. Its inclusion in Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence was the first time the game was officially released in North America and Europe, albeit with updated character models and some other minor modifications from the cell-phone remakes. Also, many characters, weapons, and the Metal Gear D from this game can be obtained as cards in the turn-based, trading card-based Metal Gear Ac!d series on the PlayStation Portable.

Gameplay

The game engine of Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake went through a number of significant changes and additions, most of which were carried over to Metal Gear Solid. As a matter of fact, many fans consider Metal Gear Solid to be almost a 3D remake of Metal Gear 2 due to the many similarities between the two.

Storytelling enhancements

File:Msx 010.PNG

The original Transceiver mode.

A particularly important change introduced in this game was the bigger emphasis given to the game's storyline this time around:

• The storyline had greater depth and more plot twists than the original Metal Gear.
• Themes regarding political intrigue, battlefield ethics, military history, and the negative effects of warfare were explored.
• Whereas the original game only revealed the storyline through key dialogue spoken by the game's NPCs, Metal Gear 2 featured actual cut scenes which served to narrate the game's storyline.
• There was more interaction between Snake and the supporting characters (in contrast to the original game, where Snake barely had any dialogue).
• The transceiver screen was completely revised. The screen now displays both Snake's face and the face of the person he's talking to making it less confusing to learn who is talking.
• Messages received are no longer room-oriented like in the original, but are instead situation-based and much more dynamic.

Artificial intelligence

Aside from the story, the biggest changes to the gameplay were made to the enemy soldiers' behavior and artificial intelligence:

• Soldiers now have a field of vision of 45 degrees, in contrast to the soldiers in the original game, who could only see in straight lines. Moreover soldiers could also turn their heads sideways and look diagonally. This meant bigger emphasis on stealth than in the previous game.
• Enemies now react to noises made by the player. This includes firing an unsilenced weapon, causing an explosion, hitting on walls or walking on certain types of terrains. If a noise is made, the enemy soldier will follow the direction of it.
• Enemies can now patrol an entire area from screen to screen, instead of being limited to one screen or room like in the original game, which puts a bigger emphasis on hiding, rather than running away.
• Whereas the original featured two different alert modes (with a different escaping method for each), Metal Gear 2 instead features three different alert phases depending on the player's present circumstance. When the player is discovered, the game goes into Level 3 (Alert Mode) and the player will be attacked by enemy soldiers. If the player manages to defeat enough soldiers or stay hidden from the enemy for a long time, the game enters Level 2 (Evasion Mode), in which enemy soldiers continue to patrol the area while being aware of the player's presence. After the time in Evasion Mode runs out, the game returns to Level 1 (Infiltration Mode). This feature has been carried over in subsequent Metal Gear games.

Other improvements

Other changes made to the gameplay include:

• The player can switch from standing to crawling mode, by pressing the weapon and punch buttons simultaneously in the MSX2 version or by pressing a crouch button in the PlayStation 2 version.
• In the crawling position, the player can enter air ducts, pick up landmines, and hide under desks, seats and trucks.
• The player can also avoid making noises on any terrain by crawling instead of walking. However, weapons cannot be used while in the crawling position.
• The player is now equipped with a 3x3 grid radar which displays the player's current screen and position, the surrounding area and the position of enemy guards.
• The player can use the radar to display the positions of landmines with the mine detector or launch Stinger missiles with a cross-hair.
• A number of new weapons can be used later in the game in addition to the Stinger missiles, which includes Gas Grenades and Plastic Explosives that can be detonated remotely.
• An oxygen bar is added whenever the player is underwater or in gas-covered areas.
• The player no longer has to save hostages to gain a promotion. Instead, the player is automatically promoted after defeating a boss, increasing their life meter and carrying capacity, much like its sequel Metal Gear Solid.
• During certain points of the games, the player must decipher secret messages through tap codes which are listed in the game's instruction manual.
• At some point in the game, the player must check the back of the game's package in order to learn a character's new frequency. This gameplay element was used again in Metal Gear Solid, along with other similar attempts at breaking the fourth wall in the Metal Gear Solid titles.
• At some point in the game, the player must use a temperature-sensitive key to unlock a certain area. This gameplay element was also used again in Metal Gear Solid.

Similarities to Metal Gear Solid

Some of the plot elements and set pieces in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake that were later used again in its sequel Metal Gear Solid include:

• The game opening with a cliff-side open environment before moving inside to a tank-storage room with an elevator.
• Master McDonnel Miller giving advice on improving one's health and professional life.
• The frequency 140.15 for a female accomplice of Solid Snake.
• Saving a hostage who appears on radar. In addition, the first hostage of the game is a disguised member of the terrorist faction.
• Meeting a disguised female contact in a women's washroom.
• Helpful messages from an anonymous source via the radio claiming to be a fan of Snake.
• The return of a major character from the former game decked out as a ninja.
• A chase up a spiral staircase with soldiers in pursuit.
• An ambush by four attackers in an elevator.
• A fight with a soldier wearing stealth camouflage.
• A battle with a Hind D chopper using Stinger missiles.
• An unarmed hand-to-hand showdown between Solid Snake and Gray Fox.
• Having to look at the back of the game package to learn an important radio frequency.
• Having to change the temperature of an object to turn it into a key.
• Having to heat up frozen rations before eating them.

Plot

Characters

Main article: List of classic Metal Gear characters

Due to the more story-driven nature of Metal Gear 2 features a more extensive cast of characters than in the original Metal Gear. The game features a slightly older Solid Snake, who is already retired from FOXHOUND, but is brought back to active duty. Roy Campbell is the new FOXHOUND commander and takes over as Snake's commanding officer and primary radio contact. Snake is also assisted via the radio by a FOXHOUND support crew consisting of George Kasler, a mercenary expert formerly with Zanzibar Land, and Master Miller, a survival coach, as well as Yozef Norden, a wildlife expert. He is also assisted from the inside by Holly White, a CIA spy posing as a journalist and Natasha Marcova, an StB agent who was assigned to be Dr. Kio Marv's bodyguard (the scientist that Snake must rescue). The antagonist Big Boss, along with Gray Fox and Dr. Pettrovich Madnar, all characters from the previous game, return to round out the game's cast.

The main characters are depicted within the game by animated face shots during cut scenes and radio conversations. These face shots were drawn realistically in the original MSX version and some of the characters were noticeably modeled after well-known celebrities from the time (i.e: Mel Gibson, Sean Connery (Big Boss), Richard Crenna (Roy Campbell) and Wes Studi (Grey Fox). In later re-releases of the game, the face shots were redrawn so the characters resemble Yoji Shinkawa's art style used in the later Metal Gear Solid games. In addition, some of the characters (including enemy bosses) were renamed as well.

As in the original Metal Gear, Snake must face a variety of bosses to complete his mission. This include Black Color (a ninja fitted with hi-tech equipment, later revealed to be Schneider from the previous game), Running Man (the world's fastest mercenary), Red Blaster (an expert grenade thrower), Four Horsemen (a four-man assassination squad), Jungle Evil (an expert in jungle warfare) and Night Fright (an assassin who wears stealth camouflage and wields a silenced pistol).

Story

By 1999, the Cold War had thawed, and nuclear disarmament by the major world powers promised a bright beginning to the 21st century. Despite this, all was not well in the world. A series of shocks to the oil market spurred the development of new high-tech energy sources, including fusion power. However, most vehicles still relied on oil for power.

Oil reserves were at a critical low, and the world community was prepared to take drastic measures, either by drilling into sand and shale for more oil, despite the difficulty -- or moving on to renewable fuels.

Such steps proved unnecessary when Czech scientist, Dr. Kio Marv, successfully bio-engineered a new species of algae, OILIX, that could produce petroleum-grade hydrocarbons with little expense and effort. Marv presented the algae to the World Energy Conference in Prague, and was on his way to a demonstration in the United States when he was kidnapped by soldiers from Zanzibar Land. NATO discovers that Zanzibar Land's leaders plan to hold the world hostage by controlling the supply of oil, and some good old-fashioned nuclear brinksmanship, courtesy of a stockpile of nukes raided from nearby missile sites.

Solid Snake is brought out of retirement by FOXHOUND's new commander, Roy Campbell, and is sent to Zanzibar Land to rescue Dr. Marv.

On the course of his mission, Snake teams up with Holly White, a CIA operative posing as a journalist, and Gustava Heffner (Natasha Markova in the original MSX version), an StB agent and Dr. Marv's bodyguard. He is also reunited with Dr. Drago Pettrovich Madnar, the Metal Gear inventor from Outer Heaven, who claims to had been once again kidnapped and forced to work on another Metal Gear project (named Metal Gear D) for Zanzibar Land, as well as oversee mass-production of smaller, non-nuclear-equipped Metal Gear units. Snake learns from Dr. Madnar that Big Boss, Snake's former FOXHOUND commander, has survived and is the man in charge in Zanzibar Land.

Upon reaching the suspension bridge leading to the Detention Camp, Gustava is killed by a missile fired by Metal Gear and Dr. Madnar is recaptured by the enemy. The new Metal Gear's pilot is revealed to be none other than Snake's former mercenary buddy Gray Fox. Determined to finish his mission, Snake fights against Zanzibar Land's elite mercenary force and manages to reach Dr. Marv's cell.

Solid Snake (top right) fighting Big Boss (left)

Snake arrives too late, unfortunately, as he finds the corpse of Dr. Marv, who was unable to survive the repeated torture. Dr. Madnar is also there, who explains he was unable to save him. Just before Snake could retrieve the OILIX formula left by Dr. Marv, Holly reveals via a radio message that Dr. Madnar was not captured after all, but voluntarily resumed his work on Metal Gear and was personally overseeing its development. After the truth comes out, Dr. Madnar attacks Snake, but fails in killing him.

With OILIX formula in Snake's hands, Snake is confronted by Gray Fox piloting Metal Gear D. After successfully destroying Metal Gear, Snake finds himself in a minefield. The two engage in hand-to-hand combat against each other, and Snake eventually emerges as the victor.

Upon defeating Fox and retrieving the OILIX data, Snake is met by Big Boss while trying to escape. Having lost his equipment and with no weapons at his disposal, Snake is forced to improvise using the only items he can find, a cigarette lighter and aerosol can. Fashioning a makeshift flamethrower, Snake defeats Big Boss for the second and final time. Snake and Holly escape and together, they deliver the OILIX formula to Campbell.

With the crisis resolved, Snake disappears into the Alaskan wilderness, where he will live in retirement for the next six years.

Alternate versions

Mobile Phone version

On October 1, 2004, Konami released a mobile phone version of Metal Gear 2 in Japan for the i-Mode, EZweb and Vodafone services. This was the first time the game was ported to another platform since its original MSX2 release in 1990. Several changes were made in order to modernize the game:

• New game modes and items - All the new game modes (Easy Mode, Boss Survival) and items (Infinite Bandana) introduced in the mobile phone version of the original Metal Gear were included in this version as well.

• Revamped character designs - The character face shots shown during the game's radio mode (as well as the opening intro) were redrawn by Metal Gear Solid character designer Yoji Shinkawa. While the original designs in the MSX2 version resembled actual movie actors and people, the designs in the new version are brought more in line with Shinkawa's designs from the Metal Gear Solid series. The portraits of Snake and Campbell were taken from the Gameboy Color game, Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, while Master Miller's portrait was redesigned to appear as he did in Metal Gear Solid.

• Rewritten script - The script was changed to include more kanji characters than the MSX2 version.

• Name changes - Like the mobile phone version of Metal Gear, some characters' names were changed:
  • Natasha Markova was changed to Gustava Heffner, most likely so that she would not be confused with Nastasha Romanenko from Metal Gear Solid
  • Yozef Norden was changed to Johan Jacobsen
  • Petrovich Madnar was given the full name of Drago Petrovich Madnar, establishing the name "Petrovich" as the character's patronymic middle name.
  • Black Color was changed to Black Ninja.
  • Ultra Box was changed to the Four Horsemen.
  • Predator was changed to Jungle Evil.
  • Night Sight was changed to Night Fright.

• Modified items - Some of the items were modified (graphically and functionality) to parallel their usage in the Metal Gear Solid series.
  • The graphical icons for each of three ration types are now colored differently to tell them apart.
  • Equipping the cigarettes will now drain the player's life bar. Moreover, the graphical icon was changed to no longer resemble a package of Lucky Strikes.
  • The Thermal Goggles, an item that did not appear in the MSX version, can be found in B1 in first building. It can be used as an alternative to the cigarettes.
  • In the MSX2 version, the player could only place six landmines per screen. In the mobile phone version, this was increased to sixteen.
  • The time it takes for Natasha/Gustava's brooch to change shape was shortened slightly.
  • The time for an egg to hatch was shortened as well.

• Modified play mechanics - Certain aspects of the gameplay were changed to make the game easier for the player.
  • Switching from standing to crawling mode is now assigned to a single button.
  • The tap codes were changed.
  • A mark will appear on the player's feet when making a noise while walking on certain types of terrain. Note: This is not included in the PlayStation 2 version.
  • If a hollow wall is punched, a question mark will appear over it.
  • Frequency numbers are now saved under a memory window after dialing them the first time.
  • Campbell's second frequency (which originally could only be learned by checking the rear side of the MSX2 version's packaging) is now given to the player instead.

PlayStation 2 version

A PlayStation 2 version was released as a component of Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence. The PS2 version included all the changes made in the mobile phone release, along with an official English translation for the North American and European releases. This was the first time the game was officially released outside Japan. The North American version also included a Spanish language script.

In the PlayStation 2 version, the player still has to learn Tap Codes and Campbell's second radio frequency from manual. However, because the North American version only came with a brief manual and the downloadable manual from Konami's official site did not provide in-depth content for either of the classic Metal Gear games, many players had to consult online sites or fan-translated versions of the original manual in order to find certain radio frequencies. Konami later posted an FAQ, covering all the needed solutions. [1] In the European manual, no tap-codes were given, but the frequency required to progress was printed in the manual instead.

Pop-culture references

Although most of them were toned down or removed completely in the later versions, the MSX2 version contained various references to pop-cultures and other fictional works.

• As noted above, the original face portraits were modelled after the likeness of actual actors and celebrity-like figures: Mel Gibson/Sylvester Stallone/Michael Madsen as Solid Snake (the Mel Gibson resemblance most notable in the game's opening intro, whilst Madsen's's face was more noticeable in the radio portrait), Sean Connery as Big Boss, Christina Applegate as Holly White, Dolph Lundgren as George Kasler, Tom Berenger as Gray Fox, Richard Crenna as Roy Campbell, Danny Devito as Yozev Norden and Albert Einstein as Dr. Pettrovich Madnar.

• The names of the bosses also contained pop-culture references, with some of them being named after films or novels in the MSX2 version: Black Color (a reference to the novel The Blackcollar), The Running Man, Ultra Box (named after Ultravox) and Predator. With the exception of Running Man, all of the above names were changed in recent versions.

• The operation orders printed on page 37 of the original MSX2 manual was a homage of a similar operation instructions from the J.C. Pollock novel, Crossfire. Several aspects of the actual storyline in the game was influenced by the book, including the protagonist Frank Kessler, who shares his first name with Frank Jaeger and his surname with George Kasler (spelled "Kessler" in the fan translation of the MSX2 version).

• The manufacturer of the toilets installed in Zanzibar Building is listed as Gainax, named after the Japanese animation studio of the same name.

• Pegimin H, a fictional substance from the Japanese series Ultra Q, is listed as one of Zanzibar Land's natural resource.

• In the original MSX2 version, the enemy uses Minovsky Particles, a fictional electronic wave from Mobile Suit Gundam, to disable Snake's radar during the game's alert phase. Gundam mecha designer Hajime Katoki would later provide the mecha designs for Policenauts.

External links

• Official Website for the Mobile Phone version (Japanese)
• Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake at MobyGames
• Metal Gear Week on 1UP.com, with Hideo Kojima interview
• GOTW: Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
• Hideo Kojima: Game Guru, Movie Maniac
• Neoseeker: Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
• English Metal Gear 2 Development Committee
• Howto from English Metal Gear 2 Development Committee (Wayback Machine copy - original page is missing)