Note: This review is based on the PC version and will rate all the games in the collection together. While they are purchasable separately, this was sold as a collection and will be reviewed as such.


When it comes to franchises like the Metal Gear series, most expect a certain level of quality, even from a mere port of the games. Unfortunately, if the Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Volume I was playing a role in Jesus' parable of the talents, it would have earned the spot of the man who wasted his single talent.

The first volume of this collection contains the MSX Metal Gear 1 and 2, the NES port of the first game, the non-canon Snakes Revenge NES-only sequel, and the ports of the first three Metal Gear Solid games based on their latest releases on the PS3. Or such is how this collection is billed.

All of these games are stealth-action games, largely involving the player using skill and guile to evade enemy detection and to escape danger as quickly as possible. Some fights are unavoidable, but even here strategy is key to victory. The first two NES/MSX games were top-down games due to their format. The first Metal Gear Solid followed suit, though the latter two had third and first-person modes as well as top-down action.

In all of these games, the use of gadgets and various weapons will be essential to progress, with almost all items procured "on-site", as the player starts "naked" of any gear or close to it. The third Solid title introduces some elements of realism, such as injuries and needing to perform first aid and player stamina and needing to procure food to sustain it. Prior, the second Solid game allowed for the non-lethal defeat of almost all nonmechanical bosses for pacifistic runs.

All games come with a fair amount of extras, such as a sound test, concept art, biographical material of the in-universe characters, and so on. Curiously, some materials from tie-ins like "The Document of Metal Gear Solid 2" are not included.

The plot of the series, if you are new to it, is a mix of various movie shoutouts (have fun noting all the references to them, the creator is a movie nerd), science fiction, spy thrillers, and all involve stopping the titular "Metal Gear", a bipedal walking tank capable of firing nuclear weapons. I'll try not to spoil much more than that if you are new to the series. The story is often a mix of being dead serious and with some zany weird moments that is worth the ride.

Graphically, this is based on the HD Collection for PS3 for the MGS 2 and 3 ports, meaning they look like upscaled and crisp versions of their PS2 incarnations, albeit the 720p cap on resolution means it's still not going to look as good as it could. The MGS1 port, unfortunately, is a direct port of the PS1 version instead of being based on the PC port, and it looks like a hideous soupy, low-resolution mess that is grainier than the average sandbox. The NES/MSX ports of Metal Gear are on par with their original 8/16 bit looks, and aside from being letterboxed, look just fine.Note, the port of the MSX Metal Gear 2 features the updated artwork as shown in official MGS3 port with character art consistent with the rest of the games as opposed to the more realistic art where all the characters were based on real life actors.

Sounds and music are excellent for all titles, retaining the high quality of cinematic movie style excellence they are known for. There is something of a de-emphasis on the MGS1 theme in these ports (given it ran into copyright issues with a Russian composition a long time ago), but it's barely noticeable and the rest of the soundtrack is unaffected. I do recommend headphones for the best experience though, the internal sound volume was a bit low in places.

The controls are perfectly fine if you use a controller of some sort. All games work the best if you use one of these, and are mapped to generally the same keys they had on the console. Keyboard and mouse users did get the short end of the stick, though. On top of not properly saving keybinding for custom setups, these games were given last-minute support for keyboards and mice and it shows. In short, play this with a controller or you will not have a lot of fun.

It needs to be mentioned these are the original PS1/PS2 games as they ran on the PS3, albeit running through an official Unity-based emulation wrapper. Overall, they are stable on Windows, though outside of MGS1 (which runs poorly on Linux, not much better on Windows sadly), the rest will not run at this time past the intro sequence on the Steam Deck without some customized tweaks (and performance is still uneven). There is a known issue at the time of this writing with uneven FPS on all titles, though there are official workarounds for Nvidia and AMD graphics cards.

It bears mentioning the limitations of the emulation. Both MGS2 and MGS3 as well as the NES/MSX games run at their original 60 FPS, albeit the former two are capped at 1280 x 720 resolution and the NES/MSX games are run in a letterboxed window. MGS1 however, made a very unusual decision. It emulates the original PS1 game, VR Missions, Special Missions (EU VR Missions), and Integral (PS1 Japanese version) as they ran on consoles, not merely a repackaging of the generally competent PC port of Integral released internationally.

This is unfortunately because the emulation of MGS1 is horrific. It's a muddy, low-resolution mess that runs in a pillar-boxed window. It's frustrating because the PC port of the first game (which can be bought on Good Old Games) works much better on modern computers and looks and plays a lot nicer. The version in this port is capped at a measly 30 FPS (25 on the EU versions) and runs like grainy molasses at 320x240 without upscaling, filtering, or support for more modern resolutions.

Morally, MGS games have some definite problems.

Violence is going to be graphic. While the player is encouraged to use nonviolent means and stealth, violence and messy killing are still viable options. MGS3 in particular features a particularly sadistic and bloody beating meted out on the protagonist in a cutscene, there is a brief torture sequence in every game, and several gruesome scenes of murder and assault are plot important. The player may also attack animals without provocation in MGS2 or otherwise maim enemies over what is needed to prevent assault in both MGS2 and 3, should they choose to act sadistically.

Language is generally no higher than moderate PG-13 level, rising no higher than occasional use of b**t**d. There are some minor sexual innuendos at rare intervals from a few bosses and a few miscellaneous comments, though that's about it. While not highlighted, it is possible, albeit difficult to accomplish, to instantly kill (with lethal weapons) or incapacitate (via punches) enemies with hits to the groin. There is an optional sequence where a player can be hit by someone urinating off a high ledge, with the player given the option to remain under the spray or avoid it.

Sexual content is generally nothing overly severe, with a few female characters wearing little, ranging from obviously not wearing underwear underneath their outfits to the beginnings of an out-of-wedlock love-making scene (albeit it cuts off before anything more than undergarments comes off). The player can choose to do some sexually degenerate things, like "kiss" posters of scantily clad women or even at one point crawl over the unconscious body of a female NPC (acts that get appropriately called out as depraved if done so). There are a few confirmed bisexual and/or homosexual characters, typically not treated with anything other than contempt when it's mentioned. There is one sequence in MGS2 where the male protagonist is stripped naked and forced to evade the enemy to recover their gear. They do get to cover their important parts and this sequence is brief.

Given the presence of psychic powers, some mentions of alleged magic, and at least one confirmed supernatural boss in the third game that summons the ghosts of all characters the player killed lethally as part of the "fight", there is a fair amount of content of otherworldly nature in the game, though admittedly much is left to interpretation in some cases.

Morally and ethically, the player plays as a member of an officially recognized military group or NGO that is bound to a code of actions generally compliant with the rules and customs of war. Their actions are often unofficial or such that their death or capture will have their existence denied by their sponsors. Canonically, they do their missions as quietly, honorably, and lawfully as circumstances make possible. The player may choose to act capriciously, sadistically, or make a point of committing murder and chaos if they choose, albeit these acts are discouraged as both degrading and unlawful excess. The player must act against both lawfully uniformed combatants as well as terrorists, and they may choose to commit themselves to evasion and nonlethal incapacitation or any degree of violence they feel appropriate.

Finally, alcohol does not play a role in the story (mentioned offhand in a joking fashion at most), except for a brief scene with one character who is drunk. However, the main character is a heavy smoker. Their cigarettes/cigars do have legitimate uses in sussing out certain traps or used to remove leeches in MGS3 and their use as recreational drugs is pointed out as unhealthy.

Overall, this port was released in a rather mediocre state, being a bad conversion of the first three MGS games alongside some miscellaneous extras, and it should have been given much more care and quality. Morally, these games tell a story fit only for mature audiences. Given it's the first of two planned volumes, I would recommend against the purchase of this collection until it is greatly fixed and patched and would reserve judgment when the second half releases to be sure it's of far better quality, the first half is quite disappointing in that regard.