It’s Tuesday, which means it’s time for Retro Ad Replay, the series where we take a trip back in time, to reminisce and celebrate the anniversary of the biggest moments in gaming. If you find yourself wanting more content like this, be sure to visit Mandatory.com.
In this, our September 3 edition, we’ll be traveling back 21 years to September 3, 1998. That was the day that Metal Gear Solid launched for the PlayStation. Japan was the first to enjoy this big release, with the US and EU following shortly after.
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Developed and published by Konami, Metal Gear Solid was responsible for propelling the series and its director, producer, and writer Hideo Kojima into the spotlight. The game was exclusive to the PlayStation, but was later remastered in 2004 as Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes for the Nintendo GameCube.
Though it launched in 1998, the game was initially revealed in 1996. You can see the reveal trailer embedded below:
Hideo Kojima himself can first be seen at the 0:57 mark. Look at all that “top secret” content he’s working on! Also, note how the game’s UI and graphics look wildly different from the final release.
The E3 2017 trailer is what most Metal Gear Solid fans will remember most vividly. It was five minutes of gameplay clips cut together into an epic montage, ending with Solid Snake using C4 explosives to blow up the Shadow Moses helipad. The iconic music brings the memories flooding back. Truly epic!
While GameRevolution didn’t review the original game, we did voice our opinions on the Twin Snakes remaster. You can read that review here.
Metal Gear Solid‘s success also led to the sequel, Sons of Liberty, which carried out one of the biggest twists in gaming, ditching Solid Snake for a completely different main character. Despite how controversial this decision ended up being, it still managed a perfect score in the GameRevolution review.
