Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid series is one of the most beloved franchises in gaming. Which means that we absolutely need to rank all Metal Gear Solid games, from worst to best.
As a series known for a ridiculously convoluted plot, pachinko games, and incredibly weird moments, its entries are also often memorable, touching, and self-assured. So let’s take a look at each mainline game and rank them accordingly.
Do be warned that this article contains light spoilers for all the games, so proceed with caution if you’re a newer player.
7. Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
All Metal Gear Solid Games Ranked
The PSP was a great handheld, and being able to play a proper Metal Gear Solid game on the go was like a godsend for fans of the game. It was also the first game that really focused on Naked Snake’s leadership qualities, and how he became the Big Boss we all know him as today.
Personally, I didn’t find the story too engaging, though it did cover a lot of vital plot points in Big Boss’s history. The real shining point of Portable Ops lies in its gameplay.
Portable Ops had a heavy focus on building up your army, and being able to assign your soldiers to specific departments based on their individual strengths. While the story itself wasn’t quite as impressive or memorable enough for me to give it a higher position on this list, Portable Ops definitely achieved what it set out to do: deliver a true tactical espionage action experience on a handheld, and allowed players to properly step into the shoes of Big Boss for the first time and build your own nation from the ground up.
6. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
All Metal Gear Solid Games Ranked
Also developed for the PSP, Peace Walker fixed all the gameplay issues that were present in Portable Ops. By introducing the Fulton Recovery System (oh yes), it was now much easier to recruit enemy soldiers and send them to Mother Base. The introduction of Mother Base itself also further emphasized the significance of Big Boss and his increasing power as you amassed more resources for your headquarters.
Not to mention, Peace Walker also allowed you to team up with your friends and tackle missions in a cooperative mode. While most of the appeal of the Metal Gear Solid games has always came from it being a solo stealth experience, there were few things more satisfying than coordinating stealth attacks with friends and taking down giant tanks together.
Peace Walker not only took the Portable Ops formula and refined it to a state of near perfection, it also delivered a story that was infinitely more satisfying than its predecessor. Characters like Paz, Chico, and Miller enriched the game’s universe and the development of their character arcs in the story also helped to shed more light on Big Boss’s personality.
5. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
All Metal Gear Solid Games Ranked
Ah yes, The Phantom Pain. The game that was meant to be Kojima’s farewell to the series and its legacy. It’s really too bad the game fell completely on its face the moment we started the second chapter.
The Phantom Pain manages to crawl its way to the fifth spot on this list by virtue of its excellent gameplay. Now a completely open-world game, MGSV allows players a plethora of options when deciding to how to infiltrate an enemy outpost. You can go in guns blazing, or scout the base with your trusty binoculars. You can identify soldiers with useful skill sets and use the Fulton Recovery System to kidnap them and bring them back to base. You can even kidnap animals, which is all I’ve ever wanted to do in a Metal Gear Solid game.
The Buddy system is pretty neat too, and really helps to capture the feeling of working in a team to sneak into enemy territory. It’s essentially Peace Walker, but on an incredibly large scale. The Phantom Pain greatly excels in terms of gameplay.
The story is where it really falls short. The narrative makes sense for the most part, and the game toys with interesting concepts like language and nationality, but the pacing falls apart in the latter half of the game. Plot threads are put together loosely, the story jumps haphazardly from one point to another, resulting in a conclusion that doesn’t feel earned at all. The ending itself isn’t so bad, but it would have been better served with a neater execution and a clear development arc that led to a climactic revelation.
Sorry, MGSV. You’re an awesome stealth game, but you’re kind of a poor excuse for a Metal Gear Solid game.
4. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
All Metal Gear Solid Games Ranked
As the first proper game that allowed players to take control of Big Boss, Snake Eater had a lot to live up to. Before the charismatic Big Boss was born, we had Naked Snake, the soldier who was willing to do anything for this country. I guess you might call him a… patriot?
In terms of gameplay and design, MGS3 was a rather huge departure from the first two games. By introducing the stamina bar, camouflage meters, and the ability to catch your food, Snake Eater did a stellar job of putting players into a soldier’s shoes, and this added an entirely new level of depth to the gameplay and made it that much more dynamic.