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Konami invited us to play Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1. We had about an hour to play Metal Gear Solid and its two sequels and look at the bonus content, which isn’t much time for a game of this size, but we got a good idea of the collection. Now, the damage?
OG Metal Gear Solid started us off. We were surprised to find that this port retains the PS1’s low resolution and frame rate. We had a giddy retro thrill seeing it run as intended, but it feels like a missed opportunity to not provide a more modern way to play these games.
Speaking of missed opportunities, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater are based on the 2012 PS3 and Xbox 360 HD Collection editions. We say ‘based on’, but Konami has made no effort to hide this fact (it did announce it with a slim banner on the collection’s promotional material). The menus for both games prominently display ‘HD Edition’ and ‘© 2012 Konami’.
These versions are 720p, and the Switch version appears to be capped at 30fps, despite the original HD releases being 60fps. The Switch is more powerful than the two consoles that held these games, so halving the frames is disappointing.
Konami confirmed that the games will target the same resolution (720p) and frame rate as the initial HD releases on PS5, Xbox Series X, and the newly announced PS4. Since Switch doesn’t run them at 60fps, we’ll have to see how they do on other platforms.
Bonus content made us smile like kids. This collection has many great extras, including the MSX versions of Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2, the NES version of the first game, and Snake’s Revenge.
The big three come with a screenplay each and a special booklet with history and insider information for each game, so you can finally recreate the iconic ‘Les Infants Terrible’ scene with more confidence.
Beyond that, little else to say! 100% pleased to see all three games on Switch. We’d be lying if we said the core games’ presentation wasn’t disappointing. Given the care put into the bonus content, the lack of it in the main games seems out of place.
Three great games may be enough to win our vote, but you’ll have to wait for our review. First impressions, though? Konami could have gone all out to honor these classics with a special package. Bonus features aside, this isn’t.
