3DS review: Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D

Metal Gear Solid 3, the tale of how Naked Snake set out on the path to become Big Boss, and the effective starting point of the entire Metal Gear legacy, received a 3DS port early in the handheld’s life cycle. Much like Star Fox 64 3D, Ocarina of Time 3D, and Majora’s Mask 3D, Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D is taken directly from its console version and reworked to fit the control scheme of the 3DS. However, unlike those other 3DS re-releases, Snake Eater 3D does not see any graphical upgrades from the Playstation 2 original. Which is not to say that the game is any less aesthetically pleasing or immersive than ten years ago, when it debuted – the jungles are lush and dense with greenery, the animals active, and the wandering patrols a constant threat to Snake’s location being exposed. The frame rate does, unfortunately, dip a bit during cutscenes where there are many characters or events on screen at the same time. Gameplay, however, is never hampered by this.

The touch screen is utilized wonderfully, as the stylus can be used to easily access Snake’s codec, medical supplies, and food items. Weapons and items have also been relegated to the touch screen, and nine of each can be set to be on-hand at any given time, while another icon allows you to swap those out with additional items that Snake picks up and stores in his supply pack. This cuts down significantly on switching up Snake’s loadouts, which were previously managed via a scroll wheel on the PS2 and HD Collection releases.

Snake can also draw his weapons and put them away with a press of the right shoulder button. However, a simple tap of the shoulder button will not suffice – you have to hold it down for a brief second, otherwise the input may not take. Given the stealth-heavy nature of Snake Eater 3D, this rarely proves problematic, save for a couple of the boss fights, wherein it can be mildly frustrating as you dodge attacks and attempt to quickly react to Snake’s supernaturally-powered foes. While not necessary for playing Snake Eater 3D, the 3DS’ Circle Pad Pro attachment is highly recommended for anyone already familiar with the button and joystick layouts on the home console releases. All in all, though, despite being a port of a game that whose original release was never designed with a handheld in mind, Snake Eater 3D runs very well on the system, and the new control scheme is handled wonderfully – far better than some would have suspected.

The voice acting is, of course, just as great as it was a decade ago on the PS2. David Hayter’s iconic Snake voice keeps players company for the majority of the adventure, with humor from support members Major Zero and Para-Medic often flying right over his head. Suzetta Minet portrays the sultry and quick-witted EVA, Neil Ross puts forth a commanding performance as sadistic villain Colonel Volgin, while Josh Keaton’s depiction of a young Ocelot is one of a lovable try-hard who often slips up in his own attempts to impress his superiors. A few new sequences of dialogue have been added to this 3DS release, covering the updated control scheme. All of the spoken dialogue, as well as the iconic soundtrack and titular theme song, come across clear and clean through the 3DS’ speakers.

Equally memorable to the voice work in Snake Eater 3D are the boss encounters with the members of the Cobra Unit. They remain as intense and varied as ever, seeing no alterations from their PS2 counterparts. More seasoned veterans of the Metal Gear series will likely opt for as stealthy a playthrough as possible, maximizing their camouflage percentage by pairing patterns and face paint to the surrounding environment to better avoid detection. The 3DS' camera can be utilized to make new camo patterns for Snake, though these are not as complex in nature as the game's pre-loaded camo options, and will always default to registering as the most prominent color within the picture that was taken, ignoring any less prominent colors that are a part of that same image.

For those new to the Metal Gear play style, there are plenty of weapons beyond the default silenced tranquilizer pistol that can be found in the jungle, including an AK-47, a short-barrel shotgun, an SDV sniper rifle, and a more lethal handgun, to name a few - just don't expect a warm welcome from Volgin's GRU forces if you fire loudly in their direction. Plenty of additional items and food rations can be missed, should you choose not to devote time to exploration. The 3DS' gyroscope is briefly used to balance Snake on branches and bridges, while the hidden collect-a-thon Kerotan statues have been replaced with the likeness of Mario’s green pal Yoshi.

A first time playthrough of Snake Eater 3D will likely push close to the twenty hour mark, while players who have beaten Snake Eater in the past and simply want a quick retread can finish the game in less than fifteen. Snake Eater 3D does see a few technical hang-ups, and some very minor control oversights, but more often than not it excels as yet another great handheld port of a console classic in the 3DS' library. And at the end of the day, it remains the greatest Metal Gear story ever told.

My rating: 8.75 (out of 10)

Top 5 Instrumental Tracks in the Metal Gear Series

The Metal Gear franchise has long stood among the greatest of video games, due in no small part to its deep and involved narrative that carries on in increasingly complex ways from one entry to the next. With each new game comes an equally impressive soundtrack, which fittingly also tend to rank among the best this entertainment medium has to offer. Below are my personal picks for the five best instrumental tracks in the entire Metal Gear franchise, following up on my previous list of the series' five best vocal tracks.

#5 – Yell Dead Cell (Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty): While perhaps simpler in its arrangement as a tense techno action tune, Yell Dead Cell does well in helping to establish the atmosphere of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty early on. While The Sons of Liberty may be the sequel’s stand-ins for Foxhound, they operate on very different ideals and significantly more advanced tech. There may be fewer representatives in Dead Cell, yet each feels threatening due to the strikingly different skill sets and arsenals they possess. Yell Dead Cell is a classic, catchy tune, and given the in-game scenarios it is attributed to, a great way to help set the stage for the MGS sequel.

#4 – Eva’s Reminiscence (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater): A slow burn to a sultry, soft jazz number, Eva’s Reminiscence is a perfect match to the character is represents. The song may rely on a much longer buildup than other Metal Gear tunes before its 1960s spy movie soundtrack style is revealed, but Eva’s story progression is delivered in a very similar fashion. She is a mysterious ally to Snake during his mission to take down Colonel Volgin’s Shagohod, but always seems to be withholding information from him, teasing Snake during each of their encounters. As the game enters its epilogue sequences, Eva’s true nature is revealed, leaving a bittersweet impact on both Snake and the player.

#3 – Zero Allies! (Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker): Utilizing a sampling of the classic MGS2 theme scored by Harry Gregson-Williams, Zero Allies! is more than a mere throwback to the games that preceded it. It is an encapsulation of the Peace Walker story – the theme of Naked Snake transitioning into Big Boss and wrestling with his complicated history with The Boss, as well as the sense of desperation and intense tactical espionage as the private army of Militaires Sans Frontieres builds itself up in the face of an ever-delicate balance of global politics. It also opens with some of the some echoes reminiscent of a couple of other Peace Walker tunes, namely Clients and Mother Base, and to that end plays into the stealthy construction of Mother Base and the mysterious nature of a steady recruitment of soldiers to Big Boss’ cause.

#2 – On The Ground – Battle in the Jungle (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater): A successor to the stealth and detection themes of the two previous Metal Gear Solid titles, Snake Eater takes its soundtrack to a whole new level with a tune that can be as frequently-changing as the situations Naked Snake finds himself in. Keeping a low profile in Metal Gear Solid 3 is a much more complex and involved ordeal than in the games that came before it, as Snake must rely on camouflage patterns as he traverses harsh jungle terrain – both enemy soldiers and wildlife posing a threat to him. Snake’s need to nourish his body and patch himself up on the go similarly leads to MGS3’s more involved gameplay, and juggling these multiple facets leads to a more complex yet more so rewarding gaming experience than many other entries in the series. This tune is more than an accompaniment to the moments when GRU soldiers spot Snake crawling through some tall grass – it’s an audible representation of the situation at hand, the general atmosphere surrounding Snake.

#1 – Debriefing (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater): The last leg of the Metal Gear Solid 3 epilogue offers a full and striking reveal of The Boss’ role in the larger picture. It is lead into by the information that Eva leaves Snake before she hits the road, and she details how The Boss let her in on certain details during the time they spent together in Groznyj Grad. Snake’s history with The Boss is described as being intimate and complicated, as they spent years of their lives together training on the battlefield, which is why Snake was so frustrated and confused by her apparent defection to Volgin’s political uprising. Debriefing is the song that plays over the final page of the Snake Eater story, the last hurrah before The Boss’ legacy can be paid tribute to, then laid to rest. It is largely responsible to those final moments of the game being so emotionally charged, and is part of – what I consider to be – one of the greatest cinematic moments in video game history.

Top 10 Vocal Tracks in the Metal Gear Series (#5-1)

The Metal Gear franchise has long stood among the greatest of video games, due in no small part to its deep and involved narrative that carries on in increasingly complex ways from one entry to the next. With each new game comes an equally impressive soundtrack, which fittingly also tend to rank among the best this entertainment medium has to offer. Below are my personal picks for the five best vocal tracks in the entire Metal Gear franchise. With the release of The Phantom Pain, I have also created a follow-up to this list, detailing the vocal tracks I feel are deserving of spots numbers six through ten, which you can read here.

#5 – A Stranger I Remain (Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance): One of the few Revengeance tracks to steer clear of screamo lyrics and thrash riffs, A Stranger I Remain is not only a solid metal track with a beautiful blend of haunting vocals and a heavy, fast-paced guitar part, it’s also a song very befitting the character it represents. Mistral’s theme provides a great accompaniment to someone as imperfect as Raiden. It’s rather curious that MGR gets so much right in their presentation of the Mistral boss fight, as it is so early in the game – much in the way of the gameplay, visuals, and music that make up the later boss encounters fail to reach the fantastic culmination witnessed in the Mistral encounter.

#4 – Calling to the Night (Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops): One of the few Metal Gear Solid titles I have not played, this tune seems to have transcended its platform to become recognized as one of the more memorable tunes in the series. Of the two major MGS releases on the PSP, Portable Ops was largely overshadowed by Peace Walker, yet this tune continues to appear on fan compilations of favorite tracklistings from the franchise. And rightfully so – it’s a melancholy tune that is very fitting for Naked Snake post-Snake Eater. He has to effectively rediscover who he is and make a name for himself, so that by the time that the events of Peace Walker roll around, he and his private army are fully prepared for the greater challenges that lie ahead.

#3 – Red Sun (Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance): Sundowner ended up being one of my least favorite characters in Metal Gear Rising, both with regards to his hillbilly personality and a boss fight that felt significantly less inspired than the company of Monsoon, Mistral, and Blade Wolf. However, his theme song utilized deep vocals and a slightly grungier rock sound, all while maintaining the hardcore metal appeal of Revengeance’s soundtrack. Red Sun’s lyrics offer metaphors that are perhaps a bit more thinly veiled than the game’s other vocal tracks, but it’s certainly a catchy number, one that I have found myself listening to many times since completing Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.

#2 – The Best is Yet to Come (Metal Gear Solid): I often favor many of the softer, slower vocal tracks from the Metal Gear series because they tend to convey the emotional burdens carried by Solid Snake and Naked Snake better than the fast-paced and loud tracks. Those are great for stealth and action sequences, sure, but at the end of the day, when it’s time to gaze back upon everything Snake has accomplished, every hurdle he’s had to overcome, every friend and foe that has fallen along the way, there’s really no other track that better embodies the gravity of all that than The Best is Yet to Come. It's a reminder of the trial he has surpassed, and those that lie still lie ahead.

#1 – Snake Eater (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater): Snake Eater is one of those tracks that is equal parts silly and epic. It’s a deliberate throwback to James Bond theme songs (some of which boast more cheesy lyrics than others), as can only work in a Cold War setting featuring a one-man army. Snake Eater has long been my favorite entry in the Metal Gear franchise, as its perfect combination of stealth and action elements, deeply human story, and unique sense of style result in a product that transcends what most video games, films, and novels can deliver. There’s really no other medium in which Snake Eater would work to such an effective degree, and there’s no other song that could make the introduction so memorable. Snake Eater presently stands as one of my all-time favorite video game theme songs, and I have no doubt it will continue to do so for many years to come.

25 Days of Villains - #23: Colonel Volgin

"Kuwabara kuwabara"


Colonel Volgin is a bad guy in every sense of the term. He seeks to obtain the Philosopher's Legacy, and at the same time wants to rally his countrymen to his goal of igniting the flames of war with the United States. But just how does Volgin intend to usurp Khrushchev's regime and turn the cold war blazing hot? By holding scientist Sokolov hostage and ordering the construction of the Shagohod, an all-terrain tank with a nuclear payload that - at its top speed - can target nearly any location on U.S. soil. As one of his earliest displays of power, Volgin decides to launch a portable mini-nuke at a facility of those who have not aligned themselves with his goals.

Political aims aside, Volgin has a penchant for bloodshed and violence. His sadistic tendencies are not just limited to his relationship with Tatyana. Upon seeing through Naked Snake's disguise as Major Raikov, Volgin beats him senseless, then has his bloodied form tortured. Suspecting that the Boss might somehow be in league with Snake, he decides the best way for her to prove her loyalty to him is to cut out Snake's eyes (with a knife, while he is still conscious). While Ocelot's interruption only costs Snake one eye, Volgin seems quite pleased with the results.

Volgin also exhibits a hatred of failure. When Snake infiltrates Groznyj Grad to detonate the Shagohod, Volgin faces him in hand-to-hand combat, channeling electricity through his punches. After the facility is destroyed, Volgin gives chase in the very-much-intact Shagohod, tailing Snake and EVA on their motorbike quite a distance away from Groznyj Grad. Even after the nuclear launcher is lost to the ravine, Volgin insists on stopping the duo with the drills and guns mounted on the cockpit portion of the Shagohod. Out of breath and utterly defeated, Volgin dies in a manner most befitting of someone who relished in the thought of bringing others pain - his body is struck by lightning, and the flames rising from the Shagohod cause the shell rounds he slings over his torso to explode one by one.

Boss theme: