Summary
- Metal Gear has solid spinoffs with unique gameplay that are worth a try.
- Metal Gear games made by different directors maintain the series' charm.
- Entries not directed by Hideo Kojima proved worthwhile despite lukewarm reception.
The Metal Gear franchise has been closely associated with Hideo Kojima since he helped start it all in 1986. He directed most of the main games, which most mainstream fans have played, but there are plenty of good spinoffs, too. While they weren’t directed by Hideo Kojima, they are still worthwhile entries in the Metal Gear franchise.
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Metal Gear is a rare series that doesn’t really have a lot of duds in it, from the mainline games to the spinoffs. How many other franchises can say that, even legends like Mario or Final Fantasy? So today, this List will go through the Metal Gear games Hideo Kojima didn’t direct and rank them based on their overall quality.
6 Metal Gear Survive
Youta Tsutsumizaki Steps Up After Kojima
Metal Gear Survive
- Released
- February 21, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- m
- Genre(s)
- Survival
The post-Konami breakup with Hideo Kojima was a rough one in the press, and fans thought the Metal Gear series was dead until this announcement. Youta Tsutsumizaki directed Metal Gear Survive, which is the first game Hideo Kojima hasn’t worked on since the NES days. Tsutsumizaki had worked on various games in the series before this, but this was his big break in the director’s chair. Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls is a lesser-known project that Tsutsumizaki also worked on, a mobile-based Metroidvania.
Metal Gear Survive takes place in an alternate timeline from Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, allowing players to create their character and then go out and survive in an odd zombie-like apocalypse. There was some classic stealth gameplay, but overall it has more in common nowadays with a survival game like Rust than a Metal Gear game. That may be why the response from fans was initially lukewarm, but those who stuck with the game eventually found its charm.
5 Metal Gear: Ghost Babel
Shinta Nojiri Reimagines Snake’s Return
Metal Gear: Ghost Babel
- Released
- May 5, 2000
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- m
- Genre(s)
- Stealth
Metal Gear: Ghost Babel also took place in an alternate timeline to the mainline series. It saw the return of Solid Snake after his retirement in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, which took place during the same period as Metal Gear Solid. Snake was given a different mission, one that resembled the classic MSX games with a top-down perspective and a level-based progression system common to many Game Boy Color games.
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This was Shinta Nojiri’s first role directing a game in the Metal Gear series, which at this point wasn’t popular. He would later go on to aid in the development of other Metal Gear projects, including more notable games than this one. Still, while it was an old-school approach to gameplay, it had everything fans would want to see in a Metal Gear game, from dynamic boss battles to charming Codec calls.
4 Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
Masahiro Yamamoto Continues Big Boss’ Journey
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
- Released
- December 5, 2006
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Animated Blood, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Stealth, Action
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops was a direct sequel to Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, but it was not helmed by Hideo Kojima. Instead, Konami veteran Masahiro Yamamoto took charge, who would aid in many productions before leaving and helping other Japanese companies when Konami's game production was slowing down. For example, he worked with Good-Feel to direct the Nintendo Switch exclusive Yoshi's Crafted World.
Back to the game, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops saw Big Boss on another mission to stop an evil group from wreaking havoc on the world. It was a fully-featured PSP game that had a multiplayer expansion, too, but it never saw a console port, unlike its full sequel, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, which Kojima directed. In many ways, that game’s recruitment system would not exist without Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops paving the way, and Yamamoto deserves praise for that.
3 Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
Carey Murray And Silicon Knights Lead This Remake
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
- Released
- March 9, 2004
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action, Stealth
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes is a weird one, to be sure, because a lot of irons were in the fire during its development. The core team was led by Carey Murray, who was listed as the Project Lead in the credits. Funnily enough, besides animation and motion capture branches, there was never a head director listed in the credits. This might be because the game is a remake of Metal Gear Solid, which Hideo Kojima heavily worked on.
However Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes came to be is officially a mystery, but what’s known at least is that Kojima didn’t fully direct it, nor did Konami solely develop it. It was a rare collaboration between an Eastern and Western studio at the time, attempting to create a lavish remake of a beloved game with tons of gameplay tweaks. For example, snake would go into first-person while aiming, like in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. This was, and still is, a GameCube exclusive that never left the system, so there are tons of Nintendo secrets hidden too, like Yoshi statues.
2 Metal Gear Acid 2
Shinta Nojiri Returns For A D-D-D-Duel
Metal Gear Acid 2
- Released
- December 8, 2005
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M
- Genre(s)
- Tactical, Stealth, RPG
Shinta Nojiri returned to direct two of the wildest games in the series: Metal Gear Acid and Metal Gear Acid 2. Both games feature tactical gameplay akin to a grid-based strategy game like Final Fantasy Tactics, except that movement and actions are driven by collecting cards. The first game’s visual style was more realistic, whereas the sequel was given a cel-shaded aesthetic to match the wackier vibes of the story.
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Snake was given a new partner and the bosses were larger than life. Also, players who bought Metal Gear Acid 2 on PSP got a paper peripheral that helped view the game in 3D before the 3DS was released. It didn’t work well, but it was an interesting idea. Metal Gear Acid 2 stands up there as one of the greatest games in the series, but is sadly wasting away on the PSP.
1 Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Kenji Saito And PlatinumGames Save The Day
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
- Released
- February 19, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- Action
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance started as a spinoff within Konami, with a team that Kojima put together, but when things were going poorly, a third party stepped in. Kenji Saito eventually directed this game and PlatinumGames developed it for Konami. PlatinumGames’ understanding of action was well-known at that point, making Raiden behave like Bayonetta with a katana.
It's fast, fluid, and still retains a lot of the charm from the mainline games, meaning it is a weird and over-the-top video game. From an exceptionally muscled senator who looks like he took The Hulk’s radiation drugs, to Raiden trying to disguise himself in a sombrero, the goofier tone made the game feel like it had Kojima’s stamp of approval on it. While teased many times, there has yet to be a sequel, forcing this cyborg ninja to rust in retirement, but thankfully, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance can at least be played on modern systems, unlike many of these other entries.
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