Metal Gear Solid 2 Vs. Metal Gear Solid 3: Which Game Is…

Summary

Metal Gear Solid 2 offers a thought-provoking story that accurately predicts the future of the digital world.
Metal Gear Solid 3 excels in its boss fights, with battles that feel authentic and offer hidden secrets and tactics.
Metal Gear Solid 2 was revolutionary for its time, with innovative marketing and gameplay that made it culturally relevant and groundbreaking.

Metal Gear Solid games evolve and change in radical ways between sequels, yet they always maintain a core identity. Even though they were made for the PS2 generation, the differences between Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater are huge. It begs the question, which game is better?

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Below are arguments presented for why both Metal Gear Solid games could be considered superior. In the end, only one will be crowned victor. Regardless of which one takes the crown, they are both fantastic games that hold up so well after so many years and multiple console generations.

9 The Better Story

Metal Gear Solid 2

While Metal Gear Solid 3 feels more like a conventional spy thriller using the setting to tell a tale connected to the Cold War, Metal Gear Solid 2 is a stern warning about the digital world to come. In the 20-plus years since its release, one can see how correctly the ending predicted the future.

Even without diving into the game's more cerebral themes, the basic plot of an agent thwarting a terrorist attack in Manhattan is compelling enough to keep gamers intrigued until things get weird.

8 Best Boss Fights

Metal Gear Solid 3

Every Metal Gear game is renowned for its creative boss fights, but Metal Gear Solid 3 takes the cake for how little battles revolve around gimmicks or puzzle mechanics. They all feel like genuine fights between two soldiers.

They are also all filled with little secrets and tricks, from shooting hornet nests to distract Ocelot to killing The End by waiting eight days or speeding up the internal clock by the same time. It is clear tons of care and attention went into each fight to make them feel fresh on multiple playthroughs.

7 Cultural Relevance

Metal Gear Solid 2

Raiden wearing sunglasses while posing with a crane in the background

For anyone who was not there, it is hard to describe how revolutionary Metal Gear Solid 2 was on all levels, from its marketing straight through its release thanks to its subversive nature regarding the iconic protagonist of Solid Snake.

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The idea of hiding the main protagonist until players got their hands on the game and the level of interaction with the environment were all innovative, especially for console gamers. Metal Gear Solid 2 stands on its own, but reading about how it was received at the time can make one appreciate it so much more.

6 Superior Gameplay

Metal Gear Solid 3

Metal Gear Solid 3's areas are so much more open compared to its predecessor and the original Snake has more tools at his disposal to get through areas. One can use camouflage to slowly crawl through enemy spaces while they are close by, or they can use the environment to distract guards.

Metal Gear Solid 2 has some of this as well, but it's mostly a question of making guards look the other way to run through the room quickly. The sequel makes gamers think harder about how to approach any situation.

5 More Interesting Characters

Metal Gear Solid 2

Every character in Metal Gear Solid 2 feels important and has a part in the overall plot besides simply being the villain of the moment. Olga Gurlukovich, despite being the first boss, shows up periodically up until the game's final act. Vamp shows up early in the game long before his boss fights and eventually becomes a vital character to the overall lore.

Even if the boss fights are better in Metal Gear Solid 3, that game's Cobra Unit feels underutilized and the characters generally just show up to be boss fights without the player learning about their actual characters.

4 Easier For Newcomers

Metal Gear Solid 3

Even though it is the third-numbered game in the franchise (and fifth in the main series), Metal Gear Solid 3 is mostly a self-contained story. It takes place decades before all prior games and uses mostly new characters. Players control the character who would become Big Boss, and it's the best entry point for players who are unfamiliar with Metal Gear Solid.

The open-ended gameplay also makes it more accessible for more types of players. While most would recommend starting with Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 3 is a great introduction for those who are not invested in the whole franchise due to it being the starting point for the timeline of events.

3 Bonus Content

Metal Gear Solid 2

For anybody playing any particular re-release or the new Master Collection, Metal Gear Solid 2 offers significantly more bonus content than its successor. Packed in with it are hundreds of VR missions where players control several different characters through varying degrees of difficulty.

Metal Gear Solid 3 generally just offers the main game. Even the Snake Vs. Monkey minigame is absent from later HD versions. Doing everything will ultimately take longer in Metal Gear Solid 2, if for whoever that may concern.

When compared to all three of the main titles, Metal Gear Solid 3 feels like it's missing the most. Even Metal Gear Solid, originally released on the PlayStation, has VR missions. Metal Gear Online was once a part of Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence but servers have long since closed down, and they were not brought back for this release.

2 Original Soundtrack

Metal Gear Solid 3

Both games were composed by Harry Gregson Williams, famous for movie soundtracks like The Rock. It is surprising because they both sound unique. Metal Gear Solid 2 uses more electronic elements and more energetic drum parts. Metal Gear Solid 3 is more orchestral and feels more melodic, reminiscent of great movie scores from the 1960s, perhaps a purposeful move to feel like the time period in which it is set.

One can hum the themes from Metal Gear Solid 3, while some of Metal Gear Solid 2's tunes sound more appropriate for a rave. They both work in their respective titles, but one could listen to Metal Gear Solid 3's soundtrack even outside of the game, especially with the iconic Snake Eater theme.

1 Metal Gear Solid 2 vs. Metal Gear Solid 3 – The Winner

Metal Gear Solid 3

Even if Metal Gear Solid 2 caused a bigger splash at the time of its release due to the jaw-dropping technical leap in both visuals and gameplay, Metal Gear Solid 3 holds up just a bit better thanks to the variety of opportunities in its gameplay scenarios. There are more weapons, accessories, and techniques at the player's disposal.

The story smartly utilizes the 1960s setting and the music perfectly compliments the spy-thriller vibe. If someone only ever played one Metal Gear Solid game and ignored the rest of the franchise, it should be Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.

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