I feel grateful to live in a world where such gloriously unhinged and wholesome creativity and craftsmanship as the first four Metal Gear Solid games can exist. Just an all around masterpiece of a saga. Like what the 6 Star Wars films are to movies or Lord of the Rings is to fantasy novels, MGS is in a league of its own as a groundbreaking, kickass and heartfelt work of art in the medium of interactive entertainment.

The cerebral and emotional story, the endearing characters, the god tier music, the awesome Yoji Shinkawa character/mechanical designs and depth of meaning are some of the best in any form of story telling to me. It could stand on its own as a show or book but the tactical and stimulating cinematic stealth action and interactive element it was built around really adds to the impact.

With moments like the torture ultimatum, the stinger missile stalemate and the microwave room, these games truly harness the unique possibilities of of interactive dramatic storytelling in a way I've never seen elsewhere and moved me in a way few things have.

Along with the epic mythological sci-fi secret agent-soldier melodrama, the games always come with a good amount of real world knowledge and concepts incorporated into the the story, codecs and gameplay; providing a lot of food for thought on subjects ranging from the indomitable human spirit overcoming the dehumanizing effects of war through love and integrity, the sociopolitical implications of AI and genetic experimentation, the horrors of the military industrial complex and nukes, all the way to obscure facts on the flora and fauna of the Alaskan wilderness, Russian jungles and the history of cardboard boxes. I love that these games are willing to have characters spiel in mini documentary-esque monologues amidst the action.

There's nothing quite like Metal Gear and anyone who enjoys a well designed single player narrative or unique unfiltered art owes it to themselves to check these classics out.

At last accessible on pc and modern consoles. It could have easily been more upscaled and refined but at least they didn't mess with it or censor it and they seem to be releasing regular updates to address the shortcomings. It's a nice bonus being able to pause the cutscenes with the new menu as well.