Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
Hideo Kojima rode a train in Tokyo when a junior coworker revealed he was working on Snake's Revenge, an unauthorized sequel to Metal Gear being developed for the NES. This conversation sparked Kojima's decision to create his own official follow-up to the original MSX2 game. By the end of that single ride, Kojima had already envisioned the basic premise for what would become Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. Konami initially planned to release the game between February and March 1990, but delays pushed the launch date to the 20th of July 1990. The project required expanding the ROM size from 3-Megabit to 4-Megabit to accommodate new features. Development briefly paused so the team could assist with SD Snatcher, another title created by a separate group at the same time.
Enemy soldiers now patrol across different screens instead of staying fixed on one area as they did in the first game. Guards possess an expanded field of vision covering 45 degrees and can turn their heads left or right to see diagonally. They detect sounds made by the player such as punching walls or firing unsuppressed guns and will investigate the source immediately. Walking on certain surfaces creates noise that alerts guards even if the player remains hidden visually. A counter appears in the upper right corner when enemies lose track of the player before resetting once alert phases end. These changes forced players to navigate carefully while avoiding detection through sound alone.
A major oil crisis affects the global economy in the late 1990s with petrol deposits depleting faster than expected. Czech scientist Dr. Kio Marv bio-engineers OILIX algae capable of producing petroleum-grade hydrocarbons cheaply. Soldiers from Zanzibar Land kidnap him while he travels to demonstrate his invention in the United States. This Central Asian country emerged after winning independence from the Soviet Union in 1997. NATO discovers Zanzibar Land plans to hold the world hostage using OILIX supplies and nuclear warheads stolen from old stockpiles. FOXHOUND commander Roy Campbell sends Solid Snake out of retirement to rescue Dr. Marv on Christmas Eve 1999.
Original character portraits for the MSX2 release were modeled after real-life movie stars rather than original designs. Solid Snake resembled Mel Gibson from Lethal Weapon while Big Boss looked like Sean Connery in The Hunt for Red October. Grey Fox took the appearance of Tom Berenger playing a role in Platoon and Roy Campbell mirrored Richard Crenna's Rambo character. Holly White was designed to look like Brenda Bakke from Gunhed. Later versions replaced these celebrity likenesses with new artwork resembling Yoji Shinkawa's illustrations used in Metal Gear Solid. These changes appeared first in the Japanese feature phone version released on the 1st of October 2004 before being implemented in other re-releases.
The MSX2 version launched exclusively in Japan on the 20th of July 1990 without any official English localization. Konami had already discontinued sales of their MSX games in Europe by that time. A fan translation group called G&T International produced an unofficial English version in 1997. Unofficial imports reached European markets by 1996 with some fans requesting PlayStation ports. Full international releases finally arrived when Subsistence included both MSX2 titles in North America and Europe during 2006. Subsequent remasters appeared on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S platforms starting in 2011 and continuing through 2023.
Solid Snake ranked number one on MSX Magazine's Top 30 best-selling list for six months beginning in October 1990. Paul Soth from GameSpy praised the game as surpassing its predecessor in every way while calling it one of the best eight-bit games ever made. He highlighted gripping storylines rich characterization alongside compelling storytelling quality matching later Metal Gear Solid entries. Game Informer gave a lower score of seven out of ten criticizing repetitive backtracking and keycard acquisition mechanics. Jeremy Parish of 1UP.com described Metal Gear Solid as basically a high-spec remake of Solid Snake noting how much scenario content recycled into future installments. IGN listed stealth mechanics like noise detection crouching crawling mine disarming and view cones as innovations introduced by this title.
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Common questions
When was Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake released?
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake launched on the 20th of July 1990. Konami initially planned to release the game between February and March 1990 but delays pushed the launch date to that later time.
What is the plot of Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake about?
The story follows Solid Snake rescuing Dr. Kio Marv from Zanzibar Land on Christmas Eve 1999. Soldiers kidnapped the Czech scientist who bio-engineered OILIX algae to produce petroleum-grade hydrocarbons cheaply while NATO discovered plans to hold the world hostage using nuclear warheads.
Who designed the character portraits for Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake?
Original character portraits were modeled after real-life movie stars rather than original designs. Solid Snake resembled Mel Gibson, Big Boss looked like Sean Connery, Grey Fox took the appearance of Tom Berenger, and Roy Campbell mirrored Richard Crenna before changes appeared in the Japanese feature phone version released on the 1st of October 2004.
Did Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake have an official English localization at launch?
No, the MSX2 version launched exclusively in Japan without any official English localization. A fan translation group called G&T International produced an unofficial English version in 1997 since Konami had already discontinued sales of their MSX games in Europe by that time.
What new stealth mechanics did Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake introduce?
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake introduced innovations such as noise detection crouching crawling mine disarming and view cones. Enemy soldiers patrol across different screens instead of staying fixed on one area and possess an expanded field of vision covering 45 degrees to detect sounds made by the player.