In 1990, Konami released a game called Snake's Revenge without the knowledge or approval of the man who created the original Metal Gear, Hideo Kojima. This unauthorized sequel appeared in North America and Europe under the Ultra Games brand, capitalizing on the international success of the NES version of the first game. While Kojima was busy developing his own true sequel, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, for the MSX2 in Japan, a separate team at Konami was crafting a stand-alone follow-up that would never bear his name. The game was designed specifically for Western audiences, with no corresponding Famicom version released in Japan, creating a strange duality where two different sequels existed simultaneously for the same franchise. Kojima later described the experience as surprising, noting that a developer informed him of the project only after it was already in production. Despite his initial joking remarks calling it a crappy game, he eventually acknowledged that Snake's Revenge remained faithful to the core Metal Gear concept, even if it lacked his direct creative oversight.
A New Kind of Infiltration
The gameplay of Snake's Revenge introduced significant mechanical changes that distinguished it from the original Metal Gear, particularly in how players managed their equipment and health. Unlike the first game, Snake began with a combat knife and a handgun already in his inventory, and the interface for his transceiver was completely redesigned to feature a fixed list of three contacts: John, Nick, and Jennifer. The radar system now activated automatically when detecting nearby tracking signals, and the transceiver could not be used during alert phases, forcing players to rely on stealth and combat rather than communication. The game also introduced side-view areas that functioned similarly to Rush 'n Attack, requiring Snake to walk, jump, or crawl on his stomach while avoiding detection. These sections added a layer of verticality and movement that was absent from the original top-down perspective, including underwater segments where players had to manage oxygen tanks to avoid taking damage. The maximum health and carrying capacity were tied to Snake's rank, which could be promoted to six stars by rescuing hostages and interrogating enemy officers with truth gas.Operation 747 Unfolds
Three years after the events of the original Metal Gear, FOXHOUND received orders to infiltrate a hostile nation in the Middle East that had acquired plans for a new Metal Gear model. The mission, codenamed Operation 747, tasked Lieutenant Solid Snake with leading a three-man team consisting of himself, John Turner, a former Navy Intelligence agent, and Nick Myer, a weapons and explosive expert from the Marines. The operation began with a daring deception when John Turner allowed himself to be captured to act as a decoy, allowing Snake to infiltrate the enemy's jungle base. The team discovered that the enemy was transporting mass-produced Metal Gear tanks on a cargo ship, which Snake destroyed by blowing up the ammunition cache before escaping with the help of the team's helicopter pilot. As the mission progressed, Snake learned that the enemy possessed a prototype of the new Metal Gear 2 model and was planning to launch nukes around the globe. The stakes escalated when Nick was killed and Jennifer, a double agent on the inside, was exposed as a spy and captured, leaving Snake to confront the enemy commander alone.