Metal Gear Solid (2000 Video Game)
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''Metal Gear Solid'', released in Japan as is a 2000
action-adventure An action-adventure game is a video game genre, video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Definition An action adventure game can be defined as a game with a mix of elements f ...
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developed and published by
Konami , commonly known as Konami, , is a Japanese multinational entertainment company and video game developer and video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The company also produces and distributes trading card ...
for the
Game Boy Color The (GBC or CGB) is an 8-bit handheld game console developed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on October 21, 1998, and to international markets that November. Compared to the original Game Boy, the Game Boy Color features a color TFT scre ...
. The game began development after Konami Computer Entertainment Japan were commissioned by Konami's European branch to develop a portable adaptation of their 1998
PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...
game of the same title. However, the Game Boy Color version is not a port of the original PlayStation version, nor does it adapt the same story, but instead takes place in an alternative continuity set seven years after the events of the original ''
Metal Gear is a Media franchise, franchise of stealth games created by Hideo Kojima. Developed and published by Konami, the first game, ''Metal Gear (video game), Metal Gear'', was released in 1987 for MSX, MSX home computers. The player often takes con ...
'' (1987).
Tose (also called Tose Software) is a Japanese video game developer based in Kyoto. It is mostly known for developing Nintendo's ''Game & Watch Gallery'' series, various ''Dragon Ball'' games, as well as contract work or assistance to other develo ...
assisted on the development.


Gameplay

''Ghost Babel'' follows the overhead 2D format used in the 1990 MSX2 game '' Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake'' while adding a few new elements introduced in ''Metal Gear Solid''. As with previous games in the series, the objective is to infiltrate the enemy's stronghold while avoiding detection from guards or surveillance systems. The player can acquire numerous items and weapons to help them fulfill their mission. One difference from the MSX2 games is that the screen now scrolls when Snake moves throughout a single area instead of using
flip-screen Since the origin of video games in the early 1970s, the video game industry, the players, and surrounding culture have spawned a wide range of technical and slang terms. 0–9 A ...
s. Moreover, all the characters in the game now move in eight directions, allowing both the player and the enemies to move diagonally in addition to the four cardinal directions. Snake now has the ability to flatten himself into walls like he does in ''Metal Gear Solid''. By flattening himself, Snake can move across the wall (allowing him access to tight passages that are not accessible by walking), scroll the camera behind his position to scout the area ahead, or knock the wall to lure nearby enemy soldiers. Depending on the difficulty, the number of punches required to defeat an enemy soldier differs and in the higher difficulty levels, the enemy soldiers will be knocked unconscious for a while after the first series of punches instead of simply being defeated. Crawling is now assigned to the Start button (instead of pressing two buttons simultaneously) and the changing of weapons and equipment is done on the main game screen rather than on separate sub-screens. Like in previous installments, the player communicates with various allies via a wireless communication device (the Codec), which is also used to save the player's progress. Unlike the preceding installments, ''Ghost Babel'' uses a stage-based structure, with a total of 13 stages. After completing a stage, the player's performance is graded from "Terrible" to "Excellent". Much like in the original ''Metal Gear Solid'', the player's overall performance is graded with a codename after completing all 13 stages, with the codenames varying depending on the difficulty level chosen at the start of the game.


Game modes

In addition to the main story mode, ''Ghost Babel'' offers the following alternate game modes. ;Stage Select :Allows the player to replay previously cleared stages in order to achieve a higher ranking. After the Story mode is completed, "Special" versions of the stages become available where the player must achieve new objectives (such as collecting FOXHOUND emblems or reach the goal without being seen). In this Special training mode, the player controls an unknown agent who goes through a VR recreation of Snake's mission in Galuade, while being supervised by a mysterious entity named "No.4." As the player clears more of these stages, No.4 will disclose details of the game's story not revealed in the main campaign. ;VR Training :180 training missions spread across three main categories (sneaking, weapon and advanced) and various sub-categories within each. Most of the missions are recreations of the ones featured in '' Metal Gear Solid: Integral'' ;Vs. Battle :A competitive 2-player mode that requires a
Game Link Cable The also known as ''Video Link'' in early versions, is an accessory for the Game Boy line of handheld consoles. Introduced in 1989 alongside the original Game Boy, it was revised over four generations with varying degrees of backward compatibil ...
, along with an additional Game Boy Color unit and a second copy of the game cartridge. The objective in this mode is to destroy three target drones called WISPs in order to obtain the data disks they carry and access the goal before the other player does. One player controls Snake in his standard sneaking suit, while the other Snake wears a red sneaking suit. The two Snakes are invisible to each other, unless one of them enters the field of vision of the other.


Plot

Seven years after the Outer Heaven uprising, a new Metal Gear prototype (codenamed Gander) has been stolen by a separatist
guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...
group in the region of Gindra in
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. The Gindra Liberation Front (or GLF), led by the mercenary Augustine Eguabon, plans on using the
prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...
as a means of achieving victory in an ongoing
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. Solid Snake, the
FOXHOUND A foxhound is a type of large hunting hound bred for strong hunting instincts, a keen sense of smell, and their barking, energy, drive, and speed. In fox hunting, the foxhound's namesake, packs of foxhounds track quarry, followed—usually on ho ...
operative responsible for the destruction of the original Metal Gear seven years before, is brought back from his retirement in
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. His mission is to infiltrate the group's headquarters Galuade, the fortress that was formerly
Outer Heaven The Metal Gear, ''Metal Gear'' franchise, created by Hideo Kojima and featuring character and mecha designs by Yoji Shinkawa, features a large cast of characters, several of whom are soldiers with supernatural, supernatural powers provided by s ...
. During the course of his mission, Snake teams up with Sgt. Christine Jenner, a surviving member of the
Delta Force The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta (1st SFOD-D), also known as Delta Force, Combat Applications Group (CAG), or within Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) as Task Force Green, is a Special operation forces, special operat ...
that was sent before him to retrieve Gander. The GLF are assisted by four surviving members of Black Chamber, a defunct
special forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
unit whose members are given animal-themed codenames similar to FOXHOUND. They are led by Black Arts Viper, a boobytrap specialist who wields a
prosthetic In medicine, a prosthesis (: prostheses; from ), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through physical trauma, disease, or a condition present at birth (Congenital, congenital disord ...
left arm. Joining him are Slasher Hawk, an
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armed with two giant
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s who is accompanied in battle by a
hawk Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are very widely distributed and are found on all continents, except Antarctica. The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks, and others. This ...
; Marionette Owl, a former
serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...
endowed with owl-like nocturnal vision and attacks with his two
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puppets; and Pyro Bison, a
pyromaniac Pyromania is an impulse-control disorder in which individuals repeatedly fail to resist impulses to deliberately start fires, to relieve some tension or for instant gratification. The term ''pyromania'' comes from the Greek word (''pyr'', 'fi ...
armed with a specially prepared
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and fuel pack. As Snake goes deeper into Galuade and confronts each member of Black Chamber, he uncovers a
conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...
involving the GLF and US Government.


''IdeaSpy 2.5''

IdeaSpy 2.5 is a bonus 13-part story written by Shuyo Murata featured in the Japanese and European versions of ''Ghost Babel''. The player has access to this story by going to the CODEC screen during the second play-through and onward by contacting frequency 140.07 on each stage. The story is written like a satirical
radio play Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
: "New York. Here in the city where dreams come true and desires rule, Something is being bought, sold, and thrown away, even as we speak. But behind the scenes of business as usual. the nefarious J.E (Junker Expensive) Corporation lines it already bloated coffers With profits from worthless products. As J.E swindles yet another innocent into purchasing High-priced junk, The FBI mobilizes a top-secret task force to put a stop to the menace. Now, the city's best-kept secret spy is out there, Briefed; and ready to protect the people from J.E., the catalogue of conspiracy... Just call him 2.5 (Two-Point-Five) In 2006, ''Idea Spy 2.5'' was adapted into an actual radio drama streamed on
Hideo Kojima is a Japanese video game designer. Regarded as one of the pioneering auteurs of video games, he developed a strong passion for film and literature during his childhood and adolescence, which in turn has had a significant influence on his game ...
's Japanese podcast, with Kojima himself playing the title role. Shuyo Murata also plays one of the boss characters. The full drama was released on CD in Japan on February 14, 2007.


Development

The game was produced under the request of Konami's European division to release a Game Boy Color version of ''Metal Gear Solid''. The game's director,
Shinta Nojiri Shinta Nojiri (野尻 真太 ''Nojiri Shinta'', born April 8, 1971) is a Japanese video game designer at Konami. Born in Tokyo, he worked for Konami since 1995, and has directed various games in ''Metal Gear'' series and NeverDead. Selected wor ...
, would later go on to direct ''
Metal Gear Acid ''Metal Gear Acid'' (stylized as ''Metal Gear Ac!d'') is a turn-based tactics, turn-based collectible card game, collectible card tactical role-playing game developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan for the PlayStation Portable. The game w ...
'' and its sequel, ''
Metal Gear Acid 2 ''Metal Gear Acid 2'' (stylized as ''Metal Gear Ac!d²'') is a turn-based collectible card stealth game developed and published by Konami for the PlayStation Portable in 2005. A Java ME version for mobile phones was released by Glu Mobile in 200 ...
'', both released for the
PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PA ...
, while character designer Ikuya Nakamura went on to direct the ''
Boktai ''Boktai'' is a video game series created by Hideo Kojima and published by Konami. The series consists entirely of portable games for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS, and is notable for its unique inclusion of a built-in solar sensor requi ...
'' series on
Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, and to international markets that June. It was later released in mainland China in 2004, under the name iQue Game Boy Advanc ...
and
Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...
.


Reception

The game received overall critical acclaim. It has an average rating of 95.61% at
GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...
, making it the best-rated game for the Game Boy Color on the site. Japanese video game magazine ''
Famitsu , formerly , is a line of Japanese Video game journalism, video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly f ...
'' awarded ''Metal Gear: Ghost Babel'' a score of 31 out of 40.''ゲームボーイ - メタルギア ゴーストバベル'' (METAL GEAR Ghost Babel). Weekly Famitsu. No.915 Pt.2. Pg.111. 30 June 2006.


Legacy

''
Nintendo Power ''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninte ...
'' listed it as the 11th best
Game Boy The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...
/
Game Boy Color The (GBC or CGB) is an 8-bit handheld game console developed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on October 21, 1998, and to international markets that November. Compared to the original Game Boy, the Game Boy Color features a color TFT scre ...
video game, praising it for successfully bringing over elements from the three dimensional games. Ben Reeves from ''
Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'' is an American monthly Video game journalism, video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and video game console, game consoles. It debuted in August 1991, when the video game reta ...
'' called it the eighth best Game Boy game and considered it a good throwback to the
MSX2 MSX is a standardized home computer architecture, announced by ASCII Corporation on June 16, 1983. It was initially conceived by Microsoft as a product for the Eastern sector, and jointly marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, the director at ASCII Cor ...
. ''
GamesRadar ''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', '' Edge'' and ''Computer ...
'' listed ''Metal Gear Solid'' for Game Boy Color as one of the titles they would like to see on the
Nintendo 3DS The is a foldable dual-screen handheld game console produced by Nintendo. Announced in March 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS, the console was released originally on February 26, 2011 and went through various revisions in its lifetime, ...
Virtual Console The Virtual Console was a line of downloadable retro video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS family of handheld systems. The Virtual Console lineup consisted of titles originally released on pa ...
.


Notes


References


External links


Official homepage
{{Metal Gear 2000 video games Game Boy Color games Game Boy Color-only games Multiplayer and single-player video games Video games developed in Japan Video games produced by Hideo Kojima Video games set in 2002 Video games set in Africa Video games set in fictional countries Tose (company) games Metal Gear spinoff games de:Metal Gear#Metal Gear Ghost Babel