Released in 1987, Metal Gear—created by Hideo Kojima and Konami—revolutionized the gaming landscape. The series is well-known for pioneering and refining stealth gameplay, but it truly became famous for its compelling storytelling, especially with the release of Metal Gear Solid. While some storylines can be complex or a bit too lengthy, the series consistently delivers excellent narratives. The overall story can be challenging to follow, but the games are filled with impressive cutscenes, witty humor, and memorable characters.
The Metal Gear series tackles complex subjects like politics, philosophy, and war, proving that games can use violence in a meaningful way to improve storytelling. Although there are only five main Metal Gear Solid titles, the franchise has expanded significantly with spin-offs, remakes, and earlier games in the timeline. With so much story to cover, let’s take a look at the most compelling narratives within the Metal Gear games.
The earlier Metal Gear games were enjoyable when they first came out, but they don’t measure up to the quality of the Metal Gear Solid titles.
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10. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
A Neat Spin-Off
Developed by Platinum Games, Metal Gear Rising offered a very different experience than most Metal Gear games. While initially started by Kojima Productions, Hideo Kojima decided Platinum Games was better suited to bring his vision to life in 2011. The final product is a fast-paced action RPG known for being one of Platinum Games’ most challenging titles.
This game takes place four years after Metal Gear Solid 4 and centers on Raiden’s attempt to prevent a group called Desperado from disrupting world peace. A major focus is Raiden grappling with who he is as a cyborg and confronting his traumatic childhood. While the game explores classic Metal Gear themes, it isn’t officially part of the main storyline. The story is decent, but it’s overshadowed by the fast-paced, action-packed cyborg combat, which is why it ranks lowest among the series. However, it still has a better narrative than Metal Gear Survive.
9. Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
Surprisingly Good
Before the PSP, portable gaming consoles were often seen as offering a simplified experience. However, games like Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops showed that the PSP could deliver a full, high-quality game comparable to those on home consoles. It captured everything that made Metal Gear great – engaging gameplay, cinematic cutscenes, and a complex storyline.
The game’s story, while interesting, actually hinders the experience. It takes place in 1970, following Naked Snake after he breaks free from a rebellious group within FOX. The narrative touches on ideas of loyalty, treachery, and how Big Boss developed his beliefs, but it gets lost in unnecessary complexity. The Metal Gear series is famous for its complicated plots, and Portable Ops is a prime example. There’s a huge cast of characters and tons of connections to previous games, making it hard to follow even for dedicated fans. The story itself wasn’t poorly written, but it would have been stronger with a simpler approach.
8. Metal Gear Acid
Now, In Another Metal Gear Universe…
Aside from Ghost Babel and a few mobile games, Metal Gear Acid and its sequel are often overlooked within the Metal Gear series. This is likely because they were only released on the PSP and never made it to home consoles. Their unique deck-building system for movement and combat can also feel complicated when you first start playing. Plus, Metal Gear Acid isn’t connected to the main storyline, so many fans choose to skip these games altogether.
Although the Metal Gear Acid games aren’t central to the main Metal Gear storyline, they still offer compelling narratives, especially the first game. It delves into Snake’s character beyond his usual soldier persona, almost analyzing him from a higher perspective. The story is intentionally fragmented and confusing, mirroring Snake’s disorientation and the constantly shifting, untrustworthy information presented to him and the player.
7. Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
A Demo With A Story
Okay, so even for Hideo Kojima, Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes was a strange one. Honestly, it felt a lot like a really fancy tech demo they made us pay for – though demos usually don’t have a whole story! It’s set in 1975, and I played as Big Boss sneaking into a secret U.S. base in Cuba to save Chico and Paz. I managed to get Paz out, but then found out she had a bomb inside her! That whole thing actually sets up the story for The Phantom Pain, which was wild.
Despite being essentially a high-end preview, this game features a surprisingly bleak ending typical of the Metal Gear series, and includes beloved characters like Skullface. However, it’s quite short, and the story feels simplified because you have to play through it repeatedly to unlock everything. Plus, you can start Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain without even playing this one, which makes it feel somewhat unnecessary.
6. Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
Forever Unfinished
Some might be surprised to see The Phantom Pain ranked relatively low. It’s widely considered one of the best Metal Gear games, boasting a compelling story with many memorable moments. The game, set in 1984, picks up after the events of Ground Zeroes, following Big Boss and the Diamond Dogs as he recovers from a coma. The Phantom Pain delivers a truly remarkable plot twist and successfully captures the essence of a high-quality Metal Gear experience.
Many fans believe Metal Gear Solid 5 could have had the best story in the series. It had all the necessary elements for greatness, but a disagreement between the game’s creator, Kojima, and publisher, Konami, during development ultimately derailed things. The game launched feeling incomplete, and its promising narrative simply stopped, very suddenly. It’s comparable to Avengers: Endgame ending right before the final, pivotal moment. Nearly a decade later, fans are still understandably upset about this abrupt ending.
5. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty
Still Working It Out
If you want to see a Metal Gear fan get flustered, just ask them to explain the story of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. They’ll probably admit it’s a challenging game—and that it has a fantastic story. But when you ask them what that story is actually about, things get awkward. It’s notoriously difficult to summarize!
The game’s story is notoriously complicated and can be tough to understand. It begins with Solid Snake trying to stop a new Metal Gear on a ship, then jumps ahead two years to follow Raiden, who’s sent to rescue the President from terrorists led by Solidus Snake. From there, the plot gets increasingly bizarre, with Solid Snake reappearing and a convoluted conspiracy involving a group called The Patriots being uncovered. While the story is rewarding if you can piece it all together, it requires a lot of attention and most players will probably need to play through the game several times to fully grasp everything.
4. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots
Pure Fan Service
People often view “fan service” negatively, but Metal Gear Solid 4 uses it effectively. The game stars an aging Solid Snake and needed to provide a satisfying conclusion to the long-running series. It centers around Old Snake’s final mission: tracking down Liquid Snake and Revolver Ocelot, all while battling the Patriots – a powerful AI that secretly controls the world.
The game’s story reaches its climax in an intense, personal fight between Old Snake and Ocelot, which feels like a special treat for longtime fans. The ending, where Old Snake encounters Big Boss in a graveyard, provides a surprisingly satisfying conclusion to the entire series, while still hinting at future games. The main issue is that the story is difficult for new players to understand and features lengthy cutscenes. However, despite this, the game rightfully earns its fourth-place ranking for successfully resolving many of the series’ lingering plot threads.
3. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
Filling In The Gaps
The story of Metal Gear is so interconnected that you really need to play all the games to understand the full picture. Hideo Kojima’s approach to storytelling doesn’t allow for skipping entries, and Peace Walker is a great example of this.
Peace Walker features fantastic Metal Gear characters and brilliantly shows how Big Boss gradually becomes a villain. The story follows him as he discovers a CIA scheme to dominate Latin America using nuclear weapons, leading him to question if there’s a more effective approach. If you want to truly understand what drives Big Boss, playing Peace Walker is essential, as it directly leads into the events of both Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain.
2. Metal Gear Solid
In The Beginning
While not the very first Metal Gear game, Metal Gear Solid on PlayStation is often considered the defining entry by fans. It follows Solid Snake, a soldier sent to infiltrate a nuclear weapons facility in Alaska – Shadow Moses Island – which has been taken over by terrorists. Led by Liquid Snake and the FOXHOUND unit, these terrorists threaten to launch a nuclear attack unless Solid Snake can stop them.
The original Metal Gear Solid is considered one of the greatest games of the 1990s, and it showed that video games could tell compelling stories. Its story was straightforward – much easier to follow than those in later Metal Gear games, which often got lost in excessive details. Metal Gear Solid established a strong base for the series, while also delivering a great story on its own.
1. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (Or Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater)
Simply The Best MGS Story
Man, trying to explain how good Snake Eater’s story is… it’s tough. This is where the whole Metal Gear Solid saga really kicks off, and it hits you hard right away. Your mentor, The Boss, totally betrays you and sides with this crazy Soviet guy, Volgin. It’s a story about losing everything, but still finding the strength to fight for what matters. People talk about Big Boss being a bad guy later on, but in Metal Gear Solid 3, he’s absolutely a hero, through and through.
Snake Eater is a fantastic spy thriller packed with unexpected twists, betrayals, and well-made cutscenes. Despite its complex plot, it’s surprisingly easy to follow—unlike some other games in the series. The story works perfectly on its own, but it also cleverly sets up the rest of the franchise. If you could only play one game from this series, Snake Eater is the one you shouldn’t miss.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater closely recreates the experience of the original 2004 game, making it one of the best remakes available.
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2026-02-06 15:42