Metal Gear Solid

aka: MGS, Metal Gear: Ghost Babel
Moby ID: 21801
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Description

Metal Gear Solid (original Japanese name: Metal Gear: Ghost Babel) for GameBoy Color is not the same game as the popular Playstation/PC installment of the series. It is not set within the storyline of Metal Gear series, but instead tells an unrelated episode featuring the same hero - special agent Solid Snake. A secret government project, codenamed "Babel", attempts to revive the Metal Gear project - development of a highly destructive mech weapon. But an organization known as Gindran Liberation Front hijacked the Metal Gear prototype, without which any further development would be useless. Solid Snake is sent to infiltrate Outer Heaven, a location not entirely unfamiliar to him, and to retrieve the prototype.

The game is similar in style and gameplay to early Metal Gear games. It is viewed from top-down perspective, and its gameplay is mostly based on stealth. Snake has to sneak past the guards, using various tactics to distract them or to kill them silently. Weapons, gadgets, and moves are all similar to those used in the other Metal Gear Solid game. From time to time Snake will also encounter bosses whom he will have to defeat in order to proceed to the next area. Virtual Missions for Snake are also included in this release.

Spellings

  • メタルギア ゴーストバベル - Japanese spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Credits (Game Boy Color version)

42 People · View all

Original planning and story by
Artwork & character design by
Metal Gear design by
Written & constructed by
Program supervisor
Program support
Music by
Event planners
System program
Boss battle system
Gimmick/event program
Visual scene system
Radio system
Character acting system
VR Training
Enemy logic
Link battle system
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 94% (based on 25 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.6 out of 5 (based on 22 ratings with 1 reviews)

The style of the Playstation, minus the tricks of the MSX.

The Good
It's Metal Gear Solid - you can flatten yourself against walls(new!), kill the terrorists by simply punching (all the top-down versions for Nintendo and MSX systems previously had this, unlike the Playstation versions). And there's gadgets galore and ammo to be had if you know where to look. You learn some background information about the people you work with through the codec if you contact them enough times - fleshes out the story (this was an MSX-first feature, folks). The new original music is pretty good for a Gameboy Color game. Also, you get cut-scenes ala Ninja Gaiden.

The Bad
Not hub-based levels - after killing a boss enemy, you can't backtrack to pick up more ammo - this is important since you only gain experience (and thus more carry capacity - ala System Shock) by killing boss enemies. You simply get shunted to another building. This takes the fun out of being a machinegun maniac - then again this is a STEALTH game. You get rated by how many times you are spotted, and how fast you finish the level - making every game a time trial if you want to discover more VR missions or non-ammo-related bonuses/challenges. They censored the words e.g. 'Damm!' and took away your Lucky Strike cigarettes(now known as "Smoke Emitters"). They took off the cool, logical puzzle-type of the previous top-down Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake for MSX, i.e. using your smoke fumes to tell the wind direction before using a glider to land on another building some distance away. It becomes mostly a matter of squeezing yourself through crannies or mashing buttons for electronic gates(since this particular puzzle is randomised every time). Oh, and the VR missions recycle music from Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake for MSX.

The Bottom Line
Metal Gear Solid - for portables. Great fun to be had, and a must buy if you find it in a bargain bin!

Game Boy Color · by P Ray (7) · 2006

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Related Games

Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions
Released 1999 on PlayStation, 2013 on PS Vita, PlayStation 3
Metal Gear Solid: HD Edition
Released 2011 on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, 2012 on PS Vita
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
Released 2010 on PSP, 2011 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence
Released 2005 on PlayStation 2, 2011 on PlayStation 3, 2012 on PS Vita
LittleBigPlanet: Metal Gear Solid Solid Snake Costume
Released 2008 on PlayStation 3, 2014 on PlayStation 4
LittleBigPlanet: Metal Gear Solid Meryl Costume
Released 2008 on PlayStation 3, 2014 on PlayStation 4
LittleBigPlanet: Metal Gear Solid Level Kit
Released 2008 on PlayStation 3, 2014 on PlayStation 4

Related Sites +

  • Metal Gear Solid: The Unofficial Site
    A fansite that contains information about the whole Metal Gear franchise, including galleries, interviews, downloadable content and discussion boards.

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 21801
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Unicorn Lynx.

Additional contributors: Corn Popper, formercontrib, —-, Kayburt.

Game added March 30, 2006. Last modified June 21, 2023.