I Can See Why MGS: Twin Snakes Is Not So Good

[Tails 6,692]

You know, I can see why a lot of MGS fans didn't like MGS: Twin Snakes all that much. I decided to look at the cutscenes and some gameplay of it, and it all looks very boring. Not only are the cutscenes not as powerful and emotional as the original scenes in the PS1 version of MGS1. It really seemed like the voice actores sounded bored and didn't really want to be there to voice the characters. I also hate how they added flips to the cutscenes, it's like they tried to turn them into some kind of Micheal Bay action scene. Not only were the cutscenes bland, and boring. The boss battles were just far too easy and just weren't as fun and intense as the original version of the bosses. There weren't any music in them that made things feel intense. Heck, the entire soundtrack in that game was just bland and not as good as the soundtrack in the original PS1 version. I can see why Kojima wants to do another remake of MGS1 because MGS: Twins Snakes didn't do the original game justice. I mean just look at this

 

[Kaweebo 3,617]

I actually think the voice-acting is an improvement, funnily enough. The only voice I think who sounds bored would be Jennifer Hale, as she was much more 'chipper' in the original PS1 version. But everyone else sounds better, I think. I like Gray Fox and Mei Ling's new voice actors (one of which returned for MGS4) and in general I think it's an improvement. I agree that the unnecessary acrobatic stuff they had Snake do was dumb, but that also gave us some really awesome Gray Fox vs. Metal Gear REX fight scenes, so it balances out. Some of the boss battles became cheaper due to the MGS2 gameplay mechanics, yes, but I think the soundtrack sounds fine.

 

Ultimately, I feel The Twin Snakes is an improvement over the original with some dumb flaws that don't really impact the overall game in any seriously negative way. Only marginally. 

Edited October 26, 2014 by Kaweebo

[Hero of Light XIV 2,381]

(If you don't like long explanations, skip down to the last paragraph. If you want to understand my reasons for my conclusion, then by all means, please read on).

 

I actually like Twin Snakes a lot better than the original MGS1. It feels like a much more complete game to me, and it's just how my bias works, but I tend to favor the more advanced version of a game more than it's older counterpart, so to me, it's the more "canon" version of the story (despite the fact that they favor the PS1 version for flashbacks. I guess it's a Sony thing.) I felt like this did a good job as a 6th Gen remake of the game, and I felt like the game really was supposed to feel this way (Kojima literally said that this was closer to what he had in mind for MGS1 at the time than how it turned out on the PS1, since they were severely limited by the graphical limitations). The battles actually feel more epic to me in this way and I actually like a lot of the music, especially Psycho Mantis' boss theme, that IS what it should sound like. I have to admit though, the original MGS, in terms of soundtrack, did have a much more memorable main theme, and I can't figure out for the life of me why they would want to exclude it at all from the remake. I mean, I like the newer Mission Impossible-inspired techno theme, but it's really strange how much it seems like they went out of their way to make sure the original theme wasn't in there.

 

Also, I prefer the Gamecube polygons a lot more than the PS1 polygons, I'd prefer my characters to not look like puppets the whole time (even though it does make for some funny moments sometimes). Again, just my preferences, I still recognize the charm in the original, it actually feels pretty nice to play a PS1 game. It almost feels nostalgic...and I've only ever played three PS1 games in my life, and they were during the 6th Gen of Gaming and none of them were Metal Gear related, so clearly that says something about this game. And I feel that the voiceacting overall was handled a bit better than the original. Sure, some characters like Colonel and Naomi didn't sound as "traditional" as I am used to hearing them, however I think they did it to try and match a more series mood with this game, as the games later on become heavier and heavier with each installment. Plus, Naomi has dropped the accent by MGS4 anyway, so at the very least it's consistent. Snake, Liquid, and Psycho Mantis definitely steal the show in the game the most, while everybody else sounds decent to me. I will admit though, some lines in the original sounded a bit better, but they couldn't reuse the same voice clips because they would have picked up background noises that would be picked up by the more advanced sound system (they originally recorded in an apartment building, so you would have heard a bunch of cars in the distance).

 

Another thing I will say is that Twin Snakes as an overall game is WAY more challenging than the original game. The first time where I'm playing it (and I'm used to the original MGS's mechanics and haven't even touched MGS2 yet by that point), I was stuck for more than 30 minutes, the danger of getting caught just got greater! It was frustrating, but I could tell right away that this was the level of suspense that Kojima originally wanted in the original MGS. Also, I feel like a lot of things that bugged me about the original MGS, like having to backtrack for particular items, were greatly fixed in Twin Snakes. Like the annoying Key Card changing hunt (which is still fun in it's own frustrating right) doesn't have to involve all of that backtracking anymore. There's a section of the hanger where you can just shoot a steam pipe and a nitrogen pipe to heat and cool the card right then and there, no backtracking required! And what's awesome is that you still have the option of staying faithful to the original and backtracking all the way back to the "necessary" areas anyway, just for that extra challenge (as well as more sensible pacing, cause by doing the shortcut it seems like the Codec events are happening way faster than they should be).

 

And just because it has to be addressed, yes I will admit those added action scenes were a little silly. Not all of them though! Some of them actually work well enough for me to buy into it and to actually believe how cool it is. I like how there are actually more fight scenes between Snake and Grey Fox and the added fight sequences before every boss always get me hyped (again, the Psycho Mantis boss fight has a really cool sequence just before you continue). Still, just because something would look cooler if it is inspired by the Matrix doesn't mean it should be done in every scene. While Snake does become more acrobatic as the series goes on, there are some points in the game where it doesn't feel necessary. I mean really Snake? You just HAD to flip over the doorway so nobody would see you? You couldn't just sneak by when they weren't looking? And just what was jump-punching the Metal Gear's leg going to do for you anyway!? But sometimes, rather than looking cool or looking stupid, some of the added motion capture choreography actually makes for some pretty (unintentionally) funny moments. I just can't stop laughing over how Liquid is explaining everything to Snake while making all of these flips and tricks while tightrope walking on the hanger rails while Snake just stands there and DOESN'T shoot him at all. It's totally fitting within Liquid's character, and it makes the added line "That was your last chance. Now you'll regret it forever!" even more hilarious to listen to (you could've got him Snake). So I will say that the added super tricks weren't necessary in every scene, they still added a good deal to the overall experience of the game without really weighing it done, whether it was making the scene look more epic, or made some moments laughably silly.

 

Only now do I realize how long this actually is, so I'll make it short here. The Twin Snakes probably isn't for every MGS fan, but for beginners like me, it's a pretty good transition game to play between MGS1 and MGS2 (the dog tag hunt, while being almost entirely pointless in this game, did get me prepared for using tactics in MGS2). Because of this game, the transition from MGS to MGS2 felt much more natural to me and not a radical change that I wasn't ready for. And while I think either version of the game can stand alone pretty well, for those who want to get into the series and have a fuller experience, I would highly recommend playing both versions of the game before moving on to MGS2. MGS is the classic that raised the bar for the series and had many memorable moments and great music, while MGS: TTS made the game resemble the rest of the series in terms of appearance and voice acting, as well as picked up the slack in some areas where the original MGS was lacking. Neither game is complete without the other, so it's much more fun to play them in succession to one another, and it will make the first time transition to MGS2 much less jarring. Together they make one hell of a game!