Summary
UsingMetal Gearas the norm when judging what is bizarre is a difficult task. We’re talking about a series that has cyborg ninjas, cloned super soldiers, giant mechs, and a character who replaces his severed arm with a dead character’s limb. Believe it or not, some games go even further than that.
For the most part, the games below are bizarre more for their deviations from the gameplay norms than for their stories. Some of the plots still feel out of left field, even for theMetal Gearseries. Many of these games still have their fans, while a few are total outcasts most players would recommend skipping entirely.
When Sony brought the PSP to life, many fans wondered how their favorite series would be adapted to the portable format. While many properties simply downsized the console experience,Metal Gearthought outside the box.
Metal Gear AC!Dis a turn-based tactics game where players' actions and options are determined by the cards in their deck. It is still done through aMetal Gearlens, with stealth playing a part in the battles and the story, including all the tropes fans expect from the series, but the card-based system felt far-flung from series norms.
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snakeis the true sequel to the series' debut and was helmed byseries creator Hideo Kojima. Before that, a sequel handled by a North American developer calledSnake’s Revengecame out.
The game follows Solid Snake through a similar mission. This time, however, there are some side-scrolling segments to shake up the typical top-down format. Big Boss is still revealed to be the final boss and this time is cybernetically enhanced.
Snake’s Revengeis bizarre for being such an early attempt at a developer taking a crack at Kojima’s series. It is not necessarily a bad game, but something feels off about it the whole time.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeanceis aMetal Gearsequel that simultaneously feels so far away from whatMetal Gearis while still embracing everything that makes the series memorable. The character action game starring Raiden opens with an absurd fight against a Metal Gear Ray where Raiden chops it to pieces while nu-metal tunes blast in the background.
This energy keeps up as the story explores deeper, more serious political themes. Like manytitles from developer Platinum Games,Revengeancedid not immediately light up the sales charts. It has since grown into a cult classic that is still revered more than a decade after its release.
Normally, any old port job would not justify a place in a list of bizarre games. However,Snake Eater 3Dmakes the cut for its changes to theMetal Gear Solid 3experience.Thanks to the Nintendo 3DS’s differing button layout from the PS2’s DualShock 2, certain changes had to be made.
It is a little harder to control, but at the same time, there are some improvements. Snake can crouch walk, something that was only introduced to the series inMetal Gear Solid 4.He can also aim from behind the shoulder instead of only in first-person.
The UI and menus look radically different too. It is not the best way to play the game due to the controls and performance issues with the frame rate, but it stands as a fascinating curiosity, especially to those intimately familiar withMetal Gear Solid 3.
Usually, portable spin-offsare smaller than their mainline console cousins.Portable Opstook the mobile format to make arguably a more involved and complex stealth action game than the mainline entries up to that point.
Instead of a linear adventure with gameplay variety,Portable Opstasks players with building up a base of operations by recruiting soldiers during missions. Players drag enemy soldiers and scientists back to the mission start truck to then add them to their roster.
Equipment and other traits improve as players recruit more people. This idea, while bizarre forMetal Gearat the time, was expanded upon inPeace Walkerand eventually made it into a mainline entry withMetal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriotsis perhaps the most polarizing main entry in the series. Fans either embraced the bizarre plot twists and resolutions to questions that had been hanging in the air for years or were utterly disappointed by them.
Regardless of how one took the plot, it is impossible to say it is not bizarre. Some might say its gameplay and structure buckle under the weight of their ambition. However, its release was an almost unprecedented event back in 2008.
Besides, what other game lets players control an aging super soldier on a globe-trotting adventure? Did we mention that a previously minor character whose prior purpose was toilet-related comic relief plays a significant supporting role in the story?
Even though Konami derailedMetal Gear Solid 5’sdevelopment, the publisher was not done with the series.Metal Gear Surviveis about a group of MSF soldiers who were transported to a parallel dimension after Skullface’s attack on Motherbase at the end ofGround Zeroes.
This dimension happens to be filled with zombie-like monsters. The heroes attempt to survive and find a way back home. Instead of stealth action,Metal Gear Surviveis about holding up in one spot and surviving against incoming hordes of monsters.
There are zombie-like enemies in sections ofMetal Gear Solid 4,but the real complaint aboutSurvivewas how it continued the series in a superficial way after Hideo Kojima’s exit from the publisher.
