Metal Gear Solid is back, baby! The universally lauded tactical stealth action series has been AWOL for years, with the last official retro compilation being The Legacy Collection on PlayStation 3 a decade ago. The Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 is finally here, combining 1998’s Metal Gear Solid, 2001’s Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, 2004’s Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater, the two 8-bit games, and a raft of bonus content.
Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima is renowned for his attention to detail and bizarre sense of humor. So, whether you’re a Metal Gear Solid newbie or a veteran wanting to see something new, here are ten crazy things you need to try.
1. Get peed on by a puppy (Metal Gear Solid)
Midway through Metal Gear Solid you’ll be asked to make your way through caves containing wolfdogs. These animals are very affectionate towards Meryl Silverburgh and when you’re travelling through these caves with her, they’ll run up to her with hearts above their heads, wagging their tails.
If you attack Meryl around the wolfdogs then quickly equip your trusty cardboard box, a wolfdog puppy will cock its leg and pee on the box. Congratulations, you now have a pee-scented box! This odd piece of equipment is surprisingly useful, as equipping it whenever you travel through the caves will stop the dogs from attacking you.
2. Get a real-world massage (Metal Gear Solid)
Most Metal Gear Solid games have the player character undergoing torture, with you having to mash the button for an extended period to simulate the stress and pain experienced by Snake. This usually leaves you with a sore arm, but your support crew has your back.
Chat with Naomi Hunter on the CODEC between torture sessions and she’ll offer to give Snake a massage by using the nanomachines in his blood to stimulate his muscle fibers. But it’s not just Snake that gets the treatment, Naomi tells you to put your controller up against your arm and then activates the rumble feature, massaging you!
3. Hunt down a mischievous rat (Metal Gear Solid)
Late in the game, you’ll be tasked with retrieving a security card that falls into a drainage ditch. Most times you simply head down and fish it out of the water, though very occasionally it’ll be eaten by a rat. You must then use your mine detector to hunt down the rodent as it scurries between its hiding places.
Some think this happening is tied to the number of alerts you’ve triggered, some to your reactions during the torture sequence, and some to playtime. Either way, it seems playing well is the key. It’s worth it just to see Snake’s incredulous reaction to this “ridiculous” situation.
4. Admire ice cube physics (Metal Gear Solid 2)
Metal Gear Solid 2 was a showcase for the next-gen power of the PlayStation 2. Perhaps to demonstrate this, the bar area early in the tanker chapter features a bucket full of ice cubes. Shoot this and the counter will be covered in individual ice cubes, which will slowly melt in real-time before your eyes (and each cube can be individually shot). This mechanic is never seen again in the game and serves absolutely no purpose whatsoever.
5. Get mocked after falling for the placebo effect (Metal Gear Solid 2)
In Metal Gear Solid 2 you can find Pentazemin, an anti-anxiety drug that helps steady your aim while using a sniper rifle. This also appears in the Tanker chapter, which has no sniping section. If Snake calls Otacon while it is equipped, he’ll be told it’ll help relieve his seasickness. Take it, and on calling Otacon back Snake will happily say he’s feeling much better. Otacon will then mock you for your naivety, saying this proves the placebo effect works on you.
This sunk in, as four years later during the Plant chapter you can call Snake about Pentazemin. If you had the above conversation Snake will explain that it does nothing for seasickness and then grumble that “sometimes faith can overcome medical science….”
6. Teach a parrot (Metal Gear Solid 2)
You receive a directional microphone in Metal Gear Solid 2 that helps you identify which hostage is Secret Service Agent Ames, which you do by pointing it at them, pressing triangle, and saying “are you Ames?”. Later in the game, you encounter Emma Emmerich’s pet parrot. If you point the microphone at it and repeatedly say “are you Ames?” the parrot will eventually learn the phrase and repeat it back to you.
7. Cause a time paradox (Metal Gear Solid 3)
Metal Gear Solid 3 is set in the 1960s, functions as a prequel to the saga, and features younger versions of several key characters. You encounter a young Revolver Ocelot early in the game and soon knock him out. At this point you can break continuity by shooting him, thus creating a time paradox by killing him long before his time.
You’ll get a unique game over screen, a cameo from Colonel Campbell (“Snake! What have you done! You’ve changed the future! You’ve created a time paradox!”) and the trophy/achievement “Problem solved, series over.”
8. Puke (Metal Gear Solid 3)
Go into the survival menu and you can examine Snake’s model. Spin it around a lot, return to the game, and Snake will blow chunks. But this isn’t just for laughs. If Snake eats rotten or poisonous food he may get food poisoning, which can be cured by making him puke it back up. The mechanic can also be used to escape a jail cell, as doing it will cause the guard to open the door to investigate. You can also vomit in front of your sexy love interest Eva, which unsurprisingly gets a reaction of “Ewww!”.
9. Become a cannibal (Metal Gear Solid 3)
Throughout Metal Gear Solid 3 you munch your way through the local wildlife, but cannot partake in the forbidden meat… Well, not directly. If you kill a guard in the mountain section a vulture will swoop down to feed on his carcass. Shoot the vulture and eat it, and you have effectively eaten that soldier too.
Snake’s support team fill him in on the details, and he replies “ugh, you had to tell me that after I ate one…” But wait, there’s more! If you do this, the subsequent Sorrow boss battle will feature the ghost of a soldier muttering “you ate me”.
10. Emotionally taunt Volgin (Metal Gear Solid 3)
The fearsome Colonel Volgin is in a relationship with pretty boy officer Ivan Raidenovitch Raikov, and this proves to be his emotional weak point. During the infiltration, you disguise yourself as Raikov, either killing him or knocking him out and wearing a realistic mask of his face. Later, when fighting Volgin, you can choose to don this mask once again.
Volgin will freeze in surprise, hold his arms out to embrace you, and say “Ivan… is it really you?” This is the perfect time to quickly attack him. Don’t think you’ll get off easy though, as Volgin will be furious about your deception and attack more fiercely from that point on.
The Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 releases on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC on Oct. 24.