Way back in 1987, Metal Gear landed, first on MSX2, then on NES and Commodore 64. Curiously, it never saw release on any SEGA systems, but that has now changed thanks to retro dev/hacker h0ffman.
What is Metal Gear?
If you are somehow unaware of Metal Gear, it is a top-down adventure shooter with stealth elements. The game features a huge mission that involves sneaking around, stealing top secret stuff, and generally acting like a 1980s action hero.
Top-down games are inevitably compared with Metal Gear (and more commonly the more famous sequel, Metal Gear Solid), proving how influential the game and the wider series have been. It is somewhat surprising that the game never received an official SEGA Mega Drive port, but then it wasn’t ported to the Amiga either…
Well, not until h0ffman got his hands on it.
Based on the Amiga port, the game is almost pixel perfect, although it has a more enhanced soundtrack than the computer version.
A look at Metal Gear on the Mega Drive
Inevitably, someone has already done a playthrough video. Put a few hours aside, mind.
The big question is, should you give this a go? Well, I think the answer is, particularly if you’re short of options this weekend, absolutely yes. Metal Gear has plenty of variance in gameplay to keep you engaged, and it’s the sort of game that you just want to keep playing until completion. If you’re new to the series, it is the obvious place to start, although keep in mind you then have a further 8 main games to play and around 20 alternate version sand mobile games.
It could prove to be a big undertaking…
Grab your copy (and name your price) on h0ffman’s Metal Gear itch.io page. It can run in an emulator such as Fusion, or within RetroArch.
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Christian Cawley is a writer and editor who covers consumer electronics, IT, and entertainment media. He has written for publications such as Computer Weekly, Linux Format, MakeUseOf.com, and Tech Radar.
He also produces podcasts, has a cigar box guitar, and of course, loves retro gaming.