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Revisiting this Metal Gear collection in 2025 reveals a string of improvements on the latest patch 2.0 - notably a new graphics menu on console and PC that boosts the native resolution in MGS2 and 3. Nintendo Switch performance is also improved for each of these games, though it's still targeting 30fps. Tom digs into the highs and low points of Konami's ongoing work - and also the impressive efforts of the game's mod community on PC.


00:00 - Introduction/Patch 2.0 Explained
02:56 - Launch vs Patch 2.0 Comparisons
06:41 - Switch Frame-Rate Tests
08:10 - PC Mods Revisited
10:16 - MGS1 Features Added
11:48 - Conclusion

 

[adamsapple]

- Progress has been made in the 16 months since release.

- MGS2 and 3 HD
- Originally, these ports ran at 720p, same for PC version with no graphics tweaks in the game.
- Now MGS 2 and 3 have a 1080p option
- Additionally a separate image upscaling option is added which uses FSR to scale the game to 1080p, 1440p or 4K.
- Movie setting added which adds AI upscale to all movie files in the game (pre-rendered ones), the result here is crisper and cleaner
- These are all labeled as "Adjusted" mode with original launch settings also present if needed.

- "Adjusted" settings help clean up the image but aliasing also visible in some areas
- 4K upscale results in greater clarity but visual noise still present
- DF thinks it's still weird that there's no native 4K version on current consoles
- PC and Series S|X versions lack of anisotropic filtering on textures still not fixed
- The AI upscaled movie effects pre-rendered or archival footage, which are used sparingly in the games anyway as they use real time cut-scenes
- Might not be to everyone's taste but at least the option is there.

- Switch still runs at native 720P with no anti aliasing and no upscale option
- No texture filtering on this version
- Targets 30fps and has a net 2 to 5fps advantage on the original launch version, but drops from 30 are still present, it is not a locked port.
- MGS2 ran at 60fps back on the PS2, while the Switch version struggles to hit locked 30

- PC version is better than at launch and it adds the same setting options the console version adds (1080p or 720p with separate upscale option), no custom settings
- Keyboard and mouse support added
- PC version delivers the best experience with user mods
- Mods enable custom resolution, ultra-wide support and bug fixes not found in the official patch
- AI upscale texture mods boost texture resolution 4X
- "Best MGS3 experience in my eyes" with mods

- MGS1 remains a PS1 emulation at 240p / 30 fps (or 25fps on Pal)
- Toggle to enable/disable bilinear blur filter added, multiple screen stretching modes added: full screen, pixel perfect, 16: 9 options added
- Scanline filter added
- Proper 360* analog controls have finally been added but feels like they come with additional input lag

Verdict:
- In a much better place than at launch but issues still remain
- Xbox and PC's texture filtering issues still need to be fixed
- Overall PC with mods is the preferred version, on console PS5 gets the nod

 

[Badlucktroll]

I wonder what chinese company hired to make a ramshackle port of mgs4 off ps3

 

[TheloniusFabdul]

Switch struggling to hit 30 when the PS2 was at 60 is honestly insane to me.

Like, what's going on there?
Is it just because it's running at a higher resolution than the original?

 

[Eimran]

Still enjoying it on my vita. Let's see what the final verdict is after some time.

 

[intbal]

Switch struggling to hit 30 when the PS2 was at 60 is honestly insane to me.

Like, what's going on there?
Is it just because it's running at a higher resolution than the original?

It's because it's a half-assed effort from a bunch of interns.

 

[LavitzSlambert]

Picked up the physical PS5 version for $10 when everyone was hating on it, feels like the best deal since I grabbed a $5 used copy of MGS2 not long after release on PS2. I'm just glad we can play these games on modern systems at a reasonable price.

 

[Fluffytheterrible]

It's because it's a half-assed effort from a bunch of interns.

blurtin out the truth there man

 

[Spiral1407]

If this is how badly they can fuck up PS2 games, then MGS4 port will be a travesty. Hopefully by then, PS3 emulation will have progressed a bit more.

Switch struggling to hit 30 when the PS2 was at 60 is honestly insane to me.

Like, what's going on there?
Is it just because it's running at a higher resolution than the original?

Nope, just a bad port. The switch is a lot more capable than 360/PS3, which both managed to run MGS2 at 720p60. It's kinda like how the Vita version of MGS2 also ran at 30fps, despite that console being a lot faster than PS2.

 

[rabbity-thing]

I wonder what chinese company hired to make a ramshackle port of mgs4 off ps3

Is it a generational thing? Hating on the quality of Chinese products? Look, they make some of the best stuff out there. They also make some of the worst. Almost as though the country of origin is irrelevant.

 

[nkarafo]

Switch struggling to hit 30 when the PS2 was at 60 is honestly insane to me.

Like, what's going on there?
Is it just because it's running at a higher resolution than the original?

I would bet the developer handling the release are nowhere near as skilled or qualified as the original game's devs.

 

[jcorb]

Switch struggling to hit 30 when the PS2 was at 60 is honestly insane to me.

Like, what's going on there?
Is it just because it's running at a higher resolution than the original?

This is the thing I can’t figure out either. The data shows unequivocally that players will choose performance over graphics, and with monitors easily displaying 120fps or more, I feel like 60fps is the absolute minimum we should be accepting for *any* game. Only exception to me is something where it’s genuinely a stylistic choice (which to be fair, I actually could’ve seen Hideo Kojima intentionally capping frame rate).

 

[Horseganador]

Still no fix for texture filtering on Xbox and PC? That bridge looks like it's from N64, and the Switch version is at 30fps...

 

[kevboard]

that switch version is still shockingly bad.

and the lack of texture filtering on Xbox is also telling. tells me the Devs don't really give a shit, as anyone with at least 1 functional eye would instantly see the issue and literally fix it in 10 seconds.

 

[RoboFu]

To me updating classics like this is like using Einstein's corpse as a puppet to teach children basic science.

 

[Digity]

Picked up the physical PS5 version for $10 when everyone was hating on it, feels like the best deal since I grabbed a $5 used copy of MGS2 not long after release on PS2. I'm just glad we can play these games on modern systems at a reasonable price.

Hot damn, where did you find it for that price?

 

[RespawnX]

Summary: How to fuck up porting a game from a 6 GFlops console to a 400 GFlops console.
480p > 720p resolution is ~3x more pixel count while we have factor like 60x more raw performance.

Who lazy can devs be?

 

[kevboard]

Switch struggling to hit 30 when the PS2 was at 60 is honestly insane to me.

Like, what's going on there?
Is it just because it's running at a higher resolution than the original?

it's just an absolutely horrible port.

the Switch is more capable than the Xbox 360, and especially the PS3, in literally every single point of comparison you could do.

both of these less capable consoles ran the game at 720p 60fps

-RAM: 4GB vs 512MB

-GPU: 393 GFLOPS vs 240 GFLOPS

-CPU: 4C 8T ARM v8 vs 3C 6T PowerPC
(the CPU is the hardest to compare, no evidence of the Switch CPU being slower tho, seems evidently faster when looking at the type of games it can run)

-MEM Bandwidth: 25.6GB/s vs 22.4GB/s
(the 360 has 10MB of ultra fast eDRAM for the framebuffer, this could give it a slight edge here, however, the PS3 didn't have that and its GPU is stuck with 22.4GB/s like the 360's main memory pool, and the PS3 version evidently had no issue with that 22.4GB/s bandwidth)

 

[Skifi28]

Like, what's going on there?
Is it just because it's running at a higher resolution than the original?

It's running an emulator within an emulator within an emulator.

 

[Nex240]

The bigger issue is there is still a lot of bugs, compressed audio and some missing effects. Overall it's not as bad as DMC HD collection, that was really lucky to miss so much scrutiny.
Also what PC gamers don't just force 16x AF in their drivers? this seems like a non issue.

 

[poodaddy]

Is it a generational thing? Hating on the quality of Chinese products? Look, they make some of the best stuff out there. They also make some of the worst. Almost as though the country of origin is irrelevant.

Fuck China and fuck the CCP.

 

[Tazzu]

Summary: How to fuck up porting a game from a 6 GFlops console to a 400 GFlops console.
480p > 720p resolution is ~3x more pixel count while we have factor like 60x more raw performance.

Who lazy can devs be?

Nintendo innovation strikes again

 

[adamsapple]

Nintendo innovation strikes again

Nintendo isn't the problem here, lol.

 

[Gambit2483]

that switch version is still shockingly bad.

and the lack of texture filtering on Xbox is also telling. tells me the Devs don't really give a shit, as anyone with at least 1 functional eye would instantly see the issue and literally fix it in 10 seconds.

It's not "that" bad. It's 30fps, yea but a smooth, stable 30fps. A more than acceptable Portable MGS experience.

 

[kevboard]

It's not "that" bad. It's 30fps, yea but a smooth, stable 30fps. A more than acceptable Portable MGS experience.

there's nothing acceptable about a game from 24 years ago running at half its original framerate.

neither is it acceptable for a game running at 720p 60fps on a PS3 to run at 720p 30fps on Switch.
The Switch is more powerful in every data point

 

[adamsapple]

It's not "that" bad. It's 30fps, yea but a smooth, stable 30fps. A more than acceptable Portable MGS experience.

It's not a smooth or stable experience, MGS 2s tanker scenes they show in the video are mid 20s in most cases.

 

[Tazzu]

Nintendo isn't the problem here, lol.

Yes it is, their fanbase will eat this up regardless.

 

[adamsapple]

Yes it is, their fanbase will eat this up regardless.

The fan base will eat it cause it's the first time these games have come to a Nintendo platform, that part is understandable.

But a porting studio not being able to run a PS2 game at 720p/60 on Switch is just a show of the piss poor porting effort.

Especially considering this collection also ran at 720p/60 and with some other visual enhancements over Switch like anti aliasing and anisotropic filtering on PS3 and X360 with 512MB RAM only.

 

[{insert code here}]

Someone on YouTube created some "interesting" mods for MGS1 and he's already commented that he's not making them public but God I hope he reconsiders because I would love to play this version. A lot of people don't like it but I think it looks great.

 

[TerribleAtThisGame]

- Progress has been made in the 16 months since release.

This is peak modern gaming and one of the most unintentionally funny things I've read on GAF lol

 

[poodaddy]

Someone on YouTube created some "interesting" mods for MGS1 and he's already commented that he's not making them public but God I hope he reconsiders because I would love to play this version. A lot of people don't like it but I think it looks great.

Goddamn that looks fun.

Why in God's name is he not releasing that?

 

[rabbity-thing]

Fuck China and fuck the CCP.

Pretty sure your righteous post employed the use of products built in China.

 

[LavitzSlambert]

Hot damn, where did you find it for that price?

Collection Vol 1 was Best Buy (might have been $15 but down to $10 with a random reward cert I think).

MGS2 was like $5 used at Gamestop back in 2004.

 

[RobRSG]

it's just an absolutely horrible port.

the Switch is more capable than the Xbox 360, and especially the PS3, in literally every single point of comparison you could do.

both of these less capable consoles ran the game at 720p 60fps

-RAM: 4GB vs 512MB

-GPU: 393 GFLOPS vs 240 GFLOPS

-CPU: 4C 8T ARM v8 vs 3C 6T PowerPC
(the CPU is the hardest to compare, no evidence of the Switch CPU being slower tho, seems evidently faster when looking at the type of games it can run)

-MEM Bandwidth: 25.6GB/s vs 22.4GB/s
(the 360 has 10MB of ultra fast eDRAM for the framebuffer, this could give it a slight edge here, however, the PS3 didn't have that and its GPU is stuck with 22.4GB/s like the 360's main memory pool, and the PS3 version evidently had no issue with that 22.4GB/s bandwidth)

If I recall correctly, the Switch version is a port of the Nvidia Shield version of the games.

 

[{insert code here}]

Goddamn that looks fun.

Why in God's name is he not releasing that?

No clue but, it might be related to how he redid the codec calls. Could be super buggy and he just doesn't have the time to sort it out.

 

[poodaddy]

Pretty sure your righteous post employed the use of products built in China.

Fuck yeah it did.

 

[Radical_3d]

- Progress has been made in the 16 months since release.

- MGS2 and 3 HD
- Originally, these ports ran at 720p, same for PC version with no graphics tweaks in the game.
- Now MGS 2 and 3 have a 1080p option
- Additionally a separate image upscaling option is added which uses FSR to scale the game to 1080p, 1440p or 4K.
- Movie setting added which adds AI upscale to all movie files in the game (pre-rendered ones), the result here is crisper and cleaner
- These are all labeled as "Adjusted" mode with original launch settings also present if needed.

- "Adjusted" settings help clean up the image but aliasing also visible in some areas
- 4K upscale results in greater clarity but visual noise still present
- DF thinks it's still weird that there's no native 4K version on current consoles
- PC and Series S|X versions lack of anisotropic filtering on textures still not fixed
- The AI upscaled movie effects pre-rendered or archival footage, which are used sparingly in the games anyway as they use real time cut-scenes
- Might not be to everyone's taste but at least the option is there.

- Switch still runs at native 720P with no anti aliasing and no upscale option
- No texture filtering on this version
- Targets 30fps and has a net 2 to 5fps advantage on the original launch version, but drops from 30 are still present, it is not a locked port.
- MGS2 ran at 60fps back on the PS2, while the Switch version struggles to hit locked 30

- PC version is better than at launch and it adds the same setting options the console version adds (1080p or 720p with separate upscale option), no custom settings
- Keyboard and mouse support added
- PC version delivers the best experience with user mods
- Mods enable custom resolution, ultra-wide support and bug fixes not found in the official patch
- AI upscale texture mods boost texture resolution 4X
- "Best MGS3 experience in my eyes" with mods

- MGS1 remains a PS1 emulation at 240p / 30 fps (or 25fps on Pal)
- Toggle to enable/disable bilinear blur filter added, multiple screen stretching modes added: full screen, pixel perfect, 16: 9 options added
- Scanline filter added
- Proper 360* analog controls have finally been added but feels like they come with additional input lag

Verdict:
- In a much better place than at launch but issues still remain
- Xbox and PC's texture filtering issues still need to be fixed
- Overall PC with mods is the preferred version, on console PS5 gets the nod

What a clown show. Games with more than 20 years.

 

[Spiral1407]

it's just an absolutely horrible port.

the Switch is more capable than the Xbox 360, and especially the PS3, in literally every single point of comparison you could do.

both of these less capable consoles ran the game at 720p 60fps

-RAM: 4GB vs 512MB

-GPU: 393 GFLOPS vs 240 GFLOPS

-CPU: 4C 8T ARM v8 vs 3C 6T PowerPC
(the CPU is the hardest to compare, no evidence of the Switch CPU being slower tho, seems evidently faster when looking at the type of games it can run)

-MEM Bandwidth: 25.6GB/s vs 22.4GB/s
(the 360 has 10MB of ultra fast eDRAM for the framebuffer, this could give it a slight edge here, however, the PS3 didn't have that and its GPU is stuck with 22.4GB/s like the 360's main memory pool, and the PS3 version evidently had no issue with that 22.4GB/s bandwidth)

It's honestly not even close. The only true advantage 360/PS3 have is higher CPU SIMD performance (+ 360s EDRAM logic/bandwidth), which is largely irrelevant nowadays thanks to GPGPU.

Oh and I guess clock speed too. But the only reason the PPE was ever clocked that high in the first place was to overcome its low IPC and IoE limitations.

 

[Parazels]

How much would it cost for Konami to license some third party emulator, which rendered the games at full 4k@60?

 

[Dr. Suchong]

Glad to know I can buy the PS5 version with some degree of confidence.

 

[justiceiro]

Switch struggling to hit 30 when the PS2 was at 60 is honestly insane to me.

Like, what's going on there?
Is it just because it's running at a higher resolution than the original?

That's what you get on a hardware on the PS3/360 level.

 

[Gambit2483]

there's nothing acceptable about a game from 24 years ago running at half its original framerate.

neither is it acceptable for a game running at 720p 60fps on a PS3 to run at 720p 30fps on Switch.
The Switch is more powerful in every data point

I agree that it should've released at 60fps, but clearly they chose resolution over framerate and either couldn't or didn't want to optimize it better. They just got the PS5 version up @4k resolution.

Still my point remains, it runs at a
very stable 30 and is more than acceptable to many people as it continues to sell well on Switch.

 

[Gambit2483]

It's not a smooth or stable experience, MGS 2s tanker scenes they show in the video are mid 20s in most cases.

I've never had my gameplay slow down to mid 20s on any of the games. I have no idea what video or what version that was running on but I'm more concerned with how the game actually plays and it plays just fine.

 

[kevboard]

I agree that it should've released at 60fps, but clearly they chose resolution over framerate and either couldn't or didn't want to optimize it better. They just got the PS5 version up @4k resolution.

Still my point remains, it runs at a
very stable 30 and is more than acceptable to many people as it continues to sell well on Switch.

they didn't. they ported the shitty Android version to the Switch instead of doing a proper port of the 360 version.
there was no choice to be made. this game should easily run at 720p 60fps on the Switch even in portable mode.

this is not acceptable in any way, anyone who defends this is a dicksucker gargling the filthy balls of Konami

 

[TGO]

they didn't. they ported the shitty Android version to the Switch instead of doing a proper port of the 360 version.
there was no choice to be made. this game should easily run at 720p 60fps on the Switch even in portable mode.

this is not acceptable in any way, anyone who defends this is a dicksucker gargling the filthy balls of Konami

The whole package( while on paper is nice) is a Frankenstein of ducked taped together apps.
It should of been everything in one package/app not multiple apps running bog standard emulated apps.
MG1 should be a native game not emulated, MGS2 & 3 should also be native code, not another consoles code running in another app at brute force.
This is the problem.

 

[blacktout]

Nintendo innovation strikes again

Please tell me how Nintendo is responsible for this. They had nothing to do with the porting process and obviously the Switch, weak as it is, is substantially more powerful than the original hardware these games were designed for.

This is just a bad port.

 

[Killer8]

The Switch port sucks, which is a shame, but i'm failing to see why it's still being viewed so negatively on other platforms. It's been pointed out countless times, even in DF's own comments sections no less, that boosting the resolution breaks post-processing. 1080p FSR'd to 4K is likely the best possible option to claw back some resolution gains without further fucking up some of the effects work (which Bluepoint's work already did in the 2011 collection). If you look at the community bug tracker, notice how the vast majority of issues already originated in the Bluepoint collection or Substance/Subsistence. The video doesn't even highlight some of the bugs from those versions which got fixed in this release, like missing sea lice in the Fortune boss battle or the broken bloom in the The End battle.

 

[kevboard]

The whole package( while on paper is nice) is a Frankenstein of ducked taped together apps.
It should of been everything in one package/app not multiple apps running bog standard emulated apps.
MG1 should be a native game not emulated, MGS2 & 3 should also be native code, not another consoles code running in another app at brute force.
This is the problem.

the Series X and PS5 get away with it due to beuteforcing through.

but yeah, that sloppy port job then shows its issues on the Switch, which isn't powerful enough to fix the slop the devs are trying to sell.

this mentality of "let's just do it the easy way and let the hardware brutefoce it" is everywhere these days sadly.
that's how we ended up with games that are somehow CPU limited on modern Console and PC hardware, while being less dynamic and ambitious than games from more than a decade ago.

 

[Gambit2483]

they didn't. they ported the shitty Android version to the Switch instead of doing a proper port of the 360 version.
there was no choice to be made. this game should easily run at 720p 60fps on the Switch even in portable mode.

this is not acceptable in any way, anyone who defends this is a dicksucker gargling the filthy balls of Konami

Bro what are you talking about? The game runs @ 1080p on Switch (docked) and yea I agree it should've be 60fps but clearly it was released unoptimized for ALL platforms considering even the PS5 version was capped at 1080p.

A Stable 30fps for a game like this is VERY acceptable, esp in handheld. Would 60fps been better? Yes, but 30fps is entirely playable and runs fine. Get over it.