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[DunDunDunpachi]

With Metal Gear Solid in tabloids today, I figured it would be interesting to argue vehemently discuss over which trilogy of games was better, from a story standpoint, from a gameplay standpoint, from whatever standpoint you choose, I suppose. Though there are more games in the franchise than the "trilogies" listed, each set of three games encompasses the character's story arc.

Solid Snake is the original hero, clone of Big Boss, supersoldier puppet for the US gov't, The Patriots, and others.

His "trilogy", in order of timeline:

(Metal Gear 1 and 2) <-- Big Boss story draws to a close
Metal Gear Solid 1
Metal Gear Solid 2
Metal Gear Solid 4

Big Boss is the soldier-turned-warlord, father of the Snake clones, locked in proxy-war with Zero.

His "trilogy":

Metal Gear Solid 3
Metal Gear: Peace Walker
Metal Gear Solid 5
(MG 1 and 2)

I am partial to Big Boss's trilogy for the gameplay and for the character arc. MGS3 is one of my lesser-enjoyed Metal Gears though I know it's a fan-favorite. PW and MGS5 both reign comfortably in my Top 3 MG titles, so there's that. I love the aspect of playing the villain instead of always being the sucker for the higher powers as Solid Snake.

 

[AV]

Solid Snake. MGS1 at the time was fantastic and it's still my personal favourite story, MGS2 is one of the most finely crafted video games ever. 4 is a ridiculous greatest hits catalogue love letter to the fans and it's a shame it's entombed on PS3.

MGS3 is also one of the best video games ever made, but BB's trilogy is dragged down by 5, which might as well not have been a Metal Gear Solid game, regardless of how great the gameplay was. PW is fine but not outstanding.

 

[Guilty_AI]

Raiden's

 

[AV]

Raiden's

2 / 4 / Rising? It's not correct, but damn is it an answer I respect

 

[Mista]

I love all the games but I’ll pick Solid Snake because I cherish 1&2

 

[MH3M3D]

<-----That one

 

[theHFIC]

Wow this thread explains the two separate characters and their arcs better than the whole series!

 

[Soleil rouge]

Solid Snake has more quality games; Big Boss has the best MGS game of all time (MGS3).

 

[Porcile]

Solid Snake. Big Boss is such a little bitch it's unreal.

 

[Aceofspades]

Metal Gear Solid 1, 2 and 3 were masterpieces, 4 was great with some minor flaws.

5 has nothing to being called Metal Gear, complete trash of a game.

On Topic: I pick Solid snake trilogy

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

I added a poll. Seemed like an obvious thing to forget.

 

[Barry Burton]

I prefer the Big Boss trilogy, since 3 and V are two of my Top 3 MGS games (along with MGS2). I dislike pretty much everything about MGS4, and its existence puts a damper on the Solid Snake trilogy.

I get why people were disappointed with MGSV's story, but after MGS4 I just wasn't invested in it anymore, so I just enjoyed the awesome gameplay and mostly shrugged at the storytelling.

 

[BaneIsPain]

Solid Snake + Otacon = winning formula.

 

[Porcile]

Metal Gear Solid 4 was 100% a shitty game but Snake was great in it.

 

[AV]

I see you.

 

[Roufianos]

MGS3 and 1 are the best games. 5 and PW were good games but not really what I want from MGS so I'm gonna give it to Solid Snake, even though 2 was batshit crazy and 4 had such huge plotholes and terrible pacing.

4's kind of grown on me over the years though, instead of obsessing over every stupid plot point, I just accept it for the fun shit show that it is.

 

[REDRZA MWS]

I voted solid snake, but I did love MGS3 Snake eater. I’d love a remaster of that game.

 

[Sleepwalker]

Big Boss for me. I love that bastard. Probably favorite character in all of gaming.

 

[M1chl]

Solid Snake, but it's Rainden because of that best Metal Gear game.

 

[K1Expwy]

Gameplay wise 1+2+4(+MGO) are my favorites, but I prefer the lower-tech setting of the BB trilogy. Solid Snake became a fish out of water in the world that was written in MGS2 onward. 4 was the return of SS as the lead for the whole game, but there was so much going on, that the story was barely about him. Even with the MGSV twist, the Big Boss arc was about his development into the villain of the MSX series

edit: You could argue that MG1+MG2+MGS1 is a more fitting trilogy for Solid Snake, while MGS2+4 transitioned to Raiden's generation, which set the tone for MGR

 

[HeresJohnny]

I'm going with Big Boss based on Snake Eater alone. I might argue that the original MGS had a bigger impact on me because I just hadn't seen anything like it on a console before that, but the end sequence to Snake Eater is the finest two hour finale in any game I've ever played. It's just amazing. It also had the best, most creative boss fights in the series.

Also, I'd add that while the story is pretty meh, MGS5 is the best Metal Gear from a mechanical standpoint. Every single facet of the gameplay shines in that game. I could literally sit and play it for hours just messing around.

 

[Breakage]

Solid Snake's trilogy
MGS1 and 2 were like the Terminator 1 and 2 of video games.

 

[tkscz]

Got to give this one to Solid Snake.

While I love the ever loving hell out of Snake Eater, nothing has truly topped the way MGS1 feels for me. Never completed 2 however, not because of Riden, just, never finished it.

 

[Kerotan Frog]

I adore MGS3 (its a GOAT Masterpiece) and love Peace Walker, so for that reason, I had to go Big Boss. He is also a much more interesting character than Solid as well. Though its not technically canon, I also really loved Portable Ops and wanted to shout it out. It has a fantastic story (first meeting of BB and Kaz), and it has CALLING TO THE NIGHT (one of my fave songs ever). The game only came out on PSP and is seriously underrated. It was also the first time we see BB kidnap soldiers to recruit them and build up MSF.

I also really enjoyed Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain, but wish it had a complete ending. The gameplay was top notch and graphics/music were stellar, but it was a bit of let down in story dept.

That being said, Solid still has a brilliant 2.25 (4.25 if you count the OG MG and MG2) games on his resume. MGS1 is an all time classic (please remake on PS5!), his bait and switch appearance in MGS2 is still legend, and then he got the epic return and finale in MGS4.

Just barely, Big Boss edges out Solid Snake. MGS3 was just such an impactful game, that it overtakes the love I have for Solid's Trilogy.

 

[mikefrails]

Do we expect a MGS remake on 5’s engine to be good without Kojima?

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Also, I'd add that while the story is pretty meh, MGS5 is the best Metal Gear from a mechanical standpoint. Every single facet of the gameplay shines in that game. I could literally sit and play it for hours just messing around.

MGS5 is possibly the best story in the franchise (for me). It took awhile to click. The big reveal after the main story, after the post-game diversions, after you finally find out that Venom Snake is just another pawn for the real Big Boss, another disposable piece of trash to the villains of the world., I was in awe.

Prior to beating MGS5, my lingering question was "how exactly did Big Boss become the bad guy?" I always considered him misunderstood villain, someone with good intentions, someone who was fighting against even greater evils, an "ends justify the means" sort of character. I really wanted this to be answered, maybe by proving he really was a "good guy" all along.

The justification of the "ends" in MGS5 finally show BB to be the cruel, selfish, deluded villain that he is. Perfect tragic conclusion that is wrapped up by the perfect bittersweet victory in MGS4.

MGS5 is worth replaying at least once, starting fresh with this knowledge in mind. Those introduction scenes in the hospital and with Ishmael guiding you, the strange movie-like interactions between Big Boss and other characters, the emphasis on "building your legend", the Heaven that soldiers flock to, etc they all make a lot more sense on a replay.

 

[Blitzmangoman]

Damn did I love the MGS series. Hopefully the remake(s) are true.
But I voted Raiden, lol.

 

[DarkBatman]

Solid Snake. MGS1 at the time was fantastic and it's still my personal favourite story, MGS2 is one of the most finely crafted video games ever. 4 is a ridiculous greatest hits catalogue love letter to the fans and it's a shame it's entombed on PS3.

MGS3 is also one of the best video games ever made, but BB's trilogy is dragged down by 5, which might as well not have been a Metal Gear Solid game, regardless of how great the gameplay was. PW is fine but not outstanding.

Damn, I came here to write this, word for word. Bravo.

 

[SF Kosmo]

Pretty casual Metal Gear fan, I was real into the 8-bit MSX games and MGS1. MGS2's story started getting into that super Kojima weirdness and I don't think they ever fully got me back after that.

 

[RavenSan]

That's a tough call, but I went Big Boss only because MGS3 is a goddamn masterpiece.

 

[Belmonte]

Solid Snake is the greatest. He is a lot more than a puppet for the higher powers. He saved the world multiple times, and would do with or without aligning with Zero's plans. Plus, he and his allies destroyed the cycle of stupidity which Big Boss and Zero started.

About the games, it is hard to judge. It is pretty close, so many great titles. But I will give the win for Solid Snake also because of Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. It is one of my favorite Metal Gears, even counting the modern ones.The Solid Snake vs Big Boss battle was great! Fans are missing a lot by only playing Metal Gears with "Solid" in the title.

I laughed with the Raiden part in the pool.

 

[Amaranty]

Venom Snake. Big Boss was a dickhead.

 

[Captain Hero]

It’s hard for me but if I have to choose I’m going with Solid Snake . Big Boss’s story is one of the best in gaming for me but as a whole in everything it got to be Old snake , this guy faced the horrible things that Big Boss faced in the past but with more advanced technology . Solid snake’s story is heartbreaking and so badass .

 

[JimiNutz]

Tough choice because Solid Snake has the best single entry in the franchise in MGS1 and also the worst two in MGS2 and MGS4.

Big Boss on the other hand has three good entries so my vote goes to his.

 

[Digity]

Don’t make me choose.

 

[FranXico]

Big Boss was an idiot. There, I said it.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Big Boss was an idiot. There, I said it.

He regularly got played like a damn fiddle.

 

[Thabass]

Hard decision, but I'm going with Big Boss.

I don't want this to be taken as a shot as Solid Snake though. I love Solid Snake as a character, he is unmitigated charm that's not overlooked and while he has his gruff exterior, he does what he does because he believes he needs to fix what his "family" had started in the 70's. He was haunted by his clone father's presence throughout his life and wanted to rid the world of a dangerous and planet threatening virus (Metal Gear). But under his gruff exterior, he's a compassionate guy who was really wants to uphold The Boss's will (he obviously doesn't learn about The Boss until the end of his story, but his actions are very much akin to things The Boss would have done).

Big Boss, however, was multidimensional. While Solid Snake isn't one-dimensional by any stretch, you really get the see Big Boss grow more as a character. In Metal Gear Solid 3, he was akin to a babyface green soldier. Learning the ropes of one-man infiltration and as by product of the The Boss's training. The story and myth of Big Boss was always surrounded by mystery, even when KojiPro elaborated in MGS3, Peace Walker, and beyond. In Peace Walker, we finally got to see Big Boss as more as the man who was depicted in Metal Gear Solid 1. The man would take on the role as a terrorist, a soldier, a political figure because he's fighting against a world that's gunning for him and his "Outer Heaven". He shaped himself to be whatever he needed to be and that takes highly charismatic figure. He threw away his love for The Boss and decided to forge his own path.

I could go on and on about both of these characters. Kojima and co put a lot of thought into them and made them really fleshed out. It's a shame that Metal Gear Solid 4: Gun of the Patriots damaged them so (Solid Snake not so much, but Big Boss was gutted pretty well). It's one of the reasons why I don't really like MGS4 as much as I used to; seeing the retcons through the years really dampened my stance on that game. MGSV didn't do Big Boss any favors either. MGSV, while a fantastic game, just made the true Big Boss seem...anti-climatic?

 

[A Rifter in Space]

4 was the best Metal Gear.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Out of those who are voting Solid Snake (who is the clear leader already), did you play MGS back in its heyday or did you play it after release?

Just curious because MGS3: Subsistence was my first MGS title. I liked it enough to go back and play the others, but the third person style of MGS3:S onward has always been my preferred mode. Not sure if it's because I played Splinter Cell first or something else, but anyway...

 

[Thabass]

Out of those who are voting Solid Snake (who is the clear leader already), did you play MGS back in its heyday or did you play it after release?

Just curious because MGS3: Subsistence was my first MGS title. I liked it enough to go back and play the others, but the third person style of MGS3:S onward has always been my preferred mode. Not sure if it's because I played Splinter Cell first or something else, but anyway...

I played the original game in 1998 (via burnt copy! (remember those days?)) and I still chose Big Boss. lol

 

[MrS]

Big Boss because MGS 3 is by far the best MGS game. Peace Walker and V are solid also. Not sure V really counts as a big boss game though.

 

[diffusionx]

Voted for Big Boss because MGS3/PW/5 are all so good. I love MGS2, 4 and 1 not as much.

Out of those who are voting Solid Snake (who is the clear leader already), did you play MGS back in its heyday or did you play it after release?

Just curious because MGS3: Subsistence was my first MGS title. I liked it enough to go back and play the others, but the third person style of MGS3:S onward has always been my preferred mode. Not sure if it's because I played Splinter Cell first or something else, but anyway...

I preordered MGS1 and MGS2, and saw the MGS2 trailer in the flesh at E3. I am OOOLD.

 

[Salmon Snake]

Solid Snake.

MGS 1 and 2 with David Hayter and pals have such an important place in my heart.

Still my favorite MGS game of all time is Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence.

 

[Sign]

Solid has the better story. Big Boss has the better gameplay.

 

[Arachnid]

GOAT Solid. Best character in the series.

4 was the best Metal Gear.

Finally

Somebody who isn't afraid to preach the god damn truth

 

[Madflavor]

I love Big Boss but his Trilogy was entirely carried by MGS3.

 

[IFireflyl]

There is a story you're supposed to be able to follow in the MGS series?

Wtf

 

[Bombolone]

I'm still and will always be sour on BB stealing Kojimas heart.
Solid Snake is so much cooler and interesting of a character for me.
Big Boss is so boring. Gets played, oh no the world isnt black and white, let's become a villain. Zzzzzz...

Snake a clone. What is destiny? fate? Am I tied to my legacy, my origin. How do 'I' choose to live.

I'm biased, I hate the cornyness of 60s spy/espionage. Hate old Bond films, hated the 'Snake Eater' theme song. I completely agree MGS3 is up there, just not my slice of pie.

1 & 2 I wanted one more entry with Solid Snake in his prime exploring future tech themes... got rummaging through a 'jungle' (PS2 handicapped/menu camo)
MGS4 he's old...

Damn that poll brought up feelings.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

Solid Snake, unquestionably. I liked all 3 of his games. While I loved MGS3, Peace Walker is abysmal in every regard - from story to gameplay - and MGS5 has one of the worst overarching designs of any game, which torpedoes its amazing mechanics.