In early 2012, in Europe at least, Konami released the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection. Like most HD collections however it only included a small piece of the franchise, mainly Metal Gear Solid 2, 3 and Peace Walker. This week saw the announcement of a new, greater collection in the form of Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection.
Included in this collection will be Metal Gear Solid (plus the additional VR missions pack), Metal Gear Solid 2, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Metal Gear Solid 4: Trophy Edition and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.
Metal Gear Solid 1 had the graphical update treatment in the form of Twin Snakes originally released on the GameCube. From what we’ve heard so far it doesn’t sound like this is the version included in the collection or whether the graphics will be updated in any way from the original PS1 version.
In addition to all these games will be two digital graphic novels and the original MSX versions of both Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2. The only game from the series to be excluded is the sequel to Peace Walker on the PSP called Portable Ops which wasn’t included in the original HD collection either. In 2013 a spin-off based on Raven called Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance was released on the major consoles and is also absent from the collection.
Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection is clearly something every hardcore fan wants in their gaming cabinet. It includes everything (minus one PSP game) from 1987-2012 and is released as a celebration of 25 years of Metal Gear. It will also likely help increase hype for the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 5 title.
Originally, most of the games in the collection were Playstation exclusive and this will be no different. It will be available for PS3 in America in June though no European date or price has been announced yet. Metal Gear Solid has shifted more than 33 million copies in its lifetime and quickly became a global phenomenon. The popularity likely comes from its rich story telling and great stealth action that many games have tried and failed to replicate.
President of Konami Digital Entertainment, Tomoyuki Tsuboi, said “We wanted to give Metal Gear Solid fans the opportunity to experience the series from beginning to end, all on one console. With the collection’s multiple titles, players can truly see how Metal Gear Solid evolved into the critically acclaimed and beloved franchise it is today”.