Metal Gear: Snake’s Revenge
Snake’s Revenge is the non-canon sequel to the original Metal Gear which was released on the MSX and the NES following the first game’s success. The game is notable for being the black sheep of the Metal Gear family, chiefly because Konami went ahead and thought developing a Metal Gear game without Hideo Kojima would be a good idea. Things seemingly never change.
Now, while the game’s nonexistence in Metal Gear canon is cited as the main reason behind its badditude, there are no shortage of proper in game reasons why Snake’s Revenge is considered bad. Chiefly among them are the game’s notorious side-scrolling sections.
Because nothing screams “Stealth Action” quite like long stretches of side scrolling gameplay where hiding is damn near impossible. Not only were these abrupt changes in the game jarring from a visual standpoint, they were notable for completely reversing the control scheme without warning–replacing the usual attack button with a jump command. Obviously, the first thing that comes to mind when trying to sneak through an enemy compound is to jump around.
And can we discuss his choice of sneaking suit? Dude is wearing bright orange while sneaking through a jungle. Didn’t he learn anything from Big Boss?
Despite this, Snake’s Revenge did do a few things right. It had some cool boss battles and when Snake wasn’t busy running and jumping for no reason the game largely retained its signature gameplay from the first Metal Gear. Snake also begins his mission with a gun and a knife which is very useful. You also fight Big Boss again–except this time he’s a cyborg. How awesome is that?
In the end, had Snake’s Revenge abandoned the concept of side scrolling levels entirely it may have turned out to be the dark horse favorite of the early series–rather than the weird uncle no one talks about at family gatherings. Unfortunately, Snake’s Revenge will be remembered as a bad game that was really close to being good.
