Play Metal Gear (Japan) Online

Sneak past guards in cardboard boxes, dodge searchlights, and try not to trigger an army of soldiers chasing you—this is where stealth games learned to crawl. The radio chatter's cheesy, the controls are stiff, but tricking patrols still feels like a win.

Developer: Konami

Genre: Stealth action

Released: 1987

File size: 128 bytes

Game Overview

I first played Metal Gear on the NES in 1987, a Konami release that felt different from everything else on the system. While most games were about running and shooting, this one asked you to hide, to wait, to think your way through enemy compounds. It was a quiet, tense kind of adventure that stood out sharply against the more straightforward action titles of the era.

You control Solid Snake, a special forces operative sent to infiltrate the fortress Outer Heaven. Your goal is to find and destroy the superweapon Metal Gear, a walking tank. The game plays out screen by screen, requiring you to avoid direct confrontation, use disguises like cardboard boxes to slip past guards, and collect keycards to access new areas. The pacing is deliberate, the difficulty unforgiving; mistakes are punished quickly with alarms and overwhelming enemy response. Success depends on observation and patience, making each cleared room a small, hard earned victory.