At a Kadokawa Shoten bookstore in Tokyo.
Iwasaki Isao had come to buy a game guide.
Metal Gear was just too damn hard! He couldn't beat it at all!
Actually, he didn't even want to play it anymore. But this was an Atlus game, so he'd bought it the moment it came out. After buying it, he realized he had no idea how to play it; Snake played like an old man with dementia and couldn't beat anyone.
If it had been any other company, Iwasaki Isao would have blamed the game.
But since it was an Atlus game, he figured the problem was probably him.
What could he do? People who graduated from high school just weren't as sharp—even if he did attend a technical college!
At Kadokawa Shoten, Iwasaki Isao bought the latest issue of Game Freak magazine.
This was a game guide magazine edited by Tajiri Satoshi. Although Atlus had its own official guidebooks and walkthrough videos, those were usually released a few months after the game's launch. The guides released earlier were generally just control manuals and data books. For example, the Megami Tensei series had accompanying Demon Books and Demon Fusion Formulas.
Iwasaki Isao had originally bought the strategy guide. But when it arrived, the first thing he saw was an article personally written by Tajiri Satoshi.
Atlas Has Never Fallen from Its Pedestal! Have You Truly Mastered Metal Gear?
"I recently played Atlas's new release, Metal Gear, and was surprised to find it being mercilessly criticized. This struck me as quite bizarre."
"Some say the game is bad because producer Hideo Kojima is a newcomer to Atlas. I need to clarify two things."
"First, Hideo Kojima is no newcomer. He was already involved in the production of Red Fortress, having designed several of its levels."
"Second, the game is excellent. If you think it's bad, it simply means you don't know how to play it."
Tajiri Satoshi never understood the concept of tact. He recounted his experience with brutal honesty.
"When I first started the game, I was immediately impressed by the visuals; it was clear a lot of effort had gone into the art. After our team drops into the jungle, we must infiltrate the enemy fortress. Many players get beaten half to death right at the start and claim the difficulty design is completely unfair. I disagree."
"If you'd read the manual and turned on the radio, you'd have received orders from our superiors. They'd have told us that as agents, we should fight cautiously and avoid unnecessary combat to prevent casualties. The mission objective is to infiltrate the enemy base, destroy the Metal Gear, and find our missing teammate, Gray Fox."
"Infiltration is the key. I don't understand why some people still charge in and attack the enemy when the word 'infiltrate' is spelled out so clearly. Perhaps you think that as long as you kill all the enemies, no one will know you've infiltrated. But if you choose to do that, you can't blame the game's difficulty design. You're the one who chose the hardest path."
"We avoided the enemies the entire way, moving cautiously. Along the way, we even found some items that helped us clear the mission. Finally, we reached the base, where we found our missing teammate, Gray Fox. He told us about the Metal Gear and shared a shocking secret. This is a crucial part of the game's plot, so I won't say more here."
"————After all that, we successfully destroyed the Metal Gear and escaped with Gray Fox."
"Seeing the ending screen, I felt more satisfied than at any other moment. This is a very modern game. Its unique way of using the radio, dialogue, and coordinated gameplay as cinematic cutscenes, combined with its movie-like, suspenseful plot, is truly captivating. This is no ordinary game; we can't treat it like Contra or Green Beret, where you just attack anyone you see. We must plan our routes and move with caution to have any chance of victory."
"Some say Metal Gear's map design is far inferior to Final Fantasy's. I disagree. Metal Gear's maps are designed for infiltration and puzzle-solving, which is completely different from Final Fantasy's dungeon design. The maps serve the narrative; we find the right items in the right places to help us clear the game."
"Overall, Metal Gear is a great game, but it's destined not to be a mainstream one. I hope everyone can look at it from a more objective and fair perspective."
At Kadokawa Shoten, Iwasaki Isao finished reading this magazine article and felt a surge of mixed emotions.
He had actually bought Metal Gear himself, but he never expected it to be like this.
He had played it a few times, but after repeatedly failing to get past the level with the pack of dogs, he had given up. He'd even silently cursed Hideo Kojima's childhood story about being bitten by a dog.
Who would have thought?
"That's right," he muttered. "I'm a secret agent! Agents are supposed to infiltrate, not go on a killing spree like the Green Berets!"
Iwasaki Isao rushed home and started playing, following the first half of the walkthrough published in the magazine. This guide covered everything up to the point where Snake feigns capture to meet Gray Fox, only to fall into a trap.
After that, Iwasaki Isao had to figure things out on his own.
But he soon realized something was off with the game's plot. Big Boss's orders were getting weirder and weirder—he was even telling him to abort the mission and turn off the MS Radio.
How could I do that?!
Of course, Iwasaki Isao refused. He'd already invested so much time and was completely immersed in the game; he wasn't about to quit now.
Over the next few days, he played during his breaks and after meals, steadily progressing through the game. Finally, the plot began to unfold more clearly.
His superior had betrayed him all along. Gray Fox had been telling the truth. His superior was completely unreliable; all the intelligence he had provided was designed to lead Iwasaki Isao in the wrong direction. In the end, Iwasaki Isao relied on his own strength to destroy the Metal Gear, escaped the island with Gray Fox, and reported the truth of his superior's betrayal to the Organization.
Infiltration Mission N313 was successfully completed.
"Phew—"
Iwasaki Isao let out a long breath, clutching the controller with a sense of loss.
He had always thought that only games like Final Fantasy had complete, fleshed-out stories. He never expected that playing through Metal Gear would deliver such a dramatic and gripping plot. It was just like watching a movie!
From the initial infiltration of the island, to the feigned failure during the mission to get captured, and finally to the superior's betrayal and the destruction of the Metal Gear—the entire sequence had completely captured his emotions.
This might not be a game where you could just charge in and start a killing spree, but in terms of story, it was truly an outstanding work!
Iwasaki Isao was starting to agree with Tajiri Satoshi's assessment.
This wasn't just a game; it was a work of art! It was like watching a cinematic blockbuster!
The game he'd bought for a few thousand yen wasn't just something to play—it was a movie to experience.
Double the thrill! Pure bliss!
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