Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 3 Needs to Happen, and These Are the Games That Have to Be Included
With Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 and the recent Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2, it seems inevitable another collection is on the way. And even though both collections have included nine games and gotten most of the big ones, there are still a few titles a possible Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 3 should have. Because the most important titles have been covered, this third volume would likely mostly be a spin-off collection with some of the tertiary games that have supported the main installments.
Here is an unranked list of the most viable candidates for Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 3 and why they should be included.
4) Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops is like Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker in that both are PSP-first games following Big Boss, but the two differ in one way: Portable Ops hasn’t aged quite as well. Whereas Peace Walker has more standard controls, Portable Ops follows the older style of games and their more dated control schemes, an aspect made worse by the PSP’s limitations.
Despite those limitations, though, Portable Ops is well worth preserving. It is the first iteration of the formula that would go to fully blossom in The Phantom Pain. Capturing soldiers and sneaking around is very basic and clunky compared to what would come later, but it is still solid in its primitive state here.
Some other out-of-game marketing inconsistencies and its status as a Metal Gear game not directed or written by Hideo Kojima have caused some hubbub and confusion on whether or not it is canon, as if those both undermine it as a Metal Gear game. Even the official Master Book in the Master Collection talks somewhat around the subject by saying Portable Ops “depicts events that tie into the series canon” (the language around Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, for example, is more clear and direct). But it is still a Metal Gear game and one that is often forgotten, which makes it a prime candidate for a modern port.
3) Metal Gear Acid and Metal Gear Acid 2
Both Metal Gear Acid games are definitively not canon, though, but, like Portable Ops, are often neglected. Tactical card games have taken off over the last few years, so Metal Gear flavored one is sure to garner some attention.
But they are probably going to need some tweaks. The first game can screw players over or make them wait for too long if they don’t have the right cards on hand, so perhaps Konami could add some quality-of-life features from the sequel and save states to alleviate some of the age-related pain points. Some of the changes needed to modernize the first game are likely well out of scope for a port, but being able to speed up time and rewind would go a long way. The better-looking sequel irons out many of these issues, though, yet would still benefit from these features. It’s unlikely these games will shoot to the top of anyone’s Metal Gear rankings even with these improvements, however, it’s more than worth it to see these games on modern platforms.
2) Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
If a third Master Collection is going to have a headliner, especially one focused on spin-offs, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is the best game to play that role. This is easily the most beloved spin-off of the whole franchise, which is surprising considering its lengthy development cycle that saw it change hands partway through.
Revengeance is on PC and backward compatible on modern Xbox systems, but PlayStation players have no native access to the PS3 original, the Xbox version doesn’t run at a high resolution, and it has never come to Nintendo systems. It’s not a lost game by any stretch, yet it could use a modern touch-up and be more widely accessible.
This is true for most games, especially ones as great as Revengeance. Although parries have taken over games from Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 to Beast of Reincarnation, no others have done it quite like Revengeance where deflecting a slash takes greater precision and isn’t just a simple button press. PlatinumGames’ expertise is truly on display here and wouldn’t need a bunch of modernizations or caveats in order to enjoy. Its combat has aged well, and its story has only gotten more relevant over time, too. Fighting a warmongering United States senator who shouts about “[making] America great again” is absurdly prescient and is yet another way Metal Gear shows how timeless it is.
1) Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain
Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes and Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain are the two newest mainline entries and, therefore, it might sound egregious to put them in a bundle again when they are both widely available on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. And while not the strongest centerpiece for a third collection, there is an argument for their inclusion, even if it comes with stipulations Konami is likely too scared to follow.
For one, the games aren’t on Nintendo Switch 2, so this bundle would address that. Konami also never updated the game to run better on Xbox One X — it’s still 900p even on new Xbox systems — meaning Xbox Series X|S owners don’t see much of a technical upgrade, either. And even though PS4 Pro support came and that translates well to PS5 players, the upgrades were minimal; it runs at a smoother 60 frames per second but only at 1440p. Upgrades to Ground Zeroes are also limited to those with the Definitive Edition on PS4 and not those with the standalone original. Another port would undoubtedly up the specs to 4K and 60 frames per second across the non-Nintendo platforms and give it some of the visual tweaks seen in the PC original.
But relatively minor technical enhancements aren’t the main reason to want another edition of this game. Konami has the runway to be a little bold and add some new features. Extreme and Subsistence modifiers across every mission would be fantastic, as they only cover a small handful of them now. The former is a true test of the player’s skill, while the more interesting latter makes it so players have to scavenge their tools from the level and, in the process, are forced to interact more intently with how truly open the game’s sandbox is.
Konami could even go ahead and finish the Mission 51 cutscene that Konami released in one of the special editions. It’s already somewhat complete, so it doesn’t seem like it would be too much of a stretch to put the finishing touches on it. Granted, the mission’s story beyond the cutscene, since there is concept art that implies said cutscene was only part of this unfinished puzzle. Metal Gear Solid 5 is widely viewed to be unfinished and these changes wouldn’t completely reverse that perception, but they’d be smart improvements and fitting for Master Collection Vol. 3.
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