Metal Gear: Ghost Babel

Metal Gear: Ghost Babel was the first ever handheld Metal Gear title and was for the Nintendo Game Boy Color. It was released in April (JP and NA) and May (EU) 2000. It was released in the United States under the title Metal Gear Solid. The gameplay is largely similar to the previous 2D Metal Gear game, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, in addition to several game mechanics from Metal Gear Solid. It is a non canon game, not taking place in the main timeline. In its own timeline however, the game is set 7 years after the events of Metal Gear (2002).

Story
A U.S funded Metal Gear prototype codenamed "Gander" is hijacked by a dangerous seperatist rebel group, located in the small south African country of Gindra, known as "The Gindra Liberation Front" (GLF), led by General Augustine Eguabon. The group planned to use Metal Gear to finally win the civil war it's been engaged in. Roy Campbell, is called in to convince retired FOXHOUND agent Solid Snake to come out of retirement for one last mission. To infiltrate Gindra and destroy Metal Gear. Snake refuses initially until Campbell reveals that GLF's fortress, Galuade, was formerly Outer Heaven, where Snake had destroyed the original Metal Gear TX-55 years ago. Snake consents to go through with the mission, commanded by National Security Adviser Steve Gardner. Snake then met his support staff, consisting of Campbell, Mei Ling, mercenary expert known as "Weasel" and Brian McBride, CIA agent. Snake is also informed that the U.S Army's Delta Force, at the behest of John Parker, army chief of staff, was already inside the fortress, and that Snake had to carry out the mission in concert with them. Snake HALO jumps into enemy territory, where he successfully infiltrates Galuade. Once inside however, Snake is contacted by Delta Force operative Chris Jenner, who told Snake that Delta Force had been ambushed and massacred by the mercenary group named Black Chamber. Jenner was the only survivor. Snake and Jenner agree to work together, and Jenner leaves to investigate Galuade's power plant. Snake sets off in search of Metal Gear's chief engineer, Jimmy Harks. But along the way he meets his first member of Black Chamber, Slasher Hawk. After killing him, Snake reaches the prison barracks where Harks is being kept. Snake rescued the scientist, and learned that Metal Gear fires it's nukes via a railgun that consumes insane amounts of power... when suddenly the power in the barracks goes out. Metal Gear is about to fire! Snake rushes to disable the weapons before the rail-gun is fully charged (leaving Jimmy's safety to Chris Jenner) and he hurries to reach Metal Gear before it can fire- when he confronts and defeats yet another member of Black Chamber, Marionette Owl. Before he dies, Owl reveals that Black Chamber was betrayed by the U.S government two years ago, in a mission commanded by "Anonymous" a man that they have vowed vengeance upon.

Escaping the barracks, Snake discovers that Metal Gear is already above ground. Rushing to it's location, Snake was waylaid by an armed helicopter being piloted by Black Chamber's leader, Black Arts Viper. Then it's too late. Metal Gear fires its warhead. Viper leaves and Snake flees the area under heavy bombardment when he learns the terrorist's intentions: the missile Metal Gear GANDER had just fired was set to land in an unpopulated region of Nevada - a test to prove the GLF had the capability to make a nuclear strike. "The General" gives the U.S three hours to pull out all of it's peacekeeping troops and recognize Gindran sovereignty or else it will fire another nuke - this time at a major population center. To prevent Metal Gear GANDER from firing another warhead, Snake goes to destroy the power plant when he suddenly loses contact with Jimmy and Chris. However, Chris is able to contact Snake later on. She tells him how they were ambushed, and Jimmy was recaptured but she escaped. After consoling her, Snake is attacked by another member of Black Chamber, Pyro Bison. Snake succeeds in defeating him, but before he dies he makes several revelations to Snake: first, that Black Chamber was a special forces group that performed missions FOXHOUND would've taken on normally, had the group not become too famous after Operation Intrude N313, and that there is a spy in their ranks. Five members of Black Chamber survived "Anonymous'" ambush. Snake destroys the power plant, but as he escapes he sees a surprising sight: Jimmy Harks in handcuffs with a dead soldier next to him. Jimmy reveals that he escaped from captivity when the plant was blown up, alongside another prisoner, who was another operative from Delta Force. When suddenly Jimmy's handcuffs exploded, killing him.

These revelations prompt McBride to accuse Chris Jenner of being the fifth member of Black Chamber, a fact that Snake argues passionately against. However, when he attempts to contact her, he receives no reply. With a heavy heart Snake continues on his mission, when he's attacked by the same armed helicopter, this time being piloted by the General's second in command, Sophie N'Dram. Snake destroys the helicopter and wounds her, but refuses to kill her. She reveals that Chris is still alive, but has been captured by Viper. Snake proceeds to the underground maintenance base, where Metal Gear is being kept, but before he can reach the dread weapon he's confronted by Viper. Viper reveals to Snake that Black Chamber was assigned to a mission two years ago by the government to recover Metal Gear, which at that point had been seized by a South American terrorist group. Fearing that Black Chamber's existence and Metal Gear's construction would spell doom for the U.S, certain government officials ordered in FOXHOUND to ambush and wipe out Black Chamber when they returned home. Five members escaped (but now only two remain, thanks to Snake.) Viper and Snake proceed to fight, but Snake proves the victor. As the room explodes behind them, Snake and Chris escape. Chris revealed that she escaped Delta Force's massacre because she wasn't with the group at that time. She'd been given special orders by John Parker to destroy all data on "Project Babel" and Outer Heaven and to assassinate "The General." Charged with finding an escape route, Jenner leaves and Snake proceeds to finally fight Metal Gear GANDER.

He enters the hangar where Metal Gear is being kept, and finds the General already there. He activates Metal Gear and history repeats itself, as Snake battles Metal Gear in the hundredth floor basement of Outer Heaven. After destroying Metal Gear, the General reveals to Snake the truth about the U.S, GLF and Outer Heaven: Outer Heaven was a U.S funded project, established to investigate anti-U.S forces at the time. The field commander of the Outer Heaven project, Big Boss was a loose cannon however, and rebelled causing the Outer Heaven Crisis. After Outer Heaven was destroyed by Snake, the relationship between Gindra and the U.S continued, up until Project Babel. Project Babel's objective was to establish the U.S. as the sole super power in Africa. The project was created by the Army Chief of Staff, John Parker. After that revelation, the General gives Snake the disk containing the project data before dying. It seems that it's all over, but Snake is again confronted by Viper, who reveals that he now knew the identity of "Anonymous", thanks to the General's speech, and that Roy Campbell was in command of FOXHOUND the night Black Chamber was terminated. Finally the fifth member of Black Chamber reveals himself: Brian McBride. But there is still one final revelation: Metal Gear GANDER was programmed to control seven nuclear equipped satellites, able to launch nukes from orbit. There was more to Metal Gear than just the railgun. As the elevator begins to ascend to the surface, where the satellites will become activated, Snake and Viper have a final duel to the death. Snake proves to be the victor, as Viper finally falls dead to the ground and the nuke system is deactivated.

Snake receives a call from Campbell, who tells Snake that he's sorry, he didn't know that Black Chamber was an American unit until after the whole thing was over. Weasel tells everyone that he killed McBride, and that Steve Gardner is "Anonymous." Project Babel was actually created by Gardner, but he lost control of it after Metal Gear was seized by the South American Terrorists. Control was transferred to Parker. Gardner planned the whole operation to disgrace Parker and get control of Project Babel returned to him. Weasel was actually under direct orders from Gardner the entire time. However, he decides to let everyone go free, instead of killing them. Chris reappears with a jeep that she found and she and Snake drive off together...

Trivia

 * Because of Nintendo's strict anti-drug policies at the time, the fogger item takes the place of Solid Snake's traditional cigarettes. However, Snake can be seen smoking a cigarette in the story intro.
 * After beating the game, a hidden codec frequency (140.07) can be accessed in every stage to listen to a radio show called IdeaSpy 2.5. This is only for the Japanese and European versions of the game.
 * After completing all the Mission stages, No. 4 makes a cryptic reference to the unknown participant taking part in the VR missions, referring to the participant as "Jack".
 * In Metal Gear Solid 2, the malfunctioning Colonel AI will call Raiden and give him a mission briefing for infiltrating the fortress Galuade.
 * In Metal Gear Solid 4, the Five-seveN pistol was mentioned as the one Solid Snake used in Galuade.
 * While the game is not canon, it is rather interesting to note that the in-game reason for Snake's mission in Outer Heaven was extremely similar to Big Boss's mission: Operation Snake Eater in terms of the reasons behind the mission in the first place, as both missions were formed in order to cover up America's involvement in the events, and resulting in the staging of the operatives fame afterwards. Also, the ending mentions Snake trying to end the abuse of soldiers by the government to atone for his sins, which is extremely similar to the reason why Big Boss canonically formed Outer Heaven in the first place.