Metal Gear (NES)

The Nintendo Entertainment System version of Metal Gear is an altered port of the game that was developed and released shortly after the original MSX2 version. The game went through numerous changes during the conversion process, resulting in a drastically different product. The NES version was developed by a separate team without Kojima's involvement and many changes and compromises were made as a result. According to Masahiro Uedo, one of the sub-programmers for the NES version, there were two primary reasons for the changes. The first one was because of the higher ups at his company telling him to make it as different from the MSX2 version as possible, and the second, specifically the TX-55 Metal Gear fight being removed, was because hardware limitations prevented them from having the TX-55 Metal Gear fight as it was. The porting process was also subject to a three month deadline.

Despite this, the NES version sold surprisingly well, especially in the Western market, with a million copies sold in North America. This, in turn, resulted in the creation of Snake's Revenge without Kojima's involvement, which in turn became the inspiration for Kojima's actual MSX2 sequel, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (which in turn, became the basis for Metal Gear Solid). As a result, the NES version of Metal Gear is credited for allowing the creation of the later games in the series be possible.

Changes from the MSX2 version

 * The biggest difference between the MSX2 and NES versions is the presence of the actual Metal Gear mecha or lack thereof in the NES version. Instead, the player must destroy a "Super Computer" which controls all of Metal Gear's activities in its place. The method of destroying it was also changed. While in the MSX2 version, the player must place 16 plastic explosives on Metal Gear's feet based on the order given by Dr. Madnar, in the NES version the player must simply place the bombs over the Super Computer on no specific parts (however, the player must have already rescued Ellen and Dr. Madnar first).


 * In the MSX2 version, Snake performs a solo underwater insertion into Outer Heaven in the beginning of the game to the entrance of Building No. 1. In the NES version, he performs an air insertion by skydiving and parachuting into the jungle with three other soldiers who disappear after landing. They are neither seen or mentioned again.


 * The level designs were altered greatly in the NES version. In the beginning of the game, the player must proceed through a jungle area before reaching the entrance of Building No. 1 through a truck. The first floor corridor of Building No. 1 was also remodeled greatly, with many of its trucks and rooms moved to other locations. The basement-level floors of Building No. 1 and 2 were made into separate buildings, Building No. 4 and 5 respectively. In addition, the room where Big Boss was fought at was moved to the right of the place where the player fought TX-55 (or the computer room, in the NES's case), whereas the MSX2 version had it being to the left.
 * On a slightly related note, the vehicle gallery has been greatly expanded in the NES version, as other than tanks or transport trucks, the game also includes jeeps (both the covered and non-covered variety), a Buick, as well as a non-covered transport truck variety.


 * In order to reach Building No. 4 or 5, the player must go through one of two jungle mazes located west to each of the outdoor areas. The solution for both mazes are the same, although it is never actually given within the game.


 * The boss, the Hind D, was replaced. Instead, the player faces a pair of gunners known as Twin Shot on the rooftop of Building No. 1.


 * Since the player no longer has to parachute to reach Dr. Petrovich's cell in Building No. 1, the parachute was removed. An Iron Glove was added in its place, which allows the player to break hollow walls. However, in some NES versions, the Iron Glove has no real use.
 * Also as a result of Building 1's courtyard being removed in the NES version, the German Shepherd guard dogs were relocated to near the beginning of the game where Snake has to traverse through the jungle to get to the first movable truck. This change was notably one of the aspects of the NES version that led series creator Hideo Kojima to hate it.


 * The Flying Army located on the roof of Building No. 1 and 2 lost their ability to hover over the ground in the NES version.


 * In the NES version, the "high alert" (or double exclamation mark) mode was disabled. As such, the player can always make their escape from alert mode by simply moving to the adjacent screen.


 * The player is able to walk under security cameras without being detected in the NES version much like later Metal Gear titles. This is not possible in the MSX2 version.


 * The player can no longer acquire rations or ammo by punching enemy soldiers in Sneaking Mode.


 * Solid Snake's face no longer appears in the transceiver screen.


 * Big Boss's final message to the player after the end credits was removed.


 * Some of the music (mainly, the two main themes and the alert mode theme) was changed in the NES version.


 * There are also several other minor differences in gameplay, including several bugs and glitches. Some of the radio conversations were "misplaced" as a result of the redesigned areas in the NES version. For example, if the player calls Schneider in front of the room containing the gas mask in Building No. 1, he will tell Snake the location of the mine detector instead. This is due to the fact that the same spot in the MSX2 version used to be a minefield. In addition, the player's bullets have a longer range than they do in the MSX2 version and the player can also shoot while wearing the cardboard box.


 * In the NES version, after defeating Big Boss, the player uses an elevator instead of climbing a ladder at the end of the MSX2 version.
 * There were also several changes regarding the items and weapons in the NES version. Many of them were minor, as several of them were given a more monochromatic look to them (or in the case of the uniform, a more green colorization). However, at least one somewhat major change was that the transmitter item was redesigned, resembling a miniature radio instead of a red button, as well as the above noted replacement of the parachute with the iron glove.

Regional differences
In contrast, there are very few differences between regional versions of the NES game. Three versions were released: the Japanese Famicom version, the North American version and the PAL version. The differences between the three are minor. The North American and PAL versions featured a redesigned transceiver screen, while the PAL version fixed some of the glitches from the previous versions and featured a slightly revised password system. All three versions kept virtually all of the radio messages in the game.

Packaging/manual discrepancies in the NES version
The NES version of Metal Gear was released in North America at a time when video games were still lacking in-game storylines for the most part. As a result, when a Japanese game was localized in the U.S., the company that was marketing the game in the U.S. could write any sort of made-up storyline and details in the game's instruction manual without necessarily following the original Japanese storyline.

Konami of America was very notorious for this practice, often making up their own storylines for their games while paying little or no respect to the original designers' intentions (as evident in some of the Castlevania and Contra games).

Metal Gear was no exception; it went through the same questionable marketing treatment. However, unlike some of the other games of its time, Metal Gear actually provided the player with an in-game narrative (albeit very primitive compared to later titles) which develops the storyline as the player progresses through the game. The in-game translation (which was done by the actual developers) kept the storyline unchanged from the Japanese version.

In the manual and packaging for the NES version, the game's main villain (whose identity is intentionally kept secret in the original version) is named Colonel Vermon CaTaffy, "a once tranquil shepherd boy" who "turned to terrorism at an early age." CaTaffy's name is a play on the name of former Libyan dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi. Other than the noted reason above, IGN, when covering the differences between the two versions, speculated that another reason for the change was to avoid the negative stigma at the time that would have resulted regarding the main villain being an American Special Forces agent. Snake's commanding officer (who is Big Boss in the original version) is named "Commander South," a play on the name of the Marine lieutenant colonel involved in the Iran-Contra scandal, Oliver North. Moreover, Snake is mentioned as being a former Marine who participated in the Grenada Invasion prior to joining FOXHOUND. This would be contradicted by the timeline presented in later games. The manual also gave names for some of the NPC characters (e.g. the soldiers who fall asleep while on guard duty, as "B.A. Dozer"), as well as describing the scorpions in the northern desert as being trained killer animals owned by Colonel CaTaffy. None of these terms and changes were featured in-game.

Snake's Revenge (the Western NES sequel of Metal Gear) also went through Konami of America's marketing treatment, but suffered even worse backlash as a result.

Reception
Metal Gear was rated the 104th best game made on a Nintendo System in Nintendo Power 's Top 200 Games list.

Related media
In 1988, a novelization of Metal Gear was written by Alexander Frost and published by Scholastic Books, through their Worlds of Power series of video game adaptations. It was closely based on Konami of America's localization of the plot, rather than the original Japanese storyline. In addition, further liberties were taken with the story, such as giving Solid Snake the name "Justin Halley," and making him a member of a U.S. Marines antiterrorist squad known as the "Snake Men." Since the books were aimed at younger readers, Snake doesn't kill anyone and only uses his handgun once to destroy a lock. The cover artwork was airbrushed to remove Snake's gun.

In Japan, a Metal Gear gamebook was published on March 31, 1988, shortly after the release of the Famicom version as part of the Konami Gamebook Series, set two years after the events of the original game.