Metal Gear Solid V — people can rag on MGS4 all they want, but at least MGS4 told a complete story (as gonzo as it was). Sure, it could do with more gameplay. But at least the story was a complete one in MGS4. MGSV on the other hand? A mess of a story that goes nowhere. The gameplay was decent if not repetitive but man the story was such a letdown in this game. Maybe my most disappointing game of the last generation And one that so desperately needs if not a remake then a director's cut.
Even Shenmue III didn't disappoint me as much as this did. Shenmue III at the very least gave me more of the same and at least gave me another chance to play in that world. MGS V on the other hand, I expected more from this and got so little in return. I will forever be perplexed how it got perfect scores from some gaming outlets.
I know I am in the minority, but I respectfully disagree with your assertion that the narrative for Metal Gear Solid V is a mediocre one. While the story was poorly executed, it's still a solid one. Let me ask you if the tapes in the game were cutscenes would anyone be criticizing the game for not having a plot?
The story in Ground Zeroes and Phantom Pain acts as a bridge between Big Boss and his son Solid Snake by doing plenty of foreshadowing. I'll be providing some examples and how they connect to future games in the canon. So with that preface out the way, I'll begin.
- Diamond Dogs foreshadows the first Outer Heaven in Zanzibar Land
- The "One that Covers" parasites found within The End, Quiet, and The Skulls Unit foreshadow the use of nanomachines in future iterations.
- The Vocal Chord parasites foreshadow the use of the FoxDie virus.
- Metal Gear Sahelanthropus foreshadows both Metal Gear Ray and Rex
- The Skulls Unit foreshadows the use of super soldiers like the Frog Unit in Guns of the Patriots.
- Huey Emmerich foreshadowed what Hal Emmerich would have become if he had not had his epiphany after the events of Shadow Moses.
- Psycho Mantis is shown as a tragic figure and how he meets with and befriended Liquid Snake.
- If Mission 51 had not been cut, we would have learned how deep the hatred Eli Liquid Snake had for his father and why he committed acts of global terrorism.
- Explains why Kazuhira Miller sided with Solid Snake in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake against Big Boss
- Explains why Ocelot either killed or had someone else kill Miller before The Shadow Moses Incident
- Provides the nihilistic attitude that would spread throughout the rest of the story.
Finally, it covered several other elements that I think players tend to overlook. While this is no doubt a retcon, it provides a more realistic explanation as to how Big Boss survived Zanzibar Land. It deepened the tragic relationship between Zero and Big Boss in Guns of the Patriots by confirming that Zero felt the same way as Big Boss but could never express it due to Skullface. And last but not least, it showed how much stronger Solid Snake and Otacon were than their predecessors.
I don't think this game is perfect by any means (repetitive missions for one), but I largely disagree with critics about the narrative. On top of the awesome gameplay, you have a solid game that bridges the two eras as it was meant to. At least, that's how I see it.
Ironically, Shenmue III did not provide me with any of the answers I wanted that we're promised. Such as the meaning of the prophecy or providing further clarity on what happened between Zhu Yuanda and Iwao Hazuki. Hopefully, those questions will be answered if we get a Shenmue IV.
+ a full remake of peace walker would be cool... i personally would much rather a mgs3 remake then a mgs1 one which everyone is currently talking about - the gamecube mgs remake was fun and looked great but i remember it being not very groundbreaking and the first person view killed some parts and maked them too easy- ie boss battles etc.
