Tactical. Espionage. Action. Words that have become synonymous with Metal Gear Solid. Part of the larger Metal Gear series, the first game was released for the MSX2 computer and Nintendo Entertainment System. The franchise has grown to include multiple spin-offs and has spanned across multiple gaming generations. What is the top selling Metal Gear game of all time? Let’s take a look at the top 10 best selling Metal Gear games of all time.
Top Selling Metal Gear Game
10. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker – 958K Units
9. Metal Gear – 1.2 Million Units
8. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker – 1.2 Million Units
7. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance – 1.2 Million Units
6. Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops – 1.3 Million Units
5. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater – 4.8 Million Units
4. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots – 6 Million Units
3. Metal Gear Solid – 7 Million Units
The PlayStation debut and first in the Metal Gear Solid line comes in at number three on the list. Players are put into the shoes of Solid Snake who is tasked with infiltrating Shadow Moses island and stopping a terrorist attack. Shadow Moses is the home of a nuclear weapons disposal facility and has been taken hostage by the group known as FOXHOUND.
FOXHOUND has threatened to use Metal Gear REX a nuclear-capable mecha if they do not receive the remains of Big Boss (who Solid Snake is cloned after) and a ransom of 1 billion dollars. As Snake works his way through the facility he confronts the members of FOXHOUND. He also meets key allies in Meryl who is the niece of Snake’s commanding officer and Hal “Otacon” Emmerich the main developer of REX.
Snake makes it to REX’s hanger where he hears Liquid Snake (Solid Snake’s clone) and Ocelot preparing REX for launch. The unit activates and Snake learns that he was sent by the government on this mission because he is carrying the FOXDIE virus from an injection given to him earlier. The virus causes cardiac arrest in FOXHOUND members, meaning the government can use it to retrieve REX unharmed.
Snake battles REX and is able to destroy it. Liquid is killed by the FOXDIE virus and a nuclear strike designed to destroy the evidence is called off by Snake’s Colonel and Snake is deemed killed in action to prevent the government from coming after him. Snake learns he has a limited time left to live due to the FOXDIE virus.
The game received critical acclaim when released and has gone down as one of the most influential games on the PlayStation 1 and in gaming overall.
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2. Metal Gear Solid V – 7 Million Units
Metal Gera Solid 5 is the second top selling Metal Gear game of all time. The game was released in two installments. Ground Zeros and The Phantom Pain. Gamers step into the boots of Big Boss starting with Ground Zeros. Big Boss infiltrates a camp that reportedly is holding Paz Ortega Andrade who was thought to be dead. As Big Boss infiltrates the camp a mysterious force known as XOF is departing the camp. He locates Chico who is also being held, prisoner. After locating Paz, they make their escape via helicopter and find out that Paz has a bomb inside of her. They defuse it and land at Mother Base to find it completely on fire from XOF forces.
Snake extracts as many members as possible and as they leave the base Paz reveals there is another bomb inside of her. She jumps out of the helicopter as it detonates causing the helicopter to collide with an XOF helicopter.
Phantom Pain picks up nine years later as Big Boss wakes up from a coma and is being hunted by a Cipher assassin. Next to Big Boss is a heavily bandaged solider who plays a big role in the game’s twist ending.
It is revealed at the end that the heavily bandaged man is actually Big Boss. The character gamers play as went under hypnotherapy and plastic surgery during the coma to make him look and act like Big Boss.
Both parts of Metal Gear Solid 5 were well received by gamers and critics alike and the sales obviously did well as it lands at number two on the list.
1. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty – 7.4 Million Units
The top selling Metal Gear game, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty was released in 2001 for the PlayStation 2. Split into two chapters, gamers are first put back into the shoes of Solid Snake as he sneaks aboard a military tanker carrying a new model of Metal Gear.
Assisted by Otacon via codec, he finds and photographs the new Metal Gear after the tanker is highjacked by Ocelot and Colonel Gurlukovich. After Snake uploads, the photos to Otacon the Mariane Commandant Scott Dolph is taken hostage and killed. Ocelot betrays Gurlukovich and kills him, stealing Metal Gear Rex in the process. The tanker is destroyed and Snake is seemingly killed.
Two years later an oil fence and cleanup facility known as the big shell is put up where the oil tanker went down. During a visit from the President of the United States and members of congress, the plant is taken over by terrorists known as the Sons of Liberty.
Players are then introduced to Raiden who infiltrates the facility as part of a newly formed FOXHOUND. As the game progresses many similarities are seen to Metal Gear Solid such as the appearance of Dead Cell which resembles FOXHOUND, the Colonel, the torture scene, and even similar level designs.
Raiden meets with Navy Seal Iroquois Pliskin who he later finds out is Solid Snake. It is then revealed that the entire Big Shell is just a cover-up for a new Metal Gear project. The terrorists aiming to take it over are led by Solidus Snake who raised him as a child solider but Raiden’s memory has been wiped. The entire Big Shell incident was created by The Patriots who are the secret true leaders of the United States to see if Raiden was on par as a soldier with Solid Snake.
Snake and Raiden fight their way through Arsenal Gear, the codename for the new Metal Gear. The unit makes landfall in New York and Raiden defeats Solidus Snake. Solid Snake and Raiden discuss a plan to take down the Patriots as the credits roll.
The game received acclaim and is considered to be the first post-modern video game. The game features plenty of artistic expressions and handles many complex and delicate themes.
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Did your favorite Metal Gear game make it on the top selling list? Let us know in the comments below.
Data courtesy of Fandom and Wikipedia. Header Photo Credit – Steam Store.
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