Summary
- Metal Gear Solid games are filled with secrets and hidden surprises for players to discover, such as ghostly apparitions and hidden camouflage.
- Mei Ling makes a cameo in Metal Gear Solid 2, scolding Otacon for misinterpreting proverbs and providing Snake with the correct meaning.
- Players can unlock hidden cutscenes, increase grip levels, and receive healing by interacting with the environment and interrogating guards throughout the games.
Despite being relatively linear adventures with a clear goal from the start of the story until the credits roll, the games within the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection contain multitudes of secrets. Players who explore every nook and cranny of the three main games presented here are often rewarded with silly jokes, easter eggs, and sometimes even things that expand the lore.
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Those who did not take their time to see all there is to see in Metal Gear Solid and its two sequels surely missed out on the secrets detailed below.
1 Ghost Photos
Metal Gear Solid
After beating the game players are rewarded with a camera they can use to snap photos. This is a nice enough treat on its own, but take pictures in certain parts of the map and ghostly apparitions will show up in the shot. These are of the development team and it makes for a creative way for them to put themselves in the game.
There was some worry about this secret not making it into the final product but whatever issue there might have been did not stop their appearance in the re-release.
2 Mei Ling Cameo
Metal Gear Solid 2
While playing as Snake, Otacon tries to give the player proverbs relating to the mission just like Mei Ling did in the 1998 title. The only problem is he often hilariously misinterprets the meaning.
Save enough times and Mei Ling will eventually interrupt the conversation and scold Otacon before giving Snake the proper meaning of the quote. It's a funny way to include her in the game even if she does not play a part in the overall story. Fortunately, she has a real role in Metal Gear Solid 4.
3 Hidden Camouflage
Metal Gear Solid 3
The game is kind enough to start Naked Snake off with a variety of camouflage colors to help him blend in with the environment. Players can still find plenty of them in the game world. However, there is a set of camo that gives players special status effects that can only be earned from bosses.
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To get each boss's hidden camouflage, players have to non-lethally defeat them in battle. While fighting the End, players have to actually sneak up on him, hold him up at gunpoint, and then shake him down for him to give up his special uniform.
4 Defeating Metal Gear Rex With The PSG-1
Metal Gear Solid
Boss fights in the series often include creative ways of achieving victory, but this one is really on another level. Instead of using the Stinger missile against Liquid Snake, players can use the PSG-1 Sniper Rifle. Keep in mind that it can only be done during the boss's second phase.
The laser is the weak point here. The PSG-1 is typically used against Sniper Wolf and does not have that much utility past those two fights. While on the topic, players can also defeat Sniper Wolf during the second battle in the snow field using the Nikita Missile launcher.
5 Hidden Cutscene With Eva
Metal Gear Solid 3
After escaping and having a run-in with death from jumping down a waterfall, Naked Snake meets up with Eva. She gives him the C3 explosives he will use to blow up the Shagohod Hangar. If players do not remove the tracking device put into Snake, the path to Eva will be filled with guards on the hunt for him.
Players will also be treated to a funny cutscene where Eva removes the device from Snake. Eva struggles to pull out the tracker while the shadows on the wall enact a wrestling match.
Guy Savage was a minigame that players could experience if they loaded up a save right after Snake gets put in the prison cell. However, this minigame is not available in the Master Collection or the HD Collection.
6 Increasing Snake And Raiden's Grip Level
Metal Gear Solid 2
Hanging over the edge of railings is a masterful way to avoid detection. Players cannot stay suspended for too long, though, or else the grip gauge will deplete and cause them to fall.
There is a hidden way to increase the amount of hang time possible, though. Hang over the edge, use the shoulder buttons to do pull-ups, and repeat it one hundred times to earn the grip gauge level 2. Do it again and go up to level 3, the maximum level. Snake and Raiden's grip have to be leveled up separately.
7 Healing Codec Frequencies
Metal Gear Solid 3
Interrogate guards to find out what they know about the surrounding areas and even gameplay tips. Sometimes they will even repeat mysterious codec frequencies. Put in these frequencies and Snake will be treated to a musical number imitating the rock music of the era in which the game is set. He will also be healed.
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While this type of secret has no place in reality, Metal Gear Solid has no problems playing with video game mechanics in ways like this despite how serious its plot can be at times.
8 Meryl's Different Exercises
Metal Gear Solid
While climbing in the ventilation ducts on the way to rescuing the DARPA Chief, Snake sees Meryl performing exercises on her bed. After seeing this, players should turn around and go down the ladder from which they came. Then, go back into the duct and look at Meryl again to see her performing a different exercise.
After doing this several times, she will be performing the exercise in her underwear. Similarly, if Snake follows her into the bathroom fast enough after spotting her in the Nuclear Warhead Storage facility, she will be without pants in the following cinematic.
9 Johnny Sasaki Cameo
Metal Gear Solid 2
Before Metal Gear Solid 4, Johnny Sasaki, or Akiba, had been a recurring joke character throughout the series. His two appearances in Metal Gear Solid 2 are hard to find and only in audio. The first cameo comes when listening to Solidus and Ocelot with the directional microphone.
Turn the Mic away from them and toward the bathroom to hear him struggling with irritable bowels. The second appearance comes while protecting Emma on the oil fence. Use the mic to hear her think out loud about Raiden. While she is behind one of the strut pillars, listen in and Johnny will be there. The two have a conversation before he lets her go.
10 Hidden First-Person Moments
Metal Gear Solid 3
During certain cinematics, the game will prompt the player to press the right bumper (R1 on PlayStation). Do this and players see the same scene play out from Snake's perspective. There are several hidden moments of this throughout the game.
Most notably, do it while the President is pinning the award onto Snake's chest and Snake will look and see Ocelot saluting Snake outside the window, indicating the respect he has for him and setting up the two's relationship for the games that take place after Snake Eater.
Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1
- Released
- October 24, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Konami
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Action, Stealth
