What is the best Metal Gear game of all time?

From 8-bit infiltration on Japanese home computers to open-world spectacle, with a couple of entries fans still argue about including. Where do you stand?

1

Metal Gear

Hideo Kojima's 1987 MSX2 original that invented stealth action by making avoidance smarter than shooting.

2

Snake's Revenge

The 1990 NES sequel made by Konami USA without Kojima, mixing side-scrolling action into the stealth formula.

3

Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake

Kojima's own 1990 MSX2 sequel, years ahead of its time with sound-based detection and a full story.

4

Metal Gear Solid

The 1998 PlayStation landmark that brought cinematic storytelling and Shadow Moses to a mass audience.

5

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

The 2001 sequel that swapped Snake for Raiden and turned its own hype into a story about information control.

6

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

The 2004 Cold War prequel set in the jungle, widely called the series' best-told story.

7

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes

The 2004 GameCube remake of the first Solid, rebuilt with MGS2 mechanics and restaged cutscenes.

8

Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops

The 2006 PSP entry that introduced squad recruitment and bridged the MSX games to the Solid era.

9

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

The 2008 PS3 finale that sent an aged Snake through four warzones to close the Patriots story.

10

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

The 2010 PSP entry that built out base management and co-op, laying the groundwork for MGSV.

11

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

The 2013 PlatinumGames spin-off that recast Raiden in a fast cut-anything action game.

12

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes

The 2014 prologue whose single Cuban base showed off the Fox Engine and open-ended infiltration.

13

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

The 2015 open-world entry with the series' deepest systems and its most divisive ending.