Christ, those early MGS games have the clunkiest, least-intuitive control schemes of all time. You're holding multiple buttons at once just to aim and fire your gun in first person, gun firing operates on a completely different mechanism (letting off a button rather than pressing it) and Snake is just the most awkward character to control. I can't think of another game--series, rather--that actively fights you as you're trying to play it. Metal Gear Scanlon is super tense, because it's basically one man's struggle against the least helpful franchise of all time.

Drew has godlike patience for playing through these games in their entirety.

Considering I was 13 when I played MGS 2, does that mean I am the most god-gifted video game player in the world? Also, you can press a button to lower your weapon, if that's a problem.

I feel like Japanese software devs just have some of the most awful UI/user experience people in the business.

When I think of bad menus and bad UIs from the last generation, there are a bunch of Japanese games way out in front of the pack. Also, have you seen the clutter on Japanese websites? Jesus. So I dunno, it doesn't surprise me that MGS had overly complicated controls for a long time, because apparently fuck the player, they'll figure out which 4 buttons they have to hold to lean around a corner and aim in first person at a guy.

@baillie: You and me both apparently.

I was surprised to see Drew struggle with the controls so much and for so long (to his credit he was taking long breaks between playing). Yes control schemes have improved since MGS 1 and 2 but how many games where doing anything near the level of technical actions that those games let you do at the time? Look at other games that came out in 2002.

@bisonhero The controls are just legacy now. They could force a simpler scheme onto the player but that would just piss off the fan base.

@jesus_phish: Yeah, I guess they're just a product of their time because it was the best they could think of back on the PS1, and now they've had to go along with that basic framework for nearly 20 years, even though there are other ways you could assign buttons in a 3rd-person stealth game.

I thought the controls were fine and you should get used to them very fast, the only thing that annoyed me was accidentally crawling because I was crouched and went to move.

:|

The generalisation is real. That's like me listing 20 bad American websites and making a snarky comment, of course they must all be like that!

Controls in the MGS series have definitely come a long way. Man do I want a remake of MGS, Sons of Liberty and Snake Eater with Ground Zeroes controls.

@privodotmenit said:

Fair enough. I don't claim to regularly browse all over the Japanese web, but the websites I have crossed paths with have been pretty cluttered. Looks like I'm just unlucky.

MGS2 and 3 controls took a while to learn/get used to (especially the analogue presses) be once I did I quite enjoyed them.

I've just replayed MGS4 and I had more problems with that game's gameplay than I had with MGS3.

Meh, there's nothing special about MGS controls. Totally normal for the time. Felt clunky for an hour, buttery smooth afterwards. Some of us old timers just got used to this shit back in the day. Par for the course! Builds character.

I cringe whenever I hear someone say it took too much time to get used to the controls in any game. I just can't relate.

I mean, I get it.. trust me, I just don't feel the same way. I almost prefer the curve of a game where you have to come to grips with the controls or systems.

@baillie:

@jesus_phish:

Is there a place where you can pick up a medal or certificate for this achievement because I would also need one for every game in the series that I've somehow managed to overcome with my godlike gam1ng sk1llz.

Nope. As people have mentioned above, there were gamers back then who figured it out. Drew just isn't that great at these types of games, which is fine. For me it even adds to the entertainment of it all. Added to that the fact that he has to take breaks, it makes it all the more harder.

I think the OP's opinion is one shared by mostly younger gamers, who have become used to modern universal control schemes and tend to have trouble going back to older fare. Older gamers used to have to deal with this constantly back in the day. There were no universal controls for any two games, be they shooters or what have you. The deal was you got the game, and you figured it out, and if you were lucky then you had customizable configs.

Hey, me too! Although the fact that we started popping up like shrooms after rain makes me feel that we might not be, *gasp* special!

I've never understood this sentiment personally. Controlled great in 2001 and it controls great in 2015. I recently played through MGS2 again and I still love how it all feels.

Sometimes watching people play and complain about Metal Gear's controls reminds me of bad infomercials where people can't crack eggs or stir shit without painting the walls with food. I just dont get it but I guess Im a little biased anyways as I think 2 is one of the greatest games ever.. Sooo whatevs.

@davidmerrick: Huh, I've never thought about early MGS like that. Hold on a second...

Yeah, I just booted up MGS2 and you're definitely wrong. Turns out that it still plays absolutely perfectly and I was struck by the sudden revelation that the Lord God himself probably worked on it as an uncredited producer.

Definitely clunky by today's standards. Never had a problem with the controls back in the day, although, by the time Snake Eater hit they were definitely outdated.
But seriously, once you get them down (which is no wizardry) it becomes second nature to you, like most games. They aren't overly complicated or anything. I had a blast myself playing through Sons of Liberty "along" Dan and Drew. Snappy and fast paced is how I'd describe my personal replay-sessions.

Well of course the controls work once you get used to them. I say this as someone who's mastered the Resident Evil remake's tank controls to the point the new alternate scheme feels weird to me. But a generally great control scheme is intuitive, doesn't require a lot of simultaneous, borderline-interlocking button presses, and basically has a 1:1 translation between player intent and actual game output. Compare these controls to the Ground Zeroes ones, where I never find myself accidentally punching an enemy and causing a huge commotion when I really want to choke him out.

My point wasn't that the early MGS controls weren't capable of being used proficiently, it's that they actively fight new/modern players and their intuitions in ways that have to be super frustrating.