So maybe it's the controls, maybe it's my 41-year-old reflexes, maybe it's something else, but I just finished MGS for the first time ever and I absolutely HATED HATED HATED HATED HATED HATED the last boss battle(s). Everything after the insertion of the last PAL card form -- the battle with Metal Gear Rex (both stages); the fight with Liquid atop the mech; hell, even the final jeep battle -- was absolute agony. It took me roughly 4 hours, all told, to get through this final stage of the game.

I enjoyed everything else in the game, and admired it for the seriousness of its narrative, its touches of humor, and the innovations (now-dated) that it brought to gameplay. I think it's justly regarded as a classic.

But hooboy, that last 4 hours almost undid me. I'm normally pretty sanguine, but I found myself flipping off the screen. Screaming. Wishing all sorts of bad things on Hideo Kojima. Questioning my relationship with Jesus. Indeed, I had a kind of existential crisis; I asked myself during Hour 3, as Liquid punched me for the 4 billionth time and said, "What's wrong, Snake?" for the 8 billionth, "What am I doing with my life? What kind of person am I? Can there be a god in a world where this kind of game exists? And what must the nature of such a god be?"

All of which is to say: if I had this much trouble with MGS, is it worth it for me play MGS2? To be frank, I'm not sure I can handle this level of frustration again. Thanks for your thoughts.

I didn't find either 1 nor 2 at all difficult, so I may not be best qualified to answer, but I played through 2 late last year and it plays fine, so yes, continue.

The controls evolve at every new entry so I suggest going on yes, and if you're having trouble with final bosses don't feel ashamed to not do them and watch the ending on Youtube. I both skipped the final boss from MGS1 and 2, the frustration and time it takes isn't worth just to say " I finished this game".

MGS2 takes a huge leap in gameplay mechanics but the core of it kinda remains the same and the controls are still kinda clunky compared to modern games.

If you found enjoyment in playing through MGS1, yeah, it's worth checking out 2. But if you're ever at a point where you're stuck at something and it's just super frustrating and there's zero fun, there really is no shame in just dropping it. You can watch all the cutscenes on YouTube for the story stuff. You can also just watch a Let's Play.

There's also Metal Gear Scanlon! You'll probably sympathize with Drew and all his difficulties with the controls and mechanics without having to experience the frustration firsthand.

You should be good with the rest of the series, just don't set it to hard or anything (maybe even just set it to easy just to get the experience of playing it) because every game has its point where you will either have to hammer a button, or have a hard time with one of the bosses. I remember having problems with the ending fights in the first game also when it first came out, but after some replays i don't really have those problems anymore. I think the rest of the series kinda eases up on the difficulty of most of the boss fights.

I remember beating it on my galaxy s and i didn't have any problem with it. MGS2 will provide similar challenges but with better control mechanics.

In my opinion MGS2 provide a really fun (unrealistic) gameplay experience in the series by making enemies unable to hear your footsteps. It's really fun to run around the map while freezing or doing cqcs to the enemies on your way.

I first played through the series in 2007, and my experience was incredibly similar to yours. But now Metal Gear is my absolute favorite thing in games, so yeah, I'd recommend going on.

2 and 3 are still frustrating with overly complicated controls and long, difficult boss fights, but I always found 1 to the most infuriating BY FAR. I feel like I've gotten good at the rest of the series over the years, but the original still confounds me. 2 and 3 also have tons of difficulty settings, so don't be afraid to kick it down a notch.

Everything more recent than that just plays like a modern-ass video game.

As people have mentioned, when all else fails...there's always Metal Gear Scanlon.

I am in your age range and likely have comparable reflexes and also just played through MGS 1 through 4 (and MGRR, that'll put your aging hand-eye coordination to the test...) in the past year or so and I say continue! The game play only gets better; however, be warned, there were some super frustrating bits in 2 for me where I was - much like you - screaming and flipping off the screen. 3 and 4 were a cakewalk by comparison.

MGS2 controlls are as many says "better" but that game also asks more of you so all in all i think its harder and more unpleasent to controll. The bosses generally are easier though so if thats your concern MSG2 is gonna be somewhat easier on you than 1. Dont start by going to struf F and you will be fine.

I'm not sure. I remember when I was younger, I thought MGS was somewhat difficult, but the last time (and second time through actually, when it comes to the original), it was really easy all throughout, which was maybe a few weeks prior to Ground Zeroes' release, so that said, I don't know what you mean by how difficult it is in the last parts. I'd say definitely stick with it. You may find the the later games easier, but you may also just get better at it, so it's not as hard. Also, unfortunate to say, but you should play these games because they're great, not because you're interested in getting to Phantom Pain, if that's the goal, at least in terms of story.

I don't especially find the games super hard or anything, but I will say while MGS 1 gets its difficulty inflated by aging control, MGS 2 is just an outright more difficult game and probably the hardest in the series. If you think you could manage a small handful of frustrating instances for one more game, and then strolling through the rest of the series you should just keep going.

I've kind of never understood people's problems with MGS1's controls, myself. It's my favourite game in the series even just taking into account gameplay. But people do say that the later games control more intuitively, so you should probably stick with it.

If you liked the narrative I'd say continue. Just stick the rest of the games on very easy and blast through as they do get easier to play. Good Luck!

@sonofhotpie: if anything they get easier in difficulty with each entry in the series. There is one fight in MGS2 you might find equally frustrating but man that game is crazy when you go from MGS1-MGS2. Great spectacle too.

You're probably better off watching Metal Gear Scanlon. 2 & 3 are better playing games but they both have not aged as well as some other games from that area.

It isn't until MGS V--you can probably argue for IV as well--that the games begin to feel modern in any sense. 2 plays better than 1, but it is still this unique little snowflake.

finally a topic I can contribute to!

yes continue playing. if you liked everything up to rex, then you can surely find more enjoyment out of the rest of the series. beware though: gameplay is NOT the main draw here.

for what it's worth, I found the boss battles in mgs to be the hardest in the series (excluding raven), particularly the last ones. I just wanted them to END. in mgs 2 they get way simpler and in 3 they become fun (and very easy) !

one more thing though: consider mgs2 a gameplay update to mgs and then immediately forget everything and go into 3 as if it were a different game. hated it at the start, now it's my favorite (playing 4 currently)

MGS is archaic, plain and simple. It's a great game, but not for how it plays.

MGS2 onward is a massive improvement. Each game gets better control wise, but by 2 it also feels more like a modern game. MGS1 definitely feels like a nearly 20 year old game.

Sure 2 looks dated, but it's what it did in terms of animation and 3D graphics, and running at a silky smooth 60 frames per second, make it a generally more pleasant experience, in addition to novel gameplay improvements such as aiming in first person(!!!!!) and the tranquilizer pistol. There's some weirdness control wise, with how you shoot with Square as an example, but it's still a hell of a lot better than MGS1.

With your specific issue with the difficulty of fighting REX and Liquid, there's nothing quite like that in the later games, in my opinion. Maybe the final boss of MGS2 can be a roadblock for a little bit, but we're not talking a 4 hour roadblock. And pretty much nothing like that exists in MGS3 or MGS4, if you are planning on going all the way with this thing.

I've played MGS1 so many times, I can usually clear it easily enough on hard just by memory and knowing what the controls are like. But man that fucking Liquid fist fight, to this day, still takes me like 10 attempts every time I go back to the game, even if I play on normal.

I hate how the MGS games control except for 5. 4 was tolerable but I still didn't like it. Just watch all the Metal Gear Scanlons and then play MGS5

It took Drew 3+ hours to do the same part, so rest assured that you are in good company :D

Controls wise everything gets better. All in all the original MGS is kind of an outlier in that it is effectively just a series of boss fights and a good portion of them are rather unforgiving by today's standards. There are very few fights in 2, 3 and 4 which I think could cause anyone too much grief.

Based on what you've said in this post, I think you should continue playing the series.

As they say, the best is yet to come.

You knew what you were getting into, man the fuck up and remember this is a sneaking mission.

Everybody should play the Metal Gear series, so yes! Also the gameplay only gets better/easier.

I was in a similar situation earlier this year. I'm 27 and I played MGS for the first time ever around January or February this year. I finished MGS2 on Vita last week and, oh boy, wasn't that game a much more pleasant experience. I fully agree with everyone above who says that the series gets better as it goes. I'm playing MGS3 on Vita right now and, man, it controls even better. Full 3D camera controls! Yes!

Its beyond me how a game like Metal Gear Solid can be perceived as being super difficult. I don't find it to be and I am no hardcore/expert/super gosu gamer, frankly I find aspects of the modern MGS V to be way harder. But again, I guess its a question of game mechanics and how they have evolved rather than the inherent difficulty level. So if you cant or can adapt to older mechanics better than others, I guess it might affect your overall enjoyment of the game. In my eyes MGS is the best in the series so it "wounds me" deeply when people shit on it, if minorly and sometimes fairly.

As to if you should play MGS2? I don't know man, I personally find the game rather bad, but the improved mechanics are a step up for sure, I just hope you like struts.

Those camera controls were not part of the original MGS3. I'm pretty sure it was a Vita version thing. I could be wrong.

Yeah absolutely, that last section of MGS1 is a nightmare, but if your enjoying the story, well your in for some serious shit, strap yourself in.

The final sequences of that game really suck. Its not telling of things to come. it all gets better from here.

Full camera control was added in the re-release of MGS3, Subsistence. The original release of MGS3 had the conventional top-down camera. In the 3ds (and maybe Vita?) they also added the choice of having the Peace Walker control scheme, which is actually leagues better and almost trivializes some portions of the game. Which is good because the shooting can be frustrating otherwise.

MGS3HD for consoles is still probably the way to go though. Framerate issues galore in the portable versions.

All --

Thanks for the advice, particularly for the dude who told me to "Man the f**k up." Noted, sir.

In light of the almost unanimous guidance, I elected to go on and I'm enjoying MGS2 quite a bit more. So I'm going to stick with it. Like Drew, I've GOT TO KNOW.

I remember always hating the boss fights, but It's metal gear so yes you should go on.