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Seriously, it's not.
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Myth:
Metal Gear was the first stealth video game.
Fact: There were other stealth video games prior to Metal Gear.
By Ravi Singh
Posted on March 13, 2010
Just need to get this out there as it's an annoying myth that I still see
spread around, but Metal Gear Solid was not the first stealth video game. On a
less obvious note, Metal Gear Solid was not the first 3D stealth game either.
The honor of that goes to Tenchu: Stealth Assassins. Still, Metal Gear
Solid was probably the first 3D stealth game in development as the game was
being worked on for the 3DO in 1994 as Metal Gear 3. Still while
it was certainly not the first, it undoubtedly became the most influential in
the genre. That's not what this is about, though. This is about a myth that even
a hardcore Metal Gear fan might be mistaken to believe is true--that the game
that started the entire series actually started the genre itself back in 1987.
Metal Gear was definitely the first stealth game that was popular, especially
it's NES remake/port. The first Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition
published in 2008 claimed that "Metal Gear on the NES" is the first stealth game.
We all know that's bullshit as the original Metal Gear was released a year
earlier on the MSX. We can give them the benefit of the doubt as they use a screenshot
from the MSX anyways despite claiming it was a NES game.
Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition's
website still incorrectly mentions Metal Gear on the NES as the first stealth
game.
HURRY THE FUCK UP BEFORE THAT FAT NAZI TURNS AROUND AND SEES M--GOD DAMN IT!
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However, the original MSX version of Metal Gear wasn't the first
stealth game either. The first stealth game was actually Castle Wolfenstein,
released for the Apple II in 1981 by Muse. The object of the game is to obtain
the secret Nazi war plan and get the fuck out. In the process the player has
to sneak around, wear disguises, hold up, and frisk Nazis. The player has limited
ammunition and simply running around will force you to face the wrath of the
alerted enemies.
Wait, what the fuck? Isn't there a game called Wolfenstein 3D which was
a first-person shooter where you pretty much kill Nazis and Robot Hitler? Or
Robot Hitler With No Mustache on a heavily censored Super Nintendo port? Yeah
and it was simply inspired by Castle Wolfenstein and it's sequel,
Beyond Castle Wolfenstein. Interestingly enough, Wolfenstein 3D was
at first in developed to be a stealth-action game but they decided to remove
features like hiding dead bodies because it "drastically slowed down the gameplay
and made the controls too sophisticated for a mouse or joystick."
Apparently 005 is actually Rorschach from Watchmen.He even has a
spray can.
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Soon after Castle Wolfenstein's release saw the release of SEGA's
James Bond parody 005 to the arcades. The game was divided into four
distinct "scenes," three of which had the player sneak around with a briefcase
through the streets, a warehouse and even a fucking ice rink of all things.
"SNAKE, YOU'RE BLEEDING!"
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In 1984, Muse developed and released the sequel to Castle Wolfenstein
titled Beyond Castle Wolfenstein for both the Apple II and Commodore
64. The game made stealth more of a priority by having the disguised player
required to acquire and show "passes" to demanding guards or successfully
bribe them. Failure to do so resulted in the alarm being sounded in which
case all the enemies will go after you.
Wolfenstein 3D, like Metal Gear, is often credited for being
the first in it's genre when it really was not. However both were
the first highly popular titles in their genres. While I wouldn't say that
Metal Gear popularized the stealth genre as much as Wolfenstein
3D popularized first person shooters, Metal Gear Solid most certainly
did. Still, making a genre popular and actually inventing it are two completely
different things.
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