On July 22nd, 2018, this website launched the Metal Gear Speedrunners Wiki. The knowledge base concept is widely used in the speedrunning community at large, including Speed Demos Archive, Donkey Kong Country, Halo, and Mega Man. The purpose is to distribute information, improve accessibility for newcomers, and document techniques, tricks, and data for preservation. Digging through discord messages, forum posts, and video hosting sites can be tedious and daunting for a new runner.
Given that a year has passed since launch, this post will catalog the current progress in a game to game basis. I’ve overseen the creation, editing, and development of the Wiki with Roy and Chewza’s technical know-how for the website at-large. Thus, I have a fairly good idea of where we started and where we will go. Some may consider this type of post to be boring, but evaluating progress not only congratulates the hard work done by the community, but lets us set our aim going forward.
As a disclaimer, if you are reading this you are aware that this article is written in English. The MGSR Wiki is the same, written in English. While English functions well as a bridge language across cultures, it is true that translations and information in other languages would make life easier for those that do not speak English. Currently, such translations do not exist. Ideally, much of the text of the wiki would have branches for other major languages, such as Spanish, French, German, Portugese, etc. The effort involved would be high, given that the wiki is a constant work-in-progress. Perhaps the future involves certain tutorials and videos translated, or content created specifically for those languages?
Long term, translations would be excellent, but require engaged volunteering that’s likely selective on a game by game basis. Until then, English will continue to be the focus.
Metal Gear MSX
Video tutorials/discussions by Puchiedarcy and Jaguar_King are linked, along with Any% Notes by Ndarren87. Metal Gear C4 order is also written out as a cheat sheet. The page could use more wiki exclusive content and notes, along with any new routing changes since the tutorial videos were made. No routing information exists for 100%. Screenshots could be useful for certain rooms that call for it.
Level of Completion? Low
Metal Gear NES
A set of notes for card memorization were developed, along with a full game text guide as a companion to Dunnius’s tutorial. A new video tutorial with cleaner production is still needed. No routing information exists for 100% or Deathless on the page. More screenshots could be useful for certain rooms that call for it.
Level of Completion? Medium
Snake’s Revenge
Notes from my 12 hour challenge are posted, though it could use editing, additional information, and screenshots. Jaguar_King’s video tutorial covers the run. Snake’s Revenge being a more obscure game in the series, this page can be considered fairly complete.
Level of Completion? High
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
A Big Boss video tutorial by Jaguar_King is linked, though is fairly old. Notes and screenshots exist for important areas, like the desert, cards, mannequin room, and swamp. The text guide for Big Boss is still incomplete. No routing information exists for Any% or 100%.
Level of Completion? Low
Metal Gear Solid
The page that has so much potential information across difficulties, categories, and versions, it seems never ending compared to some games in the series. Modern routing information is still patchy, but coming along nicely. All Bosses routes need the most work. The FAQ is mostly complete. Data collection is ongoing for damage values. Much of the work I’ve done focused on video tutorials, not text information. Any% Console guide is mostly complete. More esoteric pages need attention (Alternate Round, No Damage, and Blindfold) as well.
Level of Completion? Medium
Metal Gear: Ghost Babel
One of my main focuses for the Wiki, information for both Normal and Very Hard are well developed. Information for Easy, Hard, and Special Stages are non-existent. Presentation value for the route pages could be improved as the overall style of the Wiki emerges. Overall, a satisfactory page that I am happy with, but not totally comprehensive.
Level of Completion? High
Metal Gear Solid 2
While a good amount of information can be found on this page, it needs better organization. A page for the European Extreme/Very Easy route would be helpful. The FAQ needs further development. The version differences page is fairly comprehensive. Data collection for damage values, cartwheel speed, etc. is underway.
Level of Completion? Medium
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
Text for Normal route is fairly complete, but could use more information for Hind-D and new Mantis approaches. Extreme route needs more work for specific stuff to that run (Cell, Underground Base, Tank, etc.). All Dog Tags information does not exist either.
Level of Completion? Medium
Metal Gear Solid 3
This page is fairly undeveloped, with an incomplete Very Easy guide, only Foxiinou’s European Extreme tutorial, and no Normal guide. The bosses page does cover all the bosses, which is nice. Given the complexity of the game’s mechanics, further work is needed to make the game approachable for new comers. Work is underway with a mechanics page, and equipment page.
Level of Completion? Low
Metal Gear Ac!d
Ac!d probably represents the most surprising level of development given its obscurity in the series. Casinocoin and Coppertank routed out New Game and New Game+ respectively, with Coppertank’s route page being one of the most fleshed out articles on the website. The New Game article could use some formatting updates to bring parity between it and NG+. General description of gameplay mechanics would be useful.
Level of Completion? High
Metal Gear Ac!d 2
Ac!d 2 New Game+ is currently being routed by Coppertank. I created a card table for the game. No New Game route exists at the current moment. More information is needed for difficulty selection. Region differences need to be investigated.
Level of Completion? Low
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
A basic page that does not contain a tutorial for Any%, Tsuchinoko, or New Game+. The speednotes cover the information you need to run the game, but should be transitioned to the wiki’s formatting proper.
Level of Completion? Low
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops +
A fairly comprehensive page, including screenshots and checks for the maps. Marlon’s speednotes should be transitioned to the wiki’s formatting proper.
Level of Completion? High
Metal Gear Solid 4
A nice amount of work has been done to add information for this game, including general gameplay, weapon, and routing videos for certain rooms. Routing information is incomplete, however. Organizationally, the page could be separated into multiple pages, as the information is too centralized.
Level of Completion? Medium
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
This page has not had much development, though contains useful information, notes, and tables. A legitimate tutorial for S-Rank and First Ending would be useful.
Level of Completion? Low
Metal Gear Rising: Revengance
A rather basic page, with only video tutorials and an external link to notes.
Level of Completion? Very low
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
OneCoolMan’s Tutorial is there, and the skeleton for mission information. Routing information would be useful for individual levels, along with information for the Stealth, No Kills run.
Level of Completion? Low
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Contains a greater level of development compared to Ground Zeroes, including route notes, two tutorials and patch information. Metsa’s guide would be serviced by being transferred onto the wiki itself. Information on installing the original patch was recently added.
Level of Completion? Low
Metal Gear Survive
Another page I developed primarily, in tandem with WilliamK’s NG+ notes. NG+ guide is more developed than Chapter Select No Digs. No New Game information exists as the category is impractical to run. The routes are likely improvable, but I only went so far with a game that’s unpopular. It was a fun project to develop, but I consider this page basically complete.
Level of Completion? That’ll do pig
Conclusion
I want to commend everyone for their efforts and energy in making the wiki what it is! While there are some additional pages I didn’t cover (VR, Snake vs. Monkey, Snake Tales, etc.), I wanted to focus on the major elements. It’s been quite a journey over the past year. If you want to contribute and are unsure how or what to do, head on over to the Discord server to ask!