This is an old revision of the document!
MG MSX FAQ
Game Mechanics
Q: How many versions of Metal Gear are there?
A: Three. For more detailed info check out this page: MGMSX Regions, Versions and Platforms.
Q: What qualifies for a guard spotting/noticing me?
A: Guards will only notice you if they see Snake’s lower body within their range of vision (waist down).
Q: A bomb I placed disappeared after I used the menu, what gives?
A: Opening the weapon menu removes any placed items from the current game screen.
Q: The floor is opening up under Snake, wtf?!
A: At certain parts through the game, there are several pitfall traps you need to avoid otherwise they will kill you. The detailed guide will tell you how to avoid them.
Q: When do I rank up?
A: Every fifth hostage is one rank.
Q: What good is hitting an enemy once and stunning it?
A: When stunned, enemies can't detect you and you can move through them as if they don't exist.
Q: What alerts are mandatory?
A: (1) The rocket guards atop building 1 (1 extra if playing on Easy difficulty), (1) roof of building 2, (3) The screen before building 3, (3) first screen of building 3.
Q: What tells you a wall is breakable, even with explosives?
A: When you have Snake punch a wall, if a question mark appears above him the wall is breakable.
Q: How far away can you place the bombs before they don't work anymore for opening a wall?
A:
- Building 1 Underground example clip: https://clips.twitch.tv/AmazingEagerHabaneroOSsloth-coWBQ--Kw-nTTotS
- Building 2 Underground example clip: https://clips.twitch.tv/ResourcefulPhilanthropicGorillaNerfBlueBlaster-YlZ9qPYeQaUXpaXi
- Building 3 wall to pits example clip: https://clips.twitch.tv/MoralUnusualLapwingFreakinStinkin-7MIeAcisBSrnEWcX
- Building 3 Underground Gas room example clip: https://clips.twitch.tv/MotionlessTameQueleaJonCarnage--Njdl6OVPJWEdF_-
Q: When does a kill count in Boss Survival and the timer for that boss stops?
A: A kill on a boss counts as soon as the boss health value is reaching 0. That causes the Boss Survival timer to pause and load the next boss.
Big Boss/FOX Requirements
Q: What are the requirements for Big Boss/FOX rank?
| Rank | Big Boss | Fox |
|---|---|---|
| Difficulty | Original | Easy |
| Time | 44:59 max | 49:59 max |
| Saves | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Continues | None | None |
| Alerts | 8 mandatory alerts | 9 mandatory alerts |
| Human Kills | None | None |
| Rations | 1 maximum | 1 maximum |
| Special Item | No | No |
Other Rank Requirements
There are more ranks available in the PS2 port of Metal Gear (MSX). They are as follows:
Eagle
- Difficulty: Easy
- Time: 49:59 max
- Continues: 1 or more
- Alerts: 10 or more
- Human Kills: between 1 and 3
- Rations: 2 or more
- Special Item: No
Deer
- Difficulty: Easy
- Time: 7:59:59 maximum
- Human Kills: more than 3
Alternatively, you can get Deer also by playing between 4 hours of IGT and 8 hours of IGT.
IGT determined ranks
| Rank | Difficulty: Easy | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Eagle | less than 50 minutes IGT | * with less than 4 kills, else → DEER |
| Panther | 50 min IGT to 90 min IGT | * with less than 4 kills, else → DEER |
| Jackal | 90 min IGT to 2 hours IGT | * with less than 4 kills, else → DEER |
| Zebra | 2 hours IGT to 4 hours IGT | * with less than 4 kills, else → DEER |
| Deer | 4 hours IGT to 8 hours IGT | |
| Elephant | 8 hours IGT to 12 hours of IGT | |
| Hippopotamus | 12 hours IGT to 16 hours IGT | |
| Turtle | 16 Hours IGT to 20 hours IGT | |
| Chicken | 20 hours of IGT or more |
TX-55 Leg Order
Q: How am I supposed to remember that long sequence for the MG fight?
A: See here for a broken down pattern:
1) R R L 2) R L L 3) R L L 4) R R L 5) R L R 6) R
List of codecs and contacts
| Contact | Before building 2 | After building 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Big Boss | 120.85 | 120.13 |
| Resistance Leader Kyle Schneider | 120.79 | 120.26 |
| Resistance Member Diane | 120.33 | 120.91 |
| Resistance Member Jennifer | - | 120.48 (only with 4 stars) |
Q: How does Health and Damage work
A: See this page for a full explanation:
Metal Gear (MSX) Health and Damage values
Q: How does Metal Gear work with its maps?
A: See this page for a full explanation:
Q: What are the Item and Weapon IDs?
A: See this page for a full explanation:
Metal Gear (MSX) Item ID System
Q: What is faster, holding X or spamming inputs?
A: spamming inputs in most cases does let the dialog boxes disappear one frame in the game faster, it can be at least 66ms time difference. For the any% category, the total timesave with perfect execution can be 6.5s for example.
Q: Why is GOG and PS2 PAL a separate category on Speedrun.com?
A: The PC GOG version and PS2 PAL version run at different speeds. PS2 PAL executes its updates 11% faster than the NTSC/HDC versions. The GOG PC version updates at around 1% faster than the NTSC/HDC versions. Because of these differences, both IGT and RTA categories are separated to their own subcategories. For more infos see this spreadsheet about different game versions and speed comparisons.