Metal Gear Script FAQ
by Rob Browning (pluvius3 @ gmail.com)
v1.02 (Written July 24, 2009)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*TABLE OF CONTENTS*
-----------------
I. DISCLAIMER
II. VERSION HISTORY
III. INTRODUCTION
IV. SCRIPT
A. Transciever Messages
1. Solid Snake (any frequency)
2. Big Boss (120.85)
3. Schneider (120.79)
4. Diane (120.33)
5. Big Boss (120.13)
6. Schneider (120.16)
7. Diane (120.91)
8. Jennifer (120.48)
9. Steve (120.33)
10. Steve (120.91)
11. Ending
B. Dialogue
1. Solid Snake
2. Prisoners
3. Enemies
V. ODDITIES AND OTHER POINTS OF INTEREST
VI. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND CLOSING WORDS
**************
I. DISCLAIMER
**************
This FAQ is copyright 2009 Rob Browning, all rights reserved. All trademarks
and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective
trademark and copyright holders. Redistribution for profit is prohibited.
Free distribution is allowed provided that this FAQ is left intact and
unchanged, with credit given to the author, and that any sites distributing
this FAQ update it regularly. Personal, private use of this FAQ is allowed
with no restrictions.
********************
II. VERSION HISTORY
********************
v1.02 (07-24-09): Changed contact email address.
v1.01 (02-25-07): Changed contact email address.
v1.00 (07-24-05): First release.
******************
III. INTRODUCTION
******************
Q. What is this FAQ for?
A. This FAQ contains the script to the English version of Metal Gear for the
Nintendo Entertainment System. Metal Gear is a classic third-person stealth
shooter created by Konami, and the first in a highly-acclaimed franchise that
continues to the present day. This FAQ is not meant to help a person through
the game, but to help one discover things in the game's script that one may
have missed. It would also be possible to use this FAQ as sort of a plot guide
so that one does not have to play through Metal Gear, but it is a good game
despite its age, and is still worthwhile to play.
Q. Why did you write this FAQ?
A. The whole affair started just two days before the first writing of this
FAQ, when I wanted to prove to myself that nothing in the game tells you how to
get through the jungle mazes to Buildings #4 and #5. (For those unfamiliar
with this part of the game: The player has to go through a maze to get to
these two buildings. The maze is similar to that of the Lost Woods in The
Legend of Zelda, where the player must scroll the screen in different
directions in a certain sequence in order to pass onto the next screen.
Unfortunately, the only way to pass this maze is through time-consuming brute
force, unless one uses a walkthrough.) To do so, I dumped the game's script
and looked through the results. When I also discovered a script dump of the
MSX version of the game on GameFAQs, I decided to convert my script dump into
an easily usable form for other gamers.
Q. How exactly did you dump the script?
A. First of all, I used a nice little hex-editor called Thingy to do a
relative search in the ROM. A relative search allows one to find a line of
text anywhere in the ROM, even if the line of text isn't encoded in ASCII (the
standard method of digitizing text); for example, I searched for the word
"check" which led me to the area of the ROM where the phrase "check the way"
could be found. When I thusly figured out how the text was encoded in the ROM,
I used another program called TaBuLar to make the file necessary to translate
the ROM code into readable text. Then I dumped the script to a standard text
file and edited it manually. It was actually pretty easy; Konami did not use
multiple methods of encoding the text, nor did it use any tricks to make the
ROM size smaller (which would've made dumping the script consequently more
difficult for reasons which go beyond the scope of this document).
Q. How complete is the script?
A. It depends on what you mean by "complete." I am certain that the script is
at least 99% complete and accurate in terms of content and the way that the
text is shown within the game itself. The only mistakes I've made on that
score are where certain lines are indented in the game; Konami used a trick to
indent some lines without using spaces (they also managed to separate lines of
text without line breaks in a very few places). However, this only happens in
a few parts of the game (like the credits).
As for figuring out how and when exactly this text is triggered... well, I
played through the game in an attempt to find every line of text through normal
gameplay, and I'm pretty satisfied with the results. However, I have not been
100% successful in this task. There are a few lines which I could not figure
out how to trigger, as you will see. There are also numerous cases where lines
of text are triggered in more than one place and time, and trying to find all
of these triggers would be a pointless exercise, especially since there are
some cases where text is triggered for no apparent reason. (A good example:
You can trigger Diane's warning to watch out for pit traps in the very first
section of the game, before reaching the truck that leads to Building #1.)
Q. Wow, is the text really that bad?
A. Yes. Though Metal Gear is a classic by the standard definition, it's also
a classic example of Engrish in the 8- and 16-bit era of gaming. "Engrish,"
for those of you who don't know, is what you get when you take normal English
and mangle it due to a lack of knowledge of the language (and in the case of
Metal Gear and many other games of the time, space constraints also kept the
text from being verbose and flowing). So all of the grammatical and
typographical errors in the script are truly in the game, not mistakes that I
have made.
Q. Who the heck is Steve?
A. Diane's boyfriend, I guess. He replies to you on her frequency on
occasion, he's intimate enough with her to know when she's taking a shower, and
he doesn't seem to like a buff, bad-ass guy like Solid "David" Snake talking to
her. I guess all of those would be sufficient criteria for a brother or a
stalker as well, though, so I could be wrong.
***********
IV. SCRIPT
***********
Below is the full script for the English NES Metal Gear. It is presented in
two sections; the first section lists all of the messages that the player can
get through the transciever (which is like the codec in the Metal Gear Solid
series, for those of you who are only familiar with the later games), while the
second section lists all of the dialogue which is found "in-game." Each
section has a number of subsections devoted to different characters or groups
of characters. I've tried to keep the text within these subsections in
chronological order, but the game is somewhat nonlinear so YMMV.
The script is presented in much the same way that you'd view it in the game; a
single space between two bits of text shows that they are separated by a line
break, while a double space denotes a page break. Bracketed notes are used to
show when and where a particular chunk of text is triggered. If I do not know
how to trigger a certain chunk of text, I note this with four question marks
(????). I also use parentheses to make editorial notes on the script.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A. Transceiver Messages
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The frequency over which a message is sent is given after the name of the
person sending it.
-------------------------------
1. Solid Snake (any frequency)
-------------------------------
[whenever you use the transceiver's SEND mode]
THIS IS SOLID SNAKE.
RESPOND,PLEASE.
---------------------
2. Big Boss (120.85)
---------------------
[beginning of game]
BIG BOSS SPEAKING
OPERATION INTRUDE N313.
YOU ARE TO INFILTRATE
THE ENEMY FORTRESS
"OUTER HEAVEN" THEN
DESTROY THEIR FINAL
WEAPON METAL GEAR.
FIRST,ATTEMPT TO CONTACT
MISSING OUR "GREY FOX."
THEN TRY TO FIND
THE METAL GEAR.
USE FREQUENCY 12085
FOR ALL COMMUNICATION
WITH ME.
OVER.
[in the binocular truck]
BIG BOSS HERE.
BINOCULARS?
USE THEM TO LOOK
AROUND YOU.
YOU CAN CHECK DISTANT
TOPOGRAPHY AND ENEMY
POSITIONS.
REMEMBER TO USE YOUR
BIONOCULARS AT ALL
TIMES.
OVER.
[in the areas that contain Cards #1 and #2]
BIG BOSS HERE.
A CARD?
THAT CARD WILL OPEN
A DOOR.
BE CAREFUL.
YOU NEED THE RIGHT
NUMBER CARD FOR THE DOOR
YOU WANT.
OVER.
[in some areas containing rations]
BIG BOSS HERE.
RATIONS?
CAREFUL.THOSE ARE
EMERGENCY FOOD SUPPLIES.
DON'T EAT THEM NOW.
SAVE THEM.
OVER.
[various rooms at the beginning of Building #1]
BIG BOSS HERE.
STEAL WEAPONS AND
EQUIPMENT FROM ENEMY
MUNITIONS CARRIERS.
STEAL AMMUNITION FROM
ENEMY GUARDS.
YOU NEED THE RIGHT CARDS
TO OPEN ENEMY DOORS.
SEARCH FOR THE CARDS.
OVER.
[various rooms at the beginning of Building #1]
BIG BOSS HERE.
YOUR MISSION IS
TO INFILTRATE!
BE CAREFUL NOT TO LET
ENEMY DETECT YOU.
[in the gas mask room]
BIG BOSS HERE.
GAS MASK?
USE IT IN GAS-FILLED
AREAS.
OVER.
[various rooms in Building #1]
BIG BOSS HERE.
YOU CAN CHANGE FLOORS
USING THE ELEVATOR.
REMEMBER THE LOCATION
OF ELEVATORS.
OVER.
[in the hand gun truck]
BIG BOSS HERE.
A HAND GUN?
THAT IS A BERRETA M92F.
YOU NEED TO KNOW HOW TO
USE IT!
LOOK FOR AMMUNITION.
DON'T WASTE BULLETS!
OVER.
[in the mine truck east of the Building #1 first-floor elevator]
BIG BOSS HERE.
LAND MINE?
YOU NEED TO KNOW HOW TO
USE THEM!
OVER
[in the Building #1 third-floor camera rooms]
BIG BOSS HERE.
WATCH OUT FOR
SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS!
OVER.
[various rooms on the third floor of Building #1]
BIG BOSS HERE.
THE RESISTANCE FIGHTERS
ARE WAITING TO HEAR
FROM YOU.
CONTACT THEM BY RADIO.
OVER.
[various rooms on the third floor of Building #1]
BIG BOSS HERE.
THE AMOUNT OF AMMUNITION
YOU CAN CARRY IS
LIMITED. BE CAREFUL!
OVER.
[in the first gas room]
BIG BOSS HERE.
I FORGET TO TELL YOU
SOMETHING!
YOU WILL NEED YOUR GAS
MASK IN GAS-COVERED
AREAS!
SCHNEIDER KNOWS THE
LOCATION OF THE GAS
MASK.
OVER.
[in the first "rolling pin" room]
BIG BOSS HERE.
PLASTIC EXPLOSIVE?
YOU CAN USE IT ANYWHERE
YOU LIKE.
OVER.
[in the first electric-floor room]
BIG BOSS HERE.
I FORGOT TO TELL YOU......
DESTROY THE ELECTRIC
CONTROL PANEL TO AVOID
HIGH VOLTAGE SHOCKS.
SCHNEIDER CAN TELL YOU
THE LOCATION OF THE
REMOTE CONTROL MISSILE.
[in the remote-control missile room]
BIG BOSS HERE.
MISSILE?
IT CAN BE FIRED BY
REMOTE CONTROL.
USE THEM TO CLEAR
OBSTRUCTIONS.
OVER.
[in the cardboard box room]
BIG BOSS HERE.
CARDBOARD?
WHAT'S GOING ON?
ARE YOU PLANNING TO
MOVE OR SOMETHING?
OVER.
[in the silencer room]
BIG BOSS HERE.
A SILENCER?
USE IT TO MUFFLE YOUR
GUNSHOTS.
OVER.
[in the grenade-launcher room]
BIG BOSS HERE.
IS THAT AN M79 GRENADE
LAUNCHER?
YOU NEED TO KNOW HOW
TO USE IT.
OVER.
[at the beginning of the Building #1 roof]
BIG BOSS HERE.
I FORGOT TO TELL YOU......
THERE ARE WINDOW
BARRIERS INSTALLED
ON THE ROOFTOP.
SEARCH FOR A
BOMB-BLAST SUIT.
OVER.
[in the SMG room]
BIG BOSS HERE.
A SUBMACHINE GUN!
DO YOU MEAN AN
INGRAM MAC11!
YOU NEED TO KNOW HOW
TO USE IT.
OVER.
[in the room east of Grey Fox]
BIG BOSS HERE.
INFILTRATION ACCOMPLI-
SHED.
NOW, LOCATE THE GREY
FOX'S HIDDEN CELLS.
CHECK THE WAY!
OVER.
[in some of the rooms near Grey Fox's prison]
BIG BOSS HERE.
RECAPTURE THE WEAPONS
AND EQUIPMENT STOLEN
FROM YOU BY THE ENEMY,
THEN ESCAPE!
THEY ARE HIDDEN IN ONE
OF THE ROOMS.
OVER.
[???? I have no clue how to trigger this, but it obviously comes sometime after
you retrieve your equipment before fighting The Shotgunner.]
BIG BOSS HERE.
CHECK YOUR EQUIPMENT!
ARE YOU SURE THE ENEMY
HAS NOT ATTACHED A
TRANSMITTER OR SOMETHING
TO YOU?
OVER.
[in the armor room]
BIG BOSS HERE.
BODY ARMOR?
A MAN DOESN'T NEED
BODY ARMOR!
OVER.
[in the bomb-blast suit room]
BIG BOSS HERE.
BOMB-BLAST SUIT?
GOOD PROTECTION AGAINST
EXPLOSIONS AND AIR
BLASTS.
OVER.
[in the enemy uniform room]
BIG BOSS HERE.
ENEMY UNIFORMS?
ARE THEY CUTE LITTLE
SAILOR SUITS?
OVER.
[in the mine detector room]
BIG BOSS HERE.
A MINE DETECTOR?
USE IT TO FIND YOUR WAY
THROUGH ENEMY MINE
FIELDS.
OVER.
[various rooms in Building #1]
BIG BOSS HERE.
YOU WILL NEED SOME SORT
OF CAMOUFLAGE WHERE THE
VISIBILITY IS GOOD.
YOU KNOW -- COVER
YOURSELF WITH SOMETHING,
OR WHATEVER.
[in the goggles room]
BIG BOSS HERE.
INFRARED GOGGLES?
USE THEM TO SPOT
INFRARED SENSORS.
OVER.
[in the iron glove room]
BIG BOSS HERE.
IRON GLOVE?
USE IT TO TAP ON THE
WALLS.
OVER.
[in the infrared-sensor rooms in Building #1]
BIG BOSS HERE.
I FORGOT TO TELL YOU......
WATCH OUT FOR INFRARED
SENSORS.
YOU WILL NEED INFRARED
GOGGLES.
OVER.
[in front of Building #2]
BIG BOSS HERE.
IT'S A ROADBLOCK.
TRY TO SLIP THROUGH
WEARING ENEMY UNIFORMS.
SWITCH BIG BOSS
COMMUNICATION FREQUENCY
TO 12013.
OVER.
----------------------
3. Schneider (120.79)
----------------------
[various rooms on the Building #1 third floor]
THIS IS SCHNEIDER,
RESISTANCE LEADER.
I WILL BRIEF YOU ON
THE INTERIOR OF THE
ENEMY FORTRESS.
CONTACT ME ON FREQUENCY
12079.
OVER.
[in the first gas room]
THIS IS SCHNEIDER.
YOU CAN FIND YOUR GAS
MASK ON THE FIRST FLOOR,
SOUTH SIDE.
OVER.
[in the first electric-floor room]
SCHNEIDER HERE.
THE REMOTE CONTROL
MISSILE IS IN THE
SOUTHWEST.
OVER.
[at the beginning of the Building #1 roof]
SCHNEIDER HERE
THE BOMB-BLAST SUIT IS
ON THE 2ND FLOOR.
OVER.
[in some rooms near the prisoner who tells you that Grey Fox is in a hidden
room]
SCHNEIDER HERE
SORRY, BUT I DON'T KNOW
THE LOCATION OF THE
HIDDEN CELL ROOM.
OVER.
[outside of the Building #1 back entrance]
SCHNEIDER HERE.
THE MINE DETECTOR IS ON
THE ROOF.
OVER.
[in front of Building #2]
THIS IS RESISTANCE
LEADER SCHNEIDER.
ENEMY UNIFORMS CAN BE
FOUND IN BUILDING #4.
SWITCH COMMUNICATION
WITH ME TO FREQUENCY
12016.
OVER.
------------------
4. Diane (120.33)
------------------
[in Twin Shot's area]
HI THERE! THIS IS DIANE.
DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN
DESTROY "TWIN SHOT" WITH
A GRENADE LAUNCHER?
BYE BYE!
[in The Machine-Gun Kid's room]
HELLLOOO! THIS IS DIANE,
YOUR RESISTANCE FIGHTER.
THE MACHINE-GUN KID IS
VULNERABLE TO REMOTE
CONTROL MISSILES.
BYE, NOW!
[in the area with the tank]
HI THERE, EVERYBODY.
THIS IS DIANE AGAIN!
TRY BLOWING UP THE TANKS
WITH YOUR MINES.
BYE BYE!
[in front of Building #2]
HI FOLKS! THIS IS DIANE.
SWITCH YOUR COMMUNI-
CATION CHANNEL TO ME
OVER TO 12091.
BYE!
---------------------
5. Big Boss (120.13)
---------------------
[in the antenna room, after getting the antenna]
BIG BOSS HERE.
THAT WAS JAMMING OUR
COMMUNICATIONS. BUT NOW
EVERYTHING'S OK.
OVER.
[in the flashlight room]
BIG BOSS HERE.
A FLASHLIGHT?
YOU NEED TO KNOW HOW
TO USE IT.
OVER.
[in front of Building #3]
BIG BOSS HERE.
GET IN THE TRUCK OVER
ON THE RIGHT.
OVER.
[beginning of Building #3]
BIG BOSS HERE.
GO THROUGH THE DOOR ON
THE LEFT.
OVER.
(Note: Both this chunk of text and the one above are attempts to keep Snake
from completing his mission. The "truck on the right" takes Snake back to an
earlier part of the game, while the "door on the left" leads Snake directly
into a pit trap.)
[south of gas rooms in Building #3]
BIG BOSS HERE.
SOLID SNAKE!
OPERATION "INTRUDE N313"
CANCELED.
REPEAT, CANCELED!
RETURN TO BASE
IMMEDIATELY!
THIS IS AN ORDER!
OVER.
(Note: Now he's just desperate. "Pay no attention to the man behind the
curtain!")
----------------------
6. Schneider (120.16)
----------------------
[???? Presumably this message is found somewhere in Building #2.]
SCHNEIDER HERE.
THE NORTH ELEVATOR IS
UP AHEAD THERE.
OVER.
[in front of the Building #2 north elevator]
SCHNEIDER HERE.
THE NORTH ELEVATOR ONLY
GOES UP.
OVER.
[in front of the Building #2 south elevator]
SCHNEIDER HERE.
THE SOUTH ELEVATOR ONLY
GOES DOWN.
OVER.
[south of the Arnolds (including the prisoner's cell) and on both ends of the
desert]
SCHNEIDER HERE.
THE COMPASS IS ON THE
2ND FLOOR.
OVER.
[beginning of Building #5]
SCHNEIDER HERE.
THERE IS A GAS-FILLED
ROOM UP AHEAD.
OVER.
[various rooms in Building #5]
THIS IS RESISTANCE
LEADER SCHNEIDER.
TAP ON THE WALLS.
LOOK FOR A DOOR.
IF YOU HAVE AN IRON
GLOVE,YOU SHOUD BE ABLE
TO FIND IT.
OVER.
[in Dr. Pettrovich's cell]
SCHNEIDER HERE.
TO GET TO BUILDING #4,
TAKE THE HIDDEN UNDER-
GROUND PASSAGEWAY FROM
THE SOUTHWEST.
OVER.
[north end of the passage between Buildings #4 and #5]
SCHNEIDER HERE.
THE FLASHLIGHT IS
IN BUILDING #5.
OVER.
[in the ammunition room near Coward Duck]
SCHNEIDER HERE.
WE HAVE UNMASKED THE
LEADER OF ENEMY
FORTRESS!
IT'S UNBELIEVABLE, BUT
THE ENEMY LEADER IS.........
ARRRGGHHH!!
------------------
7. Diane (120.91)
------------------
[in the Arnolds' room]
HI THERE! THIS IS DIANE!
THAT GUY ARNOLD GURDING
THE DOOR THERE......HE'S
INVINCIBLE!
BETTER GET OUTTA HERE!
[on both ends of the desert]
(Note: For some reason, you have to use Jennifer's frequency to get this
message.)
HI THERE! THIS IS DIANE!
YOU'LL NEED YOUR
ANTIDOTE IF YOU GET
STUCK BY A SCORPION,
YOU KNOW!
BYE BYE!
[in the pit-trap rooms between Buildings #4 and #5]
HI! THIS IS DIANE!
HOW ARE YOU DOING?
DON'T FALL INTO ANY
ENEMY PIT TRAPS!
OVER.
[in Coward Duck's room]
HI THERE! THIS IS DIANE!
THE ONLY WAY TO DEFECT
THE ENEMY WITHOUT
KILLING EACH OTHER IS
TO USE THE HAND GUN!
BYE!
[in Big Boss' room]
THIS IS DIANE!
I DON'T KNOW ANY WAY TO
DESTROY BIG BOSS!
SOLID SNAKE, IT'S ALL
UP TO YOU!
OH! SOLID SNAKE!
IF ONLY YOU AND I.........!
NO, CANCEL THAT.........!
GOOD LUCK.
---------------------
8. Jennifer (120.48)
---------------------
(Note: Jennifer will only talk if Snake has a four-star rank.)
[east of the Arnolds]
JENNIFER HERE.
I'LL SET UP THE ROCKET
LAUNCHERS.
COME AND GET THEM!
OVER.
[outside of the compass room]
JENNIFER HERE.
I'VE GOT A COMPAS FOR
YOU.
OVER.
[north of the oxygen tank room]
JENNIFER HERE.
LOOK FOR THE OXYGEN TANK
OVER BEYOND THE DOOR.
OVER.
[south of gas rooms in Building #3]
(Note: For some reason, you have to use Schneider's old frequency to get this
message.)
JENNIFER HERE.
THE CARD TO OPEN THE
DOOR UP AHEAD IS IN THE
EAST PART OF BUILDING
#3.
YOU CAN GET THERE
THROUGH THE LOCK
CONNECTING BUILDING #2.
OVER.
[in Coward Duck's room]
JENNIFER HERE.
COWARD DUCK HAS CARD #8.
MY BROTHER IS IN THE
PRISON.
BE CAREFUL NOT TO KILL
HIM! IF ANYTHING HAPPENS
TO MY BROTHER, I CANNOT
HELP YOU ANY MORE!
[room south of the Super Computer]
JENNIFER HERE.
THE ONLY CHANCE IS TO
RUN FOR IT.........NOW!
OVER.
[in Big Boss' room]
JENNIFER HERE.
IF YOU USE A CIGARETTE,
IT WILL ADD MORE TIME TO
THE TIMER!
OH! SOLID SNAKE,
COME BACK ALIVE.
------------------
9. Steve (120.33)
------------------
[in the cell of the prisoner who tells you about Diane]
THIS IS STEVE.
DIANE?
NO, DIANE IS OUT
SHOPPING. SHE HASN'T
COME BACK YET.........
[outside of the Building #1 back entrance]
THIS IS STEVE.
DIANE?
OH! DIANE IS IN THE
SHOWER RIGHT NOW.........
-------------------
10. Steve (120.91)
-------------------
[various areas on the Building #2 roof, as well as in Fire Trooper's room]
THIS IS STEVE.
DIANE?
OH, IT'S YOU AGAIN!
WOULD YOU PLEASE GO AWAY
AND STOP PESTERING HER!
-----------
11. Ending
-----------
[Solid Snake (120.13)]
THIS IS SOLID SNAKE.
THE METAL GEAR HAS BEEN
DESTROYED.
OPERATION "INTRUDE N313"
IS A SUCCESS.
IT'S ALL OVER.........
EVERYTHING, AT LAST!
SOLID SNAKE RETURNING
TO BASE.
OVER.
[Radio Station KNK (120.77)]
THIS IS STATION KNK
BRINGING YOU A SPOT
NEWS REPORT.
TODAY AT DAWN THERE
WAS APPARENTLY A LARGE
SCALE EARTH TREMOR IN
THE REGION OF GALZBURG,
SOUTH AFRICA.........
["Your Computer" (120.77)]
THIS IS YOUR COMPUTER
SPEAKING. HERE ARE
THE CREATORS OF YOUR
METAL GEAR GAME.
MAIN PROGRAM
YOSHIHIRO SUGIMOTO
SUB PROGRAM
MASAHIRO UENO
GRAPHIC DESIGN
CONPAGNO OGIKUBO
SOUND EFFECT
KAZUKI MURAOKA
PRESENTED BY
KONAMI
1988 TOKYO
!!!!!!!!!!!!
B. Dialogue
!!!!!!!!!!!!
Some of the bits of dialogue (mainly those bits spoken by enemy bosses) have
unusual spacing. This is because the message box is partially covered by an
enemy sprite, so the text must be written around it.
---------------
1. Solid Snake
---------------
[upon entering a transport truck]
UH - OH!
THE TRUCK HAVE
STARTED TO MOVE!
[upon getting your stuff back before fighting The Shotgunner]
I HAVE RECAPTURED
OUR WEAPONS AND
EQUIPMENT.
[in Dr. Pettrovich's old cell in Building #1]
IS IT TOO LATE FOR
DR.PETTROVICH?
[The list below contains messages that appear when you get an item, and are
self-explanatory.]
I HAVE LOCATED
SOME RATIONS.
I HAVE LOCATED
CARD #1.
I HAVE LOCATED
BINOCULARS.
I HAVE LOCATED
A HAND GUN.
I HAVE LOCATED
LAND MINES.
I HAVE LOCATED
THE AMMUNITION.
I HAVE LOCATED
A MISSILE.
I HAVE LOCATED
CARD #2.
I HAVE LOCATED
CARDBOARD.
I HAVE LOCATED
A SILENCER.
I HAVE LOCATED
A GRENADE LAUNCHER.
I HAVE LOCATED
CARD #4.
I HAVE LOCATED
A SUBMACHINE GUN.
I HAVE LOCATED
CARD #3.
I HAVE LOCATED
SOME BODY ARMOR.
I HAVE LOCATED
A BOMB-BLAST SUIT.
I HAVE LOCATED SOME
PLASTIC EXPLOSIVE.
I HAVE LOCATED
SOME ENEMY UNIFORMS.
I HAVE LOCATED SOME
INFRARED GOGGLES.
I HAVE LOCATED
AN IRON GLOVE.
I HAVE LOCATED
A MINE DETECTOR.
I HAVE LOCATED
A FLASHLIGHT.
I HAVE LOCATED
AN ANTENNA.
I HAVE LOCATED
CARD #5.
I HAVE LOCATED
CARD #6.
I HAVE LOCATED THE
ROCKET LAUNCHERS.
I HAVE LOCATED
THE COMPASS
I HAVE LOCATED
THE ANTIDOTE.
I HAVE LOCATED
CARD #8.
I HAVE LOCATED
THE GAS MASK.
I HAVE LOCATED
THE OXYGEN TANK.
I HAVE LOCATED
CARD #7.
-------------
2. Prisoners
-------------
[generic prisoners]
THAT WAS A CLOSE
CALL!
[prisoner southwest of the first gas room]
THAT WAS A CLOSE
CALL!
FOX HOUNDER INFILT-
RATED THE ENEMY
SEVERAL DAYS AGO.
THEY HAVE CAPTURED
HIM,BUT HE IS ALIVE.
[prisoner south of the main third-floor elevator room in Building #1]
THAT WAS A CLOSE
CALL!
RESISTANCE FIGHTER
DIANE WILL NOW
SUPPORT US OVER
FREQUENCY 12033.
DIANE IS FAMILIAR
WITH ENEMY ACTIVITY.
[prisoner southwest of the main first-floor elevator room in Building #1]
THAT WAS A CLOSE
ONE!
FOX HOUNDER AGENT
"GREY FOX" IS LOCKED
UP IN A HIDDEN
SOLITARY CELL ROOM.
[prisoner to the south of the last one]
THAT WAS A CLOSE
CALL!
THE BEST WAY TO GET
TO THE HIDDEN CELL
ROOM IS TO LET THE
ENEMY CAPTURE YOU
ON PURPOSE!
[Grey Fox]
YOU MUST BE A
NEWCOMER TO THE
MOVEMENT.
AM I EVER GLAD
TO SEE YOU!
I'M AGENT
"GREY FOX!"
THE ENEMY IS
CONSTRUCTING THE
FINAL WEAPON,THE
"METAL GEAR."
IT IS A WALKING
TANK.
IT HAS
FULL NUCLEAR
CAPABILITY AND
CAN TRAVERSE ANY
TYPE OF GROUND.
IF THE ENEMY CAN
COMPLETE THIS,
THEY CAN LAUNCH
A NUCLEAR ATTACK
FROM ANY SPOT
ON THE EARTH.
THE METAL GEAR
MUST BE DEST-
ROYED BY ANY
MEANS AVAILABLE
BEFORE IT IS
COMPLETED!
THERE IS ONLY
ONE WAY TO
DESTROY IT.
THE INVENTOR OF
THE METAL GEAR,
DR.PETTROVICH,
IS THE ONLY ONE
WHO KNOWS.
DR.PETTROVICH IS
BEING HELD PRI-
SONER SOMEWHERE
IN BUILDING #1.
YOU MUST TRY TO
FIND HIM!
[prisoner next to Dr. Pettrovich's old cell in Building #1]
THAT WAS A CLOSE
CALL!
DR.PETTROVICH HAS
JUST BEEN MOVED TO
BUILDING #2.
BUILDING #2 IS
LOCATED ABOUT 10 KM
NORTH OF HERE.
[prisoner east of The Machine-Gun Kid]
THAT WAS A CLOSE
CALL!
DR.PETTROVICH IS
BEING HELD PRISONER
IN A CELL ON THE
ROOFTOP.
[prisoner on the roof of Building #2]
THAT WAS A CLOSE
CALL!
DR.PETTROVICH IS ON
THE 2ND FLOOR.
[prisoner to the east of the start of the long underwater passage connecting
Buildings #2 and #3]
THAT WAS A CLOSE
CALL!
THE FAR END OF THE
LOCK CONNECTS TO
BUILDING #3.
GO OUT OF BUILDING
#2. ARNOLD HAS THE
CARD TO THE DOOR.
YOU CAN DEFEAT
ARNOLD WITH A ROCKET
LAUNCHER.
[prisoner south of the Arnolds]
THAT WAS A CLOSE
CALL!
CAN'T CROSS THE
DESERT WITHOUT A
COMPASS!
[prisoner east of the Arnolds]
THAT WAS A CLOSE
CALL!
TRY CONTACTING
RESISTANCE FIGHTER
"JENNIFER"
ON WAVEBAND 12048.
JENNIFER CAN GIVE
YOU DIRECT SUPPORT.
BUT BE CAREFUL.
SHE'S A SNOB.
SHE PROBABLY WON'T
ANSWER YOU
UNLESS YOU ARE
PRETTY CLASSY!
[Dr. Pettrovich, before saving Ellen]
I AM
DR.PETTROVICH.
MY DAUGHTER
ELLEN IS A
HOSTAGE.
IF WE DON'T
RESCUE HER.........
I CAN'T TALK TO
YOU ABOUT THE
METAL GEAR.
ELLEN IS BEING
HELD CAPTIVE
SOMEWHERE IN
BUILDING #4.
PLEASE HELP ME!
[???? I believe that you hear Ellen saying this eventually in the room next to
her cell, but I'm not sure.]
HELP!
[Ellen]
OH, THANK YOU!
I AM
DR.PETTROVICH'S
DAUGHTER, ELLEN.
MY FATHER WAS
BLACKMAILED INTO
CREATING THE
AWFUL METAL
GEAR.
PLEASE HELP MY
FATHER BEFORE
IT'S TOO LATE!
[Dr. Pettrovich, after saving Ellen]
I AM
DR.PETTROVICH.
THE METAL GEAR
IS LOCATED ABOUT
20KM NORTH OF
THIS BUILDING.
IT IS IN SUB-
BASEMENT 100 OF
BUILDING #3.
WE HAVE TO SET
PLASTIC EXPLO-
SIVES ON THE
SUPERCOMPUTER
THAT CONTROLS
ALL THE METAL
GEAR FUNCTIONS.
NO MATTER WHAT,
YOU HAVE TO SET
16 PLASTIC
EXPLOSIVES.
GOOD LUCK!
[Jennifer's brother]
THAT WAS A CLOSE
CALL!
I AM JENNIFER'S
BROTHER.
WHEN YOU MAKE YOUR
GETAWAY, TAKE THE
ELEVATOR TO THE LEFT
[prisoner south of B100 elevator in Building #3]
THAT WAS A CLOSE
CALL!
THE LEADER OF THE
ENEMY FORTRESS IS
THE SUPREME
COMMANDER OF
"FOX HOUNDER,"
THE BIG BOSS!
HE HAS BEEN BEHIND
EVERYTHING ALL
ALONG!
-----------
3. Enemies
-----------
[first guard, before falling asleep]
I'M GETTING SLEEPY!!
[first guard, after waking up]
I FEEL ASLEEP!!
[guard in front of Building #1, before leaving]
OK, YOUR TURN!!
[guard that takes you to prison, upon entering the truck]
DON'T MOVE.
[guard that takes you to prison, after approaching you]
YOU'RE UNDER ARREST!
[The Shotgunner]
I AM THE SHOTGUNNER!
NOBODY HAS EVER
ESCAPED FROM HERE.
[The Machine-Gun Kid]
I AM THE
MACHINE GUN KID!
DON'T TRY TO GO
ANY FARTHER!
[guards in front of Building #2 (if Snake is wearing the enemy uniform)]
OK!! IN WE GO!!
[Fake Dr. Pettrovich]
OUT-FOXED!
THE REAL
DR.PRTTROVICH IS
IN BUILDING #5.
DIE!FOX HOUNDER!
[Fire Trooper]
I AM A FIRE TROOPER!
WANT TO SEE ME
ROAST YOU ALIVE?
[Coward Duck]
I AM COWARD DUCK.
YOU WANNA TRY AND
SHOOT ME ...... GO RIGHT
AHEAD!
[after destroying the Super Computer]
EMERGENCY ALERT!
EMERGENCY ALERT!
THE ENEMY FOTRESS
DESTRUCT MECHANISM
HAS BEEN ACTIVATED!
BEGIN PREPARATIONS
FOR EVACUATION!
[Big Boss]
WELL,
SOLID SNAKE,IT'S
AMAZING THAT
YOU'VE LASTED
THIS LONG!
YES, IT'S TRUE.
NOT ONLY AM I
THE FOX HOUNDER
SUPREME COMMAN-
DER,BIG BOSS,BUT
I'VE BEEN THE
LEADER OF THE
ENEMY FORTRESS,
TOO!
AS A NEW AND
INEXPERIENCED
MEMBER OF OUR
TEAM, YOU WERE
SUPPOSED TO BE
TRICKED INTO
CARRYING FALSE
INFORMATION.
BUT...
YOU ACCOMPLISHED
TOO MUCH, SOLID
SNAKE, YOU WERE
TOO GOOD!
DON'T THINK YOU
CAN KILL ME SO
EASILY!
COME AND TRY.
IF I AM GOING TO
DIE, YOU'RE
COMING WITH ME!
*****************************************
V. ODDITIES AND OTHER POINTS OF INTEREST
*****************************************
-Despite the backstory given in the manual, the names "Vermon CaTaffy" and
"Commander South" appear nowhere in the script. This is because Konami changed
the backstories for several of their games (Contra being a notable example) in
order to make them (theoretically) more accessible to an American audience, but
these changes generally were not included in the game itself. "Vermon CaTaffy"
is a mangling of "Muammar Qadaffi," the current dictator of Libya infamous for
his abetting of international terrorism in the late 80s. "Commander South" is
an obvious reference to Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, the US Marines officer
who was indicted for selling arms to Iran (which was very hostile towards
America at the time) and giving the revenues to Nicaraguan rebel groups.
-There are a lot of differences between the NES version of this game and the
original version for the MSX computer. The biggest difference is the fact that
you don't get to fight Metal Gear at all in this version, but instead have to
destroy a lame, nearly defenseless computer. This doesn't really fit into the
rest of the script at all, since everybody else is talking about destroying
Metal Gear. The porting process is also what caused the occasional strange
behavior of the transciever that I mentioned earlier, where you get
inappropriate messages at times.
-If you're wondering why Hideo Kojima wasn't in the credits, it's because he
only worked on the MSX version. The NES version was made without his input,
and it has been reported that Kojima doesn't really like what was done with it.
-Another thing that may have been caused by the porting process mentioned above
is the occasional transceiver message given under the wrong frequency. I'm
willing to bet that the two transceiver messages which I don't know how to
trigger involve incorrect frequencies.
-Though the MSX version is slightly better translated than the NES version, it
also contains a lot less text. Presumably the NES version contains
translations of at least some of the original Japanese text that didn't make it
to the MSX version.
-Solid Snake is very much the silent protagonist in this first Metal Gear game.
He doesn't speak over the transciever at all except to ask for a response, and
he doesn't have much dialogue beyond his helpful comments whenever you pick
something up. As for the other characters, Big Boss does by far the most
transciever talking before the frequency switch, after which he mostly shuts up
and lets Schneider handle things. Grey Fox, Dr. Pettrovich, and Big Boss also
get a nice chunk of normal dialogue, though it's disappointing that the
legendary soldier who earned the codename "Fox" doesn't do anything to help you
after you rescue him from prison.
-Speaking of other characters: Each of the characters that use the transciever
performs a specific task, much like in Metal Gear Solid. Big Boss tells you
how to use items (or more accurately, he sometimes does, but usually tells you
"You need to know how to use it" then leaves you to figure it out on your own),
Schneider tells you where things are, Diane tells you how to defeat bosses, and
Jennifer procures items for you. Oh, and I guess Steve provides comic relief.
-Big Boss' plot doesn't really make that much sense. Apparently he was
planning to use Snake as an unwitting accomplice, feeding him false information
to take to the outside so that the world's leaders would stop scrutinizing
Outer Heaven so closely. What made him think he could accomplish this by using
a man with an IQ of 160 is anyone's guess. (Oh, and while we're on the subject
of the final battle with Big Boss: How is smoking a cigarette going to cause a
self-destruct sequence to slow down?)
-Like many old games with actual plots, Metal Gear has a problem with
continuity. This is most apparent when you can talk to Schneider even after
he's presumably killed. You can also dial up people on their old frequencies
after the frequency switch.
-The infamous line "I FEEL ASLEEP!!" should be "I FELL ASLEEP!!" Since it had
been so long since I last played the game until recently, I thought that it was
supposed to be "I FEEL SLEEPY!!" However, the guard says it after he falls
asleep, and he also already says "I'M GETTING SLEEPY!!" before he falls asleep.
Either way, it's kind of funny imagining a guy yelling his brains out mere
moments before collapsing into a coma. (The other infamous quote, "THE TRUCK
HAVE STARTED TO MOVE!" is a lot easier to interpret.)
-"CHECK THE WAY!" should be "CHECK THE WALL!" This mistranslation is pretty
frustrating for players, since "check the way" is grammatically correct, but
makes no sense in context.
-As I mentioned before, no one actually tells you how to get to Buildings #4
and #5 through the maze. How were you expected to get there, you ask? Who
knows?
**************************************
VI. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND CLOSING WORDS
**************************************
Thanks to:
Konami, for publishing and developing this game.
Hideo Kojima, for creating the MSX version of the game as well as the rest of
the franchise.
CJayC and everyone else at GameFAQs, for their excellent resource (as well as
giving me a place to host this FAQ). This FAQ can also be found at Neoseeker.
Necrosaro, for creating a great hex-editor specifically for ROMs.
Court Jester Z, for making table creation a whole lot quicker.
The folks behind FCEUltra, for creating the best NES emulator out there.
Nintendo, for creating the NES and giving me so many hours of enjoyment both
yesterday and today.
And, of course, you for reading.
Questions, comments, and criticisms can be sent to pluvius3 @ gmail.com
(without the spaces obviously). Please put "Metal Gear FAQ" or something
similar in the subject line so I will know what the email is about. If you
mention something that I feel should be in this FAQ, I will insert it in a
future update and give you credit.
Copyright 2009 Rob Browning, all rights reserved.
