History VideoGame / MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater

After the highly polarized reception that ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' received, series creator Creator/HideoKojima had his work cut out for him: make a ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' game that would reunite the series' BrokenBase. ''Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater'', released in late 2004, did the job with flying colors.

With its far less convoluted story, fans viewed ''Metal Gear Solid 3'' as a return to form. It featured another main character switcheroo, but this time, Kojima Productions eased the pain by replacing Solid Snake with the man he was cloned from, Naked Snake. Since it takes place in the defining years of the Cold War, the plot line embraces every spy movie trope in the book -- which includes a ''Film/JamesBond''-esque musical intro sequence. Toss in a truly {{bittersweet|Ending}} TwistEnding, four memorable main characters, an amazing sense of level progression, as well as a number of tense and memorable boss fights, and it doesn't take much effort to see why many fans, gamers, and critics alike still think of ''Metal Gear Solid 3'' as one of the best games, if not ''the'' best, on the Platform/PlayStation2.

In May 2023, Konami announced a full [[VideoGameRemake remake]] titled ''Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater''[[note]]Read as ''Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater''[[/note]] for the [=PlayStation=] 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Windows. It is planned to retain the story and level design of the original game while being rebuilt and upgraded with UsefulNotes/UnrealEngine 5.

''Metal Gear Solid 3'' also received an UpdatedRerelease a year later with ''Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence''; this re-release featured a new third-person camera system, a brand-new online multiplayer component titled ''VideoGame/MetalGearOnline'' ([[DefunctOnlineVideoGames shut down]] over a year after its release), ports of the two UsefulNotes/{{MSX}}2 games ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear|1}}'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake'', hilarious animated shorts, and additional stages to the kid-friendly {{crossover}} minigame starring the monkeys from ''VideoGame/ApeEscape''. The European release of ''Subsistence'' and limited editions included a third disc featuring a nearly four-hour movie version of the story strung together from cutscenes, radio conversations, and in-game footage.

Konami released an ''[[UpdatedRerelease HD Edition]]'' of ''Metal Gear Solid 3'' for the Platform/PlayStation3, Platform/Xbox360, and UsefulNotes/PlaystationVita as part of the ''Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection''; it also released a port for the UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS titled ''Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D'' in February 2012. The ''HD Edition'' version was later released as part of the ''[[CompilationRerelease Master Collection]]'' on October 24, 2023 for Microsoft Windows, Platform/NintendoSwitch, Platform/PlayStation5, and Platform/XboxSeriesXAndS.

* PressureSensitiveInterface: As a demonstration of the UsefulNotes/PlayStation 2's ButtonMashing problem, the game uses the pressure-sensitive button for only one function --the threatening command on captured enemies, which has Snake put a knife to their neck. A light button press would interrogate the captive. A full button press slits their throat. This resulted in a lot of dead guards and scientists and complaints about the interrogate command not working.

* RewardingInactivity: One of the bosses, [[spoiler:The End]], dies of old age (should the player wait too long before resuming the game mid-battle, or change the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2's internal clock), Snake will feel guilty for letting him down, since the guy's dying wish was to fight him. Zero will also comment that Snake's mission is "not a game."

* CoolGuns:
** Quite a few are taken from the list in the article; special note goes to Snake's second [=M1911A1=], which he takes time out to explain the extreme coolness of, to the point that he's oblivious to EVA changing clothes in front of him.
** EVA uses a Chinese copy of a Mauser C96 pistol. Ocelot starts out using a Makarov, but taking Snake's advice about using a revolver to better match his shooting style, switches to a Colt Single Action Army, one of the most distinctly American sidearms ever. The Boss uses a heavily modified M-16 with the barrel cut down. [[spoiler:For all three characters, the weapon they use is a clue to their real allegiances. [[FakeDefector Yes, even The Boss.]]]]

* WeHaveToGetTheBulletOut: Snake is able to dig out bullets, arrows and various other projectiles from his body with his knife. Doing this ingame will cause the wounds to heal faster, but leaving them over time will cause the wounds to naturally heal around them, leaving the projectile in the for remainder of the game.

** Volgin's first action upon realizing that Snake's most likely going to win is to order Ocelot to shoot Snake. Ocelot refuses, and he implies that the reason why he won't shoot him is because The Boss made him promise to neither kill Snake, nor aid in his death. Later The Boss made EVA make the same promise.