Should MGS4 Be Played Last for Maximum Emotional Impact?
Hi, I've been struggling with this question for weeks and I'm hoping you can help me.
I've known the Metal Gear saga for decades, and recently I introduced a friend of mine to it. I made him play from MG1 to MGS3 in release order, but now I have a doubt: I don't know if I should make him play MGS4 immediately or let him go straight to Peace Walker first.
The reason is that, looking at MGS4 as a whole, especially after playing The Phantom Pain, I feel like the game becomes even stronger in terms of revelations, emotional impact, and the overall weight of the ending.
What I'm trying to figure out is whether Peace Walker and The Phantom Pain contain spoilers or references to things that are explained in MGS4. Of course I know they mention Cypher and Zero, but my idea was to let my friend experience Eva’s speech in MGS4 firsthand, so that when he reaches that moment he can think: “Oh damn, I know exactly what you're talking about because I've lived through it myself.”
At the same time, I also think it would be really cool to let him play the two Big Boss games while constantly wondering who this organization called Cypher really is.
However, I want to make sure that those games do not ruin the revelation of who the Patriots really are. I also want to avoid not only direct spoilers for the reveals in MGS4, but even smaller dialogues or references that assume the player already knows information explained in MGS4, because I don’t want him to feel confused or like he’s missing important context.
So, in short, what I’m really trying to understand is how much damage this order could actually do, or whether it would even be a problem at all, if I save MGS4 for last in order to maximize the cinematic and emotional impact of its reveals.
But if Peace Walker or especially The Phantom Pain contain tapes, dialogues, or references that would directly spoil important MGS4 revelations, then I would probably avoid this idea entirely and simply let him continue the saga in chronological release order like he has done so far.