The Metal Gear franchise is beefy enough when just talking about the mainline titles. It gets significantly juicier when bringing spin-offs into the mix. Some of them consist of the classic stealth-action game play everybody loves, while a few go off the deep end, to mixed results.
To celebrate both the good and the bad, the following list will rank all the spin-offs based by their Metacritic score. A couple of vital ones don't have a number on the site, but they will still get honorable mentions before getting down to business. Additionally, a few of these are canon, but aren't numbered and came out on portable consoles.
11 Snake's Revenge (No Score)
This unofficial sequel was the second game to come out under the Metal Gear banner and had no involvement from series creator, Hideo Kojima. In fact, he didn't even know of its existence until after its release.
The idea of such an egregious continuation bothered him so much, it prompted the designer to start work on a true sequel. It isn't seen as one of the high points of the franchise, though many who played it back in the day swear by its quality.
10 Ghost Babel (No Score)
This Gameboy Color game hearkens back to the first two titles, bringing a true Metal Gear experience to the primitive handheld. Like the originals, some of the puzzles are too obtuse for their own good, causing some to quit in frustration.
Those who stick through it all are treated to one of the finest games on the console. It is not canon, though, so don't feel too bad for missing out.
9 Metal Gear Survive (60)
After Kojima left Konami, the series' future was uncertain. Upon Metal Gear Survive's release, most had wished the legendary franchise stopped after The Phantom Pain. The story follows MSF troops transported to a different dimension after Skull Face's attack on the private army.
In this new environment the soldiers must find a way home while fending off brutal hordes of zombies. The concept is insultingly ridiculous to the series' lore and the game play is a significant downgrade from everything that came before. One wonders if Konami purposely made the most flippant game possible to rub salt in fans' wounds.
8 Portable Ops Plus (65)
Staying true to the tradition of re-releases with additional content, Portable Ops Plus expands upon the multiplayer of the base game, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops. This one eschews the original's single-player campaign, however, and focuses on the multiplayer offerings.
The game play does its best to translate the game play to the PSP, but doing so was no easy task without two analog sticks. Still, the game's multiplayer was one of the finest on the handheld.
7 Metal Gear Solid Touch (72)
This 2009 game retells the story of Metal Gear Solid 4 in the mobile form. Instead of the intense, meticulously detailed stealth sequences of the PS3 game, Metal Gear Solid Touch is a shooting gallery where Snake ducks in and out of cover to hit enemies.
Despite this comparatively primitive genre, it still manages to retell the title's story in an abridged manner. Not enough reviews are on the site to have a Metacritic score, but we averaged the two that were on there at the time to give it its score.
6 Metal Gear Acid (75)
The franchise's debut on the PSP mixed things up significantly by turning the series into a turn-based strategy game using cards. As odd an idea as this sounds, the developer managed to make a compelling battle system.
It takes many liberties with the characters and lore, immediately establishing itself in a different timeline, giving it the opportunity to tell its own story. Snake barely seems like Snake here, but that is alright as long as one knows what they are in for.
5 Metal Gear Acid 2 (80)
A sequel to the role-playing game was announced and released in the blink of an eye, coming just a year after the first entry. It also improved upon it in every way and embraced a cel shaded art style. The game also came with 3D capabilities.
Using the Solid Eye peripheral, one can play the game in 3D and view several special videos. Some of these are cutscenes from Metal Gear Solid 3, while others are steamy videos of Japanese models.
4 Metal Gear Online (81)
Metal Gear Online is simply the multiplayer offerings from Metal Gear Solid 4. The competitive play was never a huge draw for the series, but some fell in love with the first online multiplayer suite from Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence. Metal Gear Online never quite reached the same level of affection among gamers, however, though it was still a solid component of the 2008 title.
As a standalone game, however, it wasn't enough to justify a purchase. Still, the core game play is so good, having it out with friends over the internet is a worthwhile diversion.
3 The Twin Snakes (85)
The remake of Metal Gear Solid for the GameCube takes no liberties with the actual story, instead making drastic changes to the cutscenes. While the original's weren't grounded, The Twin Snakes turns all the characters into super-powered action stars capable of truly impossible feats.
The level design remains the same, but the gameplay takes all the advancements from MGS 2 and lets players run around Shadow Moses with the ability to aim in first-person, hold up guards at gun point, and hang over railings.
2 Portable Ops (87)
Big Boss's first journey after Metal Gear Solid 3 isn't as necessary to the lore as Peace Walker, but it is still an important piece of the puzzle and worth playing for any fan of the series.
Some of the gameplay decisions are questionable and the levels are sometimes too big for the admittedly wonky controls, but the narrative is enough to push fans to the finish. And as stated before, its multiplayer was surprisingly addictive, but the servers have long since shutdown.
1 Peace Walker (89)
The highest rated game is also the most vital to the over all story. Its events lead directly into Metal Gear Solid V, so it is a good thing it was also included on the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection for fans without PSPs to catch up.
Unlike Portable Ops, the gameplay is more fine tuned and accessible for the mobile platform, and the progression system significantly expands upon ideas established in its predecessor. Its bonus content is also plentiful, turning an average length into dozens of hours of fun.