Metal Gear, published in 1987 for the MSX home computer, is the genesis of one of the most well-known series in gaming. As such it has served as something of a template for all the following games. There is the soldier/spy main character, typically Solid Snake, who infiltrates an enemy compound starting with nothing but something to smoke, typically a pack of cigarettes. Along the way he is aided by conversations over radio with a wide cast of characters. Like any good radio drama, one of these characters is not, or is more, than they are pretending to be. Enemy soldiers are typically incompetent, blind, and occasionally narcoleptic. The game is punctuated by intermittent battles with boss characters who would seem more at home in a G.I. Joe cartoon. Finally, of course, there is the titular nuclear battle tank, which is being designed by a scientist you must save before you destroy his creation. All these things can be found in their protean form in Metal Gear.

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