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Technical Analysis of Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 by Digital Foundry

• Jacob Chambers
• November 3rd, 2023

Last week, Konami’s Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 hit the Switch, and Digital Foundry has released its technical analysis.

DF says it “could, and should have been so much more” because Metal Gear Solid 1, 2, and 3 have “limited enhancements” compared to previous versions.

“The first MGS, for example, runs via an emulator at the same resolution and frame rate as the original PS1 hardware back in 1998. And then MGS2 and 3, in this case, boot up code based on the HD collection versions as first developed by Bluepoint in 2011 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3…both games still run at a native 1280 x 720p in the Master Collection… whether it’s PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X or Nintendo Switch, 720p is all we get here…all of this is despite suggestions from Konami before release via the spreadsheet that these games might target 1080p. In truth, it’s disappointing.”

Expect these other things from each Nintendo Switch game:

Metal Gear Solid

• M2 developed port
• Base resolution of 240p
• Fine texture warping
• 30fps, with hard drops to 20fps and under in first-person
• European version 25fps paired with 50hz
• Audio hiccups

Metal Gear Solid 2

• Same as HD Collection version released in 2011
• Delay on codec dialogue reduced from 3 seconds to less
• Native 720p resolution
• Anti-aliasing quality differs across platforms / seemingly none on the Switch
• The Switch leaves hard geometric edges, entirely raw 1280 x 720, untreated without anti-aliasing
• Seemingly no texture filtering applied at all
• Both anti-aliasing and texture filtering “urgently need fixing”
• Docked and portable 30fps Switch cap
• Reduced frame rate impacts the motion blur effect, especially in first-person
• Uneven frame pacing 16 and 50 milliseconds, creating jittery movement
• flashes of 60fps, with doors and lockers (unlocks to 60fps) – tied to game logic
• Switch portable, low 20fps in cutscenes

Metal Gear Solid 3

• Same/similar to HD Collection version released in 2011
• Native 720p resolution
• Applies anti-aliasing across all platforms (Switch included), just MGS2 that sticks out
• Texture filtering engaged for Switch
• Docked and portable 30fps Switch cap
• Reduced frame rate impacts the motion blur effect
• The third game does improve on a lot of technical issues in the Switch version