MGS1's dub is really incredible when you think about it. This was a PS1 game still in the era where people didn't take games seriously as an artform leading to laughably bad vocal performances, so hearing something like this is mind blowing

This might be a kind of cherry pick-y example, but for context something like X4 released only a year before MGS1

This scene was unforgettable. I really thought snake was going to tell Otacon off here, but instead it’s a vulnerable moment.

Like none of the character models really emote with their face at all but the voice acting picks up the the slack with that. MGS1 genuinely has such a fantastic dub that still hangs with dubs for games now and especially to old game dubs back then

You also have Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. They brought theatrical and professional voice actors that when they saw the amount of dialogue and writing they said "This is for a video game??" Simon Templeman as Kain and Michael Bell as Raziel are 100/10 casting

"do you think love can bloom... even on the battlefield?" Cut to mgs4, Meryl and Johnny fall in love in the middle of combat Both of them are MGS1 characters

It’s always been insane to me that this game released before Ocarina of Time. It’s just wildly ahead of the curve.

Idk if it counts but The Boss’s speech and epilogue still makes me tear up whenever I play

The funniest thing is that it was recorded in someone's home studio that didn't have soundproofing so there are some points where you can literally hear cars passing by.

Koudelka is also very very good for its period if you're interested in other notable psx performances

@puchacz_Ctrxmix I actually think that the voice acting in MGS1 was the best the series ever had. The way codec has that almost telephone call audio to it might be part of why it all feels so real and human to me. The cast made these characters feel like real people having real conversations.

I really like the OG voice from Hayter. It was so flanderized even by his second go-round in MGS2.

This reminds me how lacking Twin Snakes' voice acting can be at times. That shouting Snake makes as Meryl is forced to put her gun next to her temple or when he told her to shoot the genome soldiers lacks the weight it had in the ps1 version.

I remember when I first played the game like 4 years ago I was SHOCKED how well the vocal performances held up especially compared to literslly anything else from the era

least gay scene in all of metal gear solid franchise

Just finished 2, and it’s amazing how much better the voice acting is in both cutscenes and codec in 1 And I don’t think it’s the VA’s, I’m sure it’s the problem of fitting english lines in japanese timings since there’s less wiggle room in the way more advanced cutscenes

The french dub is corny as shit too but... You feel it was still made with at least a bit of passion, and honestly it made the dub pretty iconic

And yet some people praise Kieffer on voicing mgsV when there's a silent Snake in the jeep ride cutscene that lasts 12 minutes. Give me any Hayter MGS game over that.

Konami pulled some good stuff out of a hat from time to time in those days. Sega CD Snatcher has a freaky good dub for its era.

Why u think @DavidBHayter is one of the best voice actors

The french voice acting on the other hand was much more cheesy and epic in a cartoonish way, it's has a charm to it. Two distinct experience, both are masterpieces

Not disparaging MGS in any way, but Koudelka might go even harder. Different magnitudes of fame however, so it's rarely remembered.

@elesketchii That because kojima knew his shit, a lot

It's unbelievable even having played it for the first time 2 years ago. It's better than anything to come out in the last 20 years standing next to Final Fantasy XII and Fire Emblem Shadows of Valentia

Mgs had so many dubs that didnt return in later entries. It was a different time.

I think one of the only PS1 games that have a dub as good as this is Koudelka. Truly incredible work.

I just love how he responds without pause.

Even dubs of hit movies weren't much better than this at the time

"YOU KNEW?!"

Tbf Silent Hill and MGS1 was pushing for a more cinematographic type of games

Only thing I can think of that has a similar level of voice acting from that era is Koudelka

Another good early voice acting one would be Shadow Man, and they got that working on the N64. Michael LeRoi is very well spoken and appropriately dramatic. All the ones who have their head on straight sound awesome, its only the serial killers who sound strange.