science

Metal Gear

Metal Gear is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Metal Gear rather than just read about it. In short: Metal Gear (Japanese: メタルギア, Hepburn: Metaru Gia) is a Japanese franchise of action-adventure stealth games created by Hideo Kojima. Developed and published by Konami, the first game, Metal Gear, was released in 1987 for MSX home computers.

Key takeaways

Metal Gear belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Metal Gear to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Metal Gear from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Metal Gear (Japanese: メタルギア, Hepburn: Metaru Gia) is a Japanese franchise of action-adventure stealth games created by Hideo Kojima. Developed and published by Konami, the first game, Metal Gear, was released in 1987 for MSX home computers. The player often takes control of a special forces operative, usually Solid Snake, who is typically assigned the task of finding the titular superweapon, "Metal Gear", a bipedal walking tank (mecha) with the ability to launch nuclear weapons. Several sequels have been released for multiple consoles, which have expanded the original game's plot, adding characters opposing and supporting Snake, while several prequels have explored the origins of Metal Gear and recurring characters. The third game in the series, Metal Gear Solid for the PlayStation, marked a transition to 3D graphics and gained the series international fame. The series is credited for pioneering and popularizing stealth games, as well as "cinematic video games". Notable traits of the series include cinematic cutscenes, intricate storylines, offbeat and fourth-wall humor, and exploration of cyberpunk, dystopian, political and philosophical themes, as well as references to Hollywood films. Individual installments have been critically acclaimed, as well as receiving several awards. The series has sold 66.4 million units as of the end of June 2026. The franchise has also been adapted into other media, such as comics, novels, and drama CDs. Solid Snake has also gone on to appear in other games, such as the Super Smash Bros. series, Ape Escape 3, LittleBigPlanet, Fortnite, and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege and Astrobot

Games

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Metal Gear: From top to bottom: Big Boss, Liquid Snake, and Solid Snake, three central characters in the Metal Gear series, as drawn by Yoji Shinkawa — From top to bottom: Big Boss, Liquid Snake, and Solid Snake, three central characters in the Metal Gear series, as drawn by Yoji Shinkawa

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Metal Gear

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Metal Gear claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Metal Gear before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Metal Gear ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Metal Gear

In research: Metal Gear appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Metal Gear in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Metal Gear is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Alternate history video games, Cyberpunk video games, Konami franchises, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Metal Gear outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Metal Gear in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Metal Gear means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Metal Gear out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Metal Gear in simple terms?

Why does Metal Gear matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Metal Gear?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Metal Gear.