metal_gear:ghost_babel

This is an old revision of the document!


Metal Gear: Ghost Babel (also known as Metal Gear Solid or Metal Gear: Game Boy) was released in Spring 2000 on Game Boy Color. Ghost Babel is the final 2D Metal Gear game made by Konami. It was named Metal Gear Solid in PAL and NTSC-U to ride off the success of Metal Gear Solid on Playstation. This worked great This confused some into thinking MGGB was a de-make of MGS1, rather than a different game entirely.

Compared to Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, Ghost Babel makes several changes to gameplay. Snake can now run in eight directions and sidle along walls. The screen doesn't flip, but scrolls with Snake. Ghost Babel is broken up into thirteen stages, rather than one continuous game. Each stage ranks the player's performance based on time, alerts, kills, and rations used. The ranks are Excellent, Great, Good, Poor, and Terrible. Mercifully, your card key upgrades in level, rather than holding a key ring of cards that you must memorize.

Why speedrun Ghost Babel? If you enjoy the feel of 2D Metal Gear, but want something that is different with controls and structure. As a speedgame, Ghost Babel is heavy on memorization. Knowing which direction to go on each screen is important for not getting Alerts in the wrong spots, and executing certain strategies. Most of the RNG of MGGB happens in Stage 09, where Snake must blow up the power plant. This RNG can influence pace greatly. The Individual Levels and Virtual Reality Missions are appealing to those who enjoy smaller challenges. Considering there are 90 VR missions, 13 stages, and 39 special variations of those stages, there is a lot to chew on. Being the only 2D Metal Gear with VR separates it from the other 2D MGs.

Don't get scammed! Game Boy Color cartridges are NOT GRAY! Here are genuine copies of the game, NTSC-U and NTSC-J.

MGGB Frame Data

MGGB Very Hard Info

Excel Spreadsheet for IGT

Plywood's Normal Tutorial Playlist


Stage Name Tutorial Big Boss Route
01 Jungle Tutorial Route
02 Fortress Galuade Tutorial Route
03 Sewers & Watchtower Tutorial Route
04 Watchtower Exit & Slasher Hawk Tutorial Route
05 Barracks & Dr. Harks Tutorial Route
06 Dark Barracks & Marionette Owl Tutorial Route
07 Artillery Strikes Tutorial Refer to Normal
08 Power Plant & Pyro Bison Tutorial Route
09 Power Plant & Pillar RNG Tutorial Route
10 “Havoc” Helicopter Tutorial Route
11 Maintenance Base & Black Arts Viper 1 Tutorial Route
12 Metal Gear GANDER Tutorial Route
13 Black Arts Viper 2 Tutorial Refer to Normal

MGGB Entry in The Cutting Room Floor

  • metal_gear/ghost_babel.1548118202.txt.gz
  • Last modified: 2019/01/22 00:50
  • by Plywood