Editorial: Master Collection Vol. 1 still needs its audio issues resolved

Editorial — March 4, 2025.

While I feel that Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 has improved significantly and offers incredible value to Metal Gear fans, a key area that still requires attention is the audio issues persisting in MGS1, MGS2, and MGS3.

@Konami, while I understand you’re dedicating valuable resources to completing Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater, we patiently await for you to honor your commitment to resolving all launch issues. Once these audio problems are addressed, there will be no question that this will be the definitive way to experience these classic games.

We appreciate your continued commitment to resolving issues and your willingness to listen to fan feedback and look forward to the next update.

Fellow Metal Gear fans, we need your help! If you’re able, please contact Konami support and make your voices heard regarding the remaining audio issues. Konami has demonstrated that they listen to their community, and our collective voice can make a difference.

Thank you,

—MGN

Further thoughts

It’s important to understand my perspective: I haven’t shied away from criticizing the Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1. However, I also recognize and appreciate the Konami team’s hard work in resolving a vast number of problems. The remaining audio issues aren’t a deal-breaker for everyone.

But they still matter. And once they’re fixed, I can say without hesitation that, outside of specific nostalgia for original hardware, this collection will be the definitive way to play these titles.

The reason this continued effort is vital goes beyond the current collection. With the Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater remake on the horizon, we’re hoping for a smooth launch. And, of course, we’re eagerly anticipating a Vol. 2 and a port of MGS4, each with its own set of challenges. Resolving these lingering issues demonstrates Konami’s commitment to the long-term preservation and care of the Metal Gear legacy. It’s a message that we value these games and how they are handled going forward.

I hope more than anything that you understand why this is important to fans like myself and the team back in Japan.

Examples of the remaining issues

Getting some questions regarding the remaining audio issues. May be @Afevis could help give a few examples of whats still lingering.

Specifically, there are still significant audio peaking issues in various parts of the games. In MGS1, scrolling through the codec sounds distorted. And in MGS2 and MGS3, the audio peaking levels simply don’t sound correct. While I’m not an audio expert, the difference is obvious once you hear it. I plan to put together some video examples later to illustrate these problems.

March 5 follow-up: audio comparison

As promised, here is a follow-up post featuring an example video that highlights just ONE of the audio issues currently affecting MGS1 on the Master Collection compared to running it on Original Hardware. There are more audio issues within the game. However, you can clearly hear the differences in this video and get an idea of what I’m talking about:

Watch our MGS1 audio comparison video.

Again, I want to emphasize that this is just one issue. There are other, more egregious problems, such as when you’re speaking to the Secretary of Defense, Jim Houseman, towards the end of the game, and the audio completely cuts out halfway through the conversation. I’m not an audio expert, so I’m sure one of the modders who have fixed these and other audio issues on the PC version could explain this much better than I can. However, many of the problems I’ve noticed seem to be related to pitch and tone, as well as the gain levels in each game. For example, MGS2 and MGS3 appear to have audio that is overly loud and distorted. I hope these and other audio issues, as with others in the past, get addressed in a future patch.

Source: https://x.com/MGSMGN/status/1897012050687352893

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Source: https://x.com/MGSMGN/status/1897212546949767466

Source: https://x.com/MGSMGN/status/1897214493173932226