With the release of Metal Gear Solid 4 looming, Gametrailers decided to take a look back at the journey of one of the most celebrated videogame franchises in history. The first of the four part retrospective (above) highlights the humble begins of the legendary Hideo Kojima, as a videogame director for the MSX team of Konami, also telling the story the birth of Solid Snake and the stealth genre as we know it today. From the first Metal Gear on the MSX to subsequent sequels on several different platforms, the beginning of this now 20-year-old franchise, while as humble as its creator, has left a mark that is still being seen today.

Part two (below) of the retrospective focuses on Metal Gear Solid for the PSX, which for many was the introduction to Solid Snake and the Metal Gear franchise. The game was groundbreaking and officially elevated Hideo Kojima in the minds of his fans to a videogame god. After encouragement from long time friend and mentor Shigeru Miyamoto, Kojima decided to port Metal Gear Solid to the GameCube with enhanced visuals and gameplay elements, along with completely re-recorded voice overs and score.

Part three and installment of the retrospective will be released next week and will highlight the first game of the series to appear on the PlayStation 2 — Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.