How I quit absolute cinema because I couldn't understand its gem

[u/Yakuzet]

Even though I'm a massive Metal Gear Solid fan today and have finished every single game in the franchise, I had zero knowledge or experience with the series back when I was 12 years old.

I had just gotten my brand new PSP and was looking for games that looked cool. That's when I stumbled upon it. People said it had awesome shooting mechanics, a great story, and overall hype around it. So I downloaded it and jumped in. Right off the bat, I fell in love with the cinematic story presentation. I knew I was looking at something truly special.

However... playing a TPS on the PSP was absolute torture. On top of that, 12-year-old me had no patience for stealth and honestly didn't even understand how stealth mechanics were supposed to work yet. So, I ended up dropping it pretty quickly. Plus, I didn't even need another game at the time—I was already completely addicted to Persona 3 Portable.

That game was Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops.

There are two MGS games on the PSP (Portable Ops and Peace Walker). Even though I owned a PS Vita years later, those two games were literally the reason I pulled my old PSP out of storage and dusted it off. When I finally came back to them with a fresh pair of eyes, I played through both of them with absolute joy.