I'm submitting this fact for the Japanese version of Metal Gear Solid. 
The game is rather fun to play, and although it's in Japanese it's easy 
to figure out.  The goal of this FAQ is to be both a review and an 
instruction sheet for those who have this version of the game.  Feel 
free to disseminate this information, just don't claim it as your own.  
The intro screen is in English, so you shouldn't have too much 
Difficulty.

BUTTON FUNCTION:

/_\     : look feature, a full 360 degrees. 

( )    : (by itself)--punch, kick (a soldier), knock against an object          
activate a switch,          use/select an item while L1 or R1          
is held. 
 _
|_|    : choke a soldier (press repeatedly to snap his neck), throw a soldier.  
fire a weapon.  (if you hold this button before releasing it, there is like a                 
"lock-on" feature and SS will adjust his aim to the targets movements.  With the 
SOCOM, your pistol, you get the laser beam sight.

X      : nullifies all actions, or kneels (press again to get back up)
         to begin a low crawl.

L1     : selects items that are not weapons for left hand.  moves view slightly   
left when uses binos or nods.

R1     : selects items that are weapons.  moves view slightly left when using 
	   binos or nods

L2	 : brings up items available for the left hand (use d-pad to scroll).

R2	 :  brings up items available for the right hand (use d-pad to scroll).

D-PAD  : move, lean up against a wall.


*This game does support the analog controller, and the dual shock with some 
awesome effects.*

TRAINING:  The intro screen has many options available.  The Training mode 
allows you to get a feel for the game.  After you've beaten all ten 
levels, you get to do the mode all over again, but this time it's timed.  After 
you beat that you get to do it all again, but this time you're armed.  The point 
of the training mode is to not be seen.

The game starts off with a submarine insertion sequence that has Snake 
in a manned torpedo.  The point of the first board is to get to the 
elevator.  After having done this, then the game begins.  Whoever 
thought up this idea got lots of cool points.

SAVING THE GAME:  After you've completed the "0" level, One of the 
females who you keep in contact with throughout the game, will call you.  
I think the frequency is 140.96.  Go into this to save your game.  Now 
the save feature doesn't put you back exactly where you were, but rather 
puts you at a pre-set point of introduction into that area.  For 
example, if I want to save the game while I'm standing in the middle of 
the room, I can.  But when I restart the game, I may start off in the 
airduct above the room.  One great thing about saving is that it only 
takes up one block of memory, and you can save the game under different 
"frequencies" (more blocks).  So the game is not like TR II which had only one 
"Continue" slot.  The bad side about the SAVE feature is that when you 
restart the game, all the baddies are back.  That's right!  You have to 
kill them all over again with even less ammo.

GOOD POINTS:  

--SOLDIERS: The soldiers of this game are smarter than those of Tenchu, 
but sometimes I'm not so sure (how they don't hear me running up and 
down the stairs is beyond me, but do become alerted when I knock against a wall 
with my hand.  They'll become alerted to a suspicious sound, 
you walking through water, hiding under a box (yes you have an item 
that's a box...just don't let the same guard see you in one location and 
then in another), and even follow your footprints in the snow if the new 
snow hasn't covered them yet.  and don't get to close in a fight or 
they'll butt you to the ground with their rifles, and then shoot you.  
Heck, they'll even throw grenades in the airducts just to get you.  

--ITEMS: You've got a slew of stuff to choose from.  I've not yet seen 
everything yet, but you get stuff like grenades (stun, chaff, 
anti-personnel), thermal sights, rations, Stinger missile launcher, etc.  
Where he puts the box is beyond me!

--LIFE METER:  The life meter is not huge.  It makes the game realistic. 
Get shot a few times and that's it.  I liked it when I died once, and 
how he reached up in the air, his arm fell back down, and then he passed 
away.  That was class.

--GRAPHICS:  The graphics are outstanding.  I don't know anything about 
pixels and stuff, but the graphics are like TR II but more refined.  It 
almost reminds me of DOOM...but more refined.  The movement of the 
characters is also good, and natural.

--DON'T GET CAUGHT:  God help you if you do!  The enemy will swarm to 
wherever you are.  You've got ten seconds before the alert goes off (ends) and 
you're safe again.  This hits that AI issue again.  In reality, no one 
would stop looking for an infiltrator after ten seconds, but stay on 
full alert.

--LEAVING AN AREA:  When you do leave an area, and come back to it, any items 
that you picked up in that spot, will be replenished when you go back 
(sometimes).

--EARNING EXPERIENCE:  As you beat the bosses, everything SS can carry increases 
in number, including the life meter.  The difficulty adjusts as well.


BAD POINTS: This game has what I think are some doosies, but nothing not to buy 
it over.

--NO KNIFE:  When you start off, you are unarmed!  What Spec-OPs soldier 
in his right mind would not carry a knife?  The absence of a knife makes 
it difficult to silently kill people, and save ammo.  Maybe there's a 
knife somewhere in the game?  You can kill soldiers by snapping their necks, but 
this can't be as much fun as a knife in the kidneys (no scream).

--DEAD BODIES:  They dissappear when you kill them.  They should stay 
behind like in Tenchu or TR II.  This goes back to the AI of the 
soldiers.  If one of your buddies disappeared while on guard duty, would 
you not get worried?  Heck, I'd freak out.  Well, these guards don't ever 
notice.
  
--BAD GUYS REINCARNATE:  After you clear an area, and leave it, you'll 
come back to find that a whole new set of guards is there. (Hope you 
got ammo!)  

--KILLING GUARDS: It takes three shots to kill a guard if you sneak up 
on him. This ain't right.  I'd shoot in the back of the head, and save 
two rounds.  

--AIMING:  You have no freedom of movement to aim.  Let me explain...shooting is 
done on one axis (I've noticed that this does change on stairways).  That sucks.  
So you can't shoot a guy up on a watch tower unless you are on the same axis 
(plane) as he is (or unless you have the sniper rifle).

--SOLDIER AI:  I've tackled this before, but guards in high places don't 
look down, and vice versa.  You could kill everyone on a lower level, 
and the guard who has the best view of the whole area will not notice 
you moving about below.

--CONE OF VISION:  Although this is a cool feature, it makes no sense 
that I can see a soldier (look him dead in the face), yet he can't see me.  In 
Tenchu, it worked both ways.  There have been times when I was maybe thirty feet 
in front of the guard, see him plain as day, but he did not noticed me because 
his "Cone of Vision" did not extend far enough.

--WATER:  You do have a breath meter, and it moves quick.  The problem 
with water in this game is that Snake can't swim (well, there isn't much water 
anyways except at the beginning).  He runs through the water.  It looks goofy.

--NO CLIMBING OR JUMPING:  Maybe the game wasn't built for this.  You 
cannot climb onto obstacles in this game.  Forget about scaling 
anything.  If you can climb into anything it is because it's part of the 
game (ie: trucks, ladders).

--USING MORE THAN ONE ITEM AT ONCE:  This I feel is a big problem.  What I'm 
talking about is like wearing the mask and trying to use a card key.you can't do 
it.  Or say, use the stealth while wearing the body armor, and then try to open 
a door...you can't do it.  You have to de-cloak before you enter a door.  The 
same goes with the gas mask--you have to take it off to open a door.  Or even 
try using the mine detector with your body armor on...you can't do it.

**THE ANGLE:  Whoever thought up the idea of playing the game from a 
look down perspective was not thinking in his or her right mind.  The 
look down perspective is awkward!!  Your field of view is what 
you see on TV--anything within a radius of maybe 30 feet as you would 
look down on it...that's all you see. Imagine trying to sneak up on a 
guard.  The guard walks under an overhead stair walkway.  You follow under the 
walkway only to discover that you can no longer see the guard 
nor yourself (remember this is because of the look down view)!!  You don't even 
know which way you are aiming!  You can be right behind a guard, aim, fire, and 
miss, because of this silly look down perspective! Now the alarm goes off and 
the guard plugs you full of holes, butt strokes you to the ground, and the end.  
I've almost bashed in my TV because of this.  You have to adjust to this kind of 
gameplay.  It'll definitely determine your tactics.  Oh how the simple things 
are hard to do in this game.  Tenchu had the perfect angle to view your 
character, and even TR II allowed long range viewing.

TACTICS/TRICKS/HINTS:

--Take out a camera by exploding C-4 under it.

--Knock on walls to attract a guards attention and lure him to a certain area.
		
--Time the patrol pattern, and maneuver accordingly.

--Low crawl on snow, it doesn't leave tracks.  Do the same for water puddles, 
and it makes no sound.

--To use the C-4, look for walls that look like they've been patched up.  They 
will look like giant sealed-over mouse holes.

--If you hear a double click come from under your feet, you've just activated a 
trap door.

--Surprisingly, the wolves are probably the toughest to kill.  Shoot them and 
don't stop.  I think they're on PCP.

--Concerning Meryl.

	:Stare at her using the look button.  Do so for about 30 seconds.

	:Attack her, and she'll slap you to the ground.

--Use the stinger to take out cameras, but aim center of mass to kill the most 
with one shot (make sure there are no enemy soldiers around or else they'll 
sound the alarm).

--Low crawl to pick up claymores.  Use them to take out Raven (the second time).
 
--Snipe soldiers.  One shot, one kill.  The stinger works as well.

--You can swat the ravens, and beat the living daylights out of that one dog.

--The camera has a more powerful zoom than the binos.

--The medicine cures Snake's sneeze.

--For an easy kill, kick or throw a guard over a rail or into the molten steel.

--Save often (but I hear it lowers your score).

--Don't use pyrotechnics against Psycho Mantis, he'll explode them.

--Don't hastly run into a room, there may be claymores or infra-red laser 
barrier systems.

--The boxes:  Each of the boxes is different.  If you look closely, you'll 
notice that there is a colored stripe of red, blue, or green on the bottom of 
each box.  I've also learned from Enigma (I think it was him) that each box, if 
you use it in the back of the trucks, transports you to another part of the game 
if you just wait a while.

--I learned from a friend that Diazepam steadies your heart rate when using the 
sniper rifle.  On my own I've discovered that this is the same stuff in the 
Atropine injectors (I think it is).  So use this item in conjunction with the 
gas mask.  Also, when on the board with Metal Gear and the contaminated water, 
use the Diazepam if you go in the water.

--The wolves love the scarf.

IN CONCLUSION:  This is still a pretty good game, and is terribly addictive.  I 
give it an 8 1/2 overall.  And only because of the ANGLE issue (personal peeve).  
If not for that I'd give it a 9.  By the way, the game is a two cd game.  
Definitely go get it.

Any Questions?  Email me at amoxicillin@hotmail.com