The N-Gage version of Metal Gear Solid was developed by a team at Konami, led by Hideo Kojima himself. The game was a port of the original PlayStation game, with some notable changes to accommodate the N-Gage's hardware limitations. The gameplay was modified to use a top-down perspective, rather than the original's 3D perspective. This change was made to simplify the gameplay and make it more suitable for the N-Gage's smaller screen.

The year was 2004. The handheld market was a duopoly. On one side, Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance was reigning supreme. On the other, Sony’s PSP was about to launch with the graphical might of a portable PlayStation 2.

Is it a lost classic? A cynical cash grab? Or simply a technical marvel that no one asked for? I recently dug my old N-Gage out of storage (side-talking stance and all) to find out.

Also, the game is . You can finish it in a long afternoon. The "replayability" comes from the sheer masochistic joy of beating the awful controls.