This Artbook is the first of the Metal Gear Solid saga. This is the first version of the Artbook. A second one was released after Peace Walker, I think, with differents arts into. This 1.0 version is very impressive. It contains a lot of artworks, research works and illustrations. Furthermore, there is an exclusive illustration of Sniper Wolf (bare breast) which was withdrawn by Konami.

There are 179 pages full of final illustration and roughs. The particularity of this artbook is that it’s translated into english. All informations about arts and the interview at the end are written in japanese and in english. This is a very good point for an international purpose. I really appreciate it. There are two parts in the book : the first one with all illustrations, and the second one with all roughs and sketches. The interview is in the second part, at the end and it’s with Yoji Shinkawa and Yoshitaka Amano, two famous illustrators in the video game world.

Today, this artbook is hard to find. You still can find it on eBay and second-hand book store, but it’s usually around US$100. I was lucky to have a sign of Yoji Shinkawa, February the 19th 2013, during the French Master Class of Metal Gear Rising. It was a surprise because no sign session was planned !

This book is currently the best piece of my collection, especially since it’s signed.