If you want to know the story before jumping into MGS V: Ground Zeros and don't want to play all the games in the series, then start with MGS 3: Snake Eater then play MGS: Peace Walker and your good to go. If you want to play the whole series then get the MGS: Legacy Collection on PS3 and play in order of release or play MGS1,2,4 and then MGS3, Peace Walker its up to you. :)

Well, depending on your budget you can either get the HD Collection or Legacy Collection; I would go for the latter if you have a PS3.

HD collection:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Gear_Solid_HD_Collection

store link

Legacy:
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Gear_Solid:_The_Legacy_Collection]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Gear_Solid:_The_Legacy_Collection[/url]

store link

e: put in a better store link.

Here.
Nuff said!

If you want to follow it chronologically then you can check out this list.
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Gear_2:_Solid_Snake]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Gear_2:_Solid_Snake[/url]

You have to consider that some of those games are from are on the NES but they came out on ps3/xbox as well in the metal gear HD collection.

You have to consider that the series has two main protagonists. One is Solid Snake and one is Naked snake. If you want to know the full story, start with the mgs collection. The old Metal gear games you play as solid snake, MGS 1 on the ps1 (and now on psn) you also play as Solid Snake. So if you want, you can skip the older ones and start with MGS1. In MGS2 you play as another character, who's name is Raiden. So after MGS1 you can go and play MGS2 cause Solid Snake is somehow linked in that game as well (won't spoil you anything). Then you have MGS3 (most people say the best in the series) on the PS2 which you play as a new character Naked Snake, so if you want to start with this one then it's also ok since the story has nothing to do with MGS1 and 2. Then you have MGS4 which you play again as Solid Snake and it's the last game in which you play as him and his story in the MGS saga will be concluded in this game.

MGS4 will have flashbacks and explain stuff from the previous titles but if you have not played any MGS game, then you will be confused.

Then you have the MGS games on the PSP with one being a rather small game ( called portable ops) which can be skipped and MGS: Peace Walker. This last one is also one of the better MGS games despite being on the PSP (besides it was released on the ps3 anyway). If you want to follow the latest MGS games' (Ground zeroes and phantom pain) story then you have to play Peace Walker.

If you want the full experience then go and buy metal gear solid legacy collection on the ps3 which includes all the MGS titles including MGS4 which was a ps3 exclusive.

hehe...yeah if you want to really get into it and become a true fan then start from the very beginning, nostalgia is a helluva drug. :P

Trust in the cardboard box!

Whatever you do, avoid playing the NES version of the first game. Go for the MSX version if possible.

metal gear solid (psx), up until now i found it far superior than splinter cell, well at least for the 1st splinter cell. avoid metal gear solid 2 for all cost ;p

Well, that PS3 collection from last year should get you pretty far if you have a PS3. It has everything up until Peace Walker except for Portable Ops, and I think Portable Ops may have been ejected from canon.

I would honestly recommend skipping the early entries and start with the PS1 game. The early ones can be quite frustrating and they are not all that heavy in the story department anyway, so you'll only miss out on a few details. I did not find it to be bad. The second one ended up disappointing a lot of people as they expected something else, but it's not a bad game.

BLASPHEMY!!!!!!!!!!

If you have any sort of modern Sony console, I'd say start with Metal Gear Solid. It's easily available for about $10 (used from Amazon if you want to play a physical copy on the PSX or PS2, from the Playstation Store if you want to play on the PSP, Vita, or PS3), is a good game in its own right, and kicks off the "modern" storyline--so if you're worried that the series is going to be confusing, skipping the first chapter is hardly advisable. The NES games may or may not be good, but they're in no way essential to understanding the story, and unless you still have an NES lying around, you're not playing them anyway unless you want to use an emulator.

Press O not X

yeah get the legacy collection if you can (not the HD collection)

also, you probably can get by skipping 1 and 2 and going straight to solid, since most people did anyway. There's not as much plot and a lot more 80s video game-y logic and bizarre (poison hamsters, tricking guards into thinking it's night despite the sun shining by raising owls and making them hoot) so just knowing the broad points from the briefings is fine and probably makes some of the things less laughable.

(well, the series is still pretty bizarre and videogamey at times, but tries to be so in a more artsy/meta way I guess)