In E367 (which you can pick up from Magazines Direct now), Miyazaki was asked about the imposing figure on Edge's cover, who can be seen wielding a giant-axe and he explains the significance of ...

The result packs a real wallop – and so it’s only fitting that, in telling that story, we should deliver an Edge cover that does the same. That naturally meant doing something a little different.

However, it didn’t reach critical acclaim until Metal Gear Solid in 1998. Metal Gear Solid was the third game in the series and jumped back 41 years into a timeline during the Cold War.