1. Metal Gear Solid: 10 Most
Ridiculous Things We Just Had To
Go With
http://www.gamebasin.com/news/metal-gear-solid-10-most-ridiculous-
things-we-just-had-to-go-with
If gaming had a Hall of Fame, Hideo Kojima would be in a pretty prime position to be one of the
first inductees. It’s an understatement to say that his Metal Gear series garnered immense
popularity for the stealth genre; it’s pretty much come to define the genre. While the first two
Metal Gear games helped shape the series, the launch of Metal Gear Solid in 1998 turned it into a
gaming force. The 3D graphics helped bring the game to life (leaning up against walls and scoping
out enemy placements is still awesome) and the story is suitably complex and exciting with plenty
of twists to uncover. With most series, you tend to get a slight decline in quality as the sequels roll
out. Not with Metal Gear Solid. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty is arguably better than the first
game (despite some initial controversy) and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater takes us on a 70s action
film inspired romp through the series’ roots. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots rounds off
Solid Snake’s story in impressive style but the series lives on through Big Boss (the protagonist of
Snake Eater) and his storyline which adds further detail to the series already impressive backstory.
Of course, Metal Gear Solid likes to indulge itself a bit too. The plot is largely told through long
cutscenes and Codec conversations (especially in Metal Gear Solid 2) and it’s pretty unrealistic in
places. There’s definitely some sort of logical thinking behind most of the game’s important events
but there are also a lot of supernatural elements included. Still, that’s why we love the series and
we’re prepared to overlook some of its more questionable aspects because the games are just so
good. This article provides ten examples of those ridiculous premises or ideas which either make
little sense in realistic terms or simply didn’t go down well with certain areas of the fanbase.
Nothing here is particularly offensive (Metal Gear Solid 2 features a lot on this list, simply because

2. it introduces a lot of strange choices to the series which thankfully worked out in the long run) but
you can definitely see why these inclusions might make someone dubious of the series quality.
Don’t be dubious – go and play these games and love them for yourself and then come back and
celebrate their most unique (ridiculous) qualities with this article.
10. Rose’s Long Codec Calls
It seems cruel to judge a supporting character so harshly but Rose’s introduction to the series in
Metal Gear Solid 2 feels remarkably unnecessary. She serves as a contact for Raiden on his mission,
allowing him to save his progress while also supporting him with motivational speeches.
Unfortunately for Rose, her lengthy talks served only to annoy gamers, rather than encourage them.
After all, Raiden is currently in the middle of an incredibly important mission; is it really the best
time to have lengthy discussions about their past and relationship? It all gets a bit confusing later
on too when Rose reveals too much about the Patriots’ involvement in the mission and she’s
replaced by an AI, causing Raiden to question whether Rose even existed. Despite some funny
scenes (call her while in the women’s bathroom, for a great example) and some minor but
interesting character developments, Rose is a pretty expendable character who serves to annoy
more than she informs. Still, if you ever need someone to compare bomb disposal to a healthy
relationship, she’s your gal.
9. Fourth-Wall Breaking

3. Yes, Kojima’s love of breaking the fourth wall largely makes Metal Gear Solid a more entertaining
series, but there are moments when it’s quite jarring. Take the above moment as a clear example;
using a bandanna as an unlockable item to grant infinite ammo makes sense in gaming terms – not
so much when your supposedly intellectual spy hero is parading it around like he’s just discovered
one of life’s greatest secrets. Another infamous one is when the Colonel asks you to find Meryl’s
Codec frequency by looking “on the back of the CD case”. Turns out there’s a sneaky screenshot on
the back of the game case which features a Codec conversation with Meryl, allowing us to clearly
see her frequency. Cool? Yes, but it also feels like Kojima’s beating us over the head with the broken
fragments of the fourth wall. Of course, without this fourth wall breaking, we wouldn’t have the
amazing Psycho Mantis fight or the ‘Time Paradox’ game over screens. Kojima’s self‐referential
humour is as funny as it is ridiculous, thankfully.
8. Otacon’s Introduction

4. As Snake’s closest ally, Otacon is just as important to the storyline of the series as the big guy,
especially in the later installments. That doesn’t excuse his, quite frankly, ridiculous introduction
though, in which he hides in a locker from Grey Fox (okay, he’s a pretty intimidating guy), wets
himself (well… if you were that scared…) and twists his ankle in one swift series of failures. He then
has his world ruined by Snake (who reveals that Metal Gear is loaded with nuclear weapons) before
tearfully reflecting that “using science to help mankind… it’s just in the movies”. Otacon’s weird
introduction is explained by the fact that he was created as a reference to geeky Japanese anime
fans (Snake refers to himself as a loner and Otacon infamously asks “Are you an otaku too?”) and
in fact, Kojima’s initial design had him “heavier, wearing a cap and programming while eating a
chocolate bar”. Despite this though, Kojima has publicly stated that Otacon is his favourite
character, so that’s some positive news for the guy. Of course, Otacon’s ridiculous presentation
only serves to make him into a more interesting hero, especially when the tragic events of Metal
Gear Solid 2 unfold (including the revelations about his past). He almost makes you want to go out
and become an otaku too. Almost.
7. Everything Vamp Does In Metal Gear Solid 2
Where do you even begin with Vamp? First introduced in Metal Gear Solid 2, Vamp’s every
appearance results in him doing something ridiculous. He murders an entire team of Navy SEALs
and drinks their blood. He gets shot in the head and survives. He runs across water and up one of
the Big Shell’s support struts after being shot down in a harrier jet. He explains to Raiden (before
his boss fight) that anything that falls in the water below them will not come back up due to a lack
of buoyancy… Before falling in and returning later on. It’s fair to say that something’s up with Vamp.
Funnily enough, Metal Gear Solid 2 never gives a definitive answer as to why Vamp possesses these
seemingly supernatural abilities. In Metal Gear Solid 4, it’s revealed to be nanomachines within his
body (seemingly Kojima’s favourite plot device) but during the course of Sons Of Liberty, we only
see Vamp as some sort of freak. Even his name is ridiculous – it’s not even in reference to his
supposedly undead state of being; Solid Snake states that it’s because he’s bisexual. He’s
permanently laid to rest in Metal Gear Solid 4 but without the explanation or hindsight as to why

5. he is the way he is, Vamp in Metal Gear Solid 2 is simply bizarre.
6. Metal Gear Solid 2′s Arsenal Gear Section
The climax of the Big Shell incident doesn’t actually take place on the oil rig; instead, Raiden finishes
his mission onboard Arsenal Gear and everything gets a bit weird. Raiden is stripped naked and
placed on a torture bed by Solidus Snake and Revolver Ocelot; after surviving the torture, Raiden’s
clothes are misplaced so he spends the next section of Arsenal Gear completely naked, using his
hands to prevent the game from receiving an Adults Only rating. He meets up with Solid Snake
(who utters his Infinite Ammo line) and receives a sword, along with the rest of his gear, meaning
that for the remainder of the game, Raiden pretty much becomes a ninja. There’s then a boss fight
against a number of Metal Gear RAYs (depending on the game’s difficulty, it can be as many as
twenty) before Arsenal Gear crashes into Manhattan. Oh, also, thanks to a virus, the Colonel and
Rose (who are both AIs at this point) go mental and start talking absolute gibberish down the Codec.
The Colonel references previous Metal Gear games (he also tells Raiden to turn the video game
console off) while Rose tells you that you’ll ruin your eyes by being too close to the TV. It’s spooky,
insane and ridiculous… But it’s also insanely awesome.
5. The Cobra Unit

6. The Cobra Unit were introduced in Metal Gear Solid 3 and continued the series’ tradition of using
supernatural elements to add variety and characterisation to the storyline. Each member of the
Cobra Unit has their own unique skillset and behaviours; best represented during their respective
fights with Naked Snake/Big Boss. They’re all highly memorable too as, perhaps with the exception
of the Boss (well, she does have that strange scar…), each member rivals Vamp for Weirdest Metal
Gear Solid Character. The Pain, for example, is the first Cobra Unit member that Snake defeats and
he can control swarms of hornets at will. Bizarrely, they could also enter his body through
ventilation holes in his suit; he grew “bullet bees” inside his body which he could shoot out and
burrow into enemies. The Fear underwent surgery to turn himself into a freak of nature (forked
tongue, double joints, gold reptilian eyes…) and he likes to move around the battlefield in a spider‐
like manner. He’s a strange guy. The End is a 100 year old sniper who is asleep for most of the game,
as he wants to conserve his last energy for his battle with Snake. The Fury is a pyromaniac whose
defeated ghost chases Snake down a tunnel in arguably the most bizarre scene in the game. The
Sorrow is definitely the pick of the bunch though; he actually dies before the events of the game
and appears as a spirit in several scenes. His boss battle sees Snake travelling down a river while
the spirits of everybody he’s killed in the game try to attack him; Colonel Zero seems to think
Snake’s lost his mind and it’s hard to disagree really. The fact that this group of misfits are
considered to be elite soldiers is bizarre enough; thankfully, the intrigue surrounding them means
that their inclusion in Snake Eater is a big factor in why the game is such a masterpiece.
4. Ghosts

7. We’ve just learnt about The Sorrow and why his inclusion in Metal Gear Solid 3 is ridiculous but
he’s not the only spirit that haunts Kojima’s series. In the first Metal Gear Solid, taking pictures with
the camera in certain areas will result in a ghostly image appearing on the finished photo – all of
these are development staff though, so beyond Kojima, you probably won’t recognise any. In Metal
Gear Solid 4, these easter eggs return but they now feature deceased characters from across the
series as well as development staff. As a neat touch, most of the original game’s characters’ ghosts
can be found in the spot where they died (Grey Fox, for example, is seen at Metal Gear REX’s foot).
Let’s return to The Sorrow though, who is by far the most interesting apparition in the series. You
can look through Snake’s eyes at certain points to see extra hidden scenes (there are several
references to a gesture that Ocelot makes repeatedly) and The Sorrow appears in a few. In one,
he’s holding up a frequency you need to use to get out of a locked room – pretty handy stuff! At
the conclusion of the game, after beating The Boss, you can also see her join The Sorrow in the
afterlife; a pretty touching moment for the two characters. The Sorrow also appears in Metal Gear
Solid 4; he appears in his ghostly hood and saves Snake from Psycho Mantis. It’s a great touch to
honour a great character but let’s be frank, we all know that if ghosts actually exist, the
Ghostbusters would have dealt with them by now. Completely unrealistic.
3. Liquid Possessing Ocelot

8. In the original Metal Gear Solid, Snake has a whole series of enemies but only two could really be
referred to as nemeses. Revolver Ocelot is the first one that you’ll encounter and his love for
revolvers, dusters and spurs made him an instantly recognisable character. The other is Liquid
Snake, Solid Snake’s clone brother, and he serves as the game’s primary antagonist. He’s defeated
at the end of the game though, making his rivalry with Solid brief but intense… Or so you might
think. Kojima saw the popularity of Liquid and decided to bring the character back in appropriately
ridiculous circumstances. Revolver Ocelot lost his right hand during his fight with Snake (Grey Fox
cuts it off) and between the first and second games in the series, he replaces his entire right arm
with that of the now deceased Liquid Snake. This had an unintended side‐effect though (or did
Ocelot intend to unite with Liquid?) as Liquid Snake possesses Ocelot’s body, combining the two
entities to become Liquid Ocelot. The character plays a semi‐big role in Metal Gear Solid 2 but it’s
in Metal Gear Solid 4 where he fully unleashes his plans for world domination. Guns Of The Patriots
also gives a reason behind Ocelot’s apparent possession too; of course, it all comes down to
nanomachines which apparently transplanted Liquid’s psyche into Ocelot, rather than an actual
possession. Still, acquiring one man’s arm so you can combine your evil powers and go and conquer
the world is a pretty ridiculous concept, but hey, it leads to a pretty intense final showdown.
2. Nanomachines

9. Nanomachines, or Kojima’s favourite plot device, are featured heavily throughout the Metal Gear
Solid storyline because they’re capable of pretty much anything. Want to release a deadly virus on
the sly? Nanomachines. Want to become invincible and heal extraordinarily quickly?
Nanomachines. Want to recharge a radio battery from within your own body? Yep, quite amazingly,
nanomachines. The list of characters utilising nanomachines during the series is quite extensive;
just about everyone uses them to enrich themselves somehow. Most notably Vamp uses them to
perform unbelievable superhuman feats and a unique virus called FOXDIE killed certain people
when Snake came near them, shutting down their own nanomachines and putting them into
cardiac arrest. Platinum Games’ spin‐off Metal Gear Rising even references Kojima’s love for
nanomachines, as shown in the above video. It’s crazy how such a generic term was used to simplify
and explain so much within the Metal Gear Solid world, but that sort of zany, ridiculous storytelling
is exactly why we love the series so much anyway. It actually makes you appreciate the natural
insanity of the Cobra Unit more; nanomachines weren’t available back in the 60s, they were the
real deal. If Metal Gear Solid has taught us anything, it’s that you want to head to school and start
studying the technology behind nanomachines. They’re going to be an absolute goldmine someday.
1. Raiden

10. Love him or hate him, it’s fair to say that the introduction of Raiden stirred up some controversy.
At the very least, it was a big surprise. Having revealed Metal Gear Solid 2 with the return of Solid
Snake at E3, gamers were pretty stunned to find that Solid Snake wasn’t actually the main
protagonist of Sons Of Liberty; instead, it was newcomer Raiden. In the Western world, he was
pretty poorly received. He has a slightly androgynous appearance (this is even referenced in game
when the President grabs his crotch and reacts with surprise that he’s a man) and he has a cocky
attitude to boot; he spends most of the game bragging about his success in Virtual Reality training.
Apparently, reaction to Raiden’s introduction was neutral in Japan but in the rest of the world,
people were miffed that a new character was taking the reins. Despite what you may think of
Raiden, you have to agree that introducing a brand new protagonist into the game and shunting
your main hero off for a side mission (and a supporting role) is both a bizarre and bolshie move. Of
course, there was nothing that the gaming public could do and Raiden has pretty much come to be
accepted nowadays (it helps that Metal Gear Solid 2 is a phenomenal game; Raiden’s kick‐ass
cyborg appearance in Guns Of The Patriots helped too) as shown by spin‐off Metal Gear Rising
which features him as the solo star. Yes, he might have angered some people at first, but let’s face
it, the series just wouldn’t be the same without him.
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