Image via Complex Original
Metal Gear Solid is full of memorable moments.
From Raiden getting peed on to Raiden getting naked for an entire mission. And there are even some that don't involve the dirty mind of that not-quite-beloved character.
With Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes finally here, this is a good time to revisit some of the craziest moments from the series so far, especially given the events of that game. Oh, you haven't played it yet? Don't worry, there are no spoilers here—at least not for the Phantom Pain prequel itself. The rest of the series is a different story, so be warned.
It wasn't easy to narrow it down, but here are the ten craziest moments from the Metal Gear Solid series.
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Missile-running
Game: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
So how about that time that Raiden parkoured himself up an oncoming series of missiles to destroy whatever it was that fired them at him, be that helicopter or Metal Gear itself? He may not be your favorite character, but something about becoming a cyborg gave this guy some moves.
Sure, Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes did it first. But Revengeance did it way more often.
That boss who was covered in bees
Game: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
The Metal Gear Solid series is known for its memorable and eccentric bosses. But at least most of them make sense—unlike MGS 3's The Pain.
The Pain is covered in bees. Like, permanently. Or is he made of bees? Does he just command them, or are they a part of him? Does it really matter? Why would anyone want to be covered in bees?
This series likes to walk a line between the gritty and the cartoonish, but The Pain definitely fell over onto one side of that divide.
Liquid possessing Revolver's body through his transplanted arm
Game: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
We could probably write an alternate list called "The 10 Craziest Moments from the Ending of Metal Gear Solid 2." But that would be too easy.
Instead let's talk about one of the single most implausible elements in a series that includes missile parkour: when, after Revolver Ocelot loses an arm and somehow re-appropriates a new/used one from the body of Liquid Snake, the latter's spirit takes over the former's body. Because everyone knows one's spirit resides in one's arm.
A nuke-bearing mega mech achieving sentience and promptly committing suicide
Game: Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
Every Metal Gear Solid fan should make it a point to play Peace Walker at some point, because it's actually one of the most atmospheric and well-paced games in the series. But if you already have, or if you really don't plan to, let's reflect on its ending.
A giant mech carrying the weaponry and technology to start a world-ending war, having been damaged by Naked Snake, achieves sentience thanks to a ghost of The Boss's persona in the programming. It then drowns itself in the ocean to prevent nuclear war. Or something. Holy shit.
When Raiden became a man
Game: Metal Gear Solid IV: Guns of the Patriot
Raiden was never the most popular character, especially after being introduced via the now-infamous Kojima switcheroo in MGS 2. But he earned himself a few fans when he showed up in Metal Gear Solid 4—now somehow a cyborg—and defeated an immensely powerful immortal vampire in single combat.
If only the little dweeb had had these skills when he was getting peed on in Sons of Liberty.
The system is Liquid Ocelot's
Game: Metal Gear Solid IV: Guns of the Patriots
What about that moment in MGS 4 when Liquid Ocelot—you know, the Revolver Ocelot doppelgänger created when Liquid Snake possessed Revolver's body through his transplanted arm—destroyed some helicopters and a bunch of soldiers just by pointing his fingers?
Ocelot proves that "the system is [his]" when he uses the nanomachines in these soldiers' guns and equipment to defeat them all. He destroys Meryl's entire force while hardly raising a finger, and all you can do is sit there and watch (mainly because it's a cutscene, but still).
Snake's torture nightmare
Game: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
This is an easter egg only present in the original, PS2 version of Metal Gear Solid 3. Basically after being tortured and then listening to a messed up bedtime story Naked Snake will have a "dream" if you turn your PS2 off and then on again while he's still in his cell. The first person who discovered this must have been really confused.
There were all kinds of rumors about it at the time, including that it was a hidden demo for a new 3D Castlevania game. Given how completely different it is from the rest of MGS 3 that could very well have been the case.
Going back to Shadow Moses in MGS4
Game: Metal Gear Solid IV: Guns of the Patriots
In the lengthy and heavy Metal Gear Solid 4 there's an incredibly fun moment for long-time series fans where Snake, reminiscing, revisits the events of the original Metal Gear Solid. And this being a video game, of course you play those events. And what do you know? They look exactly like you remember them.
This was just a great tribute, and in some twisted way it made perfect sense. Why wouldn't Snake's memory be as pixelated as the actual game was?
Psycho Mantis reading your past
Game: Metal Gear Solid
This is the signature crazy moment in a series full of them. Metal Gear Solid games have been known to smash through the fourth wall now and then, but back in the day this wasn't as common an occurrence. And the Psycho Mantis boss did more than simply make a snide reference to the player or look directly at the camera.
This boss full-on played some mind games with you. He definitely convinced us that he's "the most powerful practitioner of psychokinesis and telepathy in the world," even if that wasn't enough to stop Snake's raw bravado.
That moment in Ground Zeroes that you're about to see
Game: Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
Don't worry—no spoilers here. Just know that despite Ground Zeroes'brevity, at only a few hours, there's at least one great surprise. The game is out now, so don't worry if you haven't checked it out yet—no doubt it will be on YouTube shortly.