History YMMV / MetalGear

* MagnificentBastard:
** Big Boss himself helped found the Patriots, only to have them spiral out of control on the side of his former best friend Major Zero. Slowly playing the government from the inside, Big Boss planned to create a world of war to honor soldiers forever. Having a loyal soldier who took the name Venom Snake used as a double to believe he truly was Big Boss, Big Boss used the man and his plans as a diversion while he focused on building his own nation, effortlessly playing his enemies for years and decades while forming Outer Heaven and later the nation of Zanzibar Land. Even surviving his own supposed death, Big Boss returns to find his plans have come to fruition to bring down the Patriots and makes amends with his son and clone Solid Snake before peacefully passing away by the grave of his mentor, The Boss.
** Revolver Ocelot, also known as Shalashaska was born to the infamous Boss as Adamska and spent his youth as a double agent for the UsefulNotes/{{CIA}} and UsefulNotes/{{NSA}} while undercover. After managing to deliver the Philosophers' Legacy to the U.S., Ocelot begins to despise the puppet masters of the world, the Patriots, and seeks to bring them down. [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Betraying and manipulating every side he joins]], Ocelot even uses drugs and psychotherapy to make everyone think he is possessed by the spirit of Liquid Snake, knowing what the Liquid persona will do to allow him to destroy the Patriots, eventually hijacking the plans of Solidus Snake and forming his own group. Even when defeated, Ocelot still [[TheBadGuyWins achieves his goal of defeating the Patriots]] and ends his life in a final battle with his {{archenemy}}, Solid Snake, having been only loyal to the dream of his mother's successor Big Boss to the end.
** Senator Steven Armstrong. See his [[YMMV/MetalGearRisingRevengeance game's page]] for details.

* TheWoobie: Nastasha, Otacon, Emma, Meryl, Olga, and Stillman. Also, Gray Fox and Raiden as Cyborg Ninjas. ** Gray Fox and Raiden as Cyborg Ninjas.

* OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight: The games that Hideo Kojima had no direct involvement with (''Snake's Revenge'', ''Portable Ops'', the ''Acid'' games, ''Metal Gear Rising'') aren't considered to be as good as the ones he has directed himself, with some of them being CanonDiscontinuity or are BroadStrokes canon at best. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3hjRKGrC40 This is best shown by the reception]] of the first ''Metal Gear'' announced after Kojima left Konami; ''Metal Gear Survive''.

* FirstInstallmentWins: The original ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' easily has the most famous story and gameplay, followed by ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' which is both the first game to feature Naked Snake as a playable character and is chronologically the first game in series.

** Despite being officially counted as canon, there are many fans who don’t count ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPortableOps'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'' as canon entries due to Creator/HideoKojima’s lack of involvement with those games as well. They aren’t included in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVGroundZeroes''’s “Deja Vu” recap of the series because of this, which those fans take as a sign that the games are in fact non-canon. However, there are just as many fans who do like to keep them in the canon due to them both having clear spots in the series’ timeline (Portable Ops taking place between ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'', Revengeance taking place after ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' and currently at the end of the series’ timeline), adding to the stories of characters like Raiden, Sunny, Big Boss, and Gray Fox in ways that the fandom likes, being considered fun games in their own right, fitting in well with the tone of the Metal Gear universe, and not causing any major conflict with the rest of the canon.
** There are also some fans who do not consider ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVGroundZeroes'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'' canon, due to a combination of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' giving such a definitive ending to the series (leading to a feeling of FranchiseZombie with such major stories being retroactively added into the timeline. ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'' don’t tend to get this same feeling despite also being released afterward because they are side stories and not full-fledged numbered titles), Creator/DavidHayter getting replaced as Snake’s voice actor (which Hayter himself was quite upset about), and Creator/HideoKojima himself leaving the project partway through as well, leading to a game that felt like its vision was not fulfilled. Still, there are many fans who enjoyed it enough to want to keep it in the timeline despite all of the TroubledProduction elements.

** Despite being officially counted as canon, there are many fans who don’t count ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPortableOps'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'' as canon entries due to Creator/HideoKojima’s lack of involvement with those games as well. They aren’t included in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVGroundZeroes''’s “Deja Vu” recap of the series because of this, which those fans take as a sign that the games are in fact non-canon. However, there are just as many fans who do like to keep them in the canon due to them both having clear spots in the series’ timeline (Portable Ops taking place between ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'', Revengeance taking place after ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' and currently at the end of the series’ timeline), adding to the stories of characters like Raiden, Sunny, Big Boss, and [[spoiler:Gray Fox]] in ways that the fandom likes, being considered fun games in their own right, fitting in well with the tone of the Metal Gear universe, and not causing any major conflict with the rest of the canon.

** There are also some fans who do not consider ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVGroundZeroes'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'' canon, due to a combination of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' giving such a definitive ending to the series (leading to a feeling of FranchiseZombie with such major stories being retroactively added into the timeline. ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker''and ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'' don’t tend to get this same feeling despite also being released afterward because they are side stories and not full-fledged numbered titles), Creator/DavidHayter getting replaced as Snake’s voice actor (which Hayter himself was quite upset about), and Creator/HideoKojima himself leaving the project partway through as well, leading to a game that felt like its vision was not fulfilled. Still, there are many fans who enjoyed it enough to want to keep it in the timeline despite all of the TroubledProduction elements.

** Many fans don’t count ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPortableOps'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'' as canon due to Creator/HideoKojima’s lack of involvement with those games as well. They aren’t included in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVGroundZeroes''’s “Deja Vu” recap of the series because of this, which those fans take as a sign that the games are non-canon. However, there are just as many fans who do like to keep them in the canon due to them both having clear spots in the series’ timeline (Portable Ops taking place between ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'', Revengeance taking place after ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots''), being considered fun games in their own right, fitting in well with the tone of the Metal Gear universe, not causing any major conflict with the rest of the canon, and there being no definitive WordOfGod statement that denies their place in the canon.
** There are also some fans who do not consider ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVGroundZeroes'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'' canon, due to a combination of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' giving such a definitive ending to the series (leading to a feeling of FranchiseZombie with such major stories being retroactively added into the timeline), Creator/DavidHayter getting replaced as Snake’s voice actor (which Hayter himself was quite upset about), and Creator/HideoKojima himself leaving the project partway through as well, leading to a game that felt like its vision was not fulfilled. Still, there are many fans who enjoyed it enough to want to keep it in the timeline despite all of the TroubledProduction elements.

** Many fans don’t count ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPortableOps'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'' as canon due to Creator/HideoKojima’s lack of involvement with those games as well. They aren’t included in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVGroundZeroes''’s “Deja Vu” recap of the series because of this, which those fans take as a sign that the games are non-canon. However, there are just as many fans who do like to keep them in the canon due to them both being considered fun games in their own right, fitting in well with the tone of the Metal Gear universe, not causing any major conflict with the rest of the canon, and there being no definitive WordOfGod statement that denies their place in the canon.

** Many fans don’t count ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPortableOps'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'' as canon due to Creator/HideoKojima’s lack of involvement with those games as well. They aren’t included in ''VideoGame/MetalGearVGroundZeroes''’s “Deja Vu” recap of the series because of this, which those fans take as a sign that the games are non-canon. However, there are just as many fans who do like to keep them in the canon due to them both being considered fun games in their own right, fitting in well with the tone of the Metal Gear universe, not causing any major conflict with the rest of the canon, and there being no definitive WordOfGod statement that denies their place in the canon.

** The overwhelming majority of fans don’t count ''VideoGame/MetalGearSurvive'' as canon, [[OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight due to it being made]] after Creator/HideoKojima left the series, not to mention how [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks extremely different it is]] from every other Metal Gear game.
** Many fans don’t count ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPortableOps'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'' as canon due to Creator/HideoKojima’s lack of involvement with those games as well. However, there are just as many fans who do like to keep them in the canon due to them both being considered fun games in their own right, fitting in well with the tone of the Metal Gear universe, not causing any major conflict with the rest of the canon, and there being no definitive WordOfGod statement that denies their place in the canon.

* FanonDiscontinuity: It’s surprisingly rare for fans to accept every single installment of the series as canon. There are even multiple common approaches to this:

** Many fans don’t count ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPortableOps'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'' as canon due to Creator/HideoKojima’s lack of involvement with those games as well. However, there are just as many fans who do like to keep them in the canon due to them both being considered fun games in their own right, not causing any major conflict with the rest of the canon, and there being no definitive WordOfGod statement that denies their place in the canon.
** However, WordOfGod ''has'' [[DisownedAdaptation openly disowned]] the two NES Metal Gear games (the MSX versions of those games are considered the canon versions of the stories), meaning that almost no fans consider them canon now. It also doesn’t help that they conflict with a lot of the new lore that has been established since then.

** While the story is almost the exact same, fans usually consider either ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' or ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidTheTwinSnakes'' the definitive telling of the Shadow Moses incident and disregard the other version as non-canon. The majority prefer the original version of the game due to FirstInstallmentWins in general, not to mention the cutscenes being more grounded in reality and the voice acting having a much more enthusiastic energy to it. However, the Twin Snakes has its own fans and is the preferred version to many due to its much better graphics, more varied soundtrack (though many also prefer the original tunes), and a few cool additions such as Creator/RobPaulsen joining the cast as Gray Fox. ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' gave credence to both sets of fans by using the visuals of the original version with the audio of the Twin Snakes in its flashbacks.

** While the story is almost the exact same, fans usually consider either ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid1'' or ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidTheTwinSnakes'' the definitive telling of the Shadow Moses incident and disregard the other version as non-canon. The majority prefer the PS1 version of the game due to FirstInstallmentWins in general, not to mention the cutscenes being more grounded in reality and the voice acting having a much more enthusiastic energy to it. However, the Twin Snakes has its own fans and is the preferred version to many due to its much better graphics, more varied soundtrack (though many also prefer the original tunes), and a few cool additions such as Creator/RobPaulsen joining the cast as Gray Fox. ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' gave credence to both sets of fans by using the visuals of the PS1 version with the audio of the Twin Snakes in its flashbacks.

** There are also some fans who do not consider ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVGroundZeroes'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'' canon, due to a combination of wanting the series to end after ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' gave such a definitive ending to the series (leading to a feeling of FranchiseZombie with such major stories being retroactively added into the timeline), Creator/DavidHayter getting replaced as Snake’s voice actor (which Hayter himself was quite upset about), and Creator/HideoKojima himself leaving the project partway through as well, leading to a game that felt like its vision was not fulfilled. Still, there are many fans who enjoyed it enough to want to keep it in the timeline despite all of the TroubledProduction elements.
** Some fans go even further back and don’t count ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' as canon due to their dissatisfaction with the way it ended Solid Snake’s story, along with all of the HandWave explanations to previous games’ plot threads being seen as unsatisfactory.

** There are also some fans who do not consider ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid5GroundZeroes'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid5ThePhantomPain'' canon, due to a combination of wanting the series to end after ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' gave such a definitive ending to the series (leading to a feeling of ZombieFranchise with such major stories being retroactively added into the timeline), Creator/DavidHayter getting replaced as Snake’s voice actor (which Hayter himself was quite upset about), and Creator/HideoKojima himself leaving the project partway through as well, leading to a game that felt like its vision was not fulfilled. Still, there are many fans who enjoyed it enough to want to keep it in the timeline despite all of the TroubledProduction elements.

%% Please do not add Skull Face, Hot Coldman or the Patriots back per the Cleanup threads ruling.

* HarsherInHindsight:
** In ''Metal Gear Solid'', Meryl manages to smuggle something past enemy guards who were searching her, because "women have more hiding spaces than men." Come ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVGroundZeroes Ground Zeroes]]'', [[spoiler: Paz has a bomb hidden in her stomach (which is removed without anesthetic whilst she's screaming in pain), and a backup hidden in her vagina, which kills her and puts Big Boss into a coma for 9 years).]]
** ''Metal Gear Solid'' has Solid Snake injected with FOXDIE, a virus programmed to kill specific people that Snake infects by being close to them. By ''Metal Gear Solid 4'', the virus has mutated to the point where it could possibly kill ''anyone'' near Snake and would eventually kill Snake himself. The COVID-19 pandemic bears striking similarities where infected people can easily spread the virus towards others by close contact and can also kill the infectee as well.

* CompleteMonster: [[YMMV/MetalGear1 NES Big Boss]]; [[YMMV/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater Volgin]]; [[YMMV/MetalGearAcid Wiseman]]; [[YMMV/MetalGearRisingRevengeance Sundowner]]. See those pages for details.

* CompleteMonster: [[YMMV/MetalGear1 NES Big Boss]];[[YMMV/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater Volgin]]; [[YMMV/MetalGearAcid Wiseman]]; [[YMMV/MetalGearRisingRevengeance Sundowner]]. See those pages for details.

* CompleteMonster: [[YMMV/MetalGear1 NES (Non-Canon) Big Boss]];[[YMMV/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater Volgin]]; [[YMMV/MetalGearAcid Wiseman]]; [[YMMV/MetalGearRisingRevengeance Sundowner]]. See those pages for details.

* CompleteMonster: [[YMMV/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater Volgin]]; [[YMMV/MetalGearAcid Wiseman]]; [[YMMV/MetalGearRisingRevengeance Sundowner]]. See those pages for details.

* InternetBackdraft: ''VideoGame/MetalGearSurvive'''s announcement turned the Internet ablaze, mainly because the trailer made it look more akin to ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' or ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' with the ''Metal Gear'' title slapped on it rather than an actual ''Metal Gear'' game. On top of that, the fact that it's a four player co-op game with generic Militaires Sans Frontières soldiers as opposed to a single-player game like the rest of the series. This game's announcement was ''unfavorably'' compared to ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeFederationForce'', a game that pulls a similar trick in the ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' franchise. As a result, many believe that [[OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight the series is doomed without]] Creator/HideoKojima, especially given the ongoing controversy with Creator/{{Konami}}.

* HeartbrokenBadass:
** Gray Fox and Raiden as Cyborg Ninjas.
** Big Boss goes through this in ''Peace Walker'' to the point he demands to be killed for what he did to The Boss.

* TheWoobie: Nastasha, Otacon, Emma, Meryl, Olga, and Stillman.

* PeripheryDemographic: The series is extremely popular with women considering it's basically a crazy RatedMForManly action movie in video game form. Yes, even the [[HoYay strong male bonding]] is verbatim action movie. Plenty of kids like the series too, helped by the fact that ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' referenced it and a large part of the brony demographic grew up with the early ''Metal Gear'' games.

** Big Boss himself helped found the Patriots [=AI=]s, only to have them spiral out of control on the side of his former best friend Major Zero. Slowly playing the government from the inside, Big Boss planned to create a world of war to honor soldiers forever. Having a loyal soldier who took the name Venom Snake used as a double to believe he truly was Big Boss, Big Boss used the man and his plans as a diversion while he focused on building his own nation, effortlessly playing his enemies for years and decades while forming Outer Heaven and later the nation of Zanzibar Land. Even surviving his own supposed death, Big Boss returns to find his plans have come to fruition to bring down the Patriots and makes amends with his son and clone Solid Snake before peacefully passing away by the grave of his mentor, The Boss.
** Revolver Ocelot, also known as Shalashaska was born to the infamous Boss as Adamska and spent his youth as a double agent for the UsefulNotes/{{CIA}} and UsefulNotes/{{NSA}} while undercover. After managing to deliver the Philosopher's Legacy to the US, Ocelot begins to despise the puppet masters of the world, the Patriots, and seeks to bring them down. [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Betraying and manipulating every side he joins]], Ocelot even uses drugs and psychotherapy to make everyone think he is possessed by the spirit of Liquid Snake, knowing what the Liquid persona will do to allow him to destroy the Patriots, eventually hijacking the plans of Solidus Snake and forming his own group. Even when defeated, Ocelot still [[TheBadGuyWins achieves his goal of defeating the Patriots]] and ends his life in a final battle with his {{archenemy}}, Solid Snake, having been only loyal to the dream of his mother's successor Big Boss to the end.

** Vamp's pointlessly cruel murder of poor [[spoiler: Emma Emmerich, Otacon's adorable little sister]].