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->''[[ParrotExposition "Metal Gear?!"]]''

The ''Metal Gear'' series, produced by Creator/{{Konami}} beginning in 1987, is the {{Trope Maker|s}} and TropeCodifier of the StealthBasedGame genre. Moreover, it is also considered to be [[GenreTurningPoint one of the pioneers of cinematic storytelling]] within video games, famously being very {{Cutscene}}-heavy and being one of the first mainstream games to feature professional voice acting for all characters.

The idea came when the series' creator and lead designer, Creator/HideoKojima, realized that the Platform/{{MSX}}2 couldn't show more than a few enemies at a time without flashing epileptically and generally breaking -- so why not make a game where ''avoiding'' your enemies is the theme? This concept received a lot of criticism -- one famous quote from a boss Kojima had at the time is, [[ItWillNeverCatchOn "Hiding from your enemies? That's not a game!"]] But then the critics (and other people) started playing it, [[AndYouThoughtItWouldFail and it became quite a hit]], spawning a great many sequels (with countless ports and editions).

The storyline is [[KudzuPlot famously complicated]], but, in its simplest possible form, can be described as an episodic plot that follows a dynasty of mercenaries, [[LegacyCharacter each]] with the {{Code Name}} "Snake", in various military events that take place from the mid-20th to the [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture early 21st]] centuries, involving a series of revolutionary nuclear weapons called "Metal Gear".
----
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Franchise summary]]
To boil the franchise's plot down to the essentials, a former CIA Agent {{codename}}d "Naked Snake," traumatized after his first mission, became a freelance soldier during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar, making a name for himself as the infamous mercenary commander "Big Boss." Eventually, he returned to America and helped the US Army train an elite black-ops unit known as FOXHOUND. Later, his clone joined FOXHOUND and inherited his "father's" former codename, becoming equally famous as "Solid Snake." While the two go through similarly harrowing adventures throughout their careers, they come out of them with near-opposite worldviews, the former growing jaded and ruthless while the latter remains hopeful for the future.\\
\\
Fighting a vast global conspiracy which secretly rules the world, their adventures also invariably revolve around the titular [[AMechByAnyOtherName Metal Gears]] -- walking battle tanks capable of launching nuclear strikes from any geographic position. A major theme is the spiritual cost of being a soldier. Particularly in a post-Soviet/World War II world in which battles are not always fought for great ideological or religious causes, but are prolonged, brutal proxy wars, where soldiers are sent to die, and then discarded when they're no longer useful. If that's not enough explanation for you, we do have a [[Recap/MetalGear Recap page]] for you to check out.\\
\\
The series loves {{breaking the fourth wall}} and has a distinct quirky sense of humor--running jokes involve the iconic use of a cardboard box to sneak around a base [[MobileShrubbery (wait until nobody is looking, run to a new location, and repeat)]]. Another trademark is a general tendency for each new installment in the series to {{retcon}} at least one more-or-less significant plot detail about at least one of its predecessors. Kojima's irreverence is such that he's been trying to kill the series off since ''Metal Gear Solid 2'' made its protagonist switch, so he can get on with more interesting things, but a rabidly devoted fanbase simply won't let him.\\
\\
One of the most engaging parts of the games is the huge focus on multiple uses for items; for example, whilst smoking cigarettes seem like a gag item that just drains your health and earns you a lecture from your contacts, they come with the hidden bonuses of showing laser beams with the smoke, and allowing for steadier aiming by calming your nerves. ''Metal Gear'' was also a pioneer of non-lethal gameplay. Every title in the series after ''Metal Gear Solid'' allows the player to complete the game without killing enemy soldiers. There are pros and cons to each approach, and the player's willingness or refusal to kill becomes a plot point in several stories.\\
\\
Following the initial ''Metal Gear'', each game has been a {{deconstruction}} of action movies and video games, playing tropes so painfully straight they curve right back in on themselves. Very few tropes are invoked without logically following them through, especially those of spy movies - we see exactly what kind of mind and complete control of a situation would be needed to pull off the absurdly complex {{Gambit Roulette}}s that happen once per game, exactly what happens to a {{tykebomb}} forced to take up a normal life, and there's a female on male sexual abuse subplot which is not at all okay, to name just a handful.\\
\\
Solid Snake began as a DeconstructedCharacterArchetype of the ActionHero trope, as his wartime experiences had not turned him into the ultimate action hero, but into a [[ShellShockedVeteran bitter, broken-down wreck of a soldier]] who just wanted to retire but could not escape the life of conflict that had entwined him for so long. After fans missed the point slightly, this theme was hammered home with Raiden, who was put through the same torments as Snake in explicit detail. Not even Big Boss is immune to this theme: as Naked Snake, he's not the suave, impeccable agent that would fit perfectly into the '60s spy film pastiche of ''Metal Gear Solid 3'', but a likable, kinda-dorky (though admittedly brilliant at what he does) everyman. Only after going through immense psychological and physical scarring does he begin to resemble the ultimate soldier known as Big Boss.\\
\\
The series is acclaimed for a lot of good reasons -- stellar gameplay, superb boss fights, very complex plots with pitch perfect deconstructions, excellent direction, intelligent character development and weird stylized dialogue. Just prepare for a lot of cutscenes. A ''lot'' of cutscenes. As in ''Metal Gear Solid 4'' seriously holds the world records for both "longest cutscene"[[note]]Said instance clocks in at 27 minutes.[[/note]] and "longest cutscene sequence."[[note]]The 71 minute ending and epilogue sequence that wraps up the entire series arc (excluding the later-released Big Boss prequels).[[/note]] Honestly, you play the game for two-fifths of the time and watch a full-length movie the other three-fifths, though if you like the plot you probably won't mind too much.\\
\\
The 2013 spinoff game ''Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance'', features Raiden, a controversial bait-and-switch protagonist who has certainly TakenALevelInBadass since his introduction in ''Metal Gear Solid 2''. Although stealth is present to some extent, it is an (very over the top) action game, [[VideoGame/{{Vanquish}} because]] [[VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}} Platinum]].\\
\\
Finally, there's ''Metal Gear Solid V'', released in 2014/2015 and, following his departure from Konami, Hideo Kojima's last entry for the series. Acting as the first WideOpenSandbox and (as of yet) the finalé to the ''Metal Gear'' saga, the game is split between a stand-alone prologue and main game, ''Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes'' and ''Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain'' respectively. The story chronicles the remaining gaps in the Big Boss story, detailing the final steps that made him GreaterScopeVillain for the main series (albeit not in the way many expected), and finally bringing the story full circle with an ending scene that led directly into the events of the original ''Metal Gear''. ''The Phantom Pain'' was ultimately well received as the GrandFinale of the series, though like the other titles, it is still divisive among fans.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video games]]
[[index]]
!!Main series
* ''VideoGame/MetalGear1'' (1987, Platform/{{MSX}}2)
* ''VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake'' (1990, [=MSX2=])
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' (1998, [[Platform/PlayStation PS1]]) [[/index]]
** ''Metal Gear Solid: Integral'' (1999, [=PS1=])[[note]]The bonus VR Disc for the [=PlayStation=] version was released by itself overseas as ''Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions'' in North America and ''Metal Gear Solid: Special Missions'' in Europe.[[/note]] (2000, PC)
** ''Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes'' (2004, [[Platform/NintendoGameCube GameCube]]) [[index]]
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' (2001, [[Platform/PlayStation2 PS2]]) [[/index]]
** ''The Document of Metal Gear Solid 2'' (2002, [=PS2=])
** ''Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance'' (2002, [=PS2=] / Platform/{{Xbox}}) (2003, PC)
** ''Metal Gear Solid 2: HD Edition'' (2011, [=PS3=] / Platform/Xbox360) (2012, [[Platform/PlaystationVita PS Vita]]) [[index]]
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' (2004, [=PS2=]) [[/index]]
** ''Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence'' (2005, [=PS2=])
** ''Metal Gear Solid 3: HD Edition'' (2011, [=PS3=] / Xbox 360) (2012, PS Vita)
** ''Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D'' (2012, [[Platform/Nintendo3DS 3DS]])
** ''Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater'' (TBA, [[Platform/PlayStation5 PS5]] / Platform/XboxSeriesXAndS / PC) [[index]]
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' (2008, [[Platform/PlayStation3 PS3]])
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'' (2010, [=PSP=])
** ''Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker: HD Edition'' (2011, [=PS3=] / Xbox 360)
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidV''
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVGroundZeroes'' (2014, [=PS3=] / Xbox 360 / [[Platform/PlayStation4 PS4]] / Platform/XboxOne / [=PC=])
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'' (2015, [=PS3=] / Xbox 360 / [=PS4=] / Xbox One / [=PC=])
** ''Metal Gear Solid V: The Definitive Experience'' [[note]]a compilation of both ''[=GZ=]'' and ''[=TPP=]''[[/note]] (2016, [=PS4=] / Xbox One / [=PC=])

!!Spin-offs
* ''VideoGame/MetalGear1'' (1987, [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]]) (1990, Platform/Commodore64 / DOS) [[note]]Technically a port of the [=MSX2=] original, but different enough to be considered a ReformulatedGame.[[/note]]
** ''VideoGame/SnakesRevenge'' (1990, NES) [[note]]An unauthorized sequel to the first ''Metal Gear'' produced before Kojima decided to make his own sequel.[[/note]]
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearGhostBabel'' (2000, [[Platform/GameBoyColor GBC]]) [[note]]Released outside Japan as ''[[MarketBasedTitle Metal Gear Solid]]''.[[/note]]
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearAcid'' (2004, PSP)
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearAcid2'' (2005, PSP)
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearOnline'' (2005-2007, [=PS2=]) [[note]]The first version included with ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater MGS3: Subsistence]]'', aka ''[=MGO1=]''. [[DefunctOnlineVideoGames The official servers were discontinued]] in 2007.[[/note]]
** ''Metal Gear Online'' (2008-2012, [=PS3=]) [[note]]The second version included with ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots MGS4]]'', aka ''[=MGO2=]''. [[DefunctOnlineVideoGames The official servers were discontinued]] in 2012.[[/note]]
*** ''Metal Gear Arcade'' (2010, Arcade) [[note]]A port of ''[=MGO2=]'' which uses a combination of stereoscopic glasses and a gun controller. [[DefunctOnlineVideoGames The service was discontinued]] in 2016.[[/note]]
** ''Metal Gear Online'' (2015, [=PS3=] / Xbox 360 / [=PS4=] / Xbox One / [=PC=]) [[note]]The third version included with ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain MGSV: TPP]]'', aka ''[=MGO3=]''.[[/note]]
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPortableOps'' (2006, [[Platform/PlaystationPortable PSP]])
** ''Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus'' (2007, [=PSP=])
* ''VisualNovel/MetalGearSolidDigitalGraphicNovel'' (2006, PSP) [[note]]An [[VisualNovel interactive digital version]] of the ''MGS'' graphic novel by IDW.[[/note]]
** ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2BandeDessinee Metal Gear Solid 2: Bande Dessinée]]'' (2008, DVD) (2013, Blu-ray) [[note]]A voiced MotionComic adaptation of both ''MGS'' graphic novels by IDW. Originally released only in Japan, it later got an English release when it was included as part of ''The Legacy Collection''.[[/note]]
* ''Metal Gear Solid: Mobile'' (2008, N-Gage)
* ''Metal Gear Solid: Touch'' (2009, [=iOS=])
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidSocialOps'' (2012, Android / [=iOS=], [[NoExportForYou Japan-only]])
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'' (2013, [=PS3=] / Xbox 360) (2014, PC)
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidSnakeEaterPachislot'' (2016, Arcade) [[note]]A [[NoExportForYou Japan-only]] pachislot machine that utilized Konami's then-recent "Big Boss" model of machines, which had an HD monitor built into them. The game [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKSLSf6TvaI features]] ''[=MGS3=]'' cutscenes remastered in the FOX Engine [[TechDemoGame mostly to show off the capabilities of this monitor]].[[/note]]
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSurvive'' (2018, [=PS4=] / Xbox One / [=PC=])

[[/index]]

!!Collection sets
* ''Metal Gear 20th Anniversary: Metal Gear Solid Collection'' (2007) - A box set released exclusively in Japan that includes ''MGS'' and ''[=MGS2=]'' in their original Japanese editions, plus the ''Subsistence'' edition of ''[=MGS3=]'' (first disc only), ''The Document of [=MGS2=]'', a bonus [=PS2=] disc featuring the [=MSX2=] games (as they appeared in ''Subsistence''), the PSP game ''MPO'' in a special UMD case and a ''Metal Gear Saga'' DVD Video, essentially including all the canonical ''Metal Gear'' games prior to ''[=MGS4=]''.
* ''Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection'' (2008, [=PS2=]) - The international equivalent of the previous set. It includes the original [=PS1=] version of ''MGS'' in a [=PS2=]-style DVD case, as well as the ''Substance'' and ''Subsistence'' editions of ''[=MGS2=]'' and ''[=MGS3=]'', respectively. Unfortunately, it's missing the [=MSX2=] games, despite the fact that they were included in the previous Japanese set.
* ''Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection'' (2011, [=PS3=] / Xbox 360 / PS Vita) - A collection featuring HD editions of ''[=MGS2=]'', ''[=MGS3=]'' and (except on Vita due to its PSP backward compatibility) ''PW''. The [=MSX2=] games are also included as part of ''[=MGS3=]''. The Japanese version of the collection lacked ''PW'', which had a separate physical release instead, but the [=PS3=] release made up for it by including a product code to download the original ''MGS'' on the Platform/PlaystationNetwork.
* ''Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection'' (2013, [=PS3=]) - A collection of every canonical game directed by Kojima (leaving out ''MPO'' and ''MGR''), which means every game previously included in the ''HD Collection'', plus the original ''MGS'' and ''[=MGS4=]''. As a bonus, this set also includes the ''VR Missions''/''Integral'' expansion and both ''Digital Graphic Novels'' for the first time in Blu-ray Video format.
* ''Metal Gear Solid: The Master Collection'' (2023, [=PS5=] / Xbox Series X|S / Nintendo Switch / PC) - Revealed at the March 24, 2023 Playstation showcase, Volume 1 contains the first three ''Metal Gear Solid'' games, along with the original two MSX titles, the NES version of ''Metal Gear'', ''Snake's Revenge'', and the graphic novel adaptations of ''Metal Gear Solid'' and ''Metal Gear Solid 2''. While not officially announced yet, the widely-rumored Volume 2 is expected to include ''Metal Gear Solid 4'', ''PW'' and ''Metal Gear Solid V''.

!!Chronological order of the series (ambiguously canon entries are in parentheses):
* ''Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater'' - 1964
* (''Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops'' - 1970)
* ''Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker'' - 1974
* ''Metal Gear Solid V''
** ''Ground Zeroes'' - 1975
** (''Metal Gear Survive'') - 1975
** ''The Phantom Pain'' - 1984
* ''Metal Gear'' - 1995
* ''Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake'' - 1999
* ''Metal Gear Solid'' - 2005
* (''Metal Gear Solid: Mobile'' - 2006)
* ''Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty''
** Tanker chapter - 2007
** Plant chapter - 2009
* ''Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots'' - 2014
* (''Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance'' - 2018)
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Other media]]
!!Other adaptations
* ''Metal Gear'' (1988) - A gamebook acting as a sequel to the NES version of the original game
* ''Metal Gear Solid'' (1998-1999) - An audio drama
* ''Metal Gear Solid'' (2004-2005) - ComicBookAdaptation written by Kris Oprisko and illustrated by Ashley Wood
** ''Metal Gear Solid: Sons of Liberty'' (2006-2007) ComicBookAdaptation written by Alex Garner and illustrated by Ashley Wood
* ''Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game'' (2019)

!!Crossover appearances
* ''VideoGame/KonamiKrazyRacers'' (2001, [[Platform/GameBoyAdvance GBA]]): Cyborg Ninja appears as a playable character.
* ''Evolution Skateboarding'' (2002, [=PS2=] / [=GameCube=]): Solid Snake and Raiden appear as selectable characters. ''Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance'' also featured a hidden minigame using this game's engine.
* ''VideoGame/DreamMixTVWorldFighters'' (2003, [=GameCube=] / [=PS2=]): Solid Snake appears as a hidden character, with the [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty Shell Connecting Bridge]] serving as his home stage.
* ''VideoGame/ApeEscape 3'' (2005, [=PS2=]): A crossover minigame modeled after the series, titled "Mesal Gear Solid", can be unlocked after competing the main campaign. Snake and Roy Cambell appear alongside monkey versions of Snake and Ocelot.
* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros:''
** ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'' (2008, Platform/{{Wii}}): Snake appears as an unlockable character, along with a stage based on Shadow Moses Island and Gray Fox as an Assist Trophy. Several other ''Metal Gear'' characters make cameos in the form of trophies and stickers, and hidden conversations between Snake and his support team from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' (and, in one case, Slippy Toad from the ''Franchise/StarFox'' series) can be triggered by performing a secret taunt on the Shadow Moses Island stage. Snake's inclusion -- and as one of the first 5 newcomers revealed for the game at that -- made history, as he became the first GuestFighter in the series.
** ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' (2018, [[Platform/NintendoSwitch Switch]]): After being absent from ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'', Snake returns as a playable character with Shadow Moses Island once again serving as his home stage. Gray Fox returns as an Assist Trophy and several other ''Metal Gear'' characters make cameos in the form of spirits and spirit battles.
* ''[[VideoGame/TrackAndField New International Track & Field]]'' (2008, [[Platform/NintendoDS NDS]]): Solid Snake appears as a playable athlete.
* ''VideoGame/{{Scribblenauts}}'' (2011, NDS): Several ''Metal Gear'' characters can be spawned by typing their names into the notebook, [[RegionalBonus but only in the Japanese version]].
* ''VideoGame/PlayStationAllStarsBattleRoyale'' (2012, [=PS3=]): [[VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance Raiden]] appears as a playable character, with his home stage being an area from ''VideoGame/LocoRoco'' that gets attacked by a Metal Gear RAY.
* ''[[VideoGame/{{Bomberman}} Super Bomberman R]]'' (2017, Switch / [=PS4=] / Xbox One / Windows): Characters based on Solid Snake, Naked Snake, and Raiden were added in the "Version 2.1" patch on June 27, 2018, along with a battle map based on [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain Mother Base]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}'' (2024): Snake and Raiden were added as skins in Chapter 5, Season 1.
[[/folder]]
----

!!The ''Metal Gear'' series provides examples of:
''Please do not dump tropes that only apply to specific games on this page; put them on the appropriate pages or on the [[Characters/MetalGear character page]]. This page is for tropes that appear several times throughout the series.''

[[folder:Tropes A to H]]
* ActionBasedMission: At least OncePerEpisode, though it varies per entry. Most boss fights meet this description, and each game typically includes a number of fast-paced action setpieces to contrast with the slower-paced stealth gameplay:
** There's often a high-tempo RailShooter sequence where Snake covers while a supporting character drives. Examples include: end of ''MGS'', end of ''[=MGS3=]'', end of Second Sun and middle of Third Sun in ''[=MGS4=]''.
** There's often an outmatched fight against an enormous vehicle. Examples include: Tank and Hind D in ''MGS'', Harrier Jet in ''[=MGS2=]'', all the vehicles and [=AIs=] in ''Peace Walker''.
** There'll probably be a [[CutsceneIncompetence forced alert sequence]] with difficult mooks, which often bring means of RespawningEnemies, unique {{Elite Mook}}s, or {{Super Powered Mook|s}}.[[note]]It's common for the standard mooks in sequences to have a similar health bar and/or {{mercy invincibility}} like the player, meaning they take a good few hits before death.[[/note]] Examples include: the stairway running from 10F to 20F of the tower building in MG2; the prison, first tower stairs, second tower elevator and underground elevator in ''MGS''; the post-core alert in ''[=MGS2=]''; the optional Ocelot squad battle in ''[=MGS3=]''; the FROG sequences in ''[=MGS4=]''; and the Skull sequences in ''MGSV''.
** There's always straight-up battles against the QuirkyMinibossSquad. The only exceptions are Decoy Octopus in ''MGS'' (already dead), Fortune in ''[=MGS2=]'' (can only be evaded), The End in ''[=MGS3=]'' (tactical sniper battle [[DevelopersForesight or entirely skippable]]), and the entirety of ''Peace Walker'' and ''MGSV'' (no squad, just a BigBad or two).
** Finally, there's always a battle against the newest giant mech for entry: Metal Gear Rex in ''MGS'', the Metal Gear Rays in ''[=MGS2=]'', The Shagohod in ''[=MGS3=]'', [[spoiler:the last Ray while piloting Rex]] in ''[=MGS4=]'', Peace Walker [[spoiler:then later Metal Gear ZEKE]] in ''Peace Walker'', and [[spoiler:Sahelanthropus]] in ''MGSV''.
* ActionDuo: Several:
** Solid Snake and Meryl Silverburgh in ''Metal Gear Solid''. Also, Snake and Otacon in the final car chase [[spoiler:if you let Meryl die.]]
** Snake and Raiden in ''Metal Gear Solid 2''.
** Naked Snake and EVA in ''Metal Gear Solid 3''.
** [[spoiler:Meryl and Johnny]] in ''Metal Gear Solid 4''.
** [[spoiler:Venom Snake and Quiet]] in ''Metal Gear Solid V''.
* ActionGirl: The Boss, Meryl, EVA, Olga Gurlukovich, Fortune, Sniper Wolf, the Beauty and the Beast Unit, the [=FROGS=], Quiet, and various random female soldiers in Diamond Dogs and the Skulls.
* AirVentPassageway: Handy to escape guards. At least half-invented this, at least in the world of video game publishing.
* AllUpToYou: In most of the games, the radio contact who usually supplies info in regards to how to defeat various bosses is, for various reasons, unable to help Snake out in defeating the final boss. The only notable exceptions to this rule are ''Metal Gear Solid 3'' where everyone in Snake's control team is cheering him on in beating The Boss, and ''Portable Ops'', where Roy Campbell supplies some hints on how to beat Gene.
* AllThereInTheManual:
** Many of the characters' backstories are only revealed in supplemental materials or in optional radio/Codec conversions within the games. The most notable is the true identity of The Boss and The Sorrow's son, who is only revealed if you trigger a radio call between Snake and EVA in ''Metal Gear Solid 3''. It's [[spoiler:Ocelot]].
** The ''Metal Gear Solid 4 Database'', in addition to compiling every piece of ''Metal Gear'' lore up to ''Metal Gear Solid 4'', features an extensive backstory for Raiden of what happened to him between ''Metal Gear Solid 2'' and ''Metal Gear Solid 4'' that is not even mentioned in the game itself.
* AlternateContinuity:
** ''Ghost Babel'' is an alternate sequel to the original ''Metal Gear''; the first ''Acid'' game follows a different story (though Snake is still a legendary soldier) and the second goes further. In the case of ''Ghost Babel'', it contains some hidden foreshadowing concerning the plot of ''Metal Gear Solid 2''.
** ''Snake's Revenge'' was also relegated to an alternate continuity after ''Metal Gear 2'' was made, although it was originally intended to be a true sequel.
** ''Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance'' included "Snake Tales", a series of five missions that featured Snake going through stages from ''Sons of Liberty'', but with different plot point (there's no mention of the Patriots, and Snake's backstory is subject to changes). "A Wrongdoing" features Snake trying to save the President from Fatman, which turns out to be a [[ThePlan plot by a third party]]. "Big Shell Evil" features Snake saving Emma Emmerich from [[TheMafiya Russian drug traffickers]], while another [[GambitPileUp third party is planning another plot]]. "Confidential Legacy" features Snake facing off against Sergei Gurlukovich and [[FaceHeelTurn Meryl]] aboard the Tanker, and serves as a direct sequel to the first game. "Dead Man's Whisper" features Iroquois Pliskin helping Commander Dolph apprehend Vamp, with another conspiracy transpiring in the background. "External Gazer", the fifth and final tale, involves an alternate-universe Solidus planning on wrecking the multiverse by having Solid Snake destroy a fifty foot tall guard with death ray eyes.
* AlternateHistory: In the ''Metal Gear'' verse, history appears to have diverged at some point during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, with the Cobra Unit being instrumental in the defeat of the Axis Powers. Cloning, AI and robotics technology of the [[TheSeventies 1970s]] are more advanced than even now in RealLife and the UsefulNotes/ColdWar ends later (though ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' appears to have retconned this).
* AlternateUniverse:
** Cloning was perfected extremely early, and apparently, so were exoskeletons, mecha, holographic interfaces, [=PDAs=] and [[spoiler:gigantic Big Brother ships.]] Oh, and [[spoiler:batshit AI.]]
** This also happens in the games set in the future from their release, thanks to real life catching up and surpassing them. As above, ''Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake'' has the Soviet Union lasting at least into the final week of 1999, when the real Union dissolved a year after the game's 1990 release. There's also a reveal near the end of ''Metal Gear Solid'' that the "Gulf War syndrome" experienced by numerous soldiers returning from the first war in the Persian Gulf (generally attributed in reality to exposure to things like depleted uranium in weapons and tank armor) being the result of injecting those soldiers with "soldier genes" as an early attempt at creating something similar to the Genome Army that act as the basic {{mook}}s in the game.
* AnachronicOrder: It's not as bad as say ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'', but the sequence of events is not entirely relayed chronologically. To break it down: the MSX games and the first to MGS games are in order. Then, ''Snake Eater'' [[{{Prequel}} travels back to the 1960s to tell the origin of Naked Snake/Big Boss]]. After that, ''Guns of the Patriots'' ties up all of the loose ends from the end of ''Sons of Liberty'' after which all subsequent games follow the events of ''Snake Eater''.
* AncientConspiracy: Subverted in ''Portable Ops'' and further in ''Metal Gear Solid 4''. The ''actual'' conspiracy, [[spoiler:the Patriots]], were formed fairly recently, in the 1970s, and only use the "ancient" conspiracy, [[spoiler:the Philosophers]] which was itself founded in the early 1900s as a disguise to hide behind. The only link between the two is that [[spoiler:the Patriots were founded with the money that the Philosophers left behind when they split]].
* AntiVillain: [[spoiler:Zero]]. Even though he is behind creating [[spoiler:the Patriots]], his ultimate goal was good and he is far more caring and humane than the typical KnightTemplar. However, this is extremely debatable given his "caring" solution led to a network of AI crashing the world into sterile, hopeless future dominated by proxy wars and iron-fisted information control. Overall, straight-up non-{{Anti Villain}}s are more the exception than the rule in this series.
** It's also worth noting that this was not his original plan. His original plan was using [[spoiler:vocal cord parasites that kill people who speak particular languages to eliminate all languages except English to force world unity. He later decided to use the technology gained from researching the parasites to target individuals rather than ethnic groups.]]
* AnyoneCanDie: A good number of main characters do. At the end of ''Metal Gear Solid 4'', more than 80% of all characters are confirmed dead.
* ArchaicWeaponForAnAdvancedAge: Particularly in ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'', most of the elite cyborgs favor swords and other melee weapons over guns (in ''Metal Gear Rising'', {{Mook}}s use guns, but the EliteMooks use giant hammers and most of the [[MechaMook UGs]] have some form of melee weapon or other). It's justified by explaining that bullets don't have the energy to get through cyborg armour, while [[VibroWeapon HF Blades]] and other advanced weapons do.
* ArcWords:
** You'll hear "It's not over yet!" in a lot of the games.
** Also: "Neither enemy or friend", "I've still got a job to do", and "The world needs only one Boss/Snake/Big Boss".
** Snake's usual response to people telling him smoking is dangerous; "So's war and I've done that all my life" tends to show up, making for [[spoiler:a heartwarming moment when Snake gives up at the end of ''Metal Gear Solid 4'', after he learns he doesn't have to fight anymore]].
** Both Snakes like to say "Kept you waiting, huh?" whenever they make their first appearance. The fact that [[spoiler:Venom Snake just silently refuses to do so, when Miller tries to prompt him into saying it, is a sign that he isn't who he appears to be]].
* ArrowCam: ''Nikita'' Remote Controlled Missiles - First Person Mode.
* ArtifactTitle: As is often the case with {{Mac Guffin Title}}s, as the number of entries in the franchise grew, the more the titular mecha had to be shoehorned into the plot. Starting with ''Metal Gear Solid 2'', the robots basically function as elite mooks in a story about something else entirely. By the time of ''The Phantom Pain'' -- the last Kojima-led entry -- the story is mainly about the villain Skull Face getting his hands on a deadly bioweapon ([[spoiler:the vocal cord parasites]]) that would make for a perfectly fine spy thriller plot on its own, but he ''also'' needs to have a Metal Gear too because it's in the title.
* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Most infamously in the original ''Metal Gear Solid'', where it is revealed that [[spoiler:Solid Snake]] and [[spoiler:Liquid Snake]] are both clones of [[spoiler:Big Boss]]. Yet somehow they have different genetic make-up. It is revealed in ''Metal Gear Solid 4'' that the two were genetically manipulated by the Patriots for different purposes. Solidus is the only 100% identical clone of Big Boss.
* ArtisticLicenseMilitary: The Gurlukovich Mercenaries, an army of 1000 former GRU Spetznaz, have set foot on US soil, ''all'' without the Pentagon noticing. Bringing with them are military hardware of ''Russian'' origin -- they gave Liquid's FOXHOUND an Mi-24 Hind in ''Solid'' and have hijacked a tanker (secretly) manned by the US Marine Corps, via the Kamov Ka-60 Kasatka, in ''Sons of Liberty''. In reality, having a large army from adversary nations (especially the likes from Russia) setting foot in the US is enough for Washington and the Pentagon to raise an alarm due to breach of national security, and resources will be devoted into neutralizing them before they can carry out an operation.
* AttackItsWeakPoint: Metal Gears tend to have a weak spot that can be exploited. This is usually the legs.
* AudioAdaptation: There was a two volume ''Metal Gear Solid Drama CD'' in Japan (titled ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Drama CD Metal Gear Solid]]'') that basically served as a continuation to the [=PS1=] game, while the [[ShowWithinAShow fictional radio drama]] ''[=IdeaSpy=] 2.5'' in ''Ghost Babel'' became an actual radio drama starring Hideo Kojima as the title character.
* AutoPilotTutorial: Some of the games show the player how to play by automatically scrolling through the items and sometimes controlling the player character.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The Metal Gear concept itself. Sure, it seems like the ultimate weapon, given that it can launch nukes essentially undetected from any terrain, but the idea seems to run on RuleOfCool. The games seem to acknowledge this, though. The [[VideoGame/MetalGear first]] [[VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake two]] games have the legs of the titular Metals Gears as a serious weak point (the TX-55 is brought down with multiple C4 charges at its feet. Metal Gear D is destroyed by hurling frag grenades at the knee joints), a flaw that is uncorrected until the development of [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid Metal Gear REX]]. Even the later [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty Metal Gear RAY]] can be disabled by firing Stinger missiles at its knee joints and Solidus is able to disable multiple RAY units with a submachine gun. The Shagohod, while technically not a Metal Gear, also has a similar (but not quite as fatal) flaw with its augers, as well as needing three miles of runway to launch its nuke. The ICBMG, a Metal Gear InNameOnly, needs to be launched into the upper atmosphere to deliver its payload from low orbit, defeating the entire Metal Gear purpose. Sahelanthropus is literally unable to function without a psychic to control it. Arsenal Gear takes this trope up to eleven, as without a massive fleet of ships, troops, air support, and RAY units, it's a nothing but a huge target.
* AxCrazy: Half the freaking cast.
* BackTracking:
** One of the more JustForFun/{{egregious}} examples occurs in ''Metal Gear Solid''. Upon encountering Sniper Wolf, Snake is told to go find a sniper rifle, which is in a room fairly close to where the player started the game. Snake even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] it. ''The Twin Snakes'' alleviates this by placing a non-lethal one much closer to where the player actually needs it.
** ''Metal Gear 2'' forces backtracking for nearly the whole game.
* BadassLongcoat: Ocelot. Liquid would count except he only has the coat on for maybe two scenes maximum. Big Boss sports one in concept art, briefly at the start of ''Portable Ops'' [[spoiler: and in the ending of ''Metal Gear Solid 4''.]]
* BadassNormal:
** Snake, at least when compared to the majority of his supernaturally-gifted or crazy-equipped foes. He does have enormous willpower and is MadeOfIron, but he can't carry an M61 Vulcan autocannon and doesn't [[spoiler:usually]] have kickass battle armor to help him.
** Big Boss. He's the greatest soldier to have ever lived, period. He's such an incredible example that considerable expense was made to clone him to create {{Super Soldier}}s.
** Johnny, of all people, qualifies. He's patently useless in the majority of appearances, but his actions at the end of ''Metal Gear Solid 4'' cement his status (considering he was just a normal completely unmodified human soldier).
** [[TheGunslinger Revolver Ocelot]] is a rare villain example. He's so skilled with the revolver that he can take out six assault rifle-armed men with a single shot each, taking out the last guy hiding behind cover by ricocheting a shot around the corner. Plus his incredible reflexes and ''spectacular'' MagnificentBastard streak. It stands out since every other member of his team in ''Metal Gear Solid 1'' has some kind of superpower, while his gimmick is just being ''really'' good at using his weapon.
* TheBadGuyWins: Most of the ''Metal Gear Solid'' games (barring ''Metal Gear Solid 4'') has the main characters actually unwittingly allowing the bad guys from behind the scenes to succeed in their overall evil plan, usually revealed in TheStinger. ''Metal Gear Solid 2'' and, to a certain extent, ''Peace Walker'' are notable exceptions to the whole Stinger route, where it is made pretty clear that the behind the scenes villains won even before we get to TheStinger. It helps that the bulk of the series is essentially one big EnemyCivilWar, with the Patriots as an elusive GreaterScopeVillain. The {{Big Bad}}s of all of the main series Solid Snake games ([[Videogame/MetalGear Big]] [[VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake Boss]], [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid Liquid Snake]], [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty Solidus Snake]] and [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots Ocelot]]) all turn out to be rebelling against the Patriots for personal gain, so stopping them invariably just helps the Patriots maintain their stranglehold on the world.
* BagOfSpilling: In most of the games, Snake loses all of his acquired equipment towards the end of the mission. In ''Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake'', it's destroyed by being set on fire, though he does acquired another pistol for the EscapeSequence. In ''Metal Gear Solid'' and ''Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty'', it's all taken away by the BigBad, although Solidus does give Raiden his sword back for their final battle. At the end of ''Metal Gear Solid 3'', Ocelot tosses Naked Snake's equipment pack into a lake. Later Big Boss games avert this by virtue of being set while he was building Outer Heaven, [[spoiler: though ''Ground Zeroes'' plays it straight with the destruction of Mother Base.]] Interestingly, the original ''Metal Gear'' has Snake keep all his gear, as does ''Metal Gear Solid 4'' in spite of its FisticuffsBoss FinalBoss battle against Ocelot, since Snake brings his .45 to Arlington Cemetery in the epilogue.
* BananaRepublic: Outer Heaven and Zanzibar Land in the original [=MSX2=] games. Oddly enough, the ''Metal Gear Solid'' games mostly avert this, with the exception of "Army's Heaven" in ''Portable Ops''. The sidestory installments also have Gindra in ''Metal Gear: Ghost Babel'' and the Moloni Republic in ''Metal Gear Acid''.
* BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame: Sniper Wolf and then Crying Wolf. The matching second names are not a coincidence, right down to a similar location for the boss fight, both in a snowfield and Communications Tower on Shadow Moses Island. Although it's not impossible to take down Sniper Wolf with Nikita or Stinger missiles at the final confrontation.
* {{BFG}}:
** Lots and lots of them, especially in ''Metal Gear Solid 4''. Remember the rail gun Snake takes from Crying Wolf?
** In ''Metal Gear Solid'', Vulcan Raven uses a M61-A1 Vulcan 20mm gatling gun that he ripped out of an F-16.
** Crying Wolf uses the same rail gun as Fortune.
** Big Boss can wield a plethora of them in ''Peace Walker'' including a hilariously powerful [[GatlingGood minigun]].
* BecauseImGoodAtIt:
** The mentality which leads to the formation of the Patriots, and various incarnations of Outer Heaven. Regardless of their allegiances, they're all military. Their lives revolve around war, and nobody in ''Metal Gear'' goes unscathed.
** The theme of indoctrination and war propaganda runs deep in ''Metal Gear''. The Genome Soldiers from Shadow Moses are genetically predisposed to war, creating in months what once took Big Boss several years and an army of war orphans to build. Raiden's old unit is snidely referred to by Snake as "grunts of the digital age," conditioned using the Force XXI virtual reality programs and lacking any real talent or experience. ''[=MGS2=]'' focused on memes instead of genes, so the S3 Plan was a method of trying to ensure that people who support the Patriots could be generated at will and, theoretically, at a mass level. The Paradise Lost Army is, or course, yet another example.
** Even in ''[=MGS3=]'', Big Boss' support staff had that tiny bit of psychosis in them: Para-Medic talks enthusiastically about genes and cloning, Sigint's kinda obsessed with his projects, like the mask that could blink and the bioelectric battery; Zero loves his Film/JamesBond movies, but seemed to have had a particular fascination not just with the gadgets, but also the warmongering Bond ''villains'', like Ernst Stavro Blofeld.
** One of those little moments occurs in ''Peace Walker'' when Big Boss talks to Paz about the great stone spheres of Costa Rica. He instantly thinks of [[MonumentalDamage shooting them in a fire fight]]. Because, to Paz's horror, he just doesn't get or understand the value of anything that can't be used for war.
* BiblicalMotifs: All over the place. Big Boss' efforts to establish Outer Heaven, an Eden-like paradise for soldiers, play a major role in the mythos; appropriately enough, his {{utopia}} is brought down by a secret agent called "Snake". And ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' has Snake working alongside two CIA agents code-named "ADAM" and "EVA", [[spoiler:[[EvenTheGuysWantHim and seducing both of them]]]]. And in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'', Ocelot even crushes an apple in one poignant scene.
* BigBad: One per game, until the plot goes into GreyAndGrayMorality. To elaborate:
** Big Boss in ''VideoGame/MetalGear1'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake''.
** Liquid Snake in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid''.
** Solidus Snake in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty''.
** Colonel Volgin in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater''.
** Gene in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPortableOps''.
** Liquid Ocelot in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots''.
** Hot Coldman in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker''.
** [[spoiler:Senator Steven Armstrong]] in ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance''.
** Skull Face in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVGroundZeroes'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'', though [[spoiler:the closest there is to a Big Bad in Chapter 2 of ''The Phantom Pain'' is Huey]].
** [[spoiler: The Lord of Dust]] in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSurvive''.
* BittersweetEnding: Every individual game, though the bitterness and sweetness varies with each one.
** ''Metal Gear Solid 3'' verges on DownerEnding territory.
** The only ''Solid'' game that doesn't really count is probably the original ''Metal Gear Solid''. [[spoiler:Even then, the non-canon ending where Meryl dies is very bittersweet and wasn't revealed as non-canon until ten years later in RealLife, when ''Metal Gear Solid 4'' was released]].
* TheBlank:
** Decoy Octopus and Laughing Octopus.
** By extension, [[spoiler:Old Snake, after he gets Laughing Octopus's mask]].
* BlockingStopsAllDamage:
** Any Cyborg Ninja worthy of the name in ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' can deflect more than they weigh. Grey Fox held back Rex from crushing Snake easily and Raiden could also block hits from a massive mech easily. ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'' gave Raiden a block function that is pivotal to success, but he can still take damage while blocking if his opponent is [[HopelessBossFight awesome]] or [[HumongousMecha big enough.]]
** Similarly, [[BadassNormal any MSF member]] in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'' can prevent any damage from being crushed by a HumongousMecha, especially the ''massive'' tank that is Cocoon, simply by catching their massive weight with their hands.
* BloodKnight:
** Big Boss. He wants to create a place in the world for people like him.
** Solid Snake as well, although he is downright repulsed by the thought of being one.
** Liquid and Solidus, who want to carry out Big Boss' fantasy.
** Gray Fox. Well, kind of. He doesn't necessarily enjoy battle, but he does feel like he needs it.
** Raiden. Not until he turns into his [[SociopathicHero Jack The Ripper]] persona, but when it happens, he becomes '''THE''' BloodKnight.
* BookEnds:
** If taken chronologically (and canonically, in light of ''Metal Gear Rising''), the series begins and ends with Big Boss smoking a cigar.
** The entire franchise begins and ends with a charcter being briefed on Solid Snake's mission to Outer Heaven.
* BoringButPractical: All games post-''[=MGS2=]'' have a tranquilizer gun than can attach a suppressor. It's usually one of the first weapons you get. It will likely see more use than all of your rocket launchers, shotguns, railguns, grenade launchers, and automatic weapons combined, especially in [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPortableOps games]] [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker where]] [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain recruiting enemy soldiers]] is a major gameplay element. Beyond recruiting, it doesn't alert enemies due to being silenced, shooting enemies with it doesn't cause their comrades to realize something is up (they'll just awaken the asleep victim; contrast the less fun experience of them finding a ''dead body''), and is pretty much necessary for rewards that necessitate a PacifistRun.
* BossBattle: The series is famous for, among other reasons, its excellent boss battles:
** ''VideoGame/MetalGear'': Shotmaker, Machinegun Kid, Hind D, Tank, Fire Trooper, TX-11 Cyberoid "Bloody Brad", Dirty Duck, TX-55 Metal Gear, [[spoiler:Venom Snake]].
** ''[[VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake Metal Gear 2]]'': Black Ninja/[[spoiler:Kyle Schneider]], Running Man, Hind D, Red Blaster, Four Horsemen, Jungle Evil, Night Fright, [[spoiler:Drago Pettrovich Madnar]], [[spoiler:Metal Gear D (controlled by Gray Fox)]], [[spoiler:Gray Fox]], [[spoiler:Big Boss]].
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'': Revolver Ocelot, Tank (controlled by Vulcan Raven), Cyborg Ninja/[[spoiler:Gray Fox]], Psycho Mantis, Sniper Wolf, Hind D (piloted by Liquid Snake), [[spoiler:Sniper Wolf]], [[spoiler:Vulcan Raven]], [[spoiler:Metal Gear REX (piloted by Liquid Snake)]], [[spoiler:Liquid Snake]].
** ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty Metal Gear Solid 2]]'': Olga Gurlukovich, Fortune, Fatman, Harrier (piloted by Solidus Snake), Vamp, Tengus, [[spoiler:Metal Gear RAY army]], [[spoiler:Solidus Snake]].
** ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater Metal Gear Solid 3]]'': Major Ocelot, The Pain, The Fear, The End, The Fury, [[spoiler:The Sorrow]], [[spoiler:Yevgeny Borisovitch Volgin]], [[spoiler:Shagohod (piloted by Volgin)]], [[spoiler:The Boss]].
** ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots Metal Gear Solid 4]]'': Laughing Octopus, Raging Raven, Crying Wolf, [[spoiler:Vamp]], [[spoiler:Metal Gear RAY (piloted by Ocelot)]], Screaming Mantis, [[spoiler:Ocelot]].
** ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker]]'': Pupa, Chrysalis, Cocoon, Peace Walker, [[spoiler:Peace Walker (quadruped form)]], [[spoiler:Metal Gear ZEKE (piloted by Paz)]].
** ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance Metal Gear Rising]]'': Metal Gear RAY Mod.0 (Desperado), Hammerhead, LQ-84i/[[spoiler:Bladewolf]], Mistral, GRAD, Monsoon, AI!Mistral, AI!Monsoon, Sundowner, Jetstream Sam, [[spoiler:Metal Gear EXCELSUS (piloted by Armstrong)]], [[spoiler:Armstrong]], [[spoiler:Armstrong (Ripper Mode)]]. The [=DLC=] add four more: LQ-84i, RAY and [[spoiler:Armstrong]] for Sam, Khamshin for Bladewolf.
** ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain Metal Gear Solid V]]'': The Man On Fire, Parasite Unit (Mist), Quiet, Parasite Unit (Armor), The Man On Fire, Eli/[[spoiler:young Liquid Snake]], Parasite Unit (Camo), Parasite Unit (Armor), [[spoiler:Metal Gear Sahelanthropus]].
** ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSurvive Metal Gear Survive]]'': [[spoiler: Wanderer Seth]], [[spoiler: The Lord of Dust]].
* BossRush: Very often a bonus mode, seen in ''[=Metal Gear Solid 2=]'' and individual boss battles of 3, and an extra treat in the ''Acid'' series and ''Portable Ops Plus''. The ''Subsistence'' version of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' adds this to [[EmbeddedPrecursor the original MSX games]] as well.
* BottledHeroicResolve
* BreakingTheFourthWall:
** In ''Metal Gear'', Big Boss orders Snake to turn off the [=MSX2=] or [=NES=] console.
** In ''Metal Gear Solid'', Psycho Mantis will scan your [=PlayStation=] or [=GameCube=] memory card for existing save files from other Konami games. He also does a harmless attack called "Hideo" which blacks out the screen and displays the aforementioned words to fool the player into checking their tv.
** In ''Metal Gear Solid'', revolver Ocelot warns Snake that if he detects a controller with rapid-fire capability, he'll automatically disqualify him [[spoiler:and kill Meryl]].
** ''Metal Gear Solid 2'' introduced FissionMailed.
** In ''Metal Gear Solid 3'', Naked Snake says he can't smell in a CODEC conversation with The Boss. She replies that he'll just have to use his instincts as a gamer (something Miller also told Solid Snake in ''Metal Gear 2''). Obviously, the player can't use their sense of smell to aid in their awareness of their surroundings.
** ''Portable Ops'' has Snake mention to Sigint that the equipment has been completely changed to be lighter and more compact, and he can now take the equipment outside--being the first canon game in the series on a handheld system.
* ButNotTooForeign:
** Pretty mild for most characters but up the ying-yang for the Snake "family." Although Western in origin, and in spite of the fact that both Otacon (who's surname is Jewish-German) and Mei Ling look much more Asian than any of the Snakes, the characters are told again and again how Asian they are. Says Vulcan Raven in ''Metal Gear Solid'': "The blood of the East runs in your veins" and he then goes on to describe (how he knows this we have no idea) that Snake's ancestors were from Japan and before that the Mongolian plains. As it turns out, Snake and his brother Liquid were cloned using a donor egg from a Japanese woman (so their mitochondrial DNA is East Asian).
** Otacon himself is a pretty good example as, while (as far can be told) he's entirely European in origin, he is an emphatic Japanophile. Likewise, Raiden, while not a Japanophile, seems like he walked straight out of one of Otacon's Japanese animes.
* ButtMonkey:
** Johnny, who gets knocked out a lot and keeps getting bad diarrhea problems, and is the least competent of Rat Patrol Team 01... up until he gets [[TookALevelInBadass some badass points]] and [[spoiler:steals Meryl from our lovable, crotchety old clone.]]
** Raiden has it pretty rough as well. In ''Metal Gear Solid 2'' he is nagged by his girlfriend, is urinated on, he gets [[spoiler:beaten up and used as bait for certain people]], it is revealed that his [[spoiler:parents were murdered by Solidus]], and that's just his first appearance. In ''Metal Gear Solid 3'' he was parodied by Volgin's gay lover Raikov, a usable face mask that Major Zero and Sokolov both apparently dislike, and ''Metal Gear Raiden: Snake Eraser'' where he travels back in time to kill Big Boss so that he could become the main character of the series. To say he failed miserably there would be a understatement. In between ''Metal Gear Solid 2'' and ''Metal Gear Solid 4'', he is told by Rose that [[spoiler:she suffered a miscarriage (don't worry she was lying)]] after which [[spoiler:he is tortured by the Patriots and used as a guinea pig for their experiments, his head is severed from his body at the jaw and transplanted to an entirely synthetic body, which is later upgraded to the exoskeleton we see him wearing in ''Metal Gear Solid 4'']].
* ButThouMust: While it's understandable given certain events need to occur, there's a few instances in the series where the game is just plain unfair with forcing you into situations, often triggering a non-standard alert and rending your stealth camo useless.
** ''MGS'' infamously has the first communications tower, wherein players ''[[ButThouMust must]]'' pass through a door with crisscrossing sensors, a camera trap through the other side, and a screwy camera angle to encourage you to fall for it the first time you reach it. Naturally, this means an endless hoard of mooks spawns and you have to sprint all the way up four dozen flights of stairs spamming stun grenades or blindly firing your FAMAS.
** ''[=MGS2=]'' has the core alert after finding Ames. You've got enemies on high alert actively patrolling the core in increased numbers, but now your guard disguise doesn't work and they're not going away until you're caught or you escape. Expect to get frustrated.
* TheCakeIsALie[=/=]MoleInCharge:
** In the original ''Metal Gear'', Big Boss deploys Snake to Outer Heaven with the expectation that he will be captured and put away for a while, just like Gray Fox. When this fails, Big Boss comes out of hiding to kill Snake for interfering.
** In ''Metal Gear Solid'', the Pentagon turns Snake into a carrier for FOXDIE, an intelligent pathogen which targets members of FOXHOUND, as well as Kenneth Baker, the only man on the island who can implicate the Secretary of Defense Jim Houseman in the [=ArmsTech=] graft scandal. When the plan goes belly up, Houseman tries to nuke the island with bunker busters to remove all of the evidence anyway.
** ''Metal Gear Solid 2'' shares more in common with ''Portal'' than just the trope: in the prologue, [[spoiler:Snake is framed for an eco-terrorist attack, spilling crude oil in the Hudson River.[[note]]The tanker contained no oil at all since the holds were emptied to make room for Metal Gear RAY. A duplicate tanker was sunk in the same location to pollute the river.[[/note]] This forms the pretext for the construction of an offshore "cleanup facility" which is actually a copy of Shadow Moses' nuclear disposal facility. Years later, Raiden, under the guidance of an AI masquerading as Colonel Campbell and his girlfriend, Rosemary, is sent to reenact the Shadow Moses Incident so the Patriots can gather data from it for their S3 Plan.]]
** In ''Metal Gear Solid 3'', Snake is betrayed twice: once when The Boss dupes FOX into handing Sokolov over to the Russians, and again when [[spoiler:Snake is coerced into executing her for treason. In reality, The Boss was working undercover for the American government to siphon billions of dollars from their rivals, and wound up taking the fall for the CIA after Colonel Volgin fired an American nuke at Sokolov's research facility.]]
* {{Camp}}: So, so much. This is a very tongue-in-cheek series.
* CanonDiscontinuity: ''Snake's Revenge'', a sequel to the NES version of the first ''Metal Gear'' which Konami produced for the international market without Kojima's involvement. It was technically the first ''Metal Gear'' sequel, as it actually inspired Kojima to make ''Metal Gear 2'' in the first place.
* CaptainObvious: There are a whole lot of these. Some examples:
-->'''Otacon:''' Snake, this a war zone, so you have to be on your toes.\\\
'''Snake:''' [[ParrotExposition A surveillance camera?!]]
* CentralTheme: One of the most notable things about the franchise is that [[http://metalgear.wikia.com/wiki/Themes_in_the_Metal_Gear_series every entry has its own theme]]; each unique, but also inherently tied to the others. While this allows each game to have a unique atmosphere, it also allows the story to have individual themes pertaining to each game, and explore them thoroughly.
** Metal Gear Solid: [[SuperiorSuccessor GENE]] (how a person's genetic history, biology, and more affect them not just in physical makeup, but also in their reputations, expectancy, their own legacy, and whether or not it's genes or the environment that make the person)
** Metal Gear Solid 2: [[MindControl ME]][[InformationWantsToBeFree ME]] (how society at large is changed by information and control, how humans can be easily controlled through things they want to hear, and how information and ideas spread through social interaction)
** Metal Gear Solid 3: [[HeelFaceTurn SC]][[NatureVersusNurture ENE]] (how a person's personality, physical makeup, likes and dislikes, and more can be changed by the environment they're put in, and how far people can go from where they started)
** Metal Gear Solid 4: [[ThePowerOfLegacy SEN]][[LoveMakesYouEvil SE]] (how a person views the world, how others interpret that persons view of the world, and what happens when that person dies and their views and wants continue to influence others)
** Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker: [[SheatheYourSword PE]][[AtomicHate ACE]] (the idea of perfect peace in the world, how far some will go to achieve it, if peace is possible at all, and, if it is, how long it can last before new conflict arises)
** Metal Gear Solid V: [[LanguageEqualsThought RA]][[RevengeBeforeReason CE]] (how a persons drive to get revenge on others can affect the world around them, the constant competition between others and how it affects the world at large, and how language affects a persons mental growth and development)
** Across the entire series:
*** Being a soldier is spiritually costly, [[WhyWereBummedCommunismFell especially in a post-Soviet world]].
*** There are big differences between reality and fiction.
*** WarIsHell. While some might thrive better than others, war should never be seen as something to strive for. War only brings pain and suffering, and no one leaves it unscathed. Pacifism is preferable, but it is a difficult path to take.
*** What does it mean to have control over information? Can you truly trust the words and beliefs of those around you, or is what they're telling you [[UnreliableNarrator unreliable and built on their own preconceptions and biases]], or influenced by someone with ill intentions?
*** [[HumansAreFlawed There are very few truly evil people in the world.]] People are complex with many shades of grey morality, even those who seem to be pure good or evil. No one ever truly knows the wants and desires of each person, and it is easy to misinterpret and misunderstand the intentions of others because of it.
*** [[{{UsefulNotes/Existentialism}} People are influenced by their situations and environment, but ultimately its the choices you make that really decide who you are.]]
%%* Change Vs Status Quo: One of the most recurring elements of the franchise is a constant struggle against people who use Metal Gear to threaten the world for their benefits:
** Solid Snake, the face of the franchise, spends all of his time stopping other guys from using Metal Gear, nuclear warhead carring robots, to threaten the world peace.
** Big Boss, despite also stopping the world from nuclear war like Solid Snake in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', later in life became the thing he was opposing, and made his own Metal Gear in order to make the world full of conflicts. At the end of ''Videogame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'', however, he understood a true meaning of The Boss's message - to leave the world be.
** The Boss, fully understanding that country alliances frequently change, decided to [[spoiler:sacrifice her life for her country in hope for peaceful world without conflicts.]]
** The Patriots see the human society as fools who harm themselves with their ideas and as those who need their control. At the beginning of ''Videogame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'', it became the status quo of the world, controlling every armed conflict.
** Revolver Ocelot, by the end of VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots, [[spoiler:managed to fool The Patriots and free the world from it's control.]]
* CharClone: Gray Fox in the remastered ''Metal Gear 2'', Ocelot in ''Snake Eater'' and Liquid in the original ''Solid''.
* CharacterOutlivesActor: Creator/KojiTotani, the Japanese voice actor of villain Revolver Ocelot, died during the production of ''Metal Gear Solid 4''. As a result, the role was recast to Creator/BanjoGinga (Liquid Snake's Japanese voice), with Liquid Snake's persona having (apparently) taken complete control of Ocelot's mind as a convenient excuse for the recast. This wasn't much of an issue in the English version, since Ocelot's English voice actor Pat Zimmerman was still alive and reprised the role anyway.
* ChekhovsGunman:
** The first we hear about Sunny is while she's still a developing embryo in Olga's womb early in ''Metal Gear Solid 2''. She becomes a recurring character in ''Metal Gear Solid 4'', and at the end, [[spoiler:plays a big part in defeating the Patriots]].
** Johnny Sasaki was just a guard who had his clothes stolen and caught a cold in the original ''Solid'', but still warranted a full name in the credits. Come ''Metal Gear Solid 4'', and he was one of the major players who TookALevelInBadass.
* ChildSoldiers: [[spoiler:Null/Gray Fox, Raiden, Drebin, Chico, and technically the Les Enfants Terribles clones]].
** ''The Phantom Pain'' gets...[[{{Understatement}} messy]] with this trope in that you have to fight them. They can kill you, despite being poor soldiers as they are, well, children. Fight back and it's mission failed. Snake discovers they are forced into the blood diamond trade and he fakes their deaths to cover up him recruiting them, when Kaz protests it turns out they will be given an education, basic jobs, a future they were denied. Then there's the ending: [[spoiler: Eli/Liquid Snake hijacks Metal Gear and takes it for a joyride, and Snake has to stop him and the children he took with him.]]
* ChevalierVsRogue:
** In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', Snake is the ninja (ironically enough) to the knight of the Cyborg Ninja (AKA his old FriendlyEnemy Grey Fox). The latter wears a suit of PoweredArmour, slaughters his way through scores of enemies and follows a strict code of honour (if you use your fists in the boss fight with him, he'll likewise discard his sword). Meanwhile Snake sneaks around everywhere and is forced to hide if he's caught.
** In ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'' Raiden actually ''is'' a ninja (a cyborg ninja, in fact). TheRival, Jetstream Sam, is essentially a cyborg samurai (he even fights with a [[VibroWeapon High Frequency Blade]] made from his father's antique katana). Bonus points for the fact that Raiden started the game talking about his admiration for Bushido (the samurai's code of honour) but had started to abandon it [[spoiler: and embrace traits of his [[SuperPoweredEvilSide Jack the Ripper]] persona]] by that point.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: The name comes from ''Webcomic/TheLastDaysOfFoxhound'', a webcomic based upon the game, which is used to describe Revolver Ocelot's habit of betraying anyone and everyone. [[spoiler:Including his own soldiers in ''4'']].
* CodeName: Every special forces group in the Metal Gear universe seems to have some sort of codename system. Most notably, the FOX unit (and later FOX HOUND) uses animal-themed names.
* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Meta-example. The packaging art for each ''MGS'' game (at least in Japan) have a main color each. This is further reflected in tie-in products such as the ''Acid'' series and ''Social Ops''.
** ''MGS'' = red[[note]]Starting from the ''Integral'' edition, since the original release only had a plain black logo.[[/note]]
** ''[=MGS2=]'' = blue
** ''[=MGS3=]'' = green
** ''[=MGS4=]''/''[=MGS5=]'' = black
** ''MPO[=/=]MGSPW'' = yellow
* CombatSadomasochist: Vamp and Raiden seem to enjoy hurting each other a little [[HoYay too much]].
* CommLinks: The codec.
* CompanionCube: The cardboard box. Both Solid and Naked Snake apparently have some sort of sexual fetish with it, and Naked Snake believes that not only is his being in the box his destiny, but it is also the true key to happiness. The former finds it relaxing to sit in the box - or, y'know, barrel. Solid Snake doesn't just find the box relaxing, to him, it's the most important thing he has on him. He even lectures Raiden about it, giving the famous "Take care of your cardboard box, and it'll take care of you" comment.
** "I'm not exaggerating when I say the success of your mission hinges on how you use that cardboard box."
* ConspicuouslySelectivePerception: AI can only see in front of them in the earlier games. Of course, [[RuleOfFun an enemy spotting you right away would piss off many]].
* ContemplateOurNavels: The series has to be a Lifetime achievement Award contender, especially the ''Metal Gear Solid'' games. Characters spend lots of time waxing poetic about the harshness of war, the dangers of genetic engineering, the military-industrial complex, their tragic childhoods, etc.
* ContinuingIsPainful: Variation: You can continue as much as you want without any harm except your rank at the end suffer. On the other hand, with the exception of a few bosses that your support team gives you more specific advice for (and on [[MindScrew two cases]], both tell you the secret that makes the fight possible) on future attempts, there is no reason to not just select "exit" to go the main menu and then load instead as long as you remember to save at the start of each area (where "continue" will return you to).
* CopyProtection: Both, the [[OlderThanTheyThink MSX2 version]] of ''Metal Gear 2'' and the original ''MGS'', had a certain character's contact number written on the back of the retail packaging. In the latter's case, this became problematic to players who bought the game secondhand without the original CD case or were merely renting it.
* CreepyCrows: Vulcan Raven in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', Raging Raven in ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots MGS4]]''. The similar codenames are ''not'' a coincidence.
* CrewOfOne: Metal Gears and the Shagohod are designed to be piloted and operated by one person. Some models, such as Peace Walker and the later [=RAYs=] don't even need a pilot.
* CutScene: Let's just say there are two types of people in the Metal Gear fandom: those who hate Metal Gear because of the cutscenes, and people who don't.
** It is frequently said by fans that Metal Gear's an interactive story, rather than a game, not that it's a bad thing.
* CutsceneIncompetence: Very frequent. It's pretty common for the player to be doing great, only for a certain cutscene to hit and have the protagonist screw up and/or cause a non-standard alert for RuleOfDrama.
** ''[=MGS3=]'' has the notorious bike sequence, wherein Snake and EVA ''both'' stop watching the road for several seconds (at the same time too) to examine the bike closely. Unsurprisingly, by checking the bike the exact way a pair of idiots would, they end up crashing which forces the player into the widely disliked EscortMission sequence.
** ''[=MGS4=]'' has a few parts wherein Old Snake has his symptoms flare up, causing much incompitence. The worst offender is probably the end of First Sun, wherein Liquid Ocelot gets away simply because Snake is suddenly unable to take the shot he's managed fine for the past hour of gameplay.
** Cleverly {{invoked|Trope}} in the cut epilogue of ''MGSV''. [[spoiler:A blast causes trauma to Snake's shrapnel wound, triggering a mild seizure and impacting his ability to differentiate between red and white. With Snake panicking and surrounded, the game helps the player rapidly gun down the hazmat mooks, only for the last one to shriek like a child; returning color reveals that the seizure made Eli's red hazmat suit look like the XOF white suits, effeectively tricking the player into triggering this trope.]]
* CyberCyclops: The Ninja in ''[=MGS1=]'' and Metal Gear Ray are both cyclopes.
** Only the mass production models of Metal Gear RAY are Cyclopes. The prototype has two optical sensors.
** Also, although Gray Fox's mask affects the appearance of a cyclops, if you look closely the eye holes are actually two slits immediately next to the giant red scanner. However, the aesthetic remains similar.
** However, and this is more noticeable in Twin Snakes but still present in the original, if you look at Gray Fox's face when he's unmasked you'll note that he only has one eye left, as the result of his near-death experience.
* DeathByTransceiver: The ever-popular "Snake?! ''SNAAAAAAKE!!''"
* DeathSeeker: ''Metal Gear Solid'' had Gray Fox, who was looking for one last battle with Solid Snake. ''[=MGS2=]'' introduced us to Fortune, whose father died in the tanker incident, followed by her husband's death and a miscarriage as a result of all the stress. She cannot be hit by bullets [[spoiler:due to a top secret electromagnetic weapon that she unknowingly carries]]. Vamp doesn't really start playing this role until ''[=MGS4=]'', and [[spoiler:injects himself with nanomachine suppressants in order to cancel out his healing factor and finish himself once and for all]]. Snake himself arguably counts in ''[=MGS4=]'', since his reasons for living are rapidly disappearing. [[spoiler:He decides to see the world with Otacon during his last few months, however]].
* {{Deconstruction}}: Lots of it. While the first two ''Metal Gear'' games played everything relatively straight, the ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' sub-series is intended as a deconstruction of action movies (and, to a lesser extent, video games), twisting tropes common to them around in extremely horrible ways to establish how damaged everything and everyone would have to be for an action movie scenario to work in the real world. By the second game it's way out into the shocking parts of the DeconstructorFleet territory, shamelessly tackling video games, the player/audience, sequels, the expectations of fans and even its own prequel and characters.
** The setup of the first ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' is simple; a terrorist attack on a government nuclear warhead disposal facility occurs and a legendary mercenary is brought back to stop it. However, all the characters are unbelievably screwed up, ''precisely by the character traits that they'd plausibly need in order to do what they do'', and the plot gets very complicated very quickly. Unfortunately, [[MisaimedFandom not all members of the fandom saw the deconstruction; they instead thought the game was the ultimate action film and wanted to be Solid Snake.]]
** The aforementioned MisaimedFandom [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor got precisely what it wanted]] with ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'', which deconstructed the way people related to the first game. So, [[IJustWantToBeBadass you want to be just like Solid Snake, huh?]] You get to play as a [[ThisLoserIsYou player proxy character]] that, like Snake, is an emotionally crippled badass with buckets of blood on his hands and [[BloodKnight a killer instinct]]. Unfortunately, your girlfriend [[NeverLiveItDown is deep-down scared of you and calls you in the middle of your mission to discuss your lack of emotional warmth]], the only way you could've acquired these oh-so-badass skills is TrainingFromHell that you have repressed the memory of, and indeed your desire to be just like Snake is going to be granted [[spoiler: via a mind-control experiment that the entire game's sequence of events is]].
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' applied the same approach (if much less viciously than in [=MGS2=]) to [[SpyFiction spy]] films such as ''Film/JamesBond'' and (to a lesser extent) action films like ''Franchise/{{Rambo}}''. Most of the usual tropes are there -- beautiful BondGirl [[spoiler:[[DoubleAgent who is actually a spy for the enemy]]]], the FakeDefector, the Soviet scientist defecting to the U.S. and so on. Most are unexpected plot twists, all are horribly tragic, and all combine to make the protagonist into the biggest villain in the series.[[note]]It should be noted that, except for ''Metal Gear Solid 2'', the series was somewhat affectionate in its dismantling of said tropes. At the end of the day, the heroes find a reason to justify their personal suffering and the battles they just fought[[/note]]
** Finally, ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' raises the question of what exactly happens to {{action hero}}es after the action movie ends. The choices that are presented are dying in a blaze of glory, suicide, or falling into obscurity. [=MGS4=] also explores the concept of the OldSoldier: Snake's willingness to fight in spite of his advanced physical age isn't solely depicted as being admirable but also as being foolish and suicidal, people who idolized Snake back in the day patronize him and treat him as a burden, and in general Snake's age is the subject of cruel jokes. In fact, Snake's lifebar is changed to ''Old Snake'' to emphasize this.
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'' explores the revenge story, with all the major characters wanting revenge against someone in some way or form. However, it also explores the lengths that some are willing to go for it, like the antagonist wanting to [[spoiler: wipe out ''language'' for revenge against Zero and those who subjugate others through language]]. The ending also critiques revenge by [[spoiler: showing the effects of trying to get revenge on behalf of someone else]] - in this case, [[spoiler: Venom Snake willing to do horrific things for Big Boss]]. [[DownerEnding It really doesn't end well for the former]]. It also subtly deconstructs tropes in modern military shooters, although not nearly as much as [[VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine other]] [[VideoGame/ModernWarfare games]].
* DepravedBisexual: Both Volgin from ''[=MGS3=]'' and Vamp from ''[=MGS2=]'' & ''4''.
* DerivativeDifferentiation: The games were initially just a tongue-in-cheek take-off of American spy and action films, but ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' was where the series started to establish its own identity (as the SequelDisplacement can attest to).
* DidNotGetTheGirl:
** In ''4'', [[spoiler:things don't work out for Snake and Meryl, what with Snake being an IneffectualLoner and Meryl falling in love with, then marrying the series' "perennial loser."]]
** Also happens to [[spoiler:Raiden and Rose]] in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'', although they end up together in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'', and [[spoiler:Big Boss and EVA]] in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' -- though technically subverted as she got pregnant with Big Boss' "child" clones.
*** Snake obviously does not end up with Holly White in ([=MG2=]), even ditching her at the end of the game to retire to Alaska.
* DieHardOnAnX:
** The games, and particularly the MGS series, follow the beats of a typical Hollywood blockbuster: a VIP is taken hostage (in [=MGS1=] and [=MGS2=], the victims are nabbed during an unveiling of their pet development project, and the government forces Snake to comply with the rescue -- both premises taken from ''Die Hard'' and ''Escape From New York''); a fat ransom is demanded; the terrorists fan out and get picked off one-by-one by a solitary intruder.
** [=MGS2=] follows the same playbook, though roughly half the game is spent [[ZigZaggingTrope tailing behind Snake and being deliberately kept in the dark about his movements]], much like the terrorists themselves. You're not playing as Bruce, or even Sam Jackson. (That's Stillman.) You're more like Justin Long. [[spoiler:Alternatively, Raiden starts the mission as a deep cover enemy agent, unknowingly helping the Patriots to further their goals. As the mission progresses, Raiden starts to realize why Snake and his allies hold Raiden at arm's length, and the game is primarily about him earning the right to be a driving force in the storyline.]]
* DoNotRunWithAGun: Until ''Guns of the Patriots'' and onwards.
** In ''Metal Gear Solid'', ''Sons of Liberty'', and ''Twin Snakes'', selecting either a Nikita[=/=]Stinger Launcher or a PSG-1 Sniper Rifle will cause your character to automatically switch to First-Person aiming mode with no option to move (this is much worse in the original where Snake automatically goes prone first before aiming).
** In ''Snake Eater'' and ''Portable Ops'' selecting a sniper rifle (SVD) will cause Snake and the player operatives will instantly switch to a First-Person view while holding their rifle, and their only option is to crouch, prone, or aim with their scope. While selecting an RPG-7 or Binoculars will instantly switch to aiming mode.
* DysfunctionJunction: The games go to lengths to point out just how incredibly screwed up almost every single character is, and the tragic consequences of such.
* EasterEgg: Tons of 'em.
* EdgeGravity: Unless of course you encounter a pit [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F4qzPbcFiA trap]].
* ElitesAreMoreGlamorous: Played with. In ''[=MGS1=]'', the 'high-tech next-generation special forces' are the useless Mooks of the game, and in ''[=MGS2=]'', the US Marines and Navy [=SEALs=] are [[RedShirtArmy Red Shirt Armies]]. Normal forces are more or less never shown, and the RedshirtArmy status of supposedly elite forces just go to show how [[TheWorfEffect dangerous the enemies are]] or how badass the heroes are.
** Played straight with FOXHOUND, Dead Cell, the Cobras and the B&B Corp. In each case, they are specifically described as some of the most dangerous people on planet Earth.
* EliteMooks: The Hi-Tech Soldiers, Arsenal Tengu in ''[=MGS2=]'', the Ocelot Unit in ''[=MGS3=]'', the Rocket-men and FROG units in ''[=MGS4=]'', the Skulls Unit in ''[=MGSV=]''.
** ''Peace Walker'' has Scouts, who can counter CQC with fibre wire, and armoured escorts, who take much more damage and carry heavier weaponry in later boss battles.
* EnemyChatter: Only during Alert, Evasion, and Caution phases. However, there is some chatter to be found in most games, if you look hard enough.
* EnemyDetectingRadar: Present in all of the main MGS games, in one form or another. The first two had the "Soliton Radar" which showed you the position and facing of enemies on a nearby radar minimap. Some people complained--justifiably--that the radar actually made things a little ''too'' easy. For ''[=MGS3=]'', the prequel, they had a number of lower-tech solutions that all ran off of battery power: a motion sensor that would not detect stationary enemies, a "sound ping" radar that could give away your position to someone nearby, and an "AP sensor" that made the controller vibrate when enemies were near. ''[=MGS4=]'' gave players the "Threat Ring" which showed the relative locations of enemies surrounding Snake, but only when he held still and knelt on the ground, and also a sound-detecting radar in the form of the Solid Eye--loud explosions, gunfire and other turmoil would make it not work as well, but it provided a nice balance between the previous incarnations. ''[=MGS5=]'' uses the "Marking" system, which tags people and important items (such as vehicles, fixed guns or supplies for your base) while looking at them using binoculars or aiming with a gun ; tagged items and people appear as pictograms on your map and on your screen (if you are close enough) until they are killed/destroyed or leave the map.
* EqualOpportunityEvil: The ranks of the various Quirky Miniboss Squads tend to be quite diverse. [[spoiler:And then there're the Patriots]].
* EscortMission: Raiden and Emma; Big Boss and EVA; Old Snake and Drebin's Stryker; Old Snake and the Van.
* EverythingFades: Averted - except for the first [=MGS=], dead bodies don't go and need to be hidden.
** However, enemies killed in alert mode or action sequences will disappear (flicker out more like it), and occasionally in normal status if one waits long enough.
** As a possible reference to this, Liquid Ocelot's elite FROG units immolate themselves once they're dead, and if Snake touches the bodies, they crumble to dust.
** Played straight in ''Revengeance'', since bodies cut down by Raiden exploded right after, of if cut down for to much time in Blade Mode or the HF Wooden Sword, simply faded (this happens due to the possible crash that lots of scattered enemies pieces would cause).
* EvilBrit: Two of the most influential villains in the entire series are British: [[spoiler:Zero, founder of the Patriots, and Liquid Snake, one of the only men in the world who can face Solid Snake in equal combat]]. Ironically enough, in the Japanese version they're voiced by the same actor, Banjo Ginga.
** Subverted with Strangelove, who is more like an anti-heroic albino, Emma (who was the daughter of a British woman), and possibly Otacon, as the in-game novel ''In The Darkness Of Shadow Moses: The Unofficial Truth'' implies that Otacon has some British ancestry.[[spoiler:Peace Walker ends with Strangelove and Huey coming to an 'understanding', and [=MGSV=] canonises her as Otacon's mother]].
* ExpositionBreak: Utterly infamous for these.
** The CODEC seems to [[NoFourthWall stop time]], so Snake and his VoiceWithAnInternetConnection can carry on [[TalkingIsAFreeAction long conversations]] during a firefight, or even while Snake is kneeling down [[ViolationOfCommonSense right in the line of sight of an enemy sniper]].
** Averted in ''Peace Walker'', where not only does time not stop during a Codec call, but it's also actively encouraged that you ''don't'' attempt to call when near enemies. ''[=MGS4=]'' also has some Codec calls in real time, where the person calling is just telling you where to go next or commenting on something nearby.
** Subverted in ''Revengeance''. The traditional codec screen returns, but is only used for optional conversations between Raiden and his support team. All story-related codec calls are done through an ExpositoryGameplayLimitation so as to hide a loading screen, and occasionally as DialogDuringGameplay.
* {{Expy}}: Snake shares many characteristics with Snake Plissken from ''Film/EscapeFromNewYork'', while Colonel Campbell is Colonel Trautman from ''Franchise/{{Rambo}}''. Given that Kojima is an avowed movie fan, this is no surprise.
** Raiden is an expy of Solid Snake, and probably Jack from ''Film/{{Titanic 1997}}''.
*** Raikov in turn is an expy of Raiden.
* ExactlyExtyYearsAgo: The Kojima-directed prequel games (''Snake Eater'', ''Peace Walker'' and ''Phantom Pain'') all take place ten years apart from each other (1964, 1974 and 1984).
* EyepatchOfPower: Subverted slightly in that Big Boss' eyepatch really is an eyepatch, while Old Snake's Solid Eye simply provides optical enhancements... as well as 'radar,' of sorts. Well, then there's also Solidus.
** Raiden Custom Body's eyepatch acts as a cybernetic eye, since Doktor couldn't get a replacement after he lost his eye to Sam (in fact, the eyepatch he uses has all the benefits of a fully operational artificial compound eye, and all the coolness of an eyepatch).
* FallenHero: Big Boss, along with [[spoiler:Major Zero, Para-Medic, and Sigint]].
* FanDisservice: See trope entry.
* AFatherToHisMen: Big Boss and Gene.
** The Boss in reference to the Cobra Unit.
* FemaleGaze: A good deal of ''Metal Gear'' is geared towards the Female Gaze, given [[MrFanservice how taut and firm Snake's ass is]], even when he's an [[SilverFox old man]].
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' allows you to have Raiden run around doing handless cartwheels naked.
** Or the option to take off Big Boss's top in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' with his Naked Camo and turn him into a WalkingShirtlessScene.
* FemmeFatale: Sniper Wolf, EVA, Naomi, Mistral.
* FightLikeACardPlayer: The ''Ac!d'' series.
* FinalSpeech: Every single character death includes one of these. No exceptions, bar the bosses in the first ''[[VideoGame/MetalGear1 Metal Gear]]'' game.
* FirstPersonSnapshooter: Each ''Metal Gear Solid'' features a digital camera that allows the player to take screenshots of the game and save them to the memory card.
* FisticuffsBoss: Frequent. There's Solid Snake vs Liquid (ending Metal Gear fistfight in ''[=MGS1=]''), Naked Snake vs The Boss (ending CQC fight in ''[=MGS3=]''), and Solid Snake vs [[spoiler:Liquid Ocelot]] (final boss in ''[=MGS4=]''). The only exception in the first four games is ''[=MGS2=]'', where the final boss fight with Solidus a sword fight.
* FlawedPrototype: The eponymous Metal Gears, nuclear-armed walking tanks that never actually get into the production stage. RAY and the GEKKO are exceptions, but as the games are quick to remind us, they aren't actually Metal Gears.
* ForcedFriendlyFire:
** In ''Videogame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'' an [[PressXToNotDie interactive cutscene]] occurs wherein Big Boss tries to escape the custody of a squad worth of heavily armed CIA mercs. At one point he pulls the HumanShield variation of the trope. Forcing the guy to fire an [[MoreDakka M4 rifle]] one handed, no less. Well, both of their hands are on the gun...
** In [[Videogame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots the fourth game]] a cybernetic variant occurs during Raiden's [[DavidVersusGoliath over the top battle]] with the Gekko mecha. One of the badass moves he pulls is to leap onto a Gekko's head and force it's [[MoreDakka M2 Browning HMG]] to cut down one of it's partner [=IFVs=]. Justified by his augmented robotic strength.
* ForgottenSuperweapon: REX was more or less abandoned at Shadow Moses. Justified since REX was developed illegally.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: In ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl''. Yes, Hideo Kojima snuck in hints about [=MGS4=] on the KillerApp of a competing company in an IntercontinuityCrossover. [[RefugeInAudacity It's really not out of place]].
** The games themselves are riddled with foreshadowing. Starting from the first ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' we have references to Snake not aging well and the mention of a few characters from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty''. [=MGS2=] gave us the revelation that the Metal Gear technology was originally Russian. MPO brought in hints of who the Patriots really were.
* FormFittingWardrobe: Everyone's sneaking suits.
* FourIsDeath: There are '''four''' games set in years ending in a '''4''', and every major character in the earliest of these games by series chronology is dead by the end of the latest--which is ''Metal Gear Solid '''4'''''. Furthermore, that game in particular kills off '''four''' such characters: [[spoiler:Big Boss, Ocelot, EVA, and Major Zero]]. [[note]]While his appearance was ultimately cut, an elderly Johnny was supposed to make a cameo in the ending of ''[=MGS4=]'' as a guest at the wedding of his grandson Johnny Sasaki to Meryl Silverburgh, which would make him the only named ''[=MGS3=]'' character to explicitly survive the end of ''[=MGS4=]'', with Raikov and Sokolov's status unknown.[[/note]]
* FutureBadass: Raiden in ''[=MGS4=]'', Null [[spoiler:to Gray Fox]]. Additionally, Portable Ops can count - the remaining survivors of the San Hieronymo incident later become part of Big Boss's mercenaries.
* FutureSpandex: The sneaking suits.
* GambitPileup: It seems no one in this series can commit to a plan unless it's as labyrinthine as possible.
* GenerationalSaga: The series (if you don't count ''Rising'') takes place over a fifty year period with two of the three [[spoiler:actually four]] playable characters being a father and son.
* GenerationXerox:
** All of Big Boss' children are skilled soldiers. Not surprising, since they're clones and were in fact raised specifically to be perfect soldiers.
** Even more egregious is Otacon and his father, both genius robotics engineers with similar personalities, who wind up unwittingly creating walking nuclear death tanks and then actively work to stop their work from being used. Huey's relationship with Big Boss mirrors Otacon's with Solid Snake's as well. [[spoiler:Until it's revealed that Huey was actually an asshole.]]
* GenreShift: The gameplay elements remain largely the same, but each time takes on subtle changes to story and visual style:
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'': Gritty modern military. Fairly straightforward, but ''The Twin Snakes'' is this plus some Creator/JohnWoo-esque stylish gunplay and action sequences.
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'': Postmodern MagicRealism with MindScrew sequences dabbling in global conspiracy theories.
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'': Set in TheSixties, this one is [[TuxedoAndMartini martini-flavoured]] SpyFiction with plenty of homages to Franchise/JamesBond.
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'': MilitaryScienceFiction and dystopian {{Cyberpunk}}.
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'': Gritty Cold War-era revenge story with very light ScienceFantasy elements. Also from a gameplay perspective, represents a shift from linear sequences to WideOpenSandbox gameplay.
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'': A ridiculous HackAndSlash game where badass cyborgs swordfight to SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic in a PostCyberpunk world. By far the greatest departure to form in the series.
* GoodSmokingEvilSmoking: Series protagonist Solid Snake smokes cigarettes. Original BigBad Big Boss, on the other hand, loves cigars.
* GoneHorriblyRight: The Patriots started the Les Enfantes Terrible project because they wanted perfect soldiers like Big Boss. They succeeded, and ended up with three guys who do not enjoy getting dicked around at all.
* GratuitousFrench: The name of the project that spawned the Snake clones; Les Enfants Terribles (The Terrible Children).
** There's also the first incarnation of Big Boss's Outer Heaven, Militares Sans Frontiers (a take off Medicines Sans Frontiers, which they had to throw a legal disclaimer saying the two weren't related.)
** Mistral's polearm L'Etranger. Justified in the fact that she is a big ShoutOut to Albert Camus' novel ''Literature/TheStranger'' ("L'étranger" in French).
* GrayingMorality: Most of the games feature a de facto villain while playing with moral ambiguity as a thematic device. That is until ''[=MGS4=]'' which is a full on GreyAndGrayMorality story which also retcons the series conflict into one as well.
* GreaterScopeVillain: A few of these across the series, but again, the whole thing is more of a GreyAndGrayMorality situation. Chronologically:
%%** [[spoiler:Hot Coldman]] for ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater''.
%%** [[spoiler:Zero]] for ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPortableOps''.
** [[spoiler:Cipher, led by Zero]] for ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'', ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVGroundZeroes'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'', [[spoiler:except not really for ''Ground Zeroes'' and ''The Phantom Pain'' as Skull Face was not operating under orders from Zero in ''Ground Zeroes'', and sometime before ''The Phantom Pain'', Zero realized his mistake in creating Cipher, and soon after, Skull Face attacked him with a parasite that slowly crippled his brain and turned him into a human vegetable while Skull Face took control of Cipher, except for the Patriot AI project, which was overseen by Donald Anderson/SIGINT, and would later become…]]
** [[spoiler:The Patriot AIs, the products of Cipher's AI project that eventually outgrew and subsumed Cipher, and carried out Zero's final will of a unified world through suppressing rebellions against them, information control and the implementation of a "war economy"]], is the Bigger Bad retroactively for [[spoiler:''[[VideoGame/MetalGear1 Metal Gear]]'', ''VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'']], and is the official Bigger Bad for [[spoiler:''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'']]. Ironically, the Big Bads in the Solid Snake games are battling [[spoiler:the Patriots]] themselves, though for different reasons.
* GroinAttack: In ''[=MGS2=]'' and ''[=MGS3=]'', shooting an enemy in the family jewels was a one hit kill. In ''[=MGS4=]'', you can knock out a male enemy by crushing their balls. Performing it on a FROG-Trooper, however, turns it into a grope and a very angry FROG trooper.
* HandCannon: Meryl's Desert Eagle in MGS, [[JustifiedTrope which she claims to have used since she was a child]]; in ''[=MGS4=]'' she has both that and a long-barrel version with an [[SniperPistol attached scope]]. There's also the Patriot in [=MGS3=], essentially a sawn-off version of an M16 prototype that only The Boss can effectively fire one-handed. And Gray Fox has a plasma cannon which replaces his right hand when he needs it.
* HarderThanHard: The European releases of [=MGS2=] and 3 add an unlockable "European Extreme" mode as a PALBonus. It's like the regular Extreme difficulty, with the added stipulation that triggering an Alarm phase [[NonstandardGameOver ends the game immediately.]]
* HeKnowsAboutTimedHits: Made into an art form.
* HealThyself: Resting in hidden areas in ''[=MGS3=]'' and ''[=MGS4=]'' restores health, not to mention the fast-regenerating camouflage given to you by one of the bosses in ''[=MGS3=]''. (In ''[=MGS4=]'' there are at least two iPod songs that specifically increase Old Snake's recovery rate.)
** In ''[=MGS2=]'', when bleeding, Raiden can stop the bleeding if he stays still because of the fast acting nanomachines.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Snake and Otacon. They're serious competitors with Mario and Luigi for the title of "Most Badass Bromance in Videogame History".
* HonorBeforeReason: Averted and commented on by everyone, especially Solid Snake, who mocks the idea.
* HopelessBossFight: In ''[=MGS4=]'', [[spoiler:Vamp ''would'' be unless you use the Syringe to end his nanomachine-enhanced regeneration]].
** In ''MGR:R'', Senator Armstrong just punches and kicks you like a ball in the first and second fights, [[spoiler:until you get Murasama HF Blade and kicks his butt]].
** Fortune in ''[=MGS2=]'' is truly a hopeless fight; all you can do is dodge her shots until events force her to leave.
* HospitalHottie: Dr. Naomi, Rosemary, Para-Medic and Elise.
* HumanWeapon: The franchise has this as the main theme. The plots usually revolve around the protagonist ''and'' their direct opposition being manipulated by politicians, conspiracies, and other forces, and being treated as expendable tools with no goal or aspirations of their own.
* HumongousMecha: The titular Metal Gears. They're a little different from the standard of the trope in that, while they're certainly a powerful force on the battlefield by themselves, what makes them truly dangerous is that they are all-terrain mobile nuclear launch platforms.
* HyperspaceArsenal: Unabashedly. You can carry about fifty weapons in ''[=MGS4=]'', but only five at a time that you can wield in your menu. You can also carry an oil drum.
** ''Portable Ops'' and ''Peace Walker'' downplay this trope heavily. ''Portable Ops'' allows you to carry four items only, regardless of type. ''Peace Walker'', on the other hand, will allow you to carry between one and three primary weapons, depending on which outfit you're wearing, and a couple of secondary weapons as well as a limited number of items.
** Averted in ''The Phantom Pain''. You can only carry one large primary weapon[[labelnote:*]]Sniper rifle, machine gun, rocket launcher, or ballistic shield[[/labelnote]], one hip-holstered primary weapon[[labelnote:*]]Assault rifle, shotgun, or grenade launcher[[/labelnote]], one small secondary weapon[[labelnote:*]]Pistol or SMG[[/labelnote]], a bionic fist (Snake only), a knife, and a range of throwable/placeable weapons and items.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tropes I to P]]
* ICannotSelfTerminate: Gray Fox has absolutely nothing to live for except one last battle with Solid Snake. Vamp's [[spoiler:nanomachine-enhanced HealingFactor]] prevents him from committing suicide. Fortune cannot be hit with bullets, and any grenades thrown in her vicinity end up being duds [[spoiler:due to the top secret electromagnetic weapon developed by the Patriots that she is unknowingly carrying]], but she lost everything after the tanker incident so this is actually a curse. All three are [[DeathSeeker looking for]] a WorthyOpponent to finish them off. The Boss was a special case, as [[spoiler:the Philosophers ordered her to die at Naked Snake's hands for the sake of a cover-up. She couldn't commit suicide, and she couldn't tell Snake what was going on. The fact that nuclear war would likely result if she stayed alive was also a factor]]. Even Snake fits this during ''[=MGS4=]'', as he cannot die until he completes his mission.
* IdenticalGrandson: Big Boss and the three Snake brothers are meant to resemble each other (notably in the fact that Solid Snake is a dead-ringer to Naked Snake, the young Big Boss, while Solidus Snake resembles the elder Big Boss).
** Johnny, the jailer from the original ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', has a grandfather who worked as a jailer for the GRU during the Cold War. Guess whose cell he had to watch over in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater''.
* IdiotHero: Despite [[ParrotExposition having the situation explained to them every 3.5 seconds]], both Snakes and Raiden are ''unbelievably dense''. Though considering how many plot twists get revealed in each cutscene and the MindScrew nature of ''[=MGS2=]'', it could just be an [[PaintingTheMedium effort to identify]] with the players who are probably just as confused.
** Johnny (Akiba) in ''[=MGS4=]'' also qualifies.
* IHaveManyNames: Many characters, especially those appearing in multiple different games, have several identities they are referred to as. These include:
** Solid Snake (David, Iroquois Pliskin, Old Snake)
** Big Boss (John, Jack[[note]]A diminutive for John, i.e. Jack Kennedy[[/note]], Naked Snake, Saladin, [[spoiler:Ishmael, The Man Who Sold The World]])
** Revolver Ocelot ([[spoiler:ADAM]], Adamska, Shalashaska, Liquid Ocelot)
** Raiden (Jack, UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper, Mr. Lightning Bolt)
** EVA (Tatyana, Matka Pluku, Big Mama)
** Gray Fox (Frank Jaeger, Frank Hunter, Null, Perfect Soldier, Your #1 Fan, Cyborg Ninja, [[spoiler:Deepthroat]])
** Major Zero ([[spoiler:David Oh]], "O", Major Tom, [[spoiler:Cipher]])
** [=McDonnell=] Benedict Miller (Master Miller, Kazuhira Miller, Kaz)
** [[spoiler:Punished "Venom" Snake (Ahab, Big Boss's phantom)]]
** The Boss (The Joy, Voyevoda)
* IJustWantToBeBadass: [[{{Deconstruction}} Deconstructed]] with Solid Snake, and even more savagely deconstructed with Raiden.
%%* InMediasRes
* InstantAwesomeJustAddMecha: The Metal Gears themselves.
** Seriously, though...[[spoiler:piloting REX]] in ''[=MGS4=]'' proves why Otacon's design was ''the'' most badass weapon ever developed in a semi-realistic setting.
* InstantSedation: Subverted and played straight. Shooting a guard (with no vest or helmet) in the chest, butt, or head does this; but it'll take anywhere from thirty seconds to five minutes, depending on the difficulty level, to knock out a guard in any other zone.
* InterfaceScrew: For realism (when sniping, if you don't take a relaxant medicine the character's hand shiver) or just messing with the player's mind (FissionMailed, the Psycho Mantis battle).
* IntercontinuityCrossover: ''Peace Walker'' features a bonus mode crossing over with ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'', and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' had "Snake v. Monkey", a crossover with ''VideoGame/ApeEscape''. There was also Snake's inclusion in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl''.
* IronicEcho: Solid Snake to Liquid Snake in ''Metal Gear Solid''.
-->'''Liquid Snake''': I'm going to swat down a couple of bothersome flies.
-->*Later in the game*
-->'''Solid Snake''': I've got to go and swat a noisy fly.
* KidnappedScientist: At least one per game.
* KillItWithFire: Pyro Bison, Fire Trooper, The Fury, Incendiary Grenades and Molotovs in ''[=MGS4=]'', and flamethrower units in ''Metal Gear Acid 2''.
* KnightInSourArmor: Solid Snake, Big Boss, and the Boss are all this.
-->'''Solid Snake''': I'm no hero. Never was, and never will be. I'm just an old killer, hired to do some wet-work.
* KudzuPlot: Starts off mild in the early games. ''[=MGS2=]'' will mess with the player a lot.
* LampshadeHanging: Taken to an art form.
* LargeHam: Liquid Snake and his wacky arm gestures, Revolver Ocelot, and DeathSeeker Fortune are guilty of this. And when [[spoiler:Liquid's arm possesses Ocelot]], the hamminess can barely be described.
** Ocelot even calls Fortune out on this [[spoiler:at the end of 2, before killing her "You were hamming it up as the tragic heroine, thanks to the script the Patriots wrote for you."]]
** Justified in MGS with Liquid as the graphics in the 90's didn't exactly allow for subtlety of movement. Not to mention it's supposed to be a deconstruction/homage of classic 60's spy and horror movies, a fact which Paramedic effectively spells out in 3.
* LaserSight: Useful for aiming, especially in ''[=MGS1=]'' (since you can't fire from first-person except for the [=PSG1=] or rocket launchers) or with the tranquilizer M9 in ''[=MGS2=]'' (since Snake/Raiden insist on not actually aiming down its sights like with the USP or SOCOM). In ''[=MGS4=]'', they're an optional attachment for several of the guns that don't already come with one, which increases the lock-on distance for weapons when using auto-aim on top of making it easier to aim them in third-person.
* LatexPerfection: Somewhat subverted; the mask's lips don't move, Snake's facial structure is roughly recognizable beneath the mask, and the [=FaceCamo=] used by Laughing Octopus and Snake is MUCH more advanced than current technology.
* LegacyCharacter: ''[=MGS3=]'' was the first game to establish the fact that Big Boss used the Snake codename before his clones were conceived, essentially turning Solid Snake into this (not so much for Liquid and Solidus though, who are [[OneSteveLimit never actually addressed as Snake]] by anyone). This is further emphasized in the subsequent prequels (''MPO'', ''PW'' and ''GZ'') where Big Boss continues using the Snake codename, despite having already been awarded the title of Boss by that point. ''TPP'' takes this idea further by [[spoiler:making the main character into a body double of Big Boss, making him the third playable Snake in the mainline series.]]
* LibertyOverProsperity: Freedom is pretty much the entire point for "followers" of Big Boss' supposed ideology.
* LimitedAnimation: The CODEC cutscenes in the first three of the ''MGS'' series:
** The first one represented conversations on the radio by showing a portrait of each character in the conversation, with MouthFlaps when they spoke. The most expressive they got were the occasional change in expression, such as Mei Ling sticking her tongue out at the player, or Otacon jamming his face up against the camera to warn Snake about stealthed assassins.
** ''[=MGS2=]'' upped it with facial models of the characters - however, the MouthFlaps are really off, and the characters frequently used CODEC when they were standing right in front of each other (the in-universe reasoning being that CODEC calls are inaudible to eavesdroppers, but it's obviously just a time/memory-saving measure that allowed the developers to provide exposition between characters without having to render the environment surrounding them or animate a proper cutscene for the infodump).
** ''[=MGS3=]'' dealt with the first problem by representing the character Snake is calling with still pictures, as it took place in the 1960s, when two-way video-phone devices would be nonexistent (not that this stops the game from occasionally replacing the still pictures with video footage to demonstrate something the character is discussing). Snake is rendered similarly to in ''[=MGS2=]'', though well out of focus in the background in return for having his full body rendered.
** ''[=MGS4=]'' avoided it entirely by showing full videos of the character Snake was speaking to, although Snake only has two main contacts in that game (Otacon and Rosemary) and two out of the other three (Raiden and Drebin) instead get minor animated logos.
** ''Revengance'' plays with it, for some reason. The required calls are done in a ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' or ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' style, with Raiden putting two fingers up to his ear and walking really slowly, although there's a floating full model portrait, and the optional ones have the same thing, but done in the classic style. However, the mouth flaps are still extremely, extremely off, even though it seems out of place in a modern game.
* LiveActionCutscene: The "Solid" games often used live-action StockFootage in their (in)famously long cutscenes about real-world issues.
* LoadBearingBoss: Golab in AC!D2, Fatman in ''[=MGS2=]''.
* LongLastingLastWords: A RunningGag example, where a good part of the bosses (if not ''all'' of them), give a long FinalSpeech where they tell all about their lifes, stories and such before dying, even when they were hit in ''vital points''.
* LongLived: Each of the numbered games since ''[=MGS2=]'' has had at least one character whose age is in triple digits: the cut Old Boy in ''[=MGS2=]'', The End in ''[=MGS3=]'', [[spoiler:Major Zero]] in ''[=MGS4=]'', and Code Talker in ''MGSV''.
* LostInTranslation: "La Li Lu Le Lo" are "missing" vowel sounds in Japanese; the point of the name is that it's not technically possible to write or say it in Hiragana (because there's no distinction between "L" and "R" and the string is usually "Ra Ri Ru Re Ro"), so the Patriots censor their name to something that can't be written down or spoken. This is never really gone into in the dub (since English doesn't do that), so it just seems to be meaningless babble.
* LukeIAmYourFather: [[spoiler:Snake, Liquid, and Big Boss]]; [[spoiler:Raiden and Solidus]].
* McNinja: The various incarnations of the Cyborg Ninja, none of them Japanese. ''Revengeance'' even opens with Raiden quoting from the code of Samurai, whom he obviously esteems.
** In ''Sons of Liberty'', the Russian soldiers eventually trade in their camo for futuristic "Tengu" uniforms, complete with Naruto sandals and blades.
* MadeOfIron: All the Snakes qualify to some extent, but Liquid takes the cake. He survives a helicopter crash, a large explosion, a high fall and several gunshot wounds before finally succumbing to the [=FOXDIE=]. Even then, he is able to possess Ocelot through his arm [[spoiler:except he isn't possessing Ocelot, it's a trick]].
** Raiden, too, especially once he's a cyborg ninja. In fact, pretty much anyone in combat in this franchise.
* MagicBullets: Quite literally with some bosses.
* MagicFromTechnology: Even though some abilities of characters seem downright magical, mostly they are given a scientific explanation. For example, Vamp's regeneration and Screaming Mantis' mind control both take advantage of nanotechnology. There are a few notable aversions in the series as well - the source of Psycho Mantis' or The Sorrows powers are never explored and they appear to be genuinely paranormal.
** However, the series is infamous for its love of complexity. Don't expect any single explanation to cover a character. In the case of Vamp, while he used nanomachine regeneration, his other abilities are never given solid explanation, and at least one character turned out to have genuine powers separate from the technology that was assumed to provide them. Basically, don't assume that [[DoingInTheWizard the wizard]] has been done in until you see the body. And even then...
* TheManBehindTheMan: Like you wouldn't believe, though the Patriots [[spoiler:could be more accurately described as the ''computer'' behind the man]].
* MandatoryTwistEnding: Saved from being predictable simply for the batshit levels of crazy. At least OncePerEpisode:
** Events have been playing out totally differently to player expectation. Typically the PlayerCharacter has actually been a pawn in the grand scheme of events, and they've actually been dancing to the villain's secret GambitRoulette.
** Several people aren't who they seem, and thus have ulterior motives:
*** ''MGS'': Colonel Campbell is really Meryl's father, the DARPA Chief was Decoy Octopus, Solid and Liquid Snake are clones of Big Boss, the Cyborg Ninja is [[spoiler:Gray Fox (and Naomi's adoptive brother)]], Naomi [[spoiler:wanted Snake dead for trying to kill Big Boss and Gray Fox]], [[spoiler:Master Miller has been Liquid Snake in disguise]].
*** ''[=MGS2=]'': Plissken is the real Solid Snake, Solidus Snake is the third Big Boss clone and [[spoiler:Raiden's adoptive father]], the Colonel [[spoiler:is a Patriot AI]], the Cyborg Ninja is [[spoiler:Olga Gurlukovich]] acting to save a loved one.
*** ''[=MGS3=]'': The Boss [[spoiler:is only pretending to be a turncoat to prevent [=WW3=]]], and in the ending [[spoiler:EVA turns out to really be a Chinese spy]].
*** ''[=MGS4=]'': Rat Patrol 01 is [[spoiler:another set of unaware Patriot puppets]], Drebin [[spoiler:is still loyal to the Patriots]], Cypher [[spoiler:is Major Zero]], Big Boss was [[spoiler:never really dead and has woken up]], Naomi [[spoiler:is terminally ill and trying to fix things]], The Patriots are revealed to be [[spoiler:Major Zero's team in [=MGS3=] plus EVA and Ocelot]], the true villains are revealed as [[spoiler:Patriot AIs gone haywire and plunging the world into a war economy]], the list goes on.
*** ''Peace Walker'': Galvez is [[spoiler:a Russian agent called Zadornov]], The Boss is [[spoiler:only an AI]], the ending reveals The Boss [[spoiler:truly did believe in fighting for peace (to Snake's dismay)]], the epilogue reveals [[spoiler:Paz is Pacifica Ocean (an agent of Cipher)]].
*** ''MGSV'': By the ending we have [[spoiler:Venom Snake revealed as a doppelgänger for Big Boss]], Skull Face is [[spoiler:Big Boss' shadow (having acted as his uncredited support)]], and the additional tapes reveal [[spoiler:Zero tried to make amends with Big Boss only to be made vegetative by Skull Face]].
** If he appears, then Ocelot has a reveal regarding his affiliations as per his ChronicBackstabbingDisorder.
*** ''MGS'': A phonecall reveals he was really working for [[spoiler:the US President]].
*** ''[=MGS2=]'': In the Tanker, he betrays Gurlukovich and Russia to steal a Metal Gear for himself. In the Plant, [[spoiler:Ocelot turns on Solidus and fleeing in a Metal Gear after revealing he was a Patriot spy]].
*** ''[=MGS3=]'': A phonecall reveals he was [[spoiler:ADAM (Snake's original contact)]] and that he was working for [[spoiler:for the KGB all along, only to later betray them for the CIA]].
*** ''[=MGS4=]'': The epilogue reveals [[spoiler:he was loyal to Big Boss all along and one of the original Patriots]].
*** ''[=MGSV=]'': The final cutscene reveals [[spoiler:he was Big Boss' only confidant, and deliberately sabotaged his own memories to keep him loyal to Venom]].
** There's one or more [[TheStinger ending stinger(s)]], which puts a huge spin on the game itself or the series as a whole.
*** ''MGS'': Ocelot escaped with the Metal Gear data, and is passing it on to [[spoiler:the US President]].
*** ''[=MGS2=]'': The Patriots have seemingly been [[spoiler:dead for decades]].
*** ''[=MGS3=]'': Ocelot [[spoiler:has the real Philosophers' Legacy]].
*** ''[=MGS4=]'': [[spoiler:Big Boss is alive and stops Snake killing himself]].
*** ''[=Peace Walker=]'': Two: One where Big Boss rejects The Boss' ideals, and another where he officially announces Outer Heaven.
*** ''[=Ground Zeroes=]'': Skull Face reveals that his goal is to [[spoiler: kill both Big Boss and Zero]] and Paz is implied to [[spoiler: reveal Zero's location to him]].
*** ''[=The Phantom Pain=]'': [[spoiler: Ocelot reveals Big Boss' body double ruse to Miller, and the two pick sides knowing [[ArcWords there will eventually only be one Big Boss.]]]]
* ManlyTears:
** In ''Snake Eater'', [[spoiler:after Naked Snake is promoted to the rank of Big Boss, having killed his mentor, The Boss, he visits her grave, and salutes her one last time as a single tear roll down his cheek]].
** [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots Fifty years later]], [[spoiler:Big Boss visits her grave one final time, and attempts to salute her before collapsing from exhaustion...as as he enjoys one final smoke with his son, one more tear rolls down his cheek, and he dies with a faint smile on his face]].
* MenuTimeLockout: Generally played straight. Subverted in only one instance so far: in ''[=MGS3=]'', [[spoiler:pausing for 10 minutes during the final battle with The Boss will result in the [=MiGs=] destroying the battlefield as she said they would if she wasn't defeated in that time]].
* MethuselahSyndrome: Four different characters are stated to have lived for over a century (The End, 1861?-1964; Code Talker, 1880?-???? [known to be alive in 1984]; Old Boy, 190?-2008 and [[spoiler:Major Zero, 1909-2014]]).
** Snake and Solidus (and Liquid, but he doesn't live long enough to decay) are an inversion, similar to the Replicants from ''Film/BladeRunner''. They're not engineered to last.
* MissionControl: In every game, there's not just one VoiceWithAnInternetConnection; there is a whole ''team'' dedicated to providing backup for the player. You can call them at any time to have conversations that alternate between useful and amusing (and {{Anvilicious}}). [[AnnoyingVideoGameHelper Unfortunately]], they can call ''you'' as well....
* MindScrew: The last few hours of ''[[Recap/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty MGS2]]''.
** Also anything involving Psycho Mantis and Screaming Mantis, who sometimes attacks [[NoFourthWall the ''player'']]. Screaming Mantis can even [[spoiler:fake the game resetting to the title screen]].
* MindScrewdriver: Presumably, the two games immediately after the glorious insanity of ''[=MGS2=]''[='=]s ending were intended to be this.
* [[MobileShrubbery Mobile Cardboard Box]]
* MrExposition: Happens at the start of every game with the Colonel, Otacon, Major Zero, et cetera.
* MultiNationalTeam: The QuirkyMinibossSquad from each game tends to be this. The Cobra Unit was a group of American, Russian and possibly other nationalities who fought against the Nazis in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. Big Boss tends to recruit people regardless of nation or ideology, hence the diversity of his armies. FOXHOUND and Dead Cell, while (originally) ostensibly American special forces units, carry on this tradition with Brits, Kurds, Russians, Americans, Chinese and others. To boot :
** ''Metal Gear'': Shotmaker (Russian), Machinegun Kid (British), Fire Trooper (German), Dirty Duck (Australian), Big Boss (American)
** ''Metal Gear 2'': Black Ninja (South African), Running Man (French), Red Blaster (Russian), Four Horsemen (British/German/American), Jungle Evil (South African), Night Fright (Vietnamese), Gray Fox (German/Vietnamese-born American), Big Boss (American)
** ''[=MGS=]'': Decoy Octopus (Mexican), Revolver Ocelot ([[spoiler:American]]/Russian), Vulcan Raven (Native American/Inuit), Sniper Wolf (Iraqi Kurd), Psycho Mantis (Czech), Liquid Snake (British)
** ''[=MGS2=]'': Olga (Russian), Fortune (American), Vamp (Romanian), Fatman (American), Old Boy (German), Chinaman (Vietnamese-born American), Solidus (American)
** ''[=MGS3=]'': Major Ocelot (Russian), The Pain, The Fear, The End, The Fury, The Sorrow (Russian), Volgin (Russian), The Boss/The Joy (American)
** ''[=MGS4=]'': Laughing Octopus (Scandinavia), Raging Raven (Southern Asia), Crying Wolf (Central Africa), Screaming Mantis (Southern America), Vamp (Romanian), Ocelot (Russian)
** ''Peace Walker'': Amanda and Chico (Nicaraguan), Paz (Costa Rican [[spoiler:and perhaps Russian]]), Strangelove (British) and Miller (Japanese with an American father)
** ''Metal Gear Rising'': Khamsin (American), Mistral (Algerian-born French), Monsoon (Cambodian), Sundowner (American), Jetstream Sam (Brazilian Japanese), Armstrong (American)
** ''MGSV'': Big Boss (American-born mix of British Japanese), Miller (Japanese-American), Ocelot (Russian), Quiet ([[AmbiguouslyBrown Unknown Caucasian]]), [[spoiler:Eli AKA Liquid Snake]] (British Japanese), Code Talker (Navajo)
* MysteriousInformant: Used in ''Metal Gear 2'', ''Metal Gear Solid'', and ''[=MGS2=]''. The reason it was repeated in the original MGS was because ''Metal Gear 2'' was only released in Japan, and ''[=MGS1=]'' followed more or less the same plot in a different setting. The second time this happened was [[MindScrew for another reason]].
* MythologyGag: The series has a few recurring jokes and themes, most notably the cardboard box (which appears in every main game in the series).
* {{Nanomachines}}: Everything supernatural that happens? It's caused by these buggers in one way or another (with the possible exceptions of The Sorrow, Psycho Mantis, and Vulcan Raven). It's even {{Lampshaded}} by [[VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance Armstrong]] [[spoiler:during his battle]] with the [[MemeticMutation now memetic]] sentence: "Nanomachines, son!"
* NavelDeepNeckline:
** Sniper Wolf in ''Metal Gear Solid''.
** EVA, even as [[spoiler:a much older woman in ''Metal Gear Solid 4'']].
** The Boss during the final battle of ''Metal Gear Solid 3'' when she opens her sneaking suit to reveal [[spoiler:her snake-shaped C-section scar.]]
** Naomi Hunter in ''Metal Gear Solid 4'', where she leaves her labcoat unbuttoned and is obviously wearing no bra. Her lack of a bra is even a point that gets brought up in gameplay in one level; after being "rescued" by PMC soldiers and Haven Troopers, you're forced to track Naomi. The Haven Troopers use a variety of tricks to try and catch you including a voice recording and a ''pink bra'' left on the trail. According to the ''Integral Podcast'', the designers wanted to have leave various pieces of female clothing throughout the trails, and a naked, unconscious female soldier near the end of the level. It also comes up as an EasterEgg. As part of the RuleOfFunny[=/=]RuleOfDrama schtick where certain cutscenes will affect Old Snake's psyche bar, Naomi runs some tests on Snake and estimates his [[CloneDegeneration accelerated ageing]] gives him less than a year, causing his psyche to plummet. When she stoops to his level to comfort him, however, players can enter first-person without warning and look down said obscene cleavage and restore psyche to full.
* NewGamePlus: You start out with goodies in games before ''[=MGS4=]''. ''[=MGS4=]'', you get all your weapons and earned gear, plus goodies.
* NinjaButterfly: Your support crew in each game.
* NintendoHard: "Extreme" and "European Extreme" mode. The difficulty varies depending on the title, with ''Snake Eater'' on the low end, and ''Sons of Liberty'' on the "Holy-Shit-Twenty-Metal-Gears-Are-You-Serious" end.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: The cover artwork of the original ''Metal Gear'' is blatantly traced from a well-known publicity still of Creator/MichaelBiehn in ''Film/TheTerminator'', while the character designs in the [=MSX2=] version of ''Metal Gear 2'' are clearly modified photographs of actual celebrities such as Creator/SeanConnery, Creator/MelGibson, Creator/TomBerenger, Creator/RichardCrenna, and UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein. In subsequent ports of ''Metal Gear 2'', the character designs were revamped to resemble Shinkawa's designs from the later ''MGS'' games. Which still draw a lot from actors: Solid Snake started as Creator/ChristopherWalken in ''Film/TheDeerHunter'', evolved into Creator/KurtRussell (after all, he was [[Film/EscapeFromNewYork Snake Plissken]] - Big Boss resembles Russell even more) and then became an eyepatched Creator/LeeVanCleef, who had already inspired Revolver Ocelot, and later Skull Face.
* NoFourthWall: One of the trademarks of the series. Characters explicitly describe the game's controls with a straight face; the CopyProtection involves a character asking you to look at the back of the game package; one of your [[VoiceWithAnInternetConnection Voices With An Internet Connection]] provides constant real-world advice on how to play your video game properly and healthily; a JackBauerInterrogationTechnique scene involves the resident MagnificentBastard warning you not to try to use autofire to beat the MiniGame; and ''everything'' involving Psycho Mantis, who used your save game content to "read your mind," the rumble feature on your controller to move it with "telekinesis," had a special move that caused your screen to turn black, and could only be defeated by unplugging your controller and plugging it into the second port (or by already having a second controller in the second port, and picking it up). And that's only what the first game does; the second, which explicitly aims to break the fourth wall, was [[MindScrew worse]].
** It got to the point of LampshadeHanging: during Act 4 of ''[=MGS4=]'', Otacon calls Snake and tells him to put in disc 2. Then he remembers that, because the game is on a dual-layer Blu-ray disc, there ''is'' no disc 2. (Snake tells Otacon to stop fooling around, while players freak out due to the exact location of this conversation.) Then, [[spoiler:when Psycho Mantis shows up ''again'', he tries to pull the same tricks. However, he can't read your memory since the [=PS3=] doesn't ''have'' a memory card, and he can only make the controller vibrate if the player is using the Dualshock 3. And again in the previous boss fight, where the Colonel recommends using the same tricks against a different psychic boss, only to have them all shot down.]] Oh, and in ''Metal Gear AC!D2'', when General Wiseman explains bits of the COST and CARD system to Snake, "Agent" Dalton hears all of this and confusedly says, "That just went right over my head."
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Volgin to Naked Snake in ''Snake Eater,'' and even worse, Ocelot to Solid Snake in ''Guns of the Patriots.''
* NonLinearSequel: Why this series has one of the messiest chronologies known to man[[note]]Chronology: ''[=MGS3=]'' (1964), ''Portable Ops'' (1970), ''Peace Walker'' (1974), ''Ground Zeroes'' (1975), ''The Phantom Pain'' (1984), ''Metal Gear'' (1995), ''Metal Gear 2'' (1999), ''[=MGS=]'' (2005), ''[=MGS2=]'' (2007-2009), ''[=MGS4=]'' (2014), ''Revengeance'' (2018)[[/note]]. ''Metal Gear Solid Mobile'' is a good example. It seems to clearly fit in to the main timeline between ''[=MGS=]'' and ''[=MGS2=]'', but the game's ending apparently makes it CanonDiscontinuity.)
** Also, you might wonder why a lot of characters like to talk to you through the Codec screen rather than to your face or with Codec real-time. This is because time stands still during the process, [[NoFourthWall because it's a video game]], and ''[=MGS2=]'' went and injected {{Postmodernism}} through where the fourth wall was supposed to be, [[MindScrew which is why you're so confused right now]].
* NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup: Averted. Almost every Metal Gear built is based on the plans of the previous Metal Gear. Then the plans to make one got on the black market and everyone had a Metal Gear.
* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent
** Soldiers in ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater Metal Gear Solid 3]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots 4]]'' speak in a neutral American accent, despite being from Soviet Russia and all over the world respectively. However, [[EnforcedTrope this was done deliberately]] [[AuthorsSavingThrow after receiving criticism]] for using JustAStupidAccent for the Russian soldiers in ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty Metal Gear Solid 2]]''.
** ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker Peace Walker]]'' justifies this trope by claiming that the soldiers are CIA operatives stationed in UsefulNotes/CostaRica.
** ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain V]]'' averts it altogether; in ''Ground Zeroes'' you're up against [[SemperFi US Marines]], and in ''Phantom Pain'' [[BilingualBonus soldiers speak in their native tongues]], which becomes subtitled if you recruit a translator.
* NoticeThis
** Soldiers and scientists have a lot in common in the ''Metal Gear'' series; Snake, Liquid, Solidus, Raiden, the Boss and Big Boss are used as {{Unwitting Pawn}}s. Otacon, Dr. Madnar, Huey and Sokolov wind up being manipulated into creating horrific superweapons. It adds a bit of FridgeBrilliance to Solid Snake and Otacon's OddFriendship. They've both been used as tools for long enough and have decided to fight back, much the same way that Big Boss, Liquid and Solidus have.
* {{Novelization}}
* NuclearWeaponsTaboo: The whole franchise stands in defiance of this trope.
* OldSaveBonus: See Psycho Mantis, above.
* OminousSavePrompt: Two of them. In ''[=MGS2=]'', [[spoiler:immediately after being captured and brought onboard Arsenal Gear,]] and in ''[=MGS3=]'', [[spoiler:after taking a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown from the BigBad]].
** ''[=MGS3=]'' actually kind of inverts it. [[spoiler:When fighting The End, Para-Medic]] says that she has a bad feeling about saving. If you save and reload the game, [[spoiler:The End sneaks up behind you and tranqs you in the head]]. However, if you save and [[spoiler:wait a week before playing again, The End will have died of old age]].
* OnSiteProcurement: TropeNamer and ZigZagged in usage -- ''[=MG-MGS2=]'' are this in spades, as players always start with the bare minimum (plus any unlocked cheat items); ''[=MGS3-4=]'' have it as first, but [[NewGamePlus replays allow you to keep several/all items]]; and subverted in ''[=MGS:PW-MGSV=]'', as unlocking/developing equipment gives you the luxury of dropping in with it.
* OnceAnEpisode: Regardless of which game you're playing, you can set your watch by these ("Snake" refers to whomever currently goes by the moniker):
** Snake makes a memorable (and death-defying) entrance.
** In the Big Boss games, modern technology will exist decades in the past, from e-cigs to artificial intelligence to the Walkman to the smartphone and holograms.
** Snake will be imprisoned, then [[TheGuardsMustBeCrazy escape without much fuss]].
** Snake [[{{Catchphrase}} keeps somebody waiting]].
** Snake gets tortured at some point.
** Snake's CO will betray him, usually more than once. (This has become a recurring {{Unreveal}}.)
** Snake must backtrack to an earlier point in the game to retrieve an obscure item.
** Snake will exclaim, "What the hell...?!"
** Snake's antagonist, whoever it is in this game, will shout a variation of "It's not over yet!"
** And of course, Snake will always exclaim, "Metal Gear!?"
** TheStinger puts the events of the entire game in a completely different light.
** The Solid Snake-centric entries in the ''Solid'' series feature a clone of Big Boss as the BigBad:
*** ''Solid'' - Liquid Snake
*** ''Sons of Liberty'' - Solidus Snake, though played with once the Patriots are revealed to be the GreaterScopeVillain, and Solidus, while [[AntiVillain certainly not a good guy]], [[WellIntentionedExtremist had much better intentions than previously thought]].
*** ''Guns of the Patriots'' - Once again played with in that it initially seems as if Liquid has permanently taken control of Ocelot (something that started happening in ''Sons of Liberty''), but it's later revealed that Ocelot was faking it with hypnotic suggestion and nanomachines.
** There's at least one extensive sniper-centric section in a game, usually against an elite enemy sniper who's part of the QuirkyMinibossSquad (Sniper Wolf in [=MGS=], The End in [=MGS3=], Crying Wolf in [=MGS4=], Quiet and later a squad of Skull snipers in [=MGSV=]).
* OneBulletClips: ''Portable Ops'' does this, and so does the R2-tapping strategy.
* OneDoseFitsAll: Zig-zagged in ''2'', ''3'' and ''The Twin Snakes'', due to GameplayAndStorySegregation. Both games feature a tranquilizer pistol, with which enemies can be dispatched non-lethally. Tranquilizer darts will be equally effective on any regular enemy regardless of size, provided they are not wearing full body armour, making this a straight example. In boss fights, however, it's played with. Bosses can also be defeated non-lethally, but rather than knocking them out with a single dart to the head, they instead have a "stamina" bar (much like their regular health meter) which depletes the more they get hit by tranquilizer darts. However, this stamina bar is based not on the enemy's size, physical fitness or constitution, but rather simply scales up linearly as part of the game's difficulty curve. So it's averted, but in the interests of gameplay rather than realism (could be considered an AcceptableBreakFromReality, as the boss fights would be very anticlimactic if the bosses reacted to tranquilizer darts the same way the regular enemies do).
* OneSteveLimit: Strongly averted. The series has ''six'' characters whose names are variants of John - two Johns (one also called Jack), another Jack, two Johnnys and an Ivan, plus two more of the similarly-sounding Jonathan. Five of them appear in ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid 4|GunsOfThePatriots}}'', and each game in the series has at least one. The same series also includes two Davids, Jim and James, Natasha and Nastasha, two President Johnsons (the real-life UsefulNotes/LyndonJohnson and the fictional James Johnson), and no less than six characters who have at some point gone by the codename Snake.
* OneWingedAngel: This trope usually doesn't come into effect in the series, since it deals more or less with more realism compared to most games. That being said, there are a few points where it comes pretty close canonically. For instance, Volgin merging with the Shagohod's wiring during the final battle, or Peace Walker turning from bipedal into a quadruped. The only game to play it completely straight is the non-canon sequel to VideoGame/MetalGear1, VideoGame/SnakesRevenge, with Big Boss.
* OptionalStealth: ''Metal Gear'' ''is'' a stealth-based game series-- Rather, it's ''[[TropeMaker the]]'' [[TropeMaker stealth-based game series]]. The games have varying difficulty levels. If one chooses the easiest difficulty, then it's a valid option to plow through the game without really needing to use its stealth elements. However, selecting anything above "Normal" makes using stealth absolutely necessary, as guards will be vigilant and difficult to take down, and using stealth is far easier than trying to macho one's way through. The most extreme gameplay modes in the Metal Gear series actually force the player to restart from the beginning if they are so much as noticed by one guard.
* PacifistRun: You receive a lower score at the end if you kill everything. Also, in ''[=MGS3=]'' and ''[=MGS4=]'', you get good bonus items from the bosses if you tranquilize them into submission instead of kill them. In ''[=MGS3=]'', [[spoiler:The Sorrow, a sub-boss that can't be killed, tries to kill you with guilt, sending the ghosts of your fallen (but not tranquilized) enemies stumbling towards you. The other bosses show up regardless of their ultimate demise, since even if you sedate them, they still use bombs to self-destruct.]] In ''[=MGS4=]'' [[spoiler:beating the Beast forms of the Beauty & the Beast Corps allows the player to acquire their statue (collect them and the FROG statue for the Solar Gun), and beating the Beauty forms allows the player to collect their [=FaceCamo=]]]. As before, some of the Emblems (ranks) require a certain amount of kills (less than or more than) to acquire; the Pigeon and Big Boss Emblems for example require no kills.
* PaperThinDisguise: [[spoiler:In ''[=MGS1=]'', Liquid disguises himself as an ally on Snake's codec by putting on sunglasses and ''changing his accent''.]] Note that he still has the same voice, one distinctive enough that many players became suspicious the moment he opened his mouth. On the other hand, its subverted when the re-releases of Metal Gear 2 as well as his appearance in Peace Walker show that he actually does look like a disguised Liquid, and in the case of the latter game, even sounds like Liquid in disguise.
** And, of course, you can hide inside cardboard boxes, which are ''literally'' a paper-thin disguise. Soldiers aren't totally fooled by these, though, especially in later games, and ''especially'' if the box is out in the open and in their way.
** There's also Solid Snake disguising as Iroquois Pliskin in ''[=MGS2=]'', by changing his uniform and nothing else.
** And EVA as Tatyana in ''[=MGS3=]'', which had her wearing glasses and her hair differently. However, she was so much better at disguise than Snake in ''2''.
* ParrotExposition: David Hayter has joked in interviews that most of the dialogue he has to record consists of repeating the last couple words the other person said, and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSJVSNhqa-s adding a question mark]] to it.
** {{Lampshaded}} in ''Metal Gear AC!D2'', when Snake hears General Wiseman describe what [[BigBad Doctor Koppelthorn]] did hi-jack: Metal Gear.
---> '''Snake:''' Metal Gear?!\\
'''Dalton:''' Huh? You're familiar with it?\\
'''Snake:''' No. Had to blurt it out...
** Reversed in ''Peace Walker'' when Huey parrots Snake's [[OnceAnEpisode obligatory]] "Metal Gear..." during the former's exposition.
*** Originally, the trope name for ParrotExposition was ''Metal Gearing''.
* ParryingBullets: Justified in the fact that A) the blades are meant to deflect bullets, and B) the suits they wear increase reflexes.
** When playing with Cyborg Ninja Raiden, you don't have a block button, you just have to [[LeParkour Ninja Run]] to automatically deflect bullets.
* PlayerGuidedMissile: Most of the games have at least one sequence where Snake must utilize a [[http://metalgear.wikia.com/wiki/Nikita_missile Nikita missile launcher]] to solve an electrified-floor puzzle.
* PlayingWithSyringes: Les Enfants Terribles; the experiments that made Gray Fox.
** Ironically in ''[=MGS4=]'', used by Old Snake to restore Psyche until his body builds up a tolerance ([[spoiler:in both gameplay and a cutscene near the end of the playable part of the game]]), as well as [[spoiler:to make Vamp mortal and to free himself and Meryl from Screaming Mantis' nanomachine control]].
* PopCulturedBadass: Ocelot loves {{Spaghetti Western}}s, and Solid Snake's a fan of ''Film/EscapeFromNewYork.''
* PostEndGameContent: You'll always get something the first time you complete the game, and some more rewards if you also fulfill certain objectives during it. NewGamePlus gives you access to it.
* PoweredArmor: The Cyborg Ninja in the first MGS was a partial case, being a cyborg and all. The ninja and Solidus in [=MGS2=] on the other hand are textbook cases.
* PottyFailure: A running (ew) theme in the ''Metal Gear Solid'' games is toilet humour; generally, at least one case of someone wetting themselves occurs per game. ''4'' upped the ante with a scene of a man soiling himself in the middle of a heated gun battle. Um... Thanks, Kojima.
* PrisonEpisode: Both ''VideoGame/MetalGear1'' and ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPortableOps MPO]]'' involve a relatively easy prison escape, while ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater MGS3]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker Peace Walker]]'' have relatively challenging ones.
* ProductPlacement: Since ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'', this trope has been in effect in some form or another. The most ridiculous example occurs in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' with Apple products permeating throughout.
* ProstheticLimbReveal: At the end of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'', Ocelot had been taken over by [[EvilHand the transplanted arm of Liquid Snake]] the last we saw him. In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'', their personalities had ([[spoiler:supposedly]]) merged. Come the climax of that game, Ocelot throws off his coat, to reveal said arm is now robotic. [[spoiler:This hints that the merged persona was an act all along.]]
* PunchPackingPistol:
** For every game in the series, as soon as you can find a silencer for the pistol, it instantaneously becomes your best weapon. This is especially true when the series introduces first-person view, because you can line up headshots so easily. Combine this with the fact that every gun is wildly accurate, and you can easily have situations where you line up a headshot from across the loaded map to where you can barely see the enemy textures, and it will work.
** Metal Gear Solid 3 not only skips the step of making you find the Silencers which make the pistol so effective (though you can run out and need to restock them), but when you get it, Naked Snake goes on an extended monologue about how awesome the pistol is, and if you call Sigint later, he'll go even more in depth.
** Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots almost seems to {{Lampshade}} this when they give you the Operator at the beginning of the game, which is already a good gun, (according to the in-game stats) but then you can acquire the similar except better Mk 23 (the SOCOM from the original) and the [=M1911A1=] that Naked Snake used in the third game, each gun being better than the last.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tropes Q to Z]]

* QuirkyMiniBossSquad: In almost every game, the enemy unit leaders have unique powers or abilities that complement one another, and they work together as a team (though are fought individually, of course). They even tend to be united around a common theme, such as [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid Foxhound’s]] animal motifs or [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty Dead Cell’s]] weapon specialties. However, they are portrayed relatively realistically, at least compared to other examples, replacing "quirky" with "homicidal", "batshit insane" and "nightmarish".
** The Outer Heaven Mercenaries in ''VideoGame/MetalGear1'', comprised of [[ShotgunsAreJustBetter Shotmaker]], [[MoreDakka Machinegun Kid]], [[KillItWithFire Fire Trooper]], [[DirtyCoward Dirty Duck]], [[{{Cyborg}} Bloody Brad]], and were led by [[FallenHero “Big]] [[EvilMentor Boss”.]]
** Special Forces Group FOXHOUND in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', comprised of [[GatlingGood Vulcan]] [[MagicalNativeAmerican Raven]], [[PsychicPowers Psycho]] [[BreakingTheFourthWall Mantis]], [[ColdSniper Sniper Wolf]], [[MasterOfDisguise Decoy Octopus]], [[RevolversAreJustBetter Revolver]] [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Ocelot]], and were led by [[EvilBrit Liquid Snake]].
*** The only boss character outside of their group was [[BrainwashedAndCrazy Gray Fox]], who was an enemy to both Snake and Foxhound.
** Dead Cell in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'', comprised of [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Vamp]], [[BornLucky Fortune]], [[DemolitionsExpert Fatman]], and were led by [[WellIntentionedExtremist Solidus]] [[MultiArmedAndDangerous Snake]]. Former members are [[ThoseWackyNazis Old Boy]] and [[AllAsiansKnowMartialArts the Chinaman]].
*** The only boss character outside of their group was [[ActionGirl Olga]] [[CombatPragmatist Gurlukovich]], who supported Dead Cell and supplied the {{Mook}} army but wasn’t a member of them herself. Similarly, [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Ocelot]] returned as a major villain who supported Dead Cell but wasn’t part of them either.
** The Cobra Unit in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', comprised of [[BeeBeeGun The Pain]], [[KillItWithFire The]] [[SpaceMadness Fury]], [[TerrorHero The]] [[WallCrawl Fear]], [[BeenThereShapedHistory The]] [[PlantPerson End]], [[WhatMeasureIsAMook The Sorrow]] [[spoiler:posthumously]], and were led by [[ActionMom The]] [[CloseRangeCombatant Joy]] ([[spoiler:aka The Boss]]).
*** The only boss characters outside of their group were [[ShockAndAwe Volgin]], who similarly to Olga supplied the {{Mook}} army but was not part of the Cobra Unit himself, and Ocelot, who had a similar support role to them as Volgin did.
** The FOX Unit in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPortableOps'', comprised of [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique Cunningham/Boa]], [[AnIcePerson Python]], [[SplitPersonality Elisa/Ursula]], [[spoiler:[[CyberNinja Null/Grey Fox]]]], and were led by [[CharmPerson Gene/Viper]].
** The Beauty & The Beast Corps in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'', comprised of [[CombatTentacles Laughing]] [[VoluntaryShapeshifting Octopus]], [[UnstoppableRage Raging]] [[GrenadeLauncher Raven]], [[MoodSwinger Crying]] [[ColdSniper Wolf]], and were led by [[PeoplePuppets Screaming]] [[MarionetteMotion Mantis]] [[spoiler: or rather, [[DemonicPossession Psycho Mantis]].]]
*** This game is notable for its BigBad (Liquid Ocelot) and TheDragon (Vamp), who are both boss fights, ranking above the entire squad and not being members of it themselves this time. They simply used the Beauty & Beast Corps as pawns.
*** The Beauty & Beast Corps was additionally notable for [[AllYourPowersCombined combining all of the aspects of Foxhound, Dead Cell, and the Cobra Unit.]] Laughing Octopus used the animal theming of Decoy Octopus, the weaponry of Solidus Snake, and the emotion of The Joy, Raging Raven used the animal theming of Vulcan Raven, the weaponry of Fatman, and the emotion of The Fury, Crying Wolf used the animal theming of Sniper Wolf, the weaponry of Fortune, and the emotions of both The Sorrow and The End, and Screaming Mantis used the animal theming of Psycho Mantis, the weaponry of Vamp, and the emotions of both The Pain and The Fear.
** The A. I. Weapons in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'', notable for being the only non-human bosses in the franchise.
** The Winds of Destruction in ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'', comprised of [[MultiArmedAndDangerous Mistral]], [[DetachmentCombat Monsoon]], and were led by [[{{BFS}} Sun]][[DualWielding downer]] as its main members. [[KatanasAreJustBetter Jetstream Sam/Minuano]] and former member [[MiniMecha Khamsin]] were similar mercenaries who worked with the group and shared in the wind-themed naming and powers.
*** The only boss characters completely outside of their group were [[ChainsawGood Blade]] [[RobotDog Wolf]] and [[spoiler:[[{{Nanomachines}} Senator]] [[SuperStrength Steven]] [[NighInvulnerability Armstrong]]]], who nonetheless still worked with them.
** The SKULLS Parasite Unit in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'', which is actually three Squads in one: [[FlashStep the Mist]] [[SuperStrength Unit]], [[AmazonBrigade the Camo]] [[ColdSniper Unit]], and [[InstantArmor the Armor]] [[DishingOutDirt Unit]]. Former members are [[FriendlySniper Qui]][[HeelFaceTurn et]].
** Black Chamber in ''VideoGame/MetalGearGhostBabel'', comprised of [[DeathTrap Black Arts]] [[ArtificialLimbs Viper]], [[SerialKiller Marionette]] [[InnateNightVision Owl]], [[BattleBoomerang Slasher]] [[AwesomeAussie Hawk]], [[PlayingWithFire Pyro Bison]], and [[spoiler:[[TheMole Brian McBride]].]]
** The Three Test Subjects in ''VideoGame/MetalGearAcid2'', comprised of [[KillerGorilla Harab]] [[BladeBelowTheShoulder Serap]], [[BreathWeapon Golab]], and [[CeilingCling Chaig]][[CompellingVoice idiel]].
* RatedMForManly: The story of a ruggedly handsome and tough-as-nails AntiHero stealth operative, cloned from the greatest soldier to have ever lived, a master of unarmed combat and all kinds of weapons ranging from sniper rifles to tranquilliser dart pistols and knives, [[GeniusBruiser with an IQ of 180 and fluency at least six languages]], who travels the world and destroys nuclear-armed HumongousMecha and often faces down whole armies and [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane super-soldiers with seemingly supernatural abilities]] in the process? You bet this is a manly series. That said, a lot of the portrayals of manly and cool tropes are, at best, bad life choices and at worst, the symptoms of mental disorders [[WarIsHell obtained through battlefield trauma]]. Even the aforedescribed protagonist is not immune to it. Also, it's a stealth game, so running around blowing things up like an ActionHero is usually not a good idea. Usually.
* RecruitedFromTheGutter:
** In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', Naomi reveals that her adopted brother rescued her (and put her through medical school) after she was orphaned. [[spoiler:Her brother was [[TheAce Grey Fox]], Snake's old FriendlyEnemy; she joined the team to get revenge on Snake for killing him]].
** In ''VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake'', Grey Fox reveals that he's defected to Big Boss's side because he was recruited to Foxhound by him as a child soldier (the later games which starred Big Boss would elaborate on this).
** Big Boss in general founded Outer Heaven as a refuge for disenfranchised soldiers and war orphans...albeit to form a private army. [[AFatherToHisMen To his credit, he does sincerely care about them]].
* RedshirtArmy: The [=SEALs=] sent in to deliver the Nuclear Football in ''[=MGS2=]'' (to be fair, they're up against a vampire and an unkillable woman with a railgun), the US Army/Marine Corps task force in ''[=MGS4=]'' (though they later fend off a horde of FROG units).
* RetCon: A few aspects of the story have been changed occasionally, such as ''[=MGS4=]'' ignoring that [[spoiler:Dr. Clark was a man in [=MGS1=] to allow the character to also be Para-Medic from ''[=MGS3=]'']]).
* RevolversAreJustBetter: Played with. This is definitely the case with Ocelot, as his particular style of gunplay is well suited to his preferred firearms, the Colt Single Action Army. Zigzagged in gameplay terms, however. Any time one is usuable ingame, it's powerful, but has low ammo capacity and, more importantly in a StealthBasedGame, cannot fit a suppressor, so ends up being a rather niche weapon than anything else.
* RuderAndCruder: * The ''Metal Gear'' series is, as a whole, very light on profanity, though there was a noticeable increase in its use as it went on. ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater Snake Eater]]'' featured [=EVA=] cursing out Volgin, but only in Japanese. English fans would have to wait until ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots Guns of the Patriots]]'' to hear the franchise's first PrecisionFStrike. ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance Revengeance]]'' fully embraces this newly-discovered freedom to have multiple F-bombs throughout its dialogue, and even has its main villain be SirSwearsALot. ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain The Phantom Pain]]'' dials it back to being used extremely sparingly in incidental dialogue.
* RuleOfSymbolism: In [=MSG3=] (Naked) Snake is given the order to meet with his contacts Adam and Eva. Eva goes so far to ask him if he has come to seduce her.
** Rather interesting, as (Naked) Snake manages to successfully seduce ''[[EvenTheGuysWantHim both]]'' [[EvenTheGuysWantHim Adam and Eva]]. Without even trying or ''noticing'', even.
** In [=MSG4=] an apple falls from (Old) Snake's pocket and rolls towards Eva, who picks it up. Later she hands the same apple to Adam (aka [[spoiler:Ocelot]]), who crushes it and throws it away.
* SayMyName: Every single ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' has this, with both enemies and allies screaming "SNAAAAAAAAKKKEEEE!!!"
** Substituted with "Raiden, what happened?! Raiden! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIDEEEEEN!" in ''Sons of Liberty''.
** "FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOX!!" when Grey Fox is {{killed off for real}} during the REX battle.
** The intro to ''[=MGS2=]'' (itself a sort of NostalgiaLevel) with Otacon shouting, "...Snake..? Snake?! SNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE" whenever your net a game over, and later "E.E.? E.E.!? E.EEEEEEEEE-!!" if the player screws the pooch and gets Emma killed.
** The series' use of it is inverted near the end of ''Guns of the Patriots'' when the [[spoiler:Scarabs start piling on Snake:]] "OOOTACOOOOOOON!" Inverted both for Snake being the one to use it, and it being a genuinely tense and dramatic moment instead of meme-fuel.
** Snake screamed Otacon's name again earlier in ''Guns of the Patriots'' when [[spoiler:he got half of his face burned very badly]].
** This almost qualifies as a CMOA during the final duel when [[spoiler:after Snake takes an absolutely brutal beating at the hands of Liquid Ocelot he turns the fight around by breaking his enemy's fingers. As Snake rises he screams his rival's name with a cry of rage and frustration, to be answered in kind as the camera spins]]. And they they really start beating the hell out of each other.
* SaveToken: You can save by using your codec/radio/etc to call a "data analyst" and have them save your game for you.
* ScareChord: '''[[color:#cc0000:!]]'''
** The stingers to Solids 1-3 all feature one after the respective WhamLine comes up. In the original after [[spoiler:learning that Ocelot was working for the President,]] in ''Sons of Liberty'' after [[spoiler:Snake learns the Patriots have been dead for a century,]] and in ''Snake Eater'' after [[spoiler:Ocelot reveals he was "ADAM".]]
* SecurityBlindspot: includes surveillance cameras, which have a blind spot directly underneath the camera, and who's vision cone is shown on the radar. Alternatively, they can be destroyed by explosives, with later games allowing using first-person view to shoot cameras.
* SequentialBoss
* SequelEscalation: Subverted in terms of presentation. Solid Snake was at his peak in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' and declined sharply afterwards, ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' saw the greatest stakes and most dangerous enemies and remains the culmination of the series, and the final boss of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' appears to be the most powerful mech in the series.
** That said, because of the plethora of prequels developed on more advanced hardware than Metal Gear Solid 4, the adventures of Big Boss generally include more advanced challenges and tools than the events occurring decades later, in terms of gameplay at least. It's hard to believe that Metal Gear Rex is supposed to be more advanced than Peace Walker, Metal Gear Zeke, or Metal Gear Sahelanthropus, who were developed two or three decades earlier.
* SensorSuspense: You will be looking at the radar minimap quite often, and you will most definitely notice when one of the blip's vision cones turns yellow.
* ShadowGovernment: The ''Metal Gear'' series explore this trope in the form of the Philosophers, a group of influential families from the Allied Forces in World War II that would eventually turn to Cipher and the Patriots, controlling the world from the shadows.
* ShirtlessScene: At least one per game.
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' had both Snakes shirtless when they fight, and Snake also loses his shirt when he is captured.
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' had Raiden completely naked at one point.
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' allows you to take off all your clothes (except your pants, to Naked Snake's disappointment and Sigint's anger/bemusement). When Naked Snake loses all his gear during his capture, he ends up like this by default for a while.
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' had [[spoiler:Liquid Ocelot]] take his shirt off before his climactic duel with Snake.
* ShownTheirWork: ''Oh, boy, do they!'' If you've got time to kill, spend some time calling up your codec contacts repeatedly. Once they get past the talk about the immediate location you're in, and you'll be treated to thorough lectures on military history and weapons, wildlife, politics, and whatever else Kojima was geeking out about during development.
* ShoutOut: Vietnam War-era jungle setting of the game aside, Snake of ''Metal Gear Solid 3'' is a shout-out to Film/JamesBond AND [[Franchise/{{Rambo}} John Rambo.]] The former is paid tribute to in the music of the alert phases, whereas the latter happens when Snake roars Sylvester Stallone's trademark battle-cry when firing an M63 machine gun. Solid 'Old' Snake '''also''' roars like this when firing the [=M60E4=] in ''Guns of the Patriots'', signifying how much he has become like his father.
** There's many others as well. For example, Raiden's real name is Jack, and [[Film/{{Titanic 1997}} his girlfriend is named Rose]]
*** Not only that, but in both endings of ''[=MGS1=]'', Snake reveals his name to be David, or "Dave" as his rescue partner calls him. With his techie buddy [[Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey Hal.]]
*** Bonus points for Hal actually being named after HAL from [[Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey the movie]].
*** The Meryl ending continues the shout out fest, this time being one of several shoutouts to Kojima's earlier visual novel game ''VisualNovel/{{Policenauts}}''.[[note]]Meryl Silverburgh was a character in that game, albeit older and tougher. She worked in Beyond Coast Polices Vice unit along with a young officer named "Dave" Forrest. For bonus points, MGS!Meryl even wears the same orange vest that Policenauts!Dave wears.[[/note]]
** Drebin and his "naked guns" is a shout out to a [[Series/PoliceSquad rather unexpected franchise]].
** Of course, Hideo Kojima has shoutouts to his own work as well, with ''Policenauts'' posters and Snake can actually use the Gun De Sol from ''VideoGame/{{Boktai}}'' as a bonus weapon, the Solar Gun, [[spoiler:by acquiring the FROG statue and the B&B Corps statues, by defeating them (for the B&B Corps their Beast forms) all nonlethally]].
*** Metal Gear Mk. 2 originally appeared in Kojima's ''VisualNovel/{{Snatcher}}''. Except that one was a reference to the original Metal Gear. A reference is even made to the "Metal Gear Menace" of the late 20th century.
** The freight Elevator in [=MGS=] is a near exact duplicate of the one in ''Manga/{{Akira}}'', and even leads down to a sub-zero area.
** Solid Snake's name is a shoutout to Snake Plissken from ''Film/EscapeFromNewYork''. The film is one of Kojima's favourites, and was a large influence on the series (particularly notable is the theme of [[spoiler:an uncaring government sacrificing heroes for minor or personal gain]]).
** The ''[=MGS4=]'' "Chair Race" trailer featured a battle between Snake and Raiden over a chair labeled "main character". Snake's gear and method of movement in the trailer is reminiscent of [[VideoGame/SplinterCell Sam Fisher]].
* ShoutOutThemeNaming: While it's not necessarily intentional, all but one of the characters with the codename "Snake" share names with characters from ''Literature/TheBible''.
** Naked Snake/Big Boss is named John [[labelnote:note]]Referring to either John the Baptist, John the brother of Jesus, or a disciple of Jesus named John [[/labelnote]] and later Ishmael [[labelnote:note]]Referring to an illegitimate child between Abraham and a slave girl[[/labelnote]].
** Venom Snake is given the name Ahab.[[labelnote:note]]Referring to an infamous king of Israel who was known for pagan worship and being a ManChild[[/labelnote]]
** Solid Snake is named David.[[labelnote:note]]Another king of Israel who was described as being "a man after God's own heart.[[/labelnote]]
** Liquid Snake is named Eli[[labelnote:note]]Named after a priest of Israel back when the Israelites were ruled by judges instead of kings.[[/labelnote]]
* SimultaneousWarningAndAction: ''Who's there?!'' In addition, the Alert/Caution/Evasion calls to HQ.
* SkippableBoss: ''[=MGS3=]'s'' The End - using two methods! Either set the clock ahead so that he dies of old age, or snipe him when he appears in his wheelchair -- albeit the latter will lead to the boss fight areas being instead patrolled by 20 enemy soldiers. In ''[=MGS4=]'' there are no truly skippable bosses, but any damage to her Life or Psyche that Raging Raven takes during the motorcycle chase sequence will carry over to the 'true' boss fight, so go fire on her with whichever bar of hers you wish to damage later.
** Also in ''3'', if you blow up the HIND at the ammo dump, you won't have to face it later when you're climbing the mountain. If you blow up ammo and/or food dumps, the soldiers you face later will run out of bullets quickly and/or be weakened and hungry (meaning tranqs and CQC will take them down faster and they'll eat anything they find, including poisonous food).
* SimpleYetAwesome: Who needs high-tech invisibility camo when you can cozy up in an inconspicuous cardboard box, be entirely BeneathNotice, and even trick your enemies into quite literally delivering you into the heart of their heavily-guarded installation?
* SleepyEnemy: Sleeping guards can be found from time to time in the series. They will fall asleep right where they're patrolling while standing up. The player can walk by them with no problems as long as they don't touch the guards or make loud noises in their vicinity. And of course if Alert Mode is reached, they will wake up and pursue the player.
* SmokingIsCool: You can say this is the TropeCodifier on the VideoGames entry.
* SniperScopeSway: Sniper rifles are common, and generally accompanied by this. You can use pentazemin (or a cigarette) to relax and reduce the tremble when scoping.
* SnipingMission: Raiden must protect Emma this way in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty''. The battle with Sniper Wolf in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', The End in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', Crying Wolf in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' and Quiet in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain''.
* SolemnEndingTheme: Most of the games -- see the trope page for details.
* SpiderLimbs: Laughing Octopus and Solidus Snake.
* SpottingTheThread: The fact that the DARPA Chief refers to the terrorist act as a revolution is a major hint that he might not be who he claims to be. Yet no one picks up on this, despite the fact that they know for a fact a master of disguise is among the Fox Hound renegades.
** And in ''[=MGS3=]'', there are several blatantly obvious hints that EVA might not be who she says she is, in her very first scene. She fails to answer the code phrase, instead gunning down several mooks... with a .45 ACP copy of the Mauser C96, which was only made and used by one nation during the Cold War: [[spoiler:China]]. She even uses the "Bandit Shooting" technique that was invented specifically to take advantage of that gun's tremendous recoil. [[spoiler:She ends up being a Chinese triple agent tasked with tracking down the Philosopher's Legacy]]. Of course, Snake [[IdiotHero doesn't pick up on any of this]], due to EVA's NavelDeepNeckline. [[DistractedByTheSexy Neither do most players]].
* SpyCatsuit: Inverted - only the ''men'' get them. And look damn [[FanService Fan Servicey]] in them, too. EVA comes close in her form-fitting motorcycle outfit with NavelDeepNeckline, and the [=FROGs=] wear a combat version of this.
** The Beauties get some ''very'' form fitting suits. When facing off against Raging Raven, after she sheds her suit and turns away, still quite insane, ''Snake stares at her butt''. Please note that originally, it was [[WhatCouldHaveBeen intended]] to be [[NakedPeopleAreFunny averted]].
* StartOfDarkness: ''Metal Gear Solid 3'', ''Portable Ops'', ''Peace Walker'' and ''Metal Gear Solid V'' detail the events behind Big Boss' transformation from a young, patriotic soldier into a war hero disillusioned with the modern world's treatment of soldiers.
* StealthBasedGame: TropeCodifier.
* TheStinger: Usually OncePerEpisode in a post-credits phone-call:
** [=MG1=]: [[spoiler:Big Boss survived the explosion and is waiting for Solid Snake, eager to fight him again.]]
** [=MG2=]: [[spoiler:The cartridge believed to contain Dr. Marv's secret plans turns out to be a joke. When inserted into an MSX computer, it seems to do nothing, but Dr. Marv left his mark: the boot-up screen reads "VRAM: 01K", which is "Kio Marv" spelled backwards.]]
** [=MGS1=]/Twin Snakes: [[spoiler:Ocelot was working with the President... and President George Sears is a third Big Boss clone named Solidus Snake]].
** [=MGS2=]: [[spoiler:Most of the Patriots (later revealed to be their predecessors, The Philosophers) have been dead for up to a hundred years, leaving Otacon's "contributor" to be one of the few living members]].
** [=MGS3=]: [[spoiler:Ocelot is triple crossing America and the Soviet Union, and stole the real Philosopher's legacy with the CIA Director to revive the Philosophers.]]
** Portable Ops: [[spoiler:Ocelot has retrieved the Philosopher's Legacy, and agrees to use it to start "The Patriots" with an anonymous figure, most likely Zero, on the condition Big Boss is allowed in too]].
** [=MGS4=]: [[spoiler:While the FOXDIE isn't going to become a non-discriminatory weapon, Snake's aging still means he hasn't long to live. Since he doesn't have the ability to pass on anything to the next generation, Otacon decides to spend the rest of Snake's life with him as a witness]].
** Peace Walker: [[spoiler:The first has Snake accept the title of Big Boss after learning the truth about The Boss. The second has Big Boss deliver a speech wherein he defines MSF's beliefs, and christens their base "Outer Heaven."]]
** Revengeance: [[spoiler:World Marshall is overthrown, but more [=PMCs=] are still on the rise. Raiden declares he still has his own war to fight]].
** [=MGSV=]: After TheReveal that [[spoiler:Venom is ''not'' Big Boss]], Miller resolves to support the Sons of Big Boss [[spoiler:as well as the Phantom]] [[VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake to eventually defeat]] [[EvilFormerFriend his former friend]]. Ocelot then foreshadows that [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid they will eventually have to fight each other]].
* StompyMooks: Inverted. Walking too fast behind a guard makes him turn around and notice you, turning ''you'' into the Stompy Mook. Most mooks themselves walk about normally, so unless they're walking on something noisy, making a status report, or [[MythologyGag wearing headphones]], you won't hear them walking until you get fairly close.
* StoryToGameplayRatio: To reiterate. There are a ''lot'' of cutscenes. ''[=MGS4=]'' has about nine hours of 'em. Check the helpful chart on the trope entry for how the average ''Metal Gear'' game breaks down.
* StrawCivilian: ZigZagged in various ways as there are non-combatants with sympathetic backstories, but the scientist and technicians introduced ''Snake Eater'' and ''Portable Ops'' tend to be more troublesome to handle than soldiers. If held up (Snake and the other operatives will use a different callout by telling them to talk than tell them to raise their hands), rather than cooperate, they scream and panic (resulting in an instant Alert Phase), which by all laws is against common sense of personal safety. Interrogating some of the Soviet scientist reveal that they don't get along with the troops. This translates to gameplay where the enemy soldiers have ''zero'' problems shooting at Snake through a non-combatant, instead of holding their fire and ensuring their safety.
* SupervillainLair: Shadow Moses, Gronzyj Grad, Arsenal Gear, Outer Haven (and its later incarnation), you name it...
* SuperSoldier: Many different versions of this are developed to varying degrees of success:
** Most of the Cobra Unit, save for [[BadassNormal The Boss]] and maybe [[PsychicPowers The Sorrow]] gain their unusual abilities from parasites. This research continues into the [=1980s=], leading to developments such as Quiet and the Skulls, {{Lightning Bruiser}}s who are MadeOfIron.
** Brainwashing techniques and mental manipulation are used to make a soldier more focused on a particular task, such as with Null and Venom Snake. This is revisted with the B&B Corps and Ocelot.
** Cloning and genetic modifications are used to create the Snake clones and the Genome Army. However, this is generally seen as a failure, especially with the Genome soldiers.
** Nanomachines are widespread in the later games, allowing soldiers to work in perfect sync, as well as not need to sleep, eat, or defecate at inopportune moments. However, once the system goes down, it leads to many of them being reduced to gibbering wrecks.
** Cybernetics are used to replace missing limbs, or even entire bodies of critically injured soldiers, giving some, such as cyborg ninjas like Raiden and Gray Fox, superhuman strength and speed.
* SymbolicMutilation:
** Big Boss's trademark is an EyepatchOfPower, which we see him receive in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' (when he attacks Ocelot to [[AlwaysSaveTheGirl keep him from assassinating Tatyana]] and ends up getting his right eye blinded by muzzle flare in a freak accident). His loss of the eye doesn't happen at exactly the same time as the large traumatic event that sculpts his character (the death of The Boss), but does serve to distinguish the difference from a rather innocent and ordinary soldier to a single-minded, ambitious and [[BrokenAce traumatised]] one. This injury is then repeated with over the course of the series symbolising the difference in each character's outlook compared to Big Boss:
*** In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'', Raiden accidentally injures Solidus's ''left'' eye, which he appears almost ecstatic about, in accordance with his general fixation on Big Boss. He immediately starts wearing an eyepatch on it and even suggests being grateful to Raiden for doing it to him. Of course, his injuries are actually a mirror-image of Big Boss's, signifying that he himself is just a reflection of Big Boss rather than an individual in his own right.
*** In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'', Solid Snake begins wearing an electronic sensor over his eye that resembles Big Boss's eyepatch. Between that, his visible ageing and the fact that his muscle-suit resembles Big Boss's bulky build rather than his own more sinewy one, he resembles Big Boss a lot - more to screw with the audience than anything (going from a Big Boss who looked like Solid Snake in ''3'' to a Solid Snake who looked like Big Boss in ''4''). While saving Big Mama (the same person as Tatyana, just many years on) from a fire, the sensor explodes and damages Snake's face, with the result of inverting Big Boss's injury - a burned face but a functioning eye. This serves to indicate Solid Snake's defiance of his own fate - his face, the thing that ties him to Big Boss, has been mutilated; and his ties to Big Boss - he got the injuries rescuing the same person; but most importantly his ability to still "see" things Big Boss has become "blinded" to.
*** Raiden also has a missing eye in ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance''. This is because his eye and his arm were mangled by Sam at the beginning of the game - throughout the game, Raiden gets bonuses for chopping off enemies' right arms, repeating the injury done on him. The eye injury is covered, instead of with an eyepatch, with a bandanna resembling the one worn by Solid Snake, signifying to whom his allegiance is.
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearAcid2'' significantly uses [[InternalHomage a copy of The Boss's caesarian scar on the back of the female character Lucy]] - particularly unusual as the ''Ac!d'' games happen in an entirely separate universe to the main games. However, it supports Lucy's character as being a horrible monstrosity of a matriarch, child and wife figure simultaneously (referencing the description of The Boss from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' - "she was like a mother to me, and my master." "And your lover?"). As well as, more directly, suggesting some of the horrible surgical mutilations she would have received from the MadScientist responsible for creating her.
* SympathyForTheDevil: Most villains in the series can be sympathized with to a certain extent. The Patriot AIs, Volgin and Hot Coldman avert this.
* TakeCover
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' (1998) introduced the peek-around-the-corner cover mechanic, where Snake can crouch behind and press against low walls and peak around corners.
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' (2001) expanded on it, introducing a shoot-around-the-corner cover system, where Snake or Raiden can crouch behind or press against low walls and aim from behind them, to shoot from around the corner of a wall. This shoot-around-the-corner cover system has also been employed in later [[StealthBasedGame Stealth Games]] like the ''VideoGame/SplinterCell'' series and TacticalShooter games like ''VideoGame/RainbowSix Vegas'' (2006).
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' features an improved cover system similar to ''VideoGame/KillSwitch''.
* TakingYouWithMe:
** [[spoiler:Cunningham]] uses those exact words after his defeat in ''Portable Ops''.
** Big Boss later utters these words before fighting Solid Snake in the original ''Metal Gear''.
* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Happens with nearly all codec conversations, often at absurd times. Though starting from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'', the series averts this.
* ThemeNaming: All {{Quirky Miniboss Squad}}s are some of the most notable examples.
** FOXHOUND had a two-part codename: the first part comes from the boss' specialty/weapon, the second part comes from an animal.
** The Cobra Unit base their names off the emotions they carry into battle. For reference, this is where The Boss' second codename, The Joy, comes from.
** The Beauty and the Beast Unit combines the emotion of a Cobra with a FOXHOUND operative's animal.
** The Peace Walker AI Weapons are based off different names of a butterfly's formation. In addition, Dr. Strangelove named the AIs after American presidents (the same names would be reused for [[spoiler:the Patriot AIs.]]
** Lastly, the Winds of Destruction are named after powerful winds from their respective home countries.
** While the theme isn't as obvious as in the above examples, each member of Dead Cell has a misleading or ironic name; for example, Vamp's codename is actually because [[DepravedBisexual he's bisexual]], rather than because he's [[OurVampiresAreDifferent like a vampire]]. [[spoiler:It's an early hint that things aren't as they initially appear to be in the mission.]]
* TitleDrop: Solidus Snake's terrorist group in [=MGS2=] are the Sons of Liberty, Snake's mission in ''[=MGS3=]'' is codenamed Operation Snake Eater, and Ocelot calls his master plan in ''[=MGS4=]'' the Guns of the Patriots. ''Metal Gear'' is first introduced this way in the first game. Also, ''Snake Eater'', despite not having an actual Metal Gear, introduces the man behind the original concept.
* TogetherInDeath: Ironically enough, several "happy" endings are this trope. The Boss and The Sorrow are reunited at the end of Snake Eater, Big Boss is implied to have longed to die in order to be reunited with The Boss (A wish which, according to Kojima, is granted), and [[spoiler:[[WordOfGod Venom Snake and Quiet]] are [[EarnYourHappyEnding reunited]] after Venom is killed by Solid Snake in Outer Heaven]].
* {{Transplant}}: Very few people knew that Meryl Silverberg was originally from the Japan-only ''VisualNovel/{{Policenauts}}'', and a version of Metal Gear Mk. II from ''Snatcher'' appears in ''[=MGS4=]''. However, they are very different verisons of those characters. Versions of Jonathan and Ed appear in ''[=MGS4=]'' as well, and in Japanese are played by the same Policenauts actors, just like Meryl. Incidentally their actors happen to be Otacon and Psycho Mantis as well.
* TreacherousAdvisor: [[spoiler:Big Boss in the original ''VideoGame/MetalGear1'', Liquid disguised as Master Miller in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' (and technically Naomi and the entirety of the Pentagon in the same game), The Colonel/AI in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'', The Boss in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' [[FakeDefector (kind of)]], General Wiseman in VideoGame/MetalGearAcid2.]]
* TrilogyCreep: In interviews around the release of ''[=MGS3=]'', Kojima said that he viewed the three ''Metal Gear Solid'' games at that point as a loose trilogy. Naturally, even that informal designation didn't last for long.
* TropeNamer: FissionMailed and OnSiteProcurement
* ATrueHero: Defied. One of the major themes of the franchise is that there ''are'' no "heroes" in war: only different sides. Today's allies may be tomorrows enemies and vice-versa, and things are rarely as black-and-white as they seem.
* TryEverything: The codec frequencies, if you miss the hint.
* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: Barring the Big Boss sections (which obviously take place in the past), the series tends to take place 4-8 years after the game's release and with appropriately advanced technology.
* TwoLinesNoWaiting: Since [=MGS3=], the games have been split into telling the stories of Solid Snake and Big Boss.
* UncleSamWantsYou: Not in any of the games themselves, but a promotional poster for GDC recruitment for Kojima Productions regarding the "Next" ''Metal Gear Solid'' game has Big Boss, a'la Uncle Sam, [[http://images.wikia.com/metalgear/images/9/9a/BBhire.png pointing at the viewer with the caption "BIGBOSS wants YOU! THE "NEXT" MGS"]]
* UndressingTheUnconscious:
** In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', the first time Snake meets Johnny, he's knocked out on the floor [[NakedOnArrival naked]]. We later learn that Meryl knocked him out and stripped him to [[MuggedForDisguise steal his guard uniform]].
** Near the end of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'', Raiden is knocked out and captured by [[spoiler:Olga Gurlukovich]] and has his clothes and items taken from him. The next time he comes to, he's strapped naked to a table in a room, with only SceneryCensor and ShouldersUpNudity preserving his modesty while Solidus and Ocelot discuss his past and torture him. Even after Raiden escapes, he still doesn't get his clothes back, so he's is forced to sneak through the next section naked with [[NoGearLevel no gear]] and [[InjuredPlayerCharacterStage unable to defend himself]] as he is [[HandOrObjectUnderwear covering his crotch with his hands]].
** In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', Naked Snake can knock out Major Raikov and undress him to [[MuggedForDisguise steal his outfit and assume his identity]]. Snake ''can'' also just kill him for it, in which case he will be one of the dead enemies in The Sorrow's river battle, he will ''still'' be naked and [[HandOrObjectUnderwear shamefully clutching his crotch]] just like [[MythologyGag Raiden in 2]].
* UnexpectedGameplayChange:
** The Shagohod chase in ''[=MGS3=]'' is an on-rails shooter.
** Escaping from South America in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' mixes ZombieApocalypse and turret gunplay, there's more on-rails shooter stuff with Big Mama again in Eastern Europe (albeit you're limited to one-handed firearms), and [[spoiler:mecha combat in Shadow Moses--REX versus RAY]].
** As a rule, games made by Kojima that take place chronologically after the original game have final battles that don't use guns:
*** In ''Metal Gear 2'', defeating Metal Gear D results in an explosion that lights most of Snake's items, weapons included, on fire; all must be discarded. Gray Fox must be fought with fists, and Big Boss requires you to avoid him until you get enough items to light him on fire.
*** In ''Metal Gear Solid'', Liquid engages Snake in a fist fight after the defeat of REX. The second part of the fight is an on-rails shooter.
*** In ''Metal Gear Solid 2'', the final battle is a sword duel between Raiden and Solidus.
*** Finally, in ''Metal Gear Solid 4'', [[spoiler:Liquid Ocelot]] follows the fisticuffs tradition.
* UnusableEnemyEquipment: Though ''[=MGS2=]'' managed to partially subvert this by having one CODEC conversation that explained that the weapons had an ID system that recognized a specific person, it's odd though how they didn't explain this more directly.
** Finally averted in ''[=MGS4=]'' by Snake getting a "hack" into the system... as a result, weapon pickups are a notable part of gameplay, and in Screaming Mantis's case it's necessary to pick up her Mantis Doll to defeat her.
** Also averted in V. While the weapons aren't permanently unlocked until researched, Snake can use any that his enemies drop. Or gun emplacements. Or tanks.
* UnwillingRoboticization: [[spoiler:Grey Fox and Raiden]] were turned into Cyborg Ninjas against their will.
* VariableMix: Quite stunningly good in this instance.
* VehicleTitle: The eponymous Metal Gear are bipedal tanks.
* TheVerse: The series frequently jumps between three protagonists; Solid Snake[[note]](Metal Gear 1 and 2; MGS, [=MGS4=], plus the prologue of [=MGS2=])[[/note]], Naked Snake[[note]]([=MGS3=], MPO, PW and MGSV)[[/note]] or Raiden[[note]]([=MGS2=] and MGR)[[/note]].
* VideoGamesAndFate: An underlying theme of many entries in the series, which is particularly pronounced in ''MGS'' and ''[=MGS2=]''.
* VideoGameCaringPotential:
** It's entirely possible (and [[OneHundredPercentCompletion encouraged]]) to clear ''TTS'', ''[=MGS2=]'' and ''[=MGS4=]''without killing a single enemy. ''[=MGS3=]'' also falls into this, [[spoiler:as you are only required to kill a single enemy: The Boss]]. In fact, the fewer enemies you kill in 3, the easier time you will have with one of the boss fights.
** ''MPO'' introduces the ability to rescue prisoners and assign them as staff members in your army. ''PW'' expanded on this feature and it looks like ''MGSV'' will further expand this feature.
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential:
** Lots of [[http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=48 awful things you can do to guards]]... although in ''[=MGS4=]'', [[spoiler:touch a FROG the wrong way, and ''she'' will fight back.]]
** It gets worse in ''Metal Gear AC!D2.'' Setting them on fire, throwing them off trains or into the path of trains, dropping things on them.
* VideoGameCrueltyPunishment: The Sorrow's boss fight, in a nutshell. Downplayed in that it just prolongs the "battle", and there's an upper limit on how long it can go on.
* VideoGameRemake:
** ''The Twin Snakes'' for ''Metal Gear Solid 1'' and ''The Naked Sample'' for ''Snake Eater''.
** {{Zigzagged|Trope}} with ''Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater Pachislot''. A surprising amount of effort was spent on [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKSLSf6TvaI remastering]] a decent chunk of ''[=MGS3=]''[='=]s cutscenes within ''[=MGSV=]''[='=]s FOX Engine, using brand new models. However, due to being a slot machine, the actual "gameplay" is boiled down to prerendered loops of Naked Snake sneaking through the jungle with the occasional action shot to punctuate chances at big payouts, much like other pachislot games.
%%* ViewersAreGeniuses
* VirusAndCureNames: There's FOXDIE and [[spoiler:FOXALIVE]].
* VodkaDrunkenski: Several of the San Hieronymo Soviet personnel, Colonel Skowronski, and Granin were shown drinking vodka a lot, and they are also all Russian (obviously). Unlike most examples of the trope however, their reasons were completely justified, due to certain incidents that were depressing or angering enough for them to require getting themselves drunk.
* VoiceWithAnInternetConnection: The Codec. Probably a fourth wall breach, although it is also implied a few instances that the Codec does have people observing what is going on.
* WarIsHell: Largely no one is really proud of what they are doing, and only the real baddies don't suffer a lot because of it or have any real joy in what they do. ''Metal Gear'''s use of this trope is one of the most well-known and oldest uses of it in all of video games.
* WarpWhistle: In a few of the games, the cardboard boxes can be used to be transported to different areas.
* TheWarSequence: Raiden fights up to twenty mass-produced Metal Gears in ''[=MGS2=]'', and several Gekkos in ''[=MGS4=]''.
* WarriorHeaven: Big Boss and Liquid Snake try to make this ideal ''on Earth'' by making the world into "Outer Heaven," a world where warriors will ''always'' be needed, honored and respected, although [[spoiler:in ''[=MGS4=]'', it appears that Big Boss' motive may have been to create a world free from the Patriots... that was certainly why Liquid Ocelot claimed to have had Outer Haven, at least]].
* WeaponTitle: The eponymous Metal Gear are walking battle tanks that are explicitly described as weapons of mass destruction.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Major Zero, Big Boss, Ocelot, and Solidus Snake.
* WhatTheHellPlayer: You can get a lot of reactions like this if you screw around too much.
** '''Otacon''': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0SPEJGoa54 "Snake, what did you just do? Have you lost your mind?!"]]
* WhereIWasBornAndRazed: Psycho Mantis and all of the B&B Corps.
* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: With the exception of ''VideoGame/MetalGear1'', it's largely averted in the canonical installments, where they not only cite specifically where the location setting(s) is/are, they even show a map or other evidence to hint where it is located.
* WhyWeAreBummedCommunismFell: Kicks off the ''Solid'' games, save for ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater Snake Eater]]'' and [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPortableOps its]] [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker direct]] [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidV sequels]], which took place during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar.
* WithThisHerring: Justified as weapons and equipment being OSP, On-Site Procured. In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', we learn that Big Boss' original codename, Naked Snake, is taken in part from this.
** In a neat twist on previous games' weapons progression, the first weapon pickup in ''[=MGS4=]'' is the AK-102 assault rifle found right next to Old Snake after one of the first cutscenes, and it's the Mk.II suppressed tranquilizer pistol and suppressable lethal Operator pistol which are received next, instead of the other way around as in the past. It's markedly inferior though to the M4 Custom which you pick up not long after the pistols.
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'' averts this by giving the player an M16, a [[TranquillizerDart tranquiliser pistol]] and some grenades to start with. ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVGroundZeroes Ground Zeroes]]'' [[ZigZaggedTrope zigzags]] this depending on whether you play a mission on Normal or Hard; Normal gives the player a rifle and a tranquiliser pistol and Hard gives the player only the tranq pistol with less ammo.
* WhenItAllBegan: Although it's not really apparent until the end of the series, everything that happens in the Metal Gear universe has its roots in [[spoiler:August 1964, the Virtuous Mission which sparked Operation Snake Eater and led to the creation of the Patriots]].
** Those are only the deepest roots of the main conflict. Some pieces of the puzzle go back to the turn of the 20th century, when the Philosophers were founded.
* WhiteShirtOfDeath:
** The most dramatic death scene in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' takes place in a snow storm, where the poor victim is wearing a white camouflage uniform.
** The most dramatic death scene in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' takes place in a field of white flowers, where the victim is wearing a [[spoiler:silver and white sneaking suit]].
* WorldOfBadass:
** Snake, of course.
** Raiden counts as well. By the end of his first solo game, he's taken out several Metal Gear [=RAYs=] at once and a Harrier jet with a rocket launcher.
%%* WorldOfHam: And how!
* YoungestChildWins: Inverted, the only one of the Les Enfants Terribles children who has anything close to a happy ending is Solid Snake, who was born before Solidus.
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->[[GameOverMan Snake! What happened? Snake?]] ''[[SayMyName SNAAAAAAAAAAAAKE!]]''[[note]]"What? I'm just browsing Website/TvTropes. Calm down."[[/note]]
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