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Every single Metal Gear game owes a great deal of its awesomeness to the incredible music.

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     Metal Gear 

     Snake's Revenge 
  • Even among the people who dislike Snake's Revenge, most of them agree that at least it has an awesome soundtrack. The Jungle Infiltration theme is especially catchy.

     Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake 
  • The Theme of Solid Snake. There's also the Integral version, which remixes it with some of Solid's sensibilities.
  • Hell, the entire soundtrack from Metal Gear 2 deserves mention. There is a significant improvement in the quality and complexity of the music, compared to its predecessor - no doubt due in part to the addition of the SCC sound chip, which increased the number of sound channels from 3 to 5.
  • Metal Gear 2's Zanzibar(land) Breeze may only play during the prologue, but with all the remixes that are out there, one might think it was a recurring theme. Some remixes include the remix on the official music collection, and the Red Disk/Policenauts version.

     Metal Gear Solid 
  • The Metal Gear Solid Main Theme, despite having been abandoned due to copyright disputes, is still fondly remembered by fans of the series and was also rearranged for the main theme of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
  • In the very first area of the game (the docks), you hear "Cavern", an intense, ominous track with a spine-tingling choir in the background. It brings across the feeling of starting an epic story.
  • "Warhead Storage" is tense with an undercurrent of excitement and a promise of action just around the corner, thanks to its chord progression and melody taken straight from "Encounter".
  • "REX's Lair" plays near the end of the game when you finally reach the room housing the Metal Gear. With murmuring choirs ("Zoommmmmmmmm..."), it is fitting for capping off what "Cavern" began.
  • The original game also gives us "The Best is Yet to Come", played at both the beginning and end, and Mantis' Hymn, an appropriately awesome theme for one of the best boss fights ever.
    • "The Best Is Yet To Come" was remade in 2015. Sung in English by Donna Burke instead of Irish Gaelic and Aoife Ferry, the new version lacks the optimistic vibe of the original, giving a feeling of sadness at what was lost despite better days waiting ahead.
    • In the original, Mantis' Hymn was a prelude; the Gamecube remake also used it for the battle.
    • Fan Film Metal Gear Solid: Philanthropy adds "Will There Be an End", composed specifically for the movie and performed by the same singer who did "The Best is Yet to Come".
  • Say what you will about the Twin Snakes remake, but you can't deny that it had a good soundtrack. Check out Soldier vs The Ghost, Assassin vs Saladin, and Snake vs Mantis.
  • Also, the original version of "Encounter" stands up surprisingly well, and even got remix made for Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
    • The boss theme version from the original, titled Duel. A rearranged version of the Encounter music that feels much more tense, fitting for the fights against the likes of Grey Fox and Metal Gear REX.
    • And the intense version from the original Metal Gear Online, used for the first part of Liquid Ocelot's final boss battle in MGS4.

     Metal Gear: Ghost Babel 
  • The final battle against Viper, Ascent, is undoubtedly one of the best boss themes on the GBC.

     Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty 
  • Notably, this is the first game in the series to bring Hollywood composer Harry Gregson-Williams on board to do the music, and his style shows throughout it and all later Metal Gear games he contributed to.
  • Let's give MGS2 some love for "Yell Dead Cell". Awesome with an undertone of creepiness that suits the bosses perfectly. Also made it into Smash Bros.
  • Father and Son, the music for the battle against Solidus.
  • "Twilight Sniping", the incredibly relaxing tune for all the parts with Emma.
  • Tanker Incident (especially during the alert phase). Just listen to the alert mode at 2:18 and Olga's battle theme at 6:45.
  • Arsenal's Guts, a song that plays near the end of the game and has some of the thickest and spookiest stealth atmosphere to ever hit the Metal Gear series.
  • The Menu Music is absolutely great in setting the tone for the game. Unfortunately it isn't available on any soundtrack.
  • On a completely different tangent, there's the music that plays when you play the skateboarding mini-game in Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance. It's actually a demonstration for an entirely different game called Evolution Skateboarding and the music is a punk-ish remix of the main MGS2 theme.
  • No Metal Gear game would be complete without a memorable song to end it with, and Sons of Liberty is no exception with Can't Say Goodbye To Yesterday.

     Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 
  • Snake Eater, the theme song of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, managing to be both a parody and a spectacular example of 60s spy tunes. The Japanese version is great as well. As part of a promotional soundtrack for The Phantom Pain, Donna Burke did covers of several of the vocal themes throughout the Solid series, resulting in a brilliant funky, bass-heavy remix of the song.
  • MGS3 Theme. The last part of it plays a remixed version of the second game's ending. And that part at 5:10...it just fits the game perfectly. It's the sound of a soldier returning home, sadly questioning what his mission was about, but still carrying a kernel of hope for the future. But still, it is completely normal if the music made you salute your television when you heard it.
  • "Ocelot Youth - Confrontation" does a great job of matching the tension of the gun fight between Naked Snake and Ocelot in his youth and fits the latter's character.
  • "Way To Fall", the ending theme of MGS3 by Starsailor. Easily up there with several of the Silent Hill themes, if not the most fitting ending theme ever for a game. On a related note: Kojima originally wanted two songs by David Bowie, "Space Oddity" and "Ashes to Ashes", to play during the ending.
  • The Debriefing music from Snake Eater, including its Triumphant Reprise of the original MGS theme.
  • Takin' On The Shagohod, the theme of the climactic Shagohod battle. The fight itself is easy, but the music accompanying it is fantastic, conveying that final battle feel perfectly as this is the final fight between you and EVA, and Volgin and what's left of the Shagohod.
  • Battle In The Jungle captures the tension of being hunted perfectly.
  • The Pain. Who knew a silly boss who shoots bees at people could have an intense and action packed theme?
  • Don't Be Afraid. A nice romance tune that plays on the radio during the ending.

     Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops 

     Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots 
  • Playing Oishii Two-Han Seikatsu while gunning down enemies is awesome.
  • The Love Theme from MGS4.
    • The song is repeated when Snake has to crawl through the microwave hallway. And if you can pay attention to the split screen action, its incredible sadness is made all the more evident as it seems like everyone is failing.
    • It even made an Early-Bird Cameo: this from Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
  • Here's To You. A perfect heartwarming song to end the series.
  • MGS4's version of Enclosure can be quite a Tear Jerker especially since it plays when Naomi dies.
  • Sin, the song that plays during the fight with Vamp. It sounds like something from Turok: Evolution, which is not a bad thing.
  • Victory Song, which plays at the end of the game in the final results screen. Gives a Western vibe to it.
  • Old Snake, a darkly epic leitmotif that serves as Snake's theme and plays during the final phase of the boss fight against Liquid Ocelot.

     Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker 
  • The main theme, which is later remixed into Zero Allies! And of course there's Koi No Yokushiryoku. What makes them more awesome is that, like in past games, they play at certain parts in the game; Heaven's Divide is played in the part mentioned above, while Koi no Yokushiryoku is played as Paz's battle theme when she hijacks ZEKE. This is a change from past games, since you are fighting a friend (or at least someone with second thoughts), and not an enemy. What makes it special is that this was what she was supposed to sing during the annual MSF day of peace.
  • The main theme is reused as a looping version for the fight against Peace Walker's final form. It perfectly mirrors Big Boss and his men's desperate fight against Peace Walker as they're trying all they can to stop Hot Coldman's creation from making the Cold War turn nuclear.
  • The quiet piano version of Snake Eater also qualifies. It's a good callback to the game of the same name, the part of the game where the flashback scenes tend to take place (it plays "Snake Eater" if you take too long), and in general has sort of a wistful, flashbacky feel to it.
  • During all the killing the AIs are capable of, they seem to really have a fascination for the Carpenters "Sing". No, more like Kojima seems to like the song, since it plays quite a few times, becomes a way to give the game's message focus, and plays during part of the end credits.

     Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance 
  • Worried that Rising won't have awesome music? One of the trailers for the game would you like to know that you're WRONG.
  • "Rules Of Nature" is the first song with vocals that you encounter in the game itself. Only the instrumental version plays over the Metal Gear RAY fight - until you move to finish the thing off. What follows is a brutal Metal Scream of the song's title that puts emphasis on the ass-kicking that Raiden is putting on the machine by describing the conflict as a battle between a wild predator and its prey. It's especially effective when the boss comes back for more, where it's given a Triumphant Reprise once you take it down for good.
  • As with "Rules of Nature", all of the battle themes for the bosses start off as instrumentals in the game, only to gain vocals and become Image Songs about the characters at perfectly-timed cues when the final phase of the fight starts. And they sure do put the metal in Metal Gear.
    • "I'm My Own Master Now", Bladewolf's theme, describing his yearning for freedom from those who would use him only as a killing machine and his intent to break free of his bonds and make his own life.
    • "A Stranger I Remain", Mistral's theme, describing how she only feels at home on the battlefield fighting for a cause she believes in - the first time in her life that she's ever found one. The original version, not used in the game, contains an entire verse and alternate chorus not present in the final mix. These further expand on Mistral's character, detailing how her carnage-filled past has left her capable of interacting with others only in destructive ways, and how any aspirations to redeem her are the stuff of naive fantasy.
    • "The Stains of Time", Monsoon's theme, using a rainstorm as a metaphor describing how the ceaseless fighting and nonexistence of free will has washed away any reasons for fighting or dreams of something greater, leaving only pure, unfettered violence.
    • "Red Sun", Sundowner's theme, describing how he has become more machine than man and how all life has become his prey as vultures eat their rotting corpses under a red sun. And he loves it.
    • "The Only Thing I Know For Real", Jetstream Sam's theme, describing how the only thing he truly knows is the feeling of killing others now that so much time has passed since he could tell right from wrong, and how he desires a Worthy Opponent who can provide him with a true challenge and a long-awaited release to his internal torment.
    • "Collective Consciousness", Armstrong's first theme (technically Metal Gear Excelsus' theme), which mixes his desire to rebuild America under his rule, where the strong prosper and the weak are eradicated from this world, with his hate for the established system where everyone is a slave to the status quo, and people fight and die for causes not their own.
    • "It Has To Be This Way", Armstrong's second theme, which now describes how he finds Raiden to be a Worthy Opponent, how they are both similar in their implementation of Might Makes Right, and how whichever one of them emerges victorious will set the world on a new course in doing so. Plus it gets points for being a remix of Peace Walker's theme.
    • "The Hot Wind Blowing". What seemed like a wasted song when it was first released on the game's OST turned out to be the theme song for the Blade Wolf DLC-exclusive boss Khamsin, displaying his pride to be a self-proclaimed Wind of Destruction and his extreme belief in bringing freedom to oppressed peoples, no matter how much blood and chaos must be shed to do so.
  • While not as popular as "Rules of Nature", "Dark Skies" and "Return to Ashes" are awesome songs in their own right, detailing the undeniable cruelties and reality of a lesser-yet-still-raging miniature war that still persists long after the Patriots have disappeared.
  • "The War Still Rages Within", the end credit theme, reflecting the system that the world is stuck in, and how the only escape is to strike your own way free by fighting for your own ideals.
  • There're also a few gems in the non-vocal portion of the soundtrack, such as "Unstoppable", which plays during a hopeless first phase of a final boss fight and sounds like a hyped-up remix of the Terminator theme.
  • Sundowner's Garden, the background theme for World Marshal's feudal Japanese reception area. It's more difficult to identify during the Caution and Evasion loops, but when the Alert loop takes over, players are treated to the unmistakeable sound of Edo Castle's theme from Ganbare Goemon 2... but instead of the old Famicom chiptune, it's one hell of a remix with electric guitar and traditional Japanese instruments.

     Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes 
  • "Here's To You", the Joan Baez version. It serves as a Call-Forward to the version in Metal Gear Solid 4, but the instrumentals and tone of the vocals show how different Big Boss and Solid Snake are when nearing the end of their missions. Solid Snake fell into near despair, but never gave up on doing the right thing and accomplished a very bittersweet ending to his mission, freeing the world at the cost of almost everything and only getting a few months to live as shown in the melancholy mood of the song, while Big Boss is in despair as the lyrics of the song allude to but the upbeat tempo reflects how Big Boss justifies everything he does as "right", even if it isn't.
  • The Alert theme that plays during the daytime Ground Zeroes trailer captures the intensity of the action quite well. That it's also a remix of the Peace Walker anthem is another plus.
  • The preview trailer hidden at Ground Zeroes climax has a perfect and heartbreaking tune to cover the horrific destruction of Mother Base and Kaz's sombre reflection on everything that's been stripped from him and why he's been left alive.
  • "Fall of Mother Base", which plays during the destruction of Mother Base, is a darker version of Peace Walker's Main Theme that captures the feeling of losing your comrades and watching everything you've built fall in front of your eyes.

     Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain 
  • The GDC 2013 trailer uses "Not Your Kind of People" by Garbage, which mirrors Big Boss' Jade-Colored Glasses outlook quite well.
  • The main theme, "Sins of the Father" by Donna Burke. It is all about Big Boss' fall from grace, desire for revenge for what everyone from the world's governments to his former friends to his own mistakes have done to him, and ultimately, his willingness to do anything to strike back and control the world that has hurt him. It is quite the Villain Song, showing how far Big Boss has fallen from the well-meaning but misguided and misinformed person he was in Metal Gear Solid 3, decades ago in his life. And the remix used in TGS 2014, despite how little we hear of it, is epic.
  • "Nuclear" by Mike Oldfield from the E3 2014 trailer captures Big Boss' Faceā€“Heel Turn perfectly.
  • "Elegia" by New Order from the E3 2015 trailer manages to convey the ominous tensions of The '80s, the game's dark undertones and Big Boss' final descent all at once.
  • Quiet's Theme, which was previewed prior to "Sins Of The Father", is finally given a full version in the launch trailer and it captures the Tear Jerker nature of the game and, in a meta way, the ending of the saga. It's also, more accurately, a very good (and heartbreaking) summation of Quiet's character arc in the game.
  • The acoustic version of "Koi No Yokushiryoko" makes resting in the chopper after a mission, walking around the Afghan desert or the African savannah a peaceful moment as well as a bitter reminder of how Peace Day never came. The crazed former MSF soldiers agree, as playing this song on the iDroid with speakers on will draw them towards you, recognizing Paz and Miller's song as something only Big Boss would still carry, let alone play in the middle of a warzone.
  • "A Phantom Pain" by Ludvig Forssell is a perfect, beautiful summary of the entire game, describing the emotional journey that Venom Snake undergoes, wanting to restore himself while he desires to be free from the pain that haunts him. All while being a rather touching tribute to songs from David Bowie, Pink Floyd, and similar musicians.
  • On a lighter note, a-ha's "Take On Me" is featured as one of the songs you can find on cassette in the game. Nothing is more funny and badass then having your helicopter arriving with this as the set song on it or riding through Soviet-occupied Afghanistan on your horse with this in the background. Interestingly, this is the second time a-ha has been featured on the soundtrack to a work that takes place in Soviet-occupied Afghanistan.
  • Parasites, the perfect song to be chased by the living dead to. Really highlights an intense sense of panic that you'll no doubt be facing unless you had the foresight to bring heavy weapons.
  • Midge Ure's cover of "The Man Who Sold the World" plays during the opening credits. It sounds a lot like the original while adding a Metal Gear edge and ethereal sound to it. And it's a nice bit of Foreshadowing that a cover is used once you realize who Venom Snake really is... or rather, who he isn't.
  • V Has Come To, quite a stirring song to kick the soundtrack off with.
  • Don't Say a Word by Miracle of Sound nails the atmosphere of Phantom Pain brilliantly.
  • "Sahelanthropus Dominion". On one side, the most powerful Metal Gear ever built fueled by both Eli's unbridled rage against his father and the psychic might of Tretij Rebenok. On the other side, Big Boss and the occasional distraction from Pequod. It's not a fair fight for the Metal Gear.
  • The Final Countdown by Europe is a very appropriate theme for anyone wishing to invoke Incoming Ham with their helicopter entrance. It's a popular choice among players.
  • Approaching Home, the music that plays during most returns to Mother Base. It perfectly captures the somber tone of the whole game as well as relief of being back in safe territory. "Welcome home, Boss!" indeed.
  • "I.N.O.Y", the final track from the cut mission 51, especially the part from between 4:19 - 4:52, which kicks in when the defeated Eli declares "Not yet. It is not over yet." It is a rather fitting theme for him.
  • "Behind The Mirror". Where it's played is a heavy spoiler for the franchise, but nonetheless, it's a hell of a song to send off Big Boss and the franchise as a whole, and it also scores the reveal of the biggest Mind Screw Kojima has ever done.
  • The fan song "Big Boss Returns" starts by channeling the "new" Metal Gear theme in a bombastic organ play before quietly shifting to the "old" theme, mixing them both in the end. There's not only room for one Snake or one Big Boss: all players who followed the series until Kojima's departure are all Snakes and Big Bosses.

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