History YMMV / MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker

** One of the pre-release trailers highlighted the game's multiplayer feature by showing off four Big Bosses assisting each other out. This led to speculation that the game would revolve around Big Boss leading an army of body doubles to serve as his decoys. While nothing like this actually happens in the actual story of ''Peace Walker'', it would foreshadow the end-game plot twist of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'' regarding the true identity of ''that'' game's protagonist.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: [[https://youtu.be/-KJploMFVwo Take Down]] sounds eerily similar to [[https://youtu.be/3YhjCnga5Hc Ascension]] from ''VideoGame/MarvelUltimateAlliance2''.

** Some fans of the series were divided over the boss fights. Some saw the need to procure ammo by calling it in as a mechanic that added tension, others found it [[ScrappyMechanic just wasted time]]. This was especially true when fighting bosses in single player, where there would never be enough ammunition in the field for you to win the battle.\\
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Additionally, the bosses were all armored vehicles or AI, rather than single humans with superpowers. It does provide the game with a more serious tone, but not everyone liked this deviation from the rest of the series.

** Fans are divided as to whether ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPortableOps'' was made non-canon due to the relative lack of reference in ''Peace Walker''. In addition, fans were also similarly divided in regards to whether [[spoiler:Kazuhira Miller was still working with Cipher by the end of ''Peace Walker'' or whether he quit working with Cipher after Paz Ortega Andrade attempted to launch a nuke at the East Coast under what is implied to be their orders, although the ending and the call itself suggests the latter belief is true.]]

** Holding up enemy soldiers causes them to ''permanently'' lie down on the ground even if the player character walks away for some time. This tactic is especially useful because if another soldier isn't nearby.

** Holding up enemy soldiers causes them to ''permanently'' lie down on the ground even if the player character walks away for some time. This tactic is especially useful because if another soldier isn't nearby to see them do this.

** Holding up enemy soldiers causes them to ''permanently'' lie down on the ground even if the player character walks away for some time. This tactic is especially useful because for some reason the guards will never tell held up comrades to get up.

** [[GatlingGood The M134]] and the [=M47=] are this for boss battles. The damage they do is just something to behold. Combine with the [[BottomlessMagazines Infinite Bandana]] and boss battles become easy.

** Various characters, including Big Boss, praising Che Guevara. On one hand, the praise comes from how Guevara acts as an inspiration for those who are fighting for freedom, and or what is right, and some fans think that this make a lot of sense given the anti-war themes present. Detractors on the other hand point out that the characters praising Guevara is hypocritical given that real Guevara owned nukes and stated that he could and would launch nukes if necessary, which contradict the anti-nuke themes that is prevalent in the series.

** [[GatlingGood The M134]] and the [=M47=] are this for boss battles. The damage they do is just something to behold. Combine with the [[BottomlessMagazines Bandana]] and boss battles become easy.

** In Outer Ops, the Kampfpistol, a Nazi flare gun modified into a grenade launcher, does 3000 to 5000 damage to everything. This makes dealing with later Outer Ops missions much easier.

** The Tactical Espionage Operations trailer has Kazuhira Miller explaining to Big Boss about their potential future role in the economy, as well as Big Boss explaining that they probably shouldn't have gotten involved in the first place because people are going to get rid of him. It becomes a heck of a lot more harsh after beating the game, as this was actually part of the second ending, [[spoiler:a few hours after defeating Paz, where Miller ends up admitting to his involvement in Cipher's scheme.]]

* ContestedSequel: Many ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' fans who do not own the Platform/PlayStationPortable and/or care for the system's controls consider ''Peace Walker'' an unworthy sequel, much like ''Portable Ops'' before it. Of course, the control issues were fixed for the ''HD Edition'' released for the Platform/PlayStation3 and Platform/{{Xbox 360}}.[[note]]Also, it's available in the Platform/PlayStationStore for the Platform/PlayStationVita, and the Vita allows you to map the camera to the right stick.[[/note]]

* EnsembleDarkhorse: The Chairman thanks to him to trying to abort a nuclear strike after he believes Snake when the latter tells him about how Peace Walker is transmitting false about the Soviets are launching an attack against the U.S.

** In Outer Ops, the Kampfpistol, a Nazi flare gun modified into a grenade launcher, does 5000 damage to everything. Vehicles and enemy soldiers included, one-shot killing them if not dropping their health to near-dead.

** [[GatlingGood The M134]] and the M47 are this for boss battles. The damage they do is just something to behold. Combine with the [[BottomlessMagazines bandana]] and boss battles become easy.
** The Carl Gustav M2 (Fulton Recovery) is an essential tool for S-Rank runs on boss battles and can allow you to complete at least one extra op in seconds.

** Scouts are particularly annoying to deal with when attempting to use CQC on them. They can counter with fibre wire to strangle you. Worse yet is that they can easily detect you even when using a high-index camo suit and night vision goggles. [[NintendoHard Careful stealth is key here.]]

** For those who liked the somewhat divisive Huey/Strangelove romance subplot from ''Peace Walker'', [[spoiler:it's revealed that Huey murdered her after he tried to force their young son, Hal, to pilot Sahelanthropus and she criticized him for it. It's also indicated that Strangelove considered The Boss Hal's "true" mother in a sense and viewed Huey as largely a means to an end.]]

** There are some fans that can't take Hot Coldman seriously due to his name.

** [[spoiler:The TrueFinalBoss Metal Gear ZEKE piloted by Paz. [[IronicEcho Say Peace!]]]]
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: [[AwesomeMusic/MetalGear See here.]]
* [[Awesome/VideoGameLevels Awesome Video Game Level]]: Or more like, Awesome Video Game Minigame-slash-Cutscene. [[spoiler:You get to ''chase'' a running away Metal Gear ''on a horse'' while dodging missiles and trees thrown at you.]]
* BadassDecay: The fact that [[VideoGame/MonsterHunter Rathalos]] is the "King of the Skies" is rendered a bit moot when it's fighting a modern-day BadassNormal that almost exclusively uses guns, unless it decides to use the [[OverlyLongFightingAnimation "Rathalos World Tour"]].

** Fans are divided as to whether ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPortableOps'' was made non-canon due to the relative lack of reference in ''Peace Walker''. In addition, fans were also similarly divided in regards to whether [[spoiler: Kazuhira Miller was still working with Cipher by the end of ''Peace Walker'' or whether he quit working with Cipher after Paz Ortega Andrade attempted to launch a nuke at the East Coast under what is implied to be their orders, although the ending and the call itself suggests the latter belief is true.]]

** Various characters (including Big Boss) praising Che Guevara. On one hand, the praise comes from how El Che acts as an inspiration for those who are fighting for freedom, and or what is right, and some fans think that this make a lot of sense given the anti-war themes present. Detractors on the other hand point out that the characters praising El Che can be hypocritical given that real El Che owns nukes and stated that he can and will launch nukes if necessary, which contradict the anti-nuke themes that is prevalent in the series.
* ContestedSequel: Many ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' fans who do not own the Plarform/PlayStationPortable and/or care for the system's controls consider ''Peace Walker'' an unworthy sequel, much like ''Portable Ops'' before it. Of course, the control issues were fixed for the ''HD Edition'' released for the Platform/PlayStation3 and Platform/{{Xbox 360}}.[[note]]Also, it's available in the Platform/PlaystationStore for the Platform/PlayStationVita, and the Vita allows you to map the camera to the right stick.[[/note]]

* EnsembleDarkhorse: The Chairman.

%%* FauxSymbolism: [[spoiler: The Mammal Pod is full of butterflies, which become the pale petals of Rokovoj Bereg. The final butterfly becomes a peace symbol upon contact with water! Hideo Kojima is a genius, stop looking confused!]]

** The Stealth Camo, the Infinity Bandana, and the Soliton Radar. If it's any consolation, usage of the Stealth Camo won't allow you to S-rank missions, the Soliton Radar isn't useful until Rank Five, and the Infinity Bandana is acquired after a ''very hard'' Custom AI fight. If that wasn't enough, they also require a very long time to develop, too.
** In Outer Ops, the Kampfpistol (a Nazi flare gun modified into a grenade launcher here) does 5000 damage to everything. Vehicles and enemy soldiers included, one-shot killing them (if not dropping their health to near-dead).
** While in Versus Ops, the [=ADM65=] could count as this. Most assault rifles specialize in either low recoil or high damage, but the ADM has both of those with no clear weaknesses. No wonder everybody uses it, to the point it can become a bit jarring to other players who actually decide to give the vast number of other weapons an opportunity.
** [[GatlingGood The M134]] and the M47 are this for boss battles. The damage they do is just something to behold. Combine with the [[BottomlessMagazines bandana]] and boss battles become easy.
** The Fulton Carl Gustav is an essential tool for S-Rank runs on boss battles and can allow you to complete at least one extra op in seconds.

** On the console versions, ''the controls and gameplay mechanics'' are a game breaker. One of the biggest sources of difficulty in the ''Metal Gear Solid '' series have always been the controls. To put it simply, despite being a BadassNormal in every game, the franchise controls have always made it so that you fought like someone who’s never held a gun before. It legitimately felt like trying to control your limbs manually. The console versions of Peace Walker give you controls like a normal third person shooter, massively increasing your ability to fight back. Add into the the mix the previously mentioned lack of resource management due to the separate missions and it becomes remarkably easy to speedrun missions once you know the layout, popping off headshots from incredible distances (although not quite as distant as previous games due to the different aiming style) with ease while crouch running through the map, making S ranks quite easy to achieve in many missions.

** Kidnappers, tiny flying robots that can shoot machine guns at you or, if close enough, latch onto your leg with a grippy claw on a cable. They're never a serious threat head-on, but they're ''just'' distracting enough that they make facing tougher opponents much more dangerous, because while you're hanging in the air trying to get down, everyone else is shooting you. They get extremely annoying during the infiltration of the Missile Base - chaffing or shooting down one causes a caution mode. And they're placed in areas where you can't really hide unless you've got a box... and even then, it's a wait. They're also much more mobile than previous [=UAVs=] in the series.
** Armored Peace Sentinel soldiers during custom vehicle battles. On their own, with just machine guns or assault rifles? Fine. But at higher difficulties? They start blowing you away with rapid succession rocket fire, practically playing hackey-sack with Snake's body using explosions. Even worse are the SPAS-12 wielding escorts. At least, the rocket soldiers will pause to stop and reload their weapons and will be unable to attack you if you get too close to them. Not so much with the shotgun ones, who will never stop their barrage of blasts, stunning you at every second and cancelling many of the actions you try to do.
** The damn Velociprey in most of the ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'' missions. Not allowing you to reload? Getting in your way of firing potshots at the bosses? Leaping on you at the most inopportune times, knocking you down just as the boss is about to do something stupid? Just being an annoying part of the bosses? ''At least'' they let you cook up your rations. The funny thing is, they're faithful to their roles in ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'' - being annoying pricks.

** In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'', Revolver Ocelot was fully complicit in the Patriots' S3 Plan and was implied to be involved in the threat towards Olga Gurlukovich's child's life if Olga didn't cooperate. In ''Peace Walker'', Ocelot himself was later revealed to have been under Sunny's position when The Boss and The Sorrow had their final battle at Dolinovodno.
** Anything involving Huey [[spoiler: in light of his actions in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'', where he becomes less of an Otacon-clone and more of a callous monster; it makes you wonder exactly how much truth there is to Coldman's comments regarding his plagiarism and exactly ''how skilled'' Huey is, given Skull Face's team are able to complete their Metal Gear ''without him'']].
*** For those who liked the somewhat divisive Huey/Strangelove romance subplot from ''Peace Walker'', [[spoiler:it's revealed that Huey murdered her after he tried to force a two-year-old Hal Emmerich to pilot Sahelanthropus and she criticized him for it. It's also indicated that Strangelove considered The Boss Hal's "true" mother in a sense and viewed Huey as largely a means to an end.]]
** [[spoiler: The worst was in the audio conversation where he says "People can change, I know" makes you wonder how much he changed after the game.]]
** Remember that little music video where Paz sings her theme song on top of Mother Base? [[spoiler: It's the exact same area where you fight her, with the song as the background music.]]

** In a briefing file about Ruinas de Xochiquetzal, Paz mentions after Big Boss mentions he'd show respect to the temple only if the mood strikes him that he has no one to blame but himself if Xochiquetzal strikes him down for that defiance. [[spoiler:That line becomes a lot less funny when one of the lines that Paz states during her fight against Big Boss is "You have no one to blame but yourself!" when firing ZEKE's rail gun at Snake.]]
** Miller's English voice actor is British-born Robin Atkin Downes, which is ironic when you take into account of the fact that [[spoiler: [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid about 31 years later]], British-raised Liquid Snake does pose as Master Miller.]]
* HilariousInHindsight

** One of the pre-release trailers highlighted the game's multiplayer feature by showing off four Big Bosses assisting each other out. This led to speculation that the game would revolve around Big Boss leading an army of body doubles to serve as his decoys. While nothing like this actually happens in the actual story of ''Peace Walker'', it would foreshadow the end-game plot twist of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'' regarding the true identity of ''that'' game's protagonist.
** Big Boss gets to fight a [[VideoGame/MonsterHunter Rathalos]] in this game. Eight years after ''Peace Walker'''s release, his clone/son Solid Snake [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate will get to have a rematch with it on different turf.]]
** Kaz attempting to hit on Cecile becomes this after you've watched WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars and realized that this is basically a blonde half-Japanese [[Creator/RobinAtkinDownes Rush Clovis]] trying to rekindle his romance with a similarly blonde French [[Creator/CatherineTaber Padme Amidala]].
*** Alternatively, if you've played VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic, and you're aware of the [[NeverLiveItDown infamous]] kiss Leia gave Luke, that Kaz is Griff Vao and Cecile is Mission, Griff's brother.

* HoYay: Creator/HideoKojima strikes again. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kie5hwjouNo Just listen to Paz 8th diary entry]]. Or watch the, well, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwVPfF8Ir1g date with Kaz]]. It's official: Kojima is actively pre-empting the slash fiction continuum. [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/HoYay/MetalGear More info in here.]]

** Thanks to a few bits of dialog towards the end of the game, many people suspected that [[spoiler:Strangelove would become Huey's first wife and Otacon's mother]] long before it was confirmed in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain''.
** [[spoiler: "So wait, at the "endgame" the question of the discrepancy between Cécile and Paz's stories concerning their capture by the CIA and the origin of the tape Vladimir Zadornov used to assure Big Boss's involvement still hasn't been answered? One of them isn't telling the truth... now which one is the ''least'' likely to be a traitor...?"]]

* MemeticMolester: Paz's diary reveals [[IntimateLotionApplication Strangelove groped her under the guise of applying suntan lotion]] (Strangelove nearly fainted). Then she gets a cold, and then Miller tries to serenade her, and then exclaims that suppositories are good for colds... and then takes off his pants. And after that, Strangelove comes by with an "Indian remedy" that you rub on your chest.

** Interestingly subjective: many might dispute when or indeed if Naked Snake has crossed this in the prequel continuity so far. When you consider that he's running a mercenary company that will fight for virtually anyone with the money, it seems that if Big Boss didn't cross already, he's right at the edge. Most of his dialogue in the game suggests that, at the very least, he's developed a very fatalistic outlook of the world, without even the hope for a better future that defined his son's career.
** Unambiguous with Hot Coldman. His very first on-screen appearance has him going beyond the MoralEventHorizon by shoving a paraplegic down the stairs, and he only gets worse from there. And that's even before you find out [[spoiler: that he was the one behind the events of Operation Snake Eater.]]

** Keep hitting Codec while facing off against Peace Walker and you'll hear a very panicked Huey lament 'Oh God! We're all doooooomed!'.

** There are some people that can't take Hot Coldman seriously due to his name.

** [[spoiler: In a cruel twist, The Boss's horse must be euthanized by the player while also shooting The Boss again in a flashback, ''one right after the other''.]]

** [[spoiler: Paz - who we later learn is doing her utmost to fight everything she feels for Big Boss and MSF, turns on you in the finale with a mocking, heartbreaking ''"Say peace!"'' that goes against everything about her character prior to this]].

* TheScrappy:
** Paz. Most find her {{Moe}} persona extremely saccharine and more annoying or creepy than cute. [[spoiler: Post-reveal, she becomes more of a BaseBreakingCharacter, as she is either RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap by her tapes and true role in the story adding a lot of nuance to her character, or comes off even worse due to her betrayal of MSF and attempting to frame them by launching a nuke at the U.S. There's also the fact that she throws the player on a wild goose chase every time she frees Zadornov]].
** Chico is not particularly popular due to getting captured, selling his teammates out and being seen as little more than an annoying TagalongKid.
** Huey Emmerich, a [[GenerationXerox poor man]]'s Otacon. Whereas Otacon's considerable angst made him TheWoobie, in Huey's case, while he does have some legitimate grievances, many players just see him as selfish and {{Wangst}}y instead. Mind you, this is all before ''The Phantom Pain''.

** [[OverlyLongFightingAnimation The "Rathalos World Tour".]] Just as in ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'', it will get up and fly around the island pointlessly for an irritatingly long time before gliding in for a low sweep. This attack is hated simply for the fact that it ''wastes your time'' as it does absolutely nothing important while it's flying circles. ''Peace Walker'' makes it even worse than its ''Monster Hunter'' counterpart by making Rathalos use it far more often than in the latter, although bringing a few Stinger missiles to shoot it out of the sky for some extra damage is still well-appreciated.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: The Japanese version was toned down to get a lower age rating, as teenagers and children are the primary demographic for the PSP in Japan. Despite this, many elements are clearly not appropriate for the age group; there are a number of very suggestive briefing tapes, a mention on Miller mooning the other MSF soldiers while drunk at what was implied to be a wild party, various references to the drug trade, a lot of smoking (explicitly shown as well as implied), and the fact that there are two dating missions where the ending of the mission implies that the couple is having sex -- with one party being less than half Snake's age and the other being male.
* {{Woolseyism}}:
** During the Date Kaz mission, if the player interrogates Kaz, he'll say "No skeletons in my... closet." Originally, it was closer to "I'm not hiding anything!"

** The various Curry items were originally Bon Curry, Bon Curry Neo, and Bon Curry Gold 21. However, they changed it to Spicy Curry, Future Curry, and Great Curry, respectively, and they also redid the item description to give a history on what Curry is, and even stated that it was Miller's favorite food. With Pepsi Nex, they also altered the design so it acted as a reference to Narc Soda, the soft drink that Drebin often drank from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots''. Likewise, all of the items were also given some unique brand names (Tres Bien for the Men's Cologne [originally a product placement for Axe], and Taco Chips for the Tortilla Chips [which by the way was a product placement for Doritos]).

* ContestedSequel: Many ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' fans who do not own the Plarform/PlayStationPortable and/or care for the system's controls consider ''Peace Walker'' an unworthy sequel, much like ''Portable Ops'' before it. Of course, the control issues were fixed for the ''HD Edition'' released for the Platform/PlayStation3 and Platform/{{Xbox 360}}.[[note]]Also, it's available in the Playstation Store for the PlayStation Vita, and the Vita allows you to map the camera to the right stick.[[/note]]

* ContestedSequel: Many ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' fans who do not own the UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable and/or care for the system's controls consider ''Peace Walker'' an unworthy sequel, much like ''Portable Ops'' before it. Of course, the control issues were fixed for the ''HD Edition'' released for the UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation 3}} and UsefulNotes/{{Xbox 360}}.[[note]]Also, it's available in the Playstation Store for the Playstation Vita, and the Vita allows you to map the camera to the right stick.[[/note]]

* MemeticMolester: Paz's diary reveals Strangelove groped her under the guise of applying suntan (Strangelove nearly fainted). Then she gets a cold, and then Miller tries to serenade her, and then exclaims that suppositories are good for colds... and then takes off his pants. And after that, Strangelove comes by with an "Indian remedy" that you rub on your chest.

* [[Awesome/VideoGameLevels Awesome Video Game Level]]: Or more like, Awesome Video Game Minigame-slash-Cutscene. [[spoiler:How awesome is it that you get to ''chase'' a running away Metal Gear ''on a horse'' while dodging missiles and trees thrown at you!? A freaking lot, that's how awesome!]]

* FunnyAneurysmMoment:
** Remember that little music video where Paz sings her theme song on top of Mother Base? [[spoiler: It's the exact same area where you fight her, with the song as the background music.]]
** The Tactical Espionage Operations trailer has Kazuhira Miller explaining to Big Boss about their potential future role in the economy, as well as Big Boss explaining that they probably shouldn't have gotten involved in the first place because people are going to get rid of him. It becomes a heck of a lot more harsh after beating the game, as this was actually part of the second ending, [[spoiler:a few hours after defeating Paz, where Miller ends up admitting to his involvement in Cipher's scheme.]]
** In a briefing file about Ruinas de Xochiquetzal, Paz mentions after Big Boss mentions he'd show respect to the temple only if the mood strikes him that he has no one to blame but himself if Xochiquetzal strikes him down for that defiance. [[spoiler:That line becomes a lot less funny when one of the lines that Paz states during her fight against Big Boss is "You have no one to blame but yourself!" when firing ZEKE's rail gun at Snake.]]
** Miller's English voice actor is British-born Robin Atkin Downes, which is ironic when you take into account of the fact that [[spoiler: [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid about 31 years later]], British-raised Liquid Snake does pose as Master Miller.]]