History YMMV / MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain

* ThatOneAchievement: [[https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/07/behind-the-scenes-with-the-peaceniks-who-disarmed-mgsvs-nukes/ A secret nuclear disarment achivement]] receives this status, as it requires a server to not house a single nuke at ''any'' [=FOBs=]. This has led to multiple players either invading other [=FOBs=] to disarm nukes or stop them from doing so, a process that is easier said than done.

* ThatOneAchievement: [[https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/07/behind-the-scenes-with-the-peaceniks-who-disarmed-mgsvs-nukes/ A secret nuclear disarment achivement]] receives this status, as it requires a server to not house a single nuke at ''any'' [=FOBs=]. This has led to multiple players either invading other [=FOBs=] to disarm nukes or stop them from doing so. What's crazy is that, as a group of players during 2020 had shown with the Playstation 3's servers, even if all the nukes were disarmed, there's still around forty "phantom nukes" that cannot be disarmed, [[[[UnwinnableByMistake making the achievement impossible without hacking]]. Which they did.

* ThatOneAchievement: [[https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/07/behind-the-scenes-with-the-peaceniks-who-disarmed-mgsvs-nukes/ A secret nuclear disarment achivement]] receives this status, as it requires a server to not house a single nuke at ''any'' [=FOBs=]. This has led to multiple players either invading other [=FOBs=] to disarm nukes or stop them from doing so. What's crazy is that, as a group of players during 2020 had shown with the Playstation 3's servers, even if all the nukes were disarmed, there's still around forty "phantom nukes" that cannot be disarmed, making the achievement impossible without hacking. Which they did.

* SpoiledByTheFormat: The fact that, on Wiki/ThisVeryWiki, Venom Snake is on the game's Character Page shows that [[spoiler: he isn't the real Big Boss, since each Character Page only deals with characters that debuted in each game]].

** Part of the reason that the end-game plot twist is so controversial among the fanbase is because many feel that it retroactively cheapens much of the impact of the story and [[spoiler: made it feel like it added next-to-nothing on the backstory of Big Boss. Mission 45, "Shining Lights, Even in Death", is commonly cited as the most crucial plot point that is cheapened by the twist. It's the point where Big Boss fully becomes a demon, and it shows the sheer loyalty that the soldiers have for the man in spite of this... except you're not actually playing as Big Boss. The reason why the Radien twist worked in ''Metal Gear Solid 2'' is that not only did it introduce a completely new character to the series, but other characters like Solid Snake still had their backstories developed further. With ''Metal Gear Solid V'', [[NeverTrustATrailer it was advertised as the story of the path of Big Boss becoming the villain]]. But when you find out you were playing as a body double instead, you realize the game added nothing to the overall story of Big Boss and the only thing Venom Snake contributed to the mythos after the events in this game was being the "Big Boss" Solid Snake fought in ''[[VideoGame/MetalGear1 Metal Gear]]'']].

** ''Phantom Pain'' received rave reviews at launch but as the months went on, it has comparatively been less kind, between the anticlimactic ending, repeated missions and disconnected plot, Quiet's outfit and the controversy surrounding it, and the game becoming repetitive and grindy in its second half, to say nothing of the third act being unfinished. However, six years later the game has been ''further'' rexamined and this has been PlayedStraight to a degree; the story elements remain very divisive, but the sheer polish and addictive nature of it's open-ended stealth gameplay (which is seen by many as the height of the entire genre) has made it a fan-favorite for Stealth enthusiasts and is seen as a worthy ending for the series.

** Paz was seen as very {{Moe}} and very saccharine in ''Peace Walker'', which was generally found to be off-putting. [[spoiler:And, of course the whole can of worms opened at her true motivation divided the fanbase.]] Her final tape, Paz 5, however, was beloved by the fandom for expertly summarizing the themes of ''Phantom Pain'' and applying them to snake, providing closure for those who enjoyed her character, and weaving her sweet persona in the game perfectly, as [[spoiler:she's only a phantom and therefore an idealized version of the peace-lover Snake wanted her to be.]]

** Kojima leaving Konami following ''The Phantom Pain''[='=]s released. It gives new meaning to [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots "No Place for Hideo."]] In addition, Kojima claimed he wouldn't be able to work in the gaming industry if the game wasn't a success considering its content. Fortunately, it actually was a success.

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: While Huey wasn't necessarily hated in ''Peace Walker'', he was still derided for [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute being an almost exact copy of his son]] in terms of characterization. This game rescues him by [[spoiler:revealing he's a ''[[HateSink completely unlikeable]]'' narcissist, making him a [[LoveToHate much more memorable]] character in the process]].

** [[http://www.gamespot.com/articles/kojima-says-mgsv-characters-will-be-more-erotic-to-encourage-cosplay/1100-6414053/ Kojima initially stated]] that he had told Yoji Shinkawa to design Quiet as a "more erotic" character. [[http://www.digitalspy.com.au/gaming/news/a513296/metal-gear-solid-5-erotic-character-quotes-explained-by-kojima.html After there was a backlash]] towards his intentions for her design, Kojima attempted to correct himself in terms of what he meant. [[HypocriticalHumor Ironically]], [[http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/09/07/halo-dev-metal-gear-solid-v-character-design-is-disgusting one of the people who was offended by Quiet's appearance]] helped design [[Franchise/{{Halo}} Cortana]], a {{stripperiffic}} character. This issue only got worse following the game's release, especially after Kojima tried to HandWave the issue by claiming that the reason for her {{Stripperific}} design [[spoiler: she breathes through her skin due to the parasites infecting her lungs]] justifies it, supposedly by [[TheWoobie Woobiefying]] her to the point that players should feel bad for ogling her. Needless to say, a lot of players and critics disagree, [[http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2015/09/11/quiets-sexiest-metal-gear-solid-5-scenes-are-much-better-with-revolver-ocelot-instead/ such]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy-FhExTY9M as]] [[http://www.polygon.com/2015/8/27/9207599/metal-gear-solid-5-the-phantom-pain-review-ps4-xbox-one-PC here]], seeing it as a flimsy and dishonest excuse to try and cover the blatant {{Fanservice}}. Some of them even point out that it would've been fine if Kojima ''didn't'' provide such an excuse. Other think that Kojima was merely trolling people and wasn't actually being serious with his excuse.

** Kojima leaving Konami following ''The Phantom Pain''[='=]s released. It gives new meaning to [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots "No Place for Hideo."]] In addition, as mentioned in NeverLiveItDown below, Kojima claimed he wouldn't be able to work in the gaming industry if the game wasn't a success considering its content. Fortunately, it actually was a success.

* NeverLiveItDown:
** Kojima stated that the issues in ''Metal Gear Solid V'' were so sensitive that he would no longer be able to continue working in gaming if he screwed it up. [[ColdBloodedTorture Considering]] [[ChildSoldiers what's]] [[RapeAsDrama in]] both ''Ground Zeroes'' and ''The Phantom Pain'', you can see where he's coming from... until after the game came out and the reaction became confusion as nothing stood out as being particularly edgy.
** The entire fiasco regarding Quiet's sexualization has proven to be a lasting stain on the reputation of ''Metal Gear'' and Kojima himself. Whenever either falls into critical scrutiny, the beat of "that time Hideo Kojima justified blatant {{fanservice}} by claiming a woman breathed through her skin" will likely be the first thing people bring up as a point of attack.
** That the game launched in a clearly unfinished state with its entire third act being left on the cutting room floor. This, above everything else, was what drove a lot of the post-launch disappointment in the game.

* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: ''The Phantom Pain'' is generally viewed one of the best ''Metal Gear Solid'' titles since ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', and a step over ''Metal Gear Solid 4''.

* WinTheCrowd:

** [[spoiler: As DarthWiki/NightmareFuel-ridden as the Zero and Skull Face Truth Tape is, it’s hard not to chuckle at Zero loudly crashing into things, as most of it sounds almost comical.]]

** Dr. Evangelos Constantinou has a bizarrely dramatic style of line delivery combined with a thick accent at the beginning as he provides Snake with the news of what happened which...oddly work quite well, managing to make him look CrazyAwesome in what would have otherwise been a mundane scene.

** ''Phantom Pain'' received rave reviews at launch but time has comparatively been less kind, between the anticlimactic ending, repeated missions and disconnected plot, Quiet's outfit and the controversy surrounding it, and the game becoming repetitive and grindy in its second half, to say nothing of the third act being unfinished. While it's generally agreed that it has some of the best stealth mechanics of the series, it's usually seen as an anticlimactic finale to the series that didn't need to be made.

** The game makes a big deal about recruiting staff members with special skills, with several side-missions being to do exactly that and nothing more. The problem with this is that you'll naturally accrue a hefty amount of mediocre-level staff regardless of whether or not you bring them in yourself, meaning Mother Base will RAPIDLY become overpopulated and force you to start removing staff members simply in order to complete the side-missions in the first place, and forcing you to spend several cumulative hours sorting through staff-members with varying skill levels, working out who you need to keep around, who causes the most trouble among other staff members... it basically turns into a boring process of middle-management in the centre of an action-stealth game, taking up far more time than is necessary

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: [[AvertedTrope This is seemingly averted]] with ''The Phantom Pain'', which has gotten wide praise for its story despite being [[SequelEscalation even darker than]] ''Ground Zeroes'', probably because it mixes up the darkness with Kojima's trademark humor and some BlackComedy.

** [[http://www.gamespot.com/articles/kojima-says-mgsv-characters-will-be-more-erotic-to-encourage-cosplay/1100-6414053/ Kojima initially stated]] that he had told Yoji Shinkawa to design Quiet as a "more erotic" character. [[http://www.digitalspy.com.au/gaming/news/a513296/metal-gear-solid-5-erotic-character-quotes-explained-by-kojima.html After there was a slight backlash]] towards his intentions for her design, Kojima attempted to correct himself in terms of what he meant. [[HypocriticalHumor Ironically]], [[http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/09/07/halo-dev-metal-gear-solid-v-character-design-is-disgusting one of the people who was offended by Quiet's appearance]] helped design [[Franchise/{{Halo}} Cortana]], a {{stripperiffic}} character.
** This issue only got worse following the game's release, especially after Kojima tried to HandWave the issue by claiming that the reason for her {{Stripperific}} design [[spoiler: she breathes through her skin due to the parasites infecting her lungs]] justifies it, supposedly by [[TheWoobie Woobiefying]] her to the point that players should feel bad for ogling her. Needless to say, a lot of players and critics disagree, [[http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2015/09/11/quiets-sexiest-metal-gear-solid-5-scenes-are-much-better-with-revolver-ocelot-instead/ such]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy-FhExTY9M as]] [[http://www.polygon.com/2015/8/27/9207599/metal-gear-solid-5-the-phantom-pain-review-ps4-xbox-one-PC here]], seeing it as a flimsy and dishonest excuse to try and cover the blatant {{Fanservice}}. Some of them even point out that it would've been fine if Kojima ''didn't'' provide such an excuse. Other think that Kojima was merely trolling people and wasn't actually being serious with his excuse.

* BetterThanCanon: The PC version of the game makes it possible to swap characters out for each other, often to hilarious results. One particular setup involves switching Quiet for Ocelot, and quite a few fans actually prefer this to the actual game setup because (VocalDissonance aside) [[DullSurprise Quiet]] comes off as a lot more animated and interesting and less of a FetishRetardant, and Ocelot's close friendship and not exactly well-hidden romantic interest in Big Boss means it's not entirely out-of-character for him. As well as other [[RuleOfFunny more obvious]] [[MrFanservice reasons]]. On top of that, it's possible to make the chopper play whatever music you want, personalizing your personal getaway vehicle's MostWonderfulSound.

* BetterThanCanon: The PC version of the game makes it possible to swap characters out for each other, often to hilarious results. One particular setup involves switching Quiet for Ocelot, and quite a few fans actually prefer this to the actual game setup because (VocalDissonance aside) [[DullSurprise Quiet]] comes off as a lot more animated and interesting and less of a FetishRetardant, and Ocelot's close friendship and not exactly well-hidden romantic interest in Big Boss means it's not entirely out-of-character for him. As well as other [[RuleOfFunny more obvious]] [[MrFanservice reasons]].

* EightPointEight: Polygon criticizing ''The Phantom Pain'' for [[MsFanservice Quiet's]] [[{{Stripperific}} sexualized outfit]] before the game was released, and before they had even given it a score, was met with umbrage as some fans feared the game would receive a lower score for featuring sexualized content.[[note]]Polygon has been criticized in the past for lowering the review scores of games due to the [[WriterOnBoard reviewer's opinions on the sexualization of female characters]].[[/note]] They ended up giving the game a 9/10.

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: While Huey wasn't necessarily hated in ''Peace Walker'', he was still derided for [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute being an almost exact copy of his son]] in terms of characterization. This game rescues him by [[spoiler:revealing he's a ''[[HateSink completely unlikeable]]'' narcissist, making him a [[LoveToHate much more memorable]] character in the progress]].