Friday, January 21, 2011

Metal Gear

Metal Gear


"Metal Gear!?"

.

This franchise provides examples of:

  • Absurdly Spacious Sewer: The sewers under Groznyj Grad.
  • Achievements In Ignorance: OK, so Snake collects various plants and animals, which he can call Para-Medic to identify. At the same time, he carries around night-vision goggles and other various things which require battery power. When he collects a species of bio-luminescent mushrooms, he assumes that because they glow, that eating them will "recharge [his] batteries." This works even though Para-Medic specifically told him it was impossible. Snake's ignorance is just that good.
  • Almost Dead Guy.
  • Alternate Universe: Cloning was perfected extremely early, and apparently, so were exo-skeletons and mecha and gigantic Big Brother ships. Oh, and batshit AI.
    • The first game, made in 1987, takes place sometime in 1990's (later established to be in 1995 or 1996). The second game, made in 1990, takes place in 1999 and has the Soviet Union survive past 1991. Metal Gear Solid, made in 1998, takes place in 2005 and contains the line "The nuclear age ended with the turn of the millenium." Metal Gear Solid 2, released in 2001, took place in 2007 and 2009. So it takes place in the future, which is now the past, but the next game takes place in the future anyway, which won't happen because the past didn't happen because it was just a theory about what the future would be, This makes for one of the most confusing timelines in the history of fiction. Only the addition of time travel could it make it more confusing.
      • Not to mention their use of Ruritanian settings like Outer Heaven, Zanzibarland, and Snake Eater which takes place in "the jungles of the Soviet Union"
  • A Mac Guffin Full Of Money: The Philosopher's Legacy.
  • Anyone Can Die: A good number of main characters do. At the end of MGS 4, more than 80% of all characters are dead.
  • Arms Dealer: Four introduces the Drebin Network, who are you one stop shop for ammunition, unlocking weapons and porno mags. And its all 100% Patriot free. Not.
  • Ax Crazy: Half the freaking cast.
  • Baby Got Back: Solid Snake is one of the more notorious male examples, which the MGS 2 sneaking suit particularly emphasises. And then there's the "identify Meryl by staring at her butt" (technically, her distinctive walk in-story) business in Metal Gear Solid.
  • Badass: Well, yeah.
    • Back To Back Badasses: MGS4 Johnny and Meryl get one of these during their Crowning Moment Of Awesome.
    • Badass Bookworm: Otacon, eventually.
    • Badass Grandpa: Several. There's Big Boss, Revolver Ocelot, and The End. Solid Snake becomes one in Guns of the Patriots, and EVA is a Badass Grandma in 4 as well.
      • Snake's case is arguably that of a deconstruction, as Snake fighting in spite of his condition isn't solely treated as being heroic or inspiring. Rather, it's occasionally treated as being foolish and suicidal by the other characters at the minimum, and said characters aren't above patronizing and treating him like a burden.
    • Badass Longcoat: Ocelot. Liquid would count except he only has the coat on for maybe two scenes maximum.
    • Badass Mustache: Old Snake
    • Badass Normal: Snake, at least when compared to the majority of his not so supernaturally-gifted or crazy-equipped foes. He does have enormous willpower and isMade Of Iron, but he can't carry an M61 vulcan cannon and doesn't usually have kickass battle armor to help him.
      • Oddly enough, Johnny qualifies for this trope. He's patently useless in the majority of appearances, but his actions at the end of MGS4 cement his status (considering he was just a normal completely unmodified human soldier).
  • Being Tortured Makes You Evil: The backstories of three of the B&B Corps involve torture in some form.
  • Blood Knight: Big Boss. He wants to create a place in the world for people like him.
    • Solid Snake as well, given Metal Gear Solid/The Twin Snakes heavy implications that he is this and probably borderline Psycho For Hire.
    • Gray Fox. Well, kind of. He doesn't necessarily enjoy battle, but he does feel like he needs it.
  • Book Ends: Saluting the Boss at her grave.
  • Child Soldiers - Null/Gray Fox, Raiden, Drebin, Chico, and technically the Les Enfants Terribles clones.
  • Code Name - Speaks for itself.
  • Companion Cube - The cardboard fricking box. Both Solid and Naked Snake apparently have some sort of sexual fetish with it, and the Naked 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.
  • Contrived Coincidence - The Raikov mask in MGS3. Radio conversations reveal that it would have been destroyed had it not been for SIGINT insisting they keep it, and it served no real purpose for Snake when he first got it (the Virtuous Mission). Conveniently, Raikov was Colonel Volgin's lover and the mask allowed Snake access to the high security wing of Groznyj Grad.
  • Crazy Awesome - Lets face it, a Badass soldier with a strange affection and reliance on cardboard boxes is this. MGS4 upped the ante with the drum barrel which had much of the same functionality plus it could be used to literally barrel over multiple enemies. Peace Walker seems to be taking the crazy awesomeness to even greater heights with a tank-shaped cardboard box (with a working gun turret!), an ambulence-shaped box (complete with siren) that can heal people dragged into it, and a "Love Box" that has room for two... no implications there at all.
  • Creator Breakdown - Kojima didn't really want to make any games past Sons of Liberty, and there were actual death threats against him after making Snake Eaterbecause he didn't want to make a fourth game. As a result, Guns of the Patriots is full of subtext about Kojima's reluctance to make yet another Metal Gear game and resolve story points he never intended to be resolved.
  • Crowning Moment Of Awesome - So very many; in MGS4 Metal Gear REX vs. Metal Gear RAY. And it's PLAYABLE.
    • MGS4 actually had several, including the Raiden/Vamp battle, the aforementioned Humongous Mecha battle, and the final battle against Liquid, which devolves awesomely from two skilled and powerful fighters with incredibly fluid attacks to two old men slugging each other because that's all they have left. Oh, and the microwave hallway.
      • And one can't forget Raiden fighting off a legion of Liquid Ocelot's elite troopers after he lost both his arms.
      • And the one where Johnny and Meryl take turns proposing to each other and discuss their wedding plans. In the middle of a damn firefight.
      • The motorcycle scene in Eastern Europe. Mixed with the voice acting and awesome music by Harry Gregson-Williams, it gives me chills every time.
    • From the first game, Fox's fight with Rex, Snake rappelling down a tower to escape the Hind, Vulcan Raven, etc. Seriously, the series has a roughly one-to-one ratio between CMOAs and mindscrews.
  • Crowning Moment Of Funny: The codec calls can yield alot of this, especially in Snake Eater. Also, the cardboard boxes are this as well - see Crazy Awesome above. The enemies are incredibly stupid for never getting suspicious over a cardboard box that appears out of nowhere for absolutely no reason!!
  • Crowning Moment Of Heartwarming: Big Boss's CQC hug with Snake towards the end of MGS4. The rest of the scene qualifies as both this and a decent Tear Jerker.
  • Deathbringer The Adorable: The chickens on the Nomad, who do little besides hang out in their cages and lay eggs for Sunny to try to cook, are named Solid, Liquid and Solidus. Possibly subverted; it's conceivable, maybe even likely, that Sunny named them after the states of matter, not after three of the most deadly men to ever walk the Earth.
  • Deconstruction: Lots of it.
  • Does This Remind You Of Anything:
  • Ocelot: "There's nothing like the feeling of slamming a long, silver bullet into a well greased chamber."
  • Downer Ending: The last game subverts this (really), by playing the start of the credits before the final scene. Played heartbreakingly straight in MGS3, however.
  • Down The Drain
  • Driving Question: The patriots, during games 2-4.
  • Dysfunction Junction: The games go to lengths to point out just how incredibly screwed up almost every single character is, and the tragic consequences of such.
  • Enemy Civil War: The first few chapters take place during an armed insurrection in unnamed countries, and you can use distractions to move unnoticed. However, PMCs are hostile at all times, but helping the terrorists rebels nets you some items and ammo. And the original Patriots fighting among themselves is the real reason behind the events of the entire series.
  • Enemy Detecting Radar: 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 of Enemy Detecting Radar.
  • Extreme Omnivore: Naked Snake wants to taste everything that moves.
  • Eyepatch Of Power: 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.
  • Fallen Hero: Big Boss, along with Major Zero, Para-Medic, and Sigint.
  • Final First Hug: Big Boss hugs Snake like a father before his death.
  • Five Bad Band: Several.
Metal Gear Solid 2's Sons Of Liberty:
Metal Gear Solid 4's B&B Corp A.K.A. Snakehound:
  • Forgotten Superweapon: REX was more or less abandoned at Shadow Moses.
  • Form Fitting Wardrobe: Especially Snake's suit in 4.
  • Future Badass: Raiden in MGS4, Null to Gray Fox. Additionally, Portable Ops can count - the remaining survivors of the San Herionymo incident later become part of Big Boss's mercenaries.
  • Gainax Ending: Probably the other reason why MGS2 isn't well liked.
  • Gangsta Style: Justified - the model of gun it's used with is for a tactical purpose!
  • Gaussian Girl: In MGS3, Ocelot sees Naked Snake like this when Snake knocks him out and he's about to lose consciousness. Ever since then, Ocelot has become hisStalker With A Crush. Also, it is played with jokingly in the MGS3 Secret Theater, "He's Still Got It," where The End sees EVA like this.
  • Gone Horribly Right
  • Grand Finale: Metal Gear Solid 4 neatly wraps up 25 years of plot in an epic and conclusive manner.
  • Groin Attack: 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.
  • Gun Twirling: Ocelot.
  • Hand Cannon: Meryl's long-barrel Desert Eagle in MGS, which she claims to have used since she was a child. 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.
  • Has Two Daddies: Sunny, with Snake and "Uncle Hal".
  • Honor Before Reason: Bitterly commented on by Solid Snake.
  • I Cannot Self Terminate: Gray Fox has absolutely nothing to live for except one last battle with Solid Snake. Vamp's nano-machine enhanced Healing Factor prevents him from committing suicide. Fortune cannot be hit with bullets, and any grenades thrown in her vicinity end up being duds 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 looking for a Worthy Opponent to finish them off. The Boss was a special case, as 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.
  • I Know That Gun: The Patriot, which is an M231 FPW with a Beta C-Mag. FPW stands for 'firing port weapon' and the gun was designed to be used in the hull gun ports of Bradley armoured personnel carriers. Lord only knows why The Boss has one a decade and a half before it was designed.
  • I Let You Win: Young Ocelot's excuse every time. Or maybe not an excuse, since he's your CIA contact.
  • Implausible Fencing Powers: Justified in the fact that A) the blades are meant to deflect bullets, and B) The suits they wear increase reflexes.
  • Indestructible Edible: CalorieMates(TM)
  • In A World: The Courage is Solid trailer.
  • In Love With Your Carnage: Ocelot's pseudo-romantic admiration for Big Boss when he hears about Big Boss managing to kill people so easily (and his firsthand experience watching Big Boss neutralize the Ocelot Unit).
  • Kill It With Fire: Pyro Bison, Fire Trooper, The Fury, Incendiary Grenades and Molotovs in MGS4, and flamethrower units in Metal Gear Acid 2.
  • Kudzu Plot: Starts off mild in the early games. Taken Up To Eleven with MGS2.
  • Lady Of War: The Boss. One of the strongest, most graceful and heroic characters in the entire series. Her unrivaled skill at playing this role is one of the reasons she's so well loved.
  • Lampshade Hanging: Taken to an art form.
  • Large Ham: Liquid Snake and his wacky arm gestures, Revolver Ocelot, and Death Seeker Fortune are guilty of this. And when Liquid's arm possesses Ocelot, the hamminess can barely be described.
  • Latex Perfection: 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.
  • Lost In Translation: "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.
  • The Man Behind The Man: Like you wouldn't believe.
    • The Patriots could be more accurately described as the computer behind the man.
  • Manly Tears: In Snake Eater, 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.
    • Fifty years later, 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.
  • Methuselah Syndrome: Three different characters are stated to have lived for over a century (The End, 1861?-1964; Old Boy, 190?-2008, and Major Zero, 1909-2014).
  • A Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Read: One of Psycho Mantis' many problems.
  • Mysterious Informant: 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 for another reason.
  • Only Sane Man: Sigint seems to think everyone else on Fox Unit are nuts. He may be right.
  • The Paragon Always Rebels: Big Boss.
  • Parrot Exposition: 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, andadding a question mark to it.
    • Lampshaded in Metal Gear AC!D2, when Snake hears General Wiseman describe what Doctor Koppelthorn did hi-jack: Metal Gear.
      Snake: Metal Gear?!
      Dalton: Huh? You're familiar with it?
      Snake: No. Had to blurt it out...
    • Ironically in MGS4, used by Old Snake to restore Psyche until his body builds up a tolerance (in both gameplay and a cutscene near the end of the playable part of the game), as well as to make Vamp mortal and to free himself and Meryl from Screaming Mantis' nanomachine control.
  • Rare Guns: You have D-Eagles (and the long-barreled version, which is widely available), muskets, the Bizon, Chinese copies of Mausers, DSR-9s, and so on.
  • Ravens And Crows: Vulcan Raven in Metal Gear Solid, Raging Raven in MGS4. The similar codenames are not a coincidence.
  • Replacement Scrappy: Raiden
  • Rescued From The Scrappy Heap: If Raiden's actions during MGS4 don't qualify him for this, then nothing will.
  • Reverse Mole: Ocelot is arguably the true hero.
  • Shrouded In Myth: It seems like everyone who meets Snake for the first time has some sort of Memetic Badass picture of him.
  • So Cool Its Awesome: The wonderful mix of the complex story and the engaging gameplay.
  • Some Anvils Need To Be Dropped: While a lot of video games are content to simply let players have fun and let them learn something from the experience if they so choose, this series hammers its players over the head with complex philosophy and hard-hitting truths about the way war works that even most novels shy away from. And it doesn't stop. The repetition may seem a bit like overkill, but it's exactly what makes each game's message so effective, because it will not let you forget. Check out theexample page for more details.
  • Supervillain Lair: Shadow Moses, Gronzyj Grad, Arsenal Gear, Outer Haven (and its later incarnation), you name it...
  • Thirty Xanatos Pileup
  • Vader Breath: Psycho Mantis from MGS.
  • Variable Mix: Quite stunningly good in this instance.
  • Voice Of The Legion: The Beauty and Beast unit all speak with two voices overlapped, one female, one male - but only when they're in their suits.
  • The Woobie: Nine tenths of the major characters in the series. Where do we start?
    • Big Boss
    • The Boss
    • Solid Snake
    • Raiden
    • The entire B&B Corps (try listening to their bios and tell me you aren't prepared to forgive them for being murdering psycho nutcases...)
    • Otacon
  • Xanatos Funeral: The Boss.
  • Xanatos Roulette: Ocelot's plan, and possibly Big Boss's as well.
  • You Kill It You Bought It: Naked Snake gains the title of "Boss" (or rather, Big Boss), after killing The Boss (though this probably isn't the standard procedure for the promotion).
  • You Monster: EVA says this to Volgin during his torture of Sokolov.
  • Young Gun: Major Ocelot in Metal Gear Solid 3.
  • Youngest Child Wins: Averted: Solid Snake, the sole surviving Les Enfant Terribles clone by the end of the series, is actually the oldest of the LET children, and manages to free himself.
  • Wild Mass Guessing: Worth mentioning because some of the WMG theories are less crazy than what's canon.
  • War Is Hell: No one is really proud of what they are doing, and only the Complete Monstersdon't suffer a lot because of it.
  • Weaksauce Weakness: Gekko can be tranquilized.
  • White Shirt Of Death: The most dramatic death scene takes place in a snow storm, where the poor victim is wearing a white camouflage uniform.
  • The much more dramatic than that death scene takes place in a field of white flowers, where the victim is wearing a silver and white sneaking suit.
  • Zero Approval Gambit: Done tragically by The Boss.
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