Tag: MGSV

Metal Gear Solid V – The Final Theory

MGS V – SPOILERS AHEAD!  YOU’VE BEEN WARNED!!!

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The next Colonel?

After my last article about getting over what seems to be a terrible ending to a game that we have put far too much thought into I started to look away from Metal Gear Solid V – The Phantom Pain and back towards Ground Zeroes.  I have come to realize a couple things about these games and how we are looking at them from the wrong perspective (figuratively and maybe even literally).

Bear with me on this ride, it might get a bit silly as far as theories go.
There Are Three Chapters to MGS V
Ground Zeroes, Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 are all a part of the story we have played through, assuming we played both pieces of software.
That said, if you look at the story and think about them as a stand-alone multi-disc game you will see that they are certainly a complete story in many regards.  They aren’t a great story in any sense, but it is also the nature of the beast with games anymore.  Now that we have seen the fallout of Konami/Kojima, I am sure there was a lot left out as well.  Regardless, it doesn’t take away from the fact that if you look at both games you can see that it really is a rather full story in most cases.
The Deep Theory
Naked Snake- AKA, Big Boss was never a part of MGS V – Ground Zeroes.
I have come to look at the story as a whole in a new light.  I believe we have all been lied to since the beginning of MGS V (Ground Zeroes).  It is my theory that Big Boss was never present in either game.  Venom Snake (AKA ‘Boss’ in MGS V – GZ & TPP) was set up from the beginning to undertake what turned out to be a strange mission of vengeance against a faceless enemy.
This rings of all sorts of metaphors and such if you let your mind wander down the ‘rabbit hole’. or maybe it’s a snake hole?
Ground Zeroes Observations and Points
From the beginning we have an eye patch (much like Snake in MGS 3 – Snake Eater).  We also have two functioning arms, as far as we can tell.  The intro sees Skullface interacting with Chico and Paz in Cuba as prisoners/torture victims.  Snake goes on to rescue both of them and evacuate on a chopper.
A few things to note –
+ We are on good terms with Huey.
+ Skullface seemingly appears out of the blue as far as storylines go.  They say he secretly commanded for Cipher and such, and that is likely true.  However, it doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense for Big Boss to have any beef with the guy.
+ Chico and Paz both react strangely to Snake rescuing them.  They almost don’t fully believe it is him – sounds quite similar to what happens later, no?
+ The entire mission and aftermath of the destroyed Mother Base, etc. seems manufactured to me.  Afterall, Big Boss is supposed to be building a nation in Africa, not the ocean.
Ground Zeroes Theory(ies)
I believe a few things about Ground Zeroes that will make sense of the entire MGS V experience.  The first is that from the beginning Big Boss was never under our control.  I believe Venom Snake was being brainwashed and sent on this mission from the beginning.  He wasn’t a medic on a chopper protecting Snake from some explosion on the platform.  He was in the chopper with Miller on a mission that was supposed to play a part in him being tested as the doppelganger for Big Boss.  We have always been Venom Snake as far as MGS V goes. V isn’t 5 in this case, it is V for Venom Snake.  Roman numerals were never used for the other MGS games and I believe there is a good reason for that.
GZ – Off the beaten path Theory – There are a few other things that happen in Ground Zeroes that make me question everything as well.  The Déjà vu mission is both a flashback for us, but also a strange flash forward for Venom Snake in the supposed time of MGS V (around the early 1980s).  This makes me wonder if the snake hole is even deeper than we thought.
Maybe this is all a weird experience within a strange AI.  Maybe none of this is happening, from GZ through TPP.  It would make sense for this to be a total mindf**k if Kojima wanted it to be.  If you played through MGS through MGS 4 you can see that nanomachines and mind altering have been integral within the entire experience.  Maybe we are simply experiencing the created memories given to a clone of Big Boss?

The Phantom Pain Theory –
        Every other complete Metal Gear Solid game (1, 2, 3, Peacewalker and 4) has had numerous boss fights and interactions.  In TPP we also have boss fights, but they aren’t set up to feel that way.
        We have to fight Quiet, Eli, The Man on Fire and Sahelanthropus (on a couple occasions).  I think a lot of what we experience in this game as far as feeling like something was missing is when we consider two characters that we never really fight – Skullface and Psycho Mantis.

These aren’t important interactions in the sense of the overall story. I believe Kojima made these all rather forgetable because this isn’t meant to be a Big Boss story or Solid Snake… it’s Phantom story… a ghost story. It is supposed to blow away like ashes.

Also… nuclear disarmament and Peace (The elusive Chapter 3) will never happen. Why? Because if they happen there is no MGS – MGS 4. Sure they reference the tech being there in the future… but it is a losing battle.

Ocelot Protects The Man He Will Become. Eli (Liquid Snake) –
There was so much potential for holes to develop in the story that I believe Kojima was brilliant in this way.  Ocelot didn’t seem like the Ocelot we have known in every other MGS title.  Every other title has him acting incredibly arrogant and sometimes even foolishly.  He is so even-keeled in MGS V – TPP (Keep in mind, he isn’t to be seen or heard from in GZ.?) that it makes me wonder if he is on Xanax.
        The only time Ocelot really shows his true colors is in the torture room. interesting.  Considering the game ends with a discussion between the two men about the future roles of David (Solid Snake) and Eli (Liquid Snake) in the fight for dominance as the real ‘Big Boss’.  I think the real reveal is yet to be known. I believe there is something bigger on the horizon and it involves Solid Snake.

Kojima’s Good Bye To Metal Gear –
More than anything else with the Metal Gear Story from Snake Eater through Metal Gear Solid 4 as far as literal story timeline goes – Kojima has completed the circle/spiral.  He started it all back in the Early-Mid 80s and then MGS grabbed us and put us on this wild ride.  It is my belief that Kojima wanted to finish any of the holes in his timeline.  I believe TPP was an effort to if not explain every detail maybe fill the gaps with something. anything.  He had referenced on many occasions a wish to move on from Metal Gear.  As selfish as I am for more Metal Gear from Kojima, I also understand how much it sucks to work on the same thing for a long time. let alone being an artist that has to work on the same art for decades.  It sounds dreadful when you think of it that way. does it not?

Final Theory –
Metal Gear Will Go On And David Hayter Will Return As Snake
This might be more of a hope than a theory.  However, there is something to consider with all of the Metal Gear Solid Storyline finished through MGS 4.  Solid Snake is still living at the end of MGS 4. and Big Boss has made it to be alongside his clone as well. 
Metal Gear as a series is now owned by Konami without the presence of Kojima. 
It is my belief that Solid Snake has been cloned and they will find a way to develop a way for him to go on fighting with Hal by his side in the future.  Before The Phantom Pain was announced, I posed a theory as to whether or not there would be another MGS game after MGS4 (see here).
I believe we will see Solid Snake once again and it will end up being around the year 2032-2040.  This is because I believe Naomi took Solid Snake’s DNA (while probably possessing that of Big Boss and perhaps even Liquid Snake/Ocelot) midway through MGS 4.  She seemed to be full of so much regret for having taken part in what turned out to be the brief life of Solid Snake that I think she wanted a chance to for lack of a better phrase – pay it forward.
Solid Snake isn’t dead by the time MGS 4 rolls credits, and Hal is still alive and kicking with Meryl, Johnny and Sunny.  It is my hope that we will see Meryl become the new Colonel and Solid Snake’s clone enter the future world of stealth espionage when he reaches the age necessary to learn the skills that are waiting in his DNA.

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Kept You Waiting, Huh? – Metal Gear Solid 5 (MGSV) And What Could Have Been

It has been awhile since NoobTubeTV has given the world a piece of its somewhat unique views in the gaming world.  I know you have missed my sardonic presence – and I have missed your views and comments.

The newest and (final?) iteration of the Metal Gear universe has been out for nearly a month and it has proven to be everything I had hoped for from the gameplay perspective shown in the MGS5 Prequel Ground Zeroes.  We will start with the positives and the gaming gods know there are tons of them.  This game handles as well as any third-person title I have ever played and the presentation that comes with it somehow makes it feel like I am taking an active role in a movie throughout.

Here's to you Solid Snake. The real protagonist of Metal Gear.
Here’s to you Solid Snake. The real protagonist of Metal Gear.

There are a few instances when you might get frustrated with the handling – climbing over seemingly non-existent rocks/hills/rises around the open worlds of Afghanistan and Africa.  It makes you roll your eyes when Snake/Boss/You/Whoever can’t run over and through a small area but can climb cracks in walls with the ease of Spiderman.  Similarly, you might encounter a few times where aiming your weapons at a target doesn’t account for some sort of rigid tent pole or the like (again, an eye roll… nothing to break a controller over).

While playing through the first twenty missions or so I started to find myself hoping to meet all sorts of characters as the story unfolded.  Some of the characters and reveals you come across are enough to make you use your inner-Keanu Reeves and say ‘Whoa’.  Then you keep playing through the game and it is like you are experiencing the first part of Kojima’s master symphony.  Then just as the crescendo begins to build in volume and you start marking this game down mentally as the greatest gaming story/epic of our time – it starts to fade from a master symphony and into Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up.

We have been Rick Rolled in the worst of ways by a gaming master director and his estranged publisher (Konami).

I felt like Dr. Grant and the Jurassic Park crew when they go on their sitting tour of the laboratories and they resort to breaking the bar over the seats and going to the lab anyway.  I felt like that… except the bar was not going to move and Kojima and Co. were riding away in a black SUV and counting my money.

I am trying my best not to spoil anything for you if you haven’t played the game all the way through (whatever that means…).

Okay.  I won’t spoil any plot points for you, but you should know that this game is built in such a way from a story perspective that you will pick and choose missions as you go through and there will be cassettes unlocked as you beat each mission, etc.  These aren’t some sort of optional cassettes though.  For those of you that complained about the MGS4 pointless video sequences – this is how Kojima tried to make you happy… and I hate you for it.

I put far more time into MGS5 than I probably should have over the last month or so and I must say I wish I had about half of it back.  When I play a game that starts with Chapter 1 I don’t expect Chapter 2 to be the last chapter of the game.  Yes, I am serious – Chapter 2… is the final chapter of this game.  Even Shakespeare and basically every other play/movie has three acts.  Not only does this game leave a sour taste in my mouth, it locks me in a room with a lackluster online multiplayer and no toothbrush.

The end of this game is such that you will be left disappointed and pissed off like Mass Effect 3 left many die hard fans.  Unless you are a Kojima apologist (like the Mass Effect groupies) that think everything about this is perfect and is a fine way to end a great story.

The only problem with the apologist point of view is that you have effectively done nothing meaningful to the story of Metal Gear by the time you have finished the main farce story.  I wanted this game to keep on being what it seemed like it would be as I saw a couple key characters in much younger forms.  It was almost like playing through a prequel of the Harry Potter stories as Lord Voldemort and just as you are getting your army of deatheaters together and prepping to Avada Kedavra everyone – the story is scrapped and the credits run.

At least I can still finish The Witcher 3 and look forward to Fallout 4.  Metal Gear Solid 5 went from being the best game ever to being maybe a Top 5 game of 2015.

If you are a die hard Metal Gear fan like my brother and I you should still buy this game and play it.  Otherwise, just stick to playing MGS4 over and over again on your PS3 and enjoy what should have been the final chapter of MGS.

Kojima-san, I would have rather kept on waiting.