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Metal Gear History

Date     : 2024-12-02
Entry ID : 16525
Game     : Metal Gear Solid (@80)

An somewhat dry overview of Metal Gear lore, focused on nailing down the facts about characters, locations, and factions.

Contents:

Overview

In the following we'll use these abbreviations:

BB - Big Boss, SS - Solid Snake, VS - Venom Snake, RA - Raiden

Main series timeline:1 2 3

Title Game link Fictional
year
Main
character
First
platform
Metal Gear Solid 3 link 1964 BB PS2
Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker link 1974 BB PSP
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes link 1975 BB PS4
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain link 1984 VS PS4
Metal Gear link 1995 SS MSX
Metal Gear II: Solid Snake 1999 SS MSX
Metal Gear Solid link 2005 SS PSX
Metal Gear Solid 2 link 2007,2009 SS, RA PS2
Metal Gear Solid 4 link 2014 SS PS3
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance link 2018 RA 360

Non-canonical games:

Title Game link Fictional
year
Main
character
First
Platform
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops 1970 PSP
Metal Gear Survive link 1975 Custom PS4
Snake's Revenge 1995? SS NES
Metal Gear: Ghost Babel 2006? SS GBC
Metal Gear Acid link PSP
Metal Gear Acid 2 PSP

Overview of characters:

Name Factions Family
Big Boss FOX, FOXHOUND, The Patriots, MSF
Solid Snake FOXHOUND BB clone
Solidus Snake Dead Cell BB clone
Liquid Snake Sons of Big Boss BB clone
Venom Snake Diamond Dogs
Zero The Patriots, FOX, XOF
Grey Fox FOXHOUND
Ocelot FOXHOUND, The Philosophers, KGB, Son of The Boss
The Patriots, Diamond Dogs
- Everyone!
Miller MSF, Diamond Dogs, FOXHOUND
Paz The Patriots, CIA, KGB, MSF
The Boss Cobra Unit, FOX
Raiden

Overview of factions:

Name Agency
/ Force
Major power affiliation Leader
MSF - - Big Boss
Diamond Dogs - - Big Boss
Sons of Big Boss - - Liquid Snake
The Patriots US Government Zero
FOX CIA US Government Zero
XOF CIA US Government Zero
FOXHOUND US Army US Government Big Boss
Dead Cell US Navy US Government Solidus Snake
KGB KGB USSR Government
Cobra Unit The Philosophers The Boss
Sons of the Patriots (1) AI Patriots

1) Soldier control system, more than an actual faction

Characters

Solid Snake



Solid Snake (Metal Gear Solid 2)
David, Iroquois Pliskin, Old Snake

Family line:

Clone of Big Boss (Les Enfants Terribles).
Clone brothers: Liquid Snake, Solidus Snake.

Timeline of Solid Snake:

Year Game Event
1995 MG Recruit in FOXHOUND, mission to find Gray Fox
Goes to Outer Heaven controlled by Big Boss
Kills Venom Snake
1999 MG2:SS Infiltrates Zanzibarland, controlled by Big Boss
Gray Fox has defected to Zanzibarland
Defeats Gray Fox
Kills Big Boss
Retires and lives in Alaska
2005 MGS Comes out of retirement
Gets injected with FOXDIE by Dr. Naomi Hunter
Shadow Moses island: corrupt faction of FOXHOUND
Revolver Ocelot, Psycho Mantis, Liquid Snake
Liquid dies from FOXDIE
Snake's death was faked by Campbell
2007 MGS2 Snake is a renegade
Snake and Otacon creates organization 'Philanthrophy' with
the goal or eradicating all Metal Gear technology
Manhattan Incident: Snake boards the tanker to photograph
Metal Gear RAY
2009 MGS2 Snake infiltrates Big Shell facility, because he learns
that a new Metal Gear is being developed there
2014 MGS4 Sons of the Patriots (SOP) control soldiers using
nanomachines
Liquid Ocelot and wants Big Boss'es body to access
and nuke The Patriots master AI
Solid suffers from accelerated aging
United Nations Security Council (UNSC) wants him to
assassinate Liquid
Snake installs a virus that destroys The Patriots
Snake fights and kills Liquid Ocelot
2014 MGS4 Snake retires and lives out his life in peace

Big Boss



Big Boss (Metal Gear Solid 4)
John, Naked Snake, Ishmael

Timeline of Big Boss 4 5:

Year Game Event
1935 Born as John (or Jack)
1950 Disciple of The Boss, fights in Korean War
1964 MGS3 Works for CIA unit FOX,
Gets shot in the eye by young Revolver Ocelot
kills his mentor The Boss, leaves FOX/CIA in anger
1970 PortOps Recruits specialists in Colombia
1971 Big Boss is recruited for The Patriots by Zero
The Patriots and Big Boss establish FOXHOUND
1972 MGS4 His DNA used for Les Enfants Terribles by Zero
1974 MGS:PW Establishes Militaires Sans Frontieres
Takes over Mother Base in the Caribbean Sea
1975 MGS5:GZ Infiltrate US black site in Cuba
Paz has been implanted with a bomb that causes a
helicopter crash. Big Boss enters a coma.
1984 MGS5:TPP Wakes from coma, poses as Ishmael,
establishes independent nation Outer Heaven and
and controls Venom Snake from behind the scenes
1995 MG Somehow returns to lead FOXHOUND
Secret leader of Outer Heaven
Sends rookie Solid Snake to infiltrate Outer Heaven,
assuming he will fail
1999 MG2:SS The Leader of Outer Heaven in Zanzibarland
Zanzibarland falls
Burnt to death by Solid Snake
Was placed in coma with genetic code used as ID to
access The Patriots (AI)
2014 MGS4 Body reconstructed with parts from Liquid and
Solidus,
wakes up, kills Zero, and dies from FOXDIE.

The Boss



The Boss (Metal Gear Solid 3)
The Joy

Timeline of The Boss:

Year Game Event
1922 Born
1942 Founded Cobra Unit
1944 Gives birth to Revolver Ocelot in Normandy
1951 Meets a 15-year old Big Boss and trains him
1955 Works with Strangelove on Project Mercury, first US spaceflight.
1961 She was the first American in space. Her capsule crashed into the ocean, was in coma for 6 months.
1964 MGS3 Killed by Big Boss during Operation Snake Eater

Revolver Ocelot



Revolver Ocelot (MGS2)
Shalashaska, ADAM, Liquid Ocelot

Family line:
Son of The Boss and The Sorrow.

Timeline of Revolver Ocelot:

Year Game Event
1944 Born as Adamska in Normandy (mother: The Boss)
1964 MGS3 Fights against KGB
1970 Zero recruits Ocelot and Big Boss into The Patriots
1984 MGS5TPP In Diamond Dogs with Venom Snake
2005 MGS Works for Solidus to incite Liquid Snake's insurrection
on Shadow Moses
2007 MGS2 Gets his arm replaced by Liquid Snake's arm for some reason
2007 Ordered by The Patriots to steal Metal Gear RAY
2014 MGS4 Fights Solid Snake and dies from FOXDIE

Solidus Snake



Solidus Snake (MGS2)
George Sears

Family line:
Clone of Big Boss, president of the US.

Year Game Event
2005 MGS Revolver Ocelot is double agent for 'Mr. President'
2009 MGS2
2009 MGS4 Body is burned

Venom Snake



Venom Snake (MGS5TPP)
Punished Snake, Ahab, V

Combat medic, facial reconstruction and brainwashed to be Big boss body double

Year Game Event
1975 Operates on Paz
Shields Big Boss from explosion in chopper
Enters coma and awakes with memory loss
1984 MGS5:TPP Commands Diamond Dogs and Mother Base in Seychelles
1995 Metal Gear Big Boss body double Killed by Solid Snake

Zero



Major Zero (MGS3)
Cipher, David Oh, Major Tom

Killed by Big Boss in 2014.

Raiden



Raiden (MGR)
Jack the Ripper, White Devil

Liquid Snake

(Eli, White Mamba)

Gray Fox



Gray Fox (MGS)
Frank Jaeger, Frank Hunter, Cyborg Ninja, Deepthroat, Null

Year Game Event
1995 Metal Gear Gray Fox goes to Outer Heaven, discovers Metal Gear
Is rescued by Solid Snake
1999 MG2:SS Gray Fox has defected to Zanzibarland
Is killed by Solid Snake
2005 MGS Corpse is grafted into exoskeleton, reborn as the Cyborg Ninja
Killed by Liquid

SKULL FACE



Skull Face (MGS5TPP)


Last survivor of village in Transylvania , horribly burned after U.S, bombing
Former XOF

Games

Metal Gear Solid 3

Key Fact
Time/place 1964 Soviet Union
Character Big Boss
Factions FOX (CIA) vs. Cobra Unit, Colonel Volgin
Events Virtuous Mission (prologue), Operation Snake Eater
Deaths The Boss

MGS: PEACE WALKER

Key Fact
Time/place 1974 Colombia and Costa Rica
Character Big Boss
Factions MSF vs. CIA
Events Peace Walker Incident

MGS5: GROUND ZEROES

Key Fact
Time/place 1975 Cuba
Character Big Boss
Factions MSF vs. CIA
Events Ground Zeroes Incident
Deaths Skull Face implanted bombs in Paz

MGS5: THE PHANTOM PAIN

Key Fact
Time/place 1984
Character Venom Snake
Factions Diamond Dogs vs. ???
Events Phantom Pain Incident

METAL GEAR

Key Fact
Time/place 1995
Character Solid Snake
Factions FOXHOUND (US Army) vs. Outer Heaven (independent nation)
Events Outer Heaven Uprising (South Africa)
Deaths Snake kills 'Big Boss' (actually Venom Snake)
Game Metal Gear (MSX2 1987)

Plot summary:
* Gray Fox is sent by FOXHOUND to infiltrate Outer Heaven.
* Big Boss is the commander of FOXHOUND.
* Big Boss sends Solid Snake to discover what happened to Gray Fox.
* Big Boss is also the leader of Outer Heaven.
* Outer Heaven has a Metal Gear.
* Snake kills Big Boss, whose sprite just disappears instantly at the last hit. It doesn't seem like he could survive.
* Solid Snake kills 'Big Boss', but according to the retcon, it's Venom Snake posing as Big Boss

Script translation - Big Boss encounter after destroying Metal Gear 6:

BIG BOSS
Solid Snake! You arrived here... ...I'm the
commander-in-chief of FOX HOUND and boss of Outer Heaven, Big Boss!!
I gave a rookie like you this mission to let you report false information.
But, you have gone too far. Too far!
Solid Snake! I won't die for nothing. You die with me! Come on!

Metal Gear Solid

See Story Summary article.

METAL GEAR SOLID 2

Key Fact
Time/place 2007,2009
Character Solid Snake, Raiden
Factions
Events Tanker Incident, Manhattan Incident
Deaths

Tanker Incident

Manhattan Incident

Locations

Big Shell
- Naval platform ouside of Manhattan
- Cover for the development of Arsenal Gear
- Supposedly decontamination facility built by US government

Arsenal Gear
- Submersible, mobile fortress
- The Patriots, US Navy
- Carries robotic Metal Gear RAYs
- Monitor and control internet communication
- Control over military and nuclear weapons
- Carries nuclear weapons

Mother Base (Caribbean)
- Militaires Sans Frontieres 1974 (MGS:PW)
- 'Outer Heaven'

Mother Base (Seychelles)
- Diamond Dogs 1980s (MGS5:TPP)

Shadow Moses
- Island in Alaska
- ArmsTech dummy corporation
- Weapons development, disguised as nuclear weapons disposal facility
- Hosts the development of Metal Gear REX in 2002

Factions

MILITAIRES SANS FRONTIERES
- 1972
- Big Boss, Kaz Miller

DIAMOND DOGS
- 1980s
- Venom Snake, Kaz Miller, Revolver Ocelot

US Government Factions

The Patriots

(Cipher, La Li Lu Le Lo)

MGS

MGS2

The Philosophers
Cobra Unit
FOX

(Force Operation X)
- 1964 - 1970
- Part of CIA
- Commanded by Zero during Cold War
- Members: Zero, The Boss, Naked Snake (Big Boss)

FOXHOUND

(High-Tech Special Forces Unit FOXHOUND)
- MGS
- 1971 - 2005
- Part of US Army
- Commanded by Big Boss
- Members: Big Boss, Campbell, Liquid Snake, Gray Fox, Miller, Solid Snake,
Ocelot, Vulcan Raven, Psycho Mantis

XOF
DEAD CELL

Changelog

References


  1. Story timeline
    Alex Camilleri (2015-2022)
    Detailed timeline of the whole Metal Gear lore 

  2. Metal Gear: The Complete Timeline (What You Need to Know!)
    Suggestive Gaming (2022) 

  3. A Metal Gear Retrospective
    YourFavoriteSon (2024)
    Detailed series focused on the games, not the story. 

  4. Metal Gear Solid: Hideo Kojima's Magnum Opus
    Mehdi El Kanafi, Nicolas Courcier, Denis Brusseaux (2018)
    ISBN: 1094723614 

  5. Metal Gear Wiki
    Various authors (2024) 

  6. Metal Gear (MSX) 6 - Metal Gear
    syltefar (2018)
    YouTube channel: syltefar
    Recording of game ending 

  7. Ending analysis
    Artemio Urbina (2001-2022)
    Hideo Kojima game resource, including Metal Gear Solid 2 ending analysis.
    Urbina is the creator of MDFourier and 240p test suite, used for MiSTer cores. 

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