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Metal Gear Solid Story Summary

Date     : 2025-01-13
Entry ID : 16623
Game     : Metal Gear Solid (@80)

Sorting out the complexities of the story for the classic stealth action game.

Overview

This article is based on many sources, but primarily the Metal Gear Wiki ¹.

Characters

In its own strange way, MGS is a family drama.
The US President Solidus uses Ocelot to manipulate his clone-brother Liquid Snake to take over Shadow Moses. The DOD blackmails Campbell by sending his niece Meryl into harms way to help the third clone-brother, Solid Snake, to thwart Solidus' plot by killing the Sons of Big Boss using the FOXDIE virus. Dr. Hunter avenges Solid Snake killing Big Boss (the father of the clones) and her adoptive brother Gray Fox (who killed her parents) by including Solid Snake's DNA in the FOXDIE target list.

Big Boss Clones

• Solid Snake: clone of Big Boss, main character
• Solidus Snake: clone of Big Boss, the current US President
• Liquid Snake: clone of Big Boss, leader of the Sons of Big Boss

Hunter and Jaeger

• Gray Fox (also known as Frank Jaeger), who was killed around 1999, is returned to life by The Patriots as the Cyborg Ninja.
• Dr. Naomi Hunter: Parents killed by Gray Fox, who subsequently raised her as his sister. Big Boss helped her emigrate to the US. After Snake kills both Big Boss and Gray Fox, Hunter wants revenge on Snake.

Campbell and Meryl

• Colonel Campbell: Works for DoD to stop the Sons of Big Boss
• Meryl Silverburgh: Campbell's niece, sent to Shadow Moses by DoD to blackmail Campbell

Ocelot

• Ocelot: double agent for Solidus, embedded with Sons of Big Boss

Factions

In the early game, the primary factions is the US Department of Defense (DOD) who sends out Solid Snake to rescue DARPA chief Anderson and ArmsTech president Baker from terrorist group Sons of Big Boss. However, as the game progresses, it turns out that Sons of Big Boss are secretly controlled by the US President George Sears, who's building power against The Patriots, the shadowy group that controls the US government, including the DOD.

So in the end, the game is about a struggle between The Patriots and the US President.

US Department of Defense (Pentagon, DARPA)

• The Patriots: At this point in time, The Patriots are in full control of the US government, including the DOD.
• Military-Industrial Complex: Metal Gear REX is a secret black project by the Department of Defense. Donald Anderson (aka SigInt from MGS3, member of The Patriots) was bribed by ArmsTech president Kenneth Baker to back the program. The purpose was to overcome a global trend of military downsizing. The rest of DOD ended up supporting the project for financial reasons.
• FOXDIE: After the Sons of Big Boss take over Shadow Moses, DOD creates the virus FOXDIE to kill FOXHOUND members and Baker.
• Campbell was blackmailed: DOD orders Meryl Silverburgh to go to Shadow Moses, in order to blackmail Colonel Roy Campbell to oversee Solid Snake's mission to infiltrate Shadow Moses.

POTUS

• US President: George Sears (Solidus Snake) was given the US presidency by The Patriots in the early 2000s. In 2005, he pursued his own agenda against The Patriots.
• Solidus vs. Patriots: George Sears (Solidus Snake) wants DOD black project Metal Gear REX and its experimental nuclear warhead for himself, to use against The Patriots.
• The POTUS Spy: Ocelot is a double agent for US president George Sears (Solidus Snake), ordered to recover REX's test data and the experimental nuclear warhead. He killed Anderson because he learned about Ocelot's plans.
• Manipulation of Sons of Big Boss: On Sears' orders, Ocelot convinced Liquid to hijack Metal Gear REX on Shadow Moses.

Sons of Big Boss (FOXHOUND)

The Sons of Big Boss unknowingly act as the pawns of Solidus, through manipulation by Ocelot.

• Militaries Sans Frontieres: Liquid Snake and the other renegade members of FOXHOUND want to resume Big Boss' dream of a soldier nation. For this purpose, he wants Big Boss' remains and 1 billion $.
• Liquid Snake is the clone of Big Boss, same as Snake.
• FOXHOUND took control over Shadow Moses island facility, which houses Metal Gear REX.
• They took the DARPA chief Donald Anderson, and the ArmsTech president Kenneth Baker hostage. Anderson is killed by Ocelot and Baker was tortured by Mantis and Ocelot, and gave up activation codes for Metal Gear REX.
• Apart from the hostages, the real bargaining point is probably that they have control over REX and can start a nuclear war.

Mission

Snake is a pawn of the DOD, sent on a rescue mission, but unknowingly killing the Sons of Big Boss and Baker with exposure to the FOXDIE virus.

• Pentagon ordered Naomi to inject FOXDIE into Snake (who didn't know). The virus was programmed to kill all the renegade FOXHOUND members and Baker.
• Snake kills Decoy Octopus (disguised as Anderson), Psycho Mantis, Vulcan Raven, Sniper Wolf, and finally Liquid Snake (death by FOXDIE).
• Dr. Hunter altered the FOXDIE virus to include Snake as a target as revenge for killing Gray Fox and Big Boss. ²

Open questions

• Was Donald Anderson part of The Patriots when he was killed by Ocelot? Probably yes, Solidus seems to want to destroy the Patriots.
• Why did DOD/The Patriots want to kill Baker with the FOXDIE virus? To eliminate a 'loose end' after they 'cleaned up' the Shadow Moses installation?

Changelog

• 2025-01-13 Initial version, detailed plot analysis in bullet form.

References