It’s no stretch to say thatMetal Gearis one of the most gripping franchises in gaming, and it owes much of its success to rich character writing. Even inMetal Gear’s early MSX days, the series featured a memorable cast at the center of the action.Metal Gear 2: Solid Snakeeven managed to weave one of the most compelling 8-bit narratives out of its cast.
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When it came time to transition the series into 3D,Metal Geargained another layer of nuance inSolid. Not only was Snake hardened by his previous adventures, the story had been retconned into recontextualizing Snake & Big Boss’ dynamic into a clandestine father/son relationship.Metal Gearhas seen many playable characters since Solid Snake, but they share a richness that keep them one of the most memorable casts in gaming.
7Solid Snake
Metal Gearis almost synonymous with Solid Snake and not without good reason. Although Big Boss has starred is arguably the more popular protagonist at this point, there’s no removing Solid Snake fromMetal Gear’s DNA. He’s the main character inMetal Gear,Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake,Metal Gear Solid, andGuns of the Patriots. Solid Snake’s also critically important inSons of Liberty.
If Big Boss is the face of the franchise (he kind of has to be,) Solid Snake is the heart and soul. There’s a reason that in spite of the series featuring so many Snakes, only Solid Snake is known simply as Snake. He’s charismatic, fights for what’s right, and understands the impact one man’s actions can have on the world.
6Raiden
The real protagonist ofMetal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Raiden takes over as the main playable character once Snake’s time is up during the Tanker Chapter. The Plant Chapter is the real meat ofSons of Liberty, a deliberate homage to Shadow Moses that comments on the nature of sequels both narratively and through gameplay.
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Raiden is directly compared to Snake both in-universe and metatextuality. Audiences are forced to see Raiden struggle to accomplish what they so effortlessly managed to do as Snake just one game ago. But it’s important to feel this disconnect between Raiden and Snake, as it’s integral to Raiden’s own development. Raiden would return as a playable character inMetal Gear Rising: Revengeance, set after the events ofGuns of the Patriots.
5Big Boss
AlthoughSons of Libertyends on a cliffhanger, it’s still clear to anyone paying attention thatMetal Gear Solid 2was meant to be the story’s grand finale. This didn’t end up being the case, of course, butMetal Gear Solid 3took a step back in time to preserve the integrity ofSons of Liberty’s ending.
Snake Eaterstars Big Boss in the first of manyMetal Gear Solidgames. He’d quickly go on to become the franchise’s star, having a rather in-depth character arc acrossPeace Walker,Ground Zeroes, andThe Phantom Pain. Big Boss is playable inSnake Eater,Portable Ops,Peace Walker, andGround Zeroes. His importance to the series is rivaled only by Snake’s.
4Solid Snake (Ac!d)
Metal Gear Ac!dtakes place in an alternate continuity where the events ofMetal Gear Soliddidn’t happen.Ac!donly considersMetal GearandMetal Gear 2: Solid Snakeas canon.Ac!dalso takes plays afterGuns of the Patriotsshould have happened with a Solid Snake who isn’t an old man, suggesting he isn’t a clone of Big Boss in the universe.
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Without the events of the originalMetal Gear Solidhaving happened, however, Ac!d Snake is more or less at the same point character-wise Snake was inMGS. Unfortunately,Ac!ddoesn’t give its Snake as developed an arc, resulting in a Solid Snake who– while interesting– feels like a knockoff.
3Solid Snake (Ac!d 2)
Even thoughAc!dends with Snake surviving and making it out of Lobito’s lab,Ac!d 2retcons the finale so that Snake dies instead. The main character ofAc!d 2is actuallya clone ofAc!dSnake. It’s a strange way of working cloning back into theAc!dgames, but it works for what it’s worth.Ac!d 2’s Snake is basically a sadder version ofMetal Gear Solid 1’s Snake who’s forced to deal with his life as a clone a bit more directly.
2Big Boss’ Soldiers
Portable Ops,Peace Walker, andThe Phantom Painfeatures enemy soldiers Big Boss can recruit for his army. Recruits can be kidnapped for Big Boss’ Resistance Army inPortable Ops, and fultoned for the MSF & Diamond Dogs inPeace WalkerandThe Phantom Painrespectively. These soldiers have their own unique stats independant of Big Boss.
While most early soldiers will be worse than their leader, the best playable characters in each game are recruits– not Big Boss himself. That said, any story sensitive content will either force Big Boss as the playable character or feature him in cutscenes. The soldier concept returns full force inSurvive, with characters controlling a character only known as the Captain who they get to customize.
1Venom Snake
Actually the medic fromGround Zeroes, Venom Snake was Big Boss’ most trusted soldier turned into yet another clone– this time by his own accord.The Phantom Painhas Big Boss coming full circle in his hypocrisy. While he might resent Les Enfant Terrible, he’s quick to create a Snake in his own image.
Venom Snake’s mind is so warped, that he’s completely loyal to the mission after finding out he’s just an imitation of BIg Boss. But it’s also important to note that neither Venom nor Big Boss see him as an imitation. Rather, Big Boss considers Venom his true equal & reflection. So much so that he brings this secret to the grave. Both times!
