With the internet abuzz with news of Kojima leaving Konami, Silent Hills being pulled, and a solid release date set for Metal Gear Solid 5, the story of the games development is just as twisted as the series’ story. The first Metal Gear Solid game was released back in 1998, and was the successor to Metal Gear series that began in 1987. That’s a lot of history and a lot of games to keep tucked into our memory banks. Here’s a bit of a refresher for everyone, and also a small peak for those curious about the series.

1. Story

The best way to approach the story is from the beginning. Players were first given a look at how the history and lore of the Metal Gear series was formed with Metal Gear Solid 3. The game had players take on the role of Big Boss AKA Naked Snake. He was the father or genetic sample for Solid, Liquid, and Solidus Snake. We first see Solid Snake in Metal Gear 1 and 2, and most would remember him as the hero of Metal Gear Solid. Liquid Snake is the main antagonist of Metal Gear Solid. Solidus is introduced to us in Metal Gear Solid 2. In Metal Gear Solid 3, Naked Snake was sent on a rescue mission in the heart of Russia. Things quickly spiral out of control when he learns that his old mentor has defected to Russia, and took a couple of nukes with them.  The events throughout the game lead up to the creation of the eponymous Metal Gear, and his final battle with his mentor would earn him the title of Big Boss. This begins in the 1960s, and the story is told over the years through other Metal Gear Solid titles like Peace Walker and Portable Ops. This helps flesh out why he eventually becomes the antagonist of the Metal Gear series.

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Kojima gave us our first taste of Metal Gear Solid 5 with the release of Ground Zeroes, which takes place nearly a decade after the events of Metal Gear Solid 3. By this point, Big Boss has amassed a laundry list of titles as well as loyal followers. Ground Zeroes takes place just months after the events of Peace Walker, and he is tasked with infiltrating Camp Omega which is on Cuban Soil. His mission is to recover key individuals that we are first introduced to from Peace Walker. These two people have information that could potentially put the MSF at risk, and adds that much more urgency to their rescue. Players are able to use brute force to storm the base, or they can utilize stealth tactics. Either way, the outcome is the same, and we meet the main villain, Skull Face. Skull Face is the leader of the XOF. At this point, we know little, but know that he will be one of the main groups that Snake will battle against in the upcoming Phantom Pain.

In The Phantom Pain, the mercenary group that Big Boss founded, Militaires Sans Frontières, has fallen. The game is set roughly 9 years follow Ground Zeroes, and Big Boss has incurred heavy injuries as well as losses. Big Boss recovers from a coma that he incurs following the conclusion of Ground Zeroes. One of his most grievous physical injuries is his amputated arm which has been replaced by a cybernetic prosthetic. He leads a new mercenary group, the Diamond Dogs, and takes on a new codename—“Venom Snake”. Snake ventures into Afghanistan in order to find out who destroyed the MSF, and though he is spurred by revenge, he uncovers a deeper plot that calls on him to carry the mantle of soldier once more.