The launch of Metal Gear Solid: The Master Collection Vol. 1 finally brings the classic games to modern consoles, which means a new generation can enjoy our favorite villains.
Metal Gear is remembered by stealth combat, hiding in boxes, and of course stellar boss battles. While Kojima and the franchise broke many barriers, one thing can’t be ignored: the incredible bosses themselves. To mark the launch of the new Master Collection Vol. 1, I wanted to look back at some of my all time favorites from the first three titles.
Sniper Wolf
My personal favorite boss in all of the entire franchise, Sniper Wolf plays a bigger part than her battle allows her to. While her time is short, it’s extremely impactful and exemplifies what a Metal Gear boss truly is. Her ability to go days without eating or drinking with brutal training, and the ability to emotionally tie herself to her targets gave her many characteristics that Snake struggled with.
Ultimately her character ties deeply into the lore of Metal Gear with her being trained by Big Boss and eventually becoming part of FoxHound. Of course there is also a strong love connection with Otacon which makes her death all the more impactful.
Psycho Mantis
What list of Metal Gear enemies would be complete without listing him? He’s as iconic as many movie villains, and more or less shows how weird and interesting Metal Gear can be. More importantly Psycho Mantis is known for breaking gameplay barriers by reading your memory card and making a personal connection with the player. You even had to switch controller ports in order to fight back; a moment us 90s kids will never forget. More importantly Psycho Mantis has a deep backstory with hellish upbringings, and exploration of his mind reading powers.
The Boss (MGS3)
While having probably the worst name in the franchise, The Boss was a breathtaking battle in Metal Gear Solid 3 that set the stage for visuals and combat. Walking into a field of white flowers which slowly get splattered with red blood, as The Boss takes you on an absolutely emotional beat down is an unforgettable experience. The Boss not only showcases what a true meaningful villain is, but the combat and visual aesthetics that Metal Gear is known for.
The End
While probably the least dynamic character on this list, he was a fun villain to come across. An elderly sniper who could still shoot a dime miles away, he was a real threat to Snake in every encounter. You couldn’t help but to fear him every time you got a glance of him in the distance. Once he started shooting at you, you didn’t know where to hide.
The coolest aspect of this boss encounter, however, were the multiple ways you could take him out. Early in MGS3 you could take the shot that avoided his encounters entirely by killing him, or you could even extend the eventual battle so long that he dies of old age.
Liquid Ocelot
I’m not crying, you’re crying! That’s how impactful MGS4 was for many players, and this battle is a perfect way to showcase it all. I wanted to put Ocelot on the list from his many encounters in previous games, but this one just blends everything together beautifully.
It’s a long winded battle with very few checkpoints, but it’s an emotional ride that even takes cues from previous battles. More or less this is a villain that celebrates the history of Metal Gear with so many ties to two iconic characters that span all 4 games up to this point.
Fatman (MGS2)
This character isn’t one I put on this list due to some lengthy backstory that you want to read a book about….Or maybe you do, I don’t know. I added him because he is simply the most bizarre character I could think of in the franchise. Skating around, literally, and setting bombs while you frantically disarm them and avoid his attacks. It’s one of the most frustrating and odd battles you’ll even encounter in the world of Metal Gear. That’s saying something.
These are just some of the few of many iconic characters and bosses in Metal Gear, so let us know what some of your favorite characters are. The Metal Gear Solid Master Collection releases today which collects MGS1-3, so you can even encounter most of these characters yourself if you haven’t already.
