8 Metal Gear Solid Theories That Might Actually Be True
Twin Snakes VR
Metal Gear Solid 1 has a fairly straightforward story, there are moments of historical exposition and science fiction that feel almost science fact, but all in all, it’s easy enough to digest. Metal Gear Solid 2 really opened up the Pandora's box of this already established universe both by expanding on their best ideas and also by bringing more craziness into this mix. One of the well established new pieces of lore is that Raidan experienced the events of the first game via VR training, and that all the events of Shadow Moses were developed into a VR mission that soldiers like Raidan could experience FOR experience. A popular theory online is that the 2004 Gamecube remake of MGS1 titled Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, is ACTUALLY the VR version of the Shadow Moses events, and that you (the player) are actually playing as Raidan, Playing as a Snake, inside VR training. The more over the top features, and advanced combat options could be credited to the Gamecubes hardware IF you want to be boring, the more interesting theory is that it’s slightly inaccurate compared to the original, because it was built through first hand accounts from Snake and Colonel, as well as security footage and CCTV. Some small pieces of dialogue in MGS2 have muddied the legitimacy of this theory, which gave rise to the less popular theory that this is a VR mission that Otacon developed, hence the almost anime-esque and over the top action sequences.
Raiden Didn’t Escape
Metal Gear Solid 2 is one of the hardest games in the series for players to fully wrap their heads around, as a diehard MGS fan even I’m not willing to state on the record that I fully understand the intricacies of the MGS timeline. At the end of MGS2, the player is bombarded with information that explains the events of the game they’d just played. One of the clearer story elements dropped is that the Patriots have been masterminding all of the events that Raiden has played through in an effort to create a soldier on par with Solid Snake, no matter what decisions Raidan made, they were expected by the Patriots and Raidan played their game perfectly. One fan theory suggests that if the Patriots were able to concoct an event of such magnitude and detail that relied on the constant, accurate and successful participation of one person, then it’s not too far fetched to believe that even after beating the game that Raidan is still following their plan. The idea that Raidan is now a man of free-will following the conclusion of the game is borderline credulous. Many players believe that Raidan never escaped their plan, especially considering the Raidan we meet in MGS4 is not the Raidan he said he wanted to become at the end of MGS2.
Sniper Wolf is Quiet’s Daughter
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One of our more far-fetched theories is that Sniper Wolf from MGS1 is the Daughter of Quiet from MGSV, who is the father you ask? Well, let’s discuss. With MGS4, MGS3 and MGSV we’ve seen many times how Hideo Kojima likes to connect the characters from the pre NES Metal Gear games and the post NES Metal Gear games, and the connections are almost always far fetched. Sigint from MGS3 becomes the Darpa Chief in MGS1, Big Boss meets a Russian soldier Raikov who is identical in appearance to Raidan from MGS2, Ocelot was not a double agent but a triple agent. All of these reasons and coincidences are ridiculous and constant, so is it so far-fetched to believe that our very own Venom Snake slept with Quiet, and after escaping she raised the child in the desert for it to eventually become Sniper Wolf? Players had a feeling that there would be some connection between Quiet and Sniper Wolf, so sure it’s possible that the dots are being forcefully connected, but after learning that Venom Snake isn’t the sterile Big Boss we thought we were playing as, is it so crazy to believe that he didn’t sneak around Mother Base for a little afternoon delight? Yeh, probably.
Senator Armstrong and President Sears Worked Together
The main antagonist of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is none other than Steven Armstrong, a senator for Colorado 10 years after the events of MGS2. Steven Armstrong holds strong political and personal beliefs of both Darwinism, and that morality and the societal sense of good and bad, or right and wrong, are made and formed by those with power. Sound familiar? Well it seems very similar to the beliefs of a previous President Sears, otherwise known as our MGS2 antagonist Solidus Snake. Although their age difference would make it less likely that they rolled in the same political circles, there is a strong theory online that Senator Armstrong was a protege of Sears, and that it was Sears who corrupted his mind and helped him eventually be led down the path that would end as Metal Gear Rising.
Otacon Is The Hero
One of my personal favorite theories that’s been floating around the internet for a few years, is the idea that Hal Emmerich (codename: Otacon), is the most important piece to the puzzle that led to the demise of The Patriots. Had The Patriots managed to gain control of Otacon, it seems as if they may have been able to avoid their eventual downfall, because even though it is ultimately Solid Snake and Big Boss who are seen as the ones to bring and end to them, it is Otacon who enabled Snake to do the things he had to do on the battlefield. It’s shown in MGSV, just how intertwined Otacon's family is with the Patriots, and how Otacon ultimately rose above his mold of a broken man to bring an end to the world’s biggest threat via the FoxAlive program that was built off code developed by his own sister, Emma Emmerich. Meeting Hal was the best thing Snake ever did for the fate of humanity, and there are many who believe the otaku loving genius is the quiet hero of the whole story.
Solid Snake Is The Bad Guy
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The narrative of Solid Snake = Good, Big Boss = Bad, was a strong story element throughout the events of MGS1 and 2 (and to a lesser extent 4), but after MGSV released players were expecting an anti-hero story that showed the degradation of Big Boss and the journey of how he became the evil legend early fans of the series had built up in their minds. Instead, we got a story of two men (Venom and Big Boss) who saved child soldiers, prisoners of war, and created a home for themselves with outer haven, a place where soldiers were not treated as disposable tools, just as Big Boss was during the events of MGS3. After leaving the US to create the Diamond Dogs, a private army that were famous for their heroics, the US military and government continued to abuse Big Boss by cloning him without his consent, and constantly trying to collapse his private forces, and even throughout all of this he never waged war on the US. It was Solid Snake, a soldier who was constantly and continually manipulated by the US government, who was sent in to topple the two leaders during the events of Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2. Even at the end of MGS4, the Patriots still arrange it so Solid Snake has to kill Big Boss in order to bring an end to their power, and for the third and final time he does, eliminating possibly the greatest soldier and war hero of all time. This theory isn’t black and white, in fact it has a lot of gray area, but watching Solid Snake be the tool that constantly ends the altruistic goals of Big Boss certainly doesn’t make Solid Snake seem a ‘good guy’.
The War Economy Is The Patriots Malfunctioning
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Metal Gear Solid 4 is without a doubt, the most convoluted and far fetched story in the entire franchise. It takes some wild ideas about war economies and the ideals and values of war and combines them with science fiction, fluffy dialogue and some of the longest cutscenes the gaming industry has ever seen … it’s amazing. One of the solid pieces of information that the player learns is that the Patriot AI’s controlled the war economy, and this has led players to theorize: “what if the reason for the perpetual war was actually a glitch in the programming?” The Patriots and the Patriots AI were created by people that admired Big Boss, so even though they didn’t agree with his mission and his insubordination, they wanted to create a world where soldiers like him would be necessary. Essentially, The War Economy was a malfunction in the AI that was intentionally placed by the Patriots. Did any of you understand what I just said? Because I barely did.
It Was All a Simulation
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To fully unpack this theory, would take a tad of time. The convoluted story of Metal Gear Solid 2 was always intended to be the final chapter of the series, Hideo Kojima has no intentions of continuing the story, so even though the events of MGS4 canonically prove MGS2 to be real, it doesn’t discount the theory that the events of Metal Gear Solid 2 (upon release) were taking place inside a VR simulation, and that none of these events were real. The evidence is all contained within the story, a story with many fourth wall breaking moments intended by Kojima to teach the player how dangerous technology can be when we start to believe in the fiction we see. The game ends with an important line from Snake saying “The memories you have, and the role you were assigned were burdens you had to carry, it doesn’t matter if they were real or not ''. Raidan’s general misunderstanding of what is real and what is fake, as well as the constant themes of AI and VR control throughout MGS2 has led players to think that Kojima was simply saying “who cares? Stop trying to analyze and find answers to the experience you are having, and simply enjoy the experience, not everything makes sense, and that’s okay”. The unbelievable story, their malfunctioning AI, the constant references to how far VR technology has come, as well as the simple fact that the plot has some moments that simply don’t make sense when you expand on them, has led players to be almost certain that MGS2 was a VR simulation.
