Out of all ofKonami’sfranchises, there is none more quoted than theMetal Gear Solidseries. Besides being remembered for its tactical gameplay, unforgettable characters and phenomenal stories, each game is frontloaded with memorable lines from some of the best writing seen in video games. Though the fantastic voice acting also played a role.
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The Metal Gear Solid series has had so many iconic and quotable villains that it’s time to rank the best.
Ask any player what their favorite quote is, and they’ll talk your ear off for hours recounting every iconic line from each game. Unfortunately, this can’t go on for too long, so only a select few can be chosen. For this list, only one quote from a specific mainline game will be picked, one that encapsulates the game’s theme, plot, or narrative perfectly.
The following contains MAJOR spoilers.
10“It’s Our Only Home. Our Heaven and Our Hell. This Is Outer Heaven.”
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
For what used to be aPSPexclusive, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker certainly was a wild ride. Sneaking through Costa Rica, building an army, expanding Mother Base, and battling Peace Walker, so much happened. Yet the most important moment comes at the end. After learning the truth about Cipher and realizing how far his private army has expanded, Big Boss assembles his forces to deliver an incredible speech.
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The speech itself is iconic on its own, but it’s the last three sentences that make it earth-shattering when Big Boss dubs their base Outer Heaven. This was a moment that made every player’s jaw hit the floor. Apart from Portable Ops, this was the first in the timeline where Big Boss ever mentions the name of what would become his ultimate dream, and one that would change the world.
9“Once You’ve Awakened the Warrior Within… It Never Sleeps Again.”
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
Metal Gear 2
Even before the series entered the era of 3D graphics and voice acting, the original games still managed to feature compelling moments. In Metal Gear 2, the last 8-bit game in the series, Solid Snake returns to active duty to stop Big Boss and his forces in Zanzibar Land. After many twists and turns, Snake confronts Big Boss for one last showdown.
In true Metal Gear fashion, they exchange words and philosophies before fighting, and it’s here where Big Boss shows Snake just how far gone he is with his grim outlook on war. At this point, war is all Big Boss has left. He can’t conceive of a world without it. The only way to be truly free from it is through death, as he tries toslay Snake in their battle. In the end, Solid Snake’s will to live prevailed over Big Boss and his warped ideals.
8“Nanomachines, Son.”
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
You knew this was coming. There would have been a flood of complaints if this hadn’t been included. Everyone who’s ever looked atMetal Gear Risingremembers this ridiculous line from Senator Armstrong. But just because it’s ridiculous doesn’t mean it isn’t great. Compared to the other games in the series, Metal Gear Rising was a bit more tongue-in-cheek with its story.
Sure, players love Metal Gear Solid for its philosophies, its focus on war, technology, and man’s inhumanity to man, yet even hardcore fans will admit the series can geteccentricat times. So, you could argue that this line perfectly summarizes the insanity of this franchise. How are the villains capable of surviving deadly injuries and walking it off? Nanomachines, son. How are some characters capable of performing inhuman feats? Nanomachines, son. What’s the number one plot device of this entire franchise? Nanomachines, son!
7“Do You, Too, Believe that Your Sacrifice Will Change the World?”
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes
Skull Face remains one of the evilest villains in Metal Gear Solid for his crimes in Ground Zeroes. Torture, murder, and other offenses too indecent to mention. Skull Face takes joy in tormenting his prisoners, often exchanging dialogue to try and break their will.
One particular exchange is heard just before the end credits of Ground Zeroes.Skull Face references the true story about the execution of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, and how their deaths left an impact on the world. He even follows up the declaration by playing the song,Here’s to You, which was based on the event. It’s unclear if the line was directed at Paz, Chico, or both; regardless, it’s just another cruel statement from the ruthless monster. Insinuating to his victim(s) that their pain and suffering is all for nothing. A bleak quote from one of the darkest entries in the series.
6“I’m Doing This Out of Loyalty to Myself. I’m Not Going to Live My Life the Way the Boss Did!”
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
Portable Ops remains a subject of debate regarding its canon. Some fans count it, others discount it. While its gameplay hasn’t aged well, its story remains deserving of attention. Set six years after the events of MGS 3, the plot revolves around Naked Snake fighting his former unit, and its leader, Gene. Among all its moments, however, this line is used during one of the game’s most important scenes.
After learning the truth about the Pentagon’s intentions for Metal Gear, Snake is ordered to stand down and allow the nuclear strike to launch. Instead, he chooses to defy orders, claiming he wasn’t going to be a tool like his former mentor. If you consider Portable Ops canon to the series, then this can be considered the exact moment where Snake turned his back on his country and went on to become a legendary mercenary.
5“You Lack the Qualifications to Exercise Free Will.”
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Metal Gear Solid 2 is jam-packed with an encyclopedia’s worth ofmemorable momentsand quotes, but many players are going to question why this quote was picked out of all of them. Near the end of the story, before the final battle, Raiden speaks with the mastermind who orchestrated everything, the Patriots’ AI. If it were possible, the entire conversation would be placed here, because even now, it remains the most profound moment in the Metal Gear franchise.
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The machine is stating, almost mockingly, that the world needs an intelligent system to oversee and control the flow of information. That humans are undeserving of having a choice. After this moment, you realize the truth. You were played. Your allies were played. Even the villains were played. Bear in mind, this was from a story written in 1999, for a game published in 2001, and yet everything about this scene remains relevant.
4“Life’s End… Isn’t It Beautiful? It’s Almost Tragic…”
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004)
Besides being an amazing prequel,Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eaterfeatures some of the best gameplay and storylines in the franchise. Among the many breathtaking moments, the death of The Boss is considered by fans to bethe most tragic. In their last confrontation, she greets the future Big Boss with these words before imparting the story of her past and her outlook on war and the world.
Despite knowing he was there to kill her, The Boss speaks to him like an old friend, ready to die at the hands of her pupil, practically welcoming it. It makes the battle all the more difficult. Like the protagonist, players didn’t want to kill The Boss, but had no choice. The whole scene is made even more heartbreaking when it’s revealed that she was a scapegoat for the US, sent to die to prevent a nuclear war.
3“War Has Changed.”
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Three words. One powerful sentence. This single line is used as the opening for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Right off the bat, it sets the tone immediately. War was always an ugly thing, but now, in this dark future, it’s become part of an age of control.
It’s a world where the Patriots have full control over everything. With soldiers carrying nanomachines in their bodies, ID-tagged weapons and gear, and mass-produced bipedal machines. The quote is only made more powerful when heard from the grizzled voice of Solid Snake, who by now has already begun to rapidly age because of his flawed genes. The whole thing is saddening, but it makes for a fitting opening. Like Snake himself, the world is falling apart.
2“From Here on Out, You’re Big Boss.”
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
Of themany mind-blowing events in the series, the true ending to The Phantom Pain still shocks players. After a long adventure of revenge and espionage, the truth is revealed that Venom Snake, the protagonist you’ve been playing as, was not the real Big Boss, but his double, a phantom created to take revenge. All this is made clear during the final cutscene when Venom Snake plays a message from the true Big Boss.
After praising his double’s achievements and explaining his plans for the future, he imparts to Venom Snake the final line, dubbing him Big Boss. Some fans have interpreted this powerful statement to be intended for the player, as a final farewell from the game’s creator,Hideo Kojima, thanking the fans for their love and dedication to the franchise. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t, but this remains a fitting line to conclude Hideo Kojima’s last Metal Gear game.
Metal Gear Solid (1998)
Metal Gear Solid
The best quote in the series goes to Solid Snake of the original Metal Gear Solid (1998). This unforgettable line was used after Snake defeated Psycho Mantis, a being with the power to read minds and see into the future. Despite all of Mantis’s boasting and demonstrations of his power, Solid Snake overcame the deranged psychic. This single line feels like it encapsulates not only Solid Snake, but every protagonist in the series.
It says that self-determination can overcome anything, even fate. From Solid Snake, to Raiden, to Big Boss, even when the odds were against them, they found a way to carve their own path. More than that, the fact that this line is what Solid Snake believes shows what a compelling protagonist he is. Despite all the hardships, all the betrayals, all the pain he’s put through, he keeps moving forward, seeing his missions through to the end.
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