Metal Gear Solid is a game saga that has reached epic proportions with its wacky mix of drama, humor, unique gameplay, and complete WTF moments. These moments were usually most obvious for the boss fights in the earlier entries, and today we’re going to tackle the most memorable bosses and the fights that accompany them. Of course, there are many spoilers ahead, you have been warned.
Honorable Mentions:
Fatman
Fatman was a unique boss in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, he wasn’t fleshed out nearly as much as most other bosses, but he’s a large man in a bomb squad suit on roller skates. Do with that what you will.
The Hind
Hinds play a vital role in every bad guy’s plans in Metal Gear Solid. The one in question is the fight from the first game. It’s a fun fight that is your first major fight with Liquid Snake, the main antagonist. I don’t know what it is about them, but Kojima seems to love these things.
Gray Fox
Gray Fox was a child soldier who grew up to be a mentally tortured badass that you fight in a mine field. He returns in Metal Gear Solid to remind you how awesome he is, before he is brutally killed by Liquid Snake near the end of the game.
5. The Pain
That’s right, everyone’s favorite Cold War beekeeper starts off our list at number five. The Pain makes a few appearances before his fight, including having bees attack you during one of the Ocelot encounters that turns into you knifing bees out of the sky as Ocelot spins his revolvers to kill them. His fight is the most memorable moment, which starts out by summoning bee armor, throwing bee grenades, and attacking you with a bee tommy gun. Yes, a bee tommy gun.
As you lower his health throughout the fight he gets more aggressive before a cutscene triggers showing his final attack, spitting bees at you. And the best part is, they make jet noises as they fly towards you. The Pain goes out as memorably as he appears, however, as when you finally defeat him he explodes into an inferno of screams and bees.
4. Psycho Mantis
The Psycho Mantis fight featured one of the coolest technological features used in a game when he was revealed in Metal Gear Solid. When the fight starts, you are unable to hurt him until you call the Colonel on your codec. Then he engages in one of the biggest 4th wall breaches in gaming history, “Put your controller into port 2”. After you do so, you’ll be able to hurt him normally.
Mantis is memorable for a few reasons such as being able to read certain games on your memory card. He says lines such as “I see you like Castlevania,” as well as others, leaving him as one of the coolest and most personal bosses in Metal Gear Solid and gaming in general.
3. Vamp
Vamp is one of the most convoluted, confusing, made up characters in memory, and that is what makes him so perfect for Metal Gear Solid. Vamp was shot twice in the head over the course of two games; first by Raiden in MGS2, and again by Snake in MGS4. His homo-eroticism, chest hair, and odd fighting styles make him uncomfortable to fight, as well as awkward to watch. He has crazy regeneration properties that are explained away as nano-machines, just as almost everything is in Metal Gear Solid 4.
Vamp seems like an unbeatable boss until you finally fight him at Shadow Moses and suppress his nano-machines, halting his healing process and allowing you to finally be rid of this incredibly irritating, yet memorable, boss.
2. The Boss
The Boss is a mix of a marvelous fight and widely fleshed out character. She was Naked Snake’s mentor and a constant threat throughout Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. She’s broken his arm, thrown him off a bridge, and was overall just a ruthless reminder of his own weaknesses. However, she was actually one of the biggest driving forces of the overall plot of the series, causing the influence that led to the creation of The Patriots, as well as having her likeness used as an A.I. in the main antagonist of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.
Her fight takes place in a field of flowers where you have to take her down before a nuclear missile flies in and blows everything into oblivion. It’s a mix of close quarters combat and stealth, ending in a very dramatic final shot that makes you pull the trigger yourself. Her legacy and character was a marvelous mix of drama and affection, making her a very impactful character both for the game, and players alike.
1. Ocelot
Here we are, after all the build up, all the fun, here’s the man himself, Ocelot. Formally introduced in Metal Gear Solid, he was initially a double agent during the events of Metal Gear Solid 3. He is a major antagonist in every Metal Gear Solid game and his character evolves from game to game. Starting as a young commander of a special forces unit, he was influenced by the ideals shared by Big Boss and became his close ally.
He appears in Metal Gear Solid 1 and 2 as Revolver Ocelot where he gets his arm cut off and fuses with Liquid Snake’s arm to create a weird plot device throughout the series. You fight him many times over the course of the series and his fights are always memorable. Whether you have duels, fist fights on submarines, or one on one Metal Gear death matches, Ocelot is the most memorable boss, even if he is a bit of a cock.
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