This month's musing is something that has been constantly on my mind for a few weeks now, which is what is leading me to attempt my first “Monthly Musing”. As someone who loves to write, the decision to participate was easy- I know which characters I adore, and I know that I want to write about them. As with most MGS posts, spoilers ahoy.

On the surface, especially to the casual player of Metal Gear, Solid Snake, the antagonist, seems like a shallow enough character: he's just a badass. The 'ultimate soldier', as they like to put it. This may be true, but there is another level to Snake that I feel makes him worth of my attention. Snake's demeanour hides his inner feelings well, but at the same time, expresses them perfectly. The way Snake acts towards people, his body language, his choice of words, his very personality, is what makes him such an amazing character.



Snake's hidden personality is expertly shown throughout all of the games. In Metal Gear Solid, Snake is shown straight away to be an incredible force. Not only does his gruff voice and muscled posture portray a veteran soldier, but his knowledge of the weaponry and equipment (a Hind-D?) craft the image of the 'ultimate soldier' from the very start. Savvy and able, Snake connects with the player simply by being awesome. As the story progresses, and Snake collects more allies and enemies, those people become your allies and enemies. Despite his uncaring attitude, Snake's connections to Meryl and Otacon are clear- he truly doesn't want them to be hurt.

Through Metal Gear Solid 2, Snake is seen from another angle: Raiden. Since Snake is your informant, you see the legend first hand. He helps Raiden out, along with Otacon. Not only does he become even more awesome, but his strong friendship with Otacon, although never admitted, is clear. The relationship between Snake and Otacon connects the two characters inexplicably, and makes them so much more human. All too often in video games the characters interact and are allied with each other. In Metal Gear, they are friends. Not only that, but Snake's sentiments that he shares with Raiden, about passing on thoughts, feelings, and knowledge to the next generation give Snake, in the player's mind, a mind. Snake isn't just a war machine that gives out information about guns and helicopters. He has feelings, aspirations, and opinions.



Metal Gear Solid 4, though, is the climax of Snake's journey, career, and personality. Snake's relationship with Otacon becomes very prominent, especially during the epilogue and after the credits. Otacon wants to spend the rest of Snake's life with him, and Snake, despite his words, clearly wants his buddy Hal to stay with him too. The most important thing about this is that the player, me, wants him too as well. There is a strong bond that makes both characters incredibly human. During the corridor scene, Otacon gives Snake words of encouragement, endearing himself further. During the scene in the GW core, in the graveyard, Snake calls out “OTACON!”- pushing the bond even further. Not only is there a bond between the two characters, there is a survival instinct placed upon the player- your concern during the climax is for Snake's safety, because you know that the other characters love Snake as much as you do.

The interactions and bonds between the characters in Metal Gear are the key to the incredibly powerful characters. I'm sure if Snake was a lone wolf, who never became close to anyone, the ending of MGS4 would not have been as moving as it was. MGS4 made me feel so tense during the corridor scene, so pumped up to be finally taking on Liquid/Ocelot, and so sad when I thought Snake was going to take his own life. The only reason the game made me feel like this is because of the characters. Snake needed to finish that corridor to save the rest of the cast, and save Snake and Otacon's friendship. Taking Ocelot on was exhilarating because the character/s of Ocelot and Liquid have been built up over the games, and never been fully closed, until now. Ocelot had gained my respect in MGS3, so on one level it was duel, and Liquid had refused to die so often that he needed to be taken down for good. The protagonist/antagonist relationship is another that sparks an emotion, except this time, it was not hope and fear, it was relief and closure. Finally, when Otacon tells Sunny that Snake has “gone away”, once again the bond between the characters that I have seen develop over many years appears to have been shattered by death, and this makes this moment incredibly powerful. Without these amazing characters, this could never be so.



The human traits and subtle way in which they are displayed make the characters of Metal Gear Solid some of the best characters, not just in video games, but in any media genre. Most characters are defined by their obvious feelings and blatant statements, but Metal Gear creates true characters by making them behave just like actual people. Actually, scratch that. They're better characters than real people.