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Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

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Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
North Anerican game cover
Developer(s)Konami JPN
Publisher(s)Konami
Designer(s)Hideo Kojima
Platform(s)PlayStation 2
ReleaseNovember 17, 2004 (NA)
December 16, 2004 (JP)
December 30, 2004 (KR)
March 4, 2005 (EU)
Genre(s)Stealth action
Mode(s)Single player

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (commonly abbreviated MGS3) is a stealth-based game directed by Hideo Kojima. It was developed and published by Konami for PlayStation 2. It is the sixth game in the Metal Gear series, and was released in North America on November 17, 2004, in Japan on December 16, 2004, and in Europe on March 4, 2005. An extended version of the game, Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, is available in Japan, North America and Europe.

Storyline

Template:Spoiler The events of MGS3 take place during the Cold War in 1964, in the jungles of the Soviet Union. The player takes the identity of a former U.S. Special Forces (Green Beret) and CIA operative, codenamed "Naked Snake", who is sent to the USSR to rescue a defecting Russian scientist and destroy an advanced nuclear-equipped tank called the "Shagohod". The story unfolds in two parts: the Virtuous Mission and Operation: Snake Eater.

Virtuous Mission

On August 24, 1964, an operative of the newly formed American covert FOX unit is aboard an MC-130 Combat Talon[1] flying over Tselinoyarsk, Russia. The FOX unit commander, Major Zero (aka Major Tom), briefs the operative on the mission he faces. He is to enter a secret Russian research facility and retrieve an asylum-seeking scientist, Nikolai Stephanovich Sokolov, who was returned to the Soviets as part of a secret bargain to resolve the Cuban Missile Crisis. The operative, now code-named Naked Snake, executes the world's first HALO jump into enemy territory.

Snake familiarizes himself with the area and the members of the FOX unit, then proceeds to the research facility, OKB-754, to meet Sokolov. As Snake and Sokolov begin to make their way to their extraction point, they are ambushed by KGB operatives and held at gunpoint. The KGB agents are then surrounded and killed by the Ocelot Unit, part of a rogue GRU faction intent on capturing Sokolov for themselves. Snake, using his hand-to-hand CQC techniques, manages to disable all the Ocelot Unit members while Sokolov escapes.

As Snake catches up with Sokolov, they spot Sokolov's nuclear equipped tank, Shagohod, undergoing testing on a nearby mountain. The pair begins to cross a rope bridge to the extraction point when they encounter a woman, Snake's mentor, codenamed The Boss. Snake is surprised by this meeting, as he had been told that The Boss was serving on a Permit class submarine in the Arctic Ocean.

The Boss reveals to Snake that she has decided to defect to the Soviet Union. While this is happening, Sokolov is captured by members of her Cobra unit. The Boss carries with her two miniature rocket propelled nuclear shells known as Davy Crocketts, which, along with Sokolov, she intends to give to Colonel Volgin, her new ally. Volgin is a member of GRU and, like the Ocelot Unit, is also part of the "Brezhnev Faction", an extremist faction in the Soviet Army which seeks to topple the government of Nikita Khrushchev and install Leonid Brezhnev and Alexey Kosygin in his place.

Volgin appears while The Boss is talking with Snake and tells her that Snake must die, since he has seen Volgin's face, and so that their plan to overthrow Khrushchev won't be revealed. Having perfected CQC herself, The Boss throws Snake off the bridge and into the river far below.

Snake, left for dead, drags himself out of the river and performs first aid on him while waiting for extraction by the FOX unit aircraft.

Volgin, Ocelot and the Cobra Unit make their escape in several Hind-A helicopters, with the Shagohod in tow. From his helicopter, Volgin fires one of the Davy Crocketts, despite Ocelot's protests, triggering a nuclear explosion which destroys Sokolov's research facility.

Operation: Snake Eater

The FOX unit's gunship was detected by Soviet radar as it rescued Snake, thus implicating America in the nuclear attack. President Johnson informs Khrushchev that the legendary American soldier, The Boss, has defected and is planning to topple Khrushchev's rule, and that it was her new faction which was responsible in the destruction of the research facility. Khrushchev gives Johnson one week to eliminate The Boss in order to prove its innocence, and thus, on August 30, Snake is once again tapped and is deployed into Tselinoyarsk by a D-21 drone launched from an M-21 (a modified A-12 Oxcart).

Snake's first objective is to meet with ADAM, one of two former NSA code breakers who had defected to the Soviet Union in September 1960. Along the way, The Boss corners Snake and tells him to quit the mission and go home. Snake ignores her warning and the two face off. The Boss disarms him, disassembles his M1911A1 pistol, and disappears. When Snake finally arrives at the designated rendezvous point at Rassvet (where Snake originally found Sokolov in Virtuous Mission), he meets EVA rather than ADAM. EVA reveals to him she is the other defector and that ADAM wasn't able to come to the meeting. She gives Snake a new pistol, as well as a scientist disguise that will help him infiltrate Volgin's bases.

After another brief encounter with Ocelot, Snake heads to Graniny Gorki, a research laboratory under Volgin's control. According to EVA, Sokolov is being held there while he completes the Shagohod. Once inside the facility Snake finds the head of the OKB-812 Granin Design Bureau, Aleksandr Leonovitch Granin, driven to drink by jealousy of Sokolov's fame and access to research funds. In their conversation, Granin reveals that Sokolov is not being held there, but gives Snake a key that opens a door which leads to the mountains, where he will be able to access a hidden tunnel into Volgin's fortress, Groznyj Grad, and rescue Sokolov.

Snake sneaks into Groznyj Grad and succeeds in contacting Sokolov. While meeting, they are caught by Volgin. Both are taken prisoner and tortured, costing Sokolov his life and Snake his right eye. During a break in the torture, Snake escapes Groznyj Grad through its sewer system. Snake meets up with EVA, who returns the weapons and equipment Snake lost when he was captured. He then prepares to return to Groznyj Grad, to destroy the Shagohod and stop Volgin's take-over plot.

Snake once again infiltrates the fortress and succeeds in planting enough C3 explosive to bring the complex holding the Shagohod to the ground. However, the explosion fails to destroy the Shagohod and Snake and EVA are forced to flee on a motorcycle. Volgin chases them in the Shagohod, which proves to be his undoing. Using an RPG-7, Snake disables the Shagohod and, when Volgin emerges from the tank, he is struck by lightning and killed. Snake and EVA prepare to make their escape to Alaska, but Snake is confronted by The Boss. She reveals that her defection was an elaborate set-up designed to get The Philosophers' Legacy, the wealth of the most powerful families from the United States, the Soviet Union and China, from Volgin and return it to the United States. She tells Snake that he must complete his mission; he must kill her and take the Legacy back with him. She and Snake will thus have one final battle; whoever wins will inherit the title of "Boss". They duel and Snake ultimately prevails. He returns to the United States with EVA on a ground effect plane (a stolen VVA-14) and is granted the Distinguished Service Cross and the title of "Big Boss" by President Johnson. Snake then visits the anonymous grave of The Boss, a patriot who will forever be reviled by the country she gave her life to protect.

The Philosophers

The Philosophers were originally formed by some of the most powerful, wealthy, and influential families from the United States, the Soviet Union, and China. Through various means, they attempted to control the future of the world, believing that they were doing it in the best interest of all humanity. One of these means was the establishment of the Philosopher's Legacy, a secret fund of one hundred billion dollars established by the respective members in order to further the Philosopher's plans. Between World War I and World War II, the Philosophers controlled almost all political aspects of their respective nations. The core of the Philosophers, the Wisemen's Committee, controlled such things as who would be elected or placed in position to govern their member countries. Due to this influence over the government officials, the Philosophers ultimately controlled the countries themselves. After World War II, the members of the Wisemen's Committee began to die off and the national branches of the organization began to split from each other. In 1970 (six years after the events of Operation: Snake Eater), the American branch, with funding from the newly-acquired Philosopher's Legacy, separated completely from the Philosophers and changed their name to The Patriots.

The Philosophers' Legacy

A massive fund was collected during World War II by various powerful and influential individuals in the United States, the Soviet Union, and China, collectively known as "the Philosophers". The fund, named the Philosophers' Legacy, was worth over 100 billion dollars (when currency values are compared, $100 billion in 1945 would today be worth over $1 trillion, and in 1964, it would be worth around $600 billion). After the end of World War II, the Philosophers broke into three national factions and all three branches were desperate to get the Legacy for themselves.

Volgin's father was one of the persons assigned to manage the Legacy, and had devised a plan ensuring full Soviet control. To prevent anyone from tracing it, the funds were divided and laundered through banks all over the world, including Switzerland, Australia, and Hong Kong.

In Groznyj Grad, Colonel Volgin shows Snake a case of microfilm, and tells him, "This is the Philosophers' Legacy." The microfilm actually contains a financial record of all transactions Volgin's father made when the Legacy funds were divided-up. Operation: Snake Eater, while initially focused on the Shagohod, is actually about this fund. At the end , it is revealed that only half of the money has made it back to the United States (Ocelot reports that the other half could be with the KGB). Eventually, the American Philosophers recover the entire Legacy, leading to their official separation from the Philosophers and the forming of The Patriots (as discussed in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty). In the process of eliminating Colonel Volgin (and later The Boss), Snake acquires the Philosopher's Legacy, only to have it stolen by EVA while the two slept together. The following morning EVA leaves a recorded message revealing her true identity; she is an agent of the Chinese branch of the Philosophers. EVA returns to China believing she has the Legacy for her faction. However it is revealed that the Legacy was actually in the hands of Ocelot, aka ADAM, who is in fact a double agent working for the American branch of the Philosophers (and through them, the CIA). The United States has, in fact, managed to acquire the Legacy after all.

NOTE: The actual location of the Legacy has been the source of debate among MGS fans. While the ending plays out looking as if EVA has stolen it, the very next morning Snake removes it from his pocket and tosses it on the table. In fact, EVA never took anything from Snake. She thought she already had the true Legacy as she stood over him, visible when she opens her hands. However, we never see her search Snake's pockets, and it is assumed that The Boss was the one who handed her a fake microfilm. The one Snake has while he listens to EVA's message is the true Legacy, and it is in fact he who completes The Boss' mission and returns it, not Ocelot. Ocelot never claims to have ever had the Legacy, or ever seen to be in possession of it. He merely states to the CIA director that the Legacy is back with the US, nothing more. Many think that The Boss was in the best position to give EVA a copy of the fake Legacy, considering that it was originally The Boss' mission to infiltrate Volgin's ranks and steal it. This would also explain Ocelot's ending statement, "The film we handed the Chinese was a fake," which would then be understood to mean that the CIA charged The Boss with giving a fake Legacy to EVA in order to throw her off while the real Legacy was taken by the US.

Characters

Main Character

main article: List of Metal Gear Solid 3 characters

Naked Snake
  • Naked Snake - The central character. The only mention of any sort of real name is Jack by The Boss and Major Zero, but of course, this too could be a nickname. He teases Para-Medic by telling her his name is John Doe. Later, he exchanges the name 'John' for Ocelot's real name. In 1964, he was recruited by FOX (Force Operation X), and participated in the Virtuous Mission, where he was to rescue the defecting Soviet scientist, Dr. Nikolai Stephanovich Sokolov. It was during this mission that Jack was designated "Naked Snake."

However, the mission had failed, due to Sokolov's recapture by the Soviets when The Boss defected. A week later, the FOX unit had once again organized a mission and Snake was assigned to Operation: Snake Eater, whose objectives are to:

1. Eliminate The Boss and her Cobra Unit.
2. Assassinate her new ally and host, Colonel Volgin.
3. Rescue Sokolov.
4. Locate the new whereabouts of the Shagohod and destroy it.

It was during Operation: Snake Eater that Snake encountered prototype designs for the "metal gear" bi-pedal tank designed by Granin, who was sending them to a colleague in America. This colleague was the grandfather of Hal Emmerich, aka Otacon, a character first introduced in Metal Gear Solid.

During the mission, Sokolov is killed and Snake is captured, tortured; in the process losing his right eye to a bullet from Ocelot's revolver. However, Snake succeeds in eliminating the Shagohod, The Boss, and Colonel Volgin. He is awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, and is conferred the title Big Boss by President Johnson.

Supporting Characters

  • Major Zero - AKA Major Tom. Formerly from the UK SAS and a veteran of World War II (where he had served with The Boss). Major Zero is the operational commander of the Virtuous Mission and the subsequent Operation: Snake Eater. He is also the commander of FOX (later to be succeeded by FOXHOUND). He is a fan of James Bond and has interests in cryptozoology, and the Tsuchinoko.
  • EVA - She is originally believed to be one of the defected NSA codebreakers who is sent to assist Naked Snake in Operation: Snake Eater, and later a KGB spy (a double agent). She infiltrates Volgin's ranks by posing as Sokolov's lover, Tatyana or "Tanya". It is ultimately revealed she is not an agent for the NSA nor the KGB, but an agent for the Philosophers branch in China. Her real mission is to retrieve the Philosophers' Legacy for China and kill anyone that gets in her way. This automatically translates into assassinating the American operative, Snake. Instead, she spares him because of a promise she made to The Boss.
  • Para-Medic - Para-Medic is a member of the support staff, serving as a physician and mission analyst. She provides information on local flora and fauna and Snake's health status. Her interests include movies and Japanese culture. She is constantly exasperated at Snake's obsession with how things taste.
  • Sigint - Sigint provides detailed information on weaponry, machinery, camouflage, and gadgets. Sigint provides useful strategies and tactics in boss battles and other situations. His codename refers to the military term "SIGINT" (SIGnal INTelligence). It is believed by some that he is the DARPA chief Donald Anderson from Metal Gear Solid, due to the fact that Sigint joined ARPA (which later turned into DARPA) after Operation Snake Eater and the fact that both characters are African-Americans, though this is merely speculation. Furthermore, a hidden radio conversation (which can be heard by calling him after talking to Granin) has Sigint ridicule the concept behind Metal Gear (he says that putting legs on a tank is a technical nightmare and that it would make it less stable), contradicting the theory as Donald Anderson later on had a big part in the development of Metal Gear REX.
  • Nikolai Stephanovich Sokolov - One of the principal designers of the Shagohod. He was also a principal designer of the Russian Vostok rocket, though he laments their use as weapons.
  • Aleksandr Leonovitch Granin - Is Director of Graniny Gorki Research and Design Lab. He is the initial developer and champion of Metal Gear. His Soviet compatriots, however, do not share his vision of a bi-pedal, walking tank and the Shagohod eclipses his own research in importance. He then shares his research with an American colleague who turns out to be Otacon's father. Granin gives Snake information on the Philosopher's Legacy as well as provides access to Groznyj Grad. Granin has twice been awarded the Order of Lenin, which he proudly wears on his suit jacket.
  • The Sorrow: Spirit Medium Soldier - He was once the lover of The Boss, with their affair resulting in the birth of Ocelot. At a number of points in the game cinematics, The Sorrow can be seen by entering the game's first-person view mode. From this view, he provides the player with useful info, such as radio frequencies or mission timers. The Sorrow is also responsible for summoning the lightning that kills Colonel Volgin. Despite being a boss in one portion of the game, The Sorrow offers enough help elsewhere to also be considered an ally, albeit a supernatural one.

Villains

  • The Boss - A woman who is Snake's mentor and teacher. Her codename within the Cobra Unit was "The Joy", since she apparently feels ecstasy in battle. It is indirectly revealed that she is the mother of Ocelot.
  • Yevgeny Borisovitch Volgin - A Russian nationalist, and the Colonel of GRU. His body carries an electrical charge of ten million volts, thereby earning him the nickname "Thunderbolt". He has control of a Davy Crockett nuclear warhead, given to him by The Boss. Volgin takes control of the Shagohod. He is a sadist and bisexual, as can be seen by his relationship with Major Ivan Raidenovich Raikov and EVA.
  • Major Ocelot - A younger version of recurring Metal Gear villain Revolver Ocelot. At the age of 20, he is a Major, and commander of the Ocelot unit of the Spetsnaz. He is a skilled gunman. He initially uses a Makarov PM handgun, and switches to the Colt Single Action Army on advice from Naked Snake. It can be confirmed in-game that he is the son of The Boss and The Sorrow. At the end of the game it is shown that he is really the KGB spy ADAM, and is a triple agent actually in the employ of the DCI.
  • The Pain: Hornet Soldier - Controls hornets. Previous to joining the Cobras, he worked with bees and allowed them to sting every inch of his body until they perceived him as one of their own. His lust for pain led the Boss to approve his joining the group.
  • The Fear: Spider Soldier - Superhumanly agile and double jointed in both his elbows. He is a master of simple booby traps, projectile weapons and stealth. Compares himself to a spider, due to his double jointed elbows, unusually long tongue and ability to seemingly 'disappear' into his surroundings.
  • The End: Ancient Sniper - The fictional "Father of Modern Sniping." He is over 100 years old, said to be a veteran of a multitude of wars, and is also an autotroph. He can remain stationary for long periods of time while his body absorbs energy from sunlight and plant photosynthesis. Can commune with the forest, and seems to be aware of his target's locations, no matter where they hide.
  • The Fury: Flame Soldier - Was a former Soviet cosmonaut who suffered 3rd degree burns all over his body upon reentry, and felt a terrible fury at being alive. Armed with a flamethrower and a jetpack that run on the same fuel. When he dies, strange spirits fly from his body.

Gameplay

File:MGS3 scope.jpg
View of enemy with sniper scope + thermal goggles

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater's gameplay is based heavily on camouflage. A meter called the "camouflage index" displays the character's visibility, on a scale from negative values (highly visible) up to 100% (completely invisible). The player is able to put on various uniforms, such as "Tiger Stripe" or "Olive Drab", in conjunction with face paint, in order to increase this camouflage index. There is also a fake crocodile head to wear. Hideo Kojima has included a "Naked" camouflage, which renders the player character shirtless. This function is for "Rambo" type players, he says.

The emphasis on weapons is higher than in previous installments of the Metal Gear series. In the game, the player has access to a shotgun, pistols, various automatic rifles, and grenades. This way, the player character can choose whether to focus on evading enemies or a full-frontal assault.

The game is set in the jungles of Cold War Russia, so the environment is a big part of the game. The player can climb trees, hide under grass and swim in rivers and ponds. The player must also live off the land by hunting animals and eating edible vegetation, to increase health stamina, which is drained during gameplay.

Snake vs. Monkey

Snake vs. Monkey is a mini-game included within Metal Gear Solid 3 starring Solid Snake (using the Naked Snake model) which crosses over with Sony Computer Entertainment's Ape Escape series. The objective of the game is to capture all the monkeys within several stages (all set in areas from the main game) using a stun gun. When the player clears a stage, new equipment, such as the active sonar and stun grenades, will become available that makes capturing monkeys easier. The player is awarded with the Banana camo pattern and a monkey mask after clearing all stages and achieving top scores respectively.

The game opens with a comical radio conversation between Snake and Colonel Campbell in which the two make references to other characters from the Metal Gear and Ape Escape games, as well other stealth-based games, most notably Splinter Cell and Syphon Filter series.

Guy Savage

Metal Gear Solid 3 contains a secret mini-game called the Guy Savage (as stated in the credits). In this mini-game, the player controls as a character that uses two hookswords to slash his way through an army of zombie-like monsters. Guy Savage is completely unrelated to the storyline of Metal Gear Solid 3, and bears no resemblance to MGS3 in controls, graphics, or gameplay. It is, however, very competent as a stand-alone game. It bears some resemblance to BloodRayne 2 in gameplay.

To play Guy Savage, the game must be saved in the cell, after Naked Snake has endured the brutal torture session. When that save file is loaded, the game will go straight into the Guy Savage mini-game. The mode will only last for a set amount of time; when it ends, the screen fades to black, then fades from black to a shot of Snake waking up from the nightmare.

If the player was to call Paramedic, they would start talking about Dracula, where Snake would accuse Paramedic of giving him his nightmares.

The main game's end credits are what list the mini-game as "Guy Savage" with Shuyo Murata as the director; it is suspected that the mini-game is a teaser of an in-production game of the same name. Although Konami trademarked the name during MGS3's production, they have yet to comment on it, or confirm a title of that name.

The mini-game is also named (the first time for most) as Guy Savage in an issue of PlayStation Magazine.

Fan Reaction

The reaction of fans and critics alike for Metal Gear Solid 3 was considerably higher than that received by Metal Gear Solid 2. Fans and critics who found MGS2's multitude of plot twists detrimental to the game experience found MGS3's storyline a pleasing throwback to the original Metal Gear Solid. On the other hand, supporters of MGS2's approach to storytelling found the new game's plot to be overly dumbed down, in an attempt to mold the game to more mainstream audiences after the harsh reaction to MGS2.

Like the other games in the series, Snake Eater was a hit and as of June 2005 had sold over 3 million copies worldwide.

Music

Metal Gear Solid 2's composing duo of Norihiko Hibino and Harry Gregson-Williams return for MGS3, providing material for both cut scenes and the game itself. After MGS2, Gregson-Williams joked that he would compose for the sequel if it was set in the Amazon as he was tired of composing scores for high tech/industrial settings; he was reportedly pleasantly surprised when he discovered the actual setting. It's been rumored that Kojima told him the game was set in the jungle so he would compose again, but this is unconfirmed. Hibino provides the game's opening theme, "Snake Eater", a distinctly Bondish vocal track which also appears in the game proper, as performed by Cynthia Harrell. Composer and lyricist Rika Muranaka provides a song called "Don't Be Afraid" which is played during the ending for the game. The song is performed by Elisa Fiorillo. Gregson-Williams provided a new "Metal Gear Solid 3 Version" of TAPPY's "Metal Gear Solid Main Theme".

In a break from tradition, one of the ending themes of the game is not an in-house production, but Starsailor's "Way To Fall". Hideo Kojima later revealed in his blog that he originally wanted to use Space Oddity and Ashes to Ashes (by David Bowie) for the ending themes because of the space race theme of the game. But that theme was eventually almost scrapped from the game. One of his colleagues then advised him to listen to Stellastar, but Kojima heard "Starsailor". He liked the song "Way To Fall" and chose it as an ending theme.

Voice actors

English Version

Japanese Version


Trivia

  • Like the previous two games, MGS3 breaks the fourth wall at times.
  • If Naked Snake dies during the game, the game over screen displays the words "SNAKE IS DEAD", which slowly morph into the words "TIME PARADOX": now that Snake is dead, the events of Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty cannot happen.
  • During gameplay Naked Snake fights Ocelot several times, but never kills him; thus Ocelot remains alive to appear in MGS1 and MGS2. If the player goes out of his way to kill Ocelot, however, an "Ocelot Is Dead: Time Paradox" screen appears, and the voice of Colonel Campbell chastises Snake for his rash actions. This will also occur if the player kills either EVA or Sokolov.
  • The passage of real-world time affects gameplay. The player's food will spoil if the game is untouched for longer than a week, and the major boss The End can be killed in the same way: he will die of old age waiting for Snake to show up. (Incidentally, players may also snipe The End immediately after a cinematic cutscene, avoiding the battle entirely.)
  • Like at the start of Metal Gear Solid 2, the player is asked a question before commencing play, this time it is on their preferred MGS title. If MGS2 is selected, Snake will be wearing the Raiden/Raikov mask at the beginning of the Virtuous Mission. When he is contacted by Major Zero, the major asks why Snake is wearing the mask before eventually saying something similar to "Take the mask off, you're already starting to annoy me" in reference to the disdain Raiden receives from many MGS fans. When the protagonist's name appears on screen with the name of the voice actor, instead of saying Naked Snake it says Jack.
  • When fighting The Sorrow, the appearance of the various ghosts will change based on the method used to kill them. If for example a guard was killed by fire, the ghost will also appear on fire. If Snake killed Raikov instead of knocking him unconscious or putting him to sleep, he will also appear at the river...naked and holding his crotch in a manner similar to Raiden in the end of Sons of Liberty.
  • In Rokovoj Bereg (where the battle with The Boss takes place), there are three white-colored snakes near the fallen tree trunks: Solid, Liquid, and Solidus (the names of Big Boss' offspring).
  • A radio conversation mocks the very concept behind the Metal Gear itself. In the conversation, the character Sigint explains that a walking, bipedal tank is a ridiculous concept from both a tactical and engineering point of view.
  • On Granin's desk is a model of Metal Gear Ray and, in the background, a model of Jehuty from Zone of the Enders. Blueprints for Metal Gear Rex can also be seen. Near his desk is a photo of him standing next to a figure that looks like Otacon; presumably this is his foreign friend, Otacon's grandfather (or possibly his father).
  • By opening the survival viewer and selecting the cure option, the player can view a characters' medical history. When Snake has EVA with him her medical history can be viewed and includes such interesting items as a breast enhancement and proctitis.
  • Volgin says "kuwabara, kuwabara" when it rains in the game. This is a reference to a Chinese/Japanese superstition: 'kuwabara' literally means "mulberry field" in Japanese, and according to legend mulberry trees cannot be struck by lightning. Saying "kuwabara, kuwabara" is supposed to protect the speaker from lightning. Volgin does not chant "kuwabara, kuwabara" at his final boss battle, and ironically dies from a lightning bolt summoned by The Sorrow.
  • Roughly translated from Russian, "Rokovoj Bereg" means "Fatal Coast".
  • The Virtuous Mission takes place on 24 August 1964, Hideo Kojima's first birthday. Originally it was to take place a year earlier (on the day of his birth), but was put back so references to the Kennedy assassination could be included.

Packaging art

Note: The typeface "METAL GEAR SOLID 3" is written in is Helvetica Ultra Compressed.

Release information

File:Vw256.jpg
Premium Package box and contents.

Like Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty before it, the Japanese release of Metal Gear Solid 3 was held back for nearly a full month after the North American version. In contrast to the previous Metal Gear Solid titles, there weren't many differences between the Japanese and American versions in terms of content. However, the Japanese version featured more downloadable camouflage patterns through the official website beyond the initial three offered in the American version. This includes a New Year's pattern, a St. Valentine's pattern, an Urban Tiger camo and even a rainbow pattern. New patterns could also be downloaded from related products, such as the CD soundtrack and the Snake Eater CD single. Customers that purchased the game from WonderGoo (a Japanese retail store) could download an exclusive WonderGoo pattern by bringing a memory card and the receipt of their purchase to the store.

Like the first two Metal Gear Solid titles, two versions of the game were released in Japan: the standard version and the "Premium Package." The Premium Package came with the actual game (along with a reversible cover art on the DVD case), a 400-page text booklet (titled R), a visual booklet (titled L), a DVD video and a 1/144 scale model of the Shagohod.

For the European release, Konami added several new features such as additional face paints based on various European countries' flags (as well as the United States and Japan), a new difficulty setting (European Extreme), a Demo Theater (allowing the player to customize Snake's appearance in previously-viewed cut scenes), a Duel Mode (where the player replays boss battles from the main game) and additional Snake vs. Monkey stages. Many of the downloadable camo patterns from the Japanese version were added to the European website. The camo patterns from The First Bite preview CD (DPM camo and Green face paint) can be unlocked in the European version by clearing Duel Mode instead.

The Platinum reissue of MGS3, released in Germany on March 23, 2006, includes Metal Gear Saga Vol. 1, a bonus documentary DVD.

Released in Japan on December 22, 2005 and North America on March 14, 2006, Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence is an expanded version of MGS3. It includes the original game, all of the features exclusive to MGS3's European release, several extra camouflage patterns, the first two Metal Gear games, the option of a completely 3D third person camera instead of the normal fixed one, and - for the first time in a Metal Gear game - an online multiplayer mode.


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