What is The Phantom Pain really?
As usual in my articles, also in this case I will briefly illustrate what I want to deal with; if you are here, however, you will already have a clear idea since you have inevitably read the title. The saga of Metal Gear, without going around it, is one of the longest-running and most popular videogame series ever, and the reason is simple: it is extremely evocative. Although it's not my absolute favorite game (you always have to separate preferences from quality), Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater it still remains without any doubt the most beautiful and successful title I have ever played. Of course, I also feel compelled to mention the first legendary chapter, adored by practically ALL of Sony's longtime gamers, as well as Sons of Liberty, Peace Walker, the epilogue seen in Guns of the Patriots and, finally, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. I'm going to talk about the latter, perhaps the chapter of the saga with which I have more empathy thanks to the themes dealt with (absolutely new to the series, which previously embraced a very comic style) such as slavery, cruelty, war throughout the world. his brutality and revenge. After having calibrated my format with the three previous articles (I Lords of the Embers: Part 1 and Part 2 and Breaking Bad), I finally feel ready to deal with this topic, much darker and raw than it may seem. Obviously, watch out for spoilers as there will be plenty of them. Without further ado, let's retrace the steps taken by Big Boss (central and pivotal character who supports this article) since the events of Peace Walker.
"Fall"
After the events of Peace Walker, Big Boss he finally gets everything he has always coveted, namely independence, by settling on a base in the ocean called Mother Base, home of the MSF (Militaires Sans Frontieres), a private militia commanded by Big Boss himself and by Benedict "Kazuhira" Miller, second commander and friend of our protagonist. This, of course, unleashes a never-ending war against the old superior Cipher (also known as Major Zero, also a friend of Big Boss), which lasted since Peace Walke, and inflamed after the conquest of the Big Boss fortress.
Thanks to the "dust" that arose following this conflict, Skull Face, direct subordinate and commander of the private force under the orders of Cipher himself, the XOF, deserted, establishing itself as an equal in the clash between the fragments of what once were the Patriots (in this case we are talking about Boss and Cipher); at this point, it completely destroys Mother Base and annihilates almost every soldier present during the attack.
After witnessing the fall of his "castle" and seeing all his dreams crumble in his own hands, Big Boss begins to develop a black personality, feeling the first symptoms of what he will really become: "A Demon from Outer Heaven". An accident with the helicopter he is carrying sends Boss into a coma, finally taking away the last bit of humanity left to him.
“Say hello to your Boss when you get home” - Skull Face.
"Venom Awakens"
On the notes of "The man who sold the world", we witness firsthand the awakening of Big Boss from a coma that lasted nine long years, without his left arm and with a metal splinter stuck deeply into the cerebral cortex, very reminiscent of the horn of a devil, demolished in both mind and body. Humiliated, maimed and weak, Big Boss ceases to be Naked Snake, the hero who once saved the planet from the nuclear holocaust, and accepts his essence, throwing himself into a chasm of anger and vengeance, becoming V (Venom Snake), the first stage of the "horn" which symbolizes his descent into darkness.
Skull Face, after learning of his awakening and having discovered the hospital where he had been hiding during all the years of absence, attacks him with the intent to conclude what he had started nine years earlier: the destruction of Big Boss. The Boss Keeper, Ishmael (according to what he said, he has watched over the comatose Big Boss for all the years), will have the task of leading him out of the "flames" and the cruelty of Skull Face, willing to do anything to succeed in his task, to the point of ordering the massacre without restraint of every patient present in the hospital. Boss still manages to escape from the building, but Skull Face has no intention of wasting this opportunity: "The Man on Fire", or what remains of the burned body of Colonel Volgin, the main antagonist of Snake Eater, is unleashed to finish Boss. One step away from the abyss, Ocelot revolverBoss, historical rival of Boss who later became one of his most trusted allies, saves him, fleeing Volgin on horseback, thus avoiding a bad end. There is nothing left to believe in, no ideology, peace, love, freedom or justice, now only revenge counts ... The descent into the darkness begins.
“I'm already a demon” - Big Boss
"Not your kind of people"
Arriving in Afghanistan, Ocelot and Boss plan the meeting and the rise of the gods Diamond Dogs, army founded on the ashes of the MSF by Kazukira Miller in Boss's coma years. Miller, however, was captured and thrown to the Russian militias, so his safety depends only and solely on how Boss succeeds in the mission to save him.
Upon arrival at the place of imprisonment, Boss witnesses a terrible scene: what remains of his friend Kaz is a man devastated by torture, without a leg and an arm, completely pervaded by anger, the desire for revenge and phantom pain. , sensations that Boss himself knows very well. Finally, to prevent the success of the mission, there are the "Skull", beings that were once human, now endowed with superhuman powers thanks to the "parasites" (more on that later) that cover them. Boss still manages to escape from this deadly new threat, taking Kaz on the helicopter that will transport him to their new base. However, the rescue only accentuates Kaz's anger at the enemy who once erased all his hopes and conquests; now remains the
dark and only revenge counts.
"Just for revenge"
"I have no country, no language, I have no face, but I haven't lost my skull" - Skull Face, Ground Zeroes
The attack on Mother Base nine years earlier was planned by Skull Face in great detail, so that Boss and Kaz blamed the incident on Cipher, turning the spotlight on him and turning on Boss and his army. This was possible thanks to a nuclear inspection of the old Mother Base: at the end of Peace Walker, in fact, Big Boss came into possession of the Metal Gear ZEKE, bipedal weapon capable of firing atomic warheads at long distances and from any terrain. Obviously, Metal Gear had to remain a secret, as its disclosure would cause tremendous tension between Big Boss's MSF and the United Nations, allowing Skull Face to make his move. So they had to temporarily submerging it to prevent it from being discovered, consequently depriving Mother Base of the most dangerous deterrent available to them, making the place exposed to the attack of Skull Face's XOF which thus marked their defeat, until their resurrection at least. There "Phantom War" that could unleash between Boss and Cipher will be nothing more than part of Skull Face's plan to see them destroy each other, for no real reason behind this conflict.
Boss, after a slow "back on track", is sent to retrieve a named weapon Honey Bee in the hands of the Russians, suspected of being the first of a new and long generation of armaments that will completely revolutionize the idea of how to fight a war. Clearly, the latter could represent a huge step forward in the war against Cipher, and it would be too much of a mouthful to pass up, after all. Upon exiting the ruined temple from where the weapon was recovered, Boss is grabbed by something gigantic made of metal, shrouded in fog.
“You look well-rested, Big Boss… My, my, how you've changed. You became a demon for such little weapons as that? " - Skull Face
Through the fog, Skull Face makes his return to the scene.
“Well, I'm sure you'll see the bigger picture eventually. If you can get out of here alive. Rest in peace, this time. I'll see you in Hell! Boss! " - Skull Face
More intent on killing Big Boss than ever, Skull Face throws at him the fog unit, the Skulls (the same unit that attacked Mother Base nine years earlier). All that remains for Boss is to use the prototype weapon he has just obtained, thus managing to decimate the army and escape to safety; Unfortunately, however, having exhausted the bullets of the weapon, it is no longer able to use or reproduce it.
After this partial defeat, Big Boss, Revolver Ocelot and Kazuhira Miller learn about where he is hidden. Huey Emmerich, old MSF member, suspected of conspiring with (what they still believe to be the real culprit) Cipher. Boss then prepares to take him to Mother Base to question him about the disaster that occurred at the old base. The only real obstacle between Boss and his target comes out shortly before reaching Skull Face's base: Quiet. This deadly and silent (as its name suggests) sniper it is in effect a Skull and is able to make itself invisible, travel long distances at great speed and is particularly resistant even against firearms. Boss will finally be able to defeat her after a slow and precise clash (very reminiscent of the one seen in Metal Gear Solid with Sniper Wolf), placing us in front of a choice: kill her because of her danger as recommended by Kaz, or save her to study her or even exploit her as an ally on the battlefield according to Ocelot (clearly, for rather obvious reasons, we will choose the second option). A "warm" welcome awaits the silent sniper at Mother Base: rifles, thermal visors and even Ocelot's elite team (little worried about his arrival). This stormy situation is fortunately calmed when Boss himself speaks to Quiet, almost as if she only trusts him. Now, after this short (but also no) detour, let's go back to Emmerich.
Il Huey's recovery is hampered one step away from success: just before getting on the helicopter, the metallic being seen during the Honey Bee operation is shown in its entirety: it is the Metal Gear Sahelanthropus, bipedal tank inspired by a hominid designed by Emmerich himself, therefore it is the definitive Metal Gear, more powerful than all the others we have seen during the chapters of the series. With Emmerich on his back and the Metal Gear opposing the success of the mission, Boss is forced to flee, trying to sow the metal giant and avoiding to attract attention. Upon successful escape, Boss escorts Huey to Mother Base to question him about his influence during the events of Ground Zeroes and on the design of the Sahelanthropus. This at any cost in order to repay the enemies with their own currency.
"Language"
The repeated and heavy torture carried out on Emmerich finally led to a result: Africa. In fact, it seems that Cipher is selling weapons to private militias and is interested in a certain material present, in fact, on African soil, perhaps used in the development of a new generation of nuclear warheads capable of even surpassing Metal Gear. However, the situation is much darker (as if it wasn't already): when Boss manages to sabotage the factory occupied by one of Chiper's main arms buyers and literally take away the customers of his enemy, they come to the surface from the polluted water. of oil corpses of dead people, with a deformed chest in the area of the lungs. Boss's escape from the factory prevents a thorough inspection of the victims, but it is quite evident that something is moving silently in the shadows. Having no trace to follow regarding these deformed corpses, Boss, Ocelot and Miller are dedicated to other things, not believing that the traces would soon come from them. After recovering children exploited for diamond mining, they will discover that their boss has been taken to a building called "The devil's house", where cruel and unusual experiments on people are suspected. Without hesitation, Boss leaves for this place. Upon his arrival, he witnesses a vision capable of freezing the blood even of those who are able to remain calm in any situation: people infected with what appears to be a parasite that leads to deformation of the rib cage. Obviously, the worst is yet to come: the leader of the children saved by the Diamond Dogs, in fact, is irreversibly infected; Furthermore, the worst part is that Skull Face appears once again in the building, definitively revealing his identity as the main enemy and proponent of both this disease and Metal Gea.
r Sahelanthropus seen in Afghanistan. Now the Diamond Dogs have a clear enemy in front of their eyes.
“Burn with the rest of them” - Skull Face
Boss manages to escape from the attack of the man-in-flames, sent by the same Skull Face once again to finish his goal, but failing. When the situation seems to turn for the best, the parasite of the vocal cords takes root on the Mother Base; airborne transmission further facilitates this plague, decimating many of the Diamond Dogs soldiers, but with a selective death: in fact, the parasite unexpectedly attacks only soldiers who speak the kikongo. It seems that this "virus" is capable of devastating a race based on the language spoken by the host, which triggers its activation and leads the victim to death. This is the ultimate weapon of mass destruction, and if used with precision it can wipe an ethnicity from the planet forever; by far one of the most devastating weapons seen in all chapters of the series.
While research is being carried out to stop this deadly new calamity that is bringing Boss's mighty army to its knees, Boss is sent to retrieve the "White Mamba", leader of a small militia of child soldiers. Eli, this is the real name of the "leader", is one of the suspects of Ocelot, Miller and Boss, since they think that it could be one of the three Big Boss clones created at the behest of Cipher long ago. Boss is then determined to get him to Mother Base as soon as possible. Despite the success of the boy's recovery, Mother Base is getting closer and closer to its end, as the kikongo strain of the parasite has infected a good part of the soldiers and stopping him, by now, has become the only target of the Diamond Dogs. The desperate search for a solution to this huge problem eventually leads them to discover the identity of the creator and creator of this destructive biological weapon: Code Talker, Native American scientist initially in the service of the Philosophers. The latter were the predecessors of the Patriots and the first to want to own this weapon then abandoned, at least until the arrival of Skull Face. Code Talker is recovered, managing to cure the Mother Base infection and revealing what Big Boss's rival is really aiming for, letting them know of the four phases of his plan: the first is to sell small nuclear weapons to private forces around the globe in order to make them deterrents to each other; using the Metallic Archaea (material sought by Cipher and Skull Face in Africa) he expects to be able to control and upgrade the atomic warheads sold to the various militias, thus making them real nuclear powers capable of frightening their neighbors and being afraid in turn . Thanks to the dangerous English strain, the parasite of the vocal cords will exterminate the language in question in the world, preventing any kind of universal encounter; finally, the Metal Gear Sahelanthropus will serve to make Skull Face stand out above this sea of small super powers, establishing itself as the winner. Although on the brink of the abyss, the world maintains its balance.
“The word became flesh. The final parasite. It knows English. An English strain of the vocal cord parasite ”- Skull Face
"Skull"
OKB Zero, this is the name of the Skull Face fortress in Afghanistan, an impenetrable fort manned by the XOF. To prevent Skull Face from subjugating the world to his will, Boss must gather his strength and then unleash them against the much-hated nemesis. Sahelanthropus, parasite and nuclear: these are the pieces of the puzzle that Skull Face wants to use to compose his own picture to hang on the great wall that is the world, so that everyone can see his victory. But what is Skull Face really looking for? As far as we know, he is not particularly interested in power, as he already has enough of it. Anyone who has observed him well will have noticed that his skin is completely burned: the pain and oblivion have made him what he is now? We will soon have the answer. Boss is strangely invited to "witness the Sahelanthropus" while Skull Face reveals his past and why he wants to implement that plan so full of misunderstanding, hostility and cruelty: peace.
“I will exterminate the English language. Whith this, I'll rid the world from infestation. Sans Lingua Franca, the world will be torn asunder and then, It shall be free ”- Skull Face
Repeated wars, cruelties and betrayals are the building blocks of the world in its squalor; Skull Face believes that only fire can fight and then suppress another fire, so he is doing nothing but giving the true flames of vengeance to the world for them to be accepted and become one with them. Is peace understood as universality perhaps an illusion created by men to justify so much inhumanity? Either way, Boss and the Diamond Dogs can't afford to give Skull Face a win, not yet. But, after all, is Skull Face really wrong?
Young Mantis, ally of Liquid Snake in Metal Gear Solid and initially also of Skull Face, betrays the latter, sensing Eli's intent of revenge towards Boss. Young Mantis, thanks to his enormous telekinetic strength, manages to control Volgin's burned and deflagrated body and Sahelanthropus himself: the Metal Gear, in fact, is unexpectedly lacking in manual controls for a pilot; perhaps it was designed by Skull Face for Mantis to control it. Mantis' betrayal is massive and unbridgeable, as the key to Skull Face's plan lay in the Sahelanthropus and the total supremacy it would create. Now defeated by his own ally, Skull Face no longer has power, yet he hasn't lost yet. It can no longer use the vocal cord parasite and the Metallic Archaeas or sell the nuclear weapons that would have given it true control, but the Sahelanthropus still walks, and poses more of a threat than ever. Showing its existence to the world would mean bringing it back into the midst of the Cold War, sparking an arms race that may not end as well as last time. Stopping Young Mantis and Sahelanthropus is vital, but it will clearly not be easy.
With the joining forces of the Diamond Dogs, Boss manages to bring down the metal giant, without it being a threat to the "balance" of the world. Skull Face lies on the ground mortally wounded and begs to be finished: Boss and Miller, therefore, finally have the opportunity to carry out the much agonized revenge on the one who reduced them to zero: they burn two vials where the parasite of the English strain was contained, amp
They use a leg and an arm to Skull Face, as he did with Boss and Miller, and finally Huey Emmerich will kill him with a blow to the head. However, one of the vials of the parasite is collected by Mantis: the war is not over yet.
The Diamond Dogs take possession of the Sahelanthropus, reaching and even surpassing the glory of the old MSFs. As long as Metal Gear is whole, there can never be true peace, everyone will fear and crave its power, such is the legacy of Skull Face, its ghost.
The first part ends here, and if you have arrived this far, I thank you from my heart. The second part will come shortly.
