Metal Gear (universe)

Metal Gear (universe)
Developer(s)	Konami Entertainment Japan Kojima Productions Platinum Games Silicon Knights
Publisher(s)	Konami
Designer(s)	Hideo Kojima
Genre(s)	Action-Adventure Stealth
Console/platform of origin	MSX2
First installment	Metal Gear (1987)
Latest installment	Metal Gear Survive (2018)
Article on Wikipedia	Metal Gear (universe)

The Metal Gear universe (メタルギア, Metal Gear) refers to the Smash Bros. series' collection of characters, stages, and properties that hail from the popular Metal Gear stealth-based video game franchise developed by third-party developer Konami. The long-running series is famous in the Smash Bros. community for being the first third-party game franchise to contribute characters and properties to the otherwise Nintendo-exclusive Smash Bros. series, mainly the series' main star, Solid Snake. The logo was formerly the logo for FOX, the unit that Naked Snake hailed from in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (also the former logo of Kojima Productions, the developer of the franchise). The current logo is the "!" Alert for when the player gets spotted in the Metal Gear Solid games.

Franchise description

The history and legacy of the Metal Gear franchise is deeply intertwined with its creator and renowned industry visionary, Hideo Kojima. In 1987, the then-unknown video game planner, working at Konami, was asked to take over a project that had been intended as a wartime action game for the MSX2 home computer. Technical limitations to the MSX2 prevented Kojima from creating a game that had many bullets and enemies onscreen at any given moment, though, so Kojima made a decision to design and direct a game that drew inspiration from the film The Great Escape, wherein the focus of the game was to avoid visual contact and direct confrontation with patrolling enemies. His bosses' questioning over this decision nearly prompted Kojima to leave Konami, but after one of his bosses encouraged him to continue, he proceeded to complete and release Metal Gear on July 12, 1987. It is credited by many today as the progenitor of the stealth action genre in the video game industry. A few years later Kojima was asked to develop an MSX2 sequel to Metal Gear, and the result, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, was released on July 20, 1990. This game pioneered the franchise’s reputation for complex twist-filled narratives and introduced many of the evolved stealth gameplay aspects that would be present in the rest of the series.

The series has become dormant after Metal Gear 2 with Kojima working on a number of unrelated projects in the meantime. But it was only with the release of the seminal third game in the series, Metal Gear Solid, that brought the franchise and its creator into the mainstream on September 20th, 1998 for the original PlayStation. Universal critical praise and chart-topping sales propelled the Metal Gear intellectual property into a flagship franchise for Konami, and it is often recognized as one of the key titles involved in popularizing the stealth-action game genre. As a result, Metal Gear Solid became a killer app for the console and Solid Snake became a de facto mascot for the system like Cloud Strife before him, with the choreography of voice actors Akio Otsuka and David Hayter cemented Snake as a symbol of character complexity in video games. In addition to featuring the gameplay style of the previous game only now in three dimensions, Metal Gear Solid made extensive use of cinematic storytelling to tell a gritty, mature, twist-filled narrative like a blockbuster film. It proved to be a huge success, and both it and its sequels have been regarded as being among the greatest video games of their respective platforms.

The Metal Gear franchise, often referred to with the name Metal Gear Solid due to almost every subsequent game featuring "Solid" in its title, proceeded to release a large number of sequels, prequels, interquels, expanded re-releases, and non-canonical side-games on a regular basis. In most of the games, the player takes control of an elite, artificially-enhanced special forces operative codenamed Snake - either it is Solid Snake (real name David) in games set in the postmodern present, or it is his father, Big Boss (real name John), back when he operated as Naked Snake in games set after the Cold War era. A younger secondary protagonist codenamed Raiden (real name Jack) is also sometimes featured in a leading role. The games have Snake, operating under the command of the highest orders of government, sneaking into the compounds of militant enemy forces that threaten Earth politically with revolutionary nuclear weapons technology, which in many cases take the form of a bipedal walking tank named "Metal Gear". Snake uses his stealth skills and cunning to bypass enemy guards when necessary, neutralize guards and elite enemies that stand in his way with weapons procured on site, and interrogate hostages and enemies alike to gather intel and gain access to where he needs to go to complete his mission to neutralize the war weapons and the villains that threaten to use them.

Each release in the central Metal Gear chronology adds to the series' ambitious lore, which is closely grounded in the politics of real-world Earth from the Cold War onward. Core themes explored include many issues about nuclear deterrence, social engineering, artificial intelligence, information control, conspiracy theories, questioning integrity, censorship, the manipulation of free will, and social taboos such as incest and homosexuality. This takes place throughout narratives that are rife with betrayal, revelations of identity and family, and other plot twists that span many games. Depictions of Snake and other Metal Gear characters and elements in a more light-hearted air are usually relegated to non-canonical side games and cameos, such as when Solid Snake became the first third-party character to be featured as a playable character in Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. series in 2006, in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

During the development of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, disputes were frequent between Hideo Kojima and publisher Konami over the game’s development. The game along with Kojima’s other concurrent project, Silent Hills, were coming at a time when Konami began their transition away from AAA studios like Kojima Productions as reported in a then-new internal corporate restructuring. Kojima’s name and studio would be removed from any Metal Gear Solid V promotional material including the box art, and the much-anticipated Silent Hills would be cancelled and its playable demo removed from digital stores. The Phantom Pain would eventually be released to universal acclaim, though this was a bittersweet accomplishment as this would be Kojima’s last project for Konami. The undisputed tension between Kojima and Konami ultimately culminated in him leaving the company in December 2015, thus giving him the opportunity to re-establish Kojima Productions as its own independent studio.

What follows is the release history of the canonical Metal Gear continuity:

• Metal Gear (1987), on the MSX2, depicts the rookie special forces operative Solid Snake, working for the U.S. special forces unit FOXHOUND in 1995, going on a solo infiltration mission into Outer Heaven, a compound in South Africa established by Big Boss and Venom Snake (his body double), to destroy the nuclear walking tank Metal Gear TX-55 being constructed there. Snake discovers that FOXHOUND's leader, Big Boss, however, is secretly the enemy ringleader, plotting to make Outer Heaven the world's greatest superpower, and was sent to the base in hopes that he would fail to give Venom Snake more time to develop its Metal Gear. Snake destroys Metal Gear TX-55 and kills Venom Snake (maintaining his role as Big Boss). After having his body doubled killed and Outer Heaven destroyed, the real Big Boss flees FOXHOUND to Central Asia and establishes Zanzibar Land.

• Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (1990), on the MSX2, has FOXHOUND's new commander, Roy Campbell, sending Solid Snake in 1999 on a mission into the Central Asian country of Zanzibar Land, which plots to hold the world hostage by controlling the newly-discovered OILIX energy source as well as a stockpile of nuclear warheads. Snake discovers that Big Boss is the ringleader of this as well, and Snake almost kills him and destroys another Metal Gear being constructed named Metal Gear D, which was redesigned and improved from Metal Gear TX-55. Snake and Campbell retire from FOXHOUND after the events of the game.

• Metal Gear Solid (1998), on the PlayStation, has FOXHOUND going renegade in February 2005 and threatening nuclear reprisal against the U.S. Government with another Metal Gear they acquired when they seized a nuclear weapons disposal facility on Shadow Moses Island, a remote island in Alaska. Led by the mercenary Liquid Snake, the terrorists' demands are the remains of Big Boss, whose genes can be used to mass-implant the traits of the legendary soldier into many soldiers. Roy Campbell, now working for the U.S. military, forces Snake out of retirement to infiltrate Shadow Moses, kill all of the elite members of the FOXHOUND unit, and destroy Metal Gear REX.

• Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001), on the PlayStation 2, begins with Solid Snake, now operating for the non-governmental organization Philanthropy, infiltrating an oil tanker near New York in 2007 to investigate the development of the aquatic Metal Gear RAY, but one of Snake's enemies from the previous game, Revolver Ocelot now possessed by Liquid Snake to become "Liquid Ocelot", steals it and sinks the ship. Two years later in 2009, a reformed FOXHOUND sends a new operative, Raiden, on a mission into an offshore clean-up facility named Big Shell, wherein a terrorist group named the Sons of Liberty, backed up by the rogue anti-terror training unit Dead Cell, has kidnapped the U.S. president for monetary ransom and threatens to ignite the facility and Manhattan. Raiden's mission quickly reveals world-changing secrets about virtually everything around him.

• Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004), on the PlayStation 2, is the first prequel in the series, set in the Cold War in 1964, and stars Big Boss back when he was an elite operative of the CIA's FOX unit codenamed Naked Snake. An internal power struggle in the Soviet Union, instigated by the ruthless Colonel Volgin, threatens to prompt the Soviet Union and the United States to begin a nuclear World War III, and a spiritual precursor to modern Metal Gears, a rocket-propelled nuclear tank named the Shagohod, is part of his plans. The USSR asks the U.S. to assassinate Volgin before he takes over, so Naked Snake is sent to infiltrate the jungles of Tselinoyarsk in the USSR to battle Volgin, as well as his beloved mentor The Boss, who along with her elite Cobra Unit had previously defected from the U.S. to the Soviets.

• Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (2006), on the PlayStation Portable, has Naked Snake's former team, the FOX unit, breaking their allegiance with the CIA and going rogue six years after Snake Eater in 1970, and they target him as well. Naked Snake is captured and brought to Colombia, where he is interrogated for the location of part of the massive sum of money known as the Philosopher's Legacy. Naked Snake, with the help of a young Roy Campbell that had also been captured, must defeat the top members of the FOX unit and destroy an early Metal Gear model that is the backbone of their rebellion.

• Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008), on the PlayStation 3, depicts Solid Snake in 2014, much older than he was five years before due to genetic issues that resulted in accelerated aging. The world economy now relies on continuous war fought between private military companies, and the soldiers' performance in combat is enhanced by nanomachines. Liquid Ocelot now plans to hijack the control network created through these nanomachines, so Solid Snake, with less than a year to live, is sent by Campbell on one last mission to tail Liquid across the world. Snake does battle with the all-female PTSD-afflicted Beauty and the Beast unit before taking part in a climactic final showdown that culminates the primary series' timeline.

• Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (2010), on the PlayStation Portable, is another interquel starring Naked Snake in his Big Boss persona, four years after Portable Ops in 1974. Now running his own mercenary group after having broken away from the CIA, Naked Snake is hired by the country of Costa Rica when a mysterious militant group, the Peace Sentinels, deploy themselves within its borders. Though they are merely the size of a land army, they threaten to endanger the balance of power between the East and West because Costa Rica does not have an armed forces of its own to do anything about them. The resolution of this incident solidifies Big Boss' perspective and decision to construct a nation entirely for his own group of mercenaries, which would become known as Outer Heaven.

• Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (2013), on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, is a spinoff that takes place four years after Guns of the Patriots in 2018. Originally conceived as Metal Gear Solid: Rising, this side story would eventually be retooled and rebranded by action game veteran PlatinumGames to its current form. The different title reflects that it is not like the previous stealth-oriented installments in the series, instead featuring Raiden as a cyborg ninja taking part in a more up-front action game with a sword-based combat system. Raiden takes jobs for a variety of private military companies until he is forced to contend with other cyborg enemies from the self-proclaimed private military company Desperado Enterprises.

• Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015) for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and their console predecessors is the first title in the series slated to have an open-world gameplay structure. It is yet another interquel starring Big Boss, and is set after Peace Walker; in a separately sold prologue segment named Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (2014), taking place one year later in 1975, Big Boss decides to infiltrate the maximum security prison facility Camp Omega in southern Cuba to, among other things, rescue an agent he previously fought, who carries an important link to the mysterious "Cipher" group. But Big Boss falls into a nine-year-long injury-induced coma at the same time his company is destroyed. In The Phantom Pain itself, after he awakens in 1984, Big Boss forms a new mercenary group, the Diamond Dogs, and assumes the codename "Punished Snake" as he ventures into Afghanistan - in the midst of the Soviet war taking place at the time - seeking revenge against those responsible. But an even more threatening plot by Cipher is soon unearthed.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

A popular story tells that during development of the Nintendo fighting game, Metal Gear series creator Hideo Kojima "practically begged" Sakurai to include the third-party character Solid Snake in Super Smash Bros. Melee as a playable fighter, but the addition was not viable because development of the game was too far in with a tight deadline fast-approaching. As a result, no mention of Metal Gear appears in the game whatsoever.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Metal Gear makes its official debut in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as the first third-party game series to feature in the Smash Bros. series, generating an outburst of excitement and speculation across the industry and broke the glass ceiling for third-party franchises appearing in the Super Smash Bros. series.

Character

• 
  Snake: The legendary mercenary appears as a playable character, relying not on guns like in his games but a mix of CQC (close quarters combat, martial art co-created by Naked Snake in Snake Eater) and a variety of weapons and explosives such as a mortar launcher, RPG, Hand Grenades, Remote Missiles, and C4. Snake battles acrobatically and incorporates stealth techniques into his moveset, such as his signature choke-hold. He also sports a fantastic aerial recovery, thanks to the use of his flying camera, the Cypher. His Final Smash is the Grenade Launcher, which has him jump onto a passing helicopter and shooting players with up to twelve grenade missiles before the time runs out. David Hayter and Akio Otsuka, Snake’s English and Japanese voice actors since the original Metal Gear Solid respectively, reprise their roles in Brawl.

On the final character select screen, Snake occupies the ninth column (miscellaneous characters) along with Mr. Game & Watch, Sonic, and the random option.

Assist Trophy

• Gray Fox: Gray Fox appears in his Cyborg Ninja form and attacks rapidly with a sword. His slices, however, can reflect projectiles. His voice clips reuse lines from Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes.

Stage

• 
  Shadow Moses Island: A stage set in the location where the first Metal Gear Solid takes place. It features searchlights, crumbling walls, and the appearance of three Metal Gear models, specifically Metal Gear REX, Metal Gear RAY, and the Gekkos from Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. The stage also includes a feature that allows Snake to talk to his allies using his Codec, and have conversations with them about his opponents. To activate this, the player must tap down on the directional pad very quickly and lightly. This easter egg is much like Fox and Falco's special taunts on the Corneria and Lylat Cruise stages.

Music

• MGS4 ~Theme of Love~ Smash Bros. Brawl Version - A fast-paced version of the Love Theme from Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots made for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The arrangement was handled by staff from Konami's Metal Gear sound team. It is used on the Shadow Moses Island stage.
• Encounter - A remix of the song from Metal Gear Solid when Snake is spotted by an enemy. It is used on the Shadow Moses Island stage.
• Theme of Tara - A completely redone version of the Theme of Tara from the very first Metal Gear game for the MSX2. It is used on the Shadow Moses Island stage. For people familiar with Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions, this is the theme played when Snake is on a VR Mission in the game. It reappears in Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance, as another VR Mission theme for secret character MGS1 Snake.
• Battle in The Base - Taken directly from the PS2 game Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, this was the music track that played when Naked Snake was spotted by an enemy while indoors. It is used on the Shadow Moses Island stage.
• Yell "Dead Cell" - Taken directly from the PS2 game Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, this was the song that was used during the boss battles with Vamp, Fortune, and Fatman, who are part of the Dead Cell unit. It is used on the Shadow Moses Island stage.
• Cavern - Also taken directly from a title, this was the cavern background music in Metal Gear Solid. It is used on the Shadow Moses Island stage.
• Snake Eater (Instrumental) - An instrumental version of the main theme to Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, this track is also taken directly from said game. It is used on the Shadow Moses Island stage.
• Theme of Solid Snake - Taken directly from the MSX2 game Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, the second game in the series, this was the title screen theme to said game. It is used on the Shadow Moses Island stage.
• Calling to the Night - The vocal theme song of the PSP game and direct sequel to Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater- Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops. It is taken directly from said game, and it is used on the Shadow Moses Island stage. This song also plays during Snake's Classic Mode credits.
• Metal Gear Victory - Snake's victory theme is a short sample from the main theme of Metal Gear Solid. It was used when the player would complete a VR Mission in said game, but is better remembered for its use as the Game Over theme.

Trophy

• Solid Snake
• Cypher
• Grenade Launcher
• Gray Fox
• Iroquois Pliskin
• Naked Snake
• Shagohod
• Metal Gear RAY
• Metal Gear REX
• Gekko
• Box

Stickers

• Solid Snake
• Big Boss
• Liquid Snake
• Master Miller
• Mei Ling
• Naomi Hunter
• Gray Fox
• Revolver Ocelot
• Colonel Roy Campbell
• Hal "Otacon" Emmerich
• Raiden
• Solidus Snake
• EVA
• Naked Snake
• The Boss
• Metal Gear REX
• Metal Gear RAY
• Shagohod

In Super Smash Bros. 4

When Hideo Kojima was asked about the possibility of Snake reappearing in Smash 4 during an interview in March 2014, he replied: "I'm not working on that game, but I don't think it's likely [that Snake will return]. If Mr. Sakurai is watching this, hopefully we see Snake." Snake, along with the entire Metal Gear universe, would ultimately be cut in SSB4. In addition, Snake is the only cut veteran from Brawl who does not have a trophy in either version of Smash 4. Snake was also mentioned during the 50 Fact Extravaganza when Palutena's Guidance was being compared to the Codec Conversations.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

The Metal Gear franchise makes its triumphant comeback in Ultimate after being dropped from Smash 4. The series logo has been changed from the FOX Unit logo to the iconic "!" exclamation point that appears when the player is spotted. On top of most of the content from Brawl, being one fighter, one stage, one Assist Trophy, and several music tracks, even more was brought in from across the franchise in the decade since the series was last featured including two all-new remixes and a plethora of Spirits.

Character

• 31.
  
  Snake: After a decade-long absence and being cut from Smash 4, the legendary mercenary finally returns as an unlockable fighter, now with a new down smash and a new Final Smash called Covering Fire. This Final Smash has him lock onto targets with a crosshair and fire up to five homing missiles. His overall mobility has been buffed and he benefits the most from the universal frame-3 jumpsquat, now no longer being among the slowest in the series. However, his endurance was made slightly worse by the removal of momentum cancelling, weakened durability of his Cypher, and reduced weight. David Hayter and Akio Otsuka’s portrayals of Snake from Brawl were repurposed for Ultimate.

Assist Trophy

• Gray Fox: After missing out a game, this Cyborg Ninja returns and can now be KO’d. A key change during his transition is that he now has an invisible reflector in front of him at all times. His voice clips still reuses his lines from The Twin Snakes.

Stage

• 
  Shadow Moses Island: The primary setting of the first Metal Gear Solid game is returning as a retro stage in Ultimate after being cut from Smash 4. The accompanying Codec Conversations have all returned, but only those available for the fighters who appeared in Brawl.

Music

Original Tracks

Arrangements and remixes unique to Ultimate.

• "Theme of Solid Snake": A remix of the song that plays during the opening of Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake.
• "Snake Eater": A faster paced remix of the main theme of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, without any vocals.

Returning Tracks

Arrangements and remixes returning from Brawl.

• "Theme of Tara": A remix of the main theme from the original Metal Gear, as well as the opening jingle, "Operation Intrude N313" . Returns from Brawl.
• "Encounter": A remix of the theme when Snake gets spotted by enemies from Metal Gear Solid. Returns from Brawl.
• "MGS4 ~Theme of Love~": A faster paced remix of "Love Theme" from Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.

Source Tracks

Tracks sourced directly from the Metal Gear games.

• "Cavern": The theme played when Snake is in a cavernous area, sourced from Metal Gear Solid.
• "Yell "Dead Cell"": A slightly altered version of the theme of certain bosses from Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
• "Snake Eater (Instrumental)": An instrumental version of the main theme of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.
• "Battle in the Base": The "Alert Phase" theme in indoor areas, sourced from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.
• "Calling to the Night": The theme that plays during the credits, sourced from Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops.
• "Main Theme - METAL GEAR SOLID PEACE WALKER": The opening theme, sourced from Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.

Victory Theme

• "Victory! Snake": A remix of the game over theme from Metal Gear Solid. Remains unchanged from Brawl

Spirits

749. Solid Snake 750. Liquid Snake 751. Gray Fox 752. Hal Emmerich 753. Roy Campbell 754. Meryl Silverburgh 755. Mei Ling 756. Solidus Snake 757. Rosemary 758. Naked Snake 759. Big Boss 760. The Boss 761. EVA

762. Revolver Ocelot (Metal Gear Solid 3) 763. Revolver Ocelot (Metal Gear Solid V) 764. Zero (Metal Gear Solid 3) 765. Raiden 766. Kazuhira Miller 767. Paz Ortega Andrade 768. Strangelove 769. Metal Gear REX 770. Metal Gear RAY 771. Gekko 772. Metal Gear ZEKE 773. Sahelanthropus 774. Cardboard box

Games with elements from and in the Super Smash Bros. series

Metal Gear

Solid Snake, the main character of the Metal Gear series, made his debut in this game. Theme of Tara also originates from Metal Gear.

Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake

Theme of Solid Snake, one of the game's two intro themes, is an unlockable music track usable on the Shadow Moses Island stage. A new remix was featured in Ultimate.

Metal Gear Solid

The Shadow Moses Island area from the game is a stage in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Solid Snake's support team, Colonel Roy Campbell, Otacon, and Mei Ling, appear in Codec transmissions in Snake's Smash Taunts. Gray Fox, a major character from the game, appears as an Assist Trophy. Metal Gear REX makes an appearance as a part of the background in the Shadow Moses Island stage. Other characters from Metal Gear Solid appear as stickers, such as Meryl Silverburgh and Liquid Snake. Two musical themes in Brawl are taken from this game: the original version of Cavern, and a remix of Encounter.

In turn, a reference to Super Smash Bros. Melee appears in the GameCube remake of MGS if the player has saved data for it on the memory card in use. Before the boss battle against Psycho Mantis, he will read Snake's mind (in actuality, the player's memory card) and note that Snake's played Melee if data from the game is found.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

Snake's intro animation resembles his appearance aboard the Discovery's aft deck, wherein his stealth camo system disengages and malfunctions due to landing impact. Metal Gear RAY first appeared in this game, as did Snake's up special, Cypher. Snake's Navy SEAL disguise, "Iroquois Pliskin", is an unlockable trophy. Raiden and Solidus appear as stickers. Yell "Dead Cell", the "Plant" chapter boss theme, is an available music track as well.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

Facially, Snake has a full beard similar to Naked Snake/Big Boss's appearance in this game, and his alternate colours consist of camouflage patterns used by Naked Snake. Snake's C4 may occasionally spawn a butterfly-shaped C3, in reference to a scene from this game. Naked Snake and the Shagohod (a predecessor to the Metal Gear) appear as trophies, while EVA and The Boss appear as stickers. Two musical themes are directly taken from this game: the original version of Battle in The Base, and an instrumental version of the game's main theme, Snake Eater. In Ultimate, the latter song receives a more intense remix.

Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops

Calling to the Night, the game's end credits theme, is an unlockable theme in Brawl and Ultimate.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

MGS4 ~Theme of Love~ is a remix of this game's main theme. In turn, the remix is present in Metal Gear Solid 4 proper, as a song on Snake's in-game MP3 player. Gekkos first appeared in this game; two of these mechs, along with Metal Gear REX and Metal Gear RAY, appear on the Shadow Moses Island stage as a reference to the game's climax.

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

The main theme from this game appears as a song in Super. Smash Bros. Ultimate. Additionally, spirits of Dr. Strangelove, Paz, and Metal Gear ZEKE appear as well.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

Raiden, in his design from Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, appears as a Spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain & Ground Zeroes

Spirit designs for Cardboard Box, Big Boss, Revolver Ocelot, Kazuhira Miller, and Sahelanthropus appear in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Additionally, Snake's Final Smash in Ultimate, Covering Fire, takes cues from this game's airstrikes.

Trivia

• Metal Gear, Electroplankton, and Miiverse are the only primary universes to be entirely dropped from a Smash game, with the former two having no content whatsoever in SSB4 and the latter most not having any representation in Ultimate. Ice Climber, while having its sole playable character(s) not returning in SSB4 and not having any stages in the same game, is still represented by trophies, two music tracks and the Polar Bear's appearance in Smash Run.
• Metal Gear is the first universe with a playable character to be represented in one installment, have no representation whatsoever in the next installment, and then get some representation again in the very next installment after that.
  • However, it is only the second major universe (along with Electroplankton, Joy Mech Fight, Custom Robo, Kururin, and Drill Dozer) in general to have this distinction. The first universe in general to do so was Sheriff.
• Metal Gear is the only universe with a playable character to only have trophies in one game, provided both versions of SSB4 are counted as separate games.
• Metal Gear is the only universe introduced after Melee to have its series symbol changed, as well as the only one to have it changed entirely between games. While several universes (Mario, Pokémon, and Metroid, among others) only had slight changes from Melee to Brawl, Metal Gear's symbol changed from the FOX Unit symbol to an exclamation point. This is possibly due to the fact that the FOX Unit logo was also the former logo of Kojima Productions, which has lost the rights to the Metal Gear franchise since Brawl's release.
• Metal Gear is the only pre-Ultimate universe to have unlockable characters but not unlockable stages in the game it debuted.
• Metal Gear is the only third-party playable representative that appears in Ultimate whose franchise does not have a title released on the Nintendo Switch.