@ntm: Weird with the rain scene. I know which one you are talking about, I guess it just didn't trigger. Like you said, maybe you didn't go at the right time, or maybe it was a glitch. The intention is that it plays when the bond maxes out. On the topic of her leaving, I actually thought it was a great scene, and a pretty strong character arc. I didn't have a problem with her exiting the game in that fashion, though I really liked her as a character.

@quarters: Yes, I agree. I really liked it too! And I find it interesting that she's gone, as that just doesn't happen in games when it comes to having buddies as you just expect them to be your normal, always there character, but I do wish you could somehow get her back.

FUCK, I feel so dumb for not noticing that Venom Snake doesn't have the snake-shaped scar on his chest from Peacewalker. He has some scarring, sure, but no big S scar.

God DAMN it.

They had me guessing till the DNA test - but Im happy how it turned out. Hearing Solid Snake storming Outer Heaven in the background while Venom listens to the Intrude 313 tape was an AWESOME way to end it.

The only thing that could have been better would have been to add the cut dialogue (Venom recalling the conversation Big Boss had with The Boss... or is it him and Big Boss? I hope its the latter)

@selfconfessedcynic: The snake shaped scar on Big Boss was actually fake; it hid a jigsaw that you could use to break out of jail.

o_o

I had totally forgotten they have you put your name in during that first scene, so I did have a good laugh when Venom Snake looked at the back of the picture and it said 'good luck Dylan'.

@elwoodan: I named him John so it ended up like BB was signing a signature to himself.

The Eli's DNA thing was clever. I'll give Kojima that. Though, overall, the twist rubs me the wrong way since it has no impact or purpose. Imagine this plot twist shoe horned into any other series. It would still work. It would almost always work. It's a soap opera trope for crying out loud ("I was sleeping with your TWIN?!?"). In that light, I find it lazy and rather frustrating. I feel like everything in MGS V's story is very satisfying to think about from a series perspective, but very unsatisfying when looked at as it's own story (You chased down this Skull Face jerk, saved some kids, made an army, killed most of your army, danced with Quiet in the rain, and fultoned a fuckload of things.)

It's as if the twist is there to say, "Hey, we know we made a really mediocre MGS story with flat characters and a mostly silent protagonist, but there's a reason for that!" In a weird way, it reminds me of comedy games that have the character/narrator comment on how unfun or broken something in the game is. Both irk me because in both cases I'd rather just have a better game than a reason for why something in it isn't up to par.

But, like I said, it's rather enjoyable to think about from a series perspective so its been fun to read people's thoughts here on it.

@berserker976: that's exactly how i felt

@redking56 said:

I did the goddamn exact same thing - took me a moment to realise it was the name I put in at the start.

I put in the name John because that's my name.... Still made the reveal just as awkward.

Isn't BB's name Jack, though? I mean zero and the boss both call him by that. I know he tells Ocelot that his name is John but I just assumed he was being cheeky and saying basically " John doe"

Before getting to the twist, I was assuming the "not a DNA match" had something to do with how Solid and Liquid aren't perfect clones (like Solidus). One of the reasons that Liquid is so pissy to Solid, in MGS1, is some not-how-genetics-works stuff about how "they needed to create Liquid to take all of the recessive genes so that they could have Solid, with only the 'better' dominant genes"

Unless I'm getting all that wrong and/or they retconned that part.

@finalform: Jack is a common nickname for John and they hint at it every so often throughout MGS3.

My moment of clarity was when Big Boss whipped out his cigars. "Of course, Big Boss would NEVER vape!"

Uhh, you've never heard of a DNA test to check if someone is the father or not? :p You don't need to be a perfect replica to have a DNA match!

And yes, John is Naked Snake/Big Boss' real name. Jack is a sort of nickname for him.

I have heard of paternity tests, but they were checking to see whether Eli was Snake's clone, not his son. I figured they'd be only be interested in whether it was an exact or nearly exact match, which may or may not be the case with Liquid.

Although all that's irrelevant because of the real reason the test came up negative.

Fuck. HIDEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Loved that ending.

The game itself was the best open world stealth game I have ever played. The story was interesting but it's kind of unfortunate that the majority of it was told through tapes. I agree the tapes are a better solution then codec stuff but a handful seem like they should have definitely been cutscenes. For people not familiar with the previous games story or characters I can see how a lot of the nuances and reveals in the story would have little impact on them. I'm really glad I decided to watch Peacewalker before playing this.

The Truth Record tapes after you complete the Truth mission really fill in a lot. It's also funny to hear Big Boss be more talkative and animated.

@selfconfessedcynic: That speech is in the game, it is just in the secret nuclear disarmament ending

I knew we weren't Big Boss from the not so subtle hints at the beggining and the promo materials. I was just hoping it would be some cool metal gear style twist at the end instead of just being plain shit.

Imagine if at the end (46) when you get real BB guiding you through the hospital and doing the whole "now do you remember, we're all BB" thing. Imagine if it was David Hayter guiding Kiefer through. I think that would have given me the usual 'mind blown' MG ending.

Fantasic game, but it clearly wasn't finshed from a narative standpoint and easily the worst in the series(narative). Loved Quiets arc, though I wouldn't be surprised if huge chunks were cut from it. Also, I like Troy Baker but Ocelot may have well have been some random new character.

I've had a theory for a long time now what if big bosses oil rig base was actually the big shell from mgs2 and solidus wanted to reclaim it in mgs2