History VideoGame / MetalGear2SolidSnake

Released during the twilight days of the [=MSX2=], ''Metal Gear 2'' was Konami's final MSX release and its low print run ensured that it would become one of the most sought-after games by MSX collectors. A [[http://gtinter.msxnet.org/mgear2us.htm fan-translated version]] was completed in 1998 by the hobbyist group [[http://gtinter.msxnet.org/gtinter.htm G&T Soft]], along with an online version of the [[http://gtinter.msxnet.org/Operate.htm user's manual]] (which includes not only playing instructions, but extensive information on the game's story and setting), just in time for the release of ''Metal Gear Solid''. Konami themselves would later release ''Metal Gear 2'' officially outside of Japan alongside the first [=MSX2=] game in updated versions that were included in ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence]]'' and later in ''HD'', ''Legacy'' and ''Master'' collections.

Released during the twilight days of the [=MSX2=], ''Metal Gear 2'' was Konami's final MSX release and its low print run ensured that it would become one of the most sought-after games by MSX collectors. A [[http://gtinter.msxnet.org/mgear2us.htm fan-translated version]] was completed in 1998 by the hobbyist group [[http://gtinter.msxnet.org/gtinter.htm G&T Soft]], along with an online version of the [[http://gtinter.msxnet.org/Operate.htm user's manual]] (which includes not only playing instructions, but extensive information on the game's story and setting), just in time for the release of ''Metal Gear Solid''. Konami themselves would later release ''Metal Gear 2'' officially outside of Japan alongside the first [=MSX2=] game in updated versions that were included in ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence]]'' and later in the ''HD Collection'' and ''The Legacy Collection''.

* BossBattle: Quite a few of them: Black Ninja/[[spoiler:Kyle Schneider]], Running Man, Hind D, Red Blaster, Four Horsemen, Jungle Evil, Night Fright, [[spoiler:Drago Pettrovich Madnar]], [[spoiler:Metal Gear D, piloted by Gray Fox]], [[spoiler:Gray Fox on foot]], & [[spoiler:Big Boss]]. Then you have a final alert chase.
* BossCorridor: Once [[spoiler:Gray Fox dies]], a familiar voice is heard calling, "Here, Snake!" [[spoiler:Snake's old CO, Big Boss]], is waiting at the end of this winding passage. A second one follows the final boss room and the room where Snake reunites with Holly, and it leads to a room where three guards will automatically spot you and start the final alert chase to the finish line.

* BrokenBridge: The bridge to the Detention Camp gets destroyed by Metal Gear when Snake arrives there, forcing him to go to the Tower Building balcony and hang glide across the crevice to continue. You only need to do this once; after you obtain the last keycards, 7, 8, 9, and the green card, you can use the cardboard box on a conveyor in both the Detention Camp and a Level 9 room in the Tower Building to travel between the two.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Snake's diction, or manner of speaking, is rather different here compared to later games. His articulation seems a bit more mature and comes off as quite polite when interacting with other characters. This is at odds with the more gruff, sarcastic Snake we'd hear starting with ''Metal Gear Solid''. This could be attributed to his character growth.

** [[spoiler:Kyle Schneider]], who was implied to be killed off-screen in the first game, is revealed to be alive [[spoiler:as none other than the very first boss. He dies for real after you defeat him, and leaves behind the Level 2 keycard.]]

* DisposableWoman: [[spoiler:Natasha Marcova/Gustava Heffner]] lasts all of ten minutes before getting a missile to the face.
* DisproportionateRetribution: Apparently, the American government wanted Dr. Drago Pettrovich Madnar to work on SDI, NEDW, and Brain Bombs, but he refused. What did they do? They had the scientific community ostracize him, and then act as though he never existed shortly thereafter. Suffice to say, Dr. Madnar was not too pleased with this treatment.

* TheDragon: [[spoiler:Gray Fox for Big Boss. Fox is the one making the main calls in the second half of the game, he's the one piloting Metal Gear D when you fight it, and then you have to beat him in a GoodOldFisticuffs boss fight. Only after getting past him will Snake find Big Boss.]]

** Solid Snake's origin as a clone of [[spoiler:Big Boss]] is never mentioned in this game and they're simply former commander/subordinate turned enemies. This goes at odds with Snake's account of this game's events in the first ''Metal Gear Solid'', which reveals the relation between the two and makes it seem as if there was some kind of LukeIAmYourFather moment just before the final battle.

* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Pretty much every returning character who was on Snake's side in the original game ends up being an agent for Zanzibar Land this time. To be precise: Kyle Schneider is a drug-enhanced ninja who faces Snake as the first boss, Gray Fox is Big Boss's right-hand man and is the quarter/semi-final boss, and Dr. Madnar is secretly working for him too while pretending to be a hostage.]]

* FisticuffsBoss: Snake is forced to [[NoGearLevel discard his entire inventory]] before fighting [[spoiler:Gray Fox]] in unarmed combat. [[spoiler:Fox]] sets Snake on fire and a good chunk of your inventory, including all weapons/keycards but excluding rations, will be burning and sap your health rapidly until you get rid of all the burning items in your inventory.

* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler:Kyle Schneider, Dr. Madnar and Gray Fox]] each give one in regards to why they defected to Zanzibar Land.

* ItsAllUpstairsFromHere: According to the specs, Zanzibar Tower looms 600 meters high with 30 floors above ground and a single basement floor. You can't visit every floor, obviously, though Snake leads the guards on a merry chase up the staircases [[spoiler:once the elevator that stops on the 20th floor is disabled following the Ultrabox team boss fight]].

* KillItWithFire: After destroying Metal Gear, [[spoiler:Gray Fox]] jumps out and sets Snake on fire. You ''must'' get rid of all the items in your inventory that have flames over them to put the fire out before it kills you; this will force you to [[NoGearLevel discard all weapons, all your keys, and a few other now-useless items such as the gas mask and a "National Anthem" cassette.]] Thankfully, it won't burn your rations or the bulletproof vest, which cuts the damage you take in half.

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: An important item is hidden inside an MSX cartridge made by a Japanese company named Konami. Hmm...

* MistreatmentInducedBetrayal: [[spoiler:Kyle Schneider (and presumably the other surviving members of his Resistance), Dr. Madnar, and possibly Gray Fox]]'s reasons as to why they defected to Zanzibar Land dealt with this:

** Lastly, [[spoiler:Gray Fox]]. During [[spoiler:the Calgary Olympics, he, under the alias of Frank Hunter, met Gustava and wanted to elope with her, arranging for her to defect to the United States. However, the U.S. refused amnesty to her. Fox didn't take it too well, although he didn't defect until after Outer Heaven.]]

* MyNaymeIs: The first boss in the [=MSX2=] version is a space ninja called Black Color, named after the Timothy Zahn novel ''The Blackcollar'', while the four-man assassination squad Ultra Box is named after the band Music/{{Ultravox}}. Despite the mistaken assumption that these spellings were fan translation errors, that's how they were actually spelled in the [=MSX2=] version (all of the bosses had their names romanized instead of being written in Japanese kana).
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Snake managed to stop the TX-55 Metal Gear from being completed. Unfortunately, NATO apparently decided to use that opportunity to launch an air raid nuclear strike against Outer Heaven that resulted in both the Outer Heaven personnel and the Outer Heaven Resistance members suffering severe casualties, not to mention people who were war refugees and war orphans. In fact, it was this action that nearly resulted in Schneider's near death, not Outer Heaven as it was earlier implied. Also, his nearly killing [[spoiler:Fox and Big Boss]] (especially the former) would prove to have serious repercussions for him in the [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid next game]].
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: The portraits in the [=MSX2=] version are obviously modified photographs of popular celebrities at the time.[[note]]Most notably, Solid Snake is Creator/MelGibson, Dr. Madnar is Albert Einstein, [[spoiler:Big Boss]] is Creator/SeanConnery with an eyepatch, and [[spoiler:Gray Fox]] is Creator/TomBerenger.[[/note]] This was likely not an issue in 1990, since the game was Japan-exclusive, and celebrities in the Western world likely would not have cared, or even have known about it. However, once the franchise became an international hit and Konami ported the game to modern consoles, by including an updated version in re-releases of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', they had to change them to avoid any likeness infringement. As such, every portrait was changed to the style of Yoji Shinkawa, the character designer of the ''Metal Gear'' series.
* NoGearLevel: You have to confront [[spoiler:Gray Fox on foot]] with just your fists; after you get him out of Metal Gear, he sets you on fire and forces you to drop your weapons, which are burned up. This also applies to [[spoiler:Big Boss until you solve the door puzzle in his room and get the lighter and spray can, which acts as a makeshift flamethrower]], but after defeating the final boss, Holly will give you a replacement pistol with unlimited ammo to confront the final escape.
* NobodyHereButUsStatues: Several rooms in the Zanzibar Land fortress have a bunch of dummy soldiers in them. The second room you enter with these has one soldier sticking out of a row of dummy soldiers. It's a trap; he's a real man and will start the Alert sequence if you touch him or step in front of him. The third room with dummies has two live soldiers ramdomly placed in the room, and another room has a live soldier at the end that you need to distract.

*** "Wavelet" (which is listed as Holly's theme) is actually played during the conversation between Snake, Natasha, and Dr. Pettrovich, while "Reprieve of the Doctor" (which is listed as the music for that scene) is just the standard background music for the underground sewer. Holly's actual theme is titled "Night Fall", which the soundtrack lists as Schneider's theme (the track that plays during the conversation with Schneider is "An Advance", which is the suspenseful music played during most of the conversations).

* PointOfNoReturn: Despite the broken bridge, the player can still travel back and forth between the Detention Camp and the other places in Zanzibar Land by using the cardboard box to transport himself via one of the shipping trucks, which is a necessity if one has forgotten to [[spoiler:change the shape of Natasha/Gustava's brooch]] (you will need to get the last two keycards, 8 & 9, to be able to enter the room in the Tower Building where you can take the return trip to the Detention Camp). However, once Snake has acquired the [[spoiler:MSX cartridge]], he will fall into a trap door where he is forced to face the final gauntlet of boss challenges.

** The backstories for both, Big Boss and Master Miller, as given in the manual are entirely inconsistent with what the later prequels established about both characters and Gray Fox's origin story, which he tells to Snake during [[spoiler:his death speech]], is completely contradicted by the character's appearance in ''Portable Ops''.

** It's ultimately revealed that [[spoiler:Gray Fox]] is also this. Tormented by war, he feels he cannot function outside the battlefield and make a woman happy (revealed to be [[spoiler: Natasha/Gustava]]). ''Metal Gear Solid'' added in [[spoiler: the murder of Naomi Hunter's parents as looking at her eyes felt as if her parents is staring back at him]]. No wonder he's a full-blown DeathSeeker.

** The Ultrabox boss (renamed to the Four Horsemen in the official English translation) is named after British SynthPop group Music/{{Ultravox}}, of whom Kojima was and still is a huge fan (to the point where he once took on a part-time job in the 80's simply to buy one of their music video compilation tapes).

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: The actual [=MSX2=] game had different spellings for some of the names than the ones used in later games. In particular, Frank Jaeger was originally "Frank Yeager" and Roy Campbell was "Roy Kyanbel". The fan-translated patch, which was released on the same year as the original ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', switched to the now standardized spellings for them and actually fixed the spelling of Holly's name, which was originally Horry (a mistake which managed slipped by unnoticed in the plot summary featured in the original ''MGS'').
* SuddenSequelHeelSyndrome: [[spoiler:Gray Fox , Kyle Schneider and Dr. Madnar, Snake's allies in the previous game, have officially ally with Big Boss on their own free will.]]

-->'''[[spoiler:Big Boss]]:''' On the battlefield, you and I are valuable commodities. But back "home", we're nothing but dead weight. If we're lucky, we might get the attention of some two-bit journalist from a cheap tabloid.
* TogetherInDeath: Snake promises this for [[spoiler: Gray Fox and Gustava]]. [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid We all know how that turned out...]]

* WolfpackBoss: The Ultrabox/Four Horsemen team of mercenaries are fought together in a Tower Building elevator after you've advanced far enough in the game to get a "This elevator will be your coffin" codec message from [[spoiler:Gray Fox]].

** Omniconsumer Products, one of the creators of the Goriate Tank, was the same company as the one from ''Franchise/RoboCop''.

Despite being released only three years later, ''Metal Gear 2'' features a much elaborate game design than its predecessor with a completely redesigned engine. Many elements that would become mainstay in the ''Metal Gear'' series were actually introduced here such as the radar, the ability to crawl, the use of noise to attract enemies and peripheral vision for the guards. The narrative was also much more complex than the first game, with many more cutscenes and radio conversations than in the original game. Kojima would later use ''Metal Gear 2'' to lay the groundwork for ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid''.

* ItsRainingMen: According to the manual for the game, Snake infiltrated Zanzibar Land at the dead of night via a HAHO jump.

* PatrioticFervor: Soldiers will drop whatever they're doing and salute if the national anthem blares (actually a SuspiciouslySimilarSong to "We Wish You a Merry Christmas").

** For Kojima related shout outs, there are two for ''VisualNovel/{{Snatcher}}'', the first was when Kasler informed Snake about the rumors about [[spoiler:Big Boss]] being a cyborg as a result of the Snatcher project (which some have interpreted as a dig at ''Snake's Revenge'' as well). The second was when Campbell mentions Kasler in a radio call, where he warned Snake to avoid discussing anything relating to "whale cuisine." This is a reference of an autopsied murder victim who had whale cuisine inside his stomach tract. It's [[LostInTranslation lost in translation]], though, as the whale cuisine was changed to buffalo meat in the Sega CD localization of ''Snatcher''.
* ShoutOutThemeNaming

* DisproportionateRetribution: Let's see, apparently the American government wanted Dr. Drago Pettrovich Madnar to work on SDI, NEDW, and Brain Bombs, but he refused. What did they do? They had the scientific community ostracize him, and then act as though he never existed shortly thereafter. Suffice to say, Dr. Madnar was not too pleased with this treatment.

* GrassIsGreener: Let's just say that Dr. Madnar was sorely disappointed when he did defect/immigrate to America and learned what he is going to be forced to do.

* HollywoodAcid: At some places, you will encounter shallow puddles of unspecified acid which will instantly kill Snake if he takes one step into it.

* TheGreatPoliticsMessUp: ''Metal Gear 2'', which was released in 1990, assumes that the Soviet Union will be still be around by 1999 and even has a character (Natasha, who would later be renamed Gustava in newer versions) employed by the [=StB=], a real life organization that was dissolved the very same year the game came out. Natasha even compares her failed romance with Frank Hunter with the UsefulNotes/BerlinWall, which was destroyed during the same year as well, though the manual does note that the Berlin Wall was destroyed in 1989. For his part, Dr. Madnar ran into trouble with the U.S. bureaucracy due to his suspicious Eastern European origins.

* ElevatorActionSequence: One of the elevators has a boss fight - you are ambushed by four assassins. This engagement is echoed in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' (but not in that game's sequels)

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: When ''Metal Gear 2'' was (eventually) released outside Japan, they kept in a play mechanic that International Gaming Standards would have normally raised a hand against.

''Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake'' is the official sequel to the original ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear|1}}''. It was released for the UsefulNotes/{{MSX}}2 home computer in 1990 exclusively in Japan. Following the huge overseas success of the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem version of ''Metal Gear'',[[note]]It had sold 1 million copies in the U.S. alone.[[/note]] Creator/{{Konami}} commissioned the development of a sequel titled ''VideoGame/SnakesRevenge'' for the Western markets without the involvement of Creator/HideoKojima. After learning that a sequel without his input or consent was in development from another employee who was working on ''Snake's Revenge'', Kojima immediately began working on his own authorized sequel, resulting in one of the most critically acclaimed 8-bit games of all time.

** As aforementioned, the character portraits in all versions of the game other than the original [=MSX2=] version were changed from those heavily resembling celebrities at the time to recognizable modern designs of the characters. But even the Japanese Virtual Console version, which is otherwise a straight emulation of the original [=MSX2=] version, uses the new portraits. This was almost definitely done for legal reasons.

Despite being released only three years later, ''Metal Gear 2'' features a much elaborate game design than its predecessor with a completely redesigned engine. Many elements that would become mainstay in the ''Metal Gear'' series were actually introduced here such as the radar, the ability to crawl, the use of noise to attract enemies and peripheral vision for the guards. The narrative was also much more complex than the first game, with many more cutscenes and radio conversations than in the original game. Kojima would later use ''Metal Gear 2'' to lay the groundwork for the original ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid''.

** Snake's diction, or manner of speaking, is rather different here compared to later games. His articulation seems a bit more mature and comes off as quite polite when interacting with other characters. This is at odds with the more gruff, sarcastic Snake we'd hear starting with ''Metal Gear Solid''. This could be attributed to his character growth.

* FakeLongevity: See BackTracking above.
* FinalSpeech: Not all of the bosses, but this game begins the tradition.

* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler:Kyle Schneider, Dr. Madnar and Gray Fox]] each give one in regards to why they defected to Zanzibar Land. See MistreatmentInducedBetrayal.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: When ''Metal Gear 2'' was (eventually) released outside Japan, they kept in a play mechanic that International Gaming Standards would have normally raised a hand against. See VideoGameCrueltyPotential for more details.

* TheGreatPoliticsMessUp: ''Metal Gear 2'', which was released in 1990, assumes that the Soviet Union will be still be around by 1999 and even has a character (Natasha, who would later be renamed Gustava in newer versions) employed by the [=StB=], a real life organization that was dissolved the very same year the game came out. Natasha even compares her failed romance with Frank Hunter with the UsefulNotes/BerlinWall, which was destroyed during the same year as well, though the manual does note that the Berlin Wall was destroyed in 1989. For his part, Dr. Pettrovich ran into trouble with the U.S. bureaucracy due to his suspicious Eastern European origins.
* GuideDangIt: The player is required to decipher tap codes to learn at least two frequencies, which can only be done by using a chart in the manual. Additionally, Snake is also told to look at the back of the game's package to learn Campbell's second frequency upon reaching the Tower Building. Unfortunately, the North American version of ''Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence'' only came with a condensed manual and the online PDF version barely contained any information of the older games. Because of this, some of the solutions were posted online by Konami in an FAQ on their site (no longer online, [[http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20060626032510/http://www.konami.com/gs/mgs3_faq.php but there's a waybacked copy available]]). The ''HD Edition'' re-release of ''Metal Gear Solid 3'' fixes both of these issues by having the PDF manual cover both [=MSX2=] games.
* HeelFaceTurn: Kasler, who was part of the Zanzibar Land forces during the Mercenary War two years prior to the events of the game. [[spoiler:For a retroactive variant, there's also Master Miller, who served under Big Boss during the events of ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker Peace Walker]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain The Phantom Pain]]''. His motives aren't all sunshine and rainbows, however; Miller only wanted to help Solid Snake to take revenge on Big Boss, who abandoned him and left Miller with the BodyDouble Venom Snake so he could create Outer Heaven undetected.]]

* KillItWithFire: After destroying Metal Gear, [[spoiler:Gray Fox]] jumps out and sets Snake on fire. You MUST get rid of all the items in your inventory that have flames over them to put the fire out before it kills you; this will force you to [[NoGearLevel discard all weapons, all your keys, and a few other now-useless items such as the gas mask and a "National Anthem" cassette.]] Thankfully, it won't burn your rations or the bullet-proof vest (which cuts the damage you take in half).
* KillerRabbit: The "deadly poisonous" Zanzibar Hamsters. Oh, the humanity.

* MadScientist: [[spoiler: Dr. Madnar.]] What a surprise. In fairness, however, his name [[spoiler: was originally Dr. Petrovich, and he was on Snake's side in the first game.]] Plus, according to him, the only reason why he was even labelled as such was because [[spoiler: America's politicians just wanted him to make things like Brain Bombs, as well as make things relating to SDI and NEDW, and he also mentions that the same politicians only abused and showed contempt of him.]]

* MistreatmentInducedBetrayal: [[spoiler:Kyle Schneider (and presumably the other surviving members of his Resistance), Dr. Madnar, and possibly Gray Fox]]'s reasons as to why they defected to Zanzibar Land dealt with this.

** For [[spoiler:Dr. Madnar]], after Outer Heaven, he defected/immigrated to America (depending on whether the Soviet Union was still in existence or not), leaving his daughter behind. When he did join America... well, let's just say that the promises of liberty and freedom were empty for him. Basically, he was treated with total contempt by the American government, and also implied to have been abused by the government as well, basically forcing him to make brain bombs, SDI, and NEDW. He was then [[TheyCalledMeMad ostracized by the scientific community when he wanted to recreate Metal Gear]] (ironic, considering the fact that America was working on [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid Metal Gear REX]] since at least May 1996). He then decided he had enough of it and secretly defected to Zanzibar Land, since they at least would allow him to work on the weapon.

* TheMole: [[spoiler: Dr. Madnar, who tries to strangle you as an actual boss after Holly outs him.]]

** Due to a mixup, the track titles on the OST are not entirely accurate with the scenes or locations where they're actually played in-game.

* OneHitKill: Every once in a while, you'll meet some yellow sweeping machines. Touch them and you're SquashedFlat. This is also the case with the Zanzibar Hamsters around the MSX cartridge, who kill you right away as well (you need to use cheese in one flavor of your rations to lure them out and kill them one at a time).

** As stated above, the character portraits in all versions of the game other than the original [=MSX2=] version were changed from those heavily resembling celebrities at the time to recognizable modern designs of the characters. But even the Japanese Virtual Console version, which is otherwise a straight emulation of the original [=MSX2=] version, uses the new portraits. This was almost definitely done for legal reasons.
** In addition to changing the character portraits, almost all the ports of ''Metal Gear 2'' have name changes for some of the characters (such as Natasha Marcova, who became Gustava Heffner) and makes Snake's cigarettes hazardous to his health when equipped, much like what was done in the ports for the original ''Metal Gear''. Unlike the first game, in which the cigarettes were only useful to extend the timer during the final battle, here they're required to see infrared sensors. To make up for this, the designers added a pair of thermal goggles which can be procured inside the first base and used without health penalty.
** The [=MSX2=] version also featured comparisons between Big Boss and William Morgan (a real life American mercenary who fought for the Cuban revolution) in both the in-game script and the manual. The references to Morgan were removed in later versions.

** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'' brings one up to both this game and its predecessor. [[spoiler:The Big Boss whom Solid Snake fought in the original ''{{Metal Gear|1}}'' was in fact a {{body double}} and not the real one. This contradicts the explanation for Big Boss's survival in ''this'' game, in which he was given cyborg implants after being fatally wounded in Outer Heaven.]]

** The manual has other inconsistencies, such as referring to the mission from the first game as "Operation Intrude ''[=N312=]''" instead of ''[=N313=]'' and the region in Africa where Outer Heaven was located as "Salzburgh" instead of Galzburg. [[spoiler:Natasha's bio even refers to her former lover as "Frank ''Jaeger''", even though she actually mentions "Frank ''Hunter''" in-game. To be fair though, his name really is Frank Jaeger, but she only knew him as Frank Hunter, since Fox never revealed his true identity to her.]]

** The pre-final boss dialogue between Snake and [[spoiler:Big Boss]] reveals Snake had been tormented with nightmares involving Outer Heaven. [[spoiler: Big Boss ''seems'' to share the sentiment (if you understand the latter's backstory)]]. As of the sequel, [[spoiler:Big Boss]] threw a LukeIAmYourFather reveal, adding this to his nightmares.

With the world facing an energy crisis after the world's oil supply unexpectedly runs dry, Dr. Kio Marv, a Czech biologist, develops a microbe called OILIX, capable of synthesizing petroleum. Hoping to use OILIX to ensure their military dominance, a small nuclear-armed nation called Zanzibar Land kidnaps Marv during a trip to the United States to discuss his findings. On Christmas Eve 1999, FOXHOUND agent Solid Snake is sent in to diffuse this threat and rescue Marv from the clutches of Zanzibar Land. But Zanzibar Land has an ace up their sleeves: a new model of Metal Gear...

* DisposableWoman: [[spoiler:Gustava Heffner]] lasts all of ten minutes before getting a missile to the face.

*** "Wavelet" (which is listed as Holly's theme) is actually played during the conversation between Snake, Gustava, and Dr. Madnar, while "Reprieve of the Doctor" (which is listed as the music for that scene) is just the standard background music for the underground sewer. Holly's actual theme is titled "Night Fall", which the soundtrack lists as Schneider's theme (the track that plays during the conversation with Schneider is "An Advance", which is the suspenseful music played during most of the conversations).

* PointOfNoReturn: Despite the broken bridge, the player can still travel back and forth between the Detention Camp and the other places in Zanzibar Land by using the cardboard box to transport himself via one of the shipping trucks, which is a necessity if one has forgotten to [[spoiler:change the shape of Gustava's brooch]] (you will need to get the last two keycards, 8 & 9, to be able to enter the room in the Tower Building where you can take the return trip to the Detention Camp). However, once Snake has acquired the [[spoiler:MSX cartridge]], he will fall into a trap door where he is forced to face the final gauntlet of boss challenges.

** It's ultimately revealed that [[spoiler:Gray Fox]] is also this. Tormented by war, he feels he cannot function outside the battlefield and make a woman happy (revealed to be [[spoiler: Gustava/Natasha]]). ''Metal Gear Solid'' added in [[spoiler: the murder of Naomi Hunter's parents as looking at her eyes felt as if her parents is staring back at him]]. No wonder he's a full-blown DeathSeeker.

** VideoGameCrueltyPunishment: Granted, its not as severe as what happens if the player kills [=POWs=] in the previous game, but if the player decides to shoot or even punch out war orphans, as listed above, [[HostageSpiritLink they'll lose health]].

* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: Unlike the original ''Metal Gear'', it's averted: The game and manual state that Zanzibar Land was located between the (former) USSR, Afghanistan, China, and Pakistan, and it's even given something of a map showing the bordered area of Zanzibar Land.[[note]]For anyone curious, it's that slew of lines in the box next to the Zanzibar Land logo.[[/note]] It's basically within the Badakhshan region. It also starts a trend in future installments to show the specific location the game takes place in (assuming that the game doesn't flat out state where it takes place in real life, as was the case in ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty Metal Gear Solid 2]]'' and ''Peace Walker'').

* WouldHurtAChild: See VideoGameCrueltyPotential.

* BananaRepublic: Zanzibar Land.

* CatchYourDeathOfCold: spending too long in the canal will give Snake a cold, necessitating either some additional backtracking to find medicine to cure it or heightened caution, as he'll randomly sneeze and draw guards' attention unless cured.

* HollywoodAcid: At some places you will encounter shallow puddles of unspecified acid which will instantly kill Snake if he takes one step into it.