List of recurring Metal Gear characters
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[edit] Major recurring characters
[edit] Gray Fox
Gray Fox (Frank Jaeger) is a FOXHOUND agent and the best friend of Solid Snake, introduced in Metal Gear.
In Metal Gear, he disappears after sending a cryptic message about a "METAL GEAR," and Solid Snake, the protagonist, must save him and learn from him about the enemy superweapon, codenamed "Metal Gear".
In the sequel, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, Gray Fox once again disappears, but turns out to have defected to the side of the antagonist, Big Boss. However, Gray Fox secretly assists Snake by leaving him anonymous tips over his radio. Solid Snake confronts and seemingly kills Gray Fox in a final fistfight to the death in a minefield.
In Metal Gear Solid, Cyborg Ninja, a ninja in a powered exoskeleton and armed with a high-frequency blade (a high-tech katana), confronts Solid Snake. A mysterious voice without a face, code-named "Deepthroat," also gives Snake cryptic advice via burst transmission. They both turn out to be Gray Fox, who challenges Snake to a final duel. This battle isn't to the death, however; Cyborg Ninja instead later gives his life to help Solid Snake destroy Metal Gear REX.
Just as Metal Gear Solid eclipsed its predecessors in popularity, Cyborg Ninja turned out to be much more of a fan favorite than Gray Fox in his original form. The Cyborg Ninja has appeared in a number of games after Metal Gear Solid, either as crossover appearances in other games, or in the form of other mysterious characters in later Metal Gear games.
In Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Olga Gurlukovich assumes the Cyborg Ninja identity, wearing a powered suit similar to Fox's exoskeleton. Her suit isn't the only reference to Gray Fox; she also offers cryptic advice via burst transmission, at first using the name "Deepthroat", but then changing it to "Mr. X". Recently, the E3 2006 trailer of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots has shown Raiden (donning a Cyborg Ninja exoskeleton) performing acrobatic moves, which are very similar to Gray Fox's. In recently-released press materials for Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, Null, a ninja-like character resembling Gray Fox in his pre-cyborg form appears as a rival (and possible ally) for Naked Snake, although no relation between the two characters has been established so far.
The Cyborg Ninja suit is a hidden option in two of the "VR Mission" modes included with other Metal Gear games. In Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions (which was included in Metal Gear Solid: Integral, released only in Japan, Metal Gear Solid: Special Missions which was released as an add-on pack to the original Metal Gear Solid for PlayStation and in the Windows version of Metal Gear Solid), Cyborg Ninja appears in three unlockable missions, and in Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance, one of Raiden's unlockable costumes is the Cyborg Ninja suit. Cyborg Ninja also appears in the Game Boy Advance game Konami Krazy Racers, as one of several playable Konami characters.
- Japanese voice actor: Kaneto Shiozawa
- English voice actor: Greg Eagles (original), Rob Paulsen (The Twin Snakes)
[edit] Roy Campbell
Col. Roy Campbell, Solid Snake's commanding officer and close friend, is introduced in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake and returns to provide his support in Metal Gear Solid.
In Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, Col. Campbell is Solid Snake's new commanding officer. Under his supervision, Snake defeats the forces of Zanzibar Land and retrieves the OILIX formula.
In Metal Gear Solid, he comes out of retirement to command Solid Snake once again. Campbell has more of a personal stake in this mission, as Meryl is held captive by the revolutionary force Snake is battling. While Campbell is initially forced to keep a number of secrets from Snake, he gradually reveals more and more of them as the story continues, until, finally, Campbell is briefly arrested. However, he is exonerated after Solid Snake defeats Liquid Snake.
In Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, a man who appears to be Col. Campbell serves as Raiden's commanding officer, supporting him via radio. When a computer virus starts taking effect on Arsenal Gear, however, the Colonel begins acting erratically, revealing its true nature: "the Colonel" is, in fact, not an actual person, but an elaborate A.I. constructed by GW and based on Raiden's perceptions and expectations of the real Col. Campbell.<ref>Otacon: "The Colonel probably isn't GW per se. GW was most likely stimulating cortical activity in the dormant part of your brain through signal manipulation of your own nanomachines. The Colonel is in part your own creation, cobbled together from expectations and experience..." </ref>
In the upcoming Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, a young Roy Campbell appears as one of Naked Snake's comrades in the game. When the story begins, Naked Snake finds himself imprisoned by the FOX unit in South America with Roy in the cell next to him. The two formulate an escape plan and realize that in order to stop the FOX unit's revolt, they must form their own team of specialists, leading to the foundation of FOXHOUND.
An aged Campbell also appeared in a trailer for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. In the scene, he visits Solid Snake in a cemetery via helicopter and explains his next mission objective to Snake.
There are a trio of non-canonical spinoffs to Metal Gear Solid that feature Campbell prominently. The radio drama version of Metal Gear Solid is a continuation of the story of Metal Gear Solid and as such features Campbell. Similarly, "Confidential Legacy", one of the "Snake Tales" short stories included in Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance, fills in a bit more detail on the relationship between Meryl, Roy and Roy's brother, Matt. Campbell also reprises his role as Snake's reluctant commanding officer in Metal Gear Solid for the Game Boy Color, although this story isn't a sequel to the original Metal Gear Solid, but instead a side-story.
Campbell makes a pair of very brief cameos in Metal Gear Solid 3: once, at the Game Over screen, where he laments the temporal paradox caused by the failure of Naked Snake, and once in the Snake vs. Monkey minigame, where he commands Solid Snake. He plays a role similar to the latter in Ape Escape 3, where Campbell commands Pipo Snake in the "Mesal[sic] Gear Solid: Snake Escape" minigame.
- Japanese voice actor: Takeshi Aono (old), Toshio Furukawa (young)
- English voice actor: Paul Eiding (old), David Agranov (young) Michael McColl (Ape Escape 3)
[edit] Otacon
Dr. Hal Emmerich, nicknamed Otacon (a portmanteau of Otaku Convention), is introduced in Metal Gear Solid as a weapons designer that Snake must rescue, but becomes a sort of Q-like sidekick to him in later games..
In Metal Gear Solid Otacon is introduced as the designer of Metal Gear REX and captive at Shadow Moses. After Snake rescues him from Cyborg Ninja, Otacon offers him support via Codec. Otacon is depicted as being weak and adds some humour to the game. While captured Otacon develops an infatuation with FOXHOUND member Sniper Wolf, who is later killed by Solid Snake. In Metal Gear Solid 2, Otacon and Solid Snake found Philanthropy, an anti-proliferation organization. Otacon supports Snake as he infiltrates a converted tanker to photograph Metal Gear RAY, and, later, supports him as he infiltrates the Big Shell in a failed bid to rescue his foster sister, Emma, and then attempts to destroy Arsenal Gear. Later on in the game his sister Emma Emmerich also known as EE is killed by vamp
In Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Otacon's grandfather, a weapon designer involved with the Manhattan Project, appears in a photograph as an American friend of Russian weapon designer Aleksandr Leonovitch Granin, the man who came up with the original concept for the bipedal walking tank. Also, Sigint talks about Otacons Grandfather, when he tells Naked Snake (Big Boss) about a scientist who proposed the idea of a Biped-Tank in a paper released in America.
Otacon also appears in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots trailers, still supporting Solid Snake as a member of Philanthropy. In early trailers, he's remote controlling a robot reminiscent of the Metal Gear Mk. II from an earlier Hideo Kojima-directed game, Snatcher.
[edit] Liquid Snake
- Further information: Revolver Ocelot
Liquid Snake (commonly referred to as Liquid) is Solid Snake's Doppelgänger and archnemesis, and also the field commander of FOXHOUND and the Genome Soldiers. Along with Snake and Solidus, he is one of the three "brothers" genetically engineered from cell samples taken from Big Boss in the Les Enfants Terribles project, and believes himself to be inferior to Solid Snake, as the recipient of all of Big Boss's "flawed" recessive genes, however this is later revealed to be false.<ref name="cetra">Revolver Ocelot: "The inferior one was the winner after all. ...That's right. Until the very end, Liquid thought he was the inferior one."(Metal Gear Solid)</ref> As a result, he holds a strong resentment towards Solid Snake and wishes to defeat him in combat to reclaim his "birthright". Liquid also posesses a similar loathing for his biological father Big Boss. Thanks to Big Boss' "soldier genes," Liquid was destined to be a soldier from the day he was born. Since Solid Snake killed Big Boss in Zanzibar, the only way for Liquid to exact his revenge was to destroy Big Boss' legacy, and surpass it with his own Outer Heaven on Shadow Moses island.
In Metal Gear Solid Liquid serves as the main antagonist against Solid Snake. In the game Liquid poses as Snake's former survival coach Master Miller and tricks Snake into activating the new version of Metal Gear, REX. After this the entire final act of the game involves Snake and Liquid fighting, first with Liquid piloting Metal Gear, secondly in a bare handed fist fight and finally in a car chase before Liquid is killed by the FOXDIE virus. Following his appearence in Metal Gear Solid Liquid was named the "Greatest Villian of All Time" by IGN.<ref>IGN 25 Greatest List. Retrieved on 23 November, 2006.</ref>
In Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Liquid possesses his former ally Revolver Ocelot, via an arm transplant. In the game Liquid only takes control of Ocelot when Snake is in close proximity, first in the hull of the Marine vessel and later on the top of Arsenal Gear, where Liquid then steals a Metal Gear RAY and disappears off to defeat the Patriots.
In Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Liquid Snake appears to have taken complete control of Revolver Ocelot's mind and will, the two becoming a new entity known as Liquid Ocelot. Liquid once again amasses his own new Outer Heaven to fight against the Patriots and establishes a new base of operations in the Middle East. So far, it is unknown how Liquid discovered the existence of the Patriots in Metal Gear Solid. .
[edit] Meryl Silverburgh
Meryl Silverburgh, a rookie soldier and Solid Snake's love interest, is introduced in Metal Gear Solid. She shares her namesake and general appearance with a similar but unrelated character in Policenauts.
In Metal Gear Solid, Meryl is a rookie soldier and the niece of Snake's commander, Roy Campbell, who gets assigned to Shadow Moses. She refuses to join the rebellion lead by Liquid Snake and is imprisoned. Solid Snake rescues her first from her cell and then from Psycho Mantis's mind control, but she is later shot and captured by Sniper Wolf. Her ultimate fate depends on the ending of the game; if Solid Snake gives in under torture, she is killed off-screen, however, It is revealed that she is actually Campbell's daughter. If Snake resists, she escapes Shadow Moses with Snake, though she was subjected to torture and "things even worse than that". During the phone call at the end of the game with Solidus, Ocelot says "the woman is under surveillance," which means Meryl is still being watched by the Patriots.
She later appears in both volumes of the Metal Gear Solid Drama CD series and one of the "Snake Tales" short stories included with Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance in which she replaces Olga as boss of the Tanker Stage of Sons of Liberty. She also appears in the E3 2006 trailer for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, as the leader of a newly-reinstated FOXHOUND unit.<ref>Show Maybe, promotional pamphlet distributed by Kojima Productions during E3.</ref>
[edit] Mei Ling
Mei Ling is the data analyst in charge of saving Solid Snake's (and by extension, the player's) mission data in Metal Gear Solid. She is the one who invented Snake's wireless communication equipment, the Codec, as well the Soliton Radar, which detects the positions and field of vision of nearby enemy soldiers. Every time Snake saves his data, Mei Ling provides him with advice through Chinese proverbs (as well quotations from Western authors).
In Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Mei Ling becomes part of Philanthropy, an anti-Metal Gear organization. She assists Snake and Otacon from behind-the-scenes, attempting to steal equipment from the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center. If the player saves their game 13 times during the Tanker Chapter, Mei Ling will make a (voice-over only) cameo in which she corrects Otacon on one of his proverbs.
In addition to the first two MGS games, Mei Ling has also appeared in various spinoffs of the series. She is a focal character in the Japanese only radio drama version of Metal Gear Solid, where she infiltrates the Cuba-like Neo-Communist nation of San Chago with Snake in order to procure evidence of Chemical Weapons production in second scenario and goes along with Snake and Meryl to rescue Campbell in the third. She also appears in the non-canonical Game Boy Color game, Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, her role in that game being identical to that of Metal Gear Solid. In Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance, Mei Ling appears (in a fashion) in the Snake Tale "External Gazer", where she seems to be quite aggressive in personality, and reads tabloids.
[edit] Master Miller
McDonell Benedict Miller, better known as Master Miller, is a minor character that has appeared in two different Metal Gear games.
Miller made his first appearance in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake as one of Solid Snake's initial radio contacts along with Campell and Kasler. In the game, he provides psychological advice and survival tips, as well as hints and ideas to overcome certain obstacles.
Miller, reappears in Metal Gear Solid once again as one of Snake's radio support. His character design is a radical change from his looks in the MSX2 version of Metal Gear 2. Whereas the original Miller had a distinctively Asian appearance, the new Miller is white-looking, with blond hair and sunglasses (Miller's appearance was changed in the 2004 Mobile Phone version of Metal Gear 2 to reflect his new look in Metal Gear Solid). Also, it has been revealed that Miller is a spy — and that he is not the real Master Miller after all, but a disguised Liquid Snake. He tricks Snake into activating Metal Gear REX, with the real Miller having been murdered in his home three days prior to the Shadow Moses island takeover.
Miller's frequency number (141.80) in Metal Gear Solid has been reused twice in the sequels. In Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, it is the frequency number used by Iroquois Pliskin, who ironically enough is revealed to be a disguised Solid Snake. In Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, it is the frequency number used by The Boss, who reveals herself to be working with GRU Colonel Volgin, It is interesting to note that these three characters are all mentors to the main character of the games they appear in (Master Miller instructed Solid Snake; "Iroquois Pliskin" instructed Raiden; The Boss instructed Naked Snake (Big Boss).
[edit] Johnny Sasaki
Johnny Sasaki is a recurring joke character in the series who usually appears as an incompetent enemy soldier. He serves as a comic relief, as he is a coward and diarrhetic who ends up in embarrassing situations.
He first appears as an enemy guard in Metal Gear Solid, returns for a voice-over cameo in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and his grandfather (who suffers from constipation as opposed to diarrhea) makes an appearance in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, who is significantly more friendly. He was named after Hideki Sasaki, the character model designer of the Metal Gear Solid series.
- Japanese voice actor: Naoki Imamura
- English voice actor: Dean Schofield (Johnny Sasaki), Michael Gough (Johnny's Grandfather)
[edit] Other recurring characters
[edit] References
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