The Ultimate Test of Stealth and Survival: The Top 10 Most Challenging Missions in Metal Gear Franchise

Highlights

Metal Gear games provide players with plenty of help and support, such as hints, cutscenes, and a support team.

Certain sections in Metal Gear games pose a significant challenge, such as the Communication Tower Run and the Bike Chase.

To successfully complete missions like "Backup, Back Down" and "A Quiet Exit," players must employ strategic thinking, utilize formidable firepower, and rely on a bit of luck to overcome formidable adversaries and obstacles.

While the Metal Gear games pose challenges, Hideo Kojima intended for players to fully experience their stories. To assist players, the games offer various forms of support including hints, cutscenes, and a support team, in addition to difficulty settings like European Extreme. Some games even provide guides to help players with specific actions such as hanging off ledges or running while shooting.

Despite these aids, the series still features difficult moments. Examples include the intense sniper duel against The End in Metal Gear Solid 3 and the multiple battles against Metal Gear RAY in Metal Gear Solid 2. However, the most challenging missions in the Metal Gear series are often found in the sections between boss fights. These may include mid-game tasks, side activities, or primary objectives.

Warning: Spoilers Ahead

10 The Communication Tower Run

In both Metal Gear Solid and its Gamecube remake The Twin Snakes, Solid Snake had to evade armed guards as he ascended the multiple flights of stairs in the Communication Tower. In the original game, this proved to be quite challenging until players discovered that stun grenades could be employed to incapacitate guards on each floor. As a result, a non-lethal approach became more feasible than a lethal one. Unfortunately, this gameplay mechanic did not carry over to The Twin Snakes.

The effectiveness of stun grenades in the game was limited to their immediate area, resulting in their lack of usefulness compared to the alternative options of running, shooting, and using rations to heal instantly upon death. Moreover, if the players reached the top without having the Rope for rappelling, they would have to either backtrack to retrieve it or take the risk of hanging and dropping from multiple ledges. This alternative approach was slower, subjected Snake to a higher chance of being shot, and was more prone to failure, as even a single missed button press would result in instant death.

9 Backup, Back Down

In a similar vein to the handheld games, Metal Gear Solid 5 adopted a fragmented approach to its main story, presenting it as separate missions. This unique structure empowered players to choose their preferred progression order or freely explore their surroundings. One such mission, named "Backup, Back Down," entailed Venom Snake's endeavor to assist the Mujahideen rebels by obliterating any Russian military vehicle that crossed their path.

Players just need to demolish a single vehicle, be it a car, truck, tank, or any other, to emerge victorious. However, accomplishing this task is a whole different story. They must strategically plan the most optimal path to obliterate each target using the precise amount of firepower, request additional resources when needed, and successfully rescue every captive within the allocated time constraint. As a gratifying reward for accomplishing all these objectives, they are bestowed with an additional helicopter and tank to annihilate, which serve as the pinnacle of this arduous mission.

8 Code Talker

In the later part of MGS5, Snake is tasked with locating the Navajo biologist Code Talker and extracting him via chopper to protect his Diamond Dogs from a parasitic infection. Waste no time, as it opens with the presence of the formidable Skull Snipers, who must either be defeated in combat or stealthily bypassed. Unlike Quiet, these adversaries cannot be subdued by supply drop packages. However, they can be outsmarted or eliminated from long range with sniping skills.

7 Vehicle Battles

Afterwards, Snake is tasked with stealthily navigating his way to the lower level of a large residence in order to retrieve Code Talker. The guards are heavily armed, equipped with strong armor, and patrol every narrow corridor and compact floor of the building. If the player fails to defeat the Skulls earlier, they reappear at the end and possess all the inhabitants, continuously pursuing Snake until he manages to find a safe spot to request extraction via helicopter.

In addition to the exciting Monster Hunter guest battles, all the bosses in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker are mechanized. Apart from these formidable mechs, players also engage in thrilling Vehicle Battles against various armored vehicles such as APVs, Tanks, and Choppers. These vehicles can either be annihilated or captured for Outer Ops. Regardless of the vehicle type, the gameplay approach remains consistent: extract the troops, neutralize the driver or destroy the vehicle, and ultimately emerge victorious.

But each vehicle comes with additional backup troops, and Peace Walker does not restock on Fulton Balloons. To extract them all, the team will require the Infinite Ammo Bandana and Fulton Launcher, which is likely to trigger an Alert. Once that occurs, Big Boss will be swarmed by enemy forces. The superior the vehicle, the more destructive power they possess, the more damage they withstand, and the greater number of troops they have, resembling military-issue clown cars.

6 The Bike Chase

In Metal Gear Solid 4, Solid Snake teams up with Big Mama, also known as EVA, for a thrilling motorcycle pursuit reminiscent of MGS3. Together, they navigate the city, evading the PMC Raven Sword. Similar to the previous Bike Chase encounter, Snake must support Big Mama by eliminating any pursuers and overcoming any obstacles along the way. However, a key difference is that Snake lacks the Cold War camo that granted him protection against enemy gunfire in the MGS3 chase.

Not that GEKKOs and flying Sliders would be affected. Players can utilize auto-aim and powerful weaponry to simplify their tasks. However, if they are aiming for the prestigious Big Boss emblem, they must solely rely on tranquilizer and stunning arms, while depending on their own accuracy to successfully achieve those immediate knockout headshots.

5 A Quiet Exit

In the game "A Quiet Exit" in MGS5, the protagonist, Snake, is tasked with rescuing Quiet from the clutches of the Russians. Surprisingly, Quiet proves to be quite self-sufficient, requiring minimal assistance until reinforcements arrive. The enemy forces launch a relentless assault on the Lamar Khaate Palace, deploying an overwhelming force of soldiers, armored cars, choppers, and tanks. The opposition attacks in successive waves, granting the player a brief respite between each onslaught.

4 VR Mission 18

However, successfully neutralizing the vehicles without any damage necessitates a substantial amount of firepower, a constant supply of drops, effective cover, and a stroke of good luck. To further enhance their ranking, players can embark on additional side objectives such as extracting a staggering 14 vehicles (an achievement almost unattainable without the employment of the advanced Wormhole Fulton) and accomplishing the task without allowing Quiet to sustain any harm, a feat that calls for swift elimination of these vehicles.

MGS1 introduced VR missions to allow players to put their sneaking abilities to the test. These missions made a comeback in MGS2, were rebranded as Side Ops in Peace Walker and MGS5, and made another appearance in Metal Gear Rising. While some of these missions were relatively easy, others posed a significant challenge, and some were downright bizarre. In the case of MGR's VR missions, the emphasis is placed on difficulty, with VR Mission 18 standing out as particularly infamous.

3 The Pontoon Bridge

Players are given a limited 10-minute timeframe to triumph over successive waves of adversaries possessing the lowest health bar and Blade Mode gauge. It is crucial for Raiden to remain unscathed; otherwise, players must deftly execute Zandatsu maneuvers to subdue their adversaries and replenish both vital resources. This endeavor becomes even more daunting as players encounter formidable opponents such as the gorilla-like Mastiffs, heavily armored hammer men, the mini-Metal Gear GRAD, and other formidable adversaries. The challenge ahead is fully set, demanding the utmost skill and perseverance from the players.

However, Raiden has faced more challenging situations before. In MGS2, he was tasked with escorting Otacon's sister, Emma, from one end of the Big Shell to the other. Their journey brought them to a heavily guarded Pontoon Bridge infested with both guards and CYPHER drones. This is where Raiden comes up with a clever plan: he decides to send Emma across the bridge by herself while providing sniper support. As players progress, they must eliminate all the threats, including strategically placed concealed mines that can only be detected through thermal goggles.

2 Snake VR Variety Level 4

To earn the prestigious Big Boss rank, players will need to switch between the deadly PSG1 sniper rifle for eliminating hardware targets and the non-lethal PSG1-T variant specifically designed for dealing with enemy soldiers. Although Snake can offer support, his positioning can be time-consuming depending on the chosen difficulty level. The intense climax occurs when Vamp takes Emma captive, leaving the player alone to neutralize him before he harms her. Fortunately, there are conveniently placed ammo drops that provide players with virtually unlimited ammunition... but only if they temporarily unequip their rifle to collect them.

The re-release of Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance introduced numerous immersive VR Missions, Alternate Missions, and intriguing non-canon Snake Tales, offering players an enhanced Solid Snake experience. Remarkably, these missions presented four distinct iterations of Snake to assume, each progressively challenging in nature. The missions attributed to the original MGS2 Snake, albeit relatively manageable, still posed a formidable test of skill.

In VR Variety Level 4, Snake must shield an injured Meryl from a group of 26 troops using sniper fire. The troops move across a wide area, taking cover and occasionally peeking out for those with precise aim. However, if the player fails to monitor the entire area diligently, the troops will quickly reach Meryl. The most challenging scenario is with MGS1 Snake, where his Variety Level 1 follows a similar pattern, but involves a larger number of troops and the protection of a cardboard box.

1 Metal Gear ZEKE Mock Battle

Metal Gear ZEKE, one of the final bosses in Peace Walker, offers a Mock Battle as an independent mission. ZEKE's abilities can be enhanced by customizing it with gear from other mechs and stealing their AI boards. The more boards it possesses, the more adept it becomes in Outer Ops and the more formidable it becomes in combat. Designed to assess ZEKE's capabilities, the mech progressively proves its intelligence as it evolves.

Once Snake is knocked down, it swiftly approaches him as he gets up, maintaining constant pressure on the player. Additionally, staying in close proximity makes it more challenging for the player to retaliate with missiles. Removing ZEKE's boards and weapons would provide players with an advantage. However, to truly demonstrate their prowess as Big Bosses, they must both construct and overcome the ultimate Metal Gear.