MGS3 vs MGS5 Endings. Which is Better?
Let’s start off by saying that I can’t believe Mr. Kojima messed up the story of Metal Gear Solid V The Phantom Pain so badly. Disappointing is a merciful word to describe how incredibly unsatisfying and quite frankly so unforgettable than I’m actually mad. The reason that I’m mad is because the ending of Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater was a masterpiece and without a doubt my favourite video game ending. In this post I will compare both endings and will clearly show you how MGS3 ending is far superior (by light years I may add) than the cheap twist MGSV gave us.
1. In both endings you found out the real truth
You found out that you weren’t actually playing as Big Boss. You were playing as a medic that was with the real Big Boss in the helicopter crash. Apparently he was the best soldier of the real Big Boss in the original Militaires Sans Frontières motherbase from Peace Walker.
After I spent nearly 100 hours to get to the ending I felt absolutely cheated when I found the truth. The MGSV story in general is very unsatisfying, but this lame attempt at a cheap plot twist made me feel like this story was just filler so why should I care.
You found out that The Boss was not the enemy. She was the true hero of the story, carrying out a mission she knew full well she had to die to fulfil. There is not a cheap plot twist, this absolutely makes you realise the full extent of what you had done.
2. The meaning of the actions you took in the game
You mostly wandered around doing missions which feel more like filler than anything else (they are still fun though). Then you get to mission 43 Shining Lights, Even in Death which you have to murder every single soldier because all of them are infected with a vocal parasite. This is an incredible mission, you had no choice but to kill everyone and it was an excellent character development for the evolution of Big Boss path into darker grounds.
But then when I found out that I was not playing as the real Big Boss (point one above) it gives this mission no real repercussions because the character development is not for the Big Boss I played as in MGS3, MGS Portable Ops and MGS Peace Walker. He is just a filler character, so caring for his action in this mission became irrelevant to me.
You kill The Boss, your mentor, a true hero. Snake completed his mission by killing her believing that she was the villain, but nope it was all a big drama staged by the US government so they could get the hands on the philosophers legacy. So when I found out about this little detail I was like “O God you gotta be kidding me?” I killed a true hero, a person that sacrifice her life for the good of the mission, for the good of peace. And I killed her.
3. The ending music scores
Song: Return
Writer: Ludvig Fossell
The ending scene music is epic I give you that, but I find it just to be an explosive tune rather than an engaging song. Is just there to complement the excellent cinematography and sound effects in the scene.
Song: Debriefing
Writer: Harry Gregson Williams
This is a true masterpiece of a song. This is the kind of song that completely defines the scene making it more emotional and meaningful. Without this song the ending scene would not have had such impact on the viewer. Sound effects are kept at minimum making the song shine even more.
4. The last shot of the scene before fade to black
The last thing you will see in the ending scene is fake Big Boss walking towards smoke………the end. If he is walking toward a darker future, where he will be doing all sort of crap along the way, I don’t care about the story anymore. So move along.
Wow simply wow! What a spectacular way to finish a scene. A salute to a fallen hero (that you killed by the way). And to make it even more emotional the salute is accompanied by a tear jerking narration by Eva:
Her story…her debriefing…will endure only in your heart.
(Eva gets emotional. My manly tears start to swell)
Everything she did she did for her country.
She sacrificed her life and her honor for her native land.
She was a real hero.
She was a true patriot.
(Snake salutes the Boss tomb and I, like a total idiot, salute my tv and start crying the most manly tears I had shed in a video game.)
To me the ending of MGS3 is by far way better and more meaningful compared to MGSV. The ending represents the meaning of self sacrifice for the benefit of the world and your nation. It represent the true will of The Boss and in my honest opinion the best video game ending of all time.
Resources
- Kojima Productions. (2015). Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain [Video game] Konami Digital Entertainment.
- Konami Computer Entertainment Japan. (2004). Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater [Video game] Konami Corporation.
- Schreier, J. (2015). Why Metal Gear Solid V’s Ending Is So Disappointing.