MGSV is a WW2 Game And Nobody Knew

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In this Futurasound Production, join your host Jorin Lee as he blows everyone's mind once again, this time on a major secret about MGSV: TPP hiding in plain sight: the game is really a sort of ghost story, haunted by the phantom of the Second World War.

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"Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is a third-person action-adventure game developed by Kojima Productions and published by Konami for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on September 1, 2015.

The tenth and final main installment of the Metal Gear series, Phantom Pain follows legendary mercenary Big Boss (now known by his codename "Venom Snake") as he awakens in 1984 from a nine-year coma following the destruction of his private military company "Militaires Sans Frontières". With help from his old business partner Kazuhira Miller and rival-turned-ally Revolver Ocelot, Snake must rebuild his mercenary army (now called "Diamond Dogs") while plotting revenge against the shadowy organization "Cipher," as well as its XOF paramilitary unit led by the enigmatic Skull Face.

Similar to its standalone prologue Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, Phantom Pain focuses on executing mission objectives in open world environments set in both Soviet-occupied Afghanistan and the Angola-Zaire border region of central Africa, complete with dynamic weather and day-night systems. Stealth is a major component of gameplay, but often optional thanks to Snake's arsenal of combat gear. Players can also upgrade Diamond Dogs' new "Mother Base" in a fashion similar to Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, allowing them to develop new weapons and items. In addition to its single-player campaign, the game includes two player-vs-player multiplayer modes, as well as optional microtransactions and other paid downloadable content.

The Phantom Pain is notable as the final game in the series with involvement from series creator Hideo Kojima and his Kojima Productions team. Several months before the game's release, Konami began a major restructuring of its games division, ultimately leading to Kojima Productions being treated more as a contractor rather than an internal studio. Unlike prior Metal Gear titles from the same team, Kojima Productions' logo and branding is absent from promotional materials and packaging for the final game. After leaving Konami, Kojima would go on to establish a new independent studio with the same name in 2015.

The Phantom Pain was bundled together with Ground Zeroes and all DLC as Metal Gear Solid V: The Definitive Experience in late 2016 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Phantom Pain's gameplay and graphics engine were later reused for the 2018 survival-focused spin-off title Metal Gear Survive."

[keithklassen]

To me it seems like the resemblances to WWII are more coincidental, whereas the resemblances to America's "War On Terror" and more contemporary events are much more pronounced and seem more clearly intentional.

[davidcurameng]

I would have loved to have experienced Kojima’s work on a game with The Boss as a WWII protagonist!

[ImMike]

This is why I love the series. A fine mix of fantasy and reality. Great work!

[ilikepigeons]

That really explains why Skullface wears that silly mask to me. It's useless for him to wear a mask considering his face lol but for a character that goes on and on about him losing his identity, a mask like that is a way for him to cope with the fact by pretending that this "lost" identity is just hidden

[leroyatleroys]

Hideo Konima definitely took a lot of inspiration from real history. That is undesputable. While I am sure some of the similarities are deliberate, I don't feel that all of it was meant to be a direct parallel to WWII. If you look at all his games, you could find many details that can arguably be considered references to WWII. When I was a kid, I had come to love the first MGS and the second one had just released. Sure, I was a kid, but it was an amazing game and series. My step father was REALLY into WWII history. He had caught some glimpses of the game play. Though I don't remember every detail of why he got upset, one thing he noted was that the Foxhound logo was similar to a German unit in WWII. From then, he got the wrong idea about what the game was about and didn't like me playing it. He thankfully didn't take the game away. But sometimes I wish I had had the chance to explain the game to him when I was older and had better comprehension of the overall philosophy of the series. Sadly, he passed away when I was 11. He was a good man. But his reaction to the game based on his knowledge of WWII history made me wonder what other historical events and organizations Kojima took inspiration from. The truth is that there are so many global conflicts, it's kind of hard to not create a scene or series of events that don't resemble historical events in some way. That is part of why the games often have a stern statement saying that all events are fictional and not meant to directly mimic history.

[TenseIntense]

It was after the release of MGSV and the Konami/Kojima fallout that I thought by myself: »Well, let the franchise rest in peace now. Thanks for everything!« and I thought letting it go would be the adult thing to do; Move on and be thankful.

Now here I am 9 years later and I crave a new Metal Gear Solid more than ever.

Huh. It has been nine years? Think I had enough time to develop my phantom pain, I guess…

[amd]

So glad I came across your channel. Amazing commentary.
Tactics and scenarios from previous world wars, used in the newer current conflicts and used by Kojima. Brilliant.

[AndyIsDrawing]

This was very good, especially the O.S.S. part. Thank you for continuing to dig into the lore.

[giuseppecappelliPSRL]

Fantastic episode Boss. Blew me away. You have a hundredth of the deserved views

[TheSoulHarvester]

Hideo Kojima's body of work is a great way to learn the history of the 20th century without realising that's what you're doing, but your videos have always been a fantastic tool for making those connections, concealed as they are behind bombast & military sci-fi, explicit for a general audience. As misinformation continuously ratchets up in the digital era, these simple history lectures using the familiar narratives of MGS games as a guide are extremely valuable & under-appreciated. Always pleased & relieved to see a video of yours in my subscriptions, Boss!

[emysqmi]

I said this years ago nobody listened to me. I love your videos so much man MGS is my cope series and to see someone who makes beautiful Essays off of what feels the SAME things I think, oh my god. Legend this man is a legend.

[rockandrollbit]

Your keen analysis is always mind boggling to me. Brilliant essay

[noname]

Kojima has to have read some Thomas Pynchon in his life. Lots of references to WW2/origins of cold war, and the US preserving elements of the axis powers, in both of their works. MGS and Kojima are even name-dropped by Pynchon in his most recent book.

[ramzocalrissian]

By this standard, every game is a ww2 game secretly lol

[Indiana_Jesus]

That's like saying Star Wars is a WWII film just because it has a lot of inspiration and references doesn't mean that set there

[metallicarchaea]

While I enjoyed this video especially in it's historical recaps, the best part were the mental gymnastics made to link WW2 to MGSV. Alot of this is purely coincidental.

[Mrgeographyclass]

The Boss starring in her own mgs has to happen. Just imagine the buttery cqc in her control system. Venom was a triumph in terms of player control... The boss would have been so amazing. Imagine being able to use your opponents attack momentum against them feeding directly into a legend building system.... Then the more legendary your reputation, the smoother and more extravagant your movements appear.... In true kojima fashion you see her through the eyes of her reputation as this gracefully intimidating genius of hand to hand combat. Her movements appear to constantly evolve because of the distorted retellings of witnesses who's memories can't help but exaggerate her legend...it's the only game I would want more than a Frank Jaeger game. It's perfect!

[Mruta]

I love how your video essays teach me more about history's more obscure events. I'll never get tired of them.

[strudlesallday]

More MGS content! Keep em coming! Don't let it die out!

[alphaenterprise]

Digging in mgs5 slowly becomes like looking for patterns when there's none, in order to call it a masterpiece cause Look how creative and thoughtful Hideo Kojima was while making it. Honestly MGS5 is the entry that wasn't needed for the series in the first place to be cohesive. Personally I find peace walker being the perfect chapter to close up arc about the big boss, instead mental gymnastics with creating his doppelganger that've been infused with his memories.