Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes – 5 things that would be great to see

Speculating about Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes is difficult, since we don’t know exactly when the game will take place on the Metal Gear timeline. The part where Snake infiltrates the Cuban prison camp must be a short while after Peace Walker, but for all we know the game could cover different time periods. The safest thing to assume right now is that it takes place somewhere between Peace Walker and Metal Gear 1, in other words, between 1974 and 1995. Most likely the late 70s and early 80s. That means there are a lot of possibilities for events that could be covered in this game. Here are five of the most exciting options.

• Big Boss’s further decline

At the end of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Big Boss formally declares war against Zero. Ten years after having received the title of ‘Big Boss’, he finally accepts the alias, but it has gotten a different meaning for him. He distances himself from The Boss, and severs his ties with the past, determined to keep fighting until he meets his inevitable end. Outer Heaven is born.

His new philosophy could be reflected in Ground Zeroes with a darker Big Boss. The trailer already implies that the Big Boss of this new era isn’t squeamish about silencing people in order to protect his ideal. He’s moving into an area of questionable morality, and this is an intriguing prospect.

• The break between Big Boss and Miller

Seeing how Big Boss’ former right hand Kazuhira Miller is on the opposite side of Bis Boss during the events of Metal Gear, at some point he and Big Boss must have ended their partnership and become enemies.

 What exactly happened between Peace Walker and Metal Gear? Did Big Boss’s action go to far for Miller, causing him to leave? Or did Big Boss kick him out of the organization? Seeing this unfold would be very interesting.

• An appearance of Ocelot

Ocelot did not really appear in Peace Walker, in fact, he was completely absent. We know he was one of the founding members of the Patriots, and we also know that he, like EVA, chose the side of Big Boss when Zero and him drifted apart. So it is not unlikely to think the gunslinging interrogator would have been in contact with Big Boss at certain points on the timeline.

It’s also exciting to think what he would look like, since the difference in appearance between Metal Gear Solid 3‘s Ocelot and the Metal Gear Solid 1 counterpart is quite big. With his unpredictable behavior, Ocelot has always been a favorite character in the series, so the prospect of seeing him return is definitely appealing.

• Big Boss rescues Naomi Hunter and Gray Fox in Rhodesia

The backstory of Gray Fox and Naomi is already known, but here’s a short recap anyway: During the Rhodesian civil war Gray Fox murdered Naomi’s parents, and, out of guilt, adopted her as his little sister. They drifted around for a while, until they were saved by Big Boss, and eventually brought to America. It’s exciting to think how these dramatic events could be translated to a cutscene, or even a whole mission.

There are already rumors that one of the locations of Ground Zeroes is going to be Africa, and the time frame adds up as well. These are important parts of the Metal Gear story as a whole, so seeing them as a full fleshed segment of the game would be great.

• Something about Les Enfants Terribles

During the events of Peace Walker, ‘Les Enfants Terribles’ – the clones of Big Boss – were still around 2 years old. Assuming Ground Zeroes won’t take place long after its predecessor, the future Snakes will still only be children. Nonetheless, seeing or hearing from them in some way would be pretty fascinating.

As this was the final straw that caused the break between Zero and Big Boss, it could at least be mentioned in some way, possibly in a flashback or conversation.

These five options are, of course, only a selection of events that could be part of Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes’ story. But they do offer the drama and intrigue that make them suited for compelling cutscenes. In the end, no one knows exactly Kojima’s unpredictable brain has planned for this new installment, and that makes it all the more exciting.