Question: Do you think MGS2's themes and ideas are actually still relevant?

[Dirty Duck]

MGS2 is the true masterpiece of the Metal Gear series. It really makes me weep that it didn't really get a sequel. Who needs a proper sequel when you have nanomachines...

I kind of respect the way each entry tries to not retread the same themes. As good as MGS2 is it maybe achieved the pinnacle of what it was trying to do-so it’s good the sequel did something different.

I know some people were disappointed by the Patriots bait and switch but in many ways the reveal that they’re all dead and that the show is purely being run by an AI goes hand in hand with MGS4’s themes of mortality and the way the systems put in place by those in power seek to strip people of their identity. Soldiers, the government, all tarred with the same brush. You can’t dehumanise one without it dehumanising us all. And in a way that’s what the nanomachines do too. All of the series’ loose ends and supernatural elements are centralised and reduced to a singular homogenous machine.

In a strange way MGSV feels like the true companion piece to MGS2. The two false Snakes and their journeys of discovery that run parallel but in opposite directions. MGS2 tells us Raiden isn’t the player, MGSV tells us the player is Big Boss. Both are about those in positions of power controlling the narrative to have the protagonists play the role of Snake. Raiden rejects that role while Venom accepts it.

I’ve had 2 hours sleep