Metal Gear 101: What New Players Should Know Before Playing The Phantom Pain

The Metal Gear series has been around since 1987, and it’s been telling one long story the whole time. That’s great for longtime fans who got in on the ground floor, but someone who has never played Metal Gear might get overwhelmed by the saga’s complex history. If you want to play The Phantom Pain, but don’t know much about Metal Gear lore, this (relatively) compact and digestible guide will teach you the basics.

The goal here isn’t to be complete. In the entries below, I won’t touch on every significant character and event; I just want to give new players an easy-to-read reference to make The Phantom Pain less confusing. You won’t get all of the context or impact, but when you play The Phantom Pain (which you should do, because it is excellent), things should be more accessible.

Big Boss (a.k.a. Jack, John, Naked Snake, Snake)
A legendary mercenary who used to be part of the American covert operations unit FOX. His mentor, The Boss, allowed herself to be killed by him in 1964 in order to avoid nuclear war. The U.S. government was complicit in her death, which made Big Boss question his purpose and his loyalty. This single event is what started him down his path as a soldier-for-hire, not beholden to any country or ideology. At the beginning of The Phantom Pain, he is waking up from a nine-year coma.

Kazuhira Miller
Kaz is Big Boss’ right-hand man, and a formidable soldier. They were the leaders of their own mercenary group, Militaires Sans Frontières (MSF). Together, Miller and Big Boss pioneered the idea of turning a private military into a lucrative operation – though Kaz was the one handling the business side of things. Kaz and Big Boss were both in a helicopter crash as MSF’s headquarters was being attacked, which caused him to lose an arm and a leg (and sent Big Boss into a coma).

Mother Base
In the past, Mother Base served as MSF’s base of operations. It was destroyed nine years prior to The Phantom Pain (during the same attack that destroys the helicopter carrying Miller and Big Boss). Another structure called Mother Base is a focal point of The Phantom Pain, but it’s not the same. It’s in a different location, and serves as the HQ for Diamond Dogs, the new mercenary company led by Miller and Big Boss.

Cipher
In The Phantom Pain, “Cipher” usually refers to a shadowy organization aiming to control the fate of humanity and unify the world. It is also known as The Patriots, and the group was founded by Big Boss and other members of the team that carried out the mission to kill The Boss in 1964. Big Boss cut ties prior to building MSF, but Cipher still remains a powerful entity. It even has its own military strike force, called XOF.

Zero
“Cipher” can also refer to a single individual – a man named Zero. He was Big Boss’ commanding officer during the 1964 mission that killed The Boss, though he and Big Boss later developed different ideas on how best to pay tribute to The Boss and carry on her legacy. These differences led to Big Boss going off on his own. Zero continued to lead Cipher, but his whereabouts at the beginning of The Phantom Pain are unknown.

Revolver Ocelot
Another founding member of The Patriots. In The Phantom Pain, he’s a member of Diamond Dogs, and Big Boss trusts him thanks to their shared 20-year history together. After this installment, he continues to work for various agencies, governments, and organizations, always keeping his true motives and loyalties secret.

Next: More of the characters and concepts at the heart of Metal Gear.

Skull Face
Skull Face is the commander of XOF, Cipher’s military arm. He is the mastermind behind the kidnapping of Paz and Chico – two of Big Boss’ former allies. When Big Boss goes to rescue them during MGS V: Ground Zeroes, Skull Face strikes at Mother Base in his absence. This assault destroys the base, decimates MSF, and results in serious injuries for Big Boss and Miller. He is still active as The Phantom Pain begins.

Metal Gear
The series’ namesake refers to a series of machines whose purpose usually involves nuclear weapons. The phrase comes from the concept that these mobile war platforms bridge the gap between infantry and artillery – a “metal gear” that turns between the two. MSF even developed one of these machines, dubbed Metal Gear ZEKE.

Huey Emmerich
This bespectacled scientist first joined up with Big Boss as part of MSF, though his activities in the nine years since the Mother Base attack are unknown. Huey is a genius, particularly when it comes to designing mechanical devices and artificial intelligence. He is the father of Otacon, who is a significant character later in the series’ timeline.

Strangelove
Another brilliant scientist, Strangelove joined MSF and aided in the development of Metal Gear ZEKE, specifically with the advanced A.I. functions. She worked alongside Huey, who had a crush on her. Though she didn’t seem averse to Huey’s affection, she still harbored a deep love for The Boss, who she encountered in 1961. Strangelove’s whereabouts during MGS V are unknown.

Colonel Volgin
Volgin tried to oust Nikita Kruschev and overthrow the Soviet Union’s governing regime. The Boss apparently defected from the United States to assist him in this plan – a ruse that ultimately resulted in her death. Volgin had the power to manipulate electricity, but like The Boss, he apparently died at the hands of Big Boss in 1964.

Les Enfants Terribles
This is the name of a project aiming to create clones of the world’s best soldier: Big Boss. This experiment took place before Big Boss left The Patriots (a.k.a. Cipher), and produced Solid Snake, Liquid Snake, and (later) Solidus Snake – key characters later in the chronology. During The Phantom Pain, the two Les Enfants Terribles “sons” would be at least 10 years old.

Psycho Mantis
He’s the self-professed “most powerful practitioner of psychokinesis and telepathy in the world.” A haunting figure with unbelievable abilities, Psycho Mantis is mainly an adversary of Solid Snake, not Big Boss. Those encounters happen later in the Metal Gear timeline, but if you do the math, this gas-mask-wearing supernatural savant would be a young boy during the time that Big Boss is waking up from his coma.

Outer Heaven
This is more of an idea than a place. Numerous locations in the series have been dubbed “Outer Heaven,” but it generally refers to the idea of creating a home for soldiers where they are more than simply disposable tools of the government. In the very first Metal Gear game – which follows The Phantom Pain chronologically – Solid Snake is infiltrating a mercenary fortress in the nation of Outer Heaven (which is secretly run by Big Boss himself).

Though this may be a lot of info to be considered "basics," the rabbit hole goes far deeper than the details here. You can still enjoy the core gameplay of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain without knowing the story inside and out, so don't fret about it. If the game looks fun to you, give it a try.

This feature originally published on August 25, 2015.