Solid Snake may have become the first video game character to official retire in MGS4, but the legacy of Big Boss had many gaps that needed to be filled and Hideo Kojima delivered in Ground Zeroes and of course Phantom Pain, possibly the pinnacle of the series with the best tactical stealth CQC sandbox environment to date. Konami really did Kojima dirty following the release, and with Kojima moving on to other things, I am perfectly happy with this final chapter of the saga done by his hand. Any future games will not be canon and honestly, with the teasers for the next MGS game from Konami using Kojima's engine, I have no interest in future Konami games. In Phantom Pain we get the answers behind the creation of the "Outer Heaven" seen in MG1; why Big Boss seemed to come back to life in MG2 (the original 8-bit games before we even get to the MGS: Twin Snakes saga.) The gang is all here post Peace Walker, Pre Metal Gear; Ocelot, Big Boss, Liquid, Ocelot's father, etc. It was a bitter sweet and heartelt journey and I stand by my claim that the canon Metal Gear games done by Kojima (in order of in-game events: MGS3: Snake Eater, MGS: Peace Walker, MGS5: Ground Zeroes, MGS5: Phantom Pain, Meta Gear, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, MGS1 aka "The Twin Snakes" saga, MGS2: Sons of Liberty, MGS4: Guns of the Patriots = the best multi-generational gaming franchise of all time! MG1 was my first NES game as a kid, and to grow up with these characters over 30 years has been an amazing and rewarding experience.

Solid Snake may have become the first video game character to official retire in MGS4, but the legacy of Big Boss had many gaps that needed to be filled and Hideo Kojima delivered in Ground Zeroes and of course Phantom Pain, possibly the pinnacle of the series with the best tactical stealth CQC sandbox environment to date. Konami really did Kojima dirty following the release, and with Kojima moving on to other things, I am perfectly happy with this final chapter of the saga done by his hand. Any future games will not be canon and honestly, with the teasers for the next MGS game from Konami using Kojima's engine, I have no interest in future Konami games. In Phantom Pain we get the answers behind the creation of the "Outer Heaven" seen in MG1; why Big Boss seemed to come back to life in MG2 (the original 8-bit games before we even get to the MGS: Twin Snakes saga.) The gang is all here post Peace Walker, Pre Metal Gear; Ocelot, Big Boss, Liquid, Ocelot's father, etc. It was a bitter sweet and heartelt journey and I stand by my claim that the canon Metal Gear games done by Kojima (in order of in-game events: MGS3: Snake Eater, MGS: Peace Walker, MGS5: Ground Zeroes, MGS5: Phantom Pain, Meta Gear, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, MGS1 aka "The Twin Snakes" saga, MGS2: Sons of Liberty, MGS4: Guns of the Patriots = the best multi-generational gaming franchise of all time! MG1 was my first NES game as a kid, and to grow up with these characters over 30 years has been an amazing and rewarding experience.