Category: Games

Valkyrie Profile
Logo of Valkyrie Profile
Genre(s)	Role-playing
Developer(s)	tri-Ace Soleil
Publisher(s)	Enix (1999–2000) Square Enix (2006–present)
Creator(s)	Masaki Norimoto Yoshiharu Gotanda
Artist(s)	Ko Yoshinari Yoh Yoshinari
Composer(s)	Motoi Sakuraba
Platform(s)	PlayStation, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Android, iOS, Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
First release	Valkyrie Profile December 22, 1999
Latest release	Valkyrie Elysium September 29, 2022

Valkyrie Profile (ヴァルキリープロファイル, Varukirī Purofairu) or Valkyrie (ヴァルキリー, Varukirī) is a series of role-playing video games created by Masaki Norimoto and Yoshiharu Gotanda, primarily developed by tri-Ace and published by Square Enix (formerly Enix). The series is notable for featuring elements from Norse mythology.

Common elements[edit]

The Valkyrie Profile series has been distinguished for its inventive gameplay.^[1] Aesthetically, the series is known for its muted colors and melancholic ambiance.^[1] Players usually take the role of a valkyrie, one of a host of female figures who choose warriors who may die in battle and lead them into the afterlife, though sometimes they play mortals called upon by the divine beings.^[1]

Games[edit]

Music[edit]

The music of all the Valkyrie Profile games was composed by Motoi Sakuraba.^[3] Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria has two original soundtracks, Alicia and Silmeria. Each soundtrack is divided into two discs totalling 70 songs from the game. Prior to the release, a special artifact box was released which included a copy of the game, ten musical tracks, a keychain, and a figurine.^[4] The in-game score was written as MIDI tracks, allowing it to fit easily onto the DS cartridge.^[5] Drawing from the darker themes of the narrative, Sakuraba created a subdued and emotional score that noticeably moved away from his score for Silmeria while still being separate from his work on Valkyrie Profile. The score included original composition and arranged versions of tracks from Sakuraba's scores for Valkyrie Profile.^[6] The soundtrack conversion for the DS cartridge was done by sound design studio Noisycroak.^[7] A two-disc soundtrack album was published by Square Enix's music label on November 5, 2008.^[8] For the album release, Sakuraba used the MIDI originals as reference and redid all the tracks with full orchestration. While faithful to the original, the larger range of sounds resulted in some differences.^[5] A twelve-track arrange album, handled by Sakuraba, was published alongside the main soundtrack album.^[9] Producer Yoshinori Yamagishi mentioned his favorite way of drawing out emotion in players was through music and sound effects, helping to both immerse new players in the world of the game and play upon the nostalgia of series fans.^[10] The game utilizes a mixture of music from the franchise and new compositions.^[10]

Printed adaptations[edit]

Several manga have been written based on the series. They are Valkyrie Profile, Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria, and Valkyrie Profile: The Dark Alchemist. A manga anthology called Valkyrie Profile Enix Supercomic Gekijoh is based on the PlayStation Portable version of Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth.

Reception[edit]

Overall, the Valkyrie Profile series received positive critical reception both in Japan and the West. The series has shipped 2.2 million copies by 2016.^[26]

Some Valkyrie Profile games have been included in various lists of top games. In a 2006 reader's poll conducted by Famitsu, the first Valkyrie Profile was voted the 27th best video game of all time.^[27] Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth received IGN's award for Best PSP RPG of 2006.^[28] Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria received IGN's award for "Best Game No One Played".^[29]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Official website (in Japanese)

Resident Evil
Created by	Shinji Mikami Tokuro Fujiwara
Original work	Resident Evil (1996)
Owner	Capcom
Years	1996–present
Print publications
Novel(s)	Novel list
Comics	Comic list
Films and television
Film(s)	Live-action series Animated film list
Television series	Television list
Games
Video game(s)	Video game list
Official website
game.capcom.com/residentevil/

Resident Evil is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in post-apocalyptic urban environments infested with mutant humanoids and bizarre animals (such as mutated dogs), zombies and other lethal creatures. The franchise has expanded into other media, most notably a live-action film series, as well as animated films, television series, comic books, novels, audiobooks, and merchandise including clothing, costumes, action figures and toys. Resident Evil is the highest-grossing horror franchise.

The first Resident Evil game was created by Shinji Mikami and Tokuro Fujiwara for PlayStation, and released in 1996.^[1][2] It is credited for defining the survival horror genre and returning zombies to popular culture. By the time of Resident Evil 4 (2005), the franchise shifted to more dynamic shooting action, achieved critical acclaim, and influenced the evolution of the survival horror and third-person genres, popularizing the "over-the-shoulder" third-person view.^[3]

The franchise returned to survival horror with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017) and Resident Evil Village (2021), which used a first-person perspective. Capcom has also released four Resident Evil remakes: Resident Evil (2002), Resident Evil 2 (2019), Resident Evil 3 (2020) and Resident Evil 4 (2023). Resident Evil is Capcom's best-selling franchise and the best-selling horror game series, with 154 million copies sold worldwide, as of December 2023.^[4]

The first Resident Evil action film was released in 2002, starring Milla Jovovich, followed by five further sequels and a reboot, Welcome to Raccoon City (2021). The films have received mostly negative critical reviews, including on Rotten Tomatoes and some on Metacritic; however, some of the films have received mixed reviews on Metacritic. Nevertheless, the films have grossed more than $1.2 billion, making Resident Evil the third-highest-grossing video game film series.

History[edit]

The development of the first Resident Evil, released as Biohazard in Japan, began in 1993 when Capcom's Tokuro Fujiwara told Shinji Mikami and other co-workers to create a game using elements from Fujiwara's 1989 game Sweet Home on the Family Computer (Famicom) in Japan.^[5][6] When in late 1994 marketing executives were setting up to release Biohazard in the United States, it was pointed out that securing the rights to the name Biohazard would be very difficult as a DOS game had been registered under that name, as well as a New York hardcore punk band called Biohazard. A contest was held among company personnel to choose a new name; this competition turned up Resident Evil, the name under which it was released in the west.^[7] Resident Evil made its debut on the PlayStation in 1996 and was later ported to the Sega Saturn.

The first entry in the series was the first game to be dubbed a "survival horror", a term coined for the new genre it initiated,^[8] and its critical and commercial success^[9] led to the production of two sequels, Resident Evil 2 in 1998 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis in 1999, both for the PlayStation. A port of Resident Evil 2 was released for the Nintendo 64. In addition, ports of all three were released for Windows. The fourth game in the series, Resident Evil – Code: Veronica, was developed for the Dreamcast and released in 2000, followed by ports of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. Resident Evil – Code: Veronica was later re-released for Dreamcast in Japan in an updated form as Code: Veronica Complete, which included slight changes, many of which revolved around story cutscenes. This updated version was later ported to the PlayStation 2 and GameCube under the title Code: Veronica X.

Despite earlier announcements that the next game in the series would be released for the PlayStation 2, which resulted in the creation of an unrelated game titled Devil May Cry, series' creator and producer Shinji Mikami decided to make the series exclusively for the GameCube.^[10] The next three games in the series—a remake of the original Resident Evil and the prequel Resident Evil Zero, both released in 2002, as well as Resident Evil 4 (2005)—were all released initially as GameCube exclusives. Resident Evil 4 was later released for Windows, PlayStation 2, and Wii.

A trilogy of GunCon-compatible light gun games known as the Gun Survivor series featured first-person gameplay. The first, Resident Evil Survivor, was released in 2000 for the PlayStation and PC but received mediocre reviews.^[11] The subsequent games, Resident Evil Survivor 2 – Code: Veronica and Resident Evil: Dead Aim, fared somewhat better.^[12] Dead Aim is the fourth Gun Survivor game in Japan, with Gun Survivor 3 being the Dino Crisis spin-off Dino Stalker. In a similar vein, the Chronicles series features first-person gameplay, albeit on an on-rails path. Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles was released in 2007 for the Wii, with a sequel, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles released in 2009 (both were later ported to the PlayStation 3 in 2012).^[13]

Resident Evil Outbreak is an online game for the PlayStation 2, released in 2003, depicting a series of episodic storylines in Raccoon City set during the same period as Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. It was the first in the series and the first survival horror title to feature cooperative gameplay.^[14] It was followed by a sequel, Resident Evil Outbreak: File #2. Raccoon City is a metropolis located in the Arklay Mountains of the Midwestern United States that succumbed to the deadly T-virus outbreak and was consequently destroyed via a nuclear missile attack issued by the United States government. The town served as a critical junction for the series' progression as one of the main catalysts to Umbrella's downfall and the entry point for some of the series' most notable characters.

Resident Evil Gaiden is an action-adventure game for the Game Boy Color featuring a role-playing-style combat system. There have been several downloadable mobile games based on the Resident Evil series in Japan. Some of these mobile games have been released in North America and Europe through T-Mobile. At the Sony press conference during E3 2009, Resident Evil Portable was announced for the PlayStation Portable,^[15][16][17] described as an all-new title being developed with "the PSP Go in mind" and "totally different for a Resident Evil game". No further announcements have been made, and the game is considered to have been canceled.^[18][19]

In 2009, Resident Evil 5 was released for PlayStation 3, Windows and Xbox 360, becoming the best selling game of the franchise despite mixed fan reception. Capcom revealed the third-person shooter Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, which was developed by Slant Six Games for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows and released in March 2012. A survival horror game for the Nintendo 3DS, Resident Evil: Revelations, was released in February 2012.^[20] In October of the same year, the next numbered entry in the main series, Resident Evil 6, was released to mixed reviews,^[21] but enthusiastic pre-order sales.^[22]

In 2013, producer Masachika Kawata said the Resident Evil franchise would return to focus on elements of horror and suspense over action, adding that "survival horror as a genre is never going to be on the same level, financially, as shooters and much more popular, mainstream games. At the same time, I think we need to have the confidence to put money behind these projects, and it doesn't mean we can't focus on what we need to do as a survival horror game to meet fan's needs."^[23] Resident Evil: Revelations 2, an episodic game set between Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6, was released in March 2015. A series of team-based multiplayer games were developed beginning with the poorly received Umbrella Corps, which was released in June 2016.^[24] Resident Evil: Resistance was released in April 2020, followed by Resident Evil Re:Verse in October 2022, with both being available for free to those who bought Resident Evil 3 and Village respectively.^[25][26]

Using the new RE Engine, which would develop the next generation of Resident Evil games, the series continued to shift back towards more horror elements. The next mainline game, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard was released for Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in January 2017.^[27][28] Set in a dilapidated mansion in Louisiana, the game uses a first-person perspective and emphasizes horror and exploration over action, unlike previous installments.^{[29][30][31][32]} The first-person perspective continued in the eighth mainline game Resident Evil Village. Released in May 2021, the game, set in a mysterious European village, is a direct sequel to Resident Evil 7: Biohazard although it incorporates more action elements inspired from Resident Evil 4.^[33][34] The game also marked the franchise's debut on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S^[35]

A new generation of remakes of older entries began in 2019 with a remake of Resident Evil 2, being released for the PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. The remake outsold the original game within a year, selling over five million copies.^[36] Following in the success of the Resident Evil 2 remake, Capcom revealed a remake of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis in December 2019, known as Resident Evil 3. It was released in April 2020.^[37] In June 2022, a remake of Resident Evil 4 was announced and released on March 24, 2023 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.^[38]

Story overview[edit]

The early Resident Evil games focused on the Umbrella Corporation, an international pharmaceutical company that secretly develops mutagenic viruses to further their "bio-organic weapons" (BOW) research. The company's viruses can transform humans into mindless zombies while also mutating plants and animals into horrifying monstrosities. The Umbrella Corporation uses its vast resources to effectively control Raccoon City, a fictional midwestern American city. In the original Resident Evil, members of an elite police task force, Special Tactics and Rescue Service (STARS), are lured to a derelict mansion on the outskirts of Raccoon City. The STARS team is mostly decimated by zombies and other BOWs, leaving only a handful of survivors, including Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, and Albert Wesker. Chris and Jill explore the zombie-infested mansion and uncover a secret underground Umbrella research facility. Wesker reveals himself to be a double agent for Umbrella and betrays his comrades. However, Wesker is seemingly murdered by a Tyrant, a special BOW that is the culmination of the Umbrella Corporation's research.^[39][40]

Chris and Jill escape the mansion, but their testimony is ridiculed by Raccoon City's officials due to Umbrella's influence. Meanwhile, a separate viral outbreak occurs in another Umbrella research facility underneath Raccoon City. Most of the city's residents are infected and become zombies. Resident Evil 2 introduces two new protagonists, Leon S. Kennedy, a rookie police officer and Claire Redfield, the younger sister of Chris. Leon and Claire arrive in Raccoon City amidst the chaos of the viral outbreak. Leon is aided by Ada Wong, a corporate spy posing as an FBI agent, while Claire rescues Sherry Birkin, the daughter of two prominent Umbrella researchers. At the same time, Jill makes her escape from the city in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. She is relentlessly pursued by a new Tyrant, Nemesis, who is deployed by Umbrella to eliminate all surviving STARS members. The U.S. Government destroys Raccoon City with a missile strike to sterilize the viral outbreak.^[41] Leon, Claire, Sherry, Ada, and Jill escape the city before its eradication. Claire continues to look for Chris, whereas Leon is recruited to work for the U.S. Government. Resident Evil – Code: Veronica follows Claire as she escapes from a prison camp in the Southern Ocean and later reunites with Chris at an Umbrella research facility in Antarctica. Resident Evil 4 is set six years after the Raccoon City incident and focuses on Leon as he tries to rescue the U.S. President's daughter from a cult in Spain.^[39][40]

A government investigation into the Umbrella Corporation reveals its involvement in the Raccoon City disaster and leads to the company's dissolution. Despite the downfall of the Umbrella Corporation, the company's research and BOWs proliferate across the black market and lead to the rise of bioterrorism. Chris and Jill establish the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA) to combat these ever-growing threats on a global scale. Wesker is revealed to be alive and involved in the development of new potent viral agents and BOWs. In Resident Evil 5, Wesker seeks to unleash a highly mutagenic virus that will infect all of humanity. Chris and the BSAA confront and kill Wesker in Africa before he can fulfill his mission.^[42] Resident Evil 6 features Leon and Chris meeting for the first time in the video game series.^[43] The two work separately to triage bioterrorist attacks in the United States, Eastern Europe, and China. They are assisted by Sherry, Wesker's illegitimate son Jake Muller, Ada, and many members of the BSAA and U.S. government.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and Resident Evil Village introduce a new protagonist, Ethan Winters, who becomes entangled in a bioterrorism incident while searching for his missing wife. He encounters Chris and the BSAA, who help him rescue his wife and defeat Eveline, a powerful BOW. Ethan, Mia, and their newborn daughter, Rosemary, are relocated to Eastern Europe but are abducted by a cult. Ethan ultimately sacrifices himself to destroy a fungal colony being weaponized by bioterrorists and save his family.^[39][40][44]

Gameplay[edit]

The Resident Evil franchise has had a variety of control schemes and gameplay mechanics throughout its history. Puzzle-solving has figured prominently throughout the series.^[45]

Tank controls[edit]

The first game introduced a control scheme that the player community has come to refer to as "tank controls" to the series. In a game with tank controls, players control movement relative to the position of the player character, rather than relative to the fixed virtual camera from which the player views the current scene.^[46] Pressing up (for example on a D-pad, analog stick, or cursor movement keys) on the game controller moves the character in the direction being faced, pressing down backpedals, and left and right rotates the character.^[46] This can feel counter-intuitive when the character is facing the camera, as the controls are essentially reversed in this state. This differs from many 3D games, in which characters move in the direction the player pushes the controls from the perspective of the camera.^[46] Some critics have posited that the control scheme is intentionally clumsy, meant to enhance stress and exacerbate difficulty.^[47]

While the first three entries in the series featured this control scheme, the third, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, saw some action-oriented additions. These included a 180 degree turn and dodge command that, according to GameSpot, "hinted at a new direction that the series would go in." Later games in the series, like Resident Evil 4, would feature a more fluid over-the-shoulder third-person camera instead of a fixed camera for each room, while Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil Village are played from the first-person perspective.

Third-person shooter gameplay[edit]

Resident Evil 4 saw significant changes to the established gameplay, including switching from fixed camera perspectives to a tracking camera, and more action-oriented gameplay and mechanics. This was complemented by an abundance of ammunition and revised aiming and melee mechanics. Some critics claimed that this overhauled control scheme "made the game less scary."^[47] The next two games in the franchise furthered the action-oriented mechanics: Resident Evil 5 featured cooperative play and added strafing, while Resident Evil 6 allowed players to move while aiming and shooting for the first time, fully abandoning the series' signature tank controls.^[47]

First-person shooter gameplay and VR[edit]

Resident Evil 7 is the first main Resident Evil game to use the first-person perspective and to use virtual reality. It drew comparisons to modern survival horror games such as Outlast and PT.^[47] The eighth main-series game, Resident Evil Village, also features a first-person perspective.^[48] A VR version of Resident Evil 4 was released on the Oculus Quest 2 on October 21, 2021.^[49]

Other media[edit]

The Resident Evil franchise features video games and tie-in merchandise and products, including various live-action and animated films, comic books, and novels.

Films[edit]

Live-action films[edit]

From 2002 to 2016, six live-action Resident Evil films were produced, all written and produced by Paul W. S. Anderson. The films do not follow the games' premise but feature some game characters. The series' protagonist is Alice, an original character created for the films portrayed by Milla Jovovich. Despite a negative reaction from critics, the live-action film series has made over $1 billion worldwide.^[50] They are, to date, the only video game adaptations to increase the amount of money made with each successive film.^[51] The series holds the record for the "Most Live-Action Film Adaptations of a Video Game" in the 2012 Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition, which also described it as "the most successful movie series to be based on a video game."^[14]

A reboot, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, was released on November 24, 2021, with Johannes Roberts as writer/director.^[52]

Animated films[edit]

The first computer animated film for the franchise was Biohazard 4D-Executer. It was a short 3D film produced for Japanese theme parks and did not feature any characters from the game.^[53]

Starting in 2008, a series of feature-length computer-animated films have been released. These films take place in the same continuity with the games of the series, and feature characters such as Leon Kennedy, Claire Redfield, Ada Wong, Chris Redfield,

Resident Evil
Created by	Shinji Mikami Tokuro Fujiwara
Original work	Resident Evil (1996)
Owner	Capcom
Years	1996–present
Print publications
Novel(s)	Novel list
Comics	Comic list
Films and television
Film(s)	Live-action series Animated film list
Television series	Television list
Games
Video game(s)	Video game list
Official website
game.capcom.com/residentevil/

Resident Evil is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in post-apocalyptic urban environments infested with mutant humanoids and bizarre animals (such as mutated dogs), zombies and other lethal creatures. The franchise has expanded into other media, most notably a live-action film series, as well as animated films, television series, comic books, novels, audiobooks, and merchandise including clothing, costumes, action figures and toys. Resident Evil is the highest-grossing horror franchise.

The first Resident Evil game was created by Shinji Mikami and Tokuro Fujiwara for PlayStation, and released in 1996.^[1][2] It is credited for defining the survival horror genre and returning zombies to popular culture. By the time of Resident Evil 4 (2005), the franchise shifted to more dynamic shooting action, achieved critical acclaim, and influenced the evolution of the survival horror and third-person genres, popularizing the "over-the-shoulder" third-person view.^[3]

The franchise returned to survival horror with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017) and Resident Evil Village (2021), which used a first-person perspective. Capcom has also released four Resident Evil remakes: Resident Evil (2002), Resident Evil 2 (2019), Resident Evil 3 (2020) and Resident Evil 4 (2023). Resident Evil is Capcom's best-selling franchise and the best-selling horror game series, with 154 million copies sold worldwide, as of December 2023.^[4]

The first Resident Evil action film was released in 2002, starring Milla Jovovich, followed by five further sequels and a reboot, Welcome to Raccoon City (2021). The films have received mostly negative critical reviews, including on Rotten Tomatoes and some on Metacritic; however, some of the films have received mixed reviews on Metacritic. Nevertheless, the films have grossed more than $1.2 billion, making Resident Evil the third-highest-grossing video game film series.

History[edit]

The development of the first Resident Evil, released as Biohazard in Japan, began in 1993 when Capcom's Tokuro Fujiwara told Shinji Mikami and other co-workers to create a game using elements from Fujiwara's 1989 game Sweet Home on the Family Computer (Famicom) in Japan.^[5][6] When in late 1994 marketing executives were setting up to release Biohazard in the United States, it was pointed out that securing the rights to the name Biohazard would be very difficult as a DOS game had been registered under that name, as well as a New York hardcore punk band called Biohazard. A contest was held among company personnel to choose a new name; this competition turned up Resident Evil, the name under which it was released in the west.^[7] Resident Evil made its debut on the PlayStation in 1996 and was later ported to the Sega Saturn.

The first entry in the series was the first game to be dubbed a "survival horror", a term coined for the new genre it initiated,^[8] and its critical and commercial success^[9] led to the production of two sequels, Resident Evil 2 in 1998 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis in 1999, both for the PlayStation. A port of Resident Evil 2 was released for the Nintendo 64. In addition, ports of all three were released for Windows. The fourth game in the series, Resident Evil – Code: Veronica, was developed for the Dreamcast and released in 2000, followed by ports of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. Resident Evil – Code: Veronica was later re-released for Dreamcast in Japan in an updated form as Code: Veronica Complete, which included slight changes, many of which revolved around story cutscenes. This updated version was later ported to the PlayStation 2 and GameCube under the title Code: Veronica X.

Despite earlier announcements that the next game in the series would be released for the PlayStation 2, which resulted in the creation of an unrelated game titled Devil May Cry, series' creator and producer Shinji Mikami decided to make the series exclusively for the GameCube.^[10] The next three games in the series—a remake of the original Resident Evil and the prequel Resident Evil Zero, both released in 2002, as well as Resident Evil 4 (2005)—were all released initially as GameCube exclusives. Resident Evil 4 was later released for Windows, PlayStation 2, and Wii.

A trilogy of GunCon-compatible light gun games known as the Gun Survivor series featured first-person gameplay. The first, Resident Evil Survivor, was released in 2000 for the PlayStation and PC but received mediocre reviews.^[11] The subsequent games, Resident Evil Survivor 2 – Code: Veronica and Resident Evil: Dead Aim, fared somewhat better.^[12] Dead Aim is the fourth Gun Survivor game in Japan, with Gun Survivor 3 being the Dino Crisis spin-off Dino Stalker. In a similar vein, the Chronicles series features first-person gameplay, albeit on an on-rails path. Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles was released in 2007 for the Wii, with a sequel, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles released in 2009 (both were later ported to the PlayStation 3 in 2012).^[13]

Resident Evil Outbreak is an online game for the PlayStation 2, released in 2003, depicting a series of episodic storylines in Raccoon City set during the same period as Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. It was the first in the series and the first survival horror title to feature cooperative gameplay.^[14] It was followed by a sequel, Resident Evil Outbreak: File #2. Raccoon City is a metropolis located in the Arklay Mountains of the Midwestern United States that succumbed to the deadly T-virus outbreak and was consequently destroyed via a nuclear missile attack issued by the United States government. The town served as a critical junction for the series' progression as one of the main catalysts to Umbrella's downfall and the entry point for some of the series' most notable characters.

Resident Evil Gaiden is an action-adventure game for the Game Boy Color featuring a role-playing-style combat system. There have been several downloadable mobile games based on the Resident Evil series in Japan. Some of these mobile games have been released in North America and Europe through T-Mobile. At the Sony press conference during E3 2009, Resident Evil Portable was announced for the PlayStation Portable,^[15][16][17] described as an all-new title being developed with "the PSP Go in mind" and "totally different for a Resident Evil game". No further announcements have been made, and the game is considered to have been canceled.^[18][19]

In 2009, Resident Evil 5 was released for PlayStation 3, Windows and Xbox 360, becoming the best selling game of the franchise despite mixed fan reception. Capcom revealed the third-person shooter Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, which was developed by Slant Six Games for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows and released in March 2012. A survival horror game for the Nintendo 3DS, Resident Evil: Revelations, was released in February 2012.^[20] In October of the same year, the next numbered entry in the main series, Resident Evil 6, was released to mixed reviews,^[21] but enthusiastic pre-order sales.^[22]

In 2013, producer Masachika Kawata said the Resident Evil franchise would return to focus on elements of horror and suspense over action, adding that "survival horror as a genre is never going to be on the same level, financially, as shooters and much more popular, mainstream games. At the same time, I think we need to have the confidence to put money behind these projects, and it doesn't mean we can't focus on what we need to do as a survival horror game to meet fan's needs."^[23] Resident Evil: Revelations 2, an episodic game set between Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6, was released in March 2015. A series of team-based multiplayer games were developed beginning with the poorly received Umbrella Corps, which was released in June 2016.^[24] Resident Evil: Resistance was released in April 2020, followed by Resident Evil Re:Verse in October 2022, with both being available for free to those who bought Resident Evil 3 and Village respectively.^[25][26]

Using the new RE Engine, which would develop the next generation of Resident Evil games, the series continued to shift back towards more horror elements. The next mainline game, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard was released for Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in January 2017.^[27][28] Set in a dilapidated mansion in Louisiana, the game uses a first-person perspective and emphasizes horror and exploration over action, unlike previous installments.^{[29][30][31][32]} The first-person perspective continued in the eighth mainline game Resident Evil Village. Released in May 2021, the game, set in a mysterious European village, is a direct sequel to Resident Evil 7: Biohazard although it incorporates more action elements inspired from Resident Evil 4.^[33][34] The game also marked the franchise's debut on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S^[35]

A new generation of remakes of older entries began in 2019 with a remake of Resident Evil 2, being released for the PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. The remake outsold the original game within a year, selling over five million copies.^[36] Following in the success of the Resident Evil 2 remake, Capcom revealed a remake of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis in December 2019, known as Resident Evil 3. It was released in April 2020.^[37] In June 2022, a remake of Resident Evil 4 was announced and released on March 24, 2023 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.^[38]

Story overview[edit]

The early Resident Evil games focused on the Umbrella Corporation, an international pharmaceutical company that secretly develops mutagenic viruses to further their "bio-organic weapons" (BOW) research. The company's viruses can transform humans into mindless zombies while also mutating plants and animals into horrifying monstrosities. The Umbrella Corporation uses its vast resources to effectively control Raccoon City, a fictional midwestern American city. In the original Resident Evil, members of an elite police task force, Special Tactics and Rescue Service (STARS), are lured to a derelict mansion on the outskirts of Raccoon City. The STARS team is mostly decimated by zombies and other BOWs, leaving only a handful of survivors, including Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, and Albert Wesker. Chris and Jill explore the zombie-infested mansion and uncover a secret underground Umbrella research facility. Wesker reveals himself to be a double agent for Umbrella and betrays his comrades. However, Wesker is seemingly murdered by a Tyrant, a special BOW that is the culmination of the Umbrella Corporation's research.^[39][40]

Chris and Jill escape the mansion, but their testimony is ridiculed by Raccoon City's officials due to Umbrella's influence. Meanwhile, a separate viral outbreak occurs in another Umbrella research facility underneath Raccoon City. Most of the city's residents are infected and become zombies. Resident Evil 2 introduces two new protagonists, Leon S. Kennedy, a rookie police officer and Claire Redfield, the younger sister of Chris. Leon and Claire arrive in Raccoon City amidst the chaos of the viral outbreak. Leon is aided by Ada Wong, a corporate spy posing as an FBI agent, while Claire rescues Sherry Birkin, the daughter of two prominent Umbrella researchers. At the same time, Jill makes her escape from the city in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. She is relentlessly pursued by a new Tyrant, Nemesis, who is deployed by Umbrella to eliminate all surviving STARS members. The U.S. Government destroys Raccoon City with a missile strike to sterilize the viral outbreak.^[41] Leon, Claire, Sherry, Ada, and Jill escape the city before its eradication. Claire continues to look for Chris, whereas Leon is recruited to work for the U.S. Government. Resident Evil – Code: Veronica follows Claire as she escapes from a prison camp in the Southern Ocean and later reunites with Chris at an Umbrella research facility in Antarctica. Resident Evil 4 is set six years after the Raccoon City incident and focuses on Leon as he tries to rescue the U.S. President's daughter from a cult in Spain.^[39][40]

A government investigation into the Umbrella Corporation reveals its involvement in the Raccoon City disaster and leads to the company's dissolution. Despite the downfall of the Umbrella Corporation, the company's research and BOWs proliferate across the black market and lead to the rise of bioterrorism. Chris and Jill establish the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA) to combat these ever-growing threats on a global scale. Wesker is revealed to be alive and involved in the development of new potent viral agents and BOWs. In Resident Evil 5, Wesker seeks to unleash a highly mutagenic virus that will infect all of humanity. Chris and the BSAA confront and kill Wesker in Africa before he can fulfill his mission.^[42] Resident Evil 6 features Leon and Chris meeting for the first time in the video game series.^[43] The two work separately to triage bioterrorist attacks in the United States, Eastern Europe, and China. They are assisted by Sherry, Wesker's illegitimate son Jake Muller, Ada, and many members of the BSAA and U.S. government.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and Resident Evil Village introduce a new protagonist, Ethan Winters, who becomes entangled in a bioterrorism incident while searching for his missing wife. He encounters Chris and the BSAA, who help him rescue his wife and defeat Eveline, a powerful BOW. Ethan, Mia, and their newborn daughter, Rosemary, are relocated to Eastern Europe but are abducted by a cult. Ethan ultimately sacrifices himself to destroy a fungal colony being weaponized by bioterrorists and save his family.^[39][40][44]

Gameplay[edit]

The Resident Evil franchise has had a variety of control schemes and gameplay mechanics throughout its history. Puzzle-solving has figured prominently throughout the series.^[45]

Tank controls[edit]

The first game introduced a control scheme that the player community has come to refer to as "tank controls" to the series. In a game with tank controls, players control movement relative to the position of the player character, rather than relative to the fixed virtual camera from which the player views the current scene.^[46] Pressing up (for example on a D-pad, analog stick, or cursor movement keys) on the game controller moves the character in the direction being faced, pressing down backpedals, and left and right rotates the character.^[46] This can feel counter-intuitive when the character is facing the camera, as the controls are essentially reversed in this state. This differs from many 3D games, in which characters move in the direction the player pushes the controls from the perspective of the camera.^[46] Some critics have posited that the control scheme is intentionally clumsy, meant to enhance stress and exacerbate difficulty.^[47]

While the first three entries in the series featured this control scheme, the third, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, saw some action-oriented additions. These included a 180 degree turn and dodge command that, according to GameSpot, "hinted at a new direction that the series would go in." Later games in the series, like Resident Evil 4, would feature a more fluid over-the-shoulder third-person camera instead of a fixed camera for each room, while Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil Village are played from the first-person perspective.

Third-person shooter gameplay[edit]

Resident Evil 4 saw significant changes to the established gameplay, including switching from fixed camera perspectives to a tracking camera, and more action-oriented gameplay and mechanics. This was complemented by an abundance of ammunition and revised aiming and melee mechanics. Some critics claimed that this overhauled control scheme "made the game less scary."^[47] The next two games in the franchise furthered the action-oriented mechanics: Resident Evil 5 featured cooperative play and added strafing, while Resident Evil 6 allowed players to move while aiming and shooting for the first time, fully abandoning the series' signature tank controls.^[47]

First-person shooter gameplay and VR[edit]

Resident Evil 7 is the first main Resident Evil game to use the first-person perspective and to use virtual reality. It drew comparisons to modern survival horror games such as Outlast and PT.^[47] The eighth main-series game, Resident Evil Village, also features a first-person perspective.^[48] A VR version of Resident Evil 4 was released on the Oculus Quest 2 on October 21, 2021.^[49]

Other media[edit]

The Resident Evil franchise features video games and tie-in merchandise and products, including various live-action and animated films, comic books, and novels.

Films[edit]

Live-action films[edit]

From 2002 to 2016, six live-action Resident Evil films were produced, all written and produced by Paul W. S. Anderson. The films do not follow the games' premise but feature some game characters. The series' protagonist is Alice, an original character created for the films portrayed by Milla Jovovich. Despite a negative reaction from critics, the live-action film series has made over $1 billion worldwide.^[50] They are, to date, the only video game adaptations to increase the amount of money made with each successive film.^[51] The series holds the record for the "Most Live-Action Film Adaptations of a Video Game" in the 2012 Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition, which also described it as "the most successful movie series to be based on a video game."^[14]

A reboot, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, was released on November 24, 2021, with Johannes Roberts as writer/director.^[52]

Animated films[edit]

The first computer animated film for the franchise was Biohazard 4D-Executer. It was a short 3D film produced for Japanese theme parks and did not feature any characters from the game.^[53]

Starting in 2008, a series of feature-length computer-animated films have been released. These films take place in the same continuity with the games of the series, and feature characters such as Leon Kennedy, Claire Redfield, Ada Wong, Chris Redfield,

Metal Gear theme by Dagobert

Download: MetalGear.p3t

(1 background)

Video game franchise

This article is about the media franchise. For the first game in the series, see Metal Gear (video game). For the Metal Gear robots, see Metal Gear (mecha). For other uses, see Metal Gear (disambiguation).

"Metal Gear Solid" redirects here. For the 1998 PlayStation game, see Metal Gear Solid (1998 video game). For the 2000 Game Boy game, see Metal Gear Solid (2000 video game).

Video game series

Metal Gear
Logo of the Metal Gear franchise
Genre(s)	Action-adventure Hack and slash Stealth
Developer(s)	Konami (1987–2005) Kojima Productions (2005–2015)[a] Digital Dialect (2000) Silicon Knights (2004) Ideaworks Game Studio (2008) Genki (2010) Bluepoint Games (2011) GREE (2012) PlatinumGames (2013) Nvidia Lightspeed Studios (2016) Konami Digital Entertainment (2018–present) Rocket Studio (2023) M2 (2023) Virtuos
Publisher(s)	Konami Microsoft Game Studios (2000)
Creator(s)	Hideo Kojima
Platform(s)	Various Commodore 64 Game Boy Color GameCube Microsoft Windows Mobile MS-DOS MSX2 N-Gage Nintendo 3DS Nintendo Entertainment System Nintendo Switch Nvidia Shield TV OS X PlayStation PlayStation 2 PlayStation 3 PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 PlayStation Portable PlayStation Vita Wii Nvidia Shield Xbox Xbox 360 Xbox One Xbox Series X/S
First release	Metal Gear July 13, 1987
Latest release	Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 October 24, 2023

Metal Gear (Japanese: メタルギア, Hepburn: Metaru Gia) is a franchise of stealth games created by Hideo Kojima. Developed and published by Konami, the first game, Metal Gear, was released in 1987 for MSX home computers. The player often takes control of a special forces operative (usually Solid Snake or Big Boss), who is assigned the task of finding the titular superweapon, "Metal Gear", a bipedal walking tank with the ability to launch nuclear weapons.

Several sequels have been released for multiple consoles, which have expanded the original game's plot, adding characters opposing and supporting Snake, while several prequels have explored the origins of Metal Gear and recurring characters. The third game in the series, Metal Gear Solid for the PlayStation, marked a transition to 3D graphics and gained the series international fame.

The series is credited for pioneering and popularizing stealth video games^[1][2][3][4] and "cinematic video games".^[3][5] Notable traits of the series include cinematic cutscenes, intricate storylines, offbeat and fourth-wall humor, and exploration of cyberpunk, dystopian, political and philosophical themes,^[6][7] as well as references to Hollywood films. Individual installments have been critically acclaimed, as well as receiving several awards. The series has sold 61 million units as of December 2023.^[8] The franchise has also been adapted into other media, such as comics, novels, and drama CDs. Solid Snake has also gone on to appear in other games, such as the Super Smash Bros. series, Ape Escape 3, LittleBigPlanet, and Fortnite.

Games[edit]

Release timeline

1987	Metal Gear
1988–1989
1990	Snake's Revenge
	Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
1991–1997
1998	Metal Gear Solid
1999	Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions
2000	Ghost Babel
2001	Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
2002–2003
2004	Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
	Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
	Acid
2005	Acid 2
2006	Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
2007	Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus
2008	Metal Gear Solid: Mobile
	Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
	Online
2009	Metal Gear Solid: Touch
2010	Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
2011
2012	Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D
	Metal Gear Solid: Social Ops
2013	Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
2014	Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
2015	Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
2016–2017
2018	Survive
2019–2022
2023	Master Collection Vol. 1
2024	Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater

Hideo Kojima designed the original Metal Gear, which debuted in Japan and Europe in 1987 for the MSX2 computer platform.^[9] A separate team created a heavily modified Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) port of the game that was released in Japan on December 22, 1987, North America in June 1988, and Europe and Australia sometime in 1989.^[10] Konami produced an NES sequel, Snake's Revenge, again without Kojima, released in North America and Europe in 1990. One of that game's designers became acquainted with Kojima and asked him to create a "real Metal Gear sequel". In reaction, Kojima began development of Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, which was released in Japan in 1990 for the MSX2.^[11][12]

Following Metal Gear 2's completion, Kojima worked on other projects before directing his third Metal Gear game, Metal Gear Solid, for the PlayStation. It began development in 1994 and debuted at the 1996 Tokyo Game Show,^[13] before being released in 1998.^[14][15] The success of Metal Gear Solid resulted in a series of sequels, prequels, spin-offs, ports, and remakes for Microsoft Windows, the Game Boy Color, PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Metal Gear Solid was followed up by the sequel Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty released in November 2001 for the PlayStation 2. A remake of the original Metal Gear Solid called Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes was made for the Nintendo GameCube in early 2004.^[16] Later that year, the third numbered entry, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, was released on the PlayStation 2. This is the first prequel which was set prior to all the previously released Metal Gear games and which acted as an origin to the franchise.^[17][18] These games were followed by a sequel to Snake Eater, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, which was released on the PlayStation Portable in 2006.^[19][20] The series' main storyline was concluded in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots for the PlayStation 3 in 2008.^[21][22] The game featured a multiplayer spin-off called Metal Gear Online.^[23]

In April 2010, another sequel to Snake Eater, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, was released for the PlayStation Portable and was set shortly after the events of Portable Ops.^[24][25] The spin-off game, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, was released in 2013 on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and in Jan 2014 on Steam (PC). The game is set after Guns of the Patriots and stars Raiden, the protagonist of Sons of Liberty who turned into a cyborg ninja.^[26]

Expanded re-releases of games in the series were produced as well, such as Integral (Metal Gear Solid), Substance (Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty), and Subsistence (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater).^{[27][28][29][30]} The series' portable installments are usually set outside the main storyline. Metal Gear: Ghost Babel was released for the Game Boy Color, and several games were released for Sony's PlayStation Portable. In a departure from the series' style, Metal Gear Acid and its sequel used turn-based strategy mechanics based on collectible cards.^[31][32]

On May 18, 2009, a teaser site for the following installment in the Metal Gear series was uploaded by Kojima Production.^[33] The site initially consisted of a series of countdowns leading to several flashing letters and the images of two characters looking like a middle-aged Big Boss and a cyborg Raiden. An article published in the July 2009 issue of Famitsu PSP + PS3 covers the content of the site and features an interview with Hideo Kojima.^[34][35] The interview, revealing many details, is heavily censored and was published that way as a request by Kojima, who was directing and designing the new game. Famitsu was to publish the full interview in its following issue.^[36][37] The new game was eventually revealed to be Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, which was announced on June 1, 2009, at E3, during the Microsoft Press Conference.^[38]

At E3 2010, a demo, "Metal Gear Solid 3D: Snake Eater – The Naked Sample", was shown on the Nintendo 3DS. The official E3 Kojima site later released screenshots and official art for the demo.^[39] Kojima did state, however, that this was not a preview for a full game but just a sample of what could be done on the 3DS hardware.^[40] Another mobile port of a previously released game was shown at Sony's PlayStation Meeting on January 27, 2011, where Hideo Kojima demonstrated a possible portable version of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots for the upcoming PlayStation Vita.^[41]

On June 2, 2011, Konami announced the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection which was released in November 2011 for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The collection features remastered versions of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, rendered in 720p and running at 60fps, including Trophies/Achievements, and remastered audio.^[42][43] On August 15, 2011, UK retailer Zavvi secured the exclusive right to sell the Metal Gear Solid: Ultimate HD Collection only available for the PlayStation 3, which was released on November 25.^[44]

In November 2011, Kojima discussed with PlayStation Official Magazine (UK) the series' future commenting an upcoming Metal Gear Solid 5.^[45] Kojima said: "I think we'll probably have to make it [a sequel to MGS4] at some point, but what that will be, we have no idea". Kojima stated that when Konami does get around to building the game, he will have less influence than he had on previous iterations in the series.^[46] After the mixed fan reactions of the reveal of the rebooted action gameplay focused spin-off Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Hideo Kojima reassured fans that an "authentic stealth Metal Gear Solid" sequel would be coming in the future.^[47]

During a discussion panel at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in March 2012, Kojima stated: "I am working on something that I think will become the shining moment" for his career and the Metal Gear series.^[48] During the franchise's 25th anniversary, Konami revealed a demo for a new game in the Metal Gear series, Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes.^[49] A social game for the GREE, Metal Gear Solid: Social Ops, was released in December 2012.^[50]

On December 7, 2012, a teaser for The Phantom Pain was revealed on the Spike Video Game Awards. Following the teaser trailer, numerous video game-related websites and fansites reported the trailer's seemed connection to the Metal Gear series of video games.^[51]

On March 27, 2013, Kojima announced at GDC 2013 that Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain were two different portions of one work, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, with Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes serving as the prologue and The Phantom Pain serving as the main story. Snake's usual English-language voice actor David Hayter was not cast for the role.^[52] Instead, Hollywood actor and producer Kiefer Sutherland portrayed the character through voice acting and facial capture.^[53]

In 2015, Konami revealed that they were recruiting new staff members to develop a new Metal Gear game as Kojima left the company. On August 17, 2016, Konami announced during Gamescom 2016 that a new Metal Gear game was in the works, known as Metal Gear Survive. It is a spin-off game as well as a supplemental to Metal Gear Solid V as a whole, taking place between Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain.^[54]

On May 24, 2023, during Sony's PlayStation Showcase event, a remake of Snake Eater, titled Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater^[b] was announced, as well as the Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1, which was released on October 24 of that year. It includes the first five mainline Metal Gear games, as well as extra content including the NES version of Metal Gear, Snake's Revenge, Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel, and Bande Dessinée, as well as additional content such as screenplay books, master books, character profiles, story summaries, strategy guides, and a playable soundtrack.^[56][57][58]

Storyline[edit]

Fictional chronology in Metal Gear
1964 – Snake Eater (Delta) 1970 – Portable Ops 1974 – Peace Walker 1975 – Ground Zeroes 1984 – The Phantom Pain 1995 – Metal Gear 1999 – Solid Snake 2005 – Metal Gear Solid (The Twin Snakes) 2007/09 – Sons of Liberty 2014 – Guns of the Patriots 2018 – Rising: Revengeance
v t e

In the Metal Gear universe, history had diverged at some point during World War II, with the fictional Cobra Unit, led by The Boss, being instrumental in the defeat of the Axis Powers. Cloning, AI and robotics technology of the 1970s are more advanced.^[59] The eleven games in the main Metal Gear series continuity reveal a narrative that spans five and a half decades, from the Cold War, until the near future. Big Boss is the most relevant character within the story of the series and of the canonical 11 games five are prequels centering on his story, set decades before the events of the original Metal Gear. However, Solid Snake is still depicted as the primary main character of the series, as the prequels create context of his purpose and him being the antithesis of his father.

Plot[edit]

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, which is chronologically the first game in the series, introduces Naked Snake (or Snake for short), an operative working for the fictional Force Operation X (FOX) unit of the CIA during the Cold War.^[60] The game focuses on the rise of Snake from an apprentice to a legendary soldier, as well as the downfall of his mentor and matriarchal figure, The Boss. After The Boss defects to the Soviet Union, Snake is sent into Russia to kill her and end the threat posed by Yevgeny Borisovitch Volgin, a GRU colonel with plans to overthrow the Soviet government. Snake's heroics during the game earn him the nickname "Big Boss" at the end. The origins of The Patriots, an organization founded by Zero, are also explored.

Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops serves as a direct sequel to Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and follows Naked Snake's life after disbanding from FOX. With Snake not yet accepting the Big Boss codename, the plot features the origins of his mercenary unit as he attempts to escape the San Hieronymo Peninsula and battles his old unit.^[61] The canonicity of Portable Ops is disputed, with Kojima having stated that "the main story of Portable Ops is part of the Saga, is part of the official Metal Gear timeline, while some of the small details that are in Portable Ops are outside the Saga, not part of the main timeline of the game."^[62]

The next game, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, is set ten years after the events of Snake Eater and returns to the story of the young Big Boss. Now the head of the mercenary corporation Militaires Sans Frontières (MSF), Big Boss discovers that nuclear warheads are being transported to Latin America and decides that he must put a stop to it. Peace Walker features a new cast of characters to provide both aid and intelligence for Big Boss. A few characters from later games, such as a younger Kazuhira Miller, make appearances in the game.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, serves as the direct sequel to Peace Walker and is composed of two chapters. The prologue, Ground Zeroes, is set a few weeks after the final mission in Peace Walker, as Big Boss is tasked with rescuing two VIPs from a U.S. military black site on the coast of Cuba. Big Boss' mission coincides with a visit to Mother Base by the IAEA, which turns out to be a cover for an attack on Mother Base orchestrated by the mysterious organization XOF. In the chaos, Big Boss' helicopter collides with another, and he is sent to the hospital for nine years, which leads to the events of the main chapter, The Phantom Pain. The basis of the main story revolves around Big Boss forming a new private military company, the Diamond Dogs to retaliate for the destruction of MSF and the loss of his comrades. However, this "Big Boss" is revealed to be a part of the medical staff who survived the helicopter crash, who was brainwashed to believe himself to be Big Boss, while the real Big Boss went into hiding to create Outer Heaven, a place where soldiers can live without having to abide by any particular ideology.

The first Metal Gear game for the MSX follows Solid Snake, a rookie of the FOXHOUND special operations unit. He is sent by his superior Big Boss to the fortress in South Africa known as Outer Heaven, with the goal of finding the missing squad member Gray Fox and investigating a weapon known as Metal Gear. However, after Snake unexpectedly completes his goals, Big Boss is revealed to be the leader of Outer Heaven, which he has created as a place for soldiers to fight free of any ideology that he believes has been forced upon them by governments. He fights Snake and is killed. However, it turns out that this was actually the body double from Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. In Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake the real Bi