The Metal Gear Solid franchise is legendary for a slew of reasons, not the least of which is its spectacular boss battles. Each game comes packed with a group of soldiers itching for their turn to duke it out with the main character.
Some of them fight with special abilities, others use good old fashioned guns, while a special select few have their own unique weapons. This list will focus on the latter category, as it details the ten most powerful boss weapons. As devastating as some of these armaments are, Snake, Raiden, and Big Boss always had the skill to best them in combat using what weapons they had on them at the time.
10 Raging Raven’s Grenade Launcher
Before Metal Gear Solid 4, boss fights rarely netted a weapon. In the 2008 title, each of the four members of the Beauty and the Beast unit dropped some goody for Snake to use during the campaign. Raging Raven left behind a multipurpose grenade launcher.
The MGL-140 can be packed with traditional explosives or with less-lethal ammunition for the pacifistic players. She won’t be needing it anymore after Snake subdued and hopefully set her free. Oddly enough, players never find out what becomes of them afterwards, assuming one simply put her to sleep and didn’t outright kill her.
9 Vamp’s Knives
One of the most menacing villains of the series, Vamp’s power mostly comes from his impressive acrobatic feats and regeneration thanks to nanomachines. However, he also has an arsenal of knives at his disposal.
In cutscenes they are brutal, and the boss fight with him in MGS2 showcases an odd ability not displayed beforehand. If one of them hits Raiden’s shadow, the player will be stuck in place, unable to move. Fortunately, they can still aim. The trick to besting this maneuver is shooting out the lights in the room.
8 The Pain’s Bees And Hornets
Back in 1964, controlling an army of bees was seen as way more menacing. Nobody could make jokes referencing the remake of The Wicker Man starring Nicolas Cage. On a battlefield, having these by one’s side must have been an invaluable tool. Bullets can only stop so many of them. In game play, they are far less of a challenge.
It’s a fun fight, but puts up no challenge as long as the player knows what they are doing. The encounter occurs early in the game, so it’s not exactly a knock against the campaign. It’s only logical for an early fight to be at the bottom of the difficulty curve.
7 Fortune’s Rail Gun
Fortunately for this member of Deadcell, mobility and cover isn’t an issue. Bullets don’t touch her, so she can lug around a giant rail gun and take her time setting up shots while the enemy’s ammunition just whizzes past her.
During Raiden’s encounter with her, he has no other option but to dodge her shots, since his guns are of no use. It makes for a nice visual spectacle as she destroys the area while the player rolls just out of harm’s way in the nick of time.
6 Grey Fox’s Blade
Grey Fox’s whole life has seen him used as a weapon. If Portable Ops is still considered canon, then he was manipulated ever since he was a young teenager. This entry focuses specifically on his blade, however, which he uses to stunning effect in the famous hallway massacre of Metal Gear Solid.
Players only really see the aftermath of it, but it’s more than enough to convince them of his prowess. The GameCube remake, The Twin Snakes, shows this brutal scene’s stomach-churning violence in its entirety. Fortunately, Grey Fox challenges Snake to a hand to hand combat, a merciful move towards the player.
5 The Fury’s Flamethrower And Jet Pack
The Fury is probably is the most underutilized member of the Cobra Unit. He is shown for a brief moment in one cutscene, and then virtually forgotten until his encounter. It makes sense, though.
They couldn’t have him running around blasting his flame thrower and jet pack all around the jungle. Otherwise, all of Tselinoyarsk would have turned to ash within minutes. It does speak to the astounding power of his weaponry, however. Jetpacks are unwieldy, but he could use one with ease.
4 Volgin’s Electricity
As if his intimidating physical presence wasn’t enough, Colonel Volgin also manipulates electricity. It comes in handy during his bout with Snake in the Shagohod hanger. Later on it becomes even more of a nuisance for the player, as he takes direct control of the tank by grabbing the wires insider and controlling it with his own electric energy.
Ultimately, this turns out to be his downfall, as he dies by electric shock, getting toasted like a marshmallow.
3 The Patriot
The Boss’s machine gun really packs a punch. Not just anybody could pick up this bad boy and fire away, and Big Boss’s mentor does it with one hand. Players further appreciate its power after obtaining it for themselves upon completing Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. It even has infinite ammunition.
It won’t assist in stealth playthroughs, but those wishing to live out their eighties action hero fantasies will get plenty of mileage.
2 Vulcan Raven’s Minigun
One knows a weapon is serious when it takes muscles of steel to even pick it up. Seriously, Raven’s minigun is so massive, it even comes with a gigantic backpack. With all that weight comes some real firepower, however.
The gun looks like it could turn a tank into Swiss cheese. Unfortunately, players never get to wield it for themselves. Snake may be strong, but it takes unrealistic strength to carry such a heavy weapon.
1 Solidus’ Tentacles
Politicians often get criticized for sending young people to wars they started. This justifiable claim could never be lobbed at Solidus Snake, though that’s not exactly speaking to his integrity. He’s one of the vilest villains of the whole series, having trained child soldiers in the past. He uses a whole assortment of weaponry, but the most impressive trick up his sleeve are the tentacles on his combat suit.
Not only can they jab, grab, and whip, but they shoot missiles too. He is an adept soldier as is, and with the tentacles and suit he can take down a group of Metal Gear Rays without breaking a sweat.
