Metal Gear Solid is one of the most legendary gaming franchises ever created. Hideo Kojima's series not only revolutionized action gameplay, but its narrative also pushed and stretched boundaries within the medium. The writing is of particular note. Just take Solid Snake, for example.
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despite his combat prowess, he gives off bits of wisdom that would make players think he is more of a philosopher than a soldier. The ten quotes below are all genius even without context, now just imagine being a teenager in 1998, 2001, or 2008 playing either Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2, or Metal Gear Solid 4 when hearing them for the first time.
10 A Strong Man Doesn't Need To Read The Future, He Makes His Own - MGS 1
Psycho Mantis is one of the most notable boss battles in the first 3D entry of the series. He reads Solid Snakes mind, but cannot control him to the same degree as Meryl or others. Solid Snake has the power to resist his control, just as he has the power to change his destiny and not be bound by his familial ties. He was made as a weaker twin, but still defeats Liquid Snake in the end.
9 Building The Future And Keeping The Past Alive Are One In The Same Thing - MGS 2
Solid Snake says this to Raiden during the cerebral ending of Metal Gear Solid 2. As time marches forward, you have to be sure to remember important things about the past. Understanding the past of where you are and where you came from is tantamount to understanding who you are. All the same, do not be chained to the past.
8 There's No Happiness To Be Found In Death... No Peace Either. I'm Leaving Here Alive - MGS 1
So many of the characters in Metal Gear live with the burdens of intense tragedy, Snake included. Despite this, he finds a reason to keep fighting and to push on another day. Joel from The Last of Us says a similar thing to Ellie, mentioning that you always find a reason to keep going. Even by the end of Metal Gear Solid 4 he ends up living to observe what future generations do with the world.
7 No One Quite Knows Who Or What They Are - MGS2
A main theme of Metal Gear Solid 2 is identity. Raiden goes through a particular crisis of identity, denying his traumatic past while dealing with the idea that the whole mission was a controlled exercise.
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Snake reassures him that he's not alone, and that he has the power to control who he is and who he becomes. Raiden did not choose his past, but he can choose what to take from the experience.
6 Unfortunately, Killing Is One Of Those Things That Gets Easier The More You Do It - MGS 1
This line is also something one could imagine John Rambo saying. It does kind of echo the line from 2008's Rambo, "When you're pushed, killing's as easy breathing." Solid Snake was raised to be a killing machine, so it is hard to imagine him being green and taking a life for the first time, but even he was young and inexperienced once. It is doubtful his childhood was like his brother's, which we see in Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain.
5 Find Something To Believe In... When You Do, Pass It On To The Future - MGS2
Side by side with identity as a major theme of Metal Gear Solid 2 is free will. Part of the ending describes how little power the average person has in society. All the same, you still have the power to choose something to believe in and you have the power to pass on ideas to future generations. The Patriots might actually be unstoppable, but you can be aware of them and rise above the control.
4 He Who Controls The Battlefield, Controls History - MGS4
This is similar to the classic phrase "to the victor goes the spoils", only on a grander scale. Metal Gear Solid 4 takes place in a world where war is a part of the economy. World superpowers often dictate what are in history books and how the majority of people view the world. The whole game is about trying to fight a system that rewrites history and dictates modern culture, so this quote, said in the opening narration, sets up the story nicely.
3 What You Think You See Is Only As Real As Your Brain Tells You It Is - MGS2
Lines like this make people think the entirety of Metal Gear Solid 2 is a simulation. The line runs deeper and more philosophical than that. There are strings being pulled behind the scenes of the narrative, but it is all real. Ultimately, though, reality is a fragile concept.
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Our society and culture is all very fragile and only held together by our conviction that it is the way things are and should be. If you grew up in a different time and place and were transported to the modern day, it would not even register as reality.
2 It's not whether you were right or wrong, but how much faith you were willing to have, that decides the future - MGS2
This line is extremely true. It is easy to think virtuously, but thoughts mean absolutely nothing without real action behind them. If you do not live out your philosophy even on the most basic level, how can you expect to change anything about the world? It does not have to be on a grand scale, but little actions and gestures add up to something greater. Otherwise you're just virtue signaling.
1 I Have To See This Age Off... See What The Future Brings - MGS4
Solid Snake just barely lives through Metal Gear Solid 4. He is fully ready to end his own life at the cemetery but learns that the Foxdie in his system won't mutate and become a pandemic. He finally is able to rest and becomes one of the first video game characters to have a definitive ending. Most of them are rebooted or just live forever. It is akin to Iron Man's ark ending in Avengers: Endgame.