Most people love the Metal Gear series and are quick to rank their favorite games in the franchise. But are most people going to bother to rank the actual Metal Gear robots? Nope! Let’s dive in.
9. Gekko (MGS4)
Features: The Gekko units don’t require a pilot and can work as a team.
The Gekkos are very disappointing from a design standpoint. They’re the legs of Metal Gear RAY stitched to the torso of REX but without the charisma of either model.
Metal Gear Solid 2 began by introducing Metal Gear RAY, which owns, and then went on to introduce Arsenal Gear, an even bigger and crazier Metal Gear. The Gekko was the first new Metal Gear model introduced in Metal Gear Solid 4. The Gekko isn’t very impressive, so I kept waiting for some wilder threat to show up. Nothing ever did.
They also suck in combat. Here’s a fun clip of Raiden making a mockery of them. They were easy to rank last!
8. TX-55 (Metal Gear)
Features: It’s like a tank with two legs and it fires nukes.
The original iteration of Metal Gear doesn’t look very threatening — especially by the mech standards of today — and it isn’t even a very tough opponent to beat! Still, it does its best to provide a battle event in a game that actively has to try to avoid action. Also, this is the one that got the ball running for the franchise. We gotta honor the classics.
7. Metal Gear MK. II (MGS4)
Features: A small screen that allows you to talk to your hacker friend. Can hack stuff and can also zap enemies. No missiles, not even tiny ones.
In all fairness, Metal Gear Solid 4 does introduce a Metal Gear model other than the Gekko. It’s the Metal Gear MK. II. He’s not a beautiful killing machine, though.
The MK II is a cute little Metal Gear. He might be a huge departure from what we expect out of this kind of unit, but I do enjoy the subversion. Also, this little thing brings some interesting mechanics to the table as well as some cuteness factor, so I’m gonna keep it.
6. Zeke (Peace Walker)
Features: Nukes. It’s also customizable with a chance of going haywire.
Zeke is the name of the Metal Gear unit from Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. He rocks because he’s not just a Metal Gear. He’s our Metal Gear. He’s the only real Metal Gear mech we can call our own. Peace Walker allowed players to customize ZEKE more or less like they would customize a mech in Armored Core, and that owned.
Spoilers: Things do go very awry with Zeke later in the game, but Zeke is great while it lasts.
5. Arsenal Gear (MGS2, MGS4)
Features: A lot of room, the capability to ram through an entire city, like, say, New York.
MGS2 first introduces Metal Gear RAY, but then we get one of the game’s many great twists when we learn that RAY wasn’t the new Metal Gear unit ruffling everyone’s feathers. It was Arsenal Gear.
Arsenal Gear isn’t a mech. It’s a gargantuan mobile fortress. It also looks really cool. Sadly, we didn’t get to see much of Arsenal Gear in action because Konami feared that some of its scenes would resemble the events of 9/11, which preceded the release of the game in just a few months, so they ended up cutting a lot of its footage.
A different version of Arsenal Gear shows up in MGS4, and that’s where it finally got to show its true power.
4. ST-84 Sahelanthropus (MGS5)
Features: Missiles, the ability to stand and walk like a human being, and even a goddamn laser sword.
The Sahelanthropus is by far the wildest Metal Gear unit in existence.
At first glance, the Sahelanthropus from Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain makes no sense. It has many more features and is way more powerful than REX, a model would only come out over 20 years later, but it might make sense, after all.
Maybe it’s the result of Kojima predicting the future once again. Maybe he foretold the current trend of brands selling us hogwash for true technological evolution. Are LCD screens better than CRT ones for gaming? Is having digital versions of games on platforms that might implode better than owning a good old DVD? Don’t you miss your headphone jack? I’ll never forget the Patriots for taking those away from us.
3. Shagohod (MGS3)
Features: Can launch nukes, has two huge front drills, doesn’t have legs but is ultra-fast, ready for all types of terrain, and can ram anything. Can be controlled from the outside provided you’re a superhuman who possesses electricity-controlling abilities.
Even some of the characters in Metal Gear Solid 3 diss the Shagohod because it doesn’t have legs. Still, it sure does make up for its supposed shortcoming by making use of its wheels to create one of the most memorable boss encounters in the series.
2. Metal Gear RAY (MGS2, MGS4)
Features: Missiles, lasers, the ability to jump and swim. Oh, and it has a cool tail. Also, it exists for the purpose of destroying other Metal Gear units.
the slickest-looking unit in the history of the series also comes equipped with lasers and a sweet tail. I don’t really need to say much about this one because its look immediately has everyone sold on its capabilities, but it kind of matters that this is probably the most advanced Metal Gear Unit that (dark) money can buy.
Not enough? Okay, then here’s Metal Gear RAY stealing the show in some of the coolest cutscenes in both MGS2 and MGS4.
1. Metal Gear REX (MGS1, MGS4)
Features: Nuclear missile launching capabilities, a huge railgun, lasers, homing missiles, and the ability to somehow roar like a dinosaur.
The mech that popularized the term “metal gear” for a new generation was never really topped. Defeating it in the first MGS felt like the final achievement in gaming.
Nearly a decade later, REX returns in MGS4 and we finally get to control it. That remains one of the best things in gaming because it brings back both the memories of the original game and of that glorious moment in Jurassic Park when the T-Rex comes back to save the day. The only thing capable of beating Nostalgia is stronger Nostalgia.
