The Hidden Story Behind Metal Gear

The 17 year long metanarrative behind the Metal Gear Solid series
Patreon: / leadheadyt
Discord: / discord
Second Channel: / porkbrain
Twitter: / leadheadyt
This is a compilation of my previous 5 videos on the Metal Gear series. They were originally written with the intent of being a single, large video. This is that video.
The music in this video is from the Metal Gear Solid 1,2,3,4,V OSTs by Harry-Gregson Williams, Norihiko Hibino, KCE Japan, and Ludvig Forssell

[@SSPGwemlin]

Girl just dropped a lord of the rings Film lol. Will watch when I got the time!

[@johncruelty1]

the leaked mgs film

[@SidPhoenix2211]

Really appreciate you giving us the option to watch these videos individually, and as one big video!! Looking forward to finally diving into this series you've been doing !

[@sparkydoggo8691]

holy shit two and a half hours of leadhead? Its not even christmas we dont deserve this

[@simonecabriolone1163]

I can't believe I was just thinking about your videos and here you are with a new upload!

[@nanaaddae4790]

Same!

[@ZachCG]

crazy that since leadhead came out as trans i can't really watch any of her old videos anymore, so i'm really glad we got a whole new appraisal of the series from her in the present ❤

[@RealLilVodka]

Her old videos are excellent I would definitely recommend giving them a watch just the same as the new ones. I remember watching her videos after her transition and wasn’t around for it and it took a minute to get used to but I still listened to the videos and they are still great videos, even with a different sounding voice.

[@Killallmangahaters]

they're definitely different now. Not sure if i prefer these new ones tbh, they're so different in tone and topic, even if these have always been personal

[@alish4498]

I prefer his old videos. The new ones are just over analysing culture the same way any trans person does on internet. Imagine trying to find trans allegory in a 30 year old Japanese video game on ps1

[@OmegaSMG]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the new videos. I was watching Leadhead before I came out, and I was out of the closet a few months before she came out. I know this is parasocial to some degree, but Leadhead coming out when she did gave me the confidence to stay who I was in the face of losing my family. In the face of having to be insulted in front of my (far smaller number) KZbin subscribers. I haven't just gained this confidence because Leadhead happened to come out around the same time (although that didn't hurt anything), it was because of the videos she continued releasing afterwards. Her and I love many of the same things. Metal Gear, MF DOOM, Hotline Miami, Death Loop, even drugs. It was like seeing a successful and truly open version of myself on the screen, it was amazing. Her making videos on how transitioning saved her life, how to survive as a transfem, have all been insanely inspirational to me. Leadhead makes videos only explainable through neurodivergent rants on heavily loved subjects. She just kept making videos on random ass video games she loved, and it meant more to me than anything else. She finally feels comfortable in the videos, she feels like she can REALLY just say whatever she wants, and I love it. I know this may lean into parasocial shit, but I can't not say how much this weird little KZbin channel has helped me more than the people who were actually supposed to help. Thank you girly.

[@Killallmangahaters]

@@alish4498 you can dislike the videos but acknowledging that she's trans and then misgendering her in the same sentence is disrespectful and you should probably be more considerate. I do agree that this video topic is a reach though.

[@stino9635]

Jesus Christ at least let me finish my finals before dropping this on me

[@NavJack27gaming]

bravo! not only are you perfectly explaining the "obvious" that most miss about the games stories but you also intertwined them with personal impact. 11/10

[@ryandary]

As a fellow MGS fan, thank you for this video. Also your presentation was so cool! The wandering spotlight shot was an excellent touch. 11/10 comfort media.

[@millyawns]

NEW LEADHEAD VIDEO DROPPED

[@klarkolofsson]

I have to say you have excellent lighting. Blends in well with the scenes.

[@Snakeskin94]

This is the video i have been waiting to see from you for close to 3 years. Well worth the wait, proud of you.

[@ShtikMahn]

I want to thank you for eventually showing what the shirt says. Spent half an hour thinking I was com. Very much enjoying the vid tho!

[@Phil.Anthropy]

This is an onslaught of videos lately that I will beg please miss may I have a season more of this. Lovely work thank you

[@RosenshineRewby]

I think you're the reason my MGS interest is flaring up again and now Im on 3. Can't wait :3

[@jamwrightiam]

gosh I need to just binge videos, wish me luck

[@thegeekclub8810]

I’ve never played a mainline Metal Gear game-I’ve only played a bit of Metal Gear Rising: Revengence-yet I still watched this entire video, enraptured. Your personal analysis of the games is fascinating, and watching the pieces connect with your tight scriptwriting and engaging editing is fantastic. You’ve done some great work here. Can’t wait to revisit this video after I’ve experienced some Metal Gear myself!

[@Xrilliam762]

LMAOO @ 1:42:00 I was wondering if that was a loop or not, and how you got them to float around like that without attacking you. And then you explained it and I was D Y I N G XD The game just bugged out and you were presented with a golden opportunity to get some background footage. How very scene, this moment was.

[@Ghostie.]

Nope, I'm not gonna skip the MGS2 explanation. That's my favorite game in the series!

[@Flashjackmak]

Ah, I just read the description, this is a compilation of the previous five videos! Awesome, well this one is definitely saved into my favourites as I will most definitely want to come back to your Metal Gear stuff again one day soon! Thank you for making these videos, they're of such good quality I can only imagine the amount of time and effort you put into them. It's greatly appreciated!

[@Romero_m8]

New leadhead metal gear video just dropped lets go

[@1sdani]

On the topic of whether the game is a virtual simulation or a historical simulation, I do not believe the two options are mutually exclusive. I personally like to think that what we play is, to take a term from MGSV, a psuedo-historical recreation, not dissimilar to how many fans like to describe Portable Ops. Raiden had his personal Big Shell Incident, and so did every player. The Hollywood Game, based on a true story.

[@lovebunny2345]

I really love your insights, not a single sentence is wasted, really meaningful commentary ❤ thank you so much, hope you never stop discussing MGS

[@jckpth]

Ok I gotta beat the collection then I’ll get back to this gem

[@diamond_tango]

You could piecemeal it out, watching one games essay as you beat that game

[@Conorkinz]

Two kinds of metal gear collections in one day??? Amazing

[@Grakesch]

I have seen this video series come out back then. Being a huge MGS fan I wanted to watch them all, but I never seemed to find the right time while also being in the right headspace. I even tstarted this full video but dropped it because it was a little too much. Now I finally set myself to watch it and I enjoyed it very much. I especially liked your contrast on how it's not only about Kojima wanting to stop making games with Snake but also embracing what we have and them being such great games.

[@name-kx9qc]

yet again, peacewalker gets shaded and ignored in another youtube video.. society...

[@spiderluver0]

It took me too long to realize this is all the videos in one big video.

[@adamlesh1784]

I watched transfemme field guide like a year ago. Today I start watching videos about halflife and portal lore from your channel not realizing it was you the whole time. Keep making content, we're proud of you!

[@Linkard]

For the algo, since I already know this is gonna be amazing

[@pendantblade6361]

Yeah sure I'll listen to it again

[@BirdNoise77]

LEADHEAD ALERT LEADHEAD ALERT

[@ajplays-gamesandmusic4568]

I felt like the secondary message in MGS II was "Don't fall victim to hero worship." See this wormy whiney boy-band looking loser you can barely stand? Put him in the same situations as Solid Snake, and even he becomes a "hero".

[@SpoopySquid]

Have i watched the original videos separately? Yes Am i still going to watch this? Also yes

[@Jeffinitely_Maybe]

Thanks for making this!

[@medsellr]

absolutely fantastic dude seriously such a great series of essays

[@antdogboyness_66]

favorite content creator :) incredible video fr

[@CoreIdeas]

Oh we're eating good tonight 😌

[@famalam943]

I don’t know if you read comments but are you planning any content on HL Aylx?

[@lydiafrye1204]

I have no interest in playing this game series (just isn’t my vibe) but I’m absolutely hooked on this series of essays about it. Thanks so much for sharing

[@biggbeefo]

Almost thought I had already watched this because of the red border on the thumbnail lmao, had to do a double take on the upload time

[@JasonChapa]

Oh hellll yeah.

[@aldoeljardinero]

Great video, I've been watching your MGS vids and they're all great

[@goldenmosquito4093]

Girl this video is so underrated. It’s so sad not even all of you’re subs watched this

[@joaquincabrerapetrone1452]

Hello algorithm

[@bonechovah]

here's some free engagement shoutout youtube algorithm!!

[@Emeowy]

Its hyperfocusing time

[@carryingfire286]

Tremendous analysis.

[@DeadSkinSuit]

The backdrop in this video is amazing

[@GuyFromWashingtonDC]

Thanks for the video mamacita

[@illumialter8755]

I am NICO ROBIN greshishishishsisshii!!!

[@haroldthaf]

On a different note, keeping everything sharp but the face blurry gets harsh after a few minutes.

[@KiraKiraK1lla]

ok the fit at 1:01:59 is so cute! im literally going to steal this outfit idea for myself lol

[@antuha-cs4ie]

2 hours fucking hell

[@husseinmansour4378]

Wild ride for my favourite series

[@HotDogTimeMachine385]

Another banger!

[@EnUsUserScreenname]

COOL AND GOOD

[@cordycat9798]

What a useful comment

[@MrXtr1]

HELL YEAH

[@foxdancemedia]

no way the metal gear solid movie

[@jonniesaur]

Bruh a minute in and ik this gonna be a banger

[@The_Rat_Bridget_Fan]

Hell yeah another mgs vid ::3

[@Ghostie.]

Odd future wolf gang!

[@Meatslap]

This shit gonna explode

[@maticz3923]

Played through mgs 1 Saw the vid Had to wait Played mgs 2 Was sooo lit Gonna watch the rest of your amazing vid after im done with 3 :P

[@jmp01a24]

Did u try the 8-bit versions? Where it all began.... I had it on Commodore 64.

[@dracorex426]

So when are the Policenauts and Snatcher videos coming out?

[@ogrefish1941]

!

[@Resil27021]

keep up the good work

[@melvinjansen2338]

thank u sir posing as dusty librarian

[@aze4308]

woah

[@IvoryMadness.]

❗

[@WilliamAhlert]

Completely irrelevant but I love how your youtube suggestions at 1:41 are virtually identical to mine 🤣 longform video analyses ftw

[@ricksandstorm]

I was hoping that this was going to be a real deep dive into the first game in the series, maybe with some tangents about some of the weird spin-offs (Snake's Revenge etc).

[@maticz3923]

Damn im so sad i can't watch this vid yet. Have yet to play through MGS2

[@wesleyyoung4063]

I like you more now that you have discovered who you are. :)

[@NoiseDayForCats0]

I love this video! I’ve learned so much from your analysis that I didn’t know before (especially the meta perspective of the games commenting on themselves). Also as a trans woman, it’s been… odd revisiting these with the Metal Gear Collection, so a video from this perspective is so welcome.

[@rowdybee]

Great video. Enjoyed it all the way though. By the way, really funny costume, man, keep it up!

[@Jose-se9pu]

Good video, but I think the oversimplification of "everything I liked about the series was Kojima's and everything I disliked was Konami's" is simply wrong, Kojima always had the option to walk away, Kojima was Konami's VP during the development of MGSV, Kojima defined Peace Walker as "MGS5", Kojima defended Ground Zeroes being released as an stand-alone game, the quality of the writting in these games went to shit when the co-writter left (and I'm surprised he is not mentioned in this video at all), fans were the one sending death threats demanding he kept directing these games after MGS2, and games like Ghost Babel and Rising are better Metal Gear games than Peace Walker or MGSV, so this isnt as simple as "Metal Gear cant work without Kojima". Konami simply fired him because his games were getting more and more expensive (he blew the entire budget for Silent Hills on PT, just because he wanted to give Sony a PS4 exclusive because he was already in talks to go work for them, dont forget Death Stranding was a collaboration with Sony, nobody gives fans "gifts", this is a business, nobody gives away stuff for free) while they were selling less and less, it was a simply business decision...of course, Konami being Konami, it was handled in the worse possible way, we know the way they treat their employees. At the end of the day, I think it was a mix of Kojima just not wanting to make Metal Gear games but being in a comfortable situation where he kept getting money and praise, the moment he stopped getting money and praise, he finally moved on. Curious to see if 20 years from now, he stars doing the same during the development of Death Stranding 5.

[@bennycostello2472]

TLDR: Metal gear makes kids trans

[@Morbing_Time]

Kojima is memetic estrogen

[@ChaosN0110]

I've watched a few dozen videos on MGS(2) and nobody mentioned how the bosses in this game mimic characteristics of the bosses in MGS. My mind is blown!

[@OmegaSMG]

Sorry if this is an odd comment, but I also made videos (much different from yours, hip-hop production) before I came out as trans. I changed my channel name, but still feel insane amounts of insecurity to come back as "another person". You coming out has inspired me so fucking much. Before you came out, you already had one of my favorite KZbin channels that I'd force my girlfriend to watch with me anytime I saw a new video. After you came out, you became a little bit bigger than that in my head. Like you have thousands more eyes on you than I do, and you still did it. And from your trans videos, as bad as my family is, you had far more to lose coming out than I did. If you're able to put yourself out there, risking the criticism and shitty comments of thousands of people, I think I can deal with one or two every once in a while. Also don't wanna sound rude, but I was always worried I'd be ugly after transition and you just look so fucking great?! Like I get serious gender envy watching your videos sometimes because HOW THE FUCK are you that pretty? I stopped releasing videos and music after I came out as trans because of the insecurity. But when you came out, I started writing music again. Still haven't posted on my channel. But thank you for having the boldness to be you in the face of everything. If you hadn't, I think I may have lost one of the greatest joys of my life because I was concerned over perception. I would have lost my ability to make music. I would have lost my energy to put on make up at all. But you and your channel showed me that not only can I continue my creative endeavors, but also reminded me that trying to look like a girl wouldn't just be lost effort. I wouldn't just feel like a boy in makeup, but a pretty girl like Leadhead is! I know this is parasocial, but your channel has seriously helped the way I feel about myself and my interests as a trans woman. Thank you so much, please keep blessing us with these great videos

[@DeadSkinSuit]

Do it. Do you

[@mothelysium]

RADIOTV SOLUTIONS ENJOYER

[@rockybalboa5055]

you talking about yourself in your videos sometimes makes your channel so damn authentic that i keep going back to your channel! sometimes it feels like you're speaking my mind its crazy (and awesome)!

[@NavJack27gaming]

Thanks!

[@WowBlankpage]

imagine putting in multiple hours of work into a 3 hour video only for 22K of the 300K+ subscribers to watch it lol, dead channel

[@SteeleGolem]

1:10:56

[@ssj3brolyoffical675]

Tr00n.

[@Exigentable]

I hate this format lol.

[@diamond_tango]

Long video essays aren’t for everyone

[@Exigentable]

@diamond_tango I've been watching long video essays on KZbin for years. I mean the very lazy and pretentious format of staring at someone talking while sitting in a chair.

[@AidenĪsner-p3w]

>ACK!

[@aklokoth]

Sick dress bro 😎

[@agentspliff]

what happened to your voice?

[@oxidelicious5645]

I know this is not related to the subject of the video but you're so pretty omg

[@MartyFeil]

Promo*SM 😜

[@thesmilyguyguy9799]

:>D

[@Nintendofan570]

Why is he dressed up as a female throught the entire video

[@lukkkasz323]

Trans

[@solace2731]

oh you don't like girls?

[@Nintendofan570]

@@solace2731 I like *REAL* girls

[@redspah]

@@Nintendofan570 Great, because she is a real girl

[@blueonyt7637]

@@Nintendofan570 What's not real about her ?

[@NeuroticMei]

Not to long ago I had an... altercation with an ex lover. She went on to spread lies about me, exaggerated truths, in such a way that'll always just be my word against hers. It cost me heavily. People that didn't know me, really know me, turned their back to me. I lost a community of people I was with for years. The saddest part of it all is I still love and care for her... Even almost a year later I have moments of slipping back into despair. I keep getting flashes of a life that'll never happen. Music, movies, shows, games... a lot of what I use to enjoy are just reminders of what I've lost. I've forgotten who I use to be... I find it incredibly hard to function as my own person. I can't say goodbye to yesterday. One of the few things that still bring me comfort is my favorite game series of all time, Metal Gear. I started with MGS1 on PS1 when I was a kid but I didn't fall in love with the series until MGS2. I was once one of those people wishing I was playing as Snake instead of this noob named Raiden but as the game went on he grew on me more and more. I wouldn't say I fully appreciated his character until much later though (no not because of MGS4 or MGR). The ending of MGS2 speaks to me. Now more than ever. Snake's speech to Raiden at the end is one of, if not the, strongest moments in the entire series for me. Metal Gear as whole is yet again helping me find myself.

[@rawrasaurus0rex]

Thanks for this, it's really nice hearing how these games impacted you, and parallels some of my experience too.

[@dominickdarpino5584]

Inject long form essays about metal gear directly into my veins

[@Feather_Flight]

Nice work Luden

[@Argacyan]

1:53:00 the really high pitched sound in the background was definitely an experience