MGS2 BIG BOSS Rank and Commentary || Full Video

[@Cybershell13]

This video is very entertaining and helpful, and Driving Off the Map is an absolute work of art, I have yet to show it to a single person who hasn't had their appreciation of MGS2 increased on some level. So just wanted to say thanks for all your great Metal Gear analysis.

[@ShockleyHaynes]

A response six years late, but thank you so much! That means a lot.

[@ultrascarlet5275]

Holy shit, a Cybershell comment out in the wild. Love your content, dude. Howell's is incredible, too. My two favorite content creators.

[@MrBorderlands123]

"We're having fun here, not building a truck." Words to live by right there.

[@eviltables8510]

What I expected: A simple run through explaining some of his choices for the Big Boss Rank What I Got: A deep philosophical discussion of everything in MGS2

[@robbibittybob20]

I come back to this every year. It is a true pleasure to listen to you. Thank you James.

[@ShockleyHaynes]

Thank you!

[@bobbestofbobs]

Guy sounds like he has a PHD in this game, his commentary is making me question life

[@pumpkin6429]

Chris J You mean you don't have a PhD in Metal Gear Solid 2? What a pleb.

[@Azuwww]

Kappa

[@andersramon4207]

instablaster

[@j_neo7]

❤😂

[@j_neo7]

❤😂

[@L30NHART]

MGS2 commentary by Patrick Bateman

[@ohrileymccoy]

THIS IS THE FUNNIEST COMMENT I HAVE EVER READ ON KZbin NO HYPERBOLE REALLY thank you so much omg

[@pumpkin6429]

He seriously sounds like Bateman talking about a song he likes in detail. 😂

[@ilovethesmelloffire]

‘MGS early games were a little bit too new wave for my taste’

[@samcro9184]

BROOOO 😭😭

[@xLeifant]

Oh. My. God. Lmaoo

[@bl4ckw1ngz64]

1:00:06 Your note about how Raiden looks like Liquid suddenly makes Stillman's jab at Raiden make more sense ("If there's someone to suspect, I'd put my money on you."

[@chizrok]

1:11:28 - 1:11:44 That was a glorious selection of words

[@FiveFiveSixer]

It was at this point I paused to check the comments 😂

[@neovillen]

it's funny you said you realized during the recording of the video that raiden and liquid have similar appearances - the first time I played MGS2, without playing MGS1 but knowing by internet random strings what liquid looked like, I thought "wow, so you play as a younger liquid" when raiden took his mask off the first time. nowadays I feel that was a hegelian unstuck in time way of mentally preparing myself to never forget the watery mirroring of the two games. i come back to this video regularly - still love it!

[@iansimmons8826]

You wrote an effing thesis on MGS2. Man, that's dope...

[@sjagkid]

Came for the big boss run. Stayed for the amazing commentary

[@notherenotnow1036]

you kinda sound like Christian Bale in American Psycho.

[@ShockleyHaynes]

You're not the first person to think so, haha!

[@iAmPeacecraft]

+James Howell Very nice, impressive.

[@neoshenlong]

Holy crap its true hahaha

[@TheDocbach]

Hey Paul!!!Paul: huh?AAAAAARHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"sorry, I had to do it...."

[@Facelessman254]

NotHereNotNow You smell like shut, do you know how bad you smell? lmao he does

[@FocusReborn44]

Your commentary is so out there. You can literally make a video game sound like some deep universal mystery with the way you analyse it, haha. Good stuff.

[@Bigbearbrett]

I think I got a Masters degree in Philosophy from this.

[@gemis8]

Whatever kind of critical freelance commentary this is should be a genre.

[@ShockleyHaynes]

Thank you! Though "freelance" implies getting paid. I just wanted it to exist and saw that it didn't, so I made it.

[@tam1783]

I don't know what's more interesting, the gameplay, or the in-depth analysis you're talking about

[@screamingpink]

your interpretation of MGS2 is pretty much in line with mine. the easiest way i've managed to break it down for friends who are only now getting into the series for the sake of MGSV is: if mgs1 were escape from new york, then mgs2 is total recall. only instead of going to mars, raiden, goes to shadow moses, in a manner of speaking.

[@yoimbrandooooo]

yo where has this video been in my life the last 7 years this thing is amazing. fantastic commentary and gameplay. 10/10 would recommend

[@brandonpotter4641]

No one may end up reading this, but that's okay. I'm writing for fun and my own documentation! I first used this as a guide to a get a nice rank on Hard. Once I got a nice rank on all of them on Hard in chronological order of the stories, I decided to go in order of the game's release for Big Boss ranks (mostly due to the difficulty I perceived they would be. I wanted to save the easiest for last. I figured/heard that MGS2 would be harder than MGS1, but I wanted to take care of that first, because my first MGS was 2, and I was more comfortable with it overall. Got Big Boss on MGS1, and just finished MGS2. Here are my comments on my MGS2 Big Boss run and how it relates to your walkthrough: Firstly, I did it on Extreme, not E-Extreme, so some of my comments may not be applicable For Olga, your advice of stealth and using the extreme ends of the stage was critical. Another thing worth noting is once she shoots the tarp the first time, after you hit her, she will automatically run out and shoot the other side of the tarp, so you can get a free hit on her as she runs up to the front After Olga, I climbed the ladder on top of the boat, but not for the USP suppressor (Just crawled under the sensor, and no need for suppressor when shooting the bomb control panels in the basement. Actually I'm unsure where the USP suppressor is on Extreme, because it wasn't where yours was, but I didn't need it.) I instead climbed the ladder for the Thermal Goggles, because they helped me see in the darkness of the upcoming battle with the Gurlukovich soldiers When I fought the Gurlukovich soldiers, I hung to the left of the box instead of over it. Holding just L2 was easier for me than L2 and R2. After beating them, I used my first save Actually, the guy in Hold 3 during the speech that you say is only there for E-Extreme is actually there on Extreme as well. The first time I beat the Gurlukovich soldiers without making a mistake or dying, I didn't save because I wanted to save as Raiden. Instead, I tried running straight to the guy on the computer and it alerted the walker immediately. When I reloaded for practice, he was gone, so he's only there on the first time you enter that room. So next time, I saved immediately after the battle, because losing another run without saving would be too painful First room as Raiden, no need to choke the final guy, you can just let him roam and sneak around him to the door or lock him in the locker as well. I found the choking strategy you did to be too risky to do consistently 2nd time crossing the AF connecting bridge, I grabbed the chaff grenades for later When defusing the bombs in Strut A, it's better to go upstairs right away and get that bomb first, then come downstairs on the right so you can go straight into the pump room and easily hold up the guy in there One strategy you didn't utilize in this play through is using the coolant spray to distract enemies and allow you to either hold them up or knock them down. First time you can do this is for the first guard the 2nd time you come into strut F. Just spray the corner, and once he starts waving his hand, stop out in front of him and aim at him. He will freeze when he finally sees you, and you can pop him. Then, I just pop the other upstairs guy. Immediately drop down onto the crates where the bomb is, defuse it, and then run away when the nearby guard points north. No need to shoot anyone downstairs if you move quick like this. Maybe the guards see you on the crates in E-Extreme, so this could be wrong, but they don't see you at all on Extreme as long as you're above them Also, in strut F, I don't even bother going for the Socom suppressor. Too much work, takes too long, too risky, and it is not needed (yet). I'll explain what I do instead when you use the suppressed Socom, and where I find it later when I do need it Strut E is so noisy that the guards won't hear the Socom when you shoot the cameras unless you're close to them, so I took care of all 4 cameras in there when defusing the bomb in here DE connecting bridge, I wish you mentioned the dude who can see you if you don't spring right across the bridge lol I grabbed the M9 ammo at the top of strut A before Fortune, but there is a guy up there, so watch out As soon as the Fortune fight started, I saved. So the second segment of my run was basically 44 minutes of running across the holds as Snake and shell 1 as Raiden. Things got hairy for me, and here's why: Raiden wasn't rotating downwards when I pressed left and right, so I learned the strategy of shooting from cover to remain invincible while she shot at me. This strategy was great, but I had to empty all of my Socom rounds (20 or so), and those 20 rounds will be mentioned later. I would have been better off if I had not picked up any extra Socom rounds previously, because there is a limit of 700 shots to still get Big Boss, and also I had to slightly alter the Fortune strat due to the ammo I did have (because on the second place I try to use it, shooting at her will trigger her to (nearly always) automatically land a hit on you, but if you're gun is empty at this stage, that would not happen From there, I ran to Fatman, beat him (was hard, but got easy when I learned all his tendencies and learned that holding L1 and square was a magic trick to running around and shooting him) and did my 3rd save. Between Fortune and Fatman, I used well over 100 shots The first time I go to the EF connecting bridge, I get all claymores, so that every other time I go there, all I need is one chaff to make it right through with easy When going to get the AK in the Strut F, no need to take out anyone upstairs. Simply wait half a second for the text to leave the screen, then run/jump downstairs and into the room. Shoot the guard in the head, or the wall to the left of him to distract him and run in, shoot him, and grab the AK. In Extreme, wait until you hear the guard yawn, then leave. In E-Extreme, wait until the guard finishes giving his report on the radio, then leave. In the shell 1 core, in the locker room on the south is the Socom suppressor since I didn't get it earlier. I get it now and shoot all the cameras out Escaping the shell 1 core is made MUCH easier with the coolant spray. In B1, use it to get the guard as he comes around the corner, then hold him up and pop him. On the main level, first, shoot out the two guard in the hallway, out of sight of the guard with the shield. Then sneak up the right wall until your close to the shielded guard. Spray the coolant until you see him shaking his shield, then come around, press X to kick/jump through him, and then get out of the door before he gets up and spots you or resets the Caution timer Also can use the coolant spray for the closer guard upstairs in strut F when going for the sniper rifle. I get him first, then step back and shoot the other right after his status report. This gives me time to grab the RGB6 so I don't forget to grab it later Thanks for explaining Stinger mechanics during the Harrier. Helped later against the Rays With that said, I was able to dodge the constant missile barrage by just walking up and down the west staircase. Much easier than running all the way to the north area, because this way, if he ends up doing the machine gun instead, you can jump down the stairs and switch into your box, instead of being on the wrong end of the stage. Maybe you can't dodge the missile barrage on the stairs on E-Extreme, so maybe I'm wrong. Also, I would often make sure I first hear if the Harrier is flying away to the left or right. Once I know which side, then I would look out there with the stinger and try to find him After the harrier, I did my 4th save Immediately after the pissing guy, I drop down to the next area, and then throw a chaff. Easier than shooting the drones and adding to your mechanism destroyed count (max of 60 for Big Boss) Saving the president.. at first, I did your strategy and shot through the grates to get the easy route to Johnson's room. That's 15 additional shots on Extreme. However, once I got to the Tengu fight, I realize I barely had enough shots to beat the Tengus AND the RAYs (minimum of 140 shots for RAYs if you do them completely perfectly with no missed or wasted shots)... So at that point, I actually want back to this save file and started over from here. Instead of breaking the grates, I just took the left right left right left right right route into his room. A little more complicated, but it gave me an extra 15 shots for later in the game, which I desperately needed, since I had already used so many shots earlier thanks to Fortune and some careless misses The rest is in the below comment... (Character limit)

[@brandonpotter4641]

Vamp is actually way easier than the way you did it here. The better strat: You only need to shoot him once, then don't even bother shooting the lights out. Instead, just hang over the edge into the hot water shifting left and right a bit. He'll come out and walk up to you, once he begins his slashing motion, jump out and stay close to him, once he winds up to slash again, run away, circle back, and slap him twice as he finishes slashing. Stand there, wait for him to stand up and start the slash again, and repeat this cycle a bunch of times until you've just slapped him to death. If you get too far away from him and he jumps back into the water, don't worry about it. Just go back into the water, and he will repeat this cycle even if he's almost dead I did my 5th save right after passing the Vamp room with Emma. This way, if I bumped an underwater mine with Emma, all my progress wasn't lost. I don't think I ever did, but I came close a million times, and I didn't want to risk it When escaping the shell 2 core with Emma, no need to shoot the final guy. Just walk up the stairs with Emma behind the boxes, and wait for him to turn north, then take Emma and just leave On the KL connecting bridge, that overlooking guard is there on regular Extreme as well While using coolant to get rid of the fire, "I've seen people get frustrated with this part." Umm what? Lmao.. I think for anyone doing a Big Boss run, getting rid of the fire would be the last thing to complain about. Whoever complains about that, you should have a talk with them You say there's no limit of ammo here during the sniping portion, but there is a limit. 700 shots is the limit to reach Big Boss. I feel bad for anyone who goes a whole run without knowing this and gets screwed. With that said, when you've shot everything and Emma is approaching her last steps towards the Vamp scene, you can shoot until you have 5 PSG1-T shots, because then another 5 will appear for you to pick up for a total of 10 in prep of the final Vamp fight As soon as Tengu1 fight starts, I did save #6 At the end of Tengu1, instead of pulling out the sword, I lie down in front of the box on the right, and I just spray my coolant, letting go briefly every couple seconds so that it doesn't stop. The spray distracts the Tengu and lets snake kill them. I would briefly switch to the M9 to shoot the dude on the stairs or other shooting Tengu. During Tengu2, if you just took out a couple Tengu and you get hit, you can just crouch in the open instead of wasting time and health running to the room. But if there are a lot out there and Snake doesn't need the help at the moment, running into the room is smart Start of Rays, Save #7 Right after Rays before torture, save #8 For Solidus, rather than hiding behind the wall or slicing the rockets, it's much easier to just hang off the edge of the building. As long as he isn't on the same edge of the building as you, the rockets won't hurt you. For the 2nd phase of Solidus, I just hide in the high corner near the antennae, this way, Raiden is covered on all angles, and it's just a matter of blocking and then attacking afterwards My stats (other than the obvious ones): Time: 2:54:13 Shots fired: 680 You should have showed your stats and codename at the end just because! And with all that said, Thank you for this video!!! I'll likely be using your videos for MGS3 next. Keep up the great work

[@mihterio9137]

@@brandonpotter4641 very usefull my man, this week i will try doing my Big Boss Run, hope this guide help me

[@brandonpotter4641]

@@mihterio9137 Hey bro, happy if this can be of any help at all! I'm actually just finishing up my run on European Extreme, and there are a couple minor updates I'll probably include when I finish! Good luck on your run. Feel free to ask a question if need be, maybe I can help!

[@mihterio9137]

@@brandonpotter4641 firts of all, Thanks! Second: do you have any alternative save points in generals, i used my first save in the tanker with the gorlukovich soldiers, and the second one in the moment you start playing with raiden, where do you recommend to me to do the next save's points?

[@brandonpotter4641]

@@mihterio9137 You only have 8 saves total, and you need the final 2 for the start Tengu battle onward, because the RAY fight basically requires it's own save. Making your first save right before the Gurlokovich battle is a good spot for the first save if you don't want to beat Olga again. That's where my first save is on my E-Extreme run. As for the second save, you should save that until you get to Fortune. The second portion of the game is the longest, but it's mostly just memorization and footwork, tranqing guards. Thankfully, no bosses in that stretch other than the Gurlukovich battle if you count that as a boss

[@BieberSucksCock100]

This video is just amazing. Hearing your knowledge of the game as a whole is a joy. Big Boss rank in MGS2 has been eluding me for a while, it's the only game which I haven't earned the highest rank because of the brutal requirements. I think it's time I get back on MGS2 and kick its ass.

[@LucyPero]

So? Did you do it?

[@elenaphisher244]

Did you do it?

[@empirecrumbles615]

DID YOU DO IT?

[@terluj121]

Did you do it?

[@magnesiumoar9644]

Holy shit-balls!!! I've played this game for 10 years and I had no idea you could deflect Solidus's missiles!!! I find something new about this game every time I play through it I swear...

[@MeisterKleisterHeisstEr]

Here's a (admittedly useless) bug I discovered back in '06 while messing about in MGS2: Go to Strut E and crawl underneath one of the two shelves north. Equip either the Coolant Spray or the D. Mic. You should now be able to stand up, and clip into the shelf. You can now unequipped the item and run around in 1st-person-view within the small area of the shelf.

[@Mental_Health_Matters]

This analysis was exceptional and I loved the drawing at the end :P

[@ShockleyHaynes]

+sammy sole Thanks! High art, that one.

[@Mental_Health_Matters]

+James Howell I am doing my PhD in Philosophy and I always wanted to work on something about MGS. This video was like a seminar and I hope you consider doing more full commentaries on other games in the series! :)

[@therealghost2256]

+James Howell Will you do an Mgs4 big boss rank video?

[@alucardofficial7074]

Man your commentary is literally the best I've ever listened to for a game, this sounds like a small master's thesis on MGS2. Well done

[@ShockleyHaynes]

Thank you!

[@EspireMike]

Mind blowing. I played this to death a decade ago and to see this flawless Big Boss run with your great commentary was just insane! Over an hour went by without even noticing. I now understand this game far better than I did as a teen. Thanks for putting this out! Off to read your essay now.

[@ShockleyHaynes]

I hope you enjoyed the essay!

[@EspireMike]

@@ShockleyHaynes I did! Now enjoying this video again, after not watching it for many years! Thankyou!

[@untalkablexyz305]

Thank you for helping me getting the platinum from Master Collection. Although I watch a lot speedrun video to learn the tricks and movements, your explanation are the best for me to copy and understand how to do the same thing just like your video.

[@Drawica]

Whenever I did the Nikita part to save Johnson, knocking the wall that faces the north elevator will make Johnson stand near that far wall and press his head against it. He doesn't move from that spot and he stays far away from the blast radius of the panel.

[@HeartlessSeph]

I came for the run but as I continued watching, I just became engrossed in what you were saying. I'm up to the backtracking section and it's really interesting. I've never watched your videos but I'm subscribing now. It's hard to find a KZbinr who speaks so intellectually honestly.

[@scitslunkphantasmo]

Good lord.that speech during the ray fight was pretty intense.

[@mjordan072]

Your commentary is one of the most unexpected and pleasant surprises I've ever found on KZbin!

[@itsmereaver]

Keep the uploads coming, James. Always a pleasure to see a new video from you in my inbox!

[@stevenddelap]

I usually hate games with commentary but, this is entertaining, well-formed, and coherent. I bet you speak exactly the way you write.

[@JosephDillman]

My appreciation and acceptance for what most of us felt was "the Raiden bait & switch" has been growing for a while now and you certainly present some good ideas here on Raiden actually dealing with not being Snake as well. Thanks for this upload!

[@impossiblelaser]

i was drinking hater-aide. This guide is immensely helpful! especially that damn vamp boss fight i had no clue that you could shoot out the lights to avoid the paralyze attack and use the rp-ge to suffocate him underwater that saved so much frustration, thank you.

[@ShockleyHaynes]

You are welcome! I am glad it helped!

[@JacobC364]

Wow, I was just looking for a Big Boss rank playthrough but I actually found myself equally interested in your very well done commentary and analysis rather than just the playthrough itself. You are a very intelligent person and skilled MGS player.

[@aborda0987]

I must say, thanks for the video. I was watching another video to get some tips on how to tackle Bis Boss rank, and in the other video the guy was playing inhumanly, it was a speedrunner that take advantage of things like "killing an enemy with USP and leaving the room before he touches the floor so that it does not count as a kill" kind of tricks, and while I was watching I was like "Ok, no, I need a video of a human using human techniques to get Big Boss rank, not this super-human/AI bs", and the I found your video, which is very good and your comentary in totally great compare with the bs commentary of most modern video have, which tends to be extreamly annoying. Thanks man.

[@uberfreak2]

The comment at around 20:40 regarding how the player acts counter to what Raiden would know. I have something of a fan theory that the main characters are mildly psychic on an unconscious level. Our previous plays serving as a sort of precognition of what is to come.

[@forgeforward3291]

This is amazing! Great commentary! MGS2 is my favorite game of all time. Raiden is one of my favorite characters. ^_^

[@ratedriddler5041]

You are incredible mate. Thank you for making my day.

[@Tehgamerstation]

Woah, I had no idea you wrote "Driving Off the Map". I love that analysis.

[@Keon994]

Wow I'm loving this commentary so much, I'm literally mesmerized by your analysis. You inspire me too make philosophical videos about games and anime.

[@oblivonisking2651]

These are the best MGS videos I've seen, not just helpful but entertaining too!

[@standardaccountenjoyer2826]

one of most hidden gems on youtube.

[@blakemiller1307]

This may be the greatest video on KZbin. Thanks for this!

[@johnray527]

Thank you for this. I was a late-comer to the series, and I've been playing most of them for the first time over the last few months. Your fox-hound videos for MGS3, as well as this analysis, were a wonderful surprise.

[@joaopinto3655]

The most literate person on this platform. MGS2 is my personal favourite and you deconstructed it perfectly!

[@dingustingus1640]

Goddamn it and all this with the "twist" ending in mgs5. Hideo sure went out with a bang. Top notch video that kept me attentive throughout. Thanks for the upload.

[@DullVivid]

When a philosopher plays Metal Gear Solid 2. That'd be awesome if my college instructors made Let's Plays of Metal Gear games, LOL!

[@MeisterKleisterHeisstEr]

Awesome run and commentary! Thanks for sharing! MGS2 was my introduction to the series and it's remained among my favorite game of all time. As a kid, I love the action, gameplay and later, after getting all dog tags and completing every difficulty, the depth of the story, characters and especially all those little details and reactions you can find. When you look at or do something, there's almost always someone who will react to it in a Codec conversation. It's simply amazing. And I haven't seen this level of detail in a game since, including other MGS titles.

[@zingodoom]

Excellent run, and some fantastic game analysis! I love reading or hearing things such as this, and MGS2 is one of the most difficult works to analyze. I'm very impressed by your insight

[@imontheedgeofmyseat]

Nah you really woke up one day like "yeah I will make the most kino metal gear solid 2 video"

[@ClassicReavesTV]

Honestly might be my favorite youtube video ever.

[@ClassicReavesTV]

Still is.

[@franciscom4129]

I read “driving of the map” some years ago, didn’t know you were the author

[@ShockleyHaynes]

In fact I am! If you like this stuff, I stream on twitch.tv/deltaheadmedia twice a week. We're currently doing The Twin Snakes, and we'll start at Vulcan Raven tonight ~7 or 8pm PST.

[@franciscom4129]

@@ShockleyHaynes Hey, sorry for my unfinished comment, probably was hypnotized by the wonderful commentary. I remember being pleasantly surprised when I read your formal analysis. This is my all time favourite game, and was really nice to see such a in-depth analysis of the plot. My ps2 still works, might give Big Boss rank a try!

[@LAK_770]

The casual jokes about death and the void are A+, they never play too well in everyday life *for some reason*

[@TBrizzle01]

This video deserves way more views.

[@Tbail]

man what an amazing analysis of something that obviously is of great interest to you! I feel like this is a ted talk about video games and it's power as a medium of story telling. I love mgs 2 the most out of all the metal gear universe and this extensive work has made my enjoyment more fulfilling!

[@vampireguy24]

Guy sounds like if Patrick Bateman was a gamer and honestly, that isn't too far out of character for him to game on the side if being an alpha on the outside while being a psycho on the inside.

[@mihterio9137]

Lets see Paul Allens Mgs2 Big Boss Ranks Guide video

[@timmbeirnaert8876]

lot of fancy words for us gamers, nice job on video😎

[@TBrizzle01]

15:08 Yikes, the soldier wakes up the second you access the computer 😳

[@DanileSawn]

I think no game over when spotted is really the best way to play metal gear because of that "oh shit moment" you get to make or break a playthrough, it's something I desperately wish you could do on MGS3's Euro Extreme mode

[@IronBroccoli]

Quite a brilliant well thought out analysis, thank you for sharing. I feel anyone who listens to this whether a gamer or not would begin to view video games as a valid, meaningful and mature form of expression and social commentary. You take games seriously and would make others take them seriously to.

[@GcD9179]

Yo Adi, finally getting around to watching these. Good stuff. Damn shame about Arsenal's crash being censored.

[@ShockleyHaynes]

Yeah, I think so too. It's really tame in retrospect but the wound was pretty fresh when the game was released.

[@ShockleyHaynes]

Also thank you!

[@MrBorderlands123]

+James Howell Friendly reminder that Ocelot used hypnotherapy to take on Liquid's persona fooling the Patriots AI to diffuse the situation in the same way they did with Shadow Moses but in the end all he wanted to do was to see Big Boss' dreams of Outer Heaven, a world without rule, come true but Sunny made some modifications to FOXALIVE and preserved the basic functions of civilizations foiling both the Patriots' and Ocelot's goals. Also you're pretty good, just as I'd expect as a man with the name James Howell.

[@HawkmasterStambaugh]

Thanks for your help friend. Your commentary is golden too.

[@remainingembers]

Thanks for mentioning some of the perverted, silly stuff they always toss in these games. It makes sense for a few characters, but it is hard to take seriously later on, especially being a girl who grew up with these games haha. Really love your analysis and commentary I imagine it's incredibly difficult to accomplish this in the first place.

[@zimmy9239]

you can skip the first enemy wave you have to run to the door lean on it go first person view and do a full melee combo with raiden. He gets knocked back in his kick animation into the next area

[@EasternSkyCorps]

Coming back to this after stumbling upon it years ago. Are there more videos that do such deep analysis like this one?

[@HunterPBrown]

This video made MGS 2 make more sense... Never understood S3 or what was Solidus even trying to do until I watched this.

[@MrBorderlands123]

That has a lot more to do you with being an absolute moron than the concepts being presented by the game being subtle or poorly done.

[@MrBorderlands123]

***** Huh?

[@HeyJoshyJosh]

wow, I've played this game a lot and there's some many techniques I wasn't even aware of before watching this video.

[@Ayries]

Really thorough look at the game- fascinating and well presented. Thanks for doing this!

[@nomprenom9337]

I played over 20 times and I didn't knew you can do such things...

[@TheKyozo]

Beautiful commentary. Thought provoking and entertaining!

[@itscomplicatedwatches]

This video is similar to Solidus Snake in that it's a well balanced masterpiece.

[@toska459]

Wow, I remember playing MGS2 back in 2002-3. First thing I noticed is enemies instantly go down if shot any where with the M9 as opposed to the amount of effort required for MGSV where head and arm shots are key. Never knew how good we had it hey?

[@ianhamlett8839]

I approve of this video.

[@ShockleyHaynes]

I approve your approval.

[@ianhamlett8839]

Seriously though this is some real top class work. Maybe I missed it but I was surprised you didn't mention the lack of Raiden in the marketing. I mean, that was unusual, wasn't it? Unusual? It was definitely a little off.

[@4lch3m15t]

Like you I find more to it every time I go back. Thanks for sharing your ideas. I really enjoyed listening.

[@joestaen]

Cant thank you enough, got my Big Boss rank at 2:52:23, right down to the wire lol

[@MrKeepItTrill]

Thank you for uploading this. MGS2 is my all-time favourite game. I loved it as a 13 year old, and I love it even more almost 15 years later, and much of that has to do with how it subverts the player's expectations of both gameplay and narrative, as well as just the right amount of fourth wall breaking. It was great to hear the thoughts of someone who has spent so much time thinking about the game. It's also great to find someone else who loves the MGS series and is nonetheless critical of how women are portrayed in the games. I find this very conflicting also. Personally I'll certainly take a look at whatever Kojima decides to produce with his new studio, despite both his portrayal of gender and being hugely disappointed by MGS5 (not just because it was incomplete, but also because the parts that did ship were not very interesting), but I can also understand your choice to disengage from it.

[@MrBorderlands123]

>I loved it as a 13 year old. No you didn't.

[@RaichuMGS]

+Matthew Etter why didn't he?

[@MrBorderlands123]

Gray Fox Implying a 13 year old would fully appreciate this game, kek.

[@MrKeepItTrill]

Sorry that it's difficult for you to believe that a person could like a video game

[@MrBorderlands123]

MrKeepItTrill Hmm?

[@theanman777]

You know a game is good when 14 years later, people are still writing essays about it, as well as finding new things. Good analysis, I really enjoyed your ideas about having an authoritative interpretation of a piece of media, as I feel art and media have a greater value the more room there is for interpretation, and the limits that people put on it are kind of sad.

[@iWillWakeYouUp]

Absolutely fantastic video, James! Now something else... you have the nerve to talk about the MGS3 Foxhound walkthrough while it's not finished?! Don't remind me! Throws me right back into heavy withdrawal! ;) Think of your fans, starving for more great content! :D Btw congratulations, your channel has grown quite a bit from last time I checked. You deserve much more exposure! :) Oh and check out Grant Voegtle's TLOU analysis if you haven't done so yet. There's also this guy "SolePorpoise" who too made an analysis.

[@TranslucentMeaning]

Three years later and I'm still watching this video occasionally.

[@kingdomcome3914]

I had no idea you could use the Nikita Launcher as a melee weapon itself. I will keep that in mind.

[@iWillWakeYouUp]

Holy shit, was one of the Rays called "ROSE"?

[@JT-hk9ur]

R05E. I think it was intentional.

[@RaichuMGS]

JT it wasn't. It's A05E. That's their number basically, they go in sets of 5 A, B, C, D & E. more a happy accident than anything because of the font

[@jonathanlambert3751]

great commentary, brought good insight to the table in regards of metal gear

[@TBrizzle01]

I never even thought of using the box to keep my head down in the Harrier fight.

[@rhonamathew2902]

ah metal gear solid is really good

[@cameronblain701]

You should definitely do the other 3 MGS games like this.. I mean, why not?

[@TechniqueSan]

Got the rank! i.imgur.com/pJFIK6z.jpg and i.imgur.com/d0kMIzx.jpg for pictures. The victory was bittersweet, i screwed my saves and had to use the last one before the Metal Gear Rays fight. The amount of times i had to fight them took its toll. This is by far the hardest MGS to get BB rank on. On the other hand, its also my favorite game of all time, so it was incredibly rewarding. Now all I'm missing is Twins Snake's. This video was incredibly helpful and the commentary was entertaining, thanks!

[@dimes5737]

Still one of my favorite videos of all time

[@nathanforrest3483]

The most convoluted series in gaming...

[@dallasjacob99]

Love the grand eloquent rant at 1:11

[@bigboss7681]

Absolutely beautiful

[@bryansilva7827]

I think I've watched this vid like 3 times now.

[@13DUH]

Great commentary. Is MGS2 the only game in the series with this much thought put into it? By playing with player expectations and being "postmodern" I mean

[@kasaioni7680]

"This isn't the Caribbean Island vacation that the Foxhound rank on MGS3 is." HA. I'd say overall MGS3 is an easier game than MGS2, especially if you're trying anything like an 100% completion on both games. Probably the toughest or most tedious thing I've ever done in a video game in complete all the VR missions in MGS2. The MGS1-Snake sniping VR mission in MGS2 being the one mission that almost made me quit. Also your point about voyeurism later on seems to me like it would be a point against developers who say "well I just put sexy girls in my games because I like sexy girls"; which people usually point to in comparison to Kojima who, like with Quiet, wants to put some kind of justification behind why those characters act or dress the way they do. In my opinion, I think Kojima likes sexy women just as much as he likes making up (moral, thematic, etc) justifications for including them in his games.

[@RaichuMGS]

Small correction, In MGS1, you go to B1 to progress through B2. Not the other way around. :P

[@Algorithm_Poison]

10:00 I agree with the controls being kinda cumbersome but I love it. Using the r2 and l2 to raise your aim or peek around corners feels great, cuz its what separates casual players from the advanced ones. Though using the pressure sensitivity of the buttons to aim can be hard to replicate on non original hardware. I have recently played through mgs2 on rpcs3 and luckily I still have a ds3 but I still have to play around in the controller settings in the emulator to get the sensitivity right. I also had issues during the ray fight when it came to switching out the stinger when I needed to avoid attacks. Had to mess with the trigger deadzone. This also had to do with lag from Bluetooth so I had to plug the controller to my PC with a USB cable. But I love these games so much I don't mind the hassle involved lol.

[@cloud1787]

The ending was charming.

[@SWINDLA87]

Yeah I like your commentary , you're very good . Great vid too so subbed

[@TheBillofLefts]

Your guide for MGS3's foxhound rank was excellent. Would it be too much to ask for a single seamless run through?

[@Facelessman254]

You need to do a big boss run on metal gear solid 1 dude

[@j_neo7]

Thx, i needed this 😅