Metal Gear Solid: Gay, Gay, Gay
As many of you know, the series of articles that really put GayGamer on the map was our 20 Gayest Game Characters list. At the time, I put a lot of research into it, trying (for the most part) to find the really "out" gay characters. One set of characters that particularly intrigued me were the ones from the Metal Gear Solid universe. For such a hyper masculine game it seemed almost impossible that there would be any gay characters, yet my research showed that not only was there the bi-sexual Vamp but there were actually a pair of lovers, Colonel Volgin and Major Raikov. And if that wasn't scandalous enough, Volgin is Raikov's commanding officer! Although it was never actually said right out in the game, there were various clues that made it quite obvious to those of us of the gay persuasion exactly what was going on.
Once the article was posted, the inevitable hate mail and posts started popping up. I followed a few link backs to our site and ended up in a MGS fan forum. Needless to say, the posters there (among others) were LIVID that I even dared imply that there was anything gay about their beloved Metal Gear Solid. Livid to the point of actually threatening bodily harm on the humble author of the article. All this despite the fact that series creator Hideo Kojima himself had openly admitted to the gay undertones.
Fast forward to yesterday. I finally managed to borrow a copy of MGS 4 from a friend so I could see what all the hub bub was about. Since I had never really played much of the earlier games I decided to check out the great GameTrailers retrospective (great for MGS newbs!) and then downloaded the amazing MGS Database from the Playstation Store to bone up on my MGS lore. The first thing I did was check out Raikov's profile to see if there was any reference to his relationship with Volgin. And there it was in black and white right on my television. Complete vindication! A verified gay couple in the MGS canon. Needless to say I was thrilled.
So, this one goes out to all those guys on that MGS forum that I visited almost two years ago. Your Metal Gear Solid is gay! GAY, GAY, GAY!
Fruit Brute
Posted to Hot Stuff, Miscellany, Video Games on 25 June 2008
· Comments (11)
Other stuff like this: colonel volgin, gay, metal gear solid, raikov
I just always assumed it was obvious that they were gay for eachother, all touching on eachother's bits. I loved it. Especially when you had to drag around Raikov in his undies.
Heaven forbid that anything gay gets into the fans beloved Metal Gear Solid.
Heh, but this article ladies and gentlemen are what we call, owned.
There's also a heavily implied relationship between Big Boss and Ocelot. An Easter Egg in MGS4 even hints at this: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Vp5fMVSoenU
It's not as blatant as Volgin/Raikov, but I keep hearing Kojima confirmed it in some Japanese MGS3 commentary track.
I thought it was pretty much in black and white in the game (crotch grabbing, Volgin "avenging" Raikov, etc.). Glad they bothered to explicitly state that so pigheaded fanboys would finally get it through.
Along with Raikov/Volgin, wasn't Vamp's and Scott Dolph's relationship confirmed? And Ocelot kissed Snake twice in the game (in one cutscene and an Easter Egg). Also, isn't Snake/Otacon pretty much canon by the end (I kid, I kid :P)?
Anyway, Metal Gear is such a gay series that I can't help but love it.
YAY! Now the hate mail can go all be directed to it's proper destination. How DARE Hideo Kojima allow the gay into a innocent video game!
Yep, Vamp and Scott Dolph was canon too, it's mentioned somewhere in MGS2.
MGS is full of gay undertones. I was writing Snake/Otacon slash before there was even a fan community for it.
You do all realise that this section of the game was TAKING THE PISS out of raiden though right?
As in, every one in the 2nd game hated raiden so they made a sort of characature guy of him in 3 who was gay, so everyone could have a laugh at him?
And this is being celebrated on this page?
Lulz, I stumbled on this page...
I really can't believe that people didn't catch them. I caught every single one them and laughed pretty hard.
In any case, yes, Raikov was made to make fun of Raiden. Basically, he's almost a different guy--just with the same face and body. They ARE two different characters. At least, that's how I've always looked at it.
Well, with all of the following around, doesn't that seem... Questionable to you, even without the easter egg? That seems like stalking moreso than challenging, doesn't it? Anyway, Ocelot is pretty gay...
(Don't tell me neither he nor Raiden/Raikov "don't look gay," because hell yes, they look like stereotypical twinks.)
According to TVTrope (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HoYayVideoGamesExamples and http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EveryoneIsBi in particular), the gay of Metal Gear Solid may just extend even further than Raikov, Volgin, Vamp and Scott Dolph. Apparently, Big Boss and Ocelot's relationship was considered canon, making Big Boss bisexual, and Ocelot quite possibly gay. Also, there was this snippet of CODEC dialogue:
Snake (Big Boss): "But [Raikov's] rank is major. So how can he have 'colonel-class' authorization?"
EVA: "Raikov is treated as an officer of equal rank with Colonel Volgin."
Snake: "Treated as the same rank?"
EVA: "Yeah."
Snake: "Even though he's a major?"
EVA: "Right."
Snake: "Why?"
EVA: "You don't know?"
Snake: "No."
EVA: "Even after seeing that photo?"
Snake: "Nope."
EVA: "Has anyone ever told you you're a bit slow?"
Snake: "What are you talking about?"
EVA: "I'll leave you to think about it."
...which similarly reappears later on in reference to Ocelot, after Snake retrieves his backpack to find all of his food gone:
Snake: "It wasn't just the noodles. All those animals I worked so hard to capture..."
EVA: "That wasn't me."
Snake: "So who was it?"
EVA: "It was Ocelot."
Snake: "Ocelot?"
EVA: "He said he wanted to eat the same things you did."
Snake: "Why would he do that?"
EVA: "You haven't figured it out?"
Snake: "No."
EVA: "You are dense."
Snake: "...???"
Oh Boss, you clueless dork.
Aaaand then there's Otacon and Solid Snake. Can love bloom on a battlefield? The article linked above goes into a bit more detail, but honestly; [**MGS4 SPOILERS**] Not only do the two men adopt a child and raise her as their own, but when Snake is revealed to have only 6 months left to live before he succumbs to the FOXDIE virus, Otacon vows to spend the rest of Snake's life by his side. Awww.
On the subject of Raiden... his relationship with Rosemary is a shambles. Hell, it was a shambles for the entire first two years of their relationship, but they manage to salvage their "love" when Rose announces that she's pregnant (may I take this opportunity to remark that I absolutely loathe those who use pregnancy as a "salvaging" device), and live on for the sake of their son (although that all falls through when she apparently miscarries). Even when they get back together, their child is still the only thing keeping them from falling apart... not to mention that Rose herself questions Raiden's sexuality a few times in MGS2. His avid Snake fanboyism and gratuitous Ho Yay moments with Vamp - a flamboyant bisexual himself - set the gaydars raging. Speaking of Snake - what on earth was with that scene in which Raiden recovers his gear in Arsenal Gear? Instead of handing him his clothes, Snake makes him unnecessarily walk around and bend over naked to pick them up off the floor... perversion at its best. We can't blame you, Snake.
Also... don't you just love how no-one kicks up a fuss about the blatant female fanservice in the game, and the fact that EVA has sexual fantasies about the Boss? Your almighty god Hideo Kojima himself even acknowledged that the game's target audience is not solely straight males. And anyway, wasn't that obvious already? Case in point: stupid sexy Snake.
(and, hot DAMN does he have the greatest body for an older guy that I've ever seen... delicious OctoCamo.)
So what if a game so masculine has characters of the homosexual breed? Does it make the men in the series any less of a man? Seriously, you people are missing the point – the creator of this game actually has the guts to put in something most people would ‘fear’, and has the courage to make fun of his own games.
The MGS series also tends to be more connected towards realistic qualities – there are gay/bi/sexually frustrated men in real life. Remember this.
ocelot and snake kiss