Well, well, well, it seems just when you’re beginning to figure out what Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is all about, Kojima and his sneaky ways somehow still manage to surprise you. Oh no, I’m not talking about the KONAMI incident or Dr. Canon Bear-O (real name not put in use cause I don’t want him to sue me for stealing his name’s likeness). No no. Those topics are merely thrown our way to thicken the fog. But to that I say “NO!” I refuse to sit back and let Kojima play his little mind games while the truth eludes us. And now I have AWOKEN from my 5 month-long binge re-watching of “Full House” to reveal THE TRUTH that everyone seems to be overlooking for some reason. And boy, it’s a doozy.
WARNING! This post contains a crazy amount of words and SPOILERS. That’s right. I’m so darn confident in myself, I’m calling these SPOILERS. So if you hate reading words with your eye-holes or you are allergic to spoilers, please keep your distance and continue living in Kojima’s land of lies. So let’s. Talk. Chico.
Ask anyone who their favorite Metal Gear character is, and they’ll undoubtedly say Chico. This is not up for debate. This is fact. Everyone loves Nicaraguan child soldiers with an ear-hole in their chest cavity, it’s what makes us human! But what exactly happens to Chico at the end of Ground Zeroes? Why did he seemingly infiltrate Camp Omega all by himself instead of just going: “Hey Big Boss. Paz is at this camp-place. Maybe you could… I dunno... like swoop in and get her.” (BOOM! There. Problem solved YOU IDIOT!!!!). Ahem. Um… anyways… there is also the question: who is Skull Face? How does he know Big Boss? and why are the two seen working together in the most recent E3 trailer? Are you going to sew together another idiotic relationship between two characters who have nothing to do with each other? Good questions. And the answer to all of these questions fits into the same cohesive plot twist of Phantom Pain… CHICO IS SKULLFACE!
Woah! Hey. Don’t you dare close this article. It’s true, I swear! Facts do not lie and neither do my coffee-induced hallucinatory sessions! Now I know exactly what you’re thinking right now: “Uuuuerm You stupid dumb idiot fatty! They can’t be the same, they were like… in the same place at the same time!” Yes they can. And they are. And here’s why. Chico has lost a lot. Some of his family has been killed, his big sister is off on holiday or something (Seriously, where is she?), his girlfriend got blowed up by Big Boss after she basically betrayed everyone, and now he learns she’s still alive and being kept at a base by none other than Cipher himself. This is enough mental torment to drive anyone to the brink of insanity, at that’s exactly what happened to Chico, ultimately driving him to create an alternate persona who, in fact, does not exist.
The entire opening to Ground Zeroes (you know, the super drawn out one showing Skull Face hop into a cramped little jeep and fly away in a helicopter… in a storm… at night…) is all a part of Chico’s imagination to some extent. In truth, Chico went to Camp Omega with a plan, a plan to prove himself to Big Boss by rescuing Paz and getting information on Cipher. Thus, Chico invited all his old Nicaraguan buddies to show up dressed as official-looking XOF soldiers, to get information while finding ways to free Paz. Skull Face, those dogs found at the beginning of the game which we never see again (wow), and the torture sessions found on the tapes are a combination of totally imagined events and slightly altered imagined events. In order to gain the trust of the marines within the camp, Chico is forced to torture Paz (ultimately torturing himself in the process) resulting in the back and forth arguments between Chico and his alternate persona Skull Face (whom is the side he casts all his blame on). Skull Face is the embodiment of everything Chico is afraid of.
Still reading? Wow. well aren’t you special. Cookie for you. But since you’ve gotten this far, I’m gonna go ahead and reveal what’s behind curtain number 2! Assuming this theory is correct (well DUH. Ofcourse it’s correct silly). This explains why Skull Face knows the quote uttered by Big Boss in peace walker: “Pain get’s the better of us all.” Chico was the only person there to hear this line being said, furthering his reasoning of reiterating the quote later on. Furthermore, remember that confounding Skull Face line: “Your boss and I go way back, bro” well here ya go, this theory would support how that makes sense as well. WHO NEEDS NEW CHARACTERS WHEN YOU HAVE A CHICO!?
Okay okay. So after earning the soldiers trust, Chico allows himself to be locked away while Big Boss (who receives Chico’s call for help) comes to rescue them both while Chico’s full plan comes into effect. You see, Chico is conflicted with Big Boss. On one hand, the guy is like a father to him, but on the other, he kiiiiinda blew up his girlfriend and didn't even bother to look for a body. Maybe he was too busy fighting Miller in the shower room. I dunno. Chico doesn’t want to kill Big Boss, he wants to send a message: “Don’t blow up my girlfriends you mute - motion captured freak!” How does one send such a message? By using his Nicaraguan friends back at MSF to plant bombs while everyone else is distracted by the incoming inspection. This is why MSF is shown blowing up as Big Boss flies back home. The bombs were already set to go off while Big Boss was out of immediate harm's way. Message received Chico. Message received.
But why did Chico stuff two bombs inside of bae? That seems kinda rude no matter where you’re from. Well lemme tell ya kiddos. That wasn’t Chico at all. It was none other than one of Cipher’s inside agents. That’s why Chico is so legitimately surprised by this turn of events when he discovers the scar on Paz. But before he has much longer to mourn, the end of Ground Zeroes comes along and really WRECKS havoc on the games’ characters (HAHAHAHAHAHA get it? WRECK? To soon?) Now some might say: “Surviving a head on helicopter crash in mid-air over the freezing cold Caribbean Sea while firefights and enemy soldiers surround you is a death-wish.” But to that I say: “THIS IS METAL GEAR! WE HAVE VAMPIRE NINJA WARRIORS!” So yeah. Chico survives.
Upon healing from his injuries, Chico; now deprived of his home, Big Boss, and the girl he tried to save, fully becomes Skull Face, dawning the mask, the full persona, and the ten-gallon hat (can’t wait for that to be added to the Metal Gear clothing line. Ya know, the thing that EVERYBODY asked for). Upon learning of this as Phantom Pain progresses, Big Boss and Chico/Skull Face unite, resulting in the two being seen together in the E3 trailer. Both want revenge on Cipher. Well… everyone kinda does (the guy is sorta a jerk). And the rest in history.
“Uuuuuerm but Zulu 10 made it quite clear that he saw a guy in a ten gall-” Shhh. Quiet. Who’s the expert here? The rest is merely details guys. Seriously, stop getting so involved in theories that have such little grounding and possibility of truth. Jeeese. Get. A. Life.
And there you have it. It just goes to show you how far a little research (and 6 consecutive cups of coffee) can go in the solving of Kojima’s riddles. Now if you’ll excuse me. I’m going to disappear for another 5 months and wait patiently to find my next victim. (My next METAL GEAR victim. By bad. Sorry if that came out wrong). But hey, at least this case is finally sol-
Oh my.
Oh my goodness...
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