Metal Gear Solid has always been one of the most beloved franchises in gaming history. While the series is home to some heavy-handed topics, but the games also know why to have fun. Each game in the series features some of the most memorable fights and boss battles video games have ever had. Let’s take a walk down memory lane and countdown some of the best fights Metal Gear has to offer.

10. Raiden and Solid Snake vs. The World (Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty)

Metal Gear Solid 2 pulled one of the most infamous switch-a-roos in gaming history. Everyone thought they were getting another Solid Snake adventure…that is until pretty boy Raiden came along and stunk up the joint. Sure Snake appeared here and there, but he was disguised as Iroquois Pliskin – just some dude from SEAL Team 10.

Eventually Raiden is captured, tortured and finds out that he’s just in a simulation of the original Metal Gear Solid, Colonel Campbell is just an AI created by The Patriots – who is which starting to go haywire, and that Raiden is gonna be a daddy. Snake and Raiden team up to gun down waves and after waves of enemies while trying to escape just feels right. During the battle the game starts to “freak out” as result of the virus uploaded into the AI. The result is the game over screen popping up stating “Fisson Mailed” all the while the battle still going strong. It’s one of the most memorable moments from the game.

9. Fatman (Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty)

In a franchise full of weird characters, Fatman has to be near the top of the list. He’s just a dude who loves bombs, roller blades, getting manicures (seriously), and drinking wine through a straw. Despite all of this, his fight is pretty damn fun.

There are multiple bombs scattered throughout the fight that you have to find and disarm – all the while Fatman is skating around shooting at you. Once the fight is over, Fatman reveals that there is one more bomb to disarm. A bomb so big that it will level the entire Big Shell facility that Raiden is on if he doesn’t find it. His final words are, “Laugh and grow fat.” All you have to do is drag his lifeless body and ta-da: theres the bomb.

8. Gray Fox (Metal Gear Solid)

What a pretty intimidating fight. As you make your way through the corridor leading to where Otacon was hiding, you notice that there were dead bodies of soldiers EVERYWHERE. Seriously, they’re straight up cut open ’n stuff. Snake had seen a glimpse of Gray Fox before when he cut off Ocelot’s hand during their fight. A cyborg ninja with a high-frequency blade ain’t something to mess with.

Snake figures out that the ninja is no other than his long thought to be dead friend Frank Jager, a.k.a Gray Fox. Gray Fox was there to kill Otacon, and with not wanting to hurt his friend, Snake was in a pickle. Snake and Gray Fox ended up in a pretty intense hand-to-hand fight. While It’s very slow paced and not really complex fight, it’s still exceptional. This fight in particular that Metal Gear Solid can be pretty action oriented without guns.

7. 2nd Man of Fire Battle (Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain)

Big Boss plans on infiltrating The Devil’s House to rescue a child solider that was captured. As Big Boss enters The Devil’s House, he notices that it is eerily empty. That is until Skill Face drops by and unleashes The Man on Fire on Big Boss.

The goal of this battle is to stay alive long enough for you to get extracted by chopper. Even if you successfully called in your chopper, The Man on Fire can still blow it up if you haven’t taken care of him properly. The Man on Fire is immune to guns and explosives. He is also immune to melee attacks. Oh, and he’ll shoot a fireball at you too. So what can you do? Well…if you’ve played Pokemon then you know that water always handles fire. There are various water tanks that you can shoot to down The Man on Fire. You can even use a water pistol to dowse him if you’re feeling saucy.

6. Crying Wolf (Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots)

This is what the Sniper Wolf fight should have been if it wasn’t for the technical limitations of the original playstation. And it even takes place on Shadow Moses in the same where Snake fought Sniper Wolf!

The battle is a intense game of cat and mouse. A snowstorm is raging through the island, creating the perfect backdrop for the fight. On top that, Snake also has to deal with being attacked by soldiers too, an old man. He can only handle so much stress! She has her rail gun and Snake has his sniper rifle. There’s no better way for to test your skills.

5. Snake Vs. Liquid Ocelot (Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots)

In a game full of fan service, this is most definitely the ultimate slice of fan service pie ever. The fight is full of references from each game in the series. The music selection during the fight spans the entire series and you get glimpses of the older games. Hell, even the health bars change to ones from previous titles. This is a knockdown, drag down fight between two brothers (kinda). There isn’t any other way to end the Solid Snake saga.

4. The End (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater)

The fight between The End and Naked Snake is without a doubt one of the most unique fights in the entire series. Out of the entire rouges gallery in Snake Eater, The End doesn’t look like he can put up much of a fight. As cliche as it sounds, don’t judge a book by it’s cover. While this old man may look unassuming, he’s one of the best snipers in the world.

The battle takes place in a huge jungle. So huge in fact that it’s split into three different sections. You have to find The End any way possible. Track his foot prints, use heat vision, or catch a glimpse of the sun reflecting off his sniper scope. If you don’t do anything after a while, The End can fall asleep when then you can sneak up on him and put a couple rounds in him. It’s one of the longest fights in the entire series. But that’s not the best part.

You don’t even have to fight him. In fact, you have the option of taking out The End in a earlier part in the game when he’s left out in the open on a dock. Or you can just be a jerk and set your system’s clock a week and he’ll die of natural causes. Little things like this make Snake Eater the best game in the series.

3. Metal Gear Ray vs. Metal Gear Rex (Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots)

This is most defiantly the most fan-fiction fight in MGS4. Think about it. It’s a conversation fans have had for years. Who would win in the ultimate fight of Metal Gears? Ray or the O.G. Rex? It even takes place on Shadow Moses. It’s like that time where Jeff Goldblum goes back to the park in The Lost World: Jurassic Park and it’s messed up because you know what went down.

What’s most notable is that this is the first time in the series where the player actually controls a Metal Gear. Rex has seen better days, but it can still put up one hell of a fight. The battle pretty much ends in a draw, but Snake is worse for wear. As Ocelot is about to finish off Snake, Raiden swoops in a saves the day…but ends up losing a couple major parts of his body.

2. The Boss (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater)

It’s teacher vs. student in one of the most emotional fights in the entire series. Naked Snake has to take down his beloved mentor The Boss. The Boss taught Snake everything there is about the battlefield, including CQC – but she’s still the best in the world at what she does. It’s a pretty heavy battle, perhaps one of the hardest in the entire series.

This fight changed Naked Snake and set the stage for the entire franchise. The government viewed him as a hero from taking down The Boss because she was seen as a turncoat. The president awarded him the title of Big Boss. The rest is history from here.

1. Psycho Mantis (Metal Gear Solid)

Would you have expected something else? Of course this would be the number one entry. When people think of Metal Gear, they think of the moment Psycho Mantis tried to get in your head. To show how powerful he is, he’ll tell you to put down your controller so he can make it move. He can also tell you what kind of games you like (it defers if you’re playing the original or the GameCube remake), he can even tell you what kind of player you are.

Within the first couple of minutes into the fight, you notice that you cannot harm him. Colonel Campbell will call you over Codec and tell you to simply switch your controller to the 2nd port thus not allowing him to read your mind. Metal Gear Solid frequently breaks the fourth wall, but this fight shows that the game knows how to have fun. We need that every once in awhile on the battlefield.