This page contains information on the Easter Eggs and Secrets found in Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. It's one part of IGN's guide showing you the strategies, Collectibles , and locations you need to know to beat every MGS 5 mission. Check our more of our Metal Gear 5 Walkthrough for more Cheats , Easter Eggs , and Tips and Tricks .

It goes without saying that this page will contain spoilers. If you wish to remain spoiler free, check back after finishing the game!

Rescue Hideo Kojima

Loading

Hideo Kojima is in the game as a prisoner for rescue in Side Ops #112.

P.T. Easter Eggs

Loading

A radio recording utilized in the horror demo P.T. (Silent Hills) that was originally directed by Hideo Kojima appears as an Easter Egg in Metal Gear Solid 5.

The radio is located inside a CFA tent in Africa at guard post #17 just up the hill leading towards Ngumba Industrial Zone.

The news recording details a grisly murder and plays in a radio hidden in a tent just beyond an outpost encampment. This is the same audio recording from the radio in P.T.

Obtaining Cassette Tape 204863 will give you access to the music present in P.T.

If you listen carefully in Shago Village, the sound of the swinging chandelier in the foyer of P.T. can be heard in the background.

If you leave some Skulls alive en route to Code Talker's mansion, a boombox within the mansion will be playing the ending monologue you got upon beating PT and receiving the ending.

Snake's Birthday Surprise

Loading

During the Prologue, the game asks for the player to input their birthdate. Enter a date that is the next calendar day or a couple of days later.

On the date of the inputted birthdate, start up the game and then return to Mother Base to trigger a special Birthday cutscene with Miller, Ocelot and some MB soldiers. Depending on how far into the game you've progressed, Huey and Code Talker will also appear in the scene.

If Quiet is at Mother Base, a separate scene will occur with her, where she leaves Snake a special birthday message.

BIRTH DATE NOTE: If you change the date to your birthday, go into the past and not into the future. Currently the game saves only the newest date. So if today is September 5th of 2015 and your birthday is January 1st and you change the date to January 1st of 2016, when you start to play the game again with the date of September 5th 2015, nothing will save because it is a previous date to the last save.

Finding a Secret Character

Loading

Once the Medical Strut has been constructed, head to the third floor to find a door with a blue light. Go inside and press the button on the white doorway to meet a special character who was thought to be dead.

Meeting this special character unlocks the "Wandering Mother Base Soldier" Side Ops missions. After completing each mission, give this character the photos obtained from each target to receive additional cassette tapes.

Snake Gets Doused

Loading

If Big Boss spends FIVE in-game days out in the field without returning to the ACC, he'll eventually get so filthy that he starts attracting flies. Returning to Mother Base in this condition triggers a special "welcome back" cutscene featuring Ocelot, some MB soldiers, and a bucket of water.

Cleaning Up With Quiet

Loading

There is an alternate cutscene of Snake's dousing that will occur if Quiet is with you in the ACC. Return to Mother Base in a filthy state and Quiet will give Snake a special shower, much to Ocelot's repulsion.

Quiet Loves the Rain

Loading

If Snake's bond with Quiet is at 60% or higher, there is a special cutscene that can be triggered when returning to Mother Base. To trigger the scene, Quiet must be with Snake in the chopper and return to Mother Base during rainy conditions.

When Snake returns to Mother Base, the special scene of Quiet and Snake having some fun in the rain will trigger.

The Skulls @ the Quarantine Platform

There are three cages in the middle of the Quarantine Platform at Mother Base that Snake can use to house all of the Skulls that he extracts plus the Man on Fire.

The three types of Skulls that appear are the Mist Skulls (from Mission 1 & 5), the Armor Skulls (from Mission 16 & 29), and the Camouflage Skulls (Mission 28). Two of each Skull will be placed into the cages where they just flail about constantly. As for the Man on Fire, he can be found in the cage behind the Skulls.

Ground Zeroes Unlockables

There are several unlockable items from Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes that can be used in The Phantom Pain.

GOLD BIONIC ARM

SOLID SNAKE SKIN (MGS1)

SV-SNEAKING SUIT

Simply complete all of the Ground Zeroes missions and then transfer the save to your Phantom Pain save to unlock these awesome collectibles. The full list of transfers and unlockables can be found here.

Getting Quiet Back

There is a secret way to get Quiet back after Mission 45. Read the full details HERE.

Alternate Mission Outcomes

Depending on certain conditions during a mission, Snake can trigger a special cutscene that affects the mission:

For instance, if Snake takes more than three in-game days to rescue Miller in Mission 1, Miller will be found dead and the mission is a failure.

Also, after defeating Quiet in Mission 11, shoot her when prompted by Miller to view her death scene.

Snake can also trigger a certain animation when calling in a rain modification during battle against Quiet.

Kojima Productions Recruitment Poster

Loading

During the Prologue, you will find a flyer on the bulletin board just outside of Snake's room. The image on the flyer is from the MGS5: Ground Zeroes promo.

Resident Evil 4

Although a smaller reference, when picking up Diamonds, Ocelot has a rare chance to say "That'll fetch a high price." This is a direct nod to the merchant from Resident Evil 4, who has since become well known due to his often repeated lines. To further cement this, Ocelot says the line with a funny voice, clearly trying to mimic the merchant.

Lilies for The Boss

In the opening scenes of the game, the nurse in the hospital can be seen rearranging lilies at Snake's beside. This particular type of lily, called "Star of Bethlehem," are seen in the field where Big Boss has his final confrontation with The Boss at the end of Metal Gear Sold 3: Snake Eater.

The Boss Statue

Located in the courtyard of the Cyprian hospital you are escaping from in the intro is a huge statue of a female figure riding a horse. A closer look reveals that the identity of this figure is almost definitely The Boss from earlier games.

Bathroom Soldier

Using binoculars, look at a restroom that is occupied by a soldier with the binoculars to unlock this gross sound file!

Hidden Response

After rescuing Miller in Mission 1, press the action button when he asks you to say "the magic words" to respond with some hidden dialogue.

Hal "Otacon" Emmerich

During Mission 12 Hellbound or Side Op 143 you can spot photographs hanging on the AI Pod (or on the ground after the AI Pod flies away).

One of them shows Strangelove holding a 4-year-old Hal Emmerich, also known as Otacon, Solid Snake's companion during the events of Metal Gear Solid 1, 2 and 4.

Quiet's Connection To The End

During Side Op #111, Ocelot talks about Quiet and her abilities. He then makes a quick mention of a man that had the same abilities as Quiet in the GRU's Cobra Unit. The man in question is The End, an elite sniper that Naked Snake battled in Metal Gear Solid 3.

Falling Box Easter Egg

Stand near a construction sign warning about falling boxes and look up. You will see a real box appear and fall on your head.

Ocelot Muttering

Loading

When Snake finds Ocelot on Mother Base, shooting him in the head with the tranquilizer gun will make him mutter one of four phrases in sequence.

1. First is, "That won't work on me, I've had drug resistance training." Though he does trail off while trying to say the last word.

2. Then he will say: "La-li-lu-le-lo" a reference to the code word for the Patriots in Metal Gear Solid 3.

3. After the second tranquilizer round, Ocelot will say a series of words in Japanese. These are actually train station stops located along the Nose Electric Railway Myouken Line in the Kansai region of Japan. They are Kawanishinoseguchi, Kinunobebashi, Takiyama, and Uguisu no mori. Here they are in Japanese, 川西能勢口 (かわにしのせぐち), 絹延橋 (きぬのべばし), 滝山 (たきやま), and 鶯の森 (うぐいすのもり). This is a recurring easter egg and long standing mystery within the series, spanning multiple decades. The colonel Campbell AI says it in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001) and Gray Fox/Ninja says it in the original Metal Gear Solid (1998). It appears in Metal Gear Solid V in an abridged form. The full Easter egg lists every stop along this rail line.

4. Lastly is "2+2=5" repeated a few times over. This is a reference to the book, Nineteen Eighty-Four (often published as 1984), a dystopian novel by English author George Orwell. During chapter 2, posters with the caption "BIG BOSS IS WATCHING YOU" will appear all over Mother Base. This is also another reference to the same novel.

Taking A Long Break

If you take a break from playing the game for 5 days or longer, a short cutscene will be triggered with either some Mother Base soldiers or with D-Dog.

When Snake returns to Mother Base, D-Dog is seen waiting for Snake's helicopter and jumps on Snake to happily greet him. Ocelot also scolds Snake for being away for too long because it affects his soldiers and because D-Dog really misses him.

However if you have not yet obtained D-Dog, the cutscene will feature your soldiers. A different cutscene will also show if D-Dog is a puppy, as well as 3 separate scenes with adult D-Dog depending on your bond-level with him.

Nuke Fluke

Although this hidden cutscene has not been found using normal methods within the game, data miners uncovered it from the game's code. Possibly cut content, it was revealed to be an actual part of the game on Robert Allen Peeler's Twitter where he said, "Player's haven't done everything, if someone got this scene naturally, this early, I'm impressed."

Konami has since revealed how to unlock the "Nuclear Disarmament" cutscene and it involves players disposing of their nuclear weapons at Mother Base or FOB. Once all nuclear weapons on a specific console/platform have been disposed of, the cutscene will occur when Snake returns to Mother Base.

As of December 10th, there are no platforms that are anywhere close to zero.

I'm Nuclear, I'm Wild

While not yet discovered in-game and also found from digging through code like the above video, the ties to this newly-discovered cutscene that pertains to nuclear warfare seem to be interrelated to the Nuclear Disarmament ending.

This one might be triggered after enough nukes are created throughout all the players in the game, making it the antithesis to the video above and probably needs to be unlocked first before the disarmament cutscene can be rightfully seen.

Create a Time Paradox

Due to the fact that MSGV: The Phantom Pain is a prequel, killing off certain characters that will play major roles in later games (such as Ocelot or Eli), will lead you directly to a Game Over screen with "Time Paradox" cited as the reason you need to start over.

Snake Loves Gold

Konami unveiled an Easter egg present only in the Japanese version of the game. Before a mission, if you select at least 4 gold items (including the arms, skin, and shoulders of Snake, vehicles, and other items that come with a golden option) Snake will begin to speak the Kansai dialect, the central area of the island of Honshu, Japan.

This area is well-known for its high-quality of food as well as the friendliness and happiness of those who live there. Because it is something that wouldn't be widely culturally understood, it was only included in the Japanese version of the game.

Ziang Tan and Silent Basilisk

A character named Ziang Tan is rescued during the Unlucky Dog Side Ops quests. He is actually one of the lead level designers for MGSV and was playing the game in gameplay videos before the game's release.

Another special character is named Silent Basilisk, who is the silent mute prisoner from Mission 6. He has terrible stats yet is locked in as a Mother Base staff member that Snake CANNOT remove.

Shooting the Boss AI Pod

Once you reach and retrieve the AI Pod and bring it back to Mother Base, shooting it with a Glass-piercing weapon will make it recite lines from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. The AI Pod will also say, "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" which is a pangram, containing all the letters of the alphabet, and used in computers to display font samples.

The Japanese locations she says are those of the Myoken train line in Honshu, which is a recurring reference in the series being said by Gray Fox and the Colonel at different times.

Low Morale Mother Base Cutscene

If the morale at Mother Base is low or if Snake's GMP is in the red, Ocelot will call Snake to inform him about the negative effects. Returning to Mother Base soon after will trigger a cutscene of some Mother Base soldiers fighting.

Six Million Dollar Snake

Snake's Bionic Arm has a special sound effect that can be heard when attacking an enemy with a melee. When sprinting at an enemy, press the L2/LT button to hear the sound effect from the Six Million Dollar Man. The sound can also be heard when using the Sonar option.

Not Yet Snake!

In Mission 23, when fighting Eli (Liquid Snake), he will sometimes say, "Not yet, Snake! It's not over yet!", a line that Liquid says in the original Metal Gear Solid game.

MSX In MGS5

Seen in the "Truth" ending of The Phantom Pain, Venom Snake can be seen placing a cassette tape into a Sony HB-F1 MSX2. This home computer system is the same one on which the original Metal Gear was released.

Portopia Serial Murder Case

This Easter egg is as intriguing as it is mysterious. At the beginning of the cassette tape played at the very end of The Phantom Pain, a loud screeching noise can be heard. A similar noise can be heard on a cassette tape in Ground Zeroes labeled "Classified Intel Data" which has instructions not to use it in any music players. The sounds you hear aren't just audio gibberish, but are the noises you would hear if you placed a Game Cassette in an audio player back when they were used as a storage medium on older PCs.

An analysis of this audio data suggests that it contains code for part of a classic game titled "Portopia Serial Murders", which is said to have inspired Kojima to get into game creation. The tape in The Phantom Pain contains the title screen for the game as well as the name of its creator Yuji Morii, while the tape in Ground Zeroes seems to reference a "Volume 2". The game itself is poignant because it contains many red herrings and tries to misdirect the player and also uses a butterfly-shaped birthmark as a central story aspect.

Anyone who has played The Phantom Pain knows that the butterfly symbol holds particular importance as well, so this connection seems promising. Also the publisher of the original game, Enix (now known as Square Enix) is referenced in the ending credits for TPP. Right now, people are hunting for the existence of a third volume, which should allow a playable copy of the game, but the existence of it has yet to be proven and a method of combining the tapes, which are already in two separate games, has yet to be discovered.

Although there has been someone who has already claimed to combine and load the full Portopia ROM, it was proven to be fake. Either way, the existence of these tapes and the information on them has been proven to be legitimate and this could solely be just a very cool Easter egg, or a mystery waiting to be fully uncovered.

Third Child Changes

The Third Child is a character fueled by others who seek revenge. Throughout the course of the game, he is linked to various characters and, from them, adopts their specific characteristics to show his current allegiance.

Mother Base Hidden Characters

Eli, Code Talker, Paz, Huey, Quiet, Ocelot, D-Walker, and D-Dog can be found in various areas of Mother Base.

Parasite Suit Cartridge Abilities

If you obtain the Parasite Suit, you can equip three types of cartridges:

Camouflage

Armor

Mist

These cartridges are obtained from extracting all three types of Skull Soldiers.

Demon Snake

Demon Snake is unlocked by losing 50,000 Hero Points. Snake's bone fragments will grow into a frightening bloodied visage. Eventually he'll begin to resemble a blood-splattered demon, and ultimately the blood won't wash off anymore. Learn more about Demon Snake HERE.

Death By Drowning

Stunned enemies who fall face-down in standing water or mud may drown.

Out of the Map

There are certain places where you can exit and step outside of the map. These bug/glitch entrances are unpredictable and could affect your save, so explore them with caution.

Zoo on Mother Base

Get far enough in the story and you unlock the animal conservation area, a place where you can go see your animals on Mother Base!

Hand of Jehuty

Loading

Undoubtedly one of the wackier upgrades in MGS5, the Hand of Jehuty can grab enemies/prisoners from a distance of 20m away and teleport them to Snake's position. The item is a nod to Kojima's "Zone of the Enders" series.

Secret Forbidden Locations