Metal Gear Solid is loved not just because it’s a great and fun game to play, but because of it’s intricate story as well. The quotes from the Metal Gear Solid series are some of the best quotes in gaming. They’re inspirational and they’re a large part of what makes the series so great. The quotes have such powerful meanings that they explain a large part of the reason fans love the series. Metal Gear has a ton of funny quotes and I could have listed a ton more here if I included those, but I wanted to keep it serious and meaningful. Sure the game has it’s funny moments, but there really are some great messages and life lessons to take from the series so I wanted to highlight those instead. Many guys grew up on the Metal Gear Solid series and these quotes can certainly help to mold a man’s mindset. The character’s in Metal Gear are about as badass as they come, so if you’re ever feeling down or looking for meaning, Metal Gear Solid has got some great quotes to lift you up again. (The main list of quotes is Top 10, but I have included some more “regular quotes” at the bottom as well, enjoy)

10 .”You’ve got it all wrong. You were the lightning in that rain. You can still shine through the darkness” Solid Snake MGS4

Snake says this to Raiden after he tells him that “it even rained the day I was born.” Raiden is having some serious negativity issues at the time and Snake does what he can to snap him out of it. It’s a great lesson on thinking positively. It’s the last on the list because it’s not exactly tremendous, but with a quick change in mindset Snake brings some positivity into a negative situation.

9. “There’s no such thing in the world as absolute reality. Most of what they call real is actually fiction. What you think you see is only as real as your brain tells you it is” Solid Snake MGS2



When Snake says this quote he’s referring to the VR missions Raiden went through, but it has real life meaning as well. This quote can also be about our perception of a situation. There’s really no way for us to ever know if we’re right or wrong about what someone else is feeling, we can only guess. Our minds determine our reality. That is a powerful idea to utilize. A man who realizes what he puts his mind to can manifest into reality is a great positive mindset to have.

8. “It’s not about changing the world. It’s about doing our best to leave the world..the way it is. It’s about respecting the will of others, and believing in your own.” Big Boss MGS4

When Big Boss says this in reference to The Boss’ ideas, he’s saying we need to have universal respect for anyone. Everyone is going to have different beliefs and we need to respect them while we believe in our own ideas. In our current society with so many different opinions clashing at all times, this quote could be used to apply to anything. Everyone has an individual belief system but we can’t change the world based on any one individuals beliefs and need to respect the beliefs of everyone else. If everyone followed this quote form Big Boss the world would be a much happier place.

7. “War has changed. It’s no longer about nations, ideologies or ethnicity. It’s an endless series of proxy battles, fought by mercenaries and machines. War, and its consumption of life, has become a well-oiled machine. War has changed. ID tagged soldiers carry ID tagged weapons, use ID tagged gear. Nanomachines inside their bodies enhance and regulate their abilities. Genetic control. Information control. Emotion control. Battlefield control. Everything is monitored, and kept under control. War has changed. The age of deterrence has become the age of control. All in the name of averting catastrophe from weapons of mass destruction. And he who controls the battlefield, controls history. War has changed. When the battlefield is under total control, war..becomes routine.“

This quote is a loaded quote that makes a prediction on how/why wars will be fought in the future. The real takeaway though, is about how often the word control is used. The entire point of the Metal Gear Solid series is to finally have total freedom, without any control at all. This is what all men strive for, freedom. This quote describes all the different types of control we could potentially have on us from any number of individuals. Snake fights for his own freedom and it’s a great mindset for men to have as well. You can bust your ass and attain your own freedom through hard work and perseverance.

6. “I think at any time, any place, people can fall in love with each other. But if you love someone, you have to be able to protect them.“

A simple quote by Snake is one of the few times the idea of love is touched on in the series. Like I mentioned in the last quote, most of the series focuses on freedom and control and fighting for what you believe in. In Metal Gear, love is often just a means to pass on ideas to the future. This quote though, actually goes right to the point of love in one of the only times of the series. It’s a great quote too, it’s everything a man needs to know about being in love. The way I see this quote, is that Snake is saying you need to have strength in order to love someone. I think this quote can be misunderstood sometimes and it’s believed that he means you need to be buff and protect a woman physically, but I think there’s more than that. Men can protect and provide in a variety of ways, basically I think the real point is that men need to be the best they can be when they love someone. Talk about a serious lesson in manhood. This is all about being a confident man who focuses on himself and then let’s love come along while a man is the best he can be.

5. “We can tell other people about having faith. What we had faith in. What we found important enough to fight for. It’s not whether you were right or wrong, but how much faith you were willing to have, that decides the future” Solid Snake MGS2

Having faith in yourself is the ultimate way to move forward during rough times and it’s also important to share what we believe in with future generations. I take the word “faith” in this quote to also mean hope. How much hope you’re willing to have deciding the future is a great statement. Snake’s positive mindset shines through again here. Having faith in yourself, having faith in other people, having faith in a higher power..whatever it is you have faith in, believe in it strongly and it can pull you through.

4.”Don’t regret your past. Learn from it. Regrets only make a person weaker” Solid Snake MGS



This quote gets right to the point and it’s the shortest on the list. I think it’s one that hits home for many guys though and it has for me as well. Whenever I have regrets about something I remember this quote and it focuses me. It’s crazy how a video game quote can do that, but it’s why the series is so brilliant. Learning from past mistakes is the best thing a man can do. Understanding that not every situation is going to go well, but to utilize what went crappy in the future is a great life lesson for guys to have.

3. “Life isn’t just about passing on your genes. We can leave behind much more than just DNA. Through speech, music, literature and movies..what we’ve seen, heard, felt..anger, joy and sorrow..these are the things I will pass on. That’s what I live for. We need to pass the torch, and let our children read our messy and sad history by its light.We have all the magic of the digital age to do that with. The human race will probably come to an end some time, and new species may rule over this planet. Earth may not be forever, but we still have the responsibility to leave what traces of life we can. Building the future and keeping the past alive are one and the same thing.” Solid Snake MGS2



When I read this quote I could easily see it as the #1 quote for many people. This quote is the reason why we have history lessons in school, so we know not to repeat the mistakes from the past. Whenever I hear this quote, I think of the Holocaust and other historical tragedies. This quote is all about moving forward but not forgetting where we came from, so we don’t make the same mistakes again. That is an incredibly powerful thing to say. The other quotes I’m about to mention have impacted me more personally, but I could definitely see this being the top quote for many people.

2. “You mustn’t allow yourself to be chained to fate, to be ruled by your genes. Human beings can choose the kind of life that they want to live. What’s important is that you choose life..and then live” Naomi Hunter MGS4

This quote, just like the last one, could easily be #1 as well. How great is the idea that we run our own lives and can make what we want of ourselves? This quote is what the American dream and life in general are all about. Nothing can hold us back or chain us down. We determine our own fate and destiny and anything can be ours if we want it to be. I really can’t say much else about it, it’s a quote about what life’s all about. If you’re ever feeling down, this is definitely the one that can lift you back up again. You can’t be ruled by anything, pick yourself up, and do what you want to do.

1.”We’re not tools of the government or anyone else..Fighting was the only thing I was good at, but at least I always fought for what I believed in” Gray Fox MGS

This quote may be small, but I personally think it’s the best in any of the games and with all of the scenes and words spoken, that says a lot. Even though it’s only a few words, the quote itself has two powerful messages, one in each line. Gray Fox is a badass character but this quote is what makes him memorable to so many people. It really defines the entire Metal Gear Franchise.

When you break down the quote there really isn’t something more powerful said in gaming. The first part of the quote about not being a tool (or pawn) for anyone, is a great life motto. It’s about finding your own path and not letting anyone else determine it for you. The second part of the quote goes along with that. Once you do find your own path and determine where you want to go in life, you need to fight for it. Nothing is handed to you and fighting for what you believe in and what you love is an important facet of being a man. Many young men played this game and I’d be lying if I said this quote didn’t help shape my outlook on life. This is all about manhood and believing in yourself. Gray Fox gives a better lesson in a few sentences than some parents do in a lifetime and it’s part of what makes Metal Gear Solid one of the best video game franchises of all time.

Other Notable Quotes/Dialogue

I wanted to add this other section in because I don’t think 10 quotes is enough and I’m open to adding quotes/conversations as time goes on, I’d like this post to be a real resource of “Best of quotes” for the MGS series.

1. “Snake, you can have regrets if you want to..It’s only natural. But you can’t keep attacking yourself for things that happened in the past. That road leads to madness, believe me.“-Master Miller, Metal Gear Solid 1

2. “I’ve never fought for anyone but myself.“-Solid Snake, Metal Gear Solid 1

With the release of Metal Gear Solid V a few days away, we’re doing a “Best of Metal Gear Solid” article series, stay tuned for me and like us on Facebook