Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

This game/console's online features are no longer supported. While this game/console's online features were once accessible, they are (as of May 31, 2022 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, June 15, 2026 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows in Russia and Belarus) no longer officially supported and online-exclusive features may be documented as now-unseen content.

To do: There's lots of unused stuff you can imagine. It would take weeks to document at least a part of it. What's already on the page needs a LOT of cleaning up. Organize the page better. Rips of the unused assets of Episode 51 would be nice if possible. A lot more detail is needed for unused models, map assets, items and equipment, etc. As mentioned, there is a lot to cover that's nowhere on the page currently, nor is it documented anywhere outside of various Discord servers and YouTube videos. Someone will probably have to compile a list of what specifically needs to be done.

Metal Gear Solid V is the fifth main game in the Metal Gear Solid franchise, following the events of Ground Zeroes. In this game, Naked Venom Snake tries to exact revenge on the people who left him for dead in what was intended to be an ambitious open-world infiltration simulator.

The final Metal Gear title directed by Hideo Kojima, it was a less than graceful exit, owed to many difficulties during development, between things like internal issues between Kojima and Konami, general dissatisfaction with certain mechanics and planned content leading to them unceremoniously being cut, and potentially even having to account for the weaker hardware of the seventh generation consoles.

Episode 51#

"Episode 51: Kingdom of the Flies" is a mission that was cut from the game during development due to time constraints. It would have concluded the storyline of Eli and his fellow child soldiers stealing Sahelanthropus, culminating in a final battle between Venom Snake and him.

Cutscenes and storyboards of the mission were showcased in an incomplete state as a feature on the Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain - Collector's Disc. Despite this, likely owing to its late removal, references to the mission still exist in the game's files, and it's referenced directly in the game's timeline during the ending.

Episode 51 was to take place on a new map made specifically for the mission, the internal name of which is FLYK.

While it is referred to as Episode 51, it seems that it was supposed to happen before Episode 43, judging by the latter's internal number, 10240; Episode 51's internal reference number is 10230. Multiple sound assets (such as the mission briefings) related to the mission are still present in the soundbanks for the game.

Logic related to mission 51/10230 can be found in several places, including the mission descriptor file and many others (master\data1\Assets\Tpp\script\lib\TppDefine.lua, TppUiBootInit.lua, TppMissionList.lua, TppRevenge.lua, TppStory.lua, TppResult.lua, TppCassette.lua).

The raw code referencing mission 10230/Kingdom of the Flies can be found here; http://pastebin.com/txN5zY0X

Battle Gear#

To do: Rip the assets.

Initially, the Battle Gear (a smaller anti-Metal Gear weapon developed by Huey) was intended to be a deployable "buddy" for missions. The logic was fully completed, as were all the required assets including but not limited to sounds, cutscenes, models, and particle effects.

Though cutscenes related to the vehicle are still in the game, it was cut as a buddy during playtesting for the game due to balancing issues, as confirmed by Hideo Kojima in the game's strategy guide. Instead, it only remains in-game as an asset for deployment missions.

Unused Enemies#

To do: Screenshots.

Guard dogs were included in the game until playtesting, where they were removed. The cited reason was that "they were not as fun to sneak past." Numerous assets are still present in the game, as well as some logic.

Despite their removal from the game, enemies can sometimes be heard speaking to them while searching for the player, and there are still signs warning of guard dogs in some areas.

Unused Text#

DD was meant to have costumes based on Ocelot and Miller.

<Entry Key="1947280207" Color="1" Value="Costume for D-Dog.&#xA;Now you can finally go into battle with Miller... or the next best thing.

<Entry Key="1226147684" Color="1" Value="Costume for D-Dog.&#xA;Now you can finally go into battle with Ocelot... or the next best thing." />

Unused Weapons#

Through modifying the game files, Skull Face's sawn-off lever-action can be requested as a supply drop. Called the Skull Custom, the rifle takes up the sidearm slot though it is categorized as a shotgun. The S1000 icon is used as a placeholder icon. However, this is functionally the exact same weapon used in the cutscene where Skull Face is shot, meaning it was likely not supposed to be usable for the player despite the additional unseen text that is present.

Attempting to directly spawn the weapon into a map will softlock the game. Its reload animation is broken and cannot be reloaded on command or when emptied. If it is equipped in Episode 31 or 50, it has bespoke gunshot sounds, and it's the same sound that is heard when Venom shoots it in the gameplay segment, further supporting its unusable, cutscene-only nature.

Watch on YouTube

Unused Audio#

To do: Replace the link with OGGs. Check what's unused in the Japanese version.

There are unused dialogue files in the game. (https://soundcloud.com/gboon/sets)

There is audio of Huey and Code talker singing "Happy Birthday" to Snake. While the Mother Base staff do sing to Snake on the birthday you set, Huey is present, but never sings. Code Talker is there, but you only hear him say "Happy Birthday, to you."

There's also audio of Skull Face making... questionable sounds. Mostly grunts, these were likely intended for a scrapped option for the player where they would be able to point their gun at/attack Skull Face, and if this was continued it would lead to Skull Face ordering his men to attack you and the mission softlocking. However, some of these could also be from the ending sequence in which Venom shoots off Skull Face's limbs with his shotgun.

Japanese dialogue and lines can be found in the escape with Ocelot from the Man on Fire and in the scene where you rescue Kaz.

Venom Snake has unused lines that are: "You're fired!", "See you around.", "We need a quarantine", "Report to Quarantine.", "They're not getting away with this.", and 42 cut lines of dialogue of Snake talking to Paz, about 15 of them being "Paz..." "Paz!" "Paz." you get the idea.

Unused Graphics#

Chapter 3#

A title card for what appears to be... a chapter that was completely cut from the game. The title of the chapter is "PEACE".

Placeholder Venom Snake Photo#

A placeholder for the photo of Venom Snake's previous identity used in Truth: The Man Who Sold the World can be found in texture0.dat/13eb86e247b1c.ftex.

Operation Intrude N313 Key Item#

A key item image for the Operation Intrude N313 tape used in Truth: The Man Who Sold the World can be found in texture0.dat/1e5d02765b21e.ftex.

The Boss' Scar#

While most of Post-GZ Paz's textures got used, the upper area in this texture didn't. If you look more closely, the upper area shows a section where you can see a scar similar to the scar that The Boss from MGS3 has.

D-Dog's Original Appareance#

Concept art and internal files have shown that DD was originally going to be a Rhodesian Ridgeback. This can be re-enabled through a mod.

Regional Differences#

Watch on YouTubeThe Japanese release of the game (as well as the international Steam version) had one cutscene censored due to violent imagery. The scene is during one of the conversations with Paz, in which she opens up an incision in her stomach and removes a bomb. On versions released outside of Japan (with the exception of the international Steam version), her intestines are also removed from her stomach in the process in a very graphic manner; however, in the Japanese version, the camera has been moved to a slightly higher position so that it happens just off-frame.

Anti-Piracy Features#

If the game detects that the Denuvo copy protection has been tampered with, the game will play mostly fine during the Prologue. However, after finishing the Prologue, the game pretends to load for several minutes and then stops randomly, preventing the player from progressing any further.