Game: Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence
System: PS2
Metal Gear Boss Survival Guide
Version: 2.0
Author: Jamie Brendon Stroud
Table of Contents:
1) Version history
2) Introduction
3) Code names
4) Overview
4A) SHOTMAKER
4B) MACHINEGUN KID
4C) HIND D
4D) TANK
4E) FIRE TROOPER
4F) DIRTY DUCK
4G) METAL GEAR
4H) BIG BOSS
5) Walkthru
5A) Standard Walkthru
5AA) SHOTMAKER
5AB) MACHINEGUN KID
5AC) HIND D
5AD) TANK
5AE) FIRE TROOPER
5AF) DIRTY DUCK
5AG) METAL GEAR
5AH) BIG BOSS
5B) Speedrun Walkthru
5BA) SHOTMAKER
5BB) MACHINEGUN KID
5BC) HIND D
5BD) TANK
5BE) FIRE TROOPER
5BF) DIRTY DUCK
5BG) METAL GEAR
5BH) BIG BOSS
6) Tips
7) FAQ
8) Credits
9) Copy rights
1) Version history:
(The following is in Day/Month/Year format)
11/11/2006 - Version 2.0: I had previously had this guide set as the Final
version. This guide is the first guide I have written but now I think I will be
more careful about calling a guide a Final version. I thought I had everything
discovered and said that was important, but I had recently found out a glitch to
do with the timing system. This timing system glitch is discussed in section 6)
Tips.
22/03/2006 - Version 1.1: I added a Tips section. I also added a new Codename
that I forgot to include called "CHICKEN". That's about it.
20/03/2006 - Version 1.0: This is the first creation of the guide.
2) Introduction:
Well, with the release of Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, I began playing the
original Metal Gear games before anything else since I had never played them
before. I tried to find guides for the games but I could only find guides for
the original MSX versions. Those guides were good enough to help me through the
main game, but after completing the main game I unlocked Boss Survival mode.
There was no Boss Survival mode in the original MSX games. Therefore, I tried
to find guides for Boss Survival mode but I found nothing. I asked on forums
and no one replied. However, through practice I became really good at Metal
Gear's Boss Survival mode all by myself. Long story short, I decided to find
out how the code name ranking system worked for Boss Survival mode (which is a
long and tedious process) and after that I figured I would just write a guide
for the whole thing.
3) Code names
You get a code name upon completion of Boss Survival mode. I shall list the
code names in the following format: "Code name: Requirement". Where "Code name"
is the actual code name and "Requirement" is the requirements that must be
fulfilled in order to get that code name.
BIG BOSS: Normal mode, 0 rations used, Completed in under 3:00
PANTHER: Normal mode, 0 rations used, Completed between 3:00 and 3:29
FOX: Normal mode, 1 ration used, Completed in under 3:30
EAGLE: Easy mode, Completed in under 3:30
JACKAL: Completed between 3:30 and 3:59
ZEBRA: Completed between 4:00 and 4:29
DEER: Completed between 4:30 and 4:59
ELEPHANT: Completed between 5:00 and 5:29
HIPPOPOTAMUS: Completed between 5:30 and 5:59
TURTLE: Completed between 6:00 and 99:59
CHICKEN: Lose
4) Overview
Here I will be going over each boss in details as well as the items found in
their corresponding area. I will not be going over the specifics of the area of
itself however. I find it to be unnecessarily technical for one thing, and
also, to unlock Boss Survival mode you would need to beat the game and
therefore I am hoping that you will be at least decently familiar with each
area. If not, then it is generally quick and easy to get used to each area you
fight in.
Another thing I will not explain is what each weapon does. This is also
something you learn in the main game and is also quick and easy to learn on
your own through experimentation.
4A) SHOTMAKER
Shotmaker stays up top and will only roll to the left or right, usually in
whichever direction is closest to your location. He generally has a pattern of
rolling, taking a small pause, shooting 3 sprays of bullets and then repeating
that process. If you are hiding under the wall where he is unable to even have
a chance of hitting you with his bullets there, then he won't even shoot any
bullets. His bullets are difficult because a group of them come out in a square
formation with each of his 3 shots. Also of note is that even touching him
hurts.
The items available in this area are:
Normal mode: 2 Ammo and 1 RC Missile
Easy mode: 2 Ammo, 1 RC Missile, and 1 Ration
4B) MACHINEGUN KID
Like Shotmaker, Machinegun Kid stays at the top and will only move left or
right, generally in the direction closest to your location. There are 3 long
vertical walls to hide behind in this area. Therefore, he's either hiding
behind a wall, or he moves out and shoots bullets. His bullets shoot in a long
snake-like pattern and go all the way across the screen. Also of note is that
even touching him hurts.
The items available in this area are:
Normal mode: 2 Ammo and 1 RC Missile
Easy mode: 2 Ammo, 1 RC Missile, and 1 Ration
4C) HIND D
The Hind D stays in one spot the whole time, in the upper center of the screen.
It shoots 4 bullets in your direction, takes a break, and then repeats the
process. It does not hurt to touch the Hind D. However, if you run into the
left side of it, it will knock you back a bit.
The items available in this area are:
Normal mode: The Grenade Launcher, 6 Ammo, and 1 Ration
Easy mode: The Grenade Launcher, 6 Ammo, and 1 Ration
4D) TANK
The Tank stays in the top center part of the screen and only moves up and down.
It does not move down past the opening in front of it though. It's movement
seems to be quite random and it will take breaks in between moving up and down.
It also shoots bullets out of its right and left side, alternating between the
2 starting with the right side. The bullets it shoots are in amounts of either
4, 5 or, 6 in a row and it seems to be quite random in the amount it shoots
each time. However, if you get in the front of the middle section of the Tank
it will shoot a missile at you. If it was shooting bullets, then it will stop
shooting bullets at you in order to shoot a missile and then get back to
shooting bullets once you get out of the way. Therefore, this can interrupt the
normal amount of 4, 5 or 6 bullets it will usually shoot. It shoots bullets in
your direction and they move in a snake-like pattern. Its missiles hurt more
than its bullets and touching the Tank itself results in automatic death for
you.
The items available in this area are:
Normal mode: 4 Mine
Easy mode: 4 Mine and 1 Ration
4E) FIRE TROOPER
Fire Trooper will only be in 1 of 2 positions. He starts out on the right side
in a small crevice on the upper portion of the screen. He will stay there
unless you move towards the left side of the screen then he will move to the
left himself and of course he'll move back to the right if you do as well.
Anyways, he'll extend this chain of fire down the middle and swings it right,
left, right, left, then as he goes right again he sucks it back towards him and
then immediately extends it and repeats. I also note that even though the
position he extends and sucks back in the fire is always in the middle, it
still varies position slightly. For instance, it may extend slightly left of
middle or slightly right of middle. The difference is not really significant
though. One more thing, touching him hurts as well.
The items available in this area are:
Normal mode: 1 Ammo and 1 RC Missile
Easy mode: 1 Ammo, 1 RC Missile, and 1 Ration
4F) DIRTY DUCK
Dirty Duck stays in the top center and will only move one step left or right
from the center. He constantly moves and throws his boomerangs at the same time
and he generally moves towards whichever side is closest to your location. Once
he gets his boomerangs thrown there are always 2 boomerangs on the screen at a
time. As soon as a boomerang is about to come back to him he throws a third and
then catches the one coming to him. He either throws his boomerang to the left
or the right generally whichever side is closest to your location. There are
only 2 ways he throws his boomerang. He either throws them to the middle of the
screen or the bottom of the screen, and either to the left or right, making a
total of 4 combinations. It seems to be random which type of way he throws
though. Also, there is a huge trap in the middle of the area. Furthermore, you
automatically lose if you shoot any of the 3 hostages in the area. Fortunately,
you do not get hurt if you touch Dirty Duck.
The items available in this area are:
Normal mode: 2 Ammo
Easy mode: 2 Ammo and 1 Ration
4G) METAL GEAR
Metal Gear itself stays in the center and does nothing. You can touch it and it
won't hurt you. However, there are 2 laser cameras on the wall above it. The
left laser camera moves a little past the center of the wall and all the way to
the left of the wall continuously back and forth. The right laser camera moves
a little less than to the center of the wall and all the way to the right of
the wall continuously back and forth. If you move in front of these laser
cameras they will stop to quickly shoot at you, but then get back along to
there continuous pattern as long as you are not in front of them.
The items available in this area are:
Normal mode: 4 Plastic Explosive
Easy mode: 4 Plastic Explosive and 1 Ration
4H) BIG BOSS
Big Boss will just run around the boxes in a square pattern. Meaning, he would
not run through the spaces in the center. Also, he will always try to get
behind a box that's on an opposing position to where you are located. For
instance, if you are at the bottom left box he would likely be at the top left
box. However, he may also be at the bottom right box. It can depend on where
you lead him. If you move towards him he'll run away from you. So this is an
example of how you could lead him to a new position. If you were at the bottom
left box and he was at the top left box, you could walk towards him then as he
runs away you could head back down to the bottom left box and he may now be at
the new position of the bottom right box. Anyways, he'll just hide behind a box
then move out from behind the box generally in whichever direction is closest
to your location and then shoot a bullet at you and then quickly hide behind
the box again.
Items available in this area are:
Normal mode: Rocket Launcher and 5 Ammo
Easy Mode: Rocket Launcher, 5 Ammo, and 1 Ration
5) Walkthru
There will be 2 walkthrus. The first teaches you a safer way to get through
each boss. The second teaches how to get through quickly but is not the safest
way. A lot of people want to be able to achieve BIG BOSS code name in Boss
Survival mode. Well, following the strategy in either of the 2 walkthrus
efficiently can result in getting BIG BOSS code name. However, if you can't
quite make it under 3 minutes using the first walkthru, then try the second
walkthru. If you have a hard time surviving using the second walkthru, then try
the first walkthru. You can also read through both and kind of run through Boss
Survival using a mixture of both walkthrus.
Remember, if you want BIG BOSS code name then you have to play on Normal mode.
If you just want to beat Boss Survival mode and nothing more, then playing on
Easy mode would of course make it easier for you but the first walkthru will
still work just fine. It's just that on Easy mode there are a lot more Ration
you can pick up which I won't mention to pick up in the walkthru. So you can
stray from my strategy a bit to pick up a Ration if you really want, however, a
lot of the time it is not necessary and/or risky to go out of your way to pick
up a Ration. If you want to be able to beat it on Normal mode but don't care
for BIG BOSS rank, then the first walkthru will still be best for you, however,
I will give an alternative strategy for Hind D and that's it.
5A) Standard Walkthru
5AA) SHOTMAKER
Head right and pick up the RC Missile. Stay there under those boxes and shoot
RC Missiles at Shotmaker. 4 hits from those and you win.
5AB) MACHINEGUN KID
Head left and pick up the RC Missile. Stay there under that wall and shoot RC
Missiles at Machinegun Kid. 4 hits from those and you win.
5AC) HIND D
Immediately go right and get the Rocket Launcher then immediately go left and
then up getting the 3 Ammo. You have to be quick grabbing the Rocket Launcher
and heading left though otherwise the Hind D's bullets will hit you. Anyways,
once you've grabbed the Ammo in the upper left corner, stay under the bottom
left box there. Stay right under it, if positioned correctly which is not that
hard, the Hind D will shoot bullets at you but they will never hit you. Now
just shoot your Grenade Launcher continuously at it. It takes 20 hits of those
to win but you'll only have 18 Ammo of Grenade Launchers. So as soon as you run
out, the Ammo in the upper left will reappear. Just grab it real quick and
shoot 2 more Grenade Launchers at the Hind D.
Alternative strategy: This is for those playing on Normal mode but do not care
to get BIG BOSS code name. Immediately go right and you'll pick up the Grenade
Launcher but continue heading right. It will shoot some bullets at you but as
long as you continue to head right they will miss, then as soon as you are
underneath a Ration, head upwards to pick it up. Then go right to get the Ammo
and head down to get the rest of the Ammo. It should shoot at you again but as
long as you continuously head down then it will miss. Then head all the way
left until you get to the Ammo in the bottom left and then head up to collect
the rest of the Ammo. This area has the only Ration available in Normal mode,
that's why it is so important to collect. To sum it up: you head right then
once you are underneath the Ration head up, as soon as you get it go right
until you get the Ammo in the upper right then head down to grab the other 2
Ammo in the right, from there go all the way left until you get the Ammo in the
bottom left then go up to get the other 2 Ammo in the left. So now you just
stay under the bottom left box and shoot Grenade Launchers at it until you win.
Don't worry, it's bullets won't hit you if you stay there. Also, you might as
well have the Ration equipped.
5AD) TANK
If you are not completing Boss Survival as fast as you'd like to, it is likely
this battle that is causing you the most problems. In which case, you should
check out the strategy for this battle in the Speed Run Walkthru section.
Anyways, start by going right and collecting the 2 Mine over there then
immediately head left and get the Mine in the upper section here. You now have
all the Mines you need to defeat this boss, it takes 11. Whenever there is an
entrance open in his hallway you can run up and lay down 3 Mines. Then go to
the opposite corner that he will be shooting on. Tank always alternates which
side the bullets come out. So if Tank previously shot bullets out of its left
side, Tank will shoot bullets out of its right side next. You can hide on
either the right side of the left box, when Tank is shooting to the right side.
Or, you can hide on the left side of the right box, when Tank is shooting to
the left side. It may take some practice to get used to this and even hiding by
the boxes does not guarantee that the bullets can't hit you. The safest places
would really be in the very bottom left and right corners. However, hiding out
there would make it difficult to run up to lay down Mines. And remember, when
laying down Mines in Tank's hallway, don't do it in the center front of Tank
because Tank may shoot a missile at you. Go to the opposite side that Tank will
be shooting bullets on and lay them there, then quickly get out of the way.
5AE) FIRE TROOPER
Immediately head up and get the RC Missile. Just stay up against that wall and
shoot RC Missiles at Fire Trooper. 6 hits of those and you win.
5AF) DIRTY DUCK
I could find no safe strategy for Dirty Duck. All carry too high of a risk of
getting hit or hitting a hostage and automatically losing. Therefore, I suggest
following this strategy and just taking a hit. Immediately head left a couple
steps and then go up. The reason I don't suggest heading straight up is because
there is a trap in the center. Anyways, so just head straight up until you get
to Dirty Duck and then make sure you are aligned so that you are above the
bottom hostage and below the top left hostage. Then shoot Submachine Guns at
him. Following this strategy you should only get hit by his boomerang once and
quickly take him out after that.
This was sent in by Nicholas Perry. It is an alternative strategy that may be
safer if pulled off correctly: "Hi my name is Nicholas Perry and I found a
quick and safe way to kill dirty duck in metal gear: Boss survival. First
instead of using Nakitas on flametrooper, use the machine gun on him when his
flame goes out and save the nakitas (R.C. Missiles). Then when starting the
dirty duck battle tap up and left. You will find a spot his boomerangs cant
reach. from here you can launch four nakitas at dirty duck from safety to kill
him quickly (about 7-9 seconds.)"
5AG) METAL GEAR
Head into the right corner and pick up both the Plastic Explosive there. Then
head left and pick up both the Plastic Explosive there. On the way to the left
you could set a Plastic Explosive on his right leg to make things a little
quicker. Anyways, you now have all the Plastic Explosives you need to defeat
Metal Gear. He's really easy if you understand the pattern. All you have to do
is align yourself so that you can lay down a Plastic Explosive on his leg and
then run away while doing it. So then you run from one side to the other laying
down a Plastic Explosive each time. You see, you can only set down 1 Plastic
Explosive at a time so there is no point of waiting by his legs to lay them
down and then get hit multiple times by the laser cameras. Instead, you can
just run from one wall to the other laying a Plastic Explosive down as you go,
waiting, and then running to the next side laying down another Plastic
Explosive as you go. The laser cameras will shoot at you but as long as you
continue running they will never hit you. The pattern you must hit his legs is
the following: (R stands for right, L stands for left. This makes it simpler
and easier to memorize.) R, R, L, R, L, L, R, L, L, R, R, L, R, L, R, R.
5AH) BIG BOSS
Head through the bottom left picking up the Rocket Launcher and 2 Ammo as you
go then hide under the bottom left box. He should be at the top left box. Just
move to the left or right and shoot a Rocket Launcher at him. He should move
from his box to shoot at you as well. So each time after you shoot just hide
back under the box again and repeat this process. Just be sure not to move from
the box if he shoots a bullet because then you will run right in to it.
5B) Speedrun Walkthru
5BA) SHOTMAKER
Move straight upwards. Not too much though! You want to align yourself just at
the top of the second box. If you are too high then his third spray of bullets
will come at you diagonally, and if you are too low then your bullets won't hit
him proficiently. Anyways, you need to get in position quickly and then shoot
Submachine Guns at him. It will take him out before he has a chance to even
shoot you.
5BB) MACHINEGUN KID
Run straight up and shoot Submachine Guns at him. Yes, you will take one hit
from him, but this is an extremely fast way to beat him.
5BC) HIND D
Immediately go right and get the Rocket Launcher then immediately go left and
then up getting the 3 Ammo. You have to be quick grabbing the Rocket Launcher
and heading left though otherwise the Hind D's bullets will hit you. Anyways,
once you've grabbed the Ammo in the upper left corner, stay under the bottom
left box there. Stay right under it, if positioned correctly which is not that
hard, the Hind D will shoot bullets at you but they will never hit you. Now
just shoot your Grenade Launcher continuously at it. It takes 20 hits of those
to win but you'll only have 18 Ammo of Grenade Launchers. So as soon as you run
out, the Ammo in the upper left will reappear. Just grab it real quick and
shoot 2 more Grenade Launchers at the Hind D.
5BD) TANK
There is somewhat of a glitch you can use to defeat Tank very quickly. However,
it can be difficult to get used to this technique and very challenging to pull
off properly. You will also be forced to take 2 hits, but you really can defeat
Tank much quicker this way. Okay, so immediately head right and pick up the 2
Mine over there, then head left and get the mine in the upper section here. You
now have all the Mines you need to defeat Tank, it takes 11. By now Tank should
be about ready to shoot out of the left side. Whenever Tank is about to shoot
bullets you must get directly in front of Tank. And I mean way up close to
Tank! Because as soon as he shoots you, you must go on top of him. This would
normally be an instant death for you, however, because you are flashing from
the bullets that just hit you, you will temporarily be invincible. So once you
are on top of Tank you can lay down about 5 or 6 Mines then immediately get off
and in front of him Tank again. Just stay in front of Tank and as soon as you
stop flashing you will be able to get hit from Tank's bullets again. As soon as
you get hit again, get on top of Tank again. Lay down as many Mines as you can.
If you did this good enough, you can take Tank out by the second time you are
on top of him and win.
5BE) FIRE TROOPER
If you have been following this Speed Run through strategy of mine precisely,
then you should have taken 1 hit from Machinegun Kid and 2 hits from Tank. A
really fast strategy to defeat Fire Trooper would be to get directly in front
of him and shoot Submachine Guns at him. However, if that was done correctly
you'd get hit at least once and that's a hit you can't afford. The reason being
is because you are going to take a hit in the next battle and that will be the
last hit you will be able to survive. Therefore, to defeat Fire Trooper I
suggest a safer but slightly slower strategy. Immediately head up and get the
RC Missile. Just stay up against that wall and shoot RC Missiles at Fire
Trooper. 6 hits of those and you win.
5BF) DIRTY DUCK
Immediately head left a couple steps and then go up. The reason I don't suggest
heading straight up is because there is a trap in the center. Anyways, so just
head straight up until you get to Dirty Duck and then make sure you are aligned
so that you are above the bottom hostage and below the top left hostage. Then
shoot Submachine Guns at him. Following this strategy you should only get hit
by his boomerang once and quickly take him out after that.
5BG) METAL GEAR
Head into the right corner and pick up both the Plastic Explosive there. Then
head left and pick up both the Plastic Explosive there. On the way to the left
you could set a Plastic Explosive on his right leg to make things a little
quicker. Anyways, you now have all the Plastic Explosives you need to defeat
Metal Gear. He's really easy if you understand the pattern. All you have to do
is align yourself so that you can lay down a Plastic Explosive on his leg and
then run away while doing it. So then you run from one side to the other laying
down a Plastic Explosive each time. You see, you can only set down 1 Plastic
Explosive at a time so there is no point of waiting by his legs to lay them
down and then get hit multiple times by the laser cameras. Instead, you can
just run from one wall to the other laying a Plastic Explosive down as you go,
waiting, and then running to the next side laying down another Plastic
Explosive as you go. The laser cameras will shoot at you but as long as you
continue running they will never hit you. The pattern you must hit his legs is
the following: (R stands for right, L stands for left. This makes it simpler
and easier to memorize.) R, R, L, R, L, L, R, L, L, R, R, L, R, L, R, R.
5BH) BIG BOSS
Head through the bottom left picking up the Rocket Launcher and 2 Ammo as you
go then hide under the bottom left box. He should be at the top left box. Just
move to the left or right and shoot a Rocket Launcher at him. He should move
from his box to shoot at you as well. So each time after you shoot just hide
back under the box again and repeat this process. Just be sure not to move from
the box if he shoots a bullet because then you will run right in to it.
6) Tips
- Items come back if you run out. For example, if you run out of Grenade
Launcher ammo, then Ammo boxes will reappear in that area. The only exception
is Ration which would not reappear if you run out of health.
- Easy and Normal mode share identical item amounts and locations except when
it comes to Ration. In Easy mode there is 1 Ration available in every battle.
In Normal mode, only the Hind D battle has 1 Ration available and every other
battle does not.
- When you get hit you are temporarily invincible.
- If the timer gets all the way to 99:59, then it will go back to 99:00 as soon
as another second elapses. It continuously repeats this process of counting
from 99:00 to 99:59 then going back to 99:00 and repeating itself. It continues
tallying the time like this so that not only will the TOTAL TIME become glitched
, but if a stage is completed in longer than 99:59, then that stage time can
become glitched as well. I'll give an example of how it glitches. Let's say you
beat a stage in "108:36", it could show up as "C8:36". That's merely an example
and there are different ways that a time can show up glitched but it generally
just involves the first digit of the time.
Something else interesting is what happens after you complete a stage while the
timer is at 99:00 to 99:59. The following stage will show up at 3:00 plus
whatever seconds the previous stage was completed. For instance, if a stage was
completed at "99:53", the following stage will show up at "03:53". But, as soon
as a single second elapses, it goes back to the 99's. For example, the stage
will start at "03:53" but one second later the timer will show up as "99:54".
Any TOTAL TIME above 99:59 will still result in a TURTLE rank which is somewhat
unlike Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake's Boss Survival's timing system glitch.
7) FAQ
- How do I unlock Boss Survival mode?
You simply have to beat the game once on Metal Gear and then save your data
after you beat it.
- How do I save my record in Boss Survival?
You choose the "BACK" option. If you did not play, or if you played but did not
defeat your current record, then it will not ask you if you'd like to save after
choosing "BACK".
- How come some of the strategies in Speed Run Walkthru are the same as the
strategies in Standard Walkthru?
That's because some of the fastest strategies also happen to be the safest
strategy at the same time.
- How can I contact you?
I don't want to seem rude, but I don't care to be contacted about this guide.
8) Credits
- Me (Jamie Brendon Stroud).
- Nicholas Perry: For an alternative Dirty Duck strategy on Standard Walkthru.
9) Copy rights
This file is Copyright (c) 2006 Jamie Brendon Stroud. All rights reserved. This
file was entirely written by me, unless otherwise noted in the Credits section.
However, even though it was written by me, I give permission for anyone to use
it as they'd like. Yep, I don't care what you do with it as long as you give me
credit for it and not claim it as your own.
