Selecting “I like MGS2” causes Snake to wear the Raikov mask in the beginning and adds an extra bit of dialogue where Zero (at the time referred to as Major Tom) tells Snake to remove his disguise. Snake Eater begins with a prompt to the player regarding their experience with the Metal Gear series. In Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater the line is used again–for certain players. Indeed, the Sons of Liberty script that was made available in The Document of Metal Gear Solid 2 notes regarding this line that “the comment is directed to the player.” Since then, it has essentially become the “I have a bad feeling about this” of the Metal Gear series. The line was an awkwardly subtle breaking of the fourth wall, either because the cutscene that played before we even got to hear Snake’s voice was somewhat lengthy, or because at the time it was around three years since players tackled Metal Gear Solid. “Kept you waiting, huh?” was first uttered by Solid Snake, voiced by David Hayter, in 2001’s Sons of Liberty. Why do I take issue with such a simple phrase?

Yet nowadays when I hear “Kept you waiting, huh?” my reaction ranges from a sigh to a fully apathetic no shits given. Say what you want about the Disney film Wreck It Ralph, but that scene with the exclamation mark did put a smile on my face. My Steam avatar is the smiling classic FOXHOUND logo straight from the Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake loading screen. I slapped a Militaires Sans Frontières sticker on the back of my car. Things like this are great Metal Gear references especially when used appropriately in context. The response is usually excitement from the energetic fan who “gets it.” Metal Gear fans however instantly recognize the “codec” sound, specifically from Metal Gear Solid and reused in its sequel Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Most people do not give it a second’s notice and might, at most, observe that I am not using any of the ringtones Apple provides, let along the default. In a rare moment when my phone is not on vibrate and rings, many of you reading would easily recognize it for what it is.

Editorial by Ravi Singh, Posted on December 5, 2014