Hideo Kojima, the father of theMetal Gear Solidseries, likes creating interesting women in his games. This goes beyondMetal Gear SolidasDeath Strandingis the most recent example. Some may think they tend to fall under broken stereotypes like Fragile and Mama which is not untrue.

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Mistral from Metal Gear Rising

It is safe to say fans have a divisive opinion on the matter, but that is a whole other conversation. What is noteworthy for now is that these eight female characters are some of the best heroes and villains in theMetal Gear Solidseries.Hideo Kojima didn’thave a hand in all of them but they come from familiar territory.

8Mistral

Mistral is one of the only female bosses inMetal Gear Rising. She is also known as “The Cold Wind of France” or at least that’s how she introduces herself to Raiden. She has one of the best boss themes in the game, “A Stranger I Remain” which is pure metal. Her gimmick is her spherical robots with arms that she uses like Doc Ock from Spider-Man.

It’s a tough fight, cementing Mistral as one of the coolest characters in that game and the series even if she wasn’t in her debut much.

Venus from Metal Gear Acid 2

7Venus

Venus is Snake’s partner inMetal Gear Acid 2, the better of the two spinoffs on PSP. Teliko Friedman was Snake’s partner in the first game and also deserves a small nod in the female history books of this series. Both games were tactical card-based RPGs that kept the stealthy gameplay around for a truly unique hybrid.

The sequel is better thanks to the more colorful aesthetic, tightened gameplay, and Venus’ introduction as Snake’s partner. She knows her way around guns and over-the-top bosses that are too whimsical to be real.

Fortune from Metal Gear Solid 2

6Fortune

Fortune is one of the villains fromMetal Gear Solid 2. Her power is her inability to die or even be hit. That’s because she has special armor that can deflect things like bullets almost like a high-powered magnet. It is left ambiguous whether or not she has an internal power of deflection and high luck as well but that’s par for the coursefor this franchise.

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Fortune wields a giant rail gun that can destroy anything in its path with one blast. She’s a tough boss to crack at first but eventually, she meets her end like most villains do in this series.

5Eva

Eva, also known as Big Mama, was a secret agent Big Boss meets during his mission inMetal Gear Solid 3. Like Ada Wong in theResident Evilseries, Eva’s allegiance is not clearly defined. Was she a good guy trying to help Bog Boss on his mission or did she have ulterior motives?

She only appears in two gamesin the serieswith the latter version inMetal Gear Solid 4feeling like a different character altogether. Wherever her true allegiances were in the prequel, Big Boss owes his life to Eva for the help that she did provide.

Eva from Metal Gear Solid 3

4Quiet

There are two female snipers worth highlightingin this series. The first of which is Sniper Wolf fromMetal Gear Solid. It was an intense battle but it was hindered by the PS1 limitations and she wasn’t in it much to get a true understanding of her character.

The encounter with Quiet inMetal Gear Solid 5is presumably the sniper battle Hideo Kojima always dreamed of. Quiet is a master with her rifle but not so much her words. She’s part plant or something, making it difficult for her to interact properly with others. Literally quiet or not, this female sniper could blow a jet out of the sky if asked.

Quiet from Metal Gear Solid 5

3Olga Gurlukovich

Olga Gurlukovich is the first big boss Snake fights on the tanker at the beginning ofMetal Gear Solid 2. It’s a cool fight that helps demonstrate the PS2’s capabilities with physics as players have to blow away covers, like tarps, to expose Olga.

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Olga Gurlukovich from Metal Gear Solid 2

After the tanker sinks, Olga returns as the reimagined Cyber Ninja. Her daughter, Sunny, is later adopted by Snake, Otacon, and Raiden for a bigger role in the sequels. It’s easy to sympathize with a mother like Olga trying to provide a safe world for their children by any means necessary.

2Meryl Silverburgh

Meryl Silverburgh technically began her life in another Hideo Kojima game viaPolicenauts. Her design is a bit different inMetal Gear Solidas well as her personality. Either way, she is seemingly an important character to Kojima that found her way into more bizarre adventures.

She’s a rookie in the first game who evolves and gets to command her own squad inMetal Gear Solid 4. Strangely enough, Meryl and Snake don’t end up together. She married Johnny Sasaki instead whose family lineage is practically covered in waste. It’s an odd end for Meryl but overall she is a classic.

Meryl Silverburgh from Metal Gear Solid 4

1The Boss

The Boss helped create the dynamic of this series inMetal Gear Solid 3. She loved her country so much that she defected to Russia and created a giant convoluted plot just to train Snake who later became the new bossaka Big Boss.

She sacrifices a lot but ultimately walks away victorious as sad as it is. Was it the right decision? There might have been better ways to help the U.S. out but then again this series may not exist without her grand idea of revenge and that would be a depressing state indeed.

The Boss from Metal Gear Solid 3