5. Solid Snake & Hal Emmerich (aka Otacon) - Metal Gear Solid
This relationship is tough to describe in words. Similar to the actual experience of playing games from the Metal Gear Solid series, the relationship between super soldier Solid Snake and brilliant scientist Hal Emmerich is something that needs to be experienced to be understood. The two characters first met in Shadow Moses, the setting of the original Metal Gear Solid for the Playstation (1998), where Hal Emmerich (nicknamed Otacon due to his love of anime) was imprisoned and forced to work on the massive, nuclear-armed walking tank known as Metal Gear REX. After being freed, Otacon gave support to Snake on his mission and this continued through the rest of Snake's saga in the Metal Gear Solid series, including the beginning of Metal Gear Solid 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4. While their relationship appears on the surface to be not much more than the sharing of common goals, it is in the moments of down time, and CODEC conversations, where their relationship has truly blossomed. Otacon has revealed himself to be somewhat of a sensitive, conflicted individual with his own fair share of personal problems. He had fallen in love with one of his imprisoners, Sniper Wolf, back on Shadow Moses, and after Solid Snake killed her, Otacon has had something of a tumultuous relationship with the opposite sex. His awkward, "brainy" demeanor often lends a unique sense of humor to the way he deals with problems in his life, especially when juxtaposed with the cool, calmness exuded by Snake. The non-stop intensity, and sometimes insanity, of everything going on around these two characters always lends a very personal and human quality to their interactions in the brief moments of calm. Plus, in a world with as much double crossing and espionage as the Metal Gear Solid universe, Otacon seems to be the only consistent presence in Snake's life who can always be trusted. Ultimately, in the grand scheme of what is the Metal Gear Solid saga, the relationship between Solid Snake and Otacon is really a sum of many small parts. Whether Otacon is explaining to Snake that aliens have been visiting Earth on a regular basis, whether they're saving each others' lives in the field, or whether Snake is making fun of Otacon for peeing his pants, this is one unique relationship that isn't really like anything else out there. Kind of like Metal Gear Solid.