20 Things You Didn't Know About Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
18. A Skull Face Boss Fight Was Cut
Many fans were disappointed about MGS V's lack of the series' signature boss fights, and in the case of the villainous Skull Face, players didn't even end up battling him at all.
However, eager fans who data-mined the game upon release found additional Skull Face dialogue which seemed to confirm that players were originally supposed to have a mano-y-mano battle with him.
Furthermore, players would be given the opportunity to kill Skull Face or imprison him in Mother Base instead.
As for why the boss fight was cut? Kojima stated in the game's Collector's Edition guide that he wanted players to feel the phantom pain of Skull Face being absent for so much of the game, right up to depriving them of a traditional fight against the antagonist.