9. Fourth-Wall Breaking
KonamiYes, Kojima's love of breaking the fourth wall largely makes Metal Gear Solid a more entertaining series, but there are moments when it's quite jarring. Take the above moment as a clear example; using a bandanna as an unlockable item to grant infinite ammo makes sense in gaming terms - not so much when your supposedly intellectual spy hero is parading it around like he's just discovered one of life's greatest secrets. Another infamous one is when the Colonel asks you to find Meryl's Codec frequency by looking "on the back of the CD case". Turns out there's a sneaky screenshot on the back of the game case which features a Codec conversation with Meryl, allowing us to clearly see her frequency. Cool? Yes, but it also feels like Kojima's beating us over the head with the broken fragments of the fourth wall. Of course, without this fourth wall breaking, we wouldn't have the amazing Psycho Mantis fight or the 'Time Paradox' game over screens. Kojima's self-referential humour is as funny as it is ridiculous, thankfully.