The Context: Ironically, the reasoning that this fight is so high up on the list doesn't have much to do with Vamp, but rather many of the cinematics surrounding both before and after; specifically speaking, a cancer ridden Naomi choosing to commit suicide in the very underground area where Frank Jaeger - the man that adopted her as a sister - died. Even more saddening is the fact that yet again someone Otacon loves is taken from him; simply put the waterworks began flowing for many fans of the franchise during this scene. The Fight: With that said, if the fight was truly unforgettable or terrible it wouldn't have ended up so high on this list. No matter how much Snake shoots at the immortal acrobatic Romanian, he will not die. Upon emptying his health bar it just refills, truly settling in frustration for both Snake and the player on how to keep him down. The solution is devilishly hidden and brilliant as it involves grabbing Vamp once he is temporarily stunned from having his health bar depleted - and injecting him with medicine that represses nanomachines, subsequently making him mortal. Immediately afterwards an epic battle between Raiden and Vamp commences in real-time split screen as Snake simultaneously fends off small walking tanks called Gekkos. Because Metal Gear, that's why.
13. Liquid Snake Metal Gear Solid
The Context: After successfully taking out Metal Gear Rex - and listening to some heavy plot details - the two brothers born from an experiment clash hand-to-hand on top of the very nuclear weapon that has just been destroyed - Shadow Moses island is also set to be bombed within mere minutes. The Fight: Outside of the setting and the fact that it's the climactic battle that the game has been building to, there isn't too much to say about the fight. It can be a bit challenging - filled with trial and error - as you learn Liquid's attack patterns - which expand in complexity as you damage him - but for the most part it's all about giving him the classic punch-punch-kick combo repeatedly. With that said it's still an epic hand-to-hand fight on top of a Metal Gear with a major antagonist.
12. Fatman Metal Gear Solid 2
The Context: After freezing all of the strategically-placed bombs around each section of the Big Shell, Raiden gets to have a one-on-one confrontation with the troubled overweight psychopath on the facility helipad. The character of Fatman in general is also a testament to how Kojima can successfully create such a ridiculous character and ground it into a legitimately-engaging story arc with laughs and emotional moments. The Fight: As Fatman zips around the helipad with his rollerskates it becomes the player's duty not only to pop him with some bullets when given the opportunity, but to run around the area and freeze even more bombs. Even more interesting is the fact that on harder difficulties there are more bombs to simultaneously freeze in conjunction with fighting. After defeating Fatman there's also a neat twist where he reveals that he has one more devastating bomb ready to go off which is hidden underneath his fat carcass. Overall, it's an intense fight with a great degree of complexity and cool story moments.
11. The Sorrow Metal Gear Solid 3
The Context: Big Boss suffers a nasty fall and enters an unconscious nightmare-like state where he wades through a river filled with apparitions of everyone he has killed - or more specifically the player - throughout the game so far. It's an extremely eerie sequence that is unlike anything else in the entire franchise. The Fight: In actuality this isn't even a fight; it's a puzzle masqueraded as such a thing. Upon reaching the end of the river Big Boss will die every time with the only solution being to take the revival pill - which is normally a counteraction for taking the fake death pill - during the game over screen. Even though this technically isn't a fight, the creativity and brilliance behind it all makes for a sequence that is far too unforgettable and deserving of a high place on this list.
