Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-24941369-20140514153906/@comment-1504072-20160303110942

186.62.2.114 wrote: The franchise can only go up from here I think.

Seriously, I never gonna understand the PW,GZ,TPP trilogy, i mean, ¿what was Kojima trying to do with these games? Everything is a huge filler

PW is barely relevant in the grand scheme of things, a low selling little story released in a dead system, MGSV not only is a side story at best but also makes PW even more irrelevant: MSF is nothing more than an filler army the is never mentioned in the future, characters like Chico Paz, Amanda are pretty much killed or forgotten in the 25 minutes long GZ mission, Strangelove is killed off screen. That's the problem with having the same protagonist after they've already had a good run, and is true in any long-runnnig franchise). You essentially have to wind things "back to zero" on occasion. This happened to some extent in MGS4 with Solid Snake, and was partially/wholly the reason why Raiden was introduced back in MGS2. But everybody wants to be Snake! So we have to build the mercenary army again from scratch. Kojima therefore puts a lot of focus on the game's themes, rather than the specific plot points (e.g. nuclear deterrence, endless cycles of revenge, men becoming demons, etc.).

I get the impression MSF is never mentioned by name due to the similarity with the real MSF (Medicins Sans Frontieres), since they had to put a disclaimer on the HD Edition of Peace Walker. And I don't think having all the characters return is absolutely necessary if the writer can't find an interesting role for them in the story, but at least they weren't totally forgotten.

To an extent, all games set between MGS3 and MG1/2 are filler, because we already know the core reason behind Big Boss's change. Some feel more like filler than others, but that's largely down to personal preference. If the franchise "goes up" from here, it will be because the new writers do the smart thing and create a new continuity. It might as well be a new franchise, but the "Metal Gear" name will continue because it sells.

Anyway, rather than go further off topic, I'll end with the view that thinking of MGR in terms of being "truly canon" is the completely wrong approach to take. Just enjoy if for the silly Hollywood-style, hack-n-slash, kinda-canon spinoff that it is.