Highlights
- Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater features a variety of enemy types, including KGB officers, Ocelot Unit soldiers, and GRU soldiers.
- Players can choose to engage in combat or sneak past these enemies, adding depth to the gameplay.
- The game also includes unique enemies such as flying units and flame troops, which contribute to the 1960s theme and provide additional challenges for the player.
Even though Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater takes place in 1964, a full 45 years before the prior main entry in the series, and it features a larger variety of enemy types. As this topic goes through them all, it will point out where players first encounter them.
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Most of the enemies are basic humans, but they have some tools up their sleeves to make Snake's mission harder. Some of their equipment is anachronistic, but it is difficult to complain when they make the gameplay more interesting. After all, this is Metal Gear, a series about walking battle tanks, cyborg ninjas, and clones of legendary soldiers.
1 KGB Officers
First Enemies Snake Encounters During The Virtuous Mission
These are the first adversaries Snake goes up against and they serve as the standard enemy soldier. They have AK-47s and Grenades.
Even though Major Zero warns against leaving a trace of Snake's path, the game does not force players to abide by this, so gamers are free to shoot them, kill them, and enter the alert phase. After the virtuous mission is done, the KGB officers are no longer a part of the story.
2 Ocelot Unit
Fought After Meeting Eva, And At Two Optional Points
- First optional fight: If players kill The End before his boss fight, they are patrolling the area. Players can either eliminate them all or sneak past them to the cave with the ladder leading to the mountains.
- Second optional fight: If players do not remove the tracking device after being captured, they will show up in the area after the Sorrow boss fight and before rendezvousing with Eva.
The Ocelot Unit are the soldiers under Revolver Ocelot, the series staple who players get to see as a young man. They wear red berets and balaclavas and come equipped with different weapons depending on the individual soldier.
In the first encounter, players have to either kill or incapacitate the soldiers in the Ocelot Unit to progress. In the two optional encounters, it is possible to sneak past them without engaging in combat.
3 GRU Soldiers
Primary Guards During Operation Snake Eater
GRU soldiers are under Volgin's command so players will mainly be dealing with them. Players first encounter them after seeing the Boss in Operation Snake Eater after she blows up the plane in which Snake landed.
Depending on the area, they will be equipped with all manner of weaponry, from regular assault rifles to shotguns and RPG-7s. When in the alert phase, some shielded enemies will also come to make the fight harder.
Blow up ammunition storage rooms and food pantries to make GRU soldiers less efficient later in the game.
4 Flying Units
First Appear After Fighting The Pain And During The Motorcycle Chase
And now onto an enemy that had no hope of existing back in 1964 and probably would not be feasible, or even practical, today. Players first have to tend with the flying enemies after escaping the cave following the boss fight with the Pain.
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There's no point in trying to destroy them here, so Snake simply should hide underwater to avoid getting discovered by their spotlight. While unrealistic, it contributes to the 1960s obsession with jetpacks. They were featured prominently in The Jetsons, and the Bond movieThunderball uses one in its iconic opening scene.
If players destroy the helicopter parked earlier in the game by the base in the room before the Ocelot boss fight, they will show up in the mountains in place of the helicopter.
5 The Helicopter
Show Up In The Mountains
The series is no stranger to aggressive helicopters. This time it is not even a boss, though, and instead a simple vehicle patrolling the mountain path. Not only do they quickly survey the area, but they also can cause serious damage during an alert phase.
It is best to try and stay out of its way whenever possible. Still, nothing makes the player feel more powerful than single-handedly taking out a helicopter with an RPG-7 or a mounted gun.
6 Flame Troops
In The Mountains After Meeting With Eva
These enemies only show up in one room that players can quickly run through if they know where the exit is. If players want to engage with them, they can cause some serious damage with their flamethrowers.
Of course, like every enemy with a flamethrower, Snake can shoot the pack on their back to light them up in flames. The flamethrower troops are more of a prelude to the Fury boss fight ahead than a real threat.
7 Scientists
In The Graniny Gorki Lab And Groznyj Grad
Scientists will not attack Snake, but they will still be alarmed by his presence and trigger an alert, so players want to avoid detection by them. Even with the scientist's disguise, they see right through it.
There is no penalty for killing them, but players can also creatively knock them out with the gas cigarettes if they are fast enough. It is curious why they immediately know that Snake is not a scientist as if they know every other scientist working on the Shagohod project.
8 Dogs
Before Fighting Ocelot And Outside The Graniny Gorki Lab
Dogs are a gamer's worst nightmare in a stealth game. They do not want to hurt the hounds, but these animals are also the best at spotting the player.
Fortunately, it is at least simple to just put the dogs to sleep and there is no mandatory up close and personal moment like in The Last of Us Part 2. And no, the game does not let players eat dogs like most of the other animals.
9 Motorcycle Troops
During The Bike Chase
After fighting Volgin and blowing up the Shagohod Hangar, players go on a lengthy bike chase through the ruins of Groznyj Grad. Enemies on bikes start chasing Snake and Eva down the runway. The second part of the chase continues after defeating the Shagohod.
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Here, players almost exclusively deal with this type of enemy. They always come in twos. One enemy drives while another shoots. Take out the driver to see both of them go out in a spectacular crash.
10 Maintenance Worker
In The Shagohod Hangar
These foes are similar to scientists in that they do not hurt the player but they will still alarm the guards. The Shagohod Hangar is a more open space, which makes sneaking by them a little harder than usual since it is not as easy to use corners to one's advantage.
Finding a Maintenance disguise in one of the lockers in the weapons lab (the room prior to entering the Hangar) makes sneaking around the hangar easier, but the Maintenance Workers will still see through the disguise when Snake is facing them.
11 GRU Officers
Found In The Graniny Gorki Lab And The Groznyj Grad Weapons Lab
These guys are not as threatening as the other GRU Soldiers and are only found in interior locations. In direct combat, they will not cause Snake a lot of issues since they only have a pistol.
Because of the closed nature of the indoor spaces and the lack of a Soliton Radar like in the prior two games, they do spot the player more easily. Once in Groznyj Grad, they are sufficiently fooled by the officer's disguise and the Raikov mask.
