Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain releases on September 1, and it’s going to be a big day. I’m sure some of you are planning on attending midnight releases. Others may have the game preloaded so that when midnight strikes, a new adventure with Big Boss will begin. But Big Boss isn’t the only character getting a lot of attention in the game. The other is Quiet.
It isn’t all good attention, either. The new Metal Gear Solid V heroine has received quite a bit of buzz for her appearance. Some people are outraged, considering it another instance of objectification of a woman within a game. Others love it, because she’s a good looking woman in a skimpy outfit that dresses up the place in a game where most people are wearing layers of fatigues.
To start, Hideo Kojima has said before that Quiet looks the way she does in Metal Gear Solid V for a reason. Yes, she’s wearing a bikini top in a war zone, but the rest of her outfit isn’t too unreasonable, compared to what we’ve seen female characters wear in games before. The girls of Senran Kagura fight in their underwear, if they take enough damage. Early Lara Croft’s tank top was hardly appropriate tomb raiding attire. It’s simply a continuation of fanservice, though it could be more. After all, there could be some sort of explanation for that outfit. Even if far-fetched, there is a chance it makes sense for the story.
Plus, there’s something else important to consider. Quiet is a buddy character in Metal Gear Solid V . If a player doesn’t like her for any reason, they don’t have to have her work with Big Boss. If there’s an objection to her appearance, don’t bother with her. Kojima has even said that there’s a chance people won’t even encounter her in the game, based upon their behaviors.
But Quiet might prove too enticing to hide away. I’m not talking about her looks. There are so many questions about her. Why does she always remain silent? Every trailer and bit of early information suggests she never speaks, only humming, writing, and using other means of communication. She’s been shown to have supernatural abilities, such as superhuman speed. How did she come across such a power?
We go on and on about not judging books by their covers, yet with Metal Gear Solid V ‘s Quiet, people are ready to start judging right away because of her outfit. Sure, there’ll need to be some really good reason to explain why she’d need to wear that specific top on a battlefield, but maybe there is. If it suits a character’s personality and mindset, then maybe it’s okay if there’s a little fanservice.