I know inequalities aren't especially beloved here but I'm going to begin with one anyway. First, however, I want to note that I will be ranking them based on overall endgame sequences and then by endings alone. This is important to separate because
Knowledge includes final chapter content as well as epilogues. For me, that changes things considerably.
From the perspective of
endgame:
MGS4 > MGS2 > MGS3 > MGS1 > MGS5.
From the perspective of
epilogue:
MGS3 > MGS4 > MGS1 Otacon Ending > MGS2 > MGS1 Meryl Ending > MGS5.
So what changes?
MGS4's fifth and final "act", as the game and strategy guide refer to it, is nothing short of a masterpiece. Sure, it revels in the game's most notoriously incredulous aspects, such as Meryl and Johnny having some kind of Pirates of the Caribbean 3 standoff. But it all comes together remarkably well, and there is nothing else in gaming quite like Snake's slow crawl through the microwave with "Love Theme" playing in the background and Kojima's pitch-perfect cuts to other sections of Outer Haven and beyond. It is fucking unparalleled. MGS2 is twist after twist after twist after prophetic dialogue after prophetic dialogue after prophetic dialogue, sliced up by some of the best boss fights in the franchise. MGS3 has the absolutely sublime cheese with Volgin and it washes it all down with a one-on-one Big Boss versus The Boss duel that is one for the ages. MGS1 is
still good, but I honestly don't think it holds a candle to any of that. And I say that as someone who would still cite that endgame as one of the best in the medium. MGS5... is MGS5.
Now for the endings themselves. MGS3 is my favorite ending in gaming. It's powerful, it's sweeping, it sets up Big Boss' downfall in a way that, tragically, none of his follow-up games -- the ones that are supposed to push him farther and farther from the light -- ever rival. Harry Gregson-Williams' best song ever composed swells into crescendo at just the right moments, too, and "Way to Fall" is the perfect end credits theme to match the actual tears I felt upon my 16-year-old cheeks when that game first came out. (Do I still cry? Yes, yes I do.) MGS4's epilogue is criticized for being entirely too long, and much like its endgame, occasionally doubling down on the game's more infamous plot and character beats. And, I mean, fair. But it also has some of the best moments in the series. "Snake... had a hard life." Otacon's last on-screen words in the timeline. And they are masterfully delivered, and maybe I cry a little bit there as well. Is the Snake and Big Boss graveyard scene too long? No. I don't think it is. Next up is the MGS1 ending that ain't canon, and that's kind of a shame. "Hal, huh? I'm Dave." That's a good line right there. MGS1's canon ending just feels like mediocre cheese by comparison. MGS2's is better than that, but "This... is for your ears only." That's such a dull clanker of an attempt at romantic dialogue, capping off a Raiden/Rose relationship that was pretty damn bad the whole way through. MGS5.. is MGS5.
