Game: Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence
System: PS2
Metal Gear Boss Survival Guide
Version: 2.0
Author: Jamie Brendon Stroud


Table of Contents:

1) Version history

2) Introduction

3) Code names

4) Overview
     4A) SHOTMAKER
     4B) MACHINEGUN KID
     4C) HIND D
     4D) TANK
     4E) FIRE TROOPER
     4F) DIRTY DUCK
     4G) METAL GEAR
     4H) BIG BOSS

5) Walkthru
     5A) Standard Walkthru
          5AA) SHOTMAKER
          5AB) MACHINEGUN KID
          5AC) HIND D
          5AD) TANK
          5AE) FIRE TROOPER
          5AF) DIRTY DUCK
          5AG) METAL GEAR
          5AH) BIG BOSS


     5B) Speedrun Walkthru
          5BA) SHOTMAKER
          5BB) MACHINEGUN KID
          5BC) HIND D
          5BD) TANK
          5BE) FIRE TROOPER
          5BF) DIRTY DUCK
          5BG) METAL GEAR
          5BH) BIG BOSS

6) Tips

7) FAQ

8) Credits

9) Copy rights


1) Version history:

(The following is in Day/Month/Year format)

11/11/2006 - Version 2.0: I had previously had this guide set as the Final 
version. This guide is the first guide I have written but now I think I will be 
more careful about calling a guide a Final version. I thought I had everything 
discovered and said that was important, but I had recently found out a glitch to
do with the timing system. This timing system glitch is discussed in section 6) 
Tips.

22/03/2006 - Version 1.1: I added a Tips section. I also added a new Codename 
that I forgot to include called "CHICKEN". That's about it.

20/03/2006 - Version 1.0: This is the first creation of the guide.


2) Introduction:

Well, with the release of Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, I began playing the
original Metal Gear games before anything else since I had never played them 
before. I tried to find guides for the games but I could only find guides for 
the original MSX versions. Those guides were good enough to help me through the
main game, but after completing the main game I unlocked Boss Survival mode. 
There was no Boss Survival mode in the original MSX games. Therefore, I tried 
to find guides for Boss Survival mode but I found nothing. I asked on forums 
and no one replied. However, through practice I became really good at Metal 
Gear's Boss Survival mode all by myself. Long story short, I decided to find 
out how the code name ranking system worked for Boss Survival mode (which is a 
long and tedious process) and after that I figured I would just write a guide 
for the whole thing.


3) Code names

You get a code name upon completion of Boss Survival mode. I shall list the 
code names in the following format: "Code name: Requirement". Where "Code name"
is the actual code name and "Requirement" is the requirements that must be 
fulfilled in order to get that code name.

BIG BOSS: Normal mode, 0 rations used, Completed in under 3:00

PANTHER: Normal mode, 0 rations used, Completed between 3:00 and 3:29

FOX: Normal mode, 1 ration used, Completed in under 3:30

EAGLE: Easy mode, Completed in under 3:30

JACKAL: Completed between 3:30 and 3:59

ZEBRA: Completed between 4:00 and 4:29

DEER: Completed between 4:30 and 4:59

ELEPHANT: Completed between 5:00 and 5:29

HIPPOPOTAMUS: Completed between 5:30 and 5:59

TURTLE: Completed between 6:00 and 99:59

CHICKEN: Lose


4) Overview

Here I will be going over each boss in details as well as the items found in 
their corresponding area. I will not be going over the specifics of the area of
itself however. I find it to be unnecessarily technical for one thing, and 
also, to unlock Boss Survival mode you would need to beat the game and 
therefore I am hoping that you will be at least decently familiar with each 
area. If not, then it is generally quick and easy to get used to each area you 
fight in.

Another thing I will not explain is what each weapon does. This is also 
something you learn in the main game and is also quick and easy to learn on 
your own through experimentation.


4A) SHOTMAKER

Shotmaker stays up top and will only roll to the left or right, usually in 
whichever direction is closest to your location. He generally has a pattern of 
rolling, taking a small pause, shooting 3 sprays of bullets and then repeating 
that process. If you are hiding under the wall where he is unable to even have 
a chance of hitting you with his bullets there, then he won't even shoot any 
bullets. His bullets are difficult because a group of them come out in a square
formation with each of his 3 shots. Also of note is that even touching him 
hurts.

The items available in this area are: 

Normal mode: 2 Ammo and 1 RC Missile
Easy mode: 2 Ammo, 1 RC Missile, and 1 Ration


4B) MACHINEGUN KID

Like Shotmaker, Machinegun Kid stays at the top and will only move left or 
right, generally in the direction closest to your location. There are 3 long 
vertical walls to hide behind in this area. Therefore, he's either hiding 
behind a wall, or he moves out and shoots bullets. His bullets shoot in a long 
snake-like pattern and go all the way across the screen. Also of note is that 
even touching him hurts.

The items available in this area are:

Normal mode: 2 Ammo and 1 RC Missile
Easy mode: 2 Ammo, 1 RC Missile, and 1 Ration


4C) HIND D

The Hind D stays in one spot the whole time, in the upper center of the screen.
It shoots 4 bullets in your direction, takes a break, and then repeats the 
process. It does not hurt to touch the Hind D. However, if you run into the 
left side of it, it will knock you back a bit.

The items available in this area are:

Normal mode: The Grenade Launcher, 6 Ammo, and 1 Ration
Easy mode: The Grenade Launcher, 6 Ammo, and 1 Ration


4D) TANK

The Tank stays in the top center part of the screen and only moves up and down.
It does not move down past the opening in front of it though. It's movement 
seems to be quite random and it will take breaks in between moving up and down.
It also shoots bullets out of its right and left side, alternating between the 
2 starting with the right side. The bullets it shoots are in amounts of either 
4, 5 or, 6 in a row and it seems to be quite random in the amount it shoots 
each time. However, if you get in the front of the middle section of the Tank 
it will shoot a missile at you. If it was shooting bullets, then it will stop 
shooting bullets at you in order to shoot a missile and then get back to 
shooting bullets once you get out of the way. Therefore, this can interrupt the
normal amount of 4, 5 or 6 bullets it will usually shoot. It shoots bullets in 
your direction and they move in a snake-like pattern. Its missiles hurt more 
than its bullets and touching the Tank itself results in automatic death for 
you.

The items available in this area are:

Normal mode: 4 Mine
Easy mode: 4 Mine and 1 Ration


4E) FIRE TROOPER

Fire Trooper will only be in 1 of 2 positions. He starts out on the right side 
in a small crevice on the upper portion of the screen. He will stay there 
unless you move towards the left side of the screen then he will move to the 
left himself and of course he'll move back to the right if you do as well. 
Anyways, he'll extend this chain of fire down the middle and swings it right, 
left, right, left, then as he goes right again he sucks it back towards him and
then immediately extends it and repeats. I also note that even though the 
position he extends and sucks back in the fire is always in the middle, it 
still varies position slightly. For instance, it may extend slightly left of 
middle or slightly right of middle. The difference is not really significant 
though. One more thing, touching him hurts as well.

The items available in this area are:

Normal mode: 1 Ammo and 1 RC Missile
Easy mode: 1 Ammo, 1 RC Missile, and 1 Ration


4F) DIRTY DUCK

Dirty Duck stays in the top center and will only move one step left or right 
from the center. He constantly moves and throws his boomerangs at the same time
and he generally moves towards whichever side is closest to your location. Once
he gets his boomerangs thrown there are always 2 boomerangs on the screen at a 
time. As soon as a boomerang is about to come back to him he throws a third and
then catches the one coming to him. He either throws his boomerang to the left 
or the right generally whichever side is closest to your location. There are 
only 2 ways he throws his boomerang. He either throws them to the middle of the
screen or the bottom of the screen, and either to the left or right, making a 
total of 4 combinations. It seems to be random which type of way he throws 
though. Also, there is a huge trap in the middle of the area. Furthermore, you 
automatically lose if you shoot any of the 3 hostages in the area. Fortunately,
you do not get hurt if you touch Dirty Duck.

The items available in this area are:

Normal mode: 2 Ammo
Easy mode: 2 Ammo and 1 Ration


4G) METAL GEAR

Metal Gear itself stays in the center and does nothing. You can touch it and it
won't hurt you. However, there are 2 laser cameras on the wall above it. The 
left laser camera moves a little past the center of the wall and all the way to
the left of the wall continuously back and forth. The right laser camera moves 
a little less than to the center of the wall and all the way to the right of 
the wall continuously back and forth. If you move in front of these laser 
cameras they will stop to quickly shoot at you, but then get back along to 
there continuous pattern as long as you are not in front of them.

The items available in this area are:

Normal mode: 4 Plastic Explosive
Easy mode: 4 Plastic Explosive and 1 Ration


4H) BIG BOSS

Big Boss will just run around the boxes in a square pattern. Meaning, he would 
not run through the spaces in the center. Also, he will always try to get 
behind a box that's on an opposing position to where you are located. For 
instance, if you are at the bottom left box he would likely be at the top left 
box. However, he may also be at the bottom right box. It can depend on where 
you lead him. If you move towards him he'll run away from you. So this is an 
example of how you could lead him to a new position. If you were at the bottom 
left box and he was at the top left box, you could walk towards him then as he 
runs away you could head back down to the bottom left box and he may now be at 
the new position of the bottom right box. Anyways, he'll just hide behind a box
then move out from behind the box generally in whichever direction is closest 
to your location and then shoot a bullet at you and then quickly hide behind 
the box again.

Items available in this area are:

Normal mode: Rocket Launcher and 5 Ammo
Easy Mode: Rocket Launcher, 5 Ammo, and 1 Ration


5) Walkthru

There will be 2 walkthrus. The first teaches you a safer way to get through 
each boss. The second teaches how to get through quickly but is not the safest 
way. A lot of people want to be able to achieve BIG BOSS code name in Boss 
Survival mode. Well, following the strategy in either of the 2 walkthrus 
efficiently can result in getting BIG BOSS code name. However, if you can't 
quite make it under 3 minutes using the first walkthru, then try the second 
walkthru. If you have a hard time surviving using the second walkthru, then try
the first walkthru. You can also read through both and kind of run through Boss
Survival using a mixture of both walkthrus.

Remember, if you want BIG BOSS code name then you have to play on Normal mode. 
If you just want to beat Boss Survival mode and nothing more, then playing on 
Easy mode would of course make it easier for you but the first walkthru will 
still work just fine. It's just that on Easy mode there are a lot more Ration 
you can pick up which I won't mention to pick up in the walkthru. So you can 
stray from my strategy a bit to pick up a Ration if you really want, however, a
lot of the time it is not necessary and/or risky to go out of your way to pick 
up a Ration. If you want to be able to beat it on Normal mode but don't care 
for BIG BOSS rank, then the first walkthru will still be best for you, however,
I will give an alternative strategy for Hind D and that's it.


5A) Standard Walkthru


5AA) SHOTMAKER

Head right and pick up the RC Missile. Stay there under those boxes and shoot 
RC Missiles at Shotmaker. 4 hits from those and you win.


5AB) MACHINEGUN KID

Head left and pick up the RC Missile. Stay there under that wall and shoot RC 
Missiles at Machinegun Kid. 4 hits from those and you win.


5AC) HIND D

Immediately go right and get the Rocket Launcher then immediately go left and 
then up getting the 3 Ammo. You have to be quick grabbing the Rocket Launcher 
and heading left though otherwise the Hind D's bullets will hit you. Anyways, 
once you've grabbed the Ammo in the upper left corner, stay under the bottom 
left box there. Stay right under it, if positioned correctly which is not that 
hard, the Hind D will shoot bullets at you but they will never hit you. Now 
just shoot your Grenade Launcher continuously at it. It takes 20 hits of those 
to win but you'll only have 18 Ammo of Grenade Launchers. So as soon as you run
out, the Ammo in the upper left will reappear. Just grab it real quick and 
shoot 2 more Grenade Launchers at the Hind D.

Alternative strategy: This is for those playing on Normal mode but do not care 
to get BIG BOSS code name. Immediately go right and you'll pick up the Grenade 
Launcher but continue heading right. It will shoot some bullets at you but as 
long as you continue to head right they will miss, then as soon as you are 
underneath a Ration, head upwards to pick it up. Then go right to get the Ammo 
and head down to get the rest of the Ammo. It should shoot at you again but as 
long as you continuously head down then it will miss. Then head all the way 
left until you get to the Ammo in the bottom left and then head up to collect 
the rest of the Ammo. This area has the only Ration available in Normal mode, 
that's why it is so important to collect. To sum it up: you head right then 
once you are underneath the Ration head up, as soon as you get it go right 
until you get the Ammo in the upper right then head down to grab the other 2 
Ammo in the right, from there go all the way left until you get the Ammo in the
bottom left then go up to get the other 2 Ammo in the left. So now you just 
stay under the bottom left box and shoot Grenade Launchers at it until you win.
Don't worry, it's bullets won't hit you if you stay there. Also, you might as 
well have the Ration equipped.


5AD) TANK

If you are not completing Boss Survival as fast as you'd like to, it is likely 
this battle that is causing you the most problems. In which case, you should 
check out the strategy for this battle in the Speed Run Walkthru section. 
Anyways, start by going right and collecting the 2 Mine over there then 
immediately head left and get the Mine in the upper section here. You now have 
all the Mines you need to defeat this boss, it takes 11. Whenever there is an 
entrance open in his hallway you can run up and lay down 3 Mines. Then go to 
the opposite corner that he will be shooting on. Tank always alternates which 
side the bullets come out. So if Tank previously shot bullets out of its left 
side, Tank will shoot bullets out of its right side next. You can hide on 
either the right side of the left box, when Tank is shooting to the right side.
Or, you can hide on the left side of the right box, when Tank is shooting to 
the left side. It may take some practice to get used to this and even hiding by
the boxes does not guarantee that the bullets can't hit you. The safest places 
would really be in the very bottom left and right corners. However, hiding out 
there would make it difficult to run up to lay down Mines. And remember, when 
laying down Mines in Tank's hallway, don't do it in the center front of Tank 
because Tank may shoot a missile at you. Go to the opposite side that Tank will
be shooting bullets on and lay them there, then quickly get out of the way.

5AE) FIRE TROOPER

Immediately head up and get the RC Missile. Just stay up against that wall and 
shoot RC Missiles at Fire Trooper. 6 hits of those and you win.


5AF) DIRTY DUCK

I could find no safe strategy for Dirty Duck. All carry too high of a risk of 
getting hit or hitting a hostage and automatically losing. Therefore, I suggest
following this strategy and just taking a hit. Immediately head left a couple 
steps and then go up. The reason I don't suggest heading straight up is because
there is a trap in the center. Anyways, so just head straight up until you get 
to Dirty Duck and then make sure you are aligned so that you are above the 
bottom hostage and below the top left hostage. Then shoot Submachine Guns at 
him. Following this strategy you should only get hit by his boomerang once and 
quickly take him out after that.

This was sent in by Nicholas Perry. It is an alternative strategy that may be 
safer if pulled off correctly: "Hi my name is Nicholas Perry and I found a 
quick and safe way to kill dirty duck in metal gear: Boss survival. First 
instead of using Nakitas on flametrooper, use the machine gun on him when his 
flame goes out and save the nakitas (R.C. Missiles). Then when starting the 
dirty duck battle tap up and left. You will find a spot his boomerangs cant 
reach. from here you can launch four nakitas at dirty duck from safety to kill 
him quickly (about 7-9 seconds.)"


5AG) METAL GEAR

Head into the right corner and pick up both the Plastic Explosive there. Then 
head left and pick up both the Plastic Explosive there. On the way to the left 
you could set a Plastic Explosive on his right leg to make things a little 
quicker. Anyways, you now have all the Plastic Explosives you need to defeat 
Metal Gear. He's really easy if you understand the pattern. All you have to do 
is align yourself so that you  can lay down a Plastic Explosive on his leg and 
then run away while doing it. So then you run from one side to the other laying
down a Plastic Explosive each time. You see, you can only set down 1 Plastic 
Explosive at a time so there is no point of waiting by his legs to lay them 
down and then get hit multiple times by the laser cameras. Instead, you can 
just run from one wall to the other laying a Plastic Explosive down as you go, 
waiting, and then running to the next side laying down another Plastic 
Explosive as you go. The laser cameras will shoot at you but as long as you 
continue running they will never hit you. The pattern you must hit his legs is 
the following: (R stands for right, L stands for left. This makes it simpler 
and easier to memorize.) R, R, L, R, L, L, R, L, L, R, R, L, R, L, R, R.


5AH) BIG BOSS

Head through the bottom left picking up the Rocket Launcher and 2 Ammo as you 
go then hide under the bottom left box. He should be at the top left box. Just 
move to the left or right and shoot a Rocket Launcher at him. He should move 
from his box to shoot at you as well. So each time after you shoot just hide 
back under the box again and repeat this process. Just be sure not to move from
the box if he shoots a bullet because then you will run right in to it.


5B) Speedrun Walkthru


5BA) SHOTMAKER

Move straight upwards. Not too much though! You want to align yourself just at 
the top of the second box. If you are too high then his third spray of bullets 
will come at you diagonally, and if you are too low then your bullets won't hit
him proficiently. Anyways, you need to get in position quickly and then shoot 
Submachine Guns at him. It will take him out before he has a chance to even 
shoot you.


5BB) MACHINEGUN KID

Run straight up and shoot Submachine Guns at him. Yes, you will take one hit 
from him, but this is an extremely fast way to beat him.


5BC) HIND D

Immediately go right and get the Rocket Launcher then immediately go left and 
then up getting the 3 Ammo. You have to be quick grabbing the Rocket Launcher 
and heading left though otherwise the Hind D's bullets will hit you. Anyways, 
once you've grabbed the Ammo in the upper left corner, stay under the bottom 
left box there. Stay right under it, if positioned correctly which is not that 
hard, the Hind D will shoot bullets at you but they will never hit you. Now 
just shoot your Grenade Launcher continuously at it. It takes 20 hits of those 
to win but you'll only have 18 Ammo of Grenade Launchers. So as soon as you run
out, the Ammo in the upper left will reappear. Just grab it real quick and 
shoot 2 more Grenade Launchers at the Hind D.


5BD) TANK

There is somewhat of a glitch you can use to defeat Tank very quickly. However,
it can be difficult to get used to this technique and very challenging to pull 
off properly. You will also be forced to take 2 hits, but you really can defeat
Tank much quicker this way. Okay, so immediately head right and pick up the 2 
Mine over there, then head left and get the mine in the upper section here. You
now have all the Mines you need to defeat Tank, it takes 11. By now Tank should
be about ready to shoot out of the left side. Whenever Tank is about to shoot 
bullets you must get directly in front of Tank. And I mean way up close to 
Tank! Because as soon as he shoots you, you must go on top of him. This would 
normally be an instant death for you, however, because you are flashing from 
the bullets that just hit you, you will temporarily be invincible. So once you 
are on top of Tank you can lay down about 5 or 6 Mines then immediately get off
and in front of him Tank again. Just stay in front of Tank and as soon as you 
stop flashing you will be able to get hit from Tank's bullets again. As soon as 
you get hit again, get on top of Tank again. Lay down as many Mines as you can.
If you did this good enough, you can take Tank out by the second time you are 
on top of him and win.


5BE) FIRE TROOPER

If you have been following this Speed Run through strategy of mine precisely, 
then you should have taken 1 hit from Machinegun Kid and 2 hits from Tank. A 
really fast strategy to defeat Fire Trooper would be to get directly in front 
of him and shoot Submachine Guns at him. However, if that was done correctly 
you'd get hit at least once and that's a hit you can't afford. The reason being
is because you are going to take a hit in the next battle and that will be the 
last hit you will be able to survive. Therefore, to defeat Fire Trooper I 
suggest a safer but slightly slower strategy. Immediately head up and get the 
RC Missile. Just stay up against that wall and shoot RC Missiles at Fire 
Trooper. 6 hits of those and you win.


5BF) DIRTY DUCK

Immediately head left a couple steps and then go up. The reason I don't suggest
heading straight up is because there is a trap in the center. Anyways, so just 
head straight up until you get to Dirty Duck and then make sure you are aligned
so that you are above the bottom hostage and below the top left hostage. Then 
shoot Submachine Guns at him. Following this strategy you should only get hit 
by his boomerang once and quickly take him out after that.


5BG) METAL GEAR

Head into the right corner and pick up both the Plastic Explosive there. Then 
head left and pick up both the Plastic Explosive there. On the way to the left 
you could set a Plastic Explosive on his right leg to make things a little 
quicker. Anyways, you now have all the Plastic Explosives you need to defeat 
Metal Gear. He's really easy if you understand the pattern. All you have to do 
is align yourself so that you  can lay down a Plastic Explosive on his leg and 
then run away while doing it. So then you run from one side to the other laying
down a Plastic Explosive each time. You see, you can only set down 1 Plastic 
Explosive at a time so there is no point of waiting by his legs to lay them 
down and then get hit multiple times by the laser cameras. Instead, you can 
just run from one wall to the other laying a Plastic Explosive down as you go, 
waiting, and then running to the next side laying down another Plastic 
Explosive as you go. The laser cameras will shoot at you but as long as you 
continue running they will never hit you. The pattern you must hit his legs is 
the following: (R stands for right, L stands for left. This makes it simpler 
and easier to memorize.) R, R, L, R, L, L, R, L, L, R, R, L, R, L, R, R.


5BH) BIG BOSS

Head through the bottom left picking up the Rocket Launcher and 2 Ammo as you 
go then hide under the bottom left box. He should be at the top left box. Just 
move to the left or right and shoot a Rocket Launcher at him. He should move 
from his box to shoot at you as well. So each time after you shoot just hide 
back under the box again and repeat this process. Just be sure not to move from
the box if he shoots a bullet because then you will run right in to it.


6) Tips

- Items come back if you run out. For example, if you run out of Grenade 
Launcher ammo, then Ammo boxes will reappear in that area. The only exception 
is Ration which would not reappear if you run out of health.

- Easy and Normal mode share identical item amounts and locations except when 
it comes to Ration. In Easy mode there is 1 Ration available in every battle. 
In Normal mode, only the Hind D battle has 1 Ration available and every other 
battle does not.

- When you get hit you are temporarily invincible.

- If the timer gets all the way to 99:59, then it will go back to 99:00 as soon 
as another second elapses. It continuously repeats this process of counting 
from 99:00 to 99:59 then going back to 99:00 and repeating itself. It continues 
tallying the time like this so that not only will the TOTAL TIME become glitched
, but if a stage is completed in longer than 99:59, then that stage time can 
become glitched as well. I'll give an example of how it glitches. Let's say you 
beat a stage in "108:36", it could show up as "C8:36". That's merely an example 
and there are different ways that a time can show up glitched but it generally 
just involves the first digit of the time.

Something else interesting is what happens after you complete a stage while the 
timer is at 99:00 to 99:59. The following stage will show up at 3:00 plus 
whatever seconds the previous stage was completed. For instance, if a stage was 
completed at "99:53", the following stage will show up at "03:53". But, as soon 
as a single second elapses, it goes back to the 99's. For example, the stage 
will start at "03:53" but one second later the timer will show up as "99:54".

Any TOTAL TIME above 99:59 will still result in a TURTLE rank which is somewhat 
unlike Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake's Boss Survival's timing system glitch.


7) FAQ

- How do I unlock Boss Survival mode?

You simply have to beat the game once on Metal Gear and then save your data 
after you beat it.

- How do I save my record in Boss Survival?

You choose the "BACK" option. If you did not play, or if you played but did not 
defeat your current record, then it will not ask you if you'd like to save after
choosing "BACK".

- How come some of the strategies in Speed Run Walkthru are the same as the 
strategies in Standard Walkthru?

That's because some of the fastest strategies also happen to be the safest 
strategy at the same time.

- How can I contact you?

I don't want to seem rude, but I don't care to be contacted about this guide.


8) Credits

- Me (Jamie Brendon Stroud).

- Nicholas Perry: For an alternative Dirty Duck strategy on Standard Walkthru.


9) Copy rights

This file is Copyright (c) 2006 Jamie Brendon Stroud. All rights reserved. This
file was entirely written by me, unless otherwise noted in the Credits section.
However, even though it was written by me, I give permission for anyone to use 
it as they'd like. Yep, I don't care what you do with it as long as you give me
credit for it and not claim it as your own.