Highlights

• The Metal Gear Solid Master Collection introduces new achievements that are even harder than before, challenging players to demonstrate serious skill.
• Some of the hardest achievements from previous versions of the games have been removed in the Master Collection, but new difficult achievements have been added.
• Players will face challenges such as completing 300 VR missions, surviving intense boss fights, obtaining the best rank while saving limited times, and shooting elusive frogs while riding a fast-moving bike.

After a long, long time, the Metal Gear series has come back with the Master Collection. The original trilogy is now on all modern platforms, including PC, but that also means new achievements. Every Metal Gear Solid game, besides the first one, had received a trophy/achievement list prior, but the Master Collection switches things up.

Some of the hardest achievements in the 360 and PS3 HD Collection are actually removed. However, Konami also added even harder achievements in their place. All Metal Gear games, even those not in the Master Collection, have some brutal achievements that take some serious skill.

Updated November 13, 2023 by Dominic Allen: The Metal Gear Solid Master Collection not only added a brand new achievement/trophy list for MGS1 but switched up the lists for MGS2 and 3, requiring an update. It's important to note which achievements are only in the HD Collection, Master Collection, or both.

14 Decked Out: Metal Gear Solid 1

"Don't Even Think About Using Autofire, Or I'll Know"

This achievement can be really difficult or pretty easy, depending on the person. To get Decked Out, you must obtain the Bandana, which is rewarded by the Meryl ending. To do this, you must survive Ocelot's torture sequence without submitting. Many will hit a brick wall here.

You have to tap ridiculously fast, and for certain people, the thumb just won't do. If that's the case, try tapping with your index or middle finger and have the controller on a steady surface. It'll still be hard but doable. Since you must go through at least two torture sequences, make sure to save after the first one in case you die.

13 Practice Makes Perfect: Metal Gear Solid 1

Time For VR Training...Over And Over And Over Again

Metal Gear Solid 1 had many versions of it, and a big reason for that was the VR Missions add-on. Every region had a rerelease containing this add-on, whether stand-alone or combined with the core game. You must complete 300 VR missions here. This is quite a grind, but thankfully, the difficulty isn't as bad as VR missions in other Metal Gear titles.

Much of the difficulty comes from fully understanding the controls, as it's pretty alien to modern standards. There is a big problem, though. At the time of writing, both Xbox and PS5 versions are bugged if you complete the 300 VR missions in the US version. This means you have to do it in the European Special Missions.

12 Great Dane: Metal Gear Solid 2

An Extreme Challenge

There are two incredibly difficult achievements in the HD Collection version of Metal Gear Solid 2 that were removed from the Master Collection. One of them is Great Dane. It asks you to collect all dog tags, but you only need enough to unlock the Plant's Blue Wig. However, this doesn't make it easier. The main reason this is so hard is that you must complete the Plant section on Extreme.

This is incredibly difficult, especially the boss fights. On Extreme, you need to defeat 20 Metal Gear Rays, and keep in mind most of their attacks will kill you in one hit. In the Master Collection, you only need around 50 percent of the dog tags in both sections for the platinum. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean you'll skip Extreme mode.

11 Big Boss: Metal Gear Solid 2

Only Eight Saves?

The Master Collection did something nasty, and that thing was putting an achievement in all three games where you must obtain the best rank. For MGS1, this isn't too bad, as you can use the bonus items and play on the easier Japanese release. The following games, not so much. Metal Gear Solid 2 is the hardest to get the Big Boss rank in.

Not only do you have to play on Extreme difficulty, but you also need to play perfectly on top of that. With such a large challenge, you have to save a lot to reload if you mess up. However, you can only save eight times. Considering you have to play through both sections, and there's so many parts you can easily fail, this is simply absurd.

10 Virtually Impossible: Metal Gear Solid 2

So Hard, It Had To Be Removed In The Master Collection

The other really hard achievement removed in Master Collection's MGS2 is Virtually Impossible, which tasks you with beating all VR and Alternative missions in the game. This is much more difficult than MGS1's VR missions in both length and challenge. There are over 500 missions in the game for all characters, and it'll take a really long time to finish them all.

While there are several difficult moments early on, the huge difficulty spike occurs once you get to MGS1 Snake. That character has no radar at all, making the stealth ten times harder. Plus, variety levels one and three are the hardest missions in the game, being much more difficult than anything in MGS1. In the Master Collection, you only need to place first in 50 missions, which is a life savior.

9 Fashionista: Metal Gear Solid 3

Does This Camouflage Look Good On Me?

Metal Gear Solid 3 isn't as bad as MGS2 regarding achievements, and most carried over to the Master Collection. However, there are still a few tough ones. One of them is Fashionista, which requires you to find every type of camouflage. A bulk of these are simply discovered in the environment, but many are gained by beating the bosses nonlethally.

This is much more difficult than it may seem. Healing and getting your life back is harder in MGS3, and these bosses will take far longer to take down due to the nonlethal method. The Fury's camo, in particular, can take you hours to get due to the battle itself. It is, however, very satisfying once you have the full set.

8 It Ain't Easy Being Green: Metal Gear Solid 3

Shooting Little Green Frogs On A Fast Moving Bike Is As Difficult As It Sounds

Another hard achievement from MGS3 is It Ain't Easy Being Green, which forces you to shoot all 64 Kerotans in a single playthrough. This is actually a great achievement because how it works is that one Kerotan is placed in every individual area of the game. You'll end up discovering places you never explored before, which is nice.

The achievement is a mostly smooth experience until you get to the bike sections. You need to shoot this small little green frog in nine areas while actively moving fast on a vehicle. If you miss it, you'll have to reload a save and start the area again. It's very frustrating, but thankfully, you get the Stealth Camo after shooting all of them and beating the game, which is a great reward. It won't help with MGS3's hardest achievement, though.

7 Foxhound: Metal Gear Solid 3

Climbing The Ranks Gets A Bit Easier

Earning the Foxhound rank in MGS3 is still brutal but slightly easier than the top rank in MGS2. For this game, you can save 25 times, which is greatly appreciated. Keep in mind that MGS3 is quite a bit longer than MGS2, so there's a tradeoff.

Bosses are still the hardest part, especially as you must defeat the majority of them non-lethally. You'll have to practice a lot to get these fights down, but again, with more saves, you won't have to redo many parts to get back to where you failed.

6 Monster Hunter: Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker

Gotta Hunt 'Em All

One of the cool aspects of Peace Walker is the major crossover with Capcom's Monster Hunter series. There are several hunting quests featuring many great monsters from the series. There's an achievement for beating all of them, and it's mostly a smooth experience. That is, except for the very last one.

The last Extra Op in the game, Gear Rex Strikes Back, is pure savage. This boss can stun you very easily and kill you incredibly fast. It's one of those fights that will require your full attention, with dodging and shooting. You might think the level will be easier when played co-op, but not so much. If your partner isn't that skilled or experienced with the boss, it won't be a major help.

5 Completed Zeke: Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker

Grinding For Zeke

Complete Zeke is one of those grindy achievements. It requires you to add special AI weapon parts to both Zeke's head and legs. These parts are random drops that can be gained when you defeat the custom variants of the mech bosses.

The head can come from any of the four, but you can only obtain the legs from Peace Walker. This is quite the grind. There is a trick that makes it a bit easier, however. Do not damage the part of the mech you're looking for; instead, chip away at two other parts. This will improve the drop rate, but it'll still take a while.

4 Vic Vos: Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker

Ridiculous Multiplayer Achievements Rears Its Ugly Head

Exclusive to Peace Walker's achievement list is online multiplayer achievements. Vic Vos is the toughest and most grindy one, in which you need to reach 20,000 Camaraderie. This is best done with four players, but considering not many people play this game anymore, you'll have a hard finding three others. Most will have to do this today with only one other person, which makes this achievement far more of a grind.

The best way to get Vic Vos with only two people is to S-rank Extra Op 91 over and over again. You have to use the Dynamo and level four or five Railgun to immediately make the pilot appear in one or two hits. Even with this strategy, it'll take hours, and it can be hard to nail the precise shot.

3 Deployment: Metal Gear Solid 5

Dispatch The Dispatch Missions

One achievement in Metal Gear Solid 5 that's incredibly satisfying once you finish it is Deployment. You need to win all key Dispatch missions. Getting your team ready to fight these battles isn't what's hard. The issue is the last batch of missions has quite a low success rate of winning.

The missions take so much time to process that when it fails, you feel gut-wrenched. Many on your team are also likely to get hurt or killed after failure. Thankfully, you can work on this while doing other tasks, but regardless, once this achievement pops, it's a major relief.

2 Executed: Metal Gear Solid 5

We Hope You Like Multiple Playthroughs

The rarest achievement in Metal Gear Solid 5 is Executed, which requires you to complete all mission tasks. This achievement is both grindy and tough. You need to do all the tasks in all 50 missions, many of which will require multiple playthroughs. Plus, since almost half of the game is harder versions of older missions, you'll have to do those all over again.

The hardest tasks are the ones where you need to listen in on whole conservations without being spotted. Some are on Total Stealth missions, which require you to be unnoticed, or else you'll have to replay the level again. This will likely be your last achievement in The Phantom Pain, as it's easily the most out of the way.

1 Sounds Of The Battlefield: Metal Gear Solid 4

When Getting Big Boss Rank Isn't Your Only Problem

For the top spot, you need to go back to the good old PlayStation 3 with Metal Gear Solid 4's trophy list. Despite releasing back in 2008, MGS4 didn't receive a trophy patch until 2012. That's a long wait, and the trophies didn't come easy. By far, the hardest is Sounds of the Battlefield, which makes you get all the iPod tracks.

This requires you to get all the emblems in the game and is a Herculean task. Both the lowest-ranking and highest-ranking emblems are incredibly difficult. You'd think the emblem for being poor at the game would be easy, but it's debatably harder than the top emblem because the requirements are so big.

NEXT: Relatable Things We All Do in Stealth Games