All boss fights in Metal Gear Solid 4 reviewed and ranked.
[A thread]

FROG Unit:
This is the closest to a proper boss fight in Act 1 so I'm including this. This encounter is a lot of fun given the different AI interactions with Rat Patrol 01. The FROGs will hop on walls and try to flank you out. Really nice group battle.

I also love the way you ascend the building first, seeing mines on the floor and collecting items and such. The MG2 alert theme iPod music can be unlocked here, which alludes to the battle afterwards. I like how the ascent gives recon on the environment and then you go down it.

Laughing Octopus:
The octo camo is a revolutionary item that Snake possesses, allowing him to blend into any surface with adaptive textures. Laughing Octopus uses this exact method and then some, really forcing you to look around the building for her either with the Solid Eye or-

see through her tricks by noticing if something is off. She disguises herself as a body on the ground, Naomi, or even the Metal Gear MK II (and more) granted it is a very spooky bigger version of the MK II (which haunts me). She also can roll into a ball.

This is a really cool role reversal since normally you're the one sneaking up on people, yet Octopus is sneaking around a lot more than you are in this match. An exhilarating fight, that ends with a Beauty phase which can be taken down lethally or non-lethally.

Raging Raven:
The second B&B member. This fight is cool to play for a bit but this one does drag on for a little too long. A lot of the time Raven will be flying outside the building among other unmanned flying machines, making it hard to pinpoint her position.

And since there are a lot of stairs to climb, most of the time you'll just be ascending and descending trying to find where she even is. Raven will bombard you with bombs or enter the building to try and catch you. These moments are where the fight gets the most fun.

I do like how the environment on the building is damaged over time, making less and less cover as the match goes on. If this fight didn't go on for longer than I wished it did, then I would rank her a bit higher. Beauty phase after the fight, lethal/non-lethal, finished.

Crying Wolf:
Returning to Shadow Moses in the exact snowfield Snake and Sniper Wolf had a duel, this poetic location is a perfect spot for a sniper's duel. FROG Unit members will walk around the map searching for you as well as Crying Wolf herself. The limited visibility-

of the map encourages use of the Solid Eye and the Sniper Rifle. This battle is really thrilling given the forested woods, the building you can climb onto, the snowy trench location, there is so much variety in this arena that it's practically an extension of Wolf herself.

Once you defeat the beast phase, her beauty phase starts. Lethal/non-lethal takedown and it's over. A cutscene plays showing a wolf taking Crying Beauty's body, which is probably the same wolf pup that appears in Sniper Wolf's death location in MGS1.

Vamp:
The insane vampire returns in a bit of a troll boss fight. He'll jump around the room and attempt to approach you. All you need to do is shoot him and eventually he'll go down.

Huh? His health bar keeps replenishing! If you've been watching the cutscenes, you'll realize-

that in order to actually defeat Vamp, you need to use the nanomachine injection on Vamp by grabbing him and using the action button. This is a really unique way to take a boss down, however it's not as dynamic as his MGS2 battle. Glad Raiden got to fight Vamp afterwards though.

Metal Gear REX vs RAY:
The legendary showdown between two Metal Gears, REX vs. RAY. For the only time in the whole series, you are actually piloting a titan sized Metal Gear. It's amazing being able to use all of REX's gadgets that it tried to-

defeat you with in MGS1 but now used on RAY, the so-called superior Metal Gear. The arena is destructible really adding to that destructive Kaiju-esque nature of these mechanic titans. RAY can be parried, dodged, knocked down, you can shoot off parts of it to hinder it.

This is the larger than life battle the MGS series was totally building up towards. My only complaint is that the battle feels a tad too short, I wish the health bars were longer to make this go on more. Otherwise, a perfect boss battle.

Screaming Mantis:
This is one of the weaker B&B corps battles. For the most part Mantis will control Meryl and the bodies of the FROG Unit from a previous encounter. She will also know your aim and control you. Use a nanomachine injection so you can shoot at her easier.

Then go for the Mantis and Sorrow dolls. They are the only ways to properly damage Screaming Mantis by pointing them at her and using the controller's motion to yank her health down. Beauty phase, yadda yadda yadda, a nice cutscene with a certain ghost appears.

This fight does feel a bit randomly placed, it feels more like an MGS1 reference that should have been in Act 4 but was moved to Act 5 for pacing reasons. Nevertheless this is an alright fight, if a little underwhelming.

Liquid Ocelot:
LIQUIIIIDD!!!! This is the hypest final boss in the whole Metal Gear Saga. The two old men, Snake and Ocelot, giving each other nanomachine injections in order to keep on fighting is so heartwarming and emotional, and the CQC is brutally satisfying to execute.

This battle uses a combination of cutscenes and gameplay to really sell home that dramatic finish. Music from MGS1, MGS2, and MGS3 play in each phase, representing each game Ocelot appeared in. Starting with the MGS1 boss theme of which you battle Ocelot to in MGS1.

Also worth noting some fighting moves are references to TTS' scene of Snake vs Liquid. Then the Tanker incident from MGS2 where Snake confronted Ocelot briefly but never got to fight, and MGS3 with Snake Eater being the obvious callback to his relationship with Big Boss.

There are so many unique animations in this fight it's just fun seeing how many of them you can get for each phase. The health bars at the top of the screen even add to this sense of the MGS Legacy coming together for one final adrenaline filled punch up. A beautiful ending fight

that ends with the theme "Old Snake", concluding my third favorite final boss in the whole franchise.

Bosses ranked from best to worst:
Liquid Ocelot
REX vs RAY
Laughing Octopus
Crying Wolf
FROG Unit
Vamp
Screaming Mantis
Raging Raven

And that concludes my boss fight ranking thread series. I'll compile all of them under one tweet soon. Thank you for reading.