I asked Greg Miller of Kinda Funny if he thought Metal Gear Solid V was more of a reboot than a prequel. He said he didn't think so unless I was talking about the gameplay. At the time I deferred to his judgement, after all he had not only beaten the game but was a long time fan of the series. I had only played MGSI and even then I never beat it though I did look up how it ended. However, now that I've done some research into the game's continuity, particularly the story of Big Boss himself I'm more convinced than ever that maybe I was right all along. If I am still wrong certainly all the pieces are in place for a reboot. Here's five reasons why I think MGSV is a reboot and not a prequel. This is spoiler heavy but I'm not hiding any of it. If you haven't bought the game by now chances are you aren't going to anyway.
1. Big Boss isn't Big Boss: Or he is but you aren't playing as him. Kaz Miller has been running the show all along (or has been taking the real Big Boss' orders from the shadows, I'm still not 100% clear on that but it doesn't really matter.) all while calling you Big Boss. Early on in the game if you listen to the tapes Kaz talks about how most of the world today has never seen Big Boss and that's his justification for always telling you what to do. This is a twist with very little shock value for anyone paying attention. Boss rarely gives the orders and the one time he defies Kaz (when he brings Quiet back to base versus shooting her in the head) it goes very badly for him. All throughout the game we see instances of Kaz ordering Big Boss around so when we find out at the end that you're actually playing as some random shmoe it's not that surprising. However, this character you're playing as is NOWHERE else in the franchise. Ground Zeroes, maybe as I haven't played it but that takes place nine years before Phantom Pain so in my mind it doesn't really count. Who will this man become moving forward? What will his role be? Will he remain loyal or turn on Big Boss? Answer any of the questions and the timeline we have up to now shatters like glass.
2. We meet Liquid Snake as a boy: Liquid Snake and Solid Snake are both supposed to be the cloned sons of the Big Boss. So where the fuck did this kid come from? And if he's running around at what point do we see Solid Snake? I haven't played till the very, very end of the game so this question might be answered but from what I've seen in various Youtube vids Solid Snake does not make an appearance and I can't imagine why that wouldn't get mentioned when Liquid clearly has a major role to play. If Solid Snake is a clone than it seems more likely that he would be a clone of Liquid Snake at this point. At most he's another clone of Big Boss but that would require Big Boss taking an active role in taking down Liquid Snake because at the end of the story Liquid betrays Big Boss and leaves against Big Boss' will. If Big Boss were to make another clone of himself or otherwise recruit the already living clone then that would make Big Boss and not Foxhound the driving force behind why these two ultimately fight each other.
3. Quiet could be Sniper Wolf: There's already fan theories suggesting this and while it's a little too obvious the implications can't simply be brushed under the rug. Sniper Wolf's original back story could easily be replaced by Quiet's in the future when Solid Snake comes of age. It wouldn't be much of stretch for the series to suggest that the parasite Quiet is infected with somehow prevents her from aging. There certainly have been more outlandish stories presented already. (Cyborg Ninja anyone?) Quiet's affection and loyalty for Big Boss would be more than enough motivation for her to return to the fold after the parasite is eradicated somehow. Once she knows that she no longer is a health threat to the Big Boss it's not beyond reason to suggest that she tracks him down, running across Liquid Snake (remember he's a clone so he'll look just like the Big Boss that she remembers) and joining forces with him.
4. Zero looses control of Cipher: While the jeep ride with Skull face is long, arduous, confusing and ultimately boring one very important fact is revealed. Skull Face has taken over Cipher from Zero. Zero's whereabouts are largely unknown but it is established that he is most likely still alive. With Cipher under Skull Face's control (until it isn't anymore) a whole new storyline about the history of Cipher has been established that goes against what we learned about Zero in Guns of the Patriots. In that game we learn that Zero has been secretly pulling Cipher's strings but if he was never in control in the first place that changes EVERYTHING. At the very least you have to now explain why he only THOUGHT he was in control if you don't just write him out of the continuity entirely. Since he makes no appearance at all in this game it's entirely likely the latter is the real possibility.
5. Many characters have already been re-written: The traditionally sadistic Ocelot stops Quiet's torture session, Pas not only doesn't explode as was depicted in Ground Zeroes but is found alive and a whole new ending is displayed, Huey Emmerich is walking instead of confined to a wheelchair. These and probably a few more I've overlooked are some pretty glaring retcons for a prequel. These by themselves are reason enough for me to think that MGSV is a reboot but combine them with any of the reasons I've stated above and I'm pretty well convinced MGSV is a reboot.
But if it is a reboot then why?
The reasons could be infinite but most likely boil down to the bad blood that exists between series creator Hideo Kojima and publisher Konami. If you're a gamer unless you've been living in a cave with really good wi-fi (and even then....) you've heard that Hideo has parted ways with Konami and his former studio has been shut down. If there is going to be another Metal Gear Solid game it has to be made under one of only two conditions. A: Konami creates the game in whole without Hideo Kojima or B: Konami sells the IP back to Hideo Kojima who then will create the new game for a completely new publisher. Since the former is the most likely possibility it would make sense then that MGSV would be created in such a way as to easily reboot the series. After all no one is going to be stupid enough to try and create a Metal Gear Solid game by replicating Hideo Kojima's formula. Even if they did make a Metal Gear Solid VI it's highly likely the game would flop unless it's impossibly, incredibly good. Given how poorly received the last three entries in the series have been that isn't likely. In all likelihood Metal Gear Solid is DOA which is a shame because the series swan song just plain SUCKS.