Ocelot (Metal Gear)

General CVG character
name=Ocelot


caption=Revolver Ocelot in "Metal Gear Solid" designed by Yoji Shinkawa.
firstgame="Metal Gear Solid"
series="Metal Gear" series
creator=Hideo Kojima
artist=Yoji Shinkawa
voiceactor=Patric Zimmerman ("MGS", "MGS2", "MGS4")
Joshua Keaton ("MGS3", "MPO")
japanactor=Kōji Totani ("MGS", "MGS2")
Banjō Ginga ("MGS4", "MGS2:BD")
Takumi Yamazaki ("MGS3", "MPO")
motionactor=Taro Kazanawa (""), Kenichi Yoshida (Gun Action), Bill Yokoyama (Gun Action),
inuniverse=Metal Gear character
born=Early June, 1944
birthplace=Normandy, France
realname=Adamskacite video game|title=Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater|developer=KCEJ|quote=Ocelot: What's your name?/Snake: Snake./Ocelot: No, not that name. You're not a snake, and I'm not an Ocelot. We're men, with names... My name is Adamska. What's yours?/Snake: John./Ocelot: Very well, John.... Plain name, but I won't forget it.]
Height=182cm
aliases=ADAM, Shalashaska, Revolver Ocelot, Liquid Ocelot
affiliations=Former Spetsnaz with FOXHOUND ("MGS"), Patriots ("MGS2", post MPO), GRU/KGB/CIA/ triple agent ("MGS3", "MPO"), Outer Haven ("MGS4") nihongo|Ocelot|オセロット|Oserotto, also known as nihongo|Shalashaska|シャラシャーシカ|Sharashāshika|a mistransliteration of Sharashka [Translation: Old sense (USSR historical context 1930-1955): Sharashka (Sharaga/Sharazhka) — design office on a prison regime where prisoners were engaged in solving war and industry problems. New sense: Sharaga — unloved: educational institution, small office, enterprise.] and whose real name is nihongo|Adamska|アダムスカ|Adamusuka|, is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the "Metal Gear" series. He was originally introduced in "Metal Gear Solid" as a gunslinger-themed member of FOXHOUND from the former Soviet Union under the full codename of nihongo|Revolver Ocelot|リボルバー・オセロット|Riborubā Oserotto, but is revealed to be an agent for The Patriots in ' and eventually becomes nihongo|Liquid Ocelot|リキッド・オセロット|Rikiddo Oserotto in '. He is normally clothed in a duster, spurs and gunbelts, the traditional garb of gunslingers in spaghetti westerns, as well as a black armband on his left arm, and wields dual Colt Single Action Army revolvers in battle. His appearance is based on that of veteran Western film actor Lee Van Cleef [ [http://www.gamerz-edge.com/ps2/previews/mgs3s.html "Gamerz-Edge interview with Ryan Payton"] ] , who notably appears as Bob Hauk alongside Kurt Russell as Solid Snake inspiration Snake Plissken in John Carpenter's "Escape from New York". He appears in ' and ' as his young self, where he is identified simply as Ocelot.

He is the only character in the series who is personally acquainted with all four Snakes: working as a henchman for Liquid Snake and then Solidus Snake, having a friendly rivalry with Naked Snake (Big Boss) and being the nemesis to Solid Snake. He is the only character to appear in every canon "Metal Gear Solid" game (but not in the original "Metal Gear" games), and is thus considered "the only character to have a major role in all four "Metal Gear Solid" titles." ["Snakes and Gears: A Metal Gear Overview," "Game Informer" 182 (June 2008): 107.]

His weapon of choice is the Colt Single Action Army, which he refers to as "the greatest handgun ever made".

Voice actors

As Revolver Ocelot, the character was voiced in "Metal Gear Solid" and "Metal Gear Solid 2" by Kōji Totani in the Japanese versions and Patric Zimmerman in the English versions. The younger Ocelot who appears in "Metal Gear Solid 3" and "Portable Ops" is voiced by Takumi Yamazaki in Japanese and Joshua Keaton in English. After Totani's death in 2006, the older Ocelot was played by Banjō Ginga (the voice of Liquid Snake) in the Japanese version of "Metal Gear Solid 4", where he is named Liquid Ocelot, although Zimmerman still played the character in the English version. Ikuya Sawaki voiced Revolver Ocelot in the DVD film "Metal Gear Solid 2: Bande Dessinee".

Appearances

As Revolver Ocelot

In "Metal Gear Solid", he is one of the FOXHOUND terrorists involved with the hostile takeover of Shadow Moses Island. He is described as Liquid Snake's "right-hand man". [Jeremy Parish, “Ocelot,” "Electronic Gaming Monthly" 225 (January 2008): 93.] He challenges Solid Snake to a gunfight in the game's first boss encounter and appears later to torture a captured Snake. He is the sole surviving FOXHOUND member by the end of the game, losing only his right hand during an encounter with the Cyborg Ninja. After the ending credits, it is revealed that Ocelot is in league with "Solidus", the third surviving offspring of the Les Enfants Terribles project and the US President in the game.

He returns in "Metal Gear Solid 2", where he gains a new surgically attached right arm that belonged to his former boss, Liquid Snake. This results in Revolver Ocelot developing a dormant personality in which Liquid's persona takes over Ocelot's mind during certain moments, usually when Solid Snake is present. This time he is under the employ of his old friend Sergei Gurlukovich during the introductory Tanker Chapter, but ends up betraying him and his mercenaries when he hijacks Metal Gear RAY. He then forms part of the terrorist group "Sons of Liberty" during the Plant Chapter with Solidus Snake, but ends up betraying him as well, revealing his true allegiance with the Patriots. By the end of the game, Ocelot is taken over by Liquid and escapes once again, this time with the Metal Gear RAY prototype. According to an interview with Yoji Shinkawa, Ocelot was originally going to have a mechanical arm, but others thought that having Liquid's arm was a good concept as Liquid was considered an excellent villain by the fanbase.citeweb|url= http://www.metalgearsolid.org/show_features.php?id=124|title = Yoji Shinkawa interview|accessdate = 21 November|accessyear = 2006]

As young Ocelot

"Metal Gear Solid 3", a prequel set four decades before the original "Metal Gear Solid", features a young Ocelot (having not attained the "Revolver" moniker yet) as a GRU Major under the command of Colonel Volgin and leader of his own "Ocelot unit" within Spetsnaz. He acquires his preferences for revolvers as a result of his initial encounter with Naked Snake, who suggests that his tendency to absorb the gun's recoil with his elbow is more of a revolver technique; prior to that, he uses a Makarov PM handgun. When he finally adopts his new "Revolver" persona, he feels a rush he's never felt before, so much he is able to fight off The Pain's hornet swarm just by spinning his revolvers. He is revealed to be a triple agent at the game's ending, working not only for the KGB under the codename ADAM, but also under the direct orders of the DCI as well. Ocelot is the missing son of The Boss and her lover, The Sorrow, which is hinted through exchanges between these characters in the game.cite video game|title=Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater|developer=KCEJ|quote=EVA: "The Colonel never told me. All I heard was that his mother was supposedly shot in the gut during battle and that he was born right there, bullets whizzing past them."//Snake: "A pregnant women in the middle of a battle?"//EVA: "That's what I heard. They say that when they stitched her up, the scar was shaped like a snake."] cite video game|title=Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater|developer=KCEJ|quote=The Boss: "Look at this scar. This is proof that I was once a mother. I gave up my body and my child for my country."]

Ocelot plays a minor role in the plot of "Portable Ops" and appears as a recruitable character in the game, his appearance unchanged from "MGS3". He is in league with Gene and near the end of the game, he assassinates his former employer, the DCI, and reports to a new employer, an unidentified character (revealed to be Major Zero in "Metal Gear Solid 4") who invites Ocelot to join his new organization, The Patriots, on the grounds that Naked Snake/Big Boss join as well.

As Liquid Ocelot

In "Metal Gear Solid 4" (which continues the story from where "Metal Gear Solid 2" left off), he assumes the identity of Liquid Ocelot, with the Liquid Snake persona having seemingly taken complete control of his mind. He attempts to resurrect Outer Heaven in his conflict with the Patriots, establishing a dummy corporation that runs the five largest PMCs that exist in the game. It is explained that Ocelot's possession by Liquid was an elaborate act, made possible through self-hypnosis and nanomachines, in order to 'become' Liquid Snake and trick the Patriot AIs into focusing their energies on battling Liquid. According to the "Metal Gear Solid 4: Database", Liquid's arm threw Ocelot's psyche out of balance during the Tanker and Big Shell incidents. Ocelot believed that the arm was driving him insane in the presence of Solid Snake. Thus, he removed the arm and had it replaced with a cybernetic prosthetic prior to the events of "Guns of the Patriots".cite video game|title=Metal Gear Solid 4: Database|developer=Kojima Productions]

The game's final battle is a fist fight between Snake and Liquid Ocelot atop the warship, Outer Haven, with background music from the previous "Metal Gear Solid" games played during the fight. There are four main stages of the battle, in which Liquid Ocelot's fighting strategy changes from being more aggressive to more technical. Initially, Liquid's persona continues to be in control, as evidenced by the name header under his life gauge, which simply says "Liquid". In the second and third phases, the name header changes to "Liquid Ocelot" and then simply "Ocelot" when he attacks Snake using CQC. In the end, Ocelot tires and collapses to the ground, eventually returning to his normal-self state. Although he appears to die from exhaustion after the final fight, his death is actually caused by the new strain of FOXDIE that was injected into Snake by Drebin (as revealed by Big Boss in the game's debriefing).cite video game|title=Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots|developer=Kojima Productions|level=Debriefing - Naked Son|quote=Big Boss: The truth is that the FOXDIE in you is what killed EVA and Ocelot...]

Reception

"Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine" called Revolver Ocelot underrated in comparison to "Final Fantasy VII" antagonist Sephiroth, stating "...Ocelot is just a persistent, sneaky, and cool villain. Heck, just watch the MGS3 trailer and you'll see that he was a badass even in the 60's." [OPM staff (September 2004). "Overrated/Underrated" ( [http://www.extremecroquet.com/Ziff/Flashwork/UnderOver/overrated.swf SWF transcript] ). "Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine"] G4's "Filter" placed him at number ten in their top ten video game villains list. [cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/filter/top-10-villains/episode/453857/recap.html|title=Top 10 Villains|publisher=TV.com|accessdate=2008-01-29] "Edge" magazine stated of his Liquid Ocelot appearance "Kojima has forged a superb villain, far more complete than in "MGS2"." [Edge staff (July 2008). "Review of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots". "Edge" 190: p. 87]

References