8) Pyscho Mantis
Mantis brings a whole new meaning to the term psychological warfare, staring deep into the soul of your, er… memory card, digging up dirt on your gaming history and making a mockery of your ability. This instance of breaking the fourth wall has gone down as one of the first and most recognized in gaming. As a result, few people would deny the encounter with Psycho Mantis as one of the greatest boss fights not just in MGS, but in gaming history.
Of course, beyond the utter masterstroke of having to swap controller ports to land a clean hit, as a character, Mantis was fascinating. One longed to understand the origins of his mysterious powers and the motives of his pure evil. As it turns out, he’s a rather sad a depraved man, longing for release from the pain of the many voices that haunt his troubled mind.
Mantis’s origins were revealed in MGSV: The Phantom Pain, where his telekinesis abilities gave rise to Volgin’s second coming as the man on fire, but his greatest impression remains that iconic boss battle from MGS. His creepy mind games and evil-knows no bounds manipulation of Meryl make him the most iconic of henchman.
