About the epilogue (Spoilers of course)

[olthaen]

When does the final cutscene in the epilogue (the one in the bathroom with gunfire outside) take place? When is Snake supposed to be realizing his identity?

[!RJ_Truth]

Mission 46 Truth - The man who sold the world

[Grandmaster HellSpaWn]

Originally posted by NukeDoctor:

Mission 46 Truth - The man who sold the world

i think he meant a date?

[[ACPL] Jon]

Judging by the gunfire and 'intrude N-something" it's by the time Solid Snake came to kill him.

But it doesn't have to be that particular time. Or he did listened to the tape earlier (most likely), but we see his reaction when he knows the "intruder" is there to end him and Outer Heaven.

And seeing the way Venom is, he pains for his men and OH way more than about him.

[Metric Guard]

I honestly don't think there's a time skip of some kind at all, because there isn't really anything blatant nor subtle implicating such (and the gunfire could mean something else, since it was also present in Episode 43's hallway scene). If the mirror scene does take place in the Outer Heaven of the original Metal Gear, it's the entire scene and not just halfway through. But given how Kaz and Ocelot discuss the revelations together during the post-credits scene, I'm pretty sure the year is still 1984.

Also, for those who want a better understanding of the ending and MGSV as a whole, I highly recommend reading Kojima's intro to the Japanese MGSV novelization. It's typical cryptic metaphorical Kojima BS and the translation isn't the best, but it's well worth a read.

https://www.reddit.com/r/metalgearsolid/comments/3q4h85/kojimas_thoughts_about_the_novelization_and_the/

[Seamus]

I've always maintained that the mirror cutscene in 46 DOES take place in 1995 and Venom just hasn't aged much because he's had so damn much plastic surgery to maintain him looking like Big Boss.

It's the most logical explanation for the Operation Intrude N313 tape being there.

[Holografix]

Remember when the game first starts? Before Venom wakes up in the hospital, there is a cutscene in front of what looks like the same mirror with the heading reading something like "Just another day in endless war in Outer Heaven." Then what looks to be Venom (because the camera doesn't show his face) places the Sony Walkman with the cassette "From the Man Who Sold The World" onto the windowsil and plays it. The camera zooms into the Walkman while Midge Ure's cover starts playing and you find yourself in the hospital bed.

Then after Mission 46, Venom is at the same mirror shown at the beginning of the game.

What this suggests to me is that the entire game is a recollection of events or episodes. I think everything in MGSV happens in 1984. So the cassette tape with Operation Intrude N313 is the flipside of the cassette Venom plays at the beginning of the game. Like he is remembering the building of Diamond Dogs (which is the whole game) by listening to the song "The Man Who Sold The World" during the first cutscene but then when Mission 46 happens, the player (you) is clued into the other side of the cassette where another mission awaits.

This means that Venom knows something about Intrude N313 years before it happens. I don't think there is a time skip, more like how knowing certain information could change your perspective so drastically that time seems to disappear. But it is always 1984 for Venom - he cannot escape it.