Zanzibar Land is a fictional, heavily fortified territory in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, as well as the setting of the game. It was located between the former Soviet Union, China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. The closest location meeting this description in reality is Badakhshan. Mark of Zanzibar Land (from Metal Gear 2 manual). ... Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake is a stealth-based game directed by Hideo Kojima and developed and published by Konami . ... Badakhshan is a region comprising parts of northeastern Afghanistan and of Tajikistan. ...

Solid Snake was sent to the territory to retrieve a kidnapped biologist, however, his mission ended up quite a bit more complicated. Solid Snake ) is the main character in the Metal Gear video game series. ...

In the English language version of Metal Gear Solid, Zanzibar Land was inexplicably shortened to "Zanzibar" (in contrast to the original Japanese language version, which used the nation's proper name). This probably led many of its players to believe that it referred to the real-life Zanzibar that is part of Tanzania. In the retranslated script used in the remake (Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes), all mentions of "Zanzibar" were corrected to "Zanzibar Land." The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Metal Gear Solid Packaging Artwork Metal Gear Solid ), commonly abbreviated as MGS, is a stealth-based game developed by Konami and first published for the PlayStation video game console in 1998. ... The Japanese language is a spoken and written language used mainly in Japan. ... Map of Zanzibars main island Zanzibar (IPA pronunciation: ), as used today, is the collective name for two East African islands off mainland Tanzania: Unguja (also called Zanzibar) and Pemba. ... Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes is a stealth-based game that was developed by Silicon Knights and Konami for the GameCube and released in March 2004. ...

The Metal Gear 2 game manual was never officially translated into English, however, fans of the series have done translations of their own. The following information comes from a rough translation of the game manual.

Description

• Population: 40,000
• Area: 450 km²
• Capital: Zanzibar
• Government: Republic
• Head of State: Big Boss
• Political Parties: One-party rule by Zanzibar Land Party
• Languages: English, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Uzbek, Vietnamese, and French
• Race: 100 of every world race including Caucasian, African, Ukrainian, Russian, Uzbek, Jews, German, Chinese, and French.
• Currency: Zanje
• Defense Expenditures: 75% of GNP
• Products and Resources: Iron, Coal, Bauxite, Tungsten, Sugar beets, Flour, Oats, Potatoes, Maize, Super Mentha, Jijirium, Bizanium, Eltonium, and Pegamin-H
• Arable Land: 24%
• Average Life Span: Male 41.5 years, Female 40.31 years (1999)
• Births 20 per 1000 population
• Deaths 35.8 per 1000 population

• Description: A landlocked nation surrounded by Pakistan, the USSR, China, and Afghanistan.

The south of the country is desert. The north is steppe, mountains, and plateaus. The climate is arid, with a large temperature difference between daytime and nighttime. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 8, 4, d Appearance lustrous metallic with a grayish tinge Atomic mass 55. ... Coal (previously referred to as pitcoal or seacoal) is a fossil fuel extracted from the ground by underground mining or open-pit mining (surface mining). ... Bauxite with penny Bauxite (pebbly) Bauxite is a naturally occurring, heterogeneous material composed primarily of one or more aluminium hydroxide minerals, plus various mixtures of silica, iron oxide, titania, aluminium silicates, and other impurities in minor or trace amounts. ... General Name, Symbol, Number tungsten, W, 74 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 6, 6, d Appearance grayish white, lustrous Atomic mass 183. ... Two sugar beets - the one on the left has been cultivated to be smoother than the traditional beet, so that it traps less soil. ... Look up flour in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Binomial name Avena sativa Carolus Linnaeus (1753) The Oat (Avena sativa) is a species of cereal grain, and the seeds of this plant. ... Binomial name Solanum tuberosum L. The potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a perennial plant of the Solanaceae, or nightshade, family, commonly grown for its starchy tuber. ... Binomial name Zea mays L. Maize (Zea mays ssp. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...

The area was formerly Zanzibar Province, an autonomous zone of the USSR. Opposition to the old regime mounted in the early 1990s, after the secession of the Baltic states. The period of crisis inspired nationalism in the area's leaders, who proclaimed independence in 1997. See also 1990s, the band The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive, sometimes informally including popular culture from 2000 and 2001. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Despite the intervention of major powers from both the Eastern and Western blocs, or, according to Metal Gear Solid's Previous Operations file, the CIS, the small tribal nation won its sovereignty. Primary credit for the success is generally given to the mercenaries from around the world that participated in the war. A map of the Eastern Bloc. ... NATO 2002 Summit The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), sometimes called North Atlantic Alliance, Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for defence collaboration established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, DC, on April 4, 1949. ... Headquarters Minsk, Belarus Member states 11 member states 1 associate member Working language Russian Executive Secretary Vladimir Rushailo Formation December 21, 1991 Official website http://cis. ... A mercenary is a soldier who fights, or engages in warfare primarily for private gain, usually with little regard for ideological, national or political considerations. ...

Because of this, Zanzibar Land's war of independence is also called "The Mercenary War," and brought back to global attention the profession of the gun for hire.

After the war, Zanzibar Land became a heavily fortified nation. Then Zanzibar Land contacted Petrovich Madnar through one of their agents and persuaded him into constructing a new Metal Gear: Metal Gear D. The Metal Gear family of mecha. ...

Zanzibar Land used Metal Gear D to steal every single nuke in the world, becoming the world's sole nuclear power.

Mercenary Force

Zanzibar Land hosted an elite mercenary force much like the one hosted by Outer Heaven. Outer Heaven is a fortified state which serves as the setting of the original Metal Gear. ...

• 
  Black Ninja (Black Color in the original MSX2 version) - The codename of high-tech ninjas formerly belonging to the "Extraterrestrial Environment Special Forces", a top-secret NASA project. After the unit was disbanded due to their too dangerous existence, the surviving members fled to Central Asia and participated as mercenaries in the war for Zanzibar Land's independence. They are equipped with flex armors and have been genetically enhanced with drugs. Snake fought against a surviving member who turned out to be Kyle Schneider, the former leader of the resistance movement in Outer Heaven and presumed dead during Operation: Intrude N313 (see Metal Gear).

• 
  Running Man - A former short-range runner during the Barcelona Olympics. He was banned from competing after being convicted of steroid abuse and began working for a terrorist group in France known as "Les Enfants Terribles" (no relation to the Les Enfants Terribles project). He specializes in setting booby traps and explosions which requires his fast legs. He was given the name "Running Man" by the SEK.

• 
  Red Blaster - An assassin who earned his special operations degree in the Lumumba University. Had a career in Spetznaz prior to joining Zanzibar Land. He is an explosive specialist and a skilled grenadier.

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  The Four Horsemen (Ultra Box in the original MSX2 version) - A four-man assassination group specializing in close-quarter combat. Consist of former GSG9, UDT and SAS members. '

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  Jungle Evil (Predator in the original MSX2 version) - Former member of the Reconnaissance Commandos in South Africa. Specialist in guerrilla warfare.

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  Night Fright (Night Sight in the original MSX2 version) - Surviving member of "Whispers", a legendary Guerilla task force in North Vietnam. He uses a stealth camouflage suit, which also makes the wearer invisible to radar. His preferred weapon is a Wei Shen Sho Ciang (lit. "minute sound hand gun"), a Chinese handgun which makes little sound.

Image File history File links Black_Ninja. ... NASA logo Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from an article revision dated 2005-09-01, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... Metal Gear is a stealth-based game designed by Hideo Kojima and developed and published by Konami. ... Image File history File links Running_Man. ... The 1992 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were held in 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. ... Doping drugs on display at The Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland In sports, doping refers to the use of performance-enhancing drugs, such as anabolic steroids, particularly those that are forbidden by the organizations that regulate competitions. ... Big Boss is a fictional character in the Metal Gear video game series created by Hideo Kojima and published by Konami. ... Image File history File links Red_Blaster. ... The Peoples Friendship University of Russia (Росси́йский Университе́т Дру́жбы Наро́дов, РУДН) is located in Moscow. ... Spetsnaz soldier training Spetsnaz (Войска специального назначения - спецназ/Voiska spetsialnogo naznacheniya - spetsnaz, /Specnaz/ in SAMPA) is a general term for Special Forces, SpecOps in Russian, literally special purpose units. In Russian the term is commonly used to denote special forces of all countries, but in English it is used only... A Grenadier was originally a specialized assault trooper for siege operations, first established as a distinct role in the early 17th century. ... Image File history File links Horseman. ... Grenzschutzgruppe 9 (GSG 9 - Border protection group 9) is a German counter-terrorism unit, and is considered to be among the best of such units in the world. ... UDT can mean: The Underwater Demolition Teams the precursor to the current U.S. Navy SEALs. ... It has been suggested that SAS Troops be merged into this article or section. ... Image File history File links Jungle_Evil. ... Guerrilla War redirects here. ... Image File history File links Night_Fright. ... The Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRVN), or less commonly, Vietnamese Democratic Republic (Vietnamese: Việt Nam Dân Chủ Cá»™ng Hòa), also known as North Vietnam, was proclaimed by Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi, September 2nd1945 and was recognized by the Peoples Republic of China and the... Anolis caroliensis showing blending camouflage and counter-shading. ...