You’re So FULTON Shit, Man… Balloons?!

Looks like TPP will bring back more than just BOX-ing shenanigans Trash Bin antics. YouTube user YongYea posted a very telling video of an in-depth analysis of the 1.5 minutes of gameplay that was shown in the 10th Japanese episode of Kojima Station.

The English episode (Episode 8) reissued the trailer, though it was slightly different. Different in that the contextual popups that appeared on screen (such as picking up a weapon, guard, climbing over obstacles, etc.) showed what looked to be a sort of Balloon icon. Perhaps this is the FULTON balloon signifying that you are able to capture/recover POWs and/or downed enemies up to Morpho, and ultimately back to Mother Base, similar to how the mechanics worked in MGS Peace Walker. The icon seems to be the TRIANGLE button. YongYea also points out that the FULTON balloons don’t seems to have to be Equipped. Perhaps they’re infinite like the MAGS in Ground Zeroes. Kojima himself verbalized that the Fulton Recovery will return in TPP but seeing it on screen, at least at this stage, gives me a sigh of relief.

Another thing this clip points out is that there is something else that pops up on screen for one frame. You can clearly see the numbers “80%” below Snake’s bottom left side. YongYea states that he doesn’t know yet what these numbers mean but my idea is that it is perhaps the return of the CAMO INDEX that was so famously introduced in MGS3: Snake Eater. This CAMO INDEX, which let players know the level of camouflage they had, was very instrumental to infiltrating key locations without getting spotted by enemies. As you all know, the higher the Index number, the less an oncoming guard will see you as you hide in the distance or mere inches from them. This mechanic was used in MGS4 and PW, though Portable Ops used a variation of this system, with the ability to use comrades dressed up as the enemies of specific levels. My assumption is still up for debate until we get a clearer picture or a confirmation of what this “80%” really means. Till then, this is very exciting news!