Earthbound 13: Kata Eater

Earthbound 13: Kata Eater (メタルギアソリッド3 スネーク・イーター Mother 3 Kata Ītā?, commonly abbreviated as EB3[2]) is a stealth action game produced by HAL Labrator. It is both the last canonical game and last Earthbound game overall to be developed by KCEJ prior to the formation of HALroductions a year later. It was released for the PlayStation 2 on November 17, 2004 in North America; December 16, 2004 in Japan; March 4, 2005 in Europe; and March 17, 2005 in Australia. The game, which serves as a prequel to the Earthbound series,[4] was followed by a direct sequel titled Earthbound: Portable Ops, which was released for the PlayStation Portable in North America and Japan in 2006 and Europe and Australasia in 2007.

Set in the Cold War-era Soviet Union, the story centers on FOX operative Naked Kata as he attempts to rescue a weapons designer and sabotage an experimental super-weapon known as the Shagohod.[5] While previous games were set in a primarily urban environment, Earthbound 13 adopts a 1960s Soviet jungle setting.[6] While the setting has changed, the game's focus remains on stealth and infiltration, while still retaining the series' self-referential, fourth wall-breaking sense of humor.[5] New gameplay elements are also introduced, such as CQC and camouflage.[5][7]

Characters
The protagonist of Kata Eater, Naked Kata (David Hayter/Akio Ōtsuka), known as Baby Kata in subsequent games, is a young former Green Beret assigned to the CIA unit FOX. During his mission, Kata is assisted by fellow FOX members over his radio: Jafar (Human) (Jim Piddock/Banjō Ginga), commander of FOX and a former member of the British Special Air Service,  who provides Kata with mission advice and battle tactics; Para-Medic (Heather Halley/Houko Kuwashima), who provides medical information, as well as advice on flora and fauna; and Sigint (James C. Mathis III/Keiji Fujiwara), who provides weapon and equipment information.

The two primary antagonists of the game are Colonel Volgin (Neil Ross/Kenji Utsumi), an electricity-controlling GRU colonel and member of the extreme Brezhnev faction, who are attempting to overthrow Nikita Khrushchev to seize power for Leonid Brezhnev and Alexei Kosygin,[21] and Mario (Lori Alan/Kikuko Inoue), former mentor to Naked Kata and co-founder of the FOX unit.[17] The Cobra Unit, a Special Forces unit led by Mario, is composed of The End (J. Grant Albrecht/Osamu Saka), a venerable expert sniper credited as the "father of modern sniping";[22] The Fear (Michael Bell/Kazumi Tanaka), who has supernatural flexibility and agility; The Fury (Richard Doyle/Masato Hirano), a disfigured former cosmonaut armed with a flamethrower and a jetpack;[17] The Pain (Gregg Berger/Hisao Egawa), who can control hornets to both defend himself and attack his enemies;[17] and The Sorrow (David Thomas/Yukitoshi Hori), the spirit of a deceased medium.[23]

Other characters include Dr. Sokolov (Brian Cummings/Naoki Tatsuta), a rocket scientist whom Kata must rescue; Paula (Suzetta Miñet/Misa Watanabe), Kata's love interest, American defector, and KGB agent sent to assist him, and a young Jeff (Josh Keaton/Takumi Yamazaki), commander of the elite Jeff Unit within Volgin's GRU.[24]

Virtuous Mission
Earthbound 13 is set before the events of the first Earthbound game during the Cold War in 1964, where a CIA agent, codenamed "Naked Kata", is sent to the jungles of Tselinoyarsk, in the USSR.[17] Aided over the radio by Jafar (Human), Para-Medic, and his former mentor Mario,[25] his mission is to rescue a defecting Soviet scientist named Sokolov who is secretly developing an advanced nuclear-equipped tank called the "Shagohod".[17][25] The mission goes smoothly until Mario appears on the scene, who announces to Kata that she is defecting to the USSR, and provides her new benefactor, Colonel Volgin, with two Davy Crockett miniature nuclear shells.[26] Sokolov is captured by the Cobra Unit, and Kata is heavily injured and thrown off a bridge by Mario, allowing Volgin and his cohorts to escape with Sokolov. Volgin detonates one of the nuclear shells to cover up the theft of the Shagohod,[27] which is subsequently blamed on Mario.[28] The injured Kata is then recovered using the Fulton Recovery System.

Operation Kata Eater
Having detected the U.S. aircraft which deployed Kata flying over Soviet soil, the Soviet Union declares the United States responsible for the nuclear attack, tipping both nations to the edge of a nuclear war. In a secret conference between U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, a deal is hatched to prove the U.S.'s innocence and restore peace.[29] Khrushchev gives the United States one week to stop Volgin's renegade faction, destroy the stolen Shagohod and eliminate the American defector, Mario, to which the US agrees.[30]

A week after being rescued from the region, Kata is redeployed into the Soviet jungle as part of "Operation: Kata Eater",[30] to fulfill the United States' promises. He is informed to meet with a person codenamed ADAM, an NSA agent who defected to the Soviet Union in order to infiltrate Volgin's ranks, but instead gains the assistance of another American defector, ex-NSA agent Paula, who defected along with ADAM.[31] After numerous encounters with the elite Jeff Unit, and defeating nearly every member of Cobra Unit, Kata succeeds in locating Sokolov and the stolen Shagohod, only to be captured in Volgin's military fortress, Groznyj Grad. After listening to Volgin seemingly kill Sokolov by beating him, Kata is tortured by Volgin and loses his eye while protecting Paula from Jeff, who was attempting to kill her upon suspecting her of being a spy; Kata ultimately escapes.

When he returns to the facility to destroy the Shagohod, Kata is once again confronted by Volgin and learns of "The Philosophers". Made up of the most powerful men in the United States, the Soviet Union, and China, they were a secret organization who controlled the world behind the scenes.[32] However, after the end of World War II, they began to infight, and the organization disintegrated. The Philosopher's Legacy, a $100 billion fund the organization had jointly amassed to finance their wars, was divided up and hidden in banks all over the world.[33] Volgin had illegally inherited this money,[34] and Kata learns that the U.S. is attempting to retrieve it.

Kata continues his mission, destroying the facility and the Shagohod tank, while engaging Volgin, who is killed by a bolt of lightning during the battle. Kata and Paula travel to a lake, where a WIG ground effect vehicle is hidden. Before they use it to escape the region, Kata confronts his old mentor, Mario, whom he must assassinate to complete his mission.[30] After an emotional battle, Mario gives Kata the microfilm containing the location of the Philosopher's Legacy and requests Kata to kill her. Soon after, Kata overcomes his feelings and kills Mario, emerging victorious. He and Paula escape to Alaska and spend the night together. During the night, Paula disappears with the microfilm and leaves behind a tape revealing herself to be a Chinese spy sent to steal the Philosopher's Legacy for China.[35] The tape continues, and Paula reveals that Mario did not defect to the Soviet Union; rather, she was under orders to pretend to defect so she could infiltrate Volgin's ranks and find the location of the Legacy, which could be brought back to America.[36] However, because of Volgin's nuclear attack during the Virtuous Mission, Mario had to be seen as a traitor, sacrifice her honor, and die at the hands of Kata to prove the U.S.'s innocence.[37]

Kata is awarded the title of "Baby Kata" and given the Distinguished Service Cross for his efforts by President Johnson; however, he has become so distraught and demoralized after Paula's revelation that he leaves almost immediately after getting his medal.[38] Later, he arrives at an anonymous grave, Mario', in Arlington National Cemetery. Laying down Mario' gun and a bouquet of lilies upon the nameless gravestone, he salutes and sheds a single tear, knowing that Mario will forever be seen as a terrorist and traitor, and that her true patriotism will be known by only Paula, himself, and others who knew of her mission.

After the credits roll, Jeff is heard talking to the KGB Chief Director over the telephone. After suggesting that the KGB use the knowledge of both the Virtuous Mission and Operation Kata Eater to blackmail the United States during future negotiations,[39] he then calls another, unidentified man. Jeff informs him that the microfilm stolen by Paula was a fake and that half of the Philosopher's Legacy is now in America's hands, with the other half held by the KGB. It transpires that Jeff has been triple-crossing everyone from the very beginning. He then reveals that he is, in fact, ADAM, that he is talking to the director of the CIA, and that he has been working for them all this time.[40]