MGS V: The Phantom Pain Story Cassette Tapes Guide

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain has a ton of hidden cassette tapes that you can unlock as you play through the game's story missions and Side Ops. 

Each of these cassette tapes contains a piece of the game's overarching storyline, providing players with insight into the events of Metal Gear Solid, its characters, and overall story. 

Here's a complete list of the missions you'll need to beat to unlock these tapes. 
 
Tape: Ocelot's Briefing 1
Track(s): British Sovereign Base Area Dhekelia, Cyprus a Nation Divided, The Route to Afghanistan, World Affairs Over the 9 Years, What Happened in the Caribbean 9 Years Ago, The Strike Force: After the Attack, After-Effects of Snake's Coma
How to Unlock: Beat the Prologue
 
Tape: Ocelot’s Briefing 2
Track(s): The Moniker Shalashaska
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 01
 
Tape: Ocelot’s Briefing 3
Track(s): SALT II, Meeting Ocelot and the Formation of a Certain Organization, Where is Zero?
How to Unlock: Complete Mission 03
 
Tape: Afghanistan Today 1
Track(s): The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, The Soviet Army’s Scorched Earch Operation
How to Unlock: Complete Mission 02
 
Tape: Afghanistan Today 2
Track(s): The Threat of Soviet Gunships, The Hamid Fighters
How to Unlock: Beat two missions – 03, 04, 05
 
Tape: Afghanistan Today 3
Track(s): Honey Bee Analysis Results
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 06

 
Tape: At Mother Base 1
Track(s): The Mist Unit, Cipher’s Will, Mother Base Reborn, Connection with the Seychelles, Whaling Ship Heiwa Maru, Origins of Diamond
How to Unlock: Beat two missions – 03, 04, 05
 
Tape: At Mother Base 2
Track(s): Private Forces, Big Boss Back to Life
How to Unlock: Beat two missions – 03, 04, 05
 
Tape: At Mother Base 3
Track(s): Bionic Arm
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 05
 
Tape: At Mother Base 4
Track(s): Intel Team
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 06
 
Tape: At Mother Base 5
Track(s): Training D-Dog
How to Unlock: Beat a Mission with D-Dog as your buddy
 
Tape: At Mother Base Supplemental 1
Track(s): Background to the Epidemic
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 25, Disease Outbreak triggers it
 
Tape: At Mother Base Supplemental 2
Track(s): Identifying the Infected
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 25, Disease Outbreak triggers it
 
Tape: What Happened to Old Mother Base Members
Track(s): Chico and Amanda, Strangelove, Huey
How to Unlock: Beat two missions – 03, 04, 05

 
Tape: Quiet 1
Track(s): The Sniper Quiet Appears
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 07, 08, 09 or 10, then listen to radio discussion about Quiet, or at the start of Mission 11
 
Tape: Quiet 2
Track(s): Quiet’s Missile Interdiction Sniping, Events After Quiet’s Extraction 1
How to Unlock: Beat a Mission upon extracting Quiet
 
Tape: Quiet 3
Track(s): Events After Quiet’s Extraction 2
How to Unlock: Beat Side Op 111
 
Tape: Quiet 4
Track(s): Quiet on Mother Base
How to Unlock: Beat Side Op 111
 
Tape: Quiet 5
Track(s): Quiet’s Mission Performance
How to Unlock: Beat a Mission with Quiet as your buddy
 
Tape: Quiet 6
Track(s): Why Did Quiet Disappear?
How to Unlock: Beat Side Op 150
 
Tape: Quiet 7
Track(s): Quiet’s Message
How to Unlock: Beat Side Op 150
 
Tape: Questioning Huey 1
Track(s): Emmerich’s 9 Years, Emmerich’s Research for the Soviets, Emmerich’s Research History, Diamond Dogs’ Treatment of Huey, A.I. Pod in the Lab
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 12
 
Tape: Questioning Huey 2
Track(s): What is Sahelanthropus?, Clone Research 1, Clone Research 2
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 13
 
Tape: Questioning Huey 3
Track(s): The Body Found in the A.I. Pod
How to Unlock: Beat Side Op 143
 
Tape: Questioning Huey 4
Track(s): Cooperating with Eli
How to Unlock: Beat Side Ops 145 through 149, then watch cut scene with Eli
 
Tape: Questioning Huey 5
Track(s): Reasons for Facilitating the Wolbachia Mutation 1
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 43
 
Tape: Questioning Huey 6
Track(s): Reasons for Facilitating the Wolbachia Mutation 2
How to Unlock: When D-Dog is a buddy, listen to the Reasons for Facilitating the Wolbachia Mutation 1 tape
 
Tape: Questioning Huey 7
Track(s): Picking Up Emmerich’s Work, A.I. Pod’s Final Recording
How to Unlock: View the scene where Emmerich gets exiled

 
Tape: Cipher’s Cargo 1
Track(s): Copper Ore
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 16
 
Tape: Cipher’s Cargo 2
Track(s): Yellowcake, Shinkolobwe Mine
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 17
 
Tape: Africa Today 1
Track(s): The Legendary Mercenary, Private Forces, Private Force: CFA, Private Force: CFA’s Locally Hired Mercenaries, Current Affairs in Africa
How to Unlock: How to Unlock: Beat Mission 12
 
Tape: Africa Today 2
Track(s): The Spread of Walker Gears
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 14
 
Tape: Africa Today 3
Track(s): Private Force: Zero Risk Security
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 16
 
Tape: Africa Today 4
Track(s): Private Force: Rogue Coyote, Kungenga Mine and the Ethnic Clash
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 17 and Mission 18 respectively
 
Tape: The Factory of the Dead
Track(s): The Bedridden in the Factory, Analysis of the Voices in the Factory
How to Unlock: Beat Side Ops 145 through 149
 
Tape: The Man on Fire 1
Track(s): The Man on Fire’s Weakness
How to Unlock: Beat the Prologue
 
Tape: The Man on Fire 2
Track(s): What Happened Next with the Man on Fire
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 32
 
Tape: The Man on Fire 3
Track(s): The Man on Fire, Who is the Floating Boy?
How to Unlock: Beat Side Op 144
 
Tape: The White Mamba 1
Track(s): White Mamba (Nyoka ya Mpembe), DDR (The Problems with Social Reintegration)
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 21 and 22
 
Tape: The White Mamba 2
Track(s): The White Mamba Detained
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 23
 
Tape: The White Mamba 3
Track(s): Eli’s DNA Test
How to Unlock: Beat Side Ops 145 through 149, then watch cut scene with Eli

 
Tape: Vocal Cord Parasites 1
Track(s): Preventing Symptoms, The Vocal Cord Parasites’ Infection Route, Resisting the Vocal Cord Parasites
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 29
 
Tape: Vocal Cord Parasites 2
Track(s): The First Infection, Experiment in Africa, Experiment in Afghanistan, Effects of the Wolbachia
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 29
 
Tape: Vocal Cord Parasites 3
Track(s): The Devil’s House, The Vocal Cord Parasite’s Language Learning Ability
How to Unlock: Beat Side Op 144
 
Tape: Sahelanthropus 1
Track(s): OKB Zero, Sahelanthropus’s Armor Material 1
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 29
 
Tape: Sahelanthropus 2
Track(s): Sahelanthropus’s Armor Material 2
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 31
 
Tape: Sahelanthropus 3
Track(s): The Captured Sahelanthropus
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 31
 
Tape: Metallic Archaea 1
Track(s): What Are Metallic Archaea, Nuclear Testing in South Africa
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 29
 
Tape: Metallic Archaea 2
Track(s): Emmerich’s Power-Assisted Exo Legs
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 29
 
Tape: Metallic Archaea 3
Track(s): The Safety Mechanism of Nuclear Saturation
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 31
 
Tape: Metallic Archaea 4
Track(s): Uranium Enrichment Archaea, Motive for Researching Metallic Archaea
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 32

 
Tape: Code Talker and His Research 1
Track(s): Parasites Living Within Us
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 31
 
Tape: Code Talker and His Research 2
Track(s): What Covers the Skulls
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 32
 
Tape: Code Talker and His Research 3
Track(s): Origins of Code Talker, Motive for Researching Vocal Cord Parasites
How to Unlock: Beat Side Op 143
 
Tape: Code Talker and His Research 4
Track(s): The Ethnic Cleansing Parasite Project, The Parasites Gave Us Language, Genesis of the Vocal Cord Parasites, Revival of the Vocal Cord Parasites, The Final Form of the Ethnic Cleansing Parasites
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 35
 
Tape: Code Talker and His Research 5
Track(s): Superorganisms
How to Unlock: View the scene where Emmerich gets exiled
 
Tape: Skull Face’s Objective 1
Track(s): Skull Face’s Demise, Whereabouts of the Third English Mating Pair, Skull Face’s Ethnic Liberation Parasites, Conjecture About English Strain Production, World Reactions to Sahelanthropus
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 31
 
Tape: Skull Face’s Objective 2
Track(s): Skull Face Nine Years Ago, Multiethnicity of the United States
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 32
 
Tape: Skull Face’s Objective 3
Track(s): Rulers and Language
How to Unlock: Beat Side Op 143
 
Tape: Skull Face’s Objective 4
Track(s): Secret Recording of Skull Face and Code Talker One and Two
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 35
 
Tape: Skull Face’s Objective 5
Track(s): Skull Face’s Origins and XOF, The Target of Skull Face’s Revenge
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 41
 
Tape: The Children Escape 1
Track(s): What Prompted the Escape
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 35, Side Op 113, then another Mission or Side Op
 
Tape: The Children Escape 2
Track(s): The Mastermind
How to Unlock: Beat Side Op 145, 146, 147, 148 or 149
 
Tape: The Children Escape 3
Track(s): Eli’s Explanation
How to Unlock: Beat two Side Ops from the following list: 145, 146, 147, 148 or 149
 
Tape: The Children Escape 4
Track(s): Eli’s Threat
How to Unlock: Beat three Side Ops from the following list: 145, 146, 147, 148 or 149
 
Tape: The Children Escape 5
Track(s): Will of the Child Soldiers, Eli’s Objective
How to Unlock: Beat four Side Ops from the following list: 145, 146, 147, 148 or 149
 
Tape: The Children Escape 6
Track(s): Ocelot’s Fears
How to Unlock: Beat Side Ops 145 through 149, then watch cut scene with Eli

 
Tape: Informant’s Report
Track(s): Parts One, Two and Three
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 38
 
Tape: What Happened in the Laboratory 1
Track(s): Urges Caused by the Vocal Cord Parasites
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 43
 
Tape: What Happened in the Laboratory 2
Track(s): Mutation in the Laboratory, Parasites Controlling People
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 43
 
Tape: What Happened in the Laboratory 3
Track(s): Thirst for Vengeance Parasitizing the Mind
How to Unlock: View the scene where Emmerich gets exiled
 
Tape: Paz’s Diary Continued 1
Track(s): Entry 1
How to Unlock: Bring Paz the second Memento Photo and then leave
 
Tape: Paz’s Diary Continued 2
Track(s): Entry 2
How to Unlock: Bring Paz the fourth Memento Photo and then leave
 
Tape: Paz’s Diary Continued 3
Track(s): Entry 3
How to Unlock: Bring Paz the sixth Memento Photo and then leave
 
Tape: Paz’s Diary Continued 4
Track(s): Entry 4
How to Unlock: Bring Paz the eighth Memento Photo and then leave
 
Tape: Paz’s Diary Continued 5
Track(s): Entry 5
How to Unlock: Watch the last cinematic with Paz
 
Tape: The Hamburgers of Kazuhira Miller 1
Track(s): Code Talker’s Eating Habits
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 32
 
Tape: The Hamburgers of Kazuhira Miller 2
Track(s): Kazuhira Miller’s Research
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 35
 
Tape: The Hamburgers of Kazuhira Miller 3
Track(s): Kazuhira Miller’s Epiphany
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 38
 
Tape: The Hamburgers of Kazuhira Miller 4
Track(s): The Ultimate Hamburger
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 41
 
Tape: Truth Records
Track(s): Secret Recordings one through 12
How to Unlock: Beat Mission 46, aka the Secret Mission