Raiden (Metal Gear)

Raiden (Japanese: 雷電), real name Jack (ジャック, Jakku), is a fictional character and protagonist from Konami's Metal Gear series. Created by Hideo Kojima and designed by Yoji Shinkawa, Raiden was introduced in the series as the main player character of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. In Metal Gear Solid 2, he appears to be a member of the U.S. special operations unit FOXHOUND, participating in his first mission. Despite coming across as rookie, he is a young soldier who is later revealed to have been a Liberian child soldier. Raiden reappears as a supporting character in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and returns as the main character of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance dealing both with his past and his present life as a combatant.

The idea of creating Raiden originated from Hideo Kojima's desire to view the Metal Gear series protagonist Solid Snake from a different point of view, inspired by the Sherlock Holmes stories. Raiden's inclusion remained a secret to gamers before his debut; despite some players' reactions, the staff liked his character. Raiden's debut role as the protagonist of Metal Gear Solid 2 became controversial for a reason: the unexpected substitution of the established hero Solid Snake. Some critics have defended the character, stating that fans were merely angered by the former's removal and that the latter was appealing. Despite this mixed reception, Raiden has been highly praised for his role and Metal Gear Solid 4 redesign and even more for his role and design in Revengeance.

Character design

Creation and appearance

According to series creator Hideo Kojima, the decision to make a new character replace Solid Snake for most of Metal Gear Solid 2 stemmed from the developer's desire to develop Snake from a third-person perspective instead. Kojima also stated that Raiden's character and its perception by the audience were important to the overall feel of the story. The idea of having a second main character was inspired by the Sherlock Holmes short stories and novels in which the narrator was not the title character, but his friend Dr. Watson. Kojima affirmed that Snake was the game's protagonist instead of Raiden. Yoshikazu Matsuhana, assistant director for the project, was uncertain about this decision; he considered Raiden a "weak-looking character", but decided to follow Kojima.^[2] The codename "Raiden" was based on a historical combat aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service, the Mitsubishi J2M Raiden.^[3] It was initially planned to be written in katakana as "ライデン", but was changed to the kanji form "雷電" because of the original resemblance to Bin Laden's "Laden" in katakana, "ラーディン".^[4] The relationship between Raiden and Rosemary was inspired by Kojima's own experiences; their names, Jack and Rose, are a reference to characters in the film Titanic.^[5] Raiden in Metal Gear Solid 2 is considered to be a representation of the player through the experiences between the player and the character during the game.^[6]

Kojima received much fan mail; one letter was from a girl who stated she did not want to play a game with an old man. He took this into consideration; he and his team designed a character more appealing to women, resulting in Raiden's appearance.^[7] Designer Yoji Shinkawa noted that he and the other character designers took a great deal of inspiration for Raiden's appearance from the bishōnen archetype.^[7] Because Raiden was a new character the staff designed him carefully, giving him white hair to symbolize his introduction. Shinkawa further noted that Raiden ended up with an overall feminine appearance.^[5] His outfit (the Skull Suit) was difficult to design until the staff decided on a "bonelike" concept. Shinkawa wanted to make Raiden sexually appealing, emphasizing the tightness of his clothing.^[8]

Konami kept Raiden's starring role in Metal Gear Solid 2 secret until the game's North American release, going so far as to replace Raiden with Snake in teaser trailers and other preview materials. Although Raiden appeared in several preview trailers in his scuba gear, his presence was not emphasized.^[5] Raiden's appearance in the game was announced to the Japanese press on the day of the game's release in North America.^[9]

Kojima noted that fan response to Raiden's character was both positive and negative. While accepting considerable negative feedback, Kojima and his team liked the character. In response to the positive reaction from Japan, the Raikov character was created for Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater as a parody of Raiden. While noting that Raiden would not be a playable character in Metal Gear Solid 4 Kojima confirmed his appearance in the game to website 1UP.com, stating that fans would like him by the end.^[10] For this title, Raiden's new design was a response to the criticism that only his face remained in his cybernetic body. Shinkawa, himself, was surprised by the way he came to illustrate Raiden. The staff noted that Raiden's debut in the Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer received notably positive responses; several video-game magazines promoted the game with Raiden's screenshots.^[11] Kojima echoed similar comments, indicating that he wanted to expand the character with another game.^[12] Raiden's first fight against Vamp in the game caused difficulty to motion and voice actors because of carefully planned movements performed by the two fighters. The staff was nevertheless satisfied with the outcome, considering it one of the best battles in the game.^[13]

Raiden's redesign sketches for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

When Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance was known as Metal Gear Solid: Rising, former producer Shigenobu Matsuyama hinted that Raiden's past as a child soldier would be elaborated and his weaknesses as a human would be explored. Matsuyama wanted Raiden to have as strong a role in the game as in Metal Gear Solid 2, leading him to become the game's main character.^[14] Director Mineshi Kimura noted that he wanted Raiden to be able to move like he did in the Metal Gear Solid 4 trailers, wanting to show "the stealth of the sword, and the strength of not even losing to the gun, and the fear and power you have with this blade."^[15] Matsuyama stated that they would focus on Raiden's strong will and physical strength, so he would be enjoyable to control.^[16] Raiden's design was changed during the game's development, leading to different promotional images of him.^[17] Following the game's reboot into a spin-off, Developers stated that while Raiden "has grown up" in comparison to previous Metal Gear games, he is still conflicted with his life as a child soldier in a past civil war, leading him to be a "dark hero".^[18] Shinkawa designed Raiden's new body as a way to emphasize him being a dark hero contrasting his Metal Gear Solid 4 persona and later discussed with Platinum Games' Kenji Saito about including his quasi-human look. Raiden losing an eye also serves to represent his transformation across the story.^[19] In response to complaints regarding how Rising appeared to contradict Raiden's ending in Guns of the Patriots, the Kojima Productions staff explained the game would explain what happened with Raiden's life.^[20]

Raiden is first depicted as a white-haired adult who uses a protective black-and-blue suit for his missions known as a "Skull Suit" (スカルスーツ, Sukaru Sūtsu).^[21] In Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Raiden has had his entire body below the upper jaw replaced with a prototype cybernetic body ; he has also had his blood replaced with a military substitute called "White Blood" (白血, Shiro Chi), which requires regular maintenance.^[22] His original cybernetic body is replaced with a black one for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance that also covers his left eye. Although proficient at all types of weaponry, Raiden specializes in wielding swords which resonate at high frequencies for the last fights in Sons of Liberty^[23] and during Guns of the Patriots and Revengeance.

Personality and portrayal

In his first appearances Raiden is a rookie agent who, as a result of training only in virtual reality, is inexperienced. However, he later reveals that he was feared as a child soldier—known as "Jack the Ripper" (ジャック・ザ・リッパー, Jakku Za Rippā)—who killed several enemies in a civil war and is ashamed of his past.^[24] This affects Raiden's personality; he begins to believe he is only useful in the battlefield and his relationship with his girlfriend, Rosemary, would not work.^[25][26] Manipulation by the Patriots causes him to believe he does not have free will. Raiden is encouraged by Solid Snake not to be concerned with what people tell him but to rely on himself to face his problems.^[27]

In the Japanese versions of the games Raiden has been voiced by Kenyu Horiuchi,^[28] who felt he could understand the character's pain; despite becoming a cyborg, Raiden still acted like a human.^[13] Quinton Flynn was selected to voice Raiden in the series' English adaptation by casting director Kris Zimmerman, who had previously worked with him. Flynn remembers having a long time to develop the character, being instructed by Zimmerman to use an older voice from a character he previously voiced. Flynn stated that Raiden was one of his favorite video-game voice characters, and explained a notable difference between his roles in Metal Gear Solid 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4.^[29]

Kojima Productions have compared Raiden and Solid Snake as to their experiences and ways of thinking. During the game's climax, Raiden stays handcuffed until his final fight against Solidus Snake; Snake escapes from his handcuffs to follow Revolver Ocelot, emphasizing Raiden's lack of freedom. Hideo Kojima compared Raiden and Snake with movie monsters King Kong and Godzilla, respectively; the former was taken from his home and his nature changed upon meeting Rosemary, whereas the latter will continue fighting against mankind's menaces. Defeating Solidus, Raiden is encouraged by Snake to trust himself and believe in his own choices. This is further addressed by the staff's motivation to make a new sequel to Metal Gear without Kojima.^[5] Kojima has also likened him with John Rambo from the Rambo series as both characters always find themselves taking part in battles despite their desire for a peaceful resolution.^[30]

Appearances

Main games

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty introduces the player to Raiden in the Plant chapter; he is introduced as a newly recruited, virtual reality-trained member of FOXHOUND with no live combat experience before his current mission.^[31] Assisted via Codec by the Colonel (his commanding officer) and Rosemary (his girlfriend), Raiden's initial objective is to rescue several hostages from a terrorist group known as the Sons of Liberty.^[32][33] Raiden is helped by mercenary Solid Snake and spy Olga Gurlukovich across his mission.^[34][35] As the story progresses, Jack is revealed as a former child soldier for the Sons of Liberty leader Solidus Snake during the Liberian Civil War.^[25][36] After the war's end, Raiden was given a normal life and tried to forget his past.^[37] A clandestine organization known as The Patriots is revealed to be controlling his actions, however, with his commanding officer revealed as their computer-generated AI,^[38][39] and one of their spies becomes Raiden's girlfriend, and the two fall in love.^[40] Raiden defeats Solidus after being told by the Patriots' AIs that his death would also trigger the deaths of Olga's child and Rosemary, the latter of whom was revealed to have been pregnant with Raiden's child during the mission.^[41] He later reunites with Rosemary, and both decide to stay together to raise their unborn child.^[42]

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (set five years after Metal Gear Solid 2) features Raiden after rescuing Sunny (the late Olga's daughter) from the Patriots,^[43] and searching for Big Boss's corpse for Big Mama.^[44] The trauma of his breakup with Rosemary, coupled with the apparent miscarriage of his child, have made Raiden believe his only place is on the battlefield.^[25][26] Outfitted with a cybernetic exoskeleton as a result of the Patriots' machinations,^[45] Raiden assists Solid Snake in the fight against Liquid Ocelot wanting to obtain the Patriots' powers. After several encounters with Liquid's men, Raiden stays in the ship Outer Haven to protect Snake as he shuts down the Patriots' AIs.^[46] In an epilogue, Rosemary reveals to Raiden that their child was not miscarried; her marriage to Roy Campbell was a hoax to protect her and their son from the Patriots. Upon hearing this news, Raiden reconciles with Rosemary.^[47]

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (set four years after Metal Gear Solid 4) shows Raiden's return as the main character.^[15] Raiden appears as a member of the private military company (PMC) Maverick Security in multiple tasks while raising money for his family. However, they are attacked by a group of terrorists called Desperado Enforcement LLC that kill his protectee and leave Raiden near dead. Saved by Doktor, Raiden starts working with them to fight Desperado.^[48] His already vengeful obsession with Desperado becomes even more personal when he discovered, during a mission into Mexico, that Desperado and World Marshal Inc had been kidnapping several children, surgically removing their brains to place them into cybernetic bodies, and were planning to subject them to VR training modelled after his own training under Solidus during the Liberian Civil War. This results in Raiden abruptly resigning from Maverick to pursue and retrieving the children's brain casings from World Marshal, having to battle his "Jack the Ripper" persona in the process. Although Raiden is successful in defeating Desperado he learns that Steven Armstrong was using such PMCs to distract Raiden as he attempts to create a new "War on Terror". Raiden manages to stop Armstrong's actions and decides not to return to Maverick, having his "own war to fight."

Other appearances

Although Raiden does not appear in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, his character is the subject of parody throughout the game by debuting character Raikov.^[10] Raiden also appears in an early promotional trailer for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, fighting for control of the franchise with Solid Snake in a series of comic scenes. A sequel to the trailer was produced entitled "Metal Gear Raiden: Snake Eraser" in which Raiden travels to the past to assassinate Big Boss but fails comically.^[49] In the trailer's English version, Raiden was voiced by Charlie Schlatter (the voice actor for Raikov) instead of Quinton Flynn. Raiden's Metal Gear Solid 2 version appears in the Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus expansion pack, where he is an unlockable character.^[50] His Metal Gear Solid 4 incarnation appears as a playable character in Metal Gear Online.^[51]

In Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, Raiden stars in a non-canon mission titled "Jamais Vu". Having time-travelled to the past,^[52] he infiltrates Camp Omega under orders from MSF. His mission objective is to incapacitate a group of soldiers known as the "body snatchers" (a reference to the android replicators in Kojima's other work Snatcher). His appearance in this game is modeled after his Metal Gear Rising design.

The Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty 2007 comic book adaptation by Alex Garner retells Raiden's role in the series, with few changes made to the story. His relationship with Solidus is explored when he remembers his past; when about to be killed by Solidus, Raiden is saved by Snake.^[53] The game's novelization by Raymond Benson provides minor modifications to Raiden's history, except for the moment he receives Olga's sword, resulting in a change to his battle psyche. When Raiden kills Solidus he cuts the rope on Federal Hall National Memorial's flagpole, causing an American flag to fall over his enemy's body. This scene was deleted from the original game due to the September 11 attacks.^[54]

Outside the Metal Gear series, Raiden appears in the game LittleBigPlanet as a sticker and a playable sack-boy character. He may be accessed by buying the Metal Gear Solid 4 downloadable content.^[55] In Evolution Skateboarding, Raiden is one of the unlockable characters.^[56] He also appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a collectible sticker and in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood as an alternate skin for Ezio Auditore da Firenze.^[57] Raiden is playable in the video game PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale using his Metal Gear Rising design.^[58]

Reception

Critical reaction

Raiden's artwork used as a promotional piece in Leeds, UK. Raiden's appearance in Rising: Revengeance has led to a common praise, in contrast to initial mixed opinions of his introduction

Raiden's replacement of fan favorite Solid Snake in Metal Gear Solid 2 proved controversial, and GamesRadar considered the event a reason to dislike the series overall.^[59][60] The same site criticized his role in Metal Gear Solid 2 several times, and called his inclusion one of the worst aspects of the game.^[61][62] In 2004, GameAxis Unwired published a fake interview in which Hideo Kojima expressed regret for creating the character.^[63] While calling Metal Gear Solid 2 one of the biggest disappointments in video-game history, UGO Networks' Marissa Meli cited Raiden's debut as a key problem with the game.^[64] Meli also commented on Raiden's design, placing him 12th in a list of the most androgynous video game characters.^[65] The book Playing with Videogames states that Raiden's inclusion was to surprise Metal Gear fans who, instead of playing as Snake, played as his opposite. Writer James Newman commented that fans' reactions were highly negative, as though their expectations had been "betray[ed]" by Kojima. He compared Raiden to the controversial Star Wars character Jar Jar Binks. Trailers for Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (in which Raiden is mocked) were considered by Newman to be Konami's comic response to fans' disapproval.^[66] Raiden proved to be more popular in Japan, with Yoji Shinkawa commenting it was because he matched the stereotype of manga hero.^[67] In 2012, manga artist Hiro Mashima drew an illustration of Raiden in anticipation of the series' following games. He mentioned having had difficulties illustrating the character.^[68]

Nevertheless, Eurogamer's Tom Bramwell enjoyed Raiden's role, commenting that his interactions with the other characters also helped expand Solid Snake's character.^[69] His introduction was given an award for "Biggest Surprise" by GameSpot in 2001,^[70] while Dave Meikleham from GamesRadar listed his appearance as one of the biggest plot twists in a video game since the trailers did not show him. Meikleham also called Raiden a "surprisingly likeable character" and found his dynamic with Solid Snake appealing.^[71] Before joining Kojima Productions Ryan Payton stated that he was not disappointed by Raiden's introduction, and liked the fact that the Metal Gear Solid 2 team kept his identity a secret.^[72] Raiden's English voice actor Quinton Flynn was surprised by fans' response to the character, but commented that it also attracted new fans to the series. Regarding response about Raiden replacing Snake as the main character, Flynn thought that fans were angry at the idea that Raiden would replace Snake for all subsequent games.^[29] Raiden's relationship with Rosemary was also listed as the most awkward part of the Metal Gear series by 1UP.com, with writer Scott Sharkey speculating about Hideo Kojima's life since the director claimed the relationship was autobiographical.^[73] PLAY editor Nick Jones listed the scene in which Raiden is nude as his fourth most favorite moment of the franchise, calling it the "one of the funniest moments in gaming history."^[74] Lisa Foiles of The Escapist included him on her 2014 list of top five katana wielders, noting "this is not a popularity contest and Raiden qualifies" even in MGS2 where "he was whiny, an emo, and kind of a bitch."^[75]

Response to the character was mainly positive in subsequent games. His new design for Metal Gear Solid 4 was analyzed by GamePro's Pattrick Shaw, who commented that Raiden "was in one hell of a fight".^[77] Raiden's redesign has been praised for reducing his androgynous appearance, thus making him more appealing.^[78] UGO placed Raiden's design in that game at 18th spot on its 2011 list of "the most stylin' alternate costumes",^[79] but Gavin Mackenzie from PLAY listed it seventh on his top list of inappropriate outfits, stating that the costume was "cool" but had unnecessary accessories.^[80] It has also been compared with Gray Fox's cybernetic-ninja design in Metal Gear Solid.^[81][82] Similarly, the GameSpot staff stated that Raiden "is definitely the inheritor of the quasi-unkillable Cyborg Ninja inheritance" when he made his first appearance in a Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer. GameSpot applauded his actions in the trailer, calling it "wordlessly awesome" and comparing his stunts with those in the film Casshan: Robot Hunter.^[83] Writers from Cheat Code Central referred to his fight against Vamp in another trailer as the "undeniable highlight" that would make player wish to use Raiden in the game.^[84] Game Informer placed him on "The Snubbed List" of the best characters of the 2000s in response to his new design since it made fans like the idea of a new Metal Gear game solely focused on his character.^[85] Raiden's encounter with Vamp in this game was also labelled one of the "most memorable cinematics" of the series by GamePro because of Raiden's change of fighting style from his debut as he "redeems his girlish image",^[77] while IGN listed it as the 80th best moment in video-game history for similar reasons.^[86]

IGN's Jesse Schedeen listed Raiden as one of the "gaming icons" and most valuable players of 2009, in response to his role in an upcoming Metal Gear title.^[87][88] Dave Meikleham of GamesRadar wrote an article entitled "Why Metal Gear Solid: Rising [Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance] will make you love Raiden", explaining why fans who disliked the character would find his character and role appealing in the game.^[89] In a 2010 Famitsu readers' poll, Raiden was voted the 42nd most popular video game character.^[90] In 2013, Complex ranked Raiden as the 12th greatest soldier in video games, "even as he's not as cool as Solid Snake,"^[91] while GamesRadar called Revengeance "perhaps the greatest cyborg ninja game of all time"^[76] and PLAY ranked Raiden as the second top ninja in games.^[92]

Analysis

Raiden's role in Metal Gear Solid 2 has been analyzed by several writers, who emphasized how he is intended to represent the actual player.^[93] Early in the game, when Raiden's virtual reality training is mentioned, the game shows scenes from the previous game Metal Gear Solid where the players took control of Solid Snake.^[94] Raiden's interaction with veteran Solid Snake identify the former as "a Metal Gear fan". As the game progresses it is stated that Raiden "has become Snake", having developed skills similar to his from taking part in the Big Shell's fights which resembled the Metal Gear Solid's Shadow Moses Island.^[95] Later in the game, Raiden is told by a character to "Turn off the console" which confuses both the player and him. While this was first interpreted as a fourth wall-breaking joke, the game's climax goes deeper into Raiden's connection with the player.^[96] When being forced by his superiors to kill the game's antagonist, Solidus Snake, the player is told by the designers to finish the game.^[97] Both player and Raiden take different paths at the game's end. The former is told not to waste time playing games;^[96] the latter's character is expanded with his decision to move on with his life, rejecting his previous identity by discarding the dog tags the player wore in the beginning.^[98]

Upon the revelation of the character's new design as a cyborg ninja, writers noted how Raiden distanced himself from his previous appearance that imitated Solid Snake.^[66] They also emphasized how Raiden becomes a different type of game hero with a new, direct fighting style.^[77] Since Raiden has become more powerful than Solid Snake in physical strength and weaponry to the point of exaggeration,^[99] writers have compared him favorably to other popular game heroes and find his actions still in-character considering the fight scenes throughout the series.^[100]

See also

• List of Metal Gear characters
• Ninja in popular culture

References