Raiden (Metal Gear)
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| Raiden | |
|---|---|
 Raiden in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, illustrated by Yoji Shinkawa. |
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| Game series | Metal Gear series |
| First game | Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty |
| Creator(s) | Hideo Kojima |
| Character designer(s) | Yoji Shinkawa |
| Voice actor(s) (English) | Quinton Flynn (Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty), Charlie Schlatter ("Metal Gear Raiden: Snake Eraser") |
| Voice actor(s) (Japanese) | Kenyu Horiuchi |
| Motion capture actor | Eiji Morisaki |
| In-Universe Information | |
| Real name | Jack |
| Also known as | "Jack the Ripper", "White Devil". Briefly assumed the codename "Snake" during and before the Big Shell incident. |
| Nationality | American (originally from Liberia) |
| Affiliations | Small Boy Unit (Liberian Civil War), Force XXI (sometime before 2009), Pseudo-FOXHOUND operative unknowingly employed by the Patriots (2009). |
Raiden, real name Jack, is a fictional character in the Metal Gear series. He is the protagonist of the Plant Chapter, the main act of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and a character in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.
His role as the protagonist of Metal Gear Solid 2 was a controversial twist, both for the unexpected substitution of the established hero, Solid Snake, and for his androgynous appearance, the latter so much that the ridiculing of his effeminate appearance became a recurring joke in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and several early Metal Gear Solid 4 promotional videos .
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[edit] Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
[edit] Big Shell
In Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Raiden is initially introduced in the Big Shell chapter as "Snake", serving as a member of what appears to be a newly-reinstated FOXHOUND. Through encounters with Solid Snake and the Sons Of Liberty terrorist unit holding the "Big Shell" facility, he discovers he is being manipulated by a powerful government-controlling organization known as The Patriots.
Despite revelations that he is under the command of an AI commanding officer and being used as a guinea-pig to test a powerful information-control system, he is unable to prevent himself carrying out his objective--a near-complete recreation of the events of the Shadow Moses Incident of Metal Gear Solid. His use as a human weapon controlled by misinformation forms the central crux of MGS2; even his name, "Raiden", is a deliberate reference by his manipulators to Japanese bombers used in World War II.
However, he is not without the possibility of salvation; as the game ends, Snake reveals to Raiden and the player the key messages of the title--that humanity must find something to believe in and not merely accept what we are told, and that we must pass on those beliefs that are important to us.
[edit] Early life
According to Solidus Snake's account of his childhood in MGS2, Raiden was originally a child soldier in the Liberian Civil War during the early 90s, where he was orphaned. Taken under Solidus' wing and trained to be the leader of his Small Boys Unit, he gains skills that he eventually use to kill his adoptive father. Raiden disappears towards the end of the conflict, taken by The Patriots.
After gaining US citizenship and joining the military, he take part the US Army's Force XXI trials, and during his indoctrination into a false reformed FOXHOUND unit, undergoes VR training where he carries out simulations of Solid Snake's previous missions- which despite their realism apparently do not endow him with Snake's fighting abilities.
It is during this time that he meets and falls in love with Rose, a Patriot spy who tracks his progress and during his mission in MGS2, provides moral support and a degree of psychological manipulation to ensure his continued progress.
[edit] Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
In the E3 2006 trailer for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Raiden appears wearing an exoskeleton similar to ones worn by previous Cyborg Ninjas (e.g., Gray Fox and Olga Gurlukovich). He is shown fighting against several Gekkō units on the streets. He easily dodges their attacks and single-handedly disables each unit with his high frequency blade and knife.
Despite not being a playable character in the single-player game, he will serve as Snake's backup. He will still be playable in the next iteration of Metal Gear Online, which will be included as a bonus in MGS4.
When asked about his pallor, and the possibility of him being a cyborg, Kojima revealed that Raiden's blood is no longer red; his blood is white and artificial, which gives him a deathly pale color.
[edit] Other appearances
While Raiden doesn't appear in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, several references are made to him in that game. Most visible is Major Ivan Raidenovitch Raikov, an eccentric, homosexual Soviet major, and dead ringer for Raiden. His name when translated to English, means "Son of Raiden", but is also a Japanese pun on the phrase "raiden no bitch" or "Thunderbolt's Bitch", a reference to his relationship with Colonel Volgin.
Raiden also appears in several early Metal Gear Solid 4 promotional videos, literally fighting for control of the franchise with Snake in a series of comedic sequences.
[edit] Behind the scenes
[edit] Character development
According to the series' creator, Hideo Kojima, the decision of using Raiden instead of Snake as the main playable character was done in order to develop Snake from a third-person perspective, as well as to avoid treating Snake like a rookie again (considering the fact that Snake was already acquainted with most of the gadgets and weapons in earlier Metal Gear titles). Hideo Kojima has also stated that Raiden's character and its perception by the audience were important for the overall feel of the story (i.e. they contribute to a sense of lack of control, being subjected to major manipulation by unknown, deceptive and/or mysterious persons, and a general lack of knowledge about the conditions and motives of several characters as well as the twists and turns of the plot).[1]
Raiden was originally designed to be more appealing to female fans[2], and in The Making of Metal Gear Solid 2, designer Yoji Shinkawa mentions that he designed Raiden in reference to what a "beautiful man" (bishonen) looked like. It should be noted however that Raiden's Japanese voice actor Kenyu Horiuchi had a relatively deep voice in comparison to his English voice actor Quinton Flynn.
His given name, Jack, was derived from Leonardo DiCaprio's character in the movie Titanic, while his love interest in the game (Rosemary) was named after Kate Winslet's character from the same film.[3] His name also pertains to the Jack in a deck of playing cards, with Fortune being the Queen, Solidus Snake being the King, and SEAL Team 10 being the expendable "spot" cards (Solid Snake infiltrates the Big Shell posing as a SEAL Team 10 member, thus being the "ace in the hole" himself).[citation needed]Konami kept Raiden's presence in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty a well-guarded secret prior to its release, even to the point of editing pre-release footage of the game. (Scenes that featured Raiden were reprogrammed to have Snake in his place.[3]) Although the game was leaked by pirates prior to its release, this secret was still unknown to the majority of fans.
[edit] Fan reaction
When many Western fans of Metal Gear Solid found themselves playing as Raiden for most of Metal Gear Solid 2, they reacted negatively to this unexpected twist in the storyline. This was partly due to the fact that Raiden's character was a secret until the game's release; people just assumed that they would be playing as Solid Snake. Other areas of contention included Raiden's appearance, his softer voice in the English version, his naiveté and inexperience, his sentimental attitude, and his vulnerable position throughout the game. Many perceived the character to be a weak-minded "prettyboy." It should be noted though that these were just the perceptions of the fan base and naturally there were an abundance of western Raiden fans despite the perceived general opinion.
In contrast to the Western reception, Raiden was more well-received in Japan.[4] However, Raiden's negative reaction among Western players prompted Kojima Productions to alter his character design for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. The Metal Gear series producer Hideo Kojima felt that Raiden was disliked for the wrong reason; that Raiden was blamed by players for the frustration of not being able to play as Snake. Kojima also said the general feedback to Raiden's new appearance in the Guns of the Patriots trailer has surprisingly been positive.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ The Final Hours of Metal Gear Solid 2. Featured article at GameSpot
- ^ Metal Gear Saga Vol. 1 DVD
- ^ a b The Making of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty DVD packaged with European version of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
- ^ a b Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Interview at GameSpot
