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Metal Gear Rising’s Story – 3 Theories

After the reveal of Metal Gear Rising Revengeance at the VGAs, there has been a lot of mystery surrounding the story of the game. What possible directions could the story take? What’s up with Raiden’s bloodlust, and why is he on the battlefield again? Why is he taking revenge, as the title implies? Here are three theories based on what has been revealed so far.

Raiden has two personalities

In Metal Gear Solid 2 it was explained that Raiden has been suppressing his dark childhood memories as a child soldier. He was one of the most lethal killers in his battalion, which gave him the nicknames White Devil and Jack the Ripper. But the memories keep coming back to him, especially at night. He doesn’t want to share them with anyone, not even Rose. After the events of MGS2, in which Solidus, his former leader as a child soldier, brings back the painful memories, he tries to cast aside his past and start a new life, but doesn’t succeed. Rose explains that between MGS2 and MGS4 Raiden became ‘unstable’, he got into fights, and came back covered in bruises. She is also a little afraid of him, of his other side.

Kojima Productions also referred to him as a ‘monster’, someone the enemies are afraid of and hiding from. In MGS4, his appearance is beast-like as well, with a metal jaw and long, sharp nails, red glowing eyes.

The trailer mentions ‘the return of Jack the Ripper’. This points towards the fact that Raiden goes back to his childhood persona, a deadly killer that frightens everyone. This is also supported by his lines: “This is my normal. This is my nature. It’s time for Jack to let her rip!” When he says this, his voice sounds different from the beginning of the trailer, where he sounds more calm and human, like in MGS4. But when he speaks the aforementioned lines, he sounds menacing, fiery, almost maniacal.

When he was a child soldier, his senses were dazed with the use of gunpowder that they put in his food. It’s possible that in Rising, something similar happens. Raiden goes in a numb state of mind, he becomes someone else, a monster, a manifestation of his dark past. His eyes glow red, his voice changes, and the killer awakens. The same way Solidus used gunpowder to numb him into a killer, in Rising there could be an equivalent trigger.

This could also tie into the gameplay, making Raiden stronger for a short amount of time. This is a game mechanic that is often used in the genre, such as the Devil Trigger mode in Devil May Cry. In this state of superhuman strength, Raiden can perform amazing moves and toss entire Metal Gear RAYs into the air. However, this could drain Raiden’s suit, and he has to recharge by ripping out robotic spines and draining the fluids.

 

Something happened to Raiden’s family

Why is Raiden not with Rose and his son John, as he intended to be after MGS4? He declared that he was ‘done running’, and he told Rose that he would never leave her alone again. Kojima Productions confirmed the reason for this will be provided in the game.

One logical conclusion would be that they either have been kidnapped, or killed. If they have been kidnapped, this would give Raiden a goal, to free them, which would explain his return to the battlefield. But why is the game called ‘Revengeance’? This would point towards Raiden taking revenge for something that happened. So is it possible they have been killed? This could drive Raiden to go out for revenge, and also to go back to his dark alter ego, now that he lost everything and is alone in the world again.

 

Drebin(s) will make a return

In Metal Gear Solid 4 Drebin 893 explains how there are ‘Drebins’ all over the world. A network of gun launderers working for the Patriots. When The Patriot network gets eliminated at the end of the game, Drebin explains this is not the end of the Drebins. They continue to exist as an interconnected network of gun launderers, but now they work for themselves instead of working for the Patriots.

Drebin 893 could be a returning character in Rising, or one of the other Drebins could make an appearance. Maybe Raiden will be able to enhance and upgrade his arsenal at the Drebins. For example a Japanese Drebin, a shady ex-Yakuza type salesman, who upgrades Raiden’s katana and provides additional weapons. Maybe he can even upgrade your suit to grant you new abilities over the course of the game. It has been confirmed that Revengeance will feature CODEC conversations, so it is thinkable that Drebin will be one of Raiden’s contacts.

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