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* Armstrong snaps Raiden's sword. Then [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHeqIi7Mv44 Bladewolf shows up with Sam's sword in his mouth]]. He fetched a "stick".
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!!FridgeLogic
* Boris will constantly remind Raiden that "this is not a sneaking mission", referencing how ''Metal Gear Rising'' is an action game rather than your typical ''Metal Gear Solid'' game. In one occasion, enemy cyborgs attempt to ambush Raiden using stealth camouflage, but Boris (rather correctly) states that it is useless against Raiden.
* When fighting Sam in the [[HopelessBossFight unwinnable fight]] on the train, he [[EyeScream slices out Raiden's eye]] with an upwards vertical slash. What's interesting is that if you look at Sam's face, he has a scar in the exact same place. It seems like Sam has had this attack used on him in the past, and may even have [[PowerCopying learned from said attack]].
** According to one [=YouTube=] comment:
-->'''[=Raedon01:=]''' i just noticed something, see the scar on sam's left eye? it's the same side and direction of attack that he used on Raiden. i wonder if it was a speciality technique sam learned from his father. just something to think about."
* Armstrong gives some points to the University of Texas when fighting Raiden. According to the gallery section of the Piggyback Guide's Collector's Edition, the staff explains that the cybernetic functions were based on research made by the same university.
** Said Collector's Edition gives multiple reasons for Raiden losing his eye and covering it with an eyepatch. Shinkawa desgined it as a way to prove Raiden has lost part of his humanity, but still retains some (compare a concept originally used for ''Solid: Rising'' where Raiden was just covering his face), while the director wanted it to be the first step of Raiden's transformation into his darker personality. The scar Raiden has on his face is identical to Sam's. In TheStinger, Raiden being given a proper second eye again[[note]](the eyepatch had image sensors on it, but was by no means a substitute for an actual eyeball)[[/note]] could symbolize how he has lost his insecurities and is no longer afraid to show his face.
* During the fight with Metal Gear EXCELSUS, [[spoiler:Senator Armstrong]]'s theme is "Collective Consciousness", a song imploring the citizens of the United States to give up free will and "let your country control your soul". When you fight him face-to-face, the music changes to "It Has To Be This Way", a bitter acknowledgement of the similarities between him and Raiden. Prior to said fight, he reveals his anarchic leanings and that he wants to free America from its weakness and allow true freedom, meaning his true theme was always "It Has To Be This Way"--"Collective Consciousness" was him ''mocking'' the political climate of America, made more apparent when you listen to his rant after the Excelsus boss fight.
* Only theoretical, but given [[spoiler:Armstrong]]'s absurd strength and resilience, one would think an old, traditional soldier like Solid Snake wouldn't stand a chance in hell against him... until you remember how he defeated a similar nanotech-based super-vampire in ''Metal Gear Solid 4''. Naturally, since Raiden doesn't have a syringe of suppressor nanomachines, he has to do things the old-fashioned way. And what a fight it is.
* Sunny's unwavering belief in Raiden's heroism makes a lot of sense when you recall that Raiden is the one who saved her from the Patriots in the first place. No matter what, Jack will always be ''her'' hero.
* We all like to think of Raiden as the (anti-)hero of the story who was ultimately in the right, but his opponents, especially [[spoiler:Senator Armstrong after their final battle]], seem to think that Raiden wasn't so different. They lived by the code that [[MightMakesRight if you were strong enough, you could carve your own path and make your own rules, and the only way anyone had any right to stop you was if they were stronger than you]]. The ironic thing is that Raiden ends the game essentially as the top dog, being in full control of his destiny because no one had the power to stop him. Is Raiden not unlike his enemies after all? It would appear so.
* Throughout the game, take a look at each battle you fight and you'll see that the fighting styles of each boss you fight show a devolving process in terms of weaponry. You start out with giant war machines (Metal Gear RAY, and Khamsin's mecha too if you want to go chronologically), then move on to Blade Wolf and Mistral, who don't stick out too much but are, anatomically speaking, the most complex and advanced. Monsoon instead uses sai and smoke bombs, and Sundowner fights basically with swords, shields, and brute force. Then move on to Sam, who fights with a sword and his bare hands. Finally, after EXCELSUS, you fight the real boss--[[spoiler:Armstrong]], who fights with nothing but his fists.
** The boss fights show an evolution in levels of the cultish [[TheSocialDarwinist "strong prey upon the weak" ideology]] among World Marshal's leaders. RAY is a weapon in service of their belief. Khamsin is a blind believer in World Marshal's rhetoric that they fight for freedom, as he's not considered worthy enough to know their true goals. Blade Wolf is enslaved by their tenets and doesn't know why it's that way. Mistral is a fresh convert to the cause who's rejoicing in the purpose she now has. Monsoon is someone who actively preaches his understanding of the nihilistic doctrine, along with trying to bring new believers into the fold. Sundowner leads the cult in its operations and believes in World Marshall's idea of MightMakesRight, but works to bring about their heaven for [[WarHawk selfish]] [[BloodKnight reasons]]. Sam was [[spoiler:forcefully converted and willingly gave up his individual freedom, but is trying to find someone [[SuicideByCop strong enough to kill him]]]]. [[spoiler:Armstrong]] is the one who created their ideology and convinced the Winds of Destruction to join him, embodies it through body and mind, and is striving towards his idea of paradise on Earth because he believes it's the only way to save his country.
** George's reference to the [[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles TMNT]] movie was amusing by itself, but it gets funnier once you realize three of the Winds of Destruction are essentially using the Turtles' weapons. Jetstream Sam uses a sword (Leonardo), Monsoon uses sais (Raphael), and Mistral uses a staff (Donatello). The odd one out is Sundowner, who uses pincer blades instead of nunchaku (Michelangelo), and even then, he can couple them together to form what looks like giant bladed nunchaku, though they function more like giant scissors.
* Parallels exist between ''Peace Walker'' and ''Revengeance'': the Peace Sentinels and Desperado Enforcement LLC are both antagonistic private military organizations who intend to cause chaos for their own reasons and have a [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver red and black]] color scheme. On the other side of the spectrum, the MSF and Maverick are heroic [=PMCs=] who primarily consist of soldiers who have nowhere else to go to and take contracts that are more defensive in nature. The same parallels also show up in The Phantom Pain; a recently formed small-time private military group at the forefront of which is a hero who gradually descends into a violent demon of battle, fighting against an insidious US-based group [[spoiler:led by a government official who, with the help of a Metal Gear, plans to create a world controlled by sheer destructive potential.]] Even the meta shows some parallel growth, both deviating from the series' trademark stealth shooting and wacky jokes into a much more action-oriented, mainstream genre with stealth components and serious, gritty plotlines regarding child soldiers and [[WarForFunAndProfit war profiteering]].
* It is rather amusing that the Patriots were working on a perpetual motion machine (as Doktor reveals). The Patriots claimed in ''[=MGS2=]'' that they would always exist and that their [[MemeticsInFiction memes]] would always reside within America, in effect creating a psychological form of perpetual motion. Doktor notes that they were close to succeeding in this perpetual motion machine, but its success was ultimately halted when they were destroyed. The irony, of course, is that the Patriots failed to create both forms of perpetual motion.
** However, one of the things mentioned by Sundowner and Armstrong is that while the Patriots and their war economy may be gone, their memes are still alive and well. The military industrial complex, and certainly [=PMC=]s like World Marshal and Desperado, are only around and were only able to get as big as they have thanks to the system the Patriots first set up after all, and the Patriots' ideas of information control and advertisements lead directly to World Marshal's success. Armstrong even goes so far as proclaim that "[they're] ''all'' Sons of the Patriots now". So, in a way, while the Patriots may not have finished their version of perpetual motion, it didn't die with them either.
* The game's tagline of "cut at will, cut what you will", while seemingly remarking on the Blade Mode mechanic, is also quite an apt description of the game's themes, too; Raiden is able to determine his own destiny via eliminating obstacles using his blade.
* [[spoiler:Armstrong]] dismissing Raiden's HF Blade as a knife before breaking it might be just to show off [[spoiler:how powerful his nanomachines are]], but not only is the sword's broken blade roughly the length of a knife, the very first weapon Raiden ever wielded in his childhood was a knife.
* Boris will constantly remind Raiden that "this is not a sneaking mission", referencing how ''Metal Gear Rising'' is an action game rather than your typical ''Metal Gear Solid'' game. In one occasion, enemy cyborgs attempt to ambush Raiden using stealth camouflage, but Boris (rather correctly) states that it is useless against Raiden.
* When fighting Sam in the [[HopelessBossFight unwinnable fight]] on the train, he [[EyeScream slices out Raiden's eye]] with an upwards vertical slash. What's interesting is that if you look at Sam's face, he has a scar in the exact same place. It seems like Sam has had this attack used on him in the past, and may even have [[PowerCopying learned from said attack]].
** According to one [=YouTube=] comment:
-->'''[=Raedon01:=]''' i just noticed something, see the scar on sam's left eye? it's the same side and direction of attack that he used on Raiden. i wonder if it was a speciality technique sam learned from his father. just something to think about."
* Armstrong gives some points to the University of Texas when fighting Raiden. According to the gallery section of the Piggyback Guide's Collector's Edition, the staff explains that the cybernetic functions were based on research made by the same university.
** Said Collector's Edition gives multiple reasons for Raiden losing his eye and covering it with an eyepatch. Shinkawa desgined it as a way to prove Raiden has lost part of his humanity, but still retains some (compare a concept originally used for ''Solid: Rising'' where Raiden was just covering his face), while the director wanted it to be the first step of Raiden's transformation into his darker personality. The scar Raiden has on his face is identical to Sam's. In TheStinger, Raiden being given a proper second eye again[[note]](the eyepatch had image sensors on it, but was by no means a substitute for an actual eyeball)[[/note]] could symbolize how he has lost his insecurities and is no longer afraid to show his face.
* During the fight with Metal Gear EXCELSUS, [[spoiler:Senator Armstrong]]'s theme is "Collective Consciousness", a song imploring the citizens of the United States to give up free will and "let your country control your soul". When you fight him face-to-face, the music changes to "It Has To Be This Way", a bitter acknowledgement of the similarities between him and Raiden. Prior to said fight, he reveals his anarchic leanings and that he wants to free America from its weakness and allow true freedom, meaning his true theme was always "It Has To Be This Way"--"Collective Consciousness" was him ''mocking'' the political climate of America, made more apparent when you listen to his rant after the Excelsus boss fight.
* Only theoretical, but given [[spoiler:Armstrong]]'s absurd strength and resilience, one would think an old, traditional soldier like Solid Snake wouldn't stand a chance in hell against him... until you remember how he defeated a similar nanotech-based super-vampire in ''Metal Gear Solid 4''. Naturally, since Raiden doesn't have a syringe of suppressor nanomachines, he has to do things the old-fashioned way. And what a fight it is.
* Sunny's unwavering belief in Raiden's heroism makes a lot of sense when you recall that Raiden is the one who saved her from the Patriots in the first place. No matter what, Jack will always be ''her'' hero.
* We all like to think of Raiden as the (anti-)hero of the story who was ultimately in the right, but his opponents, especially [[spoiler:Senator Armstrong after their final battle]], seem to think that Raiden wasn't so different. They lived by the code that [[MightMakesRight if you were strong enough, you could carve your own path and make your own rules, and the only way anyone had any right to stop you was if they were stronger than you]]. The ironic thing is that Raiden ends the game essentially as the top dog, being in full control of his destiny because no one had the power to stop him. Is Raiden not unlike his enemies after all? It would appear so.
* Throughout the game, take a look at each battle you fight and you'll see that the fighting styles of each boss you fight show a devolving process in terms of weaponry. You start out with giant war machines (Metal Gear RAY, and Khamsin's mecha too if you want to go chronologically), then move on to Blade Wolf and Mistral, who don't stick out too much but are, anatomically speaking, the most complex and advanced. Monsoon instead uses sai and smoke bombs, and Sundowner fights basically with swords, shields, and brute force. Then move on to Sam, who fights with a sword and his bare hands. Finally, after EXCELSUS, you fight the real boss--[[spoiler:Armstrong]], who fights with nothing but his fists.
** The boss fights show an evolution in levels of the cultish [[TheSocialDarwinist "strong prey upon the weak" ideology]] among World Marshal's leaders. RAY is a weapon in service of their belief. Khamsin is a blind believer in World Marshal's rhetoric that they fight for freedom, as he's not considered worthy enough to know their true goals. Blade Wolf is enslaved by their tenets and doesn't know why it's that way. Mistral is a fresh convert to the cause who's rejoicing in the purpose she now has. Monsoon is someone who actively preaches his understanding of the nihilistic doctrine, along with trying to bring new believers into the fold. Sundowner leads the cult in its operations and believes in World Marshall's idea of MightMakesRight, but works to bring about their heaven for [[WarHawk selfish]] [[BloodKnight reasons]]. Sam was [[spoiler:forcefully converted and willingly gave up his individual freedom, but is trying to find someone [[SuicideByCop strong enough to kill him]]]]. [[spoiler:Armstrong]] is the one who created their ideology and convinced the Winds of Destruction to join him, embodies it through body and mind, and is striving towards his idea of paradise on Earth because he believes it's the only way to save his country.
** George's reference to the [[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles TMNT]] movie was amusing by itself, but it gets funnier once you realize three of the Winds of Destruction are essentially using the Turtles' weapons. Jetstream Sam uses a sword (Leonardo), Monsoon uses sais (Raphael), and Mistral uses a staff (Donatello). The odd one out is Sundowner, who uses pincer blades instead of nunchaku (Michelangelo), and even then, he can couple them together to form what looks like giant bladed nunchaku, though they function more like giant scissors.
* Parallels exist between ''Peace Walker'' and ''Revengeance'': the Peace Sentinels and Desperado Enforcement LLC are both antagonistic private military organizations who intend to cause chaos for their own reasons and have a [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver red and black]] color scheme. On the other side of the spectrum, the MSF and Maverick are heroic [=PMCs=] who primarily consist of soldiers who have nowhere else to go to and take contracts that are more defensive in nature. The same parallels also show up in The Phantom Pain; a recently formed small-time private military group at the forefront of which is a hero who gradually descends into a violent demon of battle, fighting against an insidious US-based group [[spoiler:led by a government official who, with the help of a Metal Gear, plans to create a world controlled by sheer destructive potential.]] Even the meta shows some parallel growth, both deviating from the series' trademark stealth shooting and wacky jokes into a much more action-oriented, mainstream genre with stealth components and serious, gritty plotlines regarding child soldiers and [[WarForFunAndProfit war profiteering]].
* It is rather amusing that the Patriots were working on a perpetual motion machine (as Doktor reveals). The Patriots claimed in ''[=MGS2=]'' that they would always exist and that their [[MemeticsInFiction memes]] would always reside within America, in effect creating a psychological form of perpetual motion. Doktor notes that they were close to succeeding in this perpetual motion machine, but its success was ultimately halted when they were destroyed. The irony, of course, is that the Patriots failed to create both forms of perpetual motion.
** However, one of the things mentioned by Sundowner and Armstrong is that while the Patriots and their war economy may be gone, their memes are still alive and well. The military industrial complex, and certainly [=PMC=]s like World Marshal and Desperado, are only around and were only able to get as big as they have thanks to the system the Patriots first set up after all, and the Patriots' ideas of information control and advertisements lead directly to World Marshal's success. Armstrong even goes so far as proclaim that "[they're] ''all'' Sons of the Patriots now". So, in a way, while the Patriots may not have finished their version of perpetual motion, it didn't die with them either.
* The game's tagline of "cut at will, cut what you will", while seemingly remarking on the Blade Mode mechanic, is also quite an apt description of the game's themes, too; Raiden is able to determine his own destiny via eliminating obstacles using his blade.
* [[spoiler:Armstrong]] dismissing Raiden's HF Blade as a knife before breaking it might be just to show off [[spoiler:how powerful his nanomachines are]], but not only is the sword's broken blade roughly the length of a knife, the very first weapon Raiden ever wielded in his childhood was a knife.
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** An odd pattern of characteristics is present in the boss' songs. Namely, those who still struggle with inner turmoils focus on the present to discuss the past, while those who have no inner struggle (Sundowner and [[spoiler:Armstrong]]) focus entirely on the future they want to see. Blade Wolf wants freedom, stating indirectly that he has known nothing but slavery. Mistral has found a place where she can fit in, stating that she didn't find such a place before by proxy. Monsoon only feels anything during the rush of battle, and everything else before and after is dull bleakness. Sam [[spoiler:only knows senseless violence, and has forgotten who he once was.]] Khamsin wants freedom for the people but is still a loyal soldier who ignores the negative effects of his brand of "freedom", directly referencing his military background where this mindset came from. Sundowner, by contrast, just wants a wartorn world where even the wind can bring death, and [[spoiler:Armstrong]] initially claims he wants the people to exist in total subservience to their country. [[spoiler:It Has To Be This Way is different, as it also focuses on the present, but that's because this is the part where Raiden and Armstrong come to realize how similar they really are; it focuses on the present thanks to Raiden's struggle with his own ideals, but it sees into the future that they both truly want by the end of the day where man can fight for his own beliefs instead of those of a greater power.]]
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The game's been out for years at this point, we know the starting point of this entry isn't a thing now.
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* In [[EndingFatigue one of the many endings of]] ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots Metal Gear Solid 4]]'', Rose made damn sure Raiden quit being a sociopath by [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments showing that her relationship with Campbell was a lie to hide Raiden's son from the Patriots.]] If Raiden hasn't quit being a mercenary (for his family's sake) at this point, he's either snapped as they were [[StuffedInTheFridge killed off]], unbeknownst to Raiden, or that [[AxCrazy he's gone full PTSD and waved buh-bye to reality]]. Either way, [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope this change of pace]] [[KarmicDeath does not bode well]] for ''Franchise/MetalGear''[='s=] [[WarIsHell message]], as Raiden [[WildMassGuessing may have become a]] VillainProtagonist.
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** Alternatively, if one considers the Japan-only DLC wooden sword which claims to have Snake's spirit in it, then it would justify Kevin's use of past tense as accurate in that Snake would have already passed, but also still justify Raiden's use of present tense as Snake is in some way still actively imparting wisdom to him.
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* For the Japan-only Snake sword DLC, it seems more than fitting that the weapon chosen to house Snake's soul is a wooden sword; while the man has canonically killed his fair share of folks, remember that the highest level of play in previous ''Metal Gear'' games involved the player non-lethally taking down opponents rather than killing them. Even if ''Rising'' marks such a departure from the way older games operate, it's apropos that a weapon holding the series' main protagonist still enforces some pacifist tendencies for the sake of higher-level play.
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* The fact that Metal Gear EXCELSUS isn't nuclear-armed and uses the "Metal Gear" title as a cheap marketing tactic is hilariously meta - ''Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance'' itself does the same, as its gameplay barely resembles the original ''Metal Gear'' franchise at all and the name is a borderline ArtifactTitle at this point.
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*** Are the final bosses of their respective games.
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*** Are the final bosses of their respective games.games, with their battles taking place on crashed Metal Gears.
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* All of the bosses got a very appropriate theme song during their epic showdown with Raiden, however, some claim that Sundowner's "Red Sun" theme sounds more tame then the rest. Many of the themes fit their respective boss fights, the reasoning of the fight and/or what they are fighting for, as if trying to convince you and/or themselves at what they are doing is what's needed or what's at stake. Sundowner makes it perfectly clear why he's doing it, he just loves it. He doesn't hide his unapologetic love for war, the business aspect of it and how happy he is with it. "Red Sun" doesn't sound all that blood pumping, it sounds more sinister and disturbing because it's describing how beautiful war is to someone like Sundowner, and isn't trying to convince anyone, he just loves it and will happily admit it.
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* At the end of the Jetstream DLC, [[spoiler:Armstrong doesn't seem all that concerned that he just viciously severed Sam's arm from his body. This shows just how out of touch with normal people Armstrong really is; he does not consider the loss of a limb to be a big deal, since he can easily have his underlings undergo cybernetic enhancement, and he himself can heal thanks to his nanomachines. He does not empathise with Sam's pain and shock for this reason, and it also shows just why his SocialDarwinist views are flawed. Raiden was right to call him out on it]].
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* At the end of the Jetstream DLC, [[spoiler:Armstrong doesn't seem all that concerned that he just viciously severed Sam's arm from his body.body, and even tries to shake the severed hand. This shows just how out of touch with normal people Armstrong really is; he does not consider the loss of a limb to be a big deal, since he can easily have his underlings undergo cybernetic enhancement, and he himself can heal thanks to his nanomachines. He does not empathise with Sam's pain and shock for this reason, and it also shows just why his SocialDarwinist views are flawed. Raiden was right to call him out on it]].
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* Here's Fridge Melancholia for you: even in a stable world without the Patriots, where people can be truly free without needing to go back to the days of warrior cultures and civilian serfs, the war economy made it so that mercenaries who actually enjoy war are now the dominant force in armies, rather than actual governmental soldiers and mercs who are respected by the civilian populace. In effect, despite everything Snake and Philanthropy did, the world became Outer Heaven anyway.
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* Here's Fridge Melancholia Melancholy for you: even in a stable world without the Patriots, where people can be truly free without needing to go back to the days of warrior cultures and civilian serfs, the war economy made it so that mercenaries who actually enjoy war are now the dominant force in armies, rather than actual governmental soldiers and mercs who are respected by the civilian populace. In effect, despite everything Snake and Philanthropy did, the world became Outer Heaven anyway.
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* In ''[=MGS2=]'', Raiden had [[VideogamePerversityPotential less than consensual options]] with hostages and other vulnerable people [[WhatTheHellPlayer called out in disgust by his codec contacts]]. He retains this with the sword stripping of hostages, despite not being into guys. This consistency implies that he has a {{fetish}} for sexually exploiting the helpless, combined horrifically with his ChildSoldier past, and this aspect of him is far less repressed than his Ripper persona.
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* In ''[=MGS2=]'', Raiden had [[VideogamePerversityPotential less than consensual options]] with hostages and other vulnerable people [[WhatTheHellPlayer called out in disgust by his codec contacts]]. He retains this with the sword stripping of hostages, despite not being into guys. This consistency implies that he has a {{fetish}} for sexually exploiting the helpless, combined horrifically with his ChildSoldier past, and this aspect of him is far less repressed than his Ripper persona.persona.
* If one thinks about what Sunny says about Otacon getting a new date every week but keeping them at arm's length anyway (which doesn't sound at all like a self-confident or enjoyable love life), and thinks back to when Snake was suave with women but couldn't keep a relationship, standing up [[VideoGame/MetalGear2SoliDSnake Holly White]] for a Christmas dinner and breaking up with [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid Meryl Silverburgh]] several months in... could it be that now, after Snake's passing and with the world on fire yet again, Otacon has ended up nearly in the same place mentally as Snake was just before Shadow Moses?
* If one thinks about what Sunny says about Otacon getting a new date every week but keeping them at arm's length anyway (which doesn't sound at all like a self-confident or enjoyable love life), and thinks back to when Snake was suave with women but couldn't keep a relationship, standing up [[VideoGame/MetalGear2SoliDSnake Holly White]] for a Christmas dinner and breaking up with [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid Meryl Silverburgh]] several months in... could it be that now, after Snake's passing and with the world on fire yet again, Otacon has ended up nearly in the same place mentally as Snake was just before Shadow Moses?
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* The first hint that Armstrong is more than he seems is the fact that he's present at the attack in Pakistan at all - For a supposed NonActionGuy CorruptPolitician, he's weirdly okay with risking his life and reputation instead of just sending somebody else to pilot EXCELSUS.
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* The first hint that Armstrong is more than he seems is the fact that he's present at the attack in Pakistan at all - For a supposed NonActionGuy CorruptPolitician, SleazyPolitician, he's weirdly okay with risking his life and reputation instead of just sending somebody else to pilot EXCELSUS.
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* The first hint that Armstrong is more than he seems is the fact that he's present at the attack in Pakistan at all - For a supposed NonActionGuy CorruptPolitician, he's weirdly okay with risking his life and reputation instead of just sending somebody else to pilot EXCELSUS.
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** Raiden actually ''does'' pick the sword back up and the lyrics do return, and he uses Murasama to cut [[spoiler: Armstrong's]] chest open enough for him to tear out his heart. As shown in the epilogue, while Raiden ''does'' symbolically take justice into his own hands, he still does become affected by the philosophy of Desperado. The symbolism is still accurate though: he might be an agent of justice who protects the weak (as symbolized by him using his hands for the finishing blow), but he still ultimately uses the same methods as Desperado, with Murasama being the epitome of the MightMakesRight mentality.
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* A CallBack you can notice in the final battle against [[spoiler: Armstrong]] is that, like with Sam's boss fight, Raiden being disarmed of Murasama causes the boss music's lyrics to fade out. Unlike Sam, however, Raiden doesn't pick the sword back up and instead kills [[spoiler: Armstrong]] with his bare hands. This could be considered another way in which Raiden has become stronger than Sam, emphasizing Raiden's status as a {{Determinator}}. Sam picks the sword back up and is thus unable to reject Desperado, discarding his honor previous honor as someone who takes criminal groups. Raiden, however, refuses to rely on the sword and ultimately rejects [[spoiler: Armstrong]] and Desperado, discarding the weapon that he could have used for vengeance and literally taking justice into his own hands, reclaiming his honor as someone who protects the weak.
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Not So Different has been renamed, and it needs to be dewicked
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* We all like to think of Raiden as the (anti-)hero of the story who was ultimately in the right, but his opponents, especially [[spoiler:Senator Armstrong after their final battle]], seem to think that Raiden was NotSoDifferent. They lived by the code that [[MightMakesRight if you were strong enough, you could carve your own path and make your own rules, and the only way anyone had any right to stop you was if they were stronger than you]]. The ironic thing is that Raiden ends the game essentially as the top dog, being in full control of his destiny because no one had the power to stop him. Is Raiden not unlike his enemies after all? It would appear so.
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* We all like to think of Raiden as the (anti-)hero of the story who was ultimately in the right, but his opponents, especially [[spoiler:Senator Armstrong after their final battle]], seem to think that Raiden was NotSoDifferent.wasn't so different. They lived by the code that [[MightMakesRight if you were strong enough, you could carve your own path and make your own rules, and the only way anyone had any right to stop you was if they were stronger than you]]. The ironic thing is that Raiden ends the game essentially as the top dog, being in full control of his destiny because no one had the power to stop him. Is Raiden not unlike his enemies after all? It would appear so.
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[[AC:FridgeBrilliance]]
* Raiden's main enemies in this game are named after different types of wind. Considering Raiden is another name for Raijin, the Shintō god of lightning, and Raijin has a rivalry with Fūjin, the Shintō god of wind...
* Sunny isn't just like her mother in looks and dress. Otacon's own past has rubbed off on her. Remember the woman he fell in love with in the first Metal Gear Solid? Sunny now has her own wolf companion.
* Boris will constantly remind Raiden that "this is not a sneaking mission" referencing how ''Metal Gear Rising'' is an action game rather than your typical ''Metal Gear Solid'' game. In one occasion, enemies cyborg attack Raiden using stealth camouflage but Boris states it is useless against Raiden.
* The entire game follows one core rule, the philosophy of Katsujin-ken and the teachings of the Yagyu Shinkage-Ryu school of swordplay. Katsujin-Ken is known as "The sword that preserves life". Another name is "Sword of the Victor". The style emphasizes deterrent, or winning without fighting, but when you have to fight, it advises you move with your opponents' rhythm, instead of attempting to dominate your opponent. Perfect parries exemplify this, especially at higher difficulties, where one perfect parry can kill multiple opponents at once, in one blow. Therefore, since your attacks won't do enough, you should wait for your opponent to strike first, and then counter him. Shinkage-Ryu itself also works with this philosophy, highlighting the need to check for other parameters of the battle besides the opponent in front of you. The original creator of Shinkage also had to account for a changing battlefield, what with the arrival of early muskets, specifically arquebuses. He changed many of the traditional tenets of swordplay, some major changes included a new kind of training sword and light armor during training, and the development of a quicker and more precise style of swordplay designed for one-on-one combat instead of military battlefield combat. Similar to Metal Gear, where Cyborg technology is changing the face of war, and the old styles (such as Isatsu-no-tachi (the school of the sword that kills only once) or Ichi-no-tachi (the sword of only one cut), or regular troops and guns) are no longer relevant.
* One of Yagyu quotes: "A stroke of the sword that does not hit its target is the sword stroke of death; you reach over it to strike the winning blow. Your adversary's initiative having missed its mark, you turn the tables around and get the jump on your adversary." Perfect parrying in two sentences.
* Another Yagyu quote: "When you strike a blow, do not let your mind dally on it, not concerning yourself with whether or not it is a telling blow; you should strike again and again, over and over, even four or five times. The thing is not to let your opponent even raise his head." [[spoiler:That's how you kill Armstrong, and is something you're encouraged to do to regular enemies as well.]]
* Everything about Sam serves to remind Raiden of his stepfather, Solidus Snake. As Solidus, Sam wears a enhancing suit to fight Raiden. In their first combat, Sam makes Raiden lose an eye just like Solidus. Both Sam and Solidus are also interested in Raiden's nature and their final duel has an ending almost identical to the one from ''Metal Gear Solid 2''.
* Armstrong also shares many similarities with Solidus. Both of them were American politicians and presidential candidates. Both utilize Nanomachines. Both hate the Patriots. Both are the final bosses of their respective games. Both are willing to sacrifice innocent lives for a cause they beieve is greater and both earned Raiden's respect after their deaths. Armstrong even calls Raiden "son" during his encounter with him. Quite on the nose.
* Raiden's two default appearances are nicknamed "White Raiden" and "Black Raiden." The two reference medieval knights with the white masked Raiden sharing multiple similarities with the ones commonly illustrated. When Black Raiden appears he starts having a darker personality reflecting how black knights are more corrupted soldiers.
* This troper thought that a knight's armor being painted black was a sign of him not having a lord, and this trying to keep his costs down by not having to polish his armor as much?
* What is even more striking about it is that Raiden's opponent Sam looks like your traditional white knight, given that he has a lighter color scheme. There is a fitting juxtaposition with Raiden and Sam when it comes to their personalities and appearances: With Raiden he is the [[DarkIsNotEvil dark knight serving the light]], his physical appearance symbolizes his suppressed darkness that he struggles to contain. With Sam he is the [[LightIsNotGood light knight serving the dark]], he openly serves his desires regarding death and destruction, while his appearance symbolizes the good tendencies he is suppressing inside of himself.
* Armstrong gives some points to the University of Texas when fighting Raiden. According to the gallery section for the Piggyback Guide's Collector's Edition, the staff explains that the cybernetic functions were based on research made by the same University.
* Piggyback Guide's Collector's Edition gives multiple reasons for Raiden losing his eye and covering it with an eyepatch. Shinkawa desgined it as a way to prove Raiden has lost part of humanity but still retains some (concept originally used for ''Solid Rising'' where Raiden was just covering his face) while the director wanted it to be Raiden's first step into his transformation to his darker personality. The scar Raiden has in his face is identical to Sam's scar in his face. Whether in the ending Raiden's wound just recovered or he was given a cybernetic eye could symbolize how he has lost his insecurities and has no fear in showing his face.
* According to one youtube commentor (Raedon01): "i just noticed something, see the scar on sam's left eye? it's the same side and direction of attack that he used on Raiden. i wonder if it was a speciality technique sam learned from his father. just something to think about."
* During the fight with the Metal Gear Excelsus, [[spoiler:Senator Armstrong's]] theme is "Collective Consciousness", a song imploring the citizens of the United States to give up and "let your country control your soul". When you fight him ''on the ground'', it changes to "It Has To Be This Way", a bitter acknowledgement of the similar aspects between him and Raiden. During said fight, he reveals his anarchic leanings and that he wants to free America from its weakness and allow true freedom, meaning his true theme was always "It Has To Be This Way"-"Collective Consciousness" was him ''mocking'' the political climate of America, made even more so when you listen to his rant after the Excelsus boss fight.
* Only theoretical, but given [[spoiler:Armstrong]]'s absurd strength and resilience, one would think an old, traditional soldier like Solid Snake wouldn't stand a chance in hell against him... until you remember how he defeated a similar nanotech based super vampire in ''Metal Gear Solid 4''... Naturally, since Raiden doesn't have a syringe of suppressor nanomachines, he has to do things the old fashioned way. And what a fight it is.
* Sam being a Brazilian master of the [[KatanasAreJustBetter katana]] seems at first to be something that could only exist because of the RuleOfCool... but it's more likely than you might think: Brazil has [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_diaspora 1.5 million Japanese immigrants, which is the highest concentration of Japanese people outside of Japan in the world,]] and because of ethnic intermarriage, Sam might even be part Japanese.
* The ambiguity regarding Snake's fate following ''Guns of the Patriots'', namely Raiden referring to him in the present tense and Kevin referring to him in the past tense. When Raiden & Snake first met, the later had supposedly been dead for two years and had used a double (Liquid Snake's corpse) as his own, so if Snake ''did'' die months after the fall of the Patriots, as the player was told was going to happen numerous times during ''[=MGS4=]'', then Raiden wouldn't necessarily believe Snake was really dead and not just retired. Conversely, if Snake ''didn't'' die, then he's faked his death by using the corpse of the long-believed-dead-but-actually-still-alive Big Boss in his place.
* Sunny's unwavering belief that Raiden's a hero makes a lot of sense, when you recall that Raiden is the one who saved her from the Patriots in the first place. No matter what, Jack will always be ''her'' hero.
* We all like to think of Raiden as the (anti) hero of the story who was ultimately in the right, but his opponents, [[spoiler: especially Senator Armstrong during the final boss battle]], seem to think that Raiden was just like them. They lived by the code that if you were strong enough in this life you could carve your own path and make your own rules, and the only way anyone had any right to stop you was if they were stronger than you. The ironic thing is that Raiden ends the game as top dog in full control of his destiny because no one had the power to stop him. Is Raiden not so different after all? It would appear so.
* Armstrong calling Bladewolf "Fido" is obviously an insult on his part, but such a name is actually rather fitting for him. Fido is the name of a famous Italian dog that was intensely loyal to his master, even going so far as to follow the same routines after his master had died. Not only is Bladewolf intensely loyal to Raiden, never once faltering in aiding him after Raiden saved him, but he maintains his loyalty to his old master Sam at the same time. [[spoiler: Even after Sam dies Bladewolf upholds the man's last wishes and gives Sam's sword to Raiden to aid him in his battle against Armstrong.]] Good boy, Bladewolf.
* Raiden's main enemies in this game are named after different types of wind. Considering Raiden is another name for Raijin, the Shintō god of lightning, and Raijin has a rivalry with Fūjin, the Shintō god of wind...
* Sunny isn't just like her mother in looks and dress. Otacon's own past has rubbed off on her. Remember the woman he fell in love with in the first Metal Gear Solid? Sunny now has her own wolf companion.
* Boris will constantly remind Raiden that "this is not a sneaking mission" referencing how ''Metal Gear Rising'' is an action game rather than your typical ''Metal Gear Solid'' game. In one occasion, enemies cyborg attack Raiden using stealth camouflage but Boris states it is useless against Raiden.
* The entire game follows one core rule, the philosophy of Katsujin-ken and the teachings of the Yagyu Shinkage-Ryu school of swordplay. Katsujin-Ken is known as "The sword that preserves life". Another name is "Sword of the Victor". The style emphasizes deterrent, or winning without fighting, but when you have to fight, it advises you move with your opponents' rhythm, instead of attempting to dominate your opponent. Perfect parries exemplify this, especially at higher difficulties, where one perfect parry can kill multiple opponents at once, in one blow. Therefore, since your attacks won't do enough, you should wait for your opponent to strike first, and then counter him. Shinkage-Ryu itself also works with this philosophy, highlighting the need to check for other parameters of the battle besides the opponent in front of you. The original creator of Shinkage also had to account for a changing battlefield, what with the arrival of early muskets, specifically arquebuses. He changed many of the traditional tenets of swordplay, some major changes included a new kind of training sword and light armor during training, and the development of a quicker and more precise style of swordplay designed for one-on-one combat instead of military battlefield combat. Similar to Metal Gear, where Cyborg technology is changing the face of war, and the old styles (such as Isatsu-no-tachi (the school of the sword that kills only once) or Ichi-no-tachi (the sword of only one cut), or regular troops and guns) are no longer relevant.
* One of Yagyu quotes: "A stroke of the sword that does not hit its target is the sword stroke of death; you reach over it to strike the winning blow. Your adversary's initiative having missed its mark, you turn the tables around and get the jump on your adversary." Perfect parrying in two sentences.
* Another Yagyu quote: "When you strike a blow, do not let your mind dally on it, not concerning yourself with whether or not it is a telling blow; you should strike again and again, over and over, even four or five times. The thing is not to let your opponent even raise his head." [[spoiler:That's how you kill Armstrong, and is something you're encouraged to do to regular enemies as well.]]
* Everything about Sam serves to remind Raiden of his stepfather, Solidus Snake. As Solidus, Sam wears a enhancing suit to fight Raiden. In their first combat, Sam makes Raiden lose an eye just like Solidus. Both Sam and Solidus are also interested in Raiden's nature and their final duel has an ending almost identical to the one from ''Metal Gear Solid 2''.
* Armstrong also shares many similarities with Solidus. Both of them were American politicians and presidential candidates. Both utilize Nanomachines. Both hate the Patriots. Both are the final bosses of their respective games. Both are willing to sacrifice innocent lives for a cause they beieve is greater and both earned Raiden's respect after their deaths. Armstrong even calls Raiden "son" during his encounter with him. Quite on the nose.
* Raiden's two default appearances are nicknamed "White Raiden" and "Black Raiden." The two reference medieval knights with the white masked Raiden sharing multiple similarities with the ones commonly illustrated. When Black Raiden appears he starts having a darker personality reflecting how black knights are more corrupted soldiers.
* This troper thought that a knight's armor being painted black was a sign of him not having a lord, and this trying to keep his costs down by not having to polish his armor as much?
* What is even more striking about it is that Raiden's opponent Sam looks like your traditional white knight, given that he has a lighter color scheme. There is a fitting juxtaposition with Raiden and Sam when it comes to their personalities and appearances: With Raiden he is the [[DarkIsNotEvil dark knight serving the light]], his physical appearance symbolizes his suppressed darkness that he struggles to contain. With Sam he is the [[LightIsNotGood light knight serving the dark]], he openly serves his desires regarding death and destruction, while his appearance symbolizes the good tendencies he is suppressing inside of himself.
* Armstrong gives some points to the University of Texas when fighting Raiden. According to the gallery section for the Piggyback Guide's Collector's Edition, the staff explains that the cybernetic functions were based on research made by the same University.
* Piggyback Guide's Collector's Edition gives multiple reasons for Raiden losing his eye and covering it with an eyepatch. Shinkawa desgined it as a way to prove Raiden has lost part of humanity but still retains some (concept originally used for ''Solid Rising'' where Raiden was just covering his face) while the director wanted it to be Raiden's first step into his transformation to his darker personality. The scar Raiden has in his face is identical to Sam's scar in his face. Whether in the ending Raiden's wound just recovered or he was given a cybernetic eye could symbolize how he has lost his insecurities and has no fear in showing his face.
* According to one youtube commentor (Raedon01): "i just noticed something, see the scar on sam's left eye? it's the same side and direction of attack that he used on Raiden. i wonder if it was a speciality technique sam learned from his father. just something to think about."
* During the fight with the Metal Gear Excelsus, [[spoiler:Senator Armstrong's]] theme is "Collective Consciousness", a song imploring the citizens of the United States to give up and "let your country control your soul". When you fight him ''on the ground'', it changes to "It Has To Be This Way", a bitter acknowledgement of the similar aspects between him and Raiden. During said fight, he reveals his anarchic leanings and that he wants to free America from its weakness and allow true freedom, meaning his true theme was always "It Has To Be This Way"-"Collective Consciousness" was him ''mocking'' the political climate of America, made even more so when you listen to his rant after the Excelsus boss fight.
* Only theoretical, but given [[spoiler:Armstrong]]'s absurd strength and resilience, one would think an old, traditional soldier like Solid Snake wouldn't stand a chance in hell against him... until you remember how he defeated a similar nanotech based super vampire in ''Metal Gear Solid 4''... Naturally, since Raiden doesn't have a syringe of suppressor nanomachines, he has to do things the old fashioned way. And what a fight it is.
* Sam being a Brazilian master of the [[KatanasAreJustBetter katana]] seems at first to be something that could only exist because of the RuleOfCool... but it's more likely than you might think: Brazil has [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_diaspora 1.5 million Japanese immigrants, which is the highest concentration of Japanese people outside of Japan in the world,]] and because of ethnic intermarriage, Sam might even be part Japanese.
* The ambiguity regarding Snake's fate following ''Guns of the Patriots'', namely Raiden referring to him in the present tense and Kevin referring to him in the past tense. When Raiden & Snake first met, the later had supposedly been dead for two years and had used a double (Liquid Snake's corpse) as his own, so if Snake ''did'' die months after the fall of the Patriots, as the player was told was going to happen numerous times during ''[=MGS4=]'', then Raiden wouldn't necessarily believe Snake was really dead and not just retired. Conversely, if Snake ''didn't'' die, then he's faked his death by using the corpse of the long-believed-dead-but-actually-still-alive Big Boss in his place.
* Sunny's unwavering belief that Raiden's a hero makes a lot of sense, when you recall that Raiden is the one who saved her from the Patriots in the first place. No matter what, Jack will always be ''her'' hero.
* We all like to think of Raiden as the (anti) hero of the story who was ultimately in the right, but his opponents, [[spoiler: especially Senator Armstrong during the final boss battle]], seem to think that Raiden was just like them. They lived by the code that if you were strong enough in this life you could carve your own path and make your own rules, and the only way anyone had any right to stop you was if they were stronger than you. The ironic thing is that Raiden ends the game as top dog in full control of his destiny because no one had the power to stop him. Is Raiden not so different after all? It would appear so.
* Armstrong calling Bladewolf "Fido" is obviously an insult on his part, but such a name is actually rather fitting for him. Fido is the name of a famous Italian dog that was intensely loyal to his master, even going so far as to follow the same routines after his master had died. Not only is Bladewolf intensely loyal to Raiden, never once faltering in aiding him after Raiden saved him, but he maintains his loyalty to his old master Sam at the same time. [[spoiler: Even after Sam dies Bladewolf upholds the man's last wishes and gives Sam's sword to Raiden to aid him in his battle against Armstrong.]] Good boy, Bladewolf.
to:
* Raiden's main enemies in this game are named after different types of wind. Considering Raiden is another name for Raijin, the Shintō god of lightning, and Raijin has a rivalry with Fūjin, the Shintō god of wind...
* Sunny isn't just like her mother in looks and dress. Otacon's own past has rubbed off on her. Remember the woman he fell in love with in the first Metal Gear Solid? Sunny now has her own wolf companion.
* Boris will constantly remind Raiden that "this is not a sneaking
*
* One of Yagyu quotes: "A stroke of the sword that does not hit its target is the sword stroke of death; you reach over it to strike the winning blow. Your adversary's initiative having missed its mark, you turn the tables around and get the jump on your adversary." Perfect parrying in two sentences.
* Another Yagyu quote: "When you strike a blow, do not let your mind dally on it, not concerning yourself with whether or not it is a telling blow; you should strike again and again, over and over, even four or five times. The thing is not to let your opponent even raise his head." [[spoiler:That's how you kill Armstrong, and is something you're encouraged to do to regular enemies as well.]]
* Everything about Sam serves to remind Raiden of his stepfather, Solidus Snake. As Solidus, Sam wears a enhancing suit to fight Raiden. In their first combat, Sam makes Raiden lose an eye just like Solidus. Both Sam and Solidus are also interested in
* Armstrong also shares many similarities
* Raiden's two default appearances are nicknamed "White Raiden" and "Black Raiden." The two reference medieval knights with the white masked Raiden sharing multiple similarities with the ones commonly illustrated. When Black Raiden appears he starts having a darker personality reflecting how black knights are more corrupted soldiers.
* This troper thought that a knight's armor being painted black was a sign of him not having a lord, and this trying to keep his costs down by not having to polish his armor as much?
* What is even more striking about it
* Armstrong gives some points to the University of Texas when fighting Raiden. According to the gallery section for the Piggyback Guide's Collector's Edition, the staff explains that the cybernetic functions were based on research made by the same University.
* Piggyback Guide's Collector's Edition gives multiple reasons for Raiden losing his eye and covering it with an eyepatch. Shinkawa desgined it as a way to prove Raiden has lost part of humanity but still retains some (concept originally used for ''Solid Rising'' where Raiden was just covering his face) while the director wanted it to be Raiden's first step into his transformation to his darker personality. The scar Raiden has in his face is identical to
*
** According to one
-->'''[=Raedon01:=]''' i just noticed something, see the scar on sam's left eye? it's the same side and direction of attack that he used on Raiden. i wonder if it was a speciality technique sam learned from his father. just something to think about."
* Armstrong gives some points to the University of Texas when fighting Raiden. According to the gallery section of the Piggyback Guide's Collector's Edition, the staff explains that the cybernetic functions were based on research made by the same university.
** Said Collector's Edition gives multiple reasons for Raiden losing his eye and covering it with an eyepatch. Shinkawa desgined it as a way to prove Raiden has lost part of his humanity, but still retains some (compare a concept originally used for ''Solid: Rising'' where Raiden was just covering his face), while the director wanted it to be the first step of Raiden's transformation into his darker personality. The scar Raiden has on his face is identical to Sam's. In TheStinger, Raiden being given a proper second eye again[[note]](the eyepatch had image sensors on it, but was by no means a substitute for an actual eyeball)[[/note]] could symbolize how he has lost his insecurities and is no longer afraid to show his face.
* During the fight with
* Only theoretical, but given [[spoiler:Armstrong]]'s absurd strength and resilience, one would think an old, traditional soldier like Solid Snake wouldn't stand a chance in hell against him... until you remember how he defeated a similar
* Sunny's unwavering belief in Raiden's heroism makes a lot of sense when you recall that Raiden is the one who saved her from the Patriots in the first place. No matter what, Jack will always be ''her'' hero.
* We all like to think of Raiden as the (anti-)hero of the story who was ultimately in the right, but his opponents, especially [[spoiler:Senator Armstrong after their final battle]], seem to think that Raiden was NotSoDifferent. They lived by the code that [[MightMakesRight if you were strong enough, you could carve your own path and make your own rules, and the only way anyone had any right to stop you was if they were stronger than you]]. The ironic thing is that Raiden ends the game essentially as the top dog, being in full control of his destiny because no one had the power to stop him. Is Raiden not unlike his enemies after all? It would appear so.
* Throughout the game, take a look at each battle you fight and you'll see that the fighting styles of each boss you fight show a devolving process in terms of weaponry. You start out with giant war machines (Metal Gear RAY, and Khamsin's mecha too if you want to go chronologically), then move on to Blade Wolf and Mistral, who don't stick out too much but are, anatomically speaking, the most complex and advanced. Monsoon instead uses sai and smoke bombs, and Sundowner fights basically with swords, shields, and brute force. Then move on to Sam, who fights with a sword and his bare hands. Finally, after EXCELSUS, you fight the real boss--[[spoiler:Armstrong]], who fights with nothing but his fists.
** The boss fights show an evolution in levels of the cultish [[TheSocialDarwinist "strong prey upon the weak" ideology]] among World Marshal's leaders. RAY is a weapon in service of their belief. Khamsin is a blind believer in World Marshal's rhetoric that they fight for freedom, as he's not considered worthy enough to know their true goals. Blade Wolf is enslaved by their tenets and doesn't know why it's that way. Mistral is a fresh convert to the cause who's rejoicing in the purpose she now has. Monsoon is someone who actively preaches his understanding of the nihilistic doctrine, along with trying to bring new believers into the fold. Sundowner leads the cult in its operations and believes in World Marshall's idea of MightMakesRight, but works to bring about their heaven for [[WarHawk selfish]] [[BloodKnight reasons]]. Sam was [[spoiler:forcefully converted and willingly gave up his individual freedom, but is trying to find someone [[SuicideByCop strong enough to kill him]]]]. [[spoiler:Armstrong]] is the one who created their ideology and convinced the Winds of Destruction to join him, embodies it through body and mind, and is striving towards his idea of paradise on Earth because he believes it's the only way to save his country.
** George's reference to the [[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles TMNT]] movie was amusing by itself, but it gets funnier once you realize three of the Winds of Destruction are essentially using the Turtles' weapons. Jetstream Sam uses a sword (Leonardo), Monsoon uses sais (Raphael), and Mistral uses a staff (Donatello). The odd one out is Sundowner, who uses pincer blades instead of nunchaku (Michelangelo), and even then, he can couple them together to form what looks like giant bladed nunchaku, though they function more like giant scissors.
* Parallels exist between ''Peace Walker'' and ''Revengeance'': the Peace Sentinels and Desperado Enforcement LLC are both antagonistic private military organizations who intend to cause chaos for their own reasons and have a [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver red and black]] color scheme. On the other side of the spectrum, the MSF and Maverick are heroic [=PMCs=] who primarily consist of soldiers who have nowhere else to go to and take contracts that are more defensive in nature. The same parallels also show up in The Phantom Pain; a recently formed small-time private military group at the forefront of which is a hero who gradually descends into a violent demon of battle, fighting against an insidious US-based group [[spoiler:led by a government official who, with the help of a Metal Gear, plans to create a world controlled by sheer destructive potential.]] Even the meta shows some parallel growth, both deviating from the series' trademark stealth shooting and wacky jokes into a much more action-oriented, mainstream genre with stealth components and serious, gritty plotlines regarding child soldiers and [[WarForFunAndProfit war profiteering]].
* It is rather amusing that the Patriots were working on a perpetual motion machine (as Doktor reveals). The Patriots claimed in ''[=MGS2=]'' that they would always exist and that their [[MemeticsInFiction memes]] would always reside within America, in effect creating a psychological form of perpetual motion. Doktor notes that they were close to succeeding in this perpetual motion machine, but its success was ultimately halted when they were destroyed. The irony, of course, is that the Patriots failed to create both forms of perpetual motion.
** However, one of the things mentioned by Sundowner and Armstrong is that while the Patriots and their war economy may be gone, their memes are still alive and well. The military industrial complex, and certainly [=PMC=]s like World Marshal and Desperado, are only around and were only able to get as big as they have thanks to the system the Patriots first set up after all, and the Patriots' ideas of information control and advertisements lead directly to World Marshal's success. Armstrong even goes so far as proclaim that "[they're] ''all'' Sons of the Patriots now". So, in a way, while the Patriots may not have finished their version of perpetual motion, it didn't die with them either.
* The game's tagline of "cut at will, cut what you will", while seemingly remarking on the Blade Mode mechanic, is also quite an apt description of the game's themes, too; Raiden is able to determine his own destiny via eliminating obstacles using his blade.
* [[spoiler:Armstrong]] dismissing Raiden's HF Blade as a knife before breaking it might be just to show off [[spoiler:how powerful his nanomachines are]], but not only is the sword's broken blade roughly the length of a knife, the very first weapon Raiden ever wielded in his childhood was a knife.
!!FridgeBrilliance
* Fridge coincidence(?): In the Metal Gear '''S'''olid series, the main character's name was '''S'''nake. However, since this game is called Metal Gear '''R'''ising, the main character's name is '''R'''aiden. Futhermore, in Japanese, "Rising" is almost homophonous to "Raijin", the god of [[ShockAndAwe lightning and thunder]] in Japanese mythology (hell, the name itself literally means "lightning god"), who is also known by another name: ''Raiden'' (which so happens to mean "lightning", too). Bonus points for ''Metal Gear''[='s=] Raiden having an [[ShockAndAwe electric/lightning]] motif that goes back to [=MGS4=]. "I am lightning, the rain transformed," indeed.
** Raiden's main enemies in this game are named after different types of winds. Considering the Shintō god Raijin's rivalry with Fūjin, the Shintō god of wind...
* Sunny isn't just like [[Characters/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty her mother]] in looks and dress. Otacon's own past has rubbed off on her. Remember the woman he fell in love with in the first Metal Gear Solid? [[spoiler:Sunny now has ''her own'' wolf companion]].
* The entire game follows one core rule, the ''katsujin-ken'' philosophy (translated as "life-saving sword") and the teachings of the Yagyū Shinkage-Ryū school of swordplay. The style emphasizes deterrent, or winning without fighting, but when you have to fight, it advises that you move with your opponents' rhythm instead of attempting to dominate them. Perfect parries exemplify this, especially at higher difficulties, where one perfect parry can OneHitKill multiple opponents at once. Therefore, since your attacks won't do enough in some cases, you should wait for your opponent to strike first and then counter him. Shinkage-Ryū itself also works with this philosophy, highlighting the need to check for other parameters of the battle besides the opponent in front of you. The original creator of Shinkage also had to account for a changing battlefield, what with the arrival of early muskets, specifically arquebuses. He changed many of the traditional tenets of swordplay; some major changes included a new kind of training sword and light armour during training, and the development of a quicker and more precise style of swordplay designed for one-on-one combat instead of military battlefield combat. Similar to Metal Gear, where cyborg technology is changing the face of war, traditional approaches (such as ''isatsu-no-tachi'' (the school of the sword that kills only once) or ''ichi-no-tachi'' (the sword of only one cut), or regular infantrymen and guns) are no longer relevant. Two Yagyū quotes are as follows.
** Perfect parrying in two sentences:
--->''"A stroke of the sword that does not hit its target is the sword stroke of death; you reach over it to strike the winning blow. Your adversary's initiative having missed its mark, you turn the tables around and get the jump on your adversary."''
** This is how you [[spoiler:kill Armstrong, and is something you're encouraged to do to regular enemies as well]]:
--->''"When you strike a blow, do not let your mind dally on it, not concerning yourself with whether or not it is a telling blow; you should strike again and again, over and over, even four or five times. The thing is not to let your opponent even raise his head."''
* Everything about Sam serves to remind Raiden of his stepfather, Solidus Snake. [[spoiler:Like Solidus, Sam wears an ability-enhancing suit to fight Raiden. In their first battle, Sam makes Raiden lose an eye, just like Solidus. Both Sam and Solidus are also interested in Raiden's nature, and Raiden's duel with Sam ends not unlike the one with Solidus.]]
** [[spoiler:Armstrong]] also shares many similarities with Solidus, given that both of them:
*** Are [[spoiler:American politicians and presidential candidates]].
*** Are the final bosses of their respective games.
*** Utilize nanomachines.
*** Despise the Patriots.
*** Are willing to sacrifice innocent lives for a cause they beieve is greater.
*** Earned Raiden's respect after their deaths. [[spoiler:Armstrong]] even calls Raiden "son" during his encounter with him. Quite on the nose there...
* Raiden's two default appearances are nicknamed "White Raiden" and "Black Raiden." The two reference medieval knights, with the masked White Raiden sharing multiple similarities with common depictions of knights. When Black Raiden appears, he takes on a darker personality, reflecting how black knights are more corrupted soldiers.
** This troper thought that a knight's armour being painted black was a sign of him not having a lord, and this trying to keep his costs down by not having to polish his armour as much?
** What is even more striking about it is that Raiden's opponent Sam looks like your traditional white knight, given that his armour has a lighter color scheme. There is a fitting juxtaposition with Raiden and Sam when it comes to their personalities and appearances; [[spoiler:Raiden is the [[DarkIsNotEvil dark knight serving the light]], with his physical appearance symbolizing suppressed darkness that he struggles to contain, while Sam is the [[LightIsNotGood light knight serving the darkness]], who openly serves his desire to kill, and his appearance symbolizes the good tendencies he is suppressing on behalf of Desperado]].
*** Another thing to note is Sam's cybernetic arm, [[spoiler:which was presumably supplied by Desperado. Not only does it [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver noticeably contrast]] with the rest of his armour, it also serves to illustrate the loss of [[FallenHero his hope]] in addition to his human arm]].
* Sam being a Brazilian master of the [[KatanasAreJustBetter katana]] seems at first to be something that could only exist because of the
* The ambiguity regarding Snake's fate following ''Guns of the Patriots'', namely Raiden referring to him in the present tense and Kevin referring to him in the past tense. When Raiden & Snake first met, the
* We all like to think of Raiden as the (anti) hero of the story who was ultimately in the right, but his opponents, [[spoiler: especially Senator Armstrong during the final boss battle]], seem to think that Raiden was just like them. They lived by the code that if you were strong enough in this life you could carve your own path and make your own rules, and the only way anyone had any right to stop you was if they were stronger than you. The ironic thing is that Raiden ends the game as top dog in full control of his destiny because no one had the power to stop him. Is Raiden not so different after all? It would appear so.
Changed line(s) 26,58 (click to see context) from:
** [[spoiler:Sundowner, named after hot, dry winds, is killed by an explosion]].
** [[spoiler:"Jetstream" Sam, nicknamed after very narrow and very fast air currents that circulate around the earth, is merely stabbed in the gut, quickly and concisely.]]
** [[spoiler: Khamsin, named after a desert storm, seems to fall out of the pattern. Which fits perfectly, considering the other Winds pretty much mislead him into thinking the goal was freedom. However, his death seems to have some irony at least as while he exposes the wonders of freedom and intends to force it on others, he is killed by Blade Wolf, in the process of the latter trying to gain it's freedom. Essentially, Khamsin was killed by the very freedom he loved so dearly.]] Another layer of irony to his death: [[spoiler:he is a lot like Armstrong. Both differ from the violent nihilism of Mistral, Monsoon and Sundowner in that they're fighting for a higher ideal (perhaps even the same basic ideal of freedom), and they are both loud, rude Americans. Yet, Mistral is in love with Armstrong but sets up Khamsin to die because she hates him on a personal level.]] The exact implications regarding Mistral are up to you to decide.
* Throughout ''Rising'', take a look at each battle you fight and you'll see that the fighting styles of each boss you fight show a devolving process. You start out with giant war mechs (Metal Gear RAY, and Khamsin too if you want to go chronologically), then move on to Bladewolf and Mistral, who don't stick out too much but are the most complex and advanced. Move on to Monsoon, who instead uses sai and smoke bombs, then to Sundowner, who fights basically with swords, shields, and brute force. Then move on to Sam, who fights with a sword and his bare hands. Finally, after Excelcus, you fight the real boss--Armstrong, who fights with nothing but his fists.
* Related to the above, the boss fights show an evolution in levels of the cultish "strong prey upon the weak" ideology among World Marshall's leaders. Metal Gear RAY is a weapon in service of their belief. Khamsin is a blind believer in World Marshall's rhetoric that they fight for freedom, as he's not considered worthy enough to know their true goals. Bladewolf is enslaved by their tenets, and doesn't know why it's that way. Mistral is a fresh convert to the cause who's rejoicing in the purpose she now has. Monsoon is someone who actively preaches his understanding of the nihilistic doctrine, along with trying to bring new believers into the fold. Sundowner leads the cult in its operations and believes in World Marshall's ideas of might makes right, but works to bring about their heaven for selfish reasons. Sam was forcefully converted and willingly gave up his individual freedom, but is trying to find someone [[SuicideByCop strong enough to kill him]]. Armstrong is the one who created their ideology and convinced the Winds of Destruction to join him, embodies it through body and mind, and is striving towards his idea of paradise on Earth because he believes it's the only way to save his country.
* George's reference to the [[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles TMNT]] movie was amusing by itself, but it gets funnier once you realize three of the Winds of Destruction are essentially using the Turtles' weapons. Jetstream Sam uses a sword (Leonardo), Monsoon uses sais (Raphael), and Mistral uses a staff (Donatello). The odd one out is Sundowner, who uses pincer blades instead of nunchakus (Michelangelo), and even then, he can chain them together to form what looks like giant bladed nunchaku, though they function more like giant scissors.
* Parallels exist between Peace Walker and Revengeance: the Peace Sentinels and Desperado Enforcement LLC are both antagonistic private military organizations who mean to cause chaos for their own reasons and have a red and black color scheme. On the other side of the spectrum, the MSF and Maverick are heroic [=PMCs=] who primarily consist of soldiers who have nowhere else to go to and take contracts that are more defensive in nature. The same parallels also show up in The Phantom Pain; a small time recently formed private military lead by a famous hero, who gradually descends into a violent demon of battle, fighting against an American war crimes group [[spoiler:lead by a government official who, with the help of a metal gear, plans to create a world controlled by sheer destructive potential.]] Even the meta shows some parallel growth, both deviating from the series' trademark stealth-shooting and wacky jokes into a much more action oriented, mainstream genre with stealth components and serious, gritty plotlines regarding child soldiers and war profiteering.
* A maverick is someone who has unorthodox belief systems, and makes an explicit effort to act against the common belief systems held by society at large. For this reason the Private Military Company Maverick is aptly named; they have gone out of their way to not simply work for money but to only work for causes they believe to be righteous, which makes them stand out from the other [=PMCs=] that are institutionally [[WarForFunAndProfit only fighting for profit.]] It is also fitting that Raiden should be their lead agent in the field since he is so much of a maverick that he out right breaks the law in order to uphold his personal view of justice, making him a criminal in the eyes of the law. Just like Snake and Big Boss who were labeled terrorists because of their actions against corrupt institutions.
* It is rather amusing that the Patriots were working on a perpetual motion machine as the Doktor reveals. The Patriots claimed in Metal Gear Solid 2 that they would always exist, that their memes would always reside within America, in effect making them a form of "perpetual motion" too. The Doktor notes that they were close to succeeding in this perpetual motion machine but ultimately its success was halted when they were destroyed. The irony of course is that the Patriots failed to create both forms of perpetual motion.
* Although, one of the things mentioned by Sundowner and Armstrong is that while the Patriots and their actual War Economy may be gone, their memes are still alive and well. The military industrial complex and certainly [=PMC=]s like World Marshall and Desperado are only around and were only able to get as big as they have thanks to the system the Patriots first set up after all, and the Patriot ideas of information control and advertisements lead directly to World Marshall's success. Armstrong even goes so far as proclaim that they're ''all'' Sons of the Patriots now. So in a way, while the Patriots may not have finished their designs of "perpetual motion" those designs didn't die with them either.
* The Sears Program shares similarities with the S3 plan from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty''. The S3 Plan involved Raiden going through VR training and multiple scripted fights to obtain Solid Snake's skills and be an example of the Patriots' puppet. In the Sears Programm, several orphans were kidnapped by Desperado and World Marshal and went through cybernetic enhancements and VR training. With this World Mashal and Desperado would have obtained an army of Raiden replicas. Additionally, while in ''Solid 2'' the subject Raiden represented the player in this case he is trying to save the new subjects meaning that the brains could represent the players going through VR where they act as Raiden.
* Raiden's skill with swords has always seemed somewhat out of place in the Metal Gear universe, with it's emphasis on gun porn and military fetishism. Even though this game does an adequate job of explaining why bladed weapons have become so in vogue (cyborgs being ImmuneToBullets) the fact that Raiden, who was trained as a child soldier in Africa and later as a Delta Force/Foxhound operative, is a master of a weapon hundreds of years out of date seems odd. Indeed, Sam notes that Raiden's style of swordplay seems "self-taught". However, trailers for Rising flashing back to Raiden's training under Solidus show that Solidus trained him extensively in the use of a combat knife ("a blade has honour"). Indeed, it was Raiden's use of this weapon that earned him the name "Jack the Ripper". Raiden learned to use the combat knife as a child. To a child, a large-sized combat knife is basically a sword. Suddenly, Raiden's proficiency in swordplay makes a lot more sense. Obviously, this crosses over with FridgeHorror.
* Thanks to the DLC chapter, we have new FridgeBrilliance about Sam and Raiden's duel with Armstrong. Unlike Raiden, we never got to hear the song "It has to be this way" with Sam. This probably has to do with the fact that Sam did not push Armstrong to reveal his real motives and instead got "Collective Consciousness" which was Armstrong mocking society. Also, Sam's defeat is a parallel to Raiden's defeat at Sam's hand in early ''Revengeance''. While both Raiden and Sam lost an arm, Sam gave up to Armstrong and Raiden decided to continue fighting. Raiden's determination is probably what caused Sam to tell Wolf late in the game's end about leaving him the sword Murasame.
* Sam's DLC also puts different context to two scenes in Raiden's story. One being how with Armstrong knocking him senseless the entire initial fight, he suddenly takes initiative to stop Bladewolf from helping making threats and actively trying to interfere. Because from Sam's DLC we find out he already knows the Murasame can cut through his armor. Also the final scene of Sam's story puts context to his appearance in Raiden's where he first appears. With the first viewing it looks like he's smugly showing off his cool red sword, but with the DLC context it implies he's actually showing off his recently acquired cyborg arm and still giving it some practice motions.
* On a more obscure note, the DLC also shows the evolution of Sam's sword style prior to when he first fights Raiden. In the DLC, pretty much all of Sam's light attacks require the use of both his hands. Once he got his Cyborg arm, he's able to accomplish all his light moves with just his right hand. Additionally, all his charge moves from before become instantaneous apart from his new charge attacks that are far more lethal and impressive with his new arm.
* Looking closely at the tsuba (guard) of Sam's sword, one can tell that there is a black dent on one side while the other is completely normal. That dent is probably the spot where the sheathe's gun part ejects the weapon, and its current state is due to repeated use. Even an upgraded weapon can still show wear and tear.
* Monsoon's body is obviously specialized to counter slashes. On top of that, his choice of weapon is the sai, a weapon well-known for its ability to snap blades, specifically katanas. Monsoon is an anti-samurai weapon! Worse yet, if his concept were taken even farther he would have been that much more a nightmare. If he heavily magnetized objects they'd become immune to cutting since they'd still be held together by magnetic force. The magnetic attraction could also mess with Raiden's precision during blade mode as well to say nothing about what it could do to his cyborg body. It's no wonder that in codec Raiden mentions he would have definitely lost if he didn't get Ripper Mode just before that fight.
* Also on Monsoon, the only original parts of his body that remain are above his shoulders. One of the first things he does in his boss scene is crack his neck.
* There has been some complaints that Sam doesn't have a stealth kill in the Jetstream DLC, but it makes sense when you think about it. Sam is a BloodKnight and more of a samurai than Raiden, and blood knights and samurai typically prefer honorable battles. There's nothing honorable about a stealth kill, so Sam won't stealth kill his enemies.
* During the fight with Monsoon, he rambles on about memes in a manner very reminiscent of [=MGS2=]. However, one of the soldiers gets bored and ends up playing with a cute cat instead. Now, [[WebOriginal/LOLCats what's the internet's favorite source of memes?]]
* The final boss fight from Sam's DLC does a good job at proving that Armstrong is just playing around unlike Raiden vs. Armstrong where the latter was completely serious. For starters, Armstrong has half of his real health bar (200% against Raiden, 100% against Sam) and never uses a regenerative skill or tries to make Sam lose his weapon. Additionally, Armstrong's lines consist of praising Sam for his actions whereas he is determined to kill Raiden. The song "Collective Consciousness" also adds that Armstrong was not showing his true colors which he reveals against Raiden resulting in his true boss theme, "It has to be this way." Ironically, this also shows how much stronger Raiden is. Specifically in the case where in the second phase of Sam's fight with Armstrong, Armstrong uses what appears to be a "new" move. Until you realize that as Raiden, Armstrong uses this move as well (albeit not burning pure red). The irony is furthered in that for Sam, this move CANNOT be parried. For Raiden? It is not only Parry-able, but a perfect parry results in a devastating QTE that deals around 20% damage to Armstrong.
* As noted under ArtisticLicenseHistory, Raiden's assertion of the Samurai's ideals is questionable. [[spoiler: He eventually admits his talk about justice was just a way of excusing himself for his crimes, and so you suddenly realise, he simply believed what he wanted to about Samurai to satisfy his own desires, not unlike how Liquid did with Genes.]]
* At the end of the Jetstream DLC, [[spoiler: Armstrong doesn't seem all that concerned that he just viciously severed Sam's arm from his body. This shows just how out of touch with normal people Armstrong really is; he does not consider loss of limb to be a big deal, since he can easily have his underlings undergo cybernetic enhancement, and he himself can heal thanks to his Nanomachines. He does not empathise with Sam's pain and shock for this reason, and it also shows just why his SocialDarwinist views are flawed. Raiden was right to call him out on this.]]
* Mistral's weapon fits her theme perfectly. "L'Etranger" means "The Stranger".
* Parallels could be drawn from the fighting styles Armstrong and Raiden use and their respective ideals. Armstrong wants to burn the slate clean, destroy everything and start from scratch, without any mercy or tact. He also uses [=AoE=] attacks, wide haymakers and lots of fire flying all over the place. Raiden has the same issues with the world (greedy people profiteering from war, warriors and civilians alike have no meaningful concept of ideals anymore) but his solution is far more precise and careful. He slices and destroys the decaying core but tries his best to avoid collateral damage. Just like how he uses a sword.
* The Blade Wolf DLC provides an explanation for why Wolf refused to shake Raiden's hand when he offered. When Blade Wolf tried to escape Mistral ended up subjecting him to a restraining mechanism that forced his body to move against his will. Just to drive the point home that Wolf was nothing more than an obedient dog Mistral makes Wolf shake one of the Dwarf Gekko's hand against his will. Perhaps on some subconscious level Wolf couldn't bring himself to shake Raiden's hand because he reminded Wolf of Mistral and her brutality. Sunny by contrast being an innocent 10 year old girl provided no such baggage and that's why he allowed her to pet him. Interestingly perhaps this also suggests that [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Sam isn't as psychologically broken]] as Raiden because Wolf had no problem accepting Sam petting him on the head.
* Fridge coincidence(?): In the Metal Gear '''S'''olid series, the main character's name was '''S'''nake. However, since this game is called Metal Gear '''R'''ising, the main character's name is '''R'''aiden. Futhermore, in Japanese "Rising" is a homophone to "Raijin", a god of [[ShockAndAwe lightning and thunder]] in Japanese mythology (hell, the name itself literally means "lightning god") who is also known by another name: ''Raiden'' (which so happens to mean "lightning", too). Bonus points for Raiden the character having an [[ShockAndAwe electric/lightning]] motif that goes back to [=MGS4=]. "I am lightning, the rain transformed," indeed.
* In Sam's DLC, he tells Bladewolf that the latter lost because he wasn't fighting for his own reasons. When Sam and Raiden first fight, the former gets the upper hand when the latter begins to question his reason for fighting, and when Raiden finally defeats Sam, it may have been because Sam didn't believe in the cause he was fighting for (he could obviously not care less about Desperado & Armstrong's actual ambitions).
* The game's tagline of "Cut At Will, Cut What You Will", while seemingly remarking on the Blade Mode gimmick, actually is also quite an apt description of game's themes, too. Raiden is able to determine his own destiny, and lets nothing control his desires. The blade is in his hand now.
* While all other boss songs are sung from the boss' point of view, "It Has to Be this Way" has drawn debate whether it's supposed to be Raiden or [[spoiler:Armstrong]]. However, the ambiguity was intentional: the point of the song is the similarities between Raiden and the final boss.
-->"''But maybe we're both the same...''"
* Armstrong dismissing Raiden's HF Blade as a knife before breaking it might be just to show off how powerful his nanomachines are, but it adds several layers of brilliance: After breaking it, the sword's blade does have the length of a knife. The very first weapon Raiden ever wielded in his childhood is a knife.
* The last time Raiden sees Sam before their boss fight is outside World Marshall Headquarters. Since you never see him on the way up, it's a safe bet to assume he left via the heliport on the roof. When you fight him later, talking to Bladewolf over Codec has him mention a World Marshall helicopter crashed in the area. After the later reveal that [[spoiler: Sam was having a HeelRealization]] before the fight, one wonders if maybe [[spoiler: Sam was the one who brought down the chopper so they couldn't attack SOLIS Headquarters]].
** [[spoiler:"Jetstream" Sam, nicknamed after very narrow and very fast air currents that circulate around the earth, is merely stabbed in the gut, quickly and concisely.]]
** [[spoiler: Khamsin, named after a desert storm, seems to fall out of the pattern. Which fits perfectly, considering the other Winds pretty much mislead him into thinking the goal was freedom. However, his death seems to have some irony at least as while he exposes the wonders of freedom and intends to force it on others, he is killed by Blade Wolf, in the process of the latter trying to gain it's freedom. Essentially, Khamsin was killed by the very freedom he loved so dearly.]] Another layer of irony to his death: [[spoiler:he is a lot like Armstrong. Both differ from the violent nihilism of Mistral, Monsoon and Sundowner in that they're fighting for a higher ideal (perhaps even the same basic ideal of freedom), and they are both loud, rude Americans. Yet, Mistral is in love with Armstrong but sets up Khamsin to die because she hates him on a personal level.]] The exact implications regarding Mistral are up to you to decide.
* Throughout ''Rising'', take a look at each battle you fight and you'll see that the fighting styles of each boss you fight show a devolving process. You start out with giant war mechs (Metal Gear RAY, and Khamsin too if you want to go chronologically), then move on to Bladewolf and Mistral, who don't stick out too much but are the most complex and advanced. Move on to Monsoon, who instead uses sai and smoke bombs, then to Sundowner, who fights basically with swords, shields, and brute force. Then move on to Sam, who fights with a sword and his bare hands. Finally, after Excelcus, you fight the real boss--Armstrong, who fights with nothing but his fists.
* Related to the above, the boss fights show an evolution in levels of the cultish "strong prey upon the weak" ideology among World Marshall's leaders. Metal Gear RAY is a weapon in service of their belief. Khamsin is a blind believer in World Marshall's rhetoric that they fight for freedom, as he's not considered worthy enough to know their true goals. Bladewolf is enslaved by their tenets, and doesn't know why it's that way. Mistral is a fresh convert to the cause who's rejoicing in the purpose she now has. Monsoon is someone who actively preaches his understanding of the nihilistic doctrine, along with trying to bring new believers into the fold. Sundowner leads the cult in its operations and believes in World Marshall's ideas of might makes right, but works to bring about their heaven for selfish reasons. Sam was forcefully converted and willingly gave up his individual freedom, but is trying to find someone [[SuicideByCop strong enough to kill him]]. Armstrong is the one who created their ideology and convinced the Winds of Destruction to join him, embodies it through body and mind, and is striving towards his idea of paradise on Earth because he believes it's the only way to save his country.
* George's reference to the [[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles TMNT]] movie was amusing by itself, but it gets funnier once you realize three of the Winds of Destruction are essentially using the Turtles' weapons. Jetstream Sam uses a sword (Leonardo), Monsoon uses sais (Raphael), and Mistral uses a staff (Donatello). The odd one out is Sundowner, who uses pincer blades instead of nunchakus (Michelangelo), and even then, he can chain them together to form what looks like giant bladed nunchaku, though they function more like giant scissors.
* Parallels exist between Peace Walker and Revengeance: the Peace Sentinels and Desperado Enforcement LLC are both antagonistic private military organizations who mean to cause chaos for their own reasons and have a red and black color scheme. On the other side of the spectrum, the MSF and Maverick are heroic [=PMCs=] who primarily consist of soldiers who have nowhere else to go to and take contracts that are more defensive in nature. The same parallels also show up in The Phantom Pain; a small time recently formed private military lead by a famous hero, who gradually descends into a violent demon of battle, fighting against an American war crimes group [[spoiler:lead by a government official who, with the help of a metal gear, plans to create a world controlled by sheer destructive potential.]] Even the meta shows some parallel growth, both deviating from the series' trademark stealth-shooting and wacky jokes into a much more action oriented, mainstream genre with stealth components and serious, gritty plotlines regarding child soldiers and war profiteering.
* A maverick is someone who has unorthodox belief systems, and makes an explicit effort to act against the common belief systems held by society at large. For this reason the Private Military Company Maverick is aptly named; they have gone out of their way to not simply work for money but to only work for causes they believe to be righteous, which makes them stand out from the other [=PMCs=] that are institutionally [[WarForFunAndProfit only fighting for profit.]] It is also fitting that Raiden should be their lead agent in the field since he is so much of a maverick that he out right breaks the law in order to uphold his personal view of justice, making him a criminal in the eyes of the law. Just like Snake and Big Boss who were labeled terrorists because of their actions against corrupt institutions.
* It is rather amusing that the Patriots were working on a perpetual motion machine as the Doktor reveals. The Patriots claimed in Metal Gear Solid 2 that they would always exist, that their memes would always reside within America, in effect making them a form of "perpetual motion" too. The Doktor notes that they were close to succeeding in this perpetual motion machine but ultimately its success was halted when they were destroyed. The irony of course is that the Patriots failed to create both forms of perpetual motion.
* Although, one of the things mentioned by Sundowner and Armstrong is that while the Patriots and their actual War Economy may be gone, their memes are still alive and well. The military industrial complex and certainly [=PMC=]s like World Marshall and Desperado are only around and were only able to get as big as they have thanks to the system the Patriots first set up after all, and the Patriot ideas of information control and advertisements lead directly to World Marshall's success. Armstrong even goes so far as proclaim that they're ''all'' Sons of the Patriots now. So in a way, while the Patriots may not have finished their designs of "perpetual motion" those designs didn't die with them either.
* The Sears Program shares similarities with the S3 plan from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty''. The S3 Plan involved Raiden going through VR training and multiple scripted fights to obtain Solid Snake's skills and be an example of the Patriots' puppet. In the Sears Programm, several orphans were kidnapped by Desperado and World Marshal and went through cybernetic enhancements and VR training. With this World Mashal and Desperado would have obtained an army of Raiden replicas. Additionally, while in ''Solid 2'' the subject Raiden represented the player in this case he is trying to save the new subjects meaning that the brains could represent the players going through VR where they act as Raiden.
* Raiden's skill with swords has always seemed somewhat out of place in the Metal Gear universe, with it's emphasis on gun porn and military fetishism. Even though this game does an adequate job of explaining why bladed weapons have become so in vogue (cyborgs being ImmuneToBullets) the fact that Raiden, who was trained as a child soldier in Africa and later as a Delta Force/Foxhound operative, is a master of a weapon hundreds of years out of date seems odd. Indeed, Sam notes that Raiden's style of swordplay seems "self-taught". However, trailers for Rising flashing back to Raiden's training under Solidus show that Solidus trained him extensively in the use of a combat knife ("a blade has honour"). Indeed, it was Raiden's use of this weapon that earned him the name "Jack the Ripper". Raiden learned to use the combat knife as a child. To a child, a large-sized combat knife is basically a sword. Suddenly, Raiden's proficiency in swordplay makes a lot more sense. Obviously, this crosses over with FridgeHorror.
* Thanks to the DLC chapter, we have new FridgeBrilliance about Sam and Raiden's duel with Armstrong. Unlike Raiden, we never got to hear the song "It has to be this way" with Sam. This probably has to do with the fact that Sam did not push Armstrong to reveal his real motives and instead got "Collective Consciousness" which was Armstrong mocking society. Also, Sam's defeat is a parallel to Raiden's defeat at Sam's hand in early ''Revengeance''. While both Raiden and Sam lost an arm, Sam gave up to Armstrong and Raiden decided to continue fighting. Raiden's determination is probably what caused Sam to tell Wolf late in the game's end about leaving him the sword Murasame.
* Sam's DLC also puts different context to two scenes in Raiden's story. One being how with Armstrong knocking him senseless the entire initial fight, he suddenly takes initiative to stop Bladewolf from helping making threats and actively trying to interfere. Because from Sam's DLC we find out he already knows the Murasame can cut through his armor. Also the final scene of Sam's story puts context to his appearance in Raiden's where he first appears. With the first viewing it looks like he's smugly showing off his cool red sword, but with the DLC context it implies he's actually showing off his recently acquired cyborg arm and still giving it some practice motions.
* On a more obscure note, the DLC also shows the evolution of Sam's sword style prior to when he first fights Raiden. In the DLC, pretty much all of Sam's light attacks require the use of both his hands. Once he got his Cyborg arm, he's able to accomplish all his light moves with just his right hand. Additionally, all his charge moves from before become instantaneous apart from his new charge attacks that are far more lethal and impressive with his new arm.
* Looking closely at the tsuba (guard) of Sam's sword, one can tell that there is a black dent on one side while the other is completely normal. That dent is probably the spot where the sheathe's gun part ejects the weapon, and its current state is due to repeated use. Even an upgraded weapon can still show wear and tear.
* Monsoon's body is obviously specialized to counter slashes. On top of that, his choice of weapon is the sai, a weapon well-known for its ability to snap blades, specifically katanas. Monsoon is an anti-samurai weapon! Worse yet, if his concept were taken even farther he would have been that much more a nightmare. If he heavily magnetized objects they'd become immune to cutting since they'd still be held together by magnetic force. The magnetic attraction could also mess with Raiden's precision during blade mode as well to say nothing about what it could do to his cyborg body. It's no wonder that in codec Raiden mentions he would have definitely lost if he didn't get Ripper Mode just before that fight.
* Also on Monsoon, the only original parts of his body that remain are above his shoulders. One of the first things he does in his boss scene is crack his neck.
* There has been some complaints that Sam doesn't have a stealth kill in the Jetstream DLC, but it makes sense when you think about it. Sam is a BloodKnight and more of a samurai than Raiden, and blood knights and samurai typically prefer honorable battles. There's nothing honorable about a stealth kill, so Sam won't stealth kill his enemies.
* During the fight with Monsoon, he rambles on about memes in a manner very reminiscent of [=MGS2=]. However, one of the soldiers gets bored and ends up playing with a cute cat instead. Now, [[WebOriginal/LOLCats what's the internet's favorite source of memes?]]
* The final boss fight from Sam's DLC does a good job at proving that Armstrong is just playing around unlike Raiden vs. Armstrong where the latter was completely serious. For starters, Armstrong has half of his real health bar (200% against Raiden, 100% against Sam) and never uses a regenerative skill or tries to make Sam lose his weapon. Additionally, Armstrong's lines consist of praising Sam for his actions whereas he is determined to kill Raiden. The song "Collective Consciousness" also adds that Armstrong was not showing his true colors which he reveals against Raiden resulting in his true boss theme, "It has to be this way." Ironically, this also shows how much stronger Raiden is. Specifically in the case where in the second phase of Sam's fight with Armstrong, Armstrong uses what appears to be a "new" move. Until you realize that as Raiden, Armstrong uses this move as well (albeit not burning pure red). The irony is furthered in that for Sam, this move CANNOT be parried. For Raiden? It is not only Parry-able, but a perfect parry results in a devastating QTE that deals around 20% damage to Armstrong.
* As noted under ArtisticLicenseHistory, Raiden's assertion of the Samurai's ideals is questionable. [[spoiler: He eventually admits his talk about justice was just a way of excusing himself for his crimes, and so you suddenly realise, he simply believed what he wanted to about Samurai to satisfy his own desires, not unlike how Liquid did with Genes.]]
* At the end of the Jetstream DLC, [[spoiler: Armstrong doesn't seem all that concerned that he just viciously severed Sam's arm from his body. This shows just how out of touch with normal people Armstrong really is; he does not consider loss of limb to be a big deal, since he can easily have his underlings undergo cybernetic enhancement, and he himself can heal thanks to his Nanomachines. He does not empathise with Sam's pain and shock for this reason, and it also shows just why his SocialDarwinist views are flawed. Raiden was right to call him out on this.]]
* Mistral's weapon fits her theme perfectly. "L'Etranger" means "The Stranger".
* Parallels could be drawn from the fighting styles Armstrong and Raiden use and their respective ideals. Armstrong wants to burn the slate clean, destroy everything and start from scratch, without any mercy or tact. He also uses [=AoE=] attacks, wide haymakers and lots of fire flying all over the place. Raiden has the same issues with the world (greedy people profiteering from war, warriors and civilians alike have no meaningful concept of ideals anymore) but his solution is far more precise and careful. He slices and destroys the decaying core but tries his best to avoid collateral damage. Just like how he uses a sword.
* The Blade Wolf DLC provides an explanation for why Wolf refused to shake Raiden's hand when he offered. When Blade Wolf tried to escape Mistral ended up subjecting him to a restraining mechanism that forced his body to move against his will. Just to drive the point home that Wolf was nothing more than an obedient dog Mistral makes Wolf shake one of the Dwarf Gekko's hand against his will. Perhaps on some subconscious level Wolf couldn't bring himself to shake Raiden's hand because he reminded Wolf of Mistral and her brutality. Sunny by contrast being an innocent 10 year old girl provided no such baggage and that's why he allowed her to pet him. Interestingly perhaps this also suggests that [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Sam isn't as psychologically broken]] as Raiden because Wolf had no problem accepting Sam petting him on the head.
* Fridge coincidence(?): In the Metal Gear '''S'''olid series, the main character's name was '''S'''nake. However, since this game is called Metal Gear '''R'''ising, the main character's name is '''R'''aiden. Futhermore, in Japanese "Rising" is a homophone to "Raijin", a god of [[ShockAndAwe lightning and thunder]] in Japanese mythology (hell, the name itself literally means "lightning god") who is also known by another name: ''Raiden'' (which so happens to mean "lightning", too). Bonus points for Raiden the character having an [[ShockAndAwe electric/lightning]] motif that goes back to [=MGS4=]. "I am lightning, the rain transformed," indeed.
* In Sam's DLC, he tells Bladewolf that the latter lost because he wasn't fighting for his own reasons. When Sam and Raiden first fight, the former gets the upper hand when the latter begins to question his reason for fighting, and when Raiden finally defeats Sam, it may have been because Sam didn't believe in the cause he was fighting for (he could obviously not care less about Desperado & Armstrong's actual ambitions).
* The game's tagline of "Cut At Will, Cut What You Will", while seemingly remarking on the Blade Mode gimmick, actually is also quite an apt description of game's themes, too. Raiden is able to determine his own destiny, and lets nothing control his desires. The blade is in his hand now.
* While all other boss songs are sung from the boss' point of view, "It Has to Be this Way" has drawn debate whether it's supposed to be Raiden or [[spoiler:Armstrong]]. However, the ambiguity was intentional: the point of the song is the similarities between Raiden and the final boss.
-->"''But maybe we're both the same...''"
* Armstrong dismissing Raiden's HF Blade as a knife before breaking it might be just to show off how powerful his nanomachines are, but it adds several layers of brilliance: After breaking it, the sword's blade does have the length of a knife. The very first weapon Raiden ever wielded in his childhood is a knife.
* The last time Raiden sees Sam before their boss fight is outside World Marshall Headquarters. Since you never see him on the way up, it's a safe bet to assume he left via the heliport on the roof. When you fight him later, talking to Bladewolf over Codec has him mention a World Marshall helicopter crashed in the area. After the later reveal that [[spoiler: Sam was having a HeelRealization]] before the fight, one wonders if maybe [[spoiler: Sam was the one who brought down the chopper so they couldn't attack SOLIS Headquarters]].
to:
** [[spoiler:Sundowner, named after hot, dry winds, is indirectly killed by an explosion]].
** [[spoiler:"Jetstream" Sam, nicknamed after very narrow and very fast air currents that circulate around the earth, ismerely simply stabbed in the gut, gut quickly and concisely.]]
**[[spoiler: Khamsin, [[spoiler:Khamsin, named after a desert storm, seems to fall out of the pattern. Which pattern... which fits perfectly, considering the other Winds pretty much mislead him into thinking the goal was freedom. However, his death seems to have some irony at least least, as while he exposes the wonders of freedom and intends to force it on others, he is killed by Blade Wolf, an [=LQ-84i=] in the process of the latter trying to gain it's its freedom. Essentially, Khamsin was killed by the very freedom he loved so dearly.]] Another layer of irony to his death: [[spoiler:he is a lot like Armstrong. Both differ from the violent nihilism of Mistral, Monsoon and Sundowner in that they're fighting for a higher ideal (perhaps even the same basic ideal of freedom), and they are both [[{{Eagleland}} loud, rude Americans. Americans]]. Yet, Mistral is in love with Armstrong Armstrong, but sets up hates Khamsin to die because she hates him on a personal level.]] level and sets him up to die at the hands of the [=LQ-84i=]. The exact implications regarding Mistral are up to you to decide.
* Throughout ''Rising'', take a look at each battle you fight and you'll see that the fighting styles of each boss you fight show a devolving process. You start out with giant war mechs (Metal Gear RAY, and Khamsin too if you want to go chronologically), then move on to Bladewolf and Mistral, who don't stick out too much but are the most complex and advanced. Move on to Monsoon, who instead uses sai and smoke bombs, then to Sundowner, who fights basically with swords, shields, and brute force. Then move on to Sam, who fights with a sword and his bare hands. Finally, after Excelcus, you fight the real boss--Armstrong, who fights with nothing but his fists.
* Related to the above, the boss fights show an evolution in levels of the cultish "strong prey upon the weak" ideology among World Marshall's leaders. Metal Gear RAY is a weapon in service of their belief. Khamsin is a blind believer in World Marshall's rhetoric that they fight for freedom, as he's not considered worthy enough to know their true goals. Bladewolf is enslaved by their tenets, and doesn't know why it's that way. Mistral is a fresh convert to the cause who's rejoicing in the purpose she now has. Monsoon is someone who actively preaches his understanding of the nihilistic doctrine, along with trying to bring new believers into the fold. Sundowner leads the cult in its operations and believes in World Marshall's ideas of might makes right, but works to bring about their heaven for selfish reasons. Sam was forcefully converted and willingly gave up his individual freedom, but is trying to find someone [[SuicideByCop strong enough to kill him]]. Armstrong is the one who created their ideology and convinced the Winds of Destruction to join him, embodies it through body and mind, and is striving towards his idea of paradise on Earth because he believes it's the only way to save his country.
* George's reference to the [[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles TMNT]] movie was amusing by itself, but it gets funnier once you realize three of the Winds of Destruction are essentially using the Turtles' weapons. Jetstream Sam uses a sword (Leonardo), Monsoon uses sais (Raphael), and Mistral uses a staff (Donatello). The odd one out is Sundowner, who uses pincer blades instead of nunchakus (Michelangelo), and even then, he can chain them together to form what looks like giant bladed nunchaku, though they function more like giant scissors.
* Parallels exist between Peace Walker and Revengeance: the Peace Sentinels and Desperado Enforcement LLC are both antagonistic private military organizations who mean to cause chaos for their own reasons and have a red and black color scheme. On the other side of the spectrum, the MSF and Maverick are heroic [=PMCs=] who primarily consist of soldiers who have nowhere else to go to and take contracts that are more defensive in nature. The same parallels also show up in The Phantom Pain; a small time recently formed private military lead by a famous hero, who gradually descends into a violent demon of battle, fighting against an American war crimes group [[spoiler:lead by a government official who, with the help of a metal gear, plans to create a world controlled by sheer destructive potential.]] Even the meta shows some parallel growth, both deviating from the series' trademark stealth-shooting and wacky jokes into a much more action oriented, mainstream genre with stealth components and serious, gritty plotlines regarding child soldiers and war profiteering.
decide]].
* A maverick is someone who has unorthodox belief systems, and makes an explicit effort to act against the commonbelief systems beliefs held by society at large. For this reason the Private Military Company Maverick reason, [[PrivateMilitaryContractors Maverick]] is aptly named; they have gone out of their way to not simply work for money money, but to only work for causes they believe to be righteous, which makes them stand out from the other [=PMCs=] that are institutionally [[WarForFunAndProfit only fighting for profit.]] profit]]. It is also fitting that Raiden should be their lead agent in the field field, since he himself is so much enough of a maverick that he out right breaks to outright break the law in order to uphold his personal view of justice, making him a criminal in the eyes of the law. Just law (just like Snake and Big Boss Boss, who were labeled labelled as terrorists because of their actions against corrupt institutions.
* It is rather amusing that the Patriots were working on a perpetual motion machine as the Doktor reveals. The Patriots claimed in Metal Gear Solid 2 that they would always exist, that their memes would always reside within America, in effect making them a form of "perpetual motion" too. The Doktor notes that they were close to succeeding in this perpetual motion machine but ultimately its success was halted when they were destroyed. The irony of course is that the Patriots failed to create both forms of perpetual motion.
* Although, one of the things mentioned by Sundowner and Armstrong is that while the Patriots and their actual War Economy may be gone, their memes are still alive and well. The military industrial complex and certainly [=PMC=]s like World Marshall and Desperado are only around and were only able to get as big as they have thanks to the system the Patriots first set up after all, and the Patriot ideas of information control and advertisements lead directly to World Marshall's success. Armstrong even goes so far as proclaim that they're ''all'' Sons of the Patriots now. So in a way, while the Patriots may not have finished their designs of "perpetual motion" those designs didn't die with them either.
institutions).
* The Sears Program shares similarities with the S3plan Plan from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty''. The S3 Plan ''[=MGS2=]'', which involved Raiden going through VR training and multiple scripted fights to obtain Solid Snake's skills and be become an example of the Patriots' puppet. puppets. In the Sears Programm, Program, several orphans were kidnapped by Desperado and World Marshal, [[UnwillingRoboticisation stripped of their bodies]], and [[ChildSoldiers forced to undergo VR combat training]]. With this, World Marshal and went through cybernetic enhancements and VR training. With this World Mashal and Desperado would have obtained an army of Raiden replicas. Additionally, while in ''Solid 2'' ''[=MGS2=]'', the subject Raiden (Raiden) represented the player player, in this case case, he is trying to save the new subjects subjects, meaning that the brains could represent the players going through VR where they act as Raiden.
* Raiden's skill with swords has always seemed somewhat out of place in the Metal Gear universe, with it's emphasis on gun porn and military fetishism. Even though this game does an adequate job of explaining why bladed weapons have become so in vogue(cyborgs (with cyborgs being ImmuneToBullets) ImmuneToBullets), the fact that Raiden, who was trained as a child soldier in Africa and later as a Delta Force/Foxhound Force/FOXHOUND operative, is a master of a weapon hundreds of years out of date seems odd. Indeed, Sam notes that Raiden's style of swordplay seems "self-taught". However, trailers for Rising ''Revengeance'' flashing back to Raiden's training under Solidus show that Solidus trained him extensively in the use of a combat knife ("a blade has honour"). Indeed, it was Raiden's use of this weapon that earned him the name "Jack the Ripper". Raiden learned to use the combat knife as a child. To a child, a large-sized large enough combat knife is basically a sword. Suddenly, Raiden's proficiency in swordplay makes a lot more sense. Obviously, this crosses over with FridgeHorror.
* Thanks to the DLC chapter, we have new FridgeBrilliance aboutSam [[spoiler:Sam and Raiden's duel with Armstrong. Unlike with Raiden, we never got get to hear the song "It has to be this way" Has To Be This Way" with Sam. This probably has to do with the fact that Sam did not push Armstrong to reveal his real motives and instead got motives, with "Collective Consciousness" which was Armstrong mocking society. playing instead. Also, Sam's defeat is a parallel to parallels Raiden's defeat at Sam's hand hands in early ''Revengeance''. the prologue. While both Raiden and Sam lost an arm, Sam gave up submitted to Armstrong and Armstrong, whereas Raiden decided to continue fighting. Raiden's determination is probably what caused why Sam to tell Wolf late in the game's end about leaving [[TakeUpMySword posthumously gives him the sword Murasame.
*his Murasama]]]].
** Sam's DLC alsoputs adds different context to two scenes in Raiden's story. One story, one being how after wiping the floor with Armstrong knocking him senseless the entire initial fight, he Raiden, [[spoiler:Armstrong suddenly takes the initiative to stop Bladewolf Blade Wolf from helping making threats and actively trying to interfere. Because from helping, since in Sam's DLC DLC, we find out that he already knows that the Murasame Murasama can cut through his armor. Also nanomachine armour]]. Also, the final scene of Sam's story puts adds context to his first appearance in Raiden's where he first appears. With the first viewing prologue--at first, it looks like he's smugly just showing off his cool red sword, but with context from the DLC context it implies that he's actually showing off getting used to his recently acquired cyborg arm and still giving it some practice motions.
*arm.
** On a moreobscure subtle note, the DLC also shows the evolution of Sam's sword style prior to when he first fights Raiden. In the DLC, pretty much all of Sam's light attacks require the use of both his hands. Once he got his Cyborg arm, he's able to accomplish all his light moves with just his right hand. Additionally, all his charge moves from before become instantaneous apart from his new charge attacks that are far more lethal and impressive with his new arm.
*Looking closely at the tsuba (guard) of Sam's sword, one can tell that there is a black dent on one side while the other is completely normal. That dent is probably the spot where the sheathe's gun part ejects the weapon, and its current state is due to repeated use. Even an upgraded weapon can still show wear and tear.
* Monsoon's body is obviously specialized to counter slashes. On top of that, his choice of weapon is the sai, a weapon well-known for its ability to snap blades, specifically katanas. Monsoon is an anti-samurai weapon! Worse yet, if his concept were taken even farther he would have been that much more a nightmare. If he heavily magnetized objects they'd become immune to cutting since they'd still be held together by magnetic force. The magnetic attraction could also messLike with Raiden's precision during blade mode as well to say nothing about what it could do to his cyborg body. It's no wonder that in codec Raiden mentions he would have definitely lost if he didn't get Ripper Mode just before that fight.
* Also on Monsoon,Raiden, the only original human parts of his body Monsoon that remain are above his shoulders. One of the first things he does in his boss scene when he appears is crack his neck.
* There has been some complaints that Sam doesn't have a stealth kill in the Jetstream DLC, but it makes sense when you think about it. Sam is a BloodKnight and more of a samurai than Raiden, and blood knights and samurai typically prefer honorable battles. There's nothing honorable about a stealth kill, so Sam won't stealth kill his enemies.
* During** Before the fight with Monsoon, he rambles on about memes in a manner very reminiscent of [=MGS2=]. ''[=MGS2=]''. However, one of the soldiers to the side gets bored and ends up playing with a cute cat instead. Now, [[WebOriginal/LOLCats what's the internet's favorite source of memes?]]
* There have been complaints that Sam can't stealth-kill enemies in the Jetstream DLC, but it makes sense when you think about it. As a samurai-like BloodKnight who prefers honourable battles, Sam doesn't bother with stealth kills, since there's nothing honourable about them.
* The final boss fight from Sam's DLC does a good job at proving thatArmstrong is [[spoiler:Armstrong was just playing around fucking around, unlike Raiden vs. Armstrong where the latter was completely serious. with Raiden, against whom he tried his hardest. For starters, Armstrong has half of his real the health bar (200% against Raiden, 100% against Sam) Sam), and never uses a regenerative skill or tries to make Sam lose his weapon. disarm Sam. Additionally, Armstrong's lines consist of praising Armstrong praises Sam for his actions actions, whereas he is determined to kill Raiden. The song "Collective Consciousness" also adds that Armstrong was not showing his true colors which he reveals against Raiden resulting in his true boss theme, "It has to be this way." Ironically, this Raiden]].
** This also shows how much stronger Raidenis. Specifically in the case is, specifically where in [[spoiler:in the second phase of Sam's fight with Armstrong, Armstrong uses what appears to be a "new" move. Until move, until you realize that as against Raiden, Armstrong uses this move as well (albeit not burning pure red). The irony is furthered goes further in that for Sam, Sam ''cannot'' parry this move CANNOT be parried. move. For Raiden? It is not only Parry-able, parryable, but a perfect parry results in a devastating QTE that deals around 20% damage to Armstrong.
Armstrong]].
* As noted under ArtisticLicenseHistory, Raiden's assertion of theSamurai's samurai's ideals is questionable. [[spoiler: He eventually admits his talk schtick about justice was just a way of excusing himself for his crimes, and so it's when you suddenly realise, realize that he simply believed what he wanted to about Samurai samurai to satisfy his own desires, not unlike how Liquid [[Characters/MetalGearSolid Liquid]] did with Genes.genes.]]
* At the end of the Jetstream DLC,[[spoiler: Armstrong [[spoiler:Armstrong doesn't seem all that concerned that he just viciously severed Sam's arm from his body. This shows just how out of touch with normal people Armstrong really is; he does not consider the loss of a limb to be a big deal, since he can easily have his underlings undergo cybernetic enhancement, and he himself can heal thanks to his Nanomachines.nanomachines. He does not empathise with Sam's pain and shock for this reason, and it also shows just why his SocialDarwinist views are flawed. Raiden was right to call him out on this.]]
it]].
* Mistral's weapon fits her themeperfectly. "L'Etranger" means perfectly--"L'Etranger" translates to "The Stranger".
* Parallels could be drawn from the fighting stylesArmstrong [[spoiler:Armstrong]] and Raiden use and their respective ideals. Armstrong [[spoiler:Armstrong wants to burn the slate clean, destroy everything everything, and start from scratch, without any mercy or tact. He also tact]]. As such, he uses [=AoE=] attacks, attacks and wide haymakers and haymakers, with lots of fire flying all over the place. Raiden has the same issues with the world (greedy people (war profiteering from war, and the loss of ideals among warriors and civilians alike have no meaningful concept of ideals anymore) alike), but his solution is far more precise and careful. He slices and careful--he destroys the decaying core but and tries his best to avoid collateral damage. Just damage, just like how he uses a sword.
sword.
* The Blade Wolf DLC provides an explanation for why Wolf refused to shake Raiden's hand when he offered. When Blade Wolf first tried toescape escape, Mistral ended up subjecting him to a [[RestrainingBolt restraining mechanism mechanism]] that forced his body to move against his will. Just to drive the point home that Wolf was nothing more than an obedient dog dog, Mistral makes also made Wolf shake one of the Dwarf Gekko's hand hands against his will. Perhaps on some subconscious level level, Wolf couldn't bring himself to shake Raiden's hand because he reminded Wolf of Mistral and her brutality. By contrast, Sunny by contrast being (being an innocent 10 year old girl 10-year-old girl) provided no such baggage baggage, and that's why he allowed her to pet him. Interestingly perhaps Interestingly, this also suggests that Sam [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Sam isn't as psychologically broken]] as Raiden because Raiden, since Wolf had no problem accepting Sam petting him on the head.
*Fridge coincidence(?): In the Metal Gear '''S'''olid series, the main character's name was '''S'''nake. However, since this game is called Metal Gear '''R'''ising, the main character's name is '''R'''aiden. Futhermore, in Japanese "Rising" is a homophone to "Raijin", a god of [[ShockAndAwe lightning and thunder]] in Japanese mythology (hell, the name itself literally means "lightning god") who is also known by another name: ''Raiden'' (which so happens to mean "lightning", too). Bonus points for Raiden the character having an [[ShockAndAwe electric/lightning]] motif that goes back to [=MGS4=]. "I am lightning, the rain transformed," indeed.
*In Sam's DLC, he tells Bladewolf the [=LQ-84i=] that the latter lost because he it wasn't fighting for his its own reasons. When Sam and Raiden first fight, the former gets the upper hand when the latter begins to question his reason for fighting, and when [[spoiler:when Raiden finally defeats Sam, it may have been because Sam didn't believe in the cause he was fighting for (he could obviously not (since he couldn't care less about Desperado & Armstrong's actual ambitions).
* The game's tagline of "Cut At Will, Cut What You Will", while seemingly remarking on the Blade Mode gimmick, actually is also quite an apt description of game's themes, too. Raiden is able to determine his own destiny, and lets nothing control his desires. The blade is in his hand now.
ambitions)]].
* While all other boss songs are sung from theboss' boss's point of view, "It Has to Be this Way" has drawn debate over whether it's supposed to be Raiden from Raiden's or [[spoiler:Armstrong]]. [[spoiler:Armstrong]]'s perspective. However, the ambiguity was intentional: the point of the song is to highlight the similarities between Raiden and the final boss.
-->"''Buttwo.
-->''"But maybe we're both the same...''"
* Armstrong dismissing Raiden's HF Blade as a knife before breaking it might be just to show off how powerful his nanomachines are, but it adds several layers of brilliance: After breaking it, the sword's blade does have the length of a knife. The very first weapon Raiden ever wielded in his childhood is a knife.
"''
* The last time Raiden sees Sam before their boss fight is outside the WorldMarshall Headquarters.Marshal headquarters. Since you never see him on the way up, it's a safe bet to assume he left via the heliport on the roof. When you fight him later, talking to Bladewolf Blade Wolf over Codec has him mention a World Marshall Marshal helicopter crashed in the area. After the later reveal that [[spoiler: Sam [[spoiler:Sam was having a HeelRealization]] before the fight, one wonders if maybe [[spoiler: Sam was the one who brought down the chopper so they couldn't attack SOLIS Headquarters]].Solis headquarters]].
** [[spoiler:"Jetstream" Sam, nicknamed after very narrow and very fast air currents that circulate around the earth, is
**
* Throughout ''Rising'', take a look at each battle you fight and you'll see that the fighting styles of each boss you fight show a devolving process. You start out with giant war mechs (Metal Gear RAY, and Khamsin too if you want to go chronologically), then move on to Bladewolf and Mistral, who don't stick out too much but are the most complex and advanced. Move on to Monsoon, who instead uses sai and smoke bombs, then to Sundowner, who fights basically with swords, shields, and brute force. Then move on to Sam, who fights with a sword and his bare hands. Finally, after Excelcus, you fight the real boss--Armstrong, who fights with nothing but his fists.
* Related to the above, the boss fights show an evolution in levels of the cultish "strong prey upon the weak" ideology among World Marshall's leaders. Metal Gear RAY is a weapon in service of their belief. Khamsin is a blind believer in World Marshall's rhetoric that they fight for freedom, as he's not considered worthy enough to know their true goals. Bladewolf is enslaved by their tenets, and doesn't know why it's that way. Mistral is a fresh convert to the cause who's rejoicing in the purpose she now has. Monsoon is someone who actively preaches his understanding of the nihilistic doctrine, along with trying to bring new believers into the fold. Sundowner leads the cult in its operations and believes in World Marshall's ideas of might makes right, but works to bring about their heaven for selfish reasons. Sam was forcefully converted and willingly gave up his individual freedom, but is trying to find someone [[SuicideByCop strong enough to kill him]]. Armstrong is the one who created their ideology and convinced the Winds of Destruction to join him, embodies it through body and mind, and is striving towards his idea of paradise on Earth because he believes it's the only way to save his country.
* George's reference to the [[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles TMNT]] movie was amusing by itself, but it gets funnier once you realize three of the Winds of Destruction are essentially using the Turtles' weapons. Jetstream Sam uses a sword (Leonardo), Monsoon uses sais (Raphael), and Mistral uses a staff (Donatello). The odd one out is Sundowner, who uses pincer blades instead of nunchakus (Michelangelo), and even then, he can chain them together to form what looks like giant bladed nunchaku, though they function more like giant scissors.
* Parallels exist between Peace Walker and Revengeance: the Peace Sentinels and Desperado Enforcement LLC are both antagonistic private military organizations who mean to cause chaos for their own reasons and have a red and black color scheme. On the other side of the spectrum, the MSF and Maverick are heroic [=PMCs=] who primarily consist of soldiers who have nowhere else to go to and take contracts that are more defensive in nature. The same parallels also show up in The Phantom Pain; a small time recently formed private military lead by a famous hero, who gradually descends into a violent demon of battle, fighting against an American war crimes group [[spoiler:lead by a government official who, with the help of a metal gear, plans to create a world controlled by sheer destructive potential.]] Even the meta shows some parallel growth, both deviating from the series' trademark stealth-shooting and wacky jokes into a much more action oriented, mainstream genre with stealth components and serious, gritty plotlines regarding child soldiers and war profiteering.
* A maverick is someone who has unorthodox belief systems, and makes an explicit effort to act against the common
* It is rather amusing that the Patriots were working on a perpetual motion machine as the Doktor reveals. The Patriots claimed in Metal Gear Solid 2 that they would always exist, that their memes would always reside within America, in effect making them a form of "perpetual motion" too. The Doktor notes that they were close to succeeding in this perpetual motion machine but ultimately its success was halted when they were destroyed. The irony of course is that the Patriots failed to create both forms of perpetual motion.
* Although, one of the things mentioned by Sundowner and Armstrong is that while the Patriots and their actual War Economy may be gone, their memes are still alive and well. The military industrial complex and certainly [=PMC=]s like World Marshall and Desperado are only around and were only able to get as big as they have thanks to the system the Patriots first set up after all, and the Patriot ideas of information control and advertisements lead directly to World Marshall's success. Armstrong even goes so far as proclaim that they're ''all'' Sons of the Patriots now. So in a way, while the Patriots may not have finished their designs of "perpetual motion" those designs didn't die with them either.
* The Sears Program shares similarities with the S3
* Raiden's skill with swords has always seemed somewhat out of place in the Metal Gear universe, with it's emphasis on gun porn and military fetishism. Even though this game does an adequate job of explaining why bladed weapons have become so in vogue
* Thanks to the DLC chapter, we have new FridgeBrilliance about
*
** Sam's DLC also
*
** On a more
*
* Monsoon's body is obviously specialized to counter slashes. On top of that, his choice of weapon is the sai, a weapon well-known for its ability to snap blades, specifically katanas. Monsoon is an anti-samurai weapon! Worse yet, if his concept were taken even farther he would have been that much more a nightmare. If he heavily magnetized objects they'd become immune to cutting since they'd still be held together by magnetic force. The magnetic attraction could also mess
* Also on Monsoon,
* During
* There have been complaints that Sam can't stealth-kill enemies in the Jetstream DLC, but it makes sense when you think about it. As a samurai-like BloodKnight who prefers honourable battles, Sam doesn't bother with stealth kills, since there's nothing honourable about them.
* The final boss fight from Sam's DLC does a good job at proving that
** This also shows how much stronger Raiden
* As noted under ArtisticLicenseHistory, Raiden's assertion of the
* At the end of the Jetstream DLC,
* Mistral's weapon fits her theme
* Parallels could be drawn from the fighting styles
* The Blade Wolf DLC provides an explanation for why Wolf refused to shake Raiden's hand when he offered. When Blade Wolf first tried to
*
*
* The game's tagline of "Cut At Will, Cut What You Will", while seemingly remarking on the Blade Mode gimmick, actually is also quite an apt description of game's themes, too. Raiden is able to determine his own destiny, and lets nothing control his desires. The blade is in his hand now.
* While all other boss songs are sung from the
-->"''But
-->''"But maybe we're both the same...
* Armstrong dismissing Raiden's HF Blade as a knife before breaking it might be just to show off how powerful his nanomachines are, but it adds several layers of brilliance: After breaking it, the sword's blade does have the length of a knife. The very first weapon Raiden ever wielded in his childhood is a knife.
* The last time Raiden sees Sam before their boss fight is outside the World
Changed line(s) 60,67 (click to see context) from:
* When fighting Sam in the [[HopelessBossFight unwinnable fight]] on the train, he [[EyeScream slices out Raidens eye]] with an upwards vertical slash. What's interesting is that if you look at Sam's face, he has a scar in the exact same place. It seems like Sam has had this attack used on him in the past, and may even have [[PowerCopying learned it from having it used on him.]]
* When Blade Wolf is escaping from Desparado and Mistral, it uses his boss theme instead of the regular battle theme. Now, remember that his theme is "I'm My Own Master Now". It fits that this song is used when Blade Wolf thinks he's escaping, and wanting his own freedom.
* Senator Armstrong's NoPartyGiven entry mentions that his tie is neither Democrat blue or Republican red, but rather yellow. Yellow isn't associated with any major American parties, but it ''is'' associated with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarcho-capitalism anarcho-capitalism]], which (among other things) would replace government-run military and law enforcement groups with PrivateMilitaryContractors and LawEnforcementInc As bankroller of Desperado and de-facto CEO of World Marshal, that's Armstrong's M.O. in a nutshell. Even when taking the more idealistic interpretation of his vision (which would be closer to individualist anarchism or libertarianism), Armstrong would still be at the top of the food chain. [[FridgeHorror How much would things really change for the common man?]]
* Sharp observation or reflection would realize that it's easy to assume Sam [[spoiler: isn't a full cyborg]], every appearance he's in where he fights, plus the Jetstream DLC, he never does any boggling feat of super strength like Raiden, Sundowner or Armstrong, nor does he show bizarre or semi-supernatural abilities like Monsoon; all of his feats are pure speed and reflex. This neatly avoids the realistic complications that MGS is fond of smattering here and there, if he likely tried it, his spine would snap like a trig because the body under the suit is still human, which accelerating reflexes is something the suits are on record as allowing one to do.
[[AC:FridgeHorror]]
* Armstrong being UnskilledButStrong.... even being no match for Raiden's actual SKILL, he was EASILY capable of wiping the floor with him through sheer brute strength without the one-of-a-kind Murasama blade. What if Armstrong had undergone Hand-to-hand combat training.... or the Tech used for his augmentations leaked?
* In [[EndingFatigue one of the many endings of]] ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots Metal Gear Solid 4]]'', Rose made damn sure Raiden quit being a sociopath by [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments showing her relationship with Campbell was a lie to hide Raiden's son from the Patriots.]] If Raiden hasn't quit being a mercenary at this point, and probably [[NewMediaAreEvil not being a role model for his son]], he's either snapped as they were [[StuffedInTheFridge killed off]] or [[AxCrazy Raiden's gone full PTSD and waved buh-bye to reality]]. Either way, [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope this change of pace]] does not [[KarmicDeath bode well]] for ''Franchise/MetalGear''[='s=] [[WarIsHell message]], [[WildMassGuessing as Raiden may have become a]] VillainProtagonist.
* When Blade Wolf is escaping from Desparado and Mistral, it uses his boss theme instead of the regular battle theme. Now, remember that his theme is "I'm My Own Master Now". It fits that this song is used when Blade Wolf thinks he's escaping, and wanting his own freedom.
* Senator Armstrong's NoPartyGiven entry mentions that his tie is neither Democrat blue or Republican red, but rather yellow. Yellow isn't associated with any major American parties, but it ''is'' associated with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarcho-capitalism anarcho-capitalism]], which (among other things) would replace government-run military and law enforcement groups with PrivateMilitaryContractors and LawEnforcementInc As bankroller of Desperado and de-facto CEO of World Marshal, that's Armstrong's M.O. in a nutshell. Even when taking the more idealistic interpretation of his vision (which would be closer to individualist anarchism or libertarianism), Armstrong would still be at the top of the food chain. [[FridgeHorror How much would things really change for the common man?]]
* Sharp observation or reflection would realize that it's easy to assume Sam [[spoiler: isn't a full cyborg]], every appearance he's in where he fights, plus the Jetstream DLC, he never does any boggling feat of super strength like Raiden, Sundowner or Armstrong, nor does he show bizarre or semi-supernatural abilities like Monsoon; all of his feats are pure speed and reflex. This neatly avoids the realistic complications that MGS is fond of smattering here and there, if he likely tried it, his spine would snap like a trig because the body under the suit is still human, which accelerating reflexes is something the suits are on record as allowing one to do.
[[AC:FridgeHorror]]
* Armstrong being UnskilledButStrong.... even being no match for Raiden's actual SKILL, he was EASILY capable of wiping the floor with him through sheer brute strength without the one-of-a-kind Murasama blade. What if Armstrong had undergone Hand-to-hand combat training.... or the Tech used for his augmentations leaked?
* In [[EndingFatigue one of the many endings of]] ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots Metal Gear Solid 4]]'', Rose made damn sure Raiden quit being a sociopath by [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments showing her relationship with Campbell was a lie to hide Raiden's son from the Patriots.]] If Raiden hasn't quit being a mercenary at this point, and probably [[NewMediaAreEvil not being a role model for his son]], he's either snapped as they were [[StuffedInTheFridge killed off]] or [[AxCrazy Raiden's gone full PTSD and waved buh-bye to reality]]. Either way, [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope this change of pace]] does not [[KarmicDeath bode well]] for ''Franchise/MetalGear''[='s=] [[WarIsHell message]], [[WildMassGuessing as Raiden may have become a]] VillainProtagonist.
to:
* When fighting Sam in the [[HopelessBossFight unwinnable fight]] on the train, he [[EyeScream slices out Raidens eye]] with an upwards vertical slash. What's interesting is that if you look at Sam's face, he has a scar in the exact same place. It seems like Sam has had this attack used on him in the past, and may even have [[PowerCopying learned it from having it used on him.]]
* When Blade Wolf[=LQ-84i=] is escaping from Desparado Desperado and Mistral, it uses his its boss theme is used instead of the regular battle theme. Now, remember that his said theme is "I'm My Own Master Now". It Now", so it fits that this song is used when Blade Wolf [[spoiler:it thinks he's escaping, it's escaping]], and wanting his own freedom.
* Senator Armstrong's NoPartyGiven entry mentions that his tieit feels like its freedom is neither Democrat blue or Republican red, but rather yellow. Yellow isn't associated with any major American parties, but it ''is'' associated with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarcho-capitalism anarcho-capitalism]], which (among other things) would replace government-run military and law enforcement groups with PrivateMilitaryContractors and LawEnforcementInc As bankroller of Desperado and de-facto CEO of World Marshal, that's Armstrong's M.O. in a nutshell. Even when taking the more idealistic interpretation of his vision (which would be closer to individualist anarchism or libertarianism), Armstrong would still be at the top of the food chain. [[FridgeHorror How much would things really change for the common man?]]
within reach.
* Sharp observation or reflection would realize that it's easy to assumeSam [[spoiler: that [[spoiler:Sam, right arm aside, isn't a full cyborg]], given that every appearance he's time he fights (including in where he fights, plus the Jetstream DLC, DLC), he never does any boggling feat of super strength like doesn't display the same SuperStrength as Raiden, Sundowner or Armstrong, nor does he show [[spoiler:Armstrong]], or the same bizarre or semi-supernatural abilities like as Monsoon; all of his feats are he relies on pure speed and reflex. This neatly avoids the realistic complications that MGS is games are fond of smattering here and there, since if he likely tried it, to do what he does without his [[PoweredArmor suit]], his still-human spine would snap like a trig because the twig.
!!FridgeHorror
* Monsoon's bodyunder is obviously specialized to counter slashes. On top of that, his choice of weapon is the suit sai, a weapon with the ability to disarm those wielding a katana. Monsoon is an anti-samurai weapon! Worse yet, if his concept was taken even further, he would have been that much more of a nightmare; objects that were magnetized enough could become immune to cutting, since they'd still human, which accelerating reflexes is something be held together by magnetic force. The magnetism could also mess with Raiden's precision during Blade Mode as well, to say nothing about what it could do to his cyborg body. It's no wonder that in codec calls, Raiden mentions he would have definitely lost [[NiceJobFixingItVillain if he didn't enter Ripper Mode just before the suits are on record as allowing one to do.
[[AC:FridgeHorror]]
fight]].
*Armstrong [[spoiler:Armstrong]] being UnskilledButStrong.... UnskilledButStrong; even being no match for Raiden's actual SKILL, ''skill'', he was EASILY ''easily'' capable of wiping the floor with him through sheer brute strength without the one-of-a-kind Murasama blade. What if Armstrong had he'd undergone Hand-to-hand hand-to-hand combat training.... training... or the Tech used for tech behind his augmentations was leaked?
* In [[EndingFatigue one of the many endings of]] ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots Metal Gear Solid 4]]'', Rose made damn sure Raiden quit being a sociopath by [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments showing that her relationship with Campbell was a lie to hide Raiden's son from the Patriots.]] If Raiden hasn't quit being a mercenary (for his family's sake) at this point,and probably [[NewMediaAreEvil not being a role model for his son]], he's either snapped as they were [[StuffedInTheFridge killed off]] off]], unbeknownst to Raiden, or that [[AxCrazy Raiden's he's gone full PTSD and waved buh-bye to reality]]. Either way, [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope this change of pace]] does not [[KarmicDeath does not bode well]] for ''Franchise/MetalGear''[='s=] [[WarIsHell message]], as Raiden [[WildMassGuessing as Raiden may have become a]] VillainProtagonist.
* When Blade Wolf
* Senator Armstrong's NoPartyGiven entry mentions that his tie
* Sharp observation or reflection would realize that it's easy to assume
!!FridgeHorror
* Monsoon's body
[[AC:FridgeHorror]]
*
* In [[EndingFatigue one of the many endings of]] ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots Metal Gear Solid 4]]'', Rose made damn sure Raiden quit being a sociopath by [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments showing that her relationship with Campbell was a lie to hide Raiden's son from the Patriots.]] If Raiden hasn't quit being a mercenary (for his family's sake) at this point,
Changed line(s) 69,73 (click to see context) from:
* Here's Fridge Melancholia for you: even in a stable world without the Patriots, where people are truly free but without needing to go back to the days of warrior cultures and civilian serfs, the war economy made it so that mercenaries who actually enjoy war are now the dominant force in armies, rather than actual governmental soldiers-and fairly glamorous mercenaries who are respected by the civilian populace, at that. In effect, despite everything Snake and Philanthropy did, the world became Outer Heaven anyway.
* Were Big Boss and Liquid right all along? They both claimed that in this world there would always be people that wanted to fight, and that such men would have a natural compulsion to create an environment where they will always be able to fight. War has changed to the point where it isn't about power, money or even sex... men like them do it for the thrill of battle alone. War is fought for the sake of war itself. The present state of the world seems to coincide with what Big Boss and Liquid believed to be true.
* Notice all the {{Shout Out}}s to previous ''Metal Gear'' games? One of them was Senator Armstrong telling Raiden that they have similar philosophies, similar to Gene suggesting that Big Boss become the successor to his cause. Big Boss, who had an EyepatchOfPower. Big Boss, who became a StrangerInAFamiliarLand. Big Boss, who tried to avoid becoming [[BloodKnight addicted to the battle]], but failed due to necessity. Big Boss, who was manipulated and nearly killed by the Patriots. Big Boss, who was a ChildSoldier--[[{{Expy}} Oh]] [[HereWeGoAgain shit]].
* In the ending of the Jetstream DLC, [[spoiler: Armstrong]] defeats Sam, which causes him to join Desperado and befriend Armstrong. Now, remember the cutscene near the end of the main campaign where [[spoiler: Armstrong extends a hand to Raiden after beating him up]]? He was trying to do THE EXACT SAME THING TO RAIDEN. Fortunately, Raiden refuses to give up against him, but [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt imagine if Raiden joined Desperado...]]
* Raiden had [[VideogamePerversityPotential less than consensual options]] with hostages and other vulnerable people [[WhatTheHellPlayer called out in disgust by his codec contacts.]] He retains this with the sword stripping of hostages despite not being into guys. This consistency implies that he has a fetish for sexually exploiting the helpless - combined horrifically with his ChildSoldier past and this aspect of him is far less repressed than his ripper persona.
* Were Big Boss and Liquid right all along? They both claimed that in this world there would always be people that wanted to fight, and that such men would have a natural compulsion to create an environment where they will always be able to fight. War has changed to the point where it isn't about power, money or even sex... men like them do it for the thrill of battle alone. War is fought for the sake of war itself. The present state of the world seems to coincide with what Big Boss and Liquid believed to be true.
* Notice all the {{Shout Out}}s to previous ''Metal Gear'' games? One of them was Senator Armstrong telling Raiden that they have similar philosophies, similar to Gene suggesting that Big Boss become the successor to his cause. Big Boss, who had an EyepatchOfPower. Big Boss, who became a StrangerInAFamiliarLand. Big Boss, who tried to avoid becoming [[BloodKnight addicted to the battle]], but failed due to necessity. Big Boss, who was manipulated and nearly killed by the Patriots. Big Boss, who was a ChildSoldier--[[{{Expy}} Oh]] [[HereWeGoAgain shit]].
* In the ending of the Jetstream DLC, [[spoiler: Armstrong]] defeats Sam, which causes him to join Desperado and befriend Armstrong. Now, remember the cutscene near the end of the main campaign where [[spoiler: Armstrong extends a hand to Raiden after beating him up]]? He was trying to do THE EXACT SAME THING TO RAIDEN. Fortunately, Raiden refuses to give up against him, but [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt imagine if Raiden joined Desperado...]]
* Raiden had [[VideogamePerversityPotential less than consensual options]] with hostages and other vulnerable people [[WhatTheHellPlayer called out in disgust by his codec contacts.]] He retains this with the sword stripping of hostages despite not being into guys. This consistency implies that he has a fetish for sexually exploiting the helpless - combined horrifically with his ChildSoldier past and this aspect of him is far less repressed than his ripper persona.
to:
* Here's Fridge Melancholia for you: even in a stable world without the Patriots, where people are can be truly free but without needing to go back to the days of warrior cultures and civilian serfs, the war economy made it so that mercenaries who actually enjoy war are now the dominant force in armies, rather than actual governmental soldiers-and fairly glamorous mercenaries soldiers and mercs who are respected by the civilian populace, at that.populace. In effect, despite everything Snake and Philanthropy did, the world became Outer Heaven anyway.
* Were Big Boss and Liquid right all along? They both claimed that in thisworld world, there would always be people that wanted to fight, and that such men would have a natural compulsion to create an environment where they will always be able to fight. War has changed to the point where it isn't about power, money money, or even sex... sex; men like them do it for the thrill of battle alone. War is fought for the sake of war itself. The present state of the world seems to coincide with what Big Boss and Liquid believed to be true.
* Senator Armstrong's NoPartyGiven entry mentions that his tie is neither Democrat blue or Republican red, but rather yellow. Yellow isn't associated with any major American parties, but it ''is'' associated with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarcho-capitalism anarcho-capitalism]], which (among other things) would replace government-run military and law enforcement groups with PrivateMilitaryContractors and LawEnforcementInc [[spoiler:As bankroller of Desperado and de-facto CEO of World Marshal, that's Armstrong's M.O. in a nutshell. Even when taking into account the more idealistic interpretation of his vision (which would be closer to individualist anarchism or libertarianism), Armstrong would still be at the top of the food chain. [[FridgeHorror How much would things really change for the common man?]]]]
* Notice all the {{Shout Out}}s to previous ''Metal Gear'' games? One of them was Senator Armstrong telling Raiden thatthey the two have similar philosophies, similar to Gene suggesting that Big Boss become the successor to his cause. Big Boss, who had an EyepatchOfPower. Big Boss, who became a StrangerInAFamiliarLand. Big Boss, who tried to avoid becoming [[BloodKnight addicted to the battle]], but failed due to necessity. Big Boss, who was manipulated and nearly killed by the Patriots. Big Boss, who was a ChildSoldier--[[{{Expy}} ChildSoldier--''[[{{Expy}} Oh]] [[HereWeGoAgain shit]].
shit]]''.
* In the ending of the Jetstream DLC,[[spoiler: Armstrong]] [[spoiler:Armstrong]] defeats Sam, which causes him to join Desperado and befriend Armstrong. Desperado. Now, remember the cutscene near the end of the main campaign where [[spoiler: Armstrong extends offers Raiden a hand to Raiden after beating him up]]? He was trying to do THE EXACT SAME THING TO RAIDEN. ''the exact same thing to Raiden''. Fortunately, Raiden refuses to give up against him, into his demands, but [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt imagine if Raiden he joined Desperado...]]
* In ''[=MGS2=]'', Raiden had [[VideogamePerversityPotential less than consensual options]] with hostages and other vulnerable people [[WhatTheHellPlayer called out in disgust by his codeccontacts.]] contacts]]. He retains this with the sword stripping of hostages hostages, despite not being into guys. This consistency implies that he has a fetish {{fetish}} for sexually exploiting the helpless - helpless, combined horrifically with his ChildSoldier past past, and this aspect of him is far less repressed than his ripper Ripper persona.
* Were Big Boss and Liquid right all along? They both claimed that in this
* Senator Armstrong's NoPartyGiven entry mentions that his tie is neither Democrat blue or Republican red, but rather yellow. Yellow isn't associated with any major American parties, but it ''is'' associated with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarcho-capitalism anarcho-capitalism]], which (among other things) would replace government-run military and law enforcement groups with PrivateMilitaryContractors and LawEnforcementInc [[spoiler:As bankroller of Desperado and de-facto CEO of World Marshal, that's Armstrong's M.O. in a nutshell. Even when taking into account the more idealistic interpretation of his vision (which would be closer to individualist anarchism or libertarianism), Armstrong would still be at the top of the food chain. [[FridgeHorror How much would things really change for the common man?]]]]
* Notice all the {{Shout Out}}s to previous ''Metal Gear'' games? One of them was Senator Armstrong telling Raiden that
* In the ending of the Jetstream DLC,
* In ''[=MGS2=]'', Raiden had [[VideogamePerversityPotential less than consensual options]] with hostages and other vulnerable people [[WhatTheHellPlayer called out in disgust by his codec
