While Metal Gear Solid has been out of the spotlight for a few years now, the journey of the Snakes is still fresh in fans’ minds. With an all-star voice cast, genre-advancing stealth gameplay, and surprisingly prescient writing, the games remain all-time classics, and there is a lot of clamor for the series to continue. However, should Konami ever revisit Metal Gear (which is a big question in and of itself), it will find that the story of usual protagonists Solid Snake and Naked Snake have been almost entirely tapped. It feels like there’s nothing else that can be meaningfully done with these characters, especially after their grand send-off in Metal Gear Solid 4.
Fortunately, there is still Raiden. This naive Solid Snake replacement from Metal Gear Solid 2 was controversial at the time, but as people began to understand the complex narrative he was wrapped in, as well as experience his adventures in Metal Gear Rising after he was reborn as a cyborg, Raiden began gathering fans all on his own. Konami would be well-served to recognize this, as Raiden can cleanly fit in as the new series protagonist going forward, and doing so could potentially leave a lot of baggage in the past.
One era of the Metal Gear timeline that has been largely untapped is Raiden’s existence before Metal Gear Solid 2. Raised as a child soldier by Solidus Snake, Raiden has a past full of trauma and fighting that could make for a great Metal Gear Rising prequel. Players could take Raiden through his nightmarish childhood in a sort of stealth action-horror experience, slipping in and out of the Jack the Ripper persona as the story demands it. If nothing else, it presents an area of the world in a specific time period where fans know important things are happening, but not what they are.
If that is too dark for even Metal Gear to touch, then there’s no problem: the theoretical Metal Gear Rising prequel could instead focus on adult Raiden’s training. It’s well known that Raiden did the majority of his military training in VR, something players have already experienced. This could be expanded to a full game, and could even span both the human and cyborg eras of Raiden’s life. This way, players could be treated to both classic Metal Gear Solid gameplay, and the more action-oriented Metal Gear Rising combat in the same title.
Of course, no one will be content with a story that just lives in the past. A true sequel to Metal Gear Rising could give the franchise the shot in the arm it so desperately needs. While the first Rising ended strong and wrapped up its plot, there are still plenty of happenings in the Metal Gear world that could be addressed. The rise of robotics and cybernetics, the persistence of nanomachines, and the continued development of private military contractors of all shapes and sizes is ripe for exploration. Even if the usual reflection of reality Kojima’s writing is known for isn’t present, it would still be a fun romp through an increasingly science fantasy-styled world.
That’s not even getting into Raiden’s role in it. At the end of Metal Gear Rising, Raiden is a public criminal after having fought through Denver’s police department and much of World Marshall’s forces. He still has the backing of his former PMC, as well as that of Sunny and Bladewolf. In spite of everything that happened, and realizing that he is starting to become what he hates, Raiden is determined to use his powerful bloodlust for good by waging war on corrupt PMCs. It would take a fair bit of brainstorming to come up with a good plot hook involving Raiden, especially after Rising said all it wanted to, but that hypothetical game would make for a great arcade-y action game regardless. Besides, Rising represents the current end of the Metal Gear timeline. It may be an intimidating venture, but fans around the globe would love to see what happens next.
The Metal Gear Solid franchise is on a sort of hiatus right now, but hopefully it will return soon and better than ever. Metal Gear Solid 5 was a great video game, but a disappointing Metal Gear game. As such, many fans would love to wash the taste of its ending out of their mouths. If Konami looks at the possibilities in front of it, it should become abundantly clear that continuing Raiden’s story could just be the best way to bring Metal Gear back.
No Metal Gear game is known to be in development.
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