PlatinumGames’ Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is an amazing hack and slash action game, but the title is also worth playing purely for its treasure trove of memes. Released in 2013, the fast-paced adventure takes a dramatic turn away from the stealthy Tactical Espionage Action that defines the main Metal Gear installments. Metal Gear Rising was also directed by Kenji Saito, rather than franchise creator and gaming icon Hideo Kojima, though many consider it a worthy entry in the beloved series. Despite being a Metal Gear game without Hideo Kojima, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance has established its own legacy thanks to both its intense combat systems and hilarious internet memes.
While most Metal Gear games cast players as sneaky human operatives like Solid Snake and Big Boss, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance puts players in the heavy robotic shoes of cyborg ninja Raiden. The novice soldier was the main protagonist of the incredibly meta Metal Gear Solid 2, and in Metal Gear Solid 4 the divisive figure returned as an extremely powerful and acrobatic sword-wielding cyborg warrior. Metal Gear Rising is an action game rather than a stealth game, since Raiden retains his superhuman abilities and weaponry, with players facing fellow cyborg soldiers and massive mechanic threats like Metal Gear Ray and Metal Gear Excelsus head-on. Despite belonging to a completely different game genre, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance still honors the series by including reoccurring elements like colorful bosses, CODEC radio calls, and completely bizarre moments.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is not only an intense cyborg combat simulator, it is also totally absurd and often hilarious. The game’s tone perfectly fits with the rest of the Metal Gear series, which often flops back and forth between emotionally resonant and completely ridiculous. Many of the optional CODEC calls in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance are very funny, adding personality to Raiden and his supporting cast, and the game’s villains are completely over the top in the best way. Even Metal Gear fans who fail to appreciate PlatinumGames’ high-octane combat system should play through Metal Gear Rising just for the sweet, sweet memes that it has inspired.
Metal Gear Rising’s Sundowner Is Practically A Meme Factory
Perhaps the most recognizable Metal Gear Rising meme image is of Sundowner, a massive cyborg warrior who taunts Raiden throughout the game. He shows up in the opening level to mock the cyborg samurai while murdering a noble African prime minister named N’Mani. This event kickstarts the events of the game proper, and Sundowner returns hours later for an intense boss fight atop a skyscraper in Colorado. Raiden eventually bests Sundowner, destroying his shield and chopping his robotic body into pieces, but not before the Metal Gear Rising antagonist leaves his mark as a legendary meme.
Without uttering even a single word, Sundowner’s cocky grin cements him as one of Metal Gear Rising’s most iconic characters. Images of his face, which typically wears a grin that expresses both murderous joy and smug superiority, can be found all across the internet. The Metal Gear Rising meme potential becomes even more hilarious when Sundowner does speak, with Crispin Freeman delivering the villain’s dastardly lines with perfect bloodthirsty glee. One particularly memorable meme originates from Sundowner’s boss fight when he claims to Raiden that he is “f***ing invincible!” in a boisterous fashion.
Monsoon Literally Talks About Memes In Metal Gear Rising
While Sundowner is a constant source of memes whenever he appears on screen, Metal Gear Rising boss Monsoon actually talks about memes in-depth. The dexterous cyborg’s body is made up of various different segments, allowing him to easily evade Raiden’s sword swipes. He can also use magnetism powers to manipulate metal objects, making him a truly deadly threat in the futuristic world of Metal Gear Rising. Monsoon also uses the word “meme” in Metal Gear Rising almost constantly, making him a popular source of online images and reactions. His claim that, “We are all pawns, controlled by something greater: Memes.” is a particularly popular phrase quoted by internet aficionados.
While memes are most well-known as funny internet images, the term actually refers to any idea or concept that spreads across a culture through observation and imitation. “Meme” is the central theme of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and most of Monsoon’s dialogue focuses on analyzing the concept. While the discussion is meant to be philosophical and academic, the spread of internet memes has turned Monsoon’s dialogue in Metal Gear Rising into a joke. Throughout his hectic boss fight, the sai-wielding cyborg calls memes “The DNA of the soul” and calls justice a “pretty meme.” When the player finally defeats him, Raiden climactically claims that “[Monsoon’s] memes… end here.“
Metal Gear Rising’s Armstrong Is Icing On The Meme Cake
Sundowner and Monsoon are the sources of many hilarious Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance moments, but Senator Steven Armstrong is the true king of memes. The game’s climax sees Raiden destroy the massive Metal Gear Excelsus, only to be confronted by a seemingly ordinary state senator from Colorado. However, Armstrong quickly reveals that he is a massively powerful supersoldier enhanced by nanomachines, and he serves as the relentless and legendary final boss of Metal Gear Rising: Revengenace.
Nearly every line of dialogue spouted by Senator Armstrong has become a meme and for good reason. Out of all the twists in Metal Gear games, the reveal of Armstrong’s superpowers and over-the-top villainy is easily the funniest. He greets Raiden as “saucy Jack” and a “slippery little bastard” before tossing the unstoppable cyborg ninja around like a rag doll. He claims to be making “the mother of all omelets,” reveals that he “played college ball” at the University of Texas, and tells the robotic hero not to “f**k with this senator” amidst applause from an invisible crowd. Basically, everything about Senator Steven Armstrong is five-star meme material, and fans have milked the character for everything he’s worth.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is an intense action game worthy of a place in Hideo Kojima’s stealth action franchise. The game’s story delves into Raiden’s character, delivers memorable boss fights, and lets players become an unstoppable cyborg ninja. However, the memes inspired by Metal Gear Rising might be the action title’s greatest legacy of all.
