Revengeance Review

An in-depth review of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, this video contains spoilers for the entire game.
Other Metal Gear reviews:
MGS1: • Metal Gear Solid Review
MGS2: • Metal Gear Solid 2 Review
MGS3: • Metal Gear Solid 3 Review
MGS4: • Metal Gear Solid 4 Review
Peace Walker: • Metal Gear Solid: Peac...

[@Matthewmatosis]

Being independent is important to me since major game sites depend on advertising dollars from publishers to stay afloat. It's basically a conflict of interest since they serve both publishers and readers. My only goals are producing content I'm proud of, entertaining my viewers and maybe, if I'm lucky, giving some useful feedback to developers. I like it this way. If you want to see me rewarded for my work then the best thing to do is share my videos with other people you think will enjoy them.

[@Grgrqr]

Does raiden have metal teeth on both the top and the bottom? Does his top row of teeth (if it is natural) hurt when he eats food with his metal teeth too??? Wait, DOES raiden even need to eat food?? Is the metal teeth actually the lips??

[@wuwei473]

@@Grgrqr I don’t know

[@kooldadnetwork5607]

​@@Grgrqr don't you EVER ask those kinds of questions

[@spouwnerring]

So when are you going to pin your comment?

[@postrock3374]

@@spouwnerring Shut up

[@Asiis]

It starts strong, ends strong and armstrong

[@Stigmaphobia777]

Possibly the most underrated comment on this video.

[@GiantTabby]

Stigmaphobia777 Underrated, eh? Let's fix that.

[@rebelpoxy]

Stigmaphobia777 Nanomachines, son!

[@MMMM-vq1yr]

start off fighting a gigantic mech, end with a senator.

[@hemangchauhan2864]

+Ezequiel Ayoroa Pushes the series HEADSTRONG

[@getsufuma2597]

How the bosses work in MGR:R: Metal Gear Ray: Learn the basics Wolf: Learn how to parry Mistral: Learn blade mode Monsoon: Get good at parrying Sundowner: Get good at blade mode Jetstream Sam: Have fun with what you've learned Metal Gear Excelsus: Get good at basic skills Armstrong: Put everything to the test

[@NightParadox]

+John Butch Couldn't have said it better

[@purvdragon-sensei]

Monsoon broke my limiter, and I raged so hard I just speed-parried everything he threw at me. Sundowner wasn't that hard though, especially if you invest on less Blade Mode consumption for your HF Blade. And you're definitely right about Sam, I had the most fun fighting him.

[@MrBorderlands123]

Purvdragon-sensei I hear its amazing when the famous purple stuffed worm in flap-jaw space with the tuning fork does a raw blink on Hari Kiri Rock. I need scissors! 61!

[@nailed999]

Never got good at blade mode on Sundowner coz its not needed =( I just dodged and hit his back. Blade mode on Armstrong was painful to master

[@sasaki999pro]

I didnt even know I could cut the shields OFF sundowner, I only used blade mode to break his guard a few times failing off and on, there was a completely different phase to his boss fight I missed for nearly three years I didnt even know his theme had any lyrics.

[@CowboyxWayne]

Metal Gear Excelsus isn't actually a metal gear. In one of the codecs, you learn that the company manufacturing them just called it a "metal gear: for marketing purposes, which is why it looks so odd.

[@TheAssassin642]

Pretty much like Metal Gear Rising :D

[@zeroattentiongaming820]

Technically Ray isn't a metal gear either. It lacks a nuclear payload, which is the entire purpose of a metal gear. Ray only gets the name as a technicallity because it was designed to defeat proper metal gears, and counts as a form of defense strategy against nuclear weapons. Anti Metal Gear is the most accurate description for it. Like in Peace Walker there are 3 other mech bosses but only Zeke and Peace Walker itself are actual metal gears due to their nuclear payload. Despite fighting two mechs called "Metal Gear" in it, Rising does not feature any true metal gears.

[@AdvancePlays]

It's supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek fourth wall break about how Revengeance isn't actually a Metal Gear game (in the sense of its total style shift) and the Metal Gear title was added for association credit.

[@Aladelicous]

"5 minutes in and your playing the game you payed money for." I love this line. Perfectly sums up why I hate tutorials in other games as well.

[@jackdaone6469]

It's a pity we'll never see a sequel to MGR unless someone liberates the Metal Gear license from Konami...

[@nihlesten5753]

It wouldn't be hard for Konami to make it themselves. After Survive, I expect Rising 2 to be 2nd on their list. You don't need Kojima to direct a spin-off.

[@jackdaone6469]

Konami’s more focused on shitty pachinko machines taking a shit on their series than actually continuing them.

[@Gadget-Walkmen]

????? THE FUCK??? He didn't direct a spin-off. The only reason for why MGR exist is because Kojima ASKED the guys at Platinum games to direct the game for him since his team couldn't do it on their own. Platinum games and Konami's relationship were partially nonexistence since then before he bridged the gap of the two companies but since Konami went nuts and started shutting fan mgs games that previously got the thumbs up, its hard to believe that they would actually support non-money grab products

[@junior1388666]

+Jack Daone a sequel to this game would be too good! konami makes me sad

[@SorowFame]

I think the best we can hope for is a spiritual successor, rather than a full sequel.

[@Matthewmatosis]

I can't see myself sticking to either classic or modern games. There's a lot of games I want to talk about new and old and I like mixing things up like that.

[@chopsoy7570]

turkey frames per second

[@tadhg8537]

Turty

[@Golem29]

Turty tree and a turd

[@basedchimera5859]

How dare you

[@captainitalia811]

The Metal Gear Ray Boss Fight gives me chills every time the music kicks up with the vocals

[@BerMaster5000]

RULES OF NATURE!

[@oddluck4180]

it goes with everything

[@RaithSienar]

Probably been mentioned before but Mistral had the extra Gecko arms as armor because her torso was natural, not cybernetic, you learn this by calling someone up during the fight.

[@quantumsheep545]

@1:30 You're not expected to, but you totally can parry almost all of Ray's attacks, and it's as awesome as you'd expect.

[@Greener221]

He knows. He's demonstrating how he believes most new players would go about this fight.

[@witchsniffer5764]

As for the new Jack persona. In Metal Gear Solid 2, it is hinted at that Raiden is far more cruel than he seems. After his past is exposed he admits to Snake that he enjoyed killing people. As for his over the top personality. Between the events of 2 and 4 and beyond Raiden has been training with his sword, the way he has done this is by watching Samurai films. This has also helped him to cope with the reality he faces. 'Raiden' has taken on the persona of a noble Samurai, his sword is a tool of justice that he uses to protect the weak. 'Jack' has logically taken on the persona of a Samurai movie villain. This results in the over the top dialogue from the both of them. In my opinion, Revengeance's portrayal of Raiden is a return to form for his character rather than a torpedoing (that would be MGS4).

[@NeutralObjections]

A decent point.

[@solidkenny2226]

And the whole point of his arc in MGS2 and 4 was that Snake was trying to teach Raiden that he doesn't have to be bound to his past. "You can find your own name, and your own future." MGR ruins that.

[@witchsniffer5764]

Solid Kenny That was only his arc in 2, in 4 it was about Raiden feeling abandoned by Rose due to all the Patriot shenanigans leading him into a suicidally reckless rampage against them because he had nothing else left. At the end he has to learn to trust Rose again and open up to his son. While MGS2 focused on his ability to choose the life he wanted rather than the one he was forced into, MGS4 and MGR tell us how the life he chose(fulfilling Olga's request to rescue Sunny) resulting in choice being taken away from him(PTSD and the safety of his child threatened by the patriots destroy his home life and helping Big Mama results in the loss of his body). You can argue that Raiden should have been left out after 2 and lived happily ever after but the fact is he was kept in and in order to make him interesting drama has to be added. While MGS games have explored the military potential of cybernetic enhancements MGR chose to cover the societal side of them. Much like Deus Ex, MGR talks about how cyborgs face discrimination for being robots with human brains. Cybernetics have grown through military development and are given to soldiers/PMCs who find it difficult to get a job outside the military that can pay for the medical bills so they remain military and find the easiest way to advance is by getting more and more enhancements. Raiden is apparently okay with PSC/PMC work as, until Desperado show up, things seem relatively peaceful. While he isn't bound to his past, Jetstream Sam purposefully goads his inner demons out of him.

[@solidkenny2226]

Witch Sniffer Actually, it was his arc in MGS4, too. "It was never going to work out for me. It even rained on the day I was born." Snake re-iterated his message to Raiden from MGS2. Before the Microwave Hall, he tells Raiden "You still have your youth. Don't waste it. You can start over." MGR pisses over Raiden's efforts to start over, undermining Snake/Kojima's message to Raiden/the player. If you call Doktor in Chapter 3, he explains to Raiden that there's all sorts of non-military jobs for cyborgs. He even references watching a German TV report about a cyborg plumber. Raiden doesn't say anything to counter Doktor's statements. He treats all of this as new information that he was unaware of. So Raiden in MGR is actually just an idiot who doesn't know how to read the want-ads.

[@witchsniffer5764]

Solid Kenny If there's one thing consistent about Raiden, it's his idiocy over things that aren't movie trivia.

[@Xerazal]

not sure if anyone else got the whole sam v raiden thing, but think about the name and how they fight. they fight like samurai. SAM and RAIden fight like SAMuRAI. I can't be the only one that saw that..

[@TheUntrainedNinja]

Xerazal You must be a genius

[@L33PL4Y]

Xerazal Holy fuck, this is brilliant. Thanks for pointing this out!

[@TheGeckoNinja]

Xerazal ....wooohh D:

[@rebelpoxy]

Xerazal Illuminati confirmed *mindblown

[@Tooopper]

+Xerazal Half Life 3 confirmed

[@inferior3199]

I miss the time before this game got bastardised by internet culture

[@shankypanky8879]

One thing missing from this review was how obscure the 'dodge' system is in this game which you need for those YELLOW grab attacks. Especially against Senator Armstrong. You must BUY a skill called 'Defensive Offence' that allows you to dodge the grabs and yellow attacks. I find this absurd and annoying. If you don't buy this skill or miss it, the only option is to run around, which breaks the flow of the combat completely and even looks comical in an otherwise excellent action game. Also, Senator Armstrong's AOE fire attacks significantly reduce the fighting space available, and the camera going crazy makes this fight very frustrating for no reason. Raiden also gets stuck between Armstrong and the arena wall many times. Other criticisms you already mentioned in this review perfectly.

[@tpx7414]

Yeah, i remember watching reviews where people complained about the lack of a dodge mechanic. Defensive offence should have been available from the start and the game should at least tell the player how to do it. Oh and they also chose the most awkward input for a dodge i've ever seen in any game

[@sanyadek]

It starts strong, Ends strong, Has Armstrong.

[@AesirAesthetics]

A bitter Irishman yells at menu screens. 10/10

[@SnakesGames]

I didn't necessarily hate George, but I didn't exactly like him either. He had his moments for me, but in the end, I'm indifferent to him.

[@Bigdaddymittens]

+Rionada Jackie He's already a demon

[@NightParadox]

+Hayden Onion except he isn't

[@cloudenvy112]

"I've never been interested in other people's lives."

[@Dread24]

I bet that's how Big Boss felt about the other George too.

[@propheci]

Thankfully, hes only in-game a short while...he isn't in the game long enough to wear out his welcome.

[@SWIFTzTrigger]

I agree, if they ever make a sequel that actually builds and improves on this... oh boy that will be something else. This was already everything cranked up to 11, so idk where they can go from this. I also feel they should have made a DLC that focussed just on the events between MGS2 and 4 or maybe the sequel can cover that.

[@GeneralErlend]

I'm some years late on this, but the DLC you wished for was essentially what you were going to get with MGR, but changed their minds later down the line. Guess we'll never get a sequel now that Phonami is busy with their mobile games.

[@MayanGodofTacos]

Starting the Game: "Huh... this game looks interesting. I think I'll like it." First Instances of Combat: "Pretty smooth combat so far, I can get into this..." Introduction of Boss: "I GOTTA FIGHT THAT!?" Getting Into the Boss: "Fuck yeah! This is awesome!" QTE Sequence: "OHMYFUCKINGGODYESTHISISTHEBESTTHINGEVERMYBRAINISMEALTING FROMTHEAWESOMENESSRULESOFNATUREYESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@Gimfigle496]

Press square when lining up your cut to cut in the exact angle.

[@Greener221]

And how was anyone supposed to figure that out? Especially when the only time it's really important is during the Armstrong fight?

[@Gimfigle496]

***** By playing the game and experimenting with the controls.

[@dedeedo9355]

Gimfigle496 True

[@BaneDane_JB]

I've been playing the game since launch and didn't notice this.... THUD THUD THUD (Proceeds to suffer brain trauma form slamming face firmly into desk.)

[@jakewolf079]

Gimfigle496 nah, I just google it

[@Bi_scotti_5]

Welcome to the first in a series of one video on the Metal Gear Rising series

[@tigertim620]

"Nanomachines, son!"

[@Matthewmatosis]

That's true but guns work on a second button and the R1 button + direction modifies the attacks a lot more than the R1 button does in Revengeance probably because the fixed camera in DMC makes this more reliable. Then there's dynamic weapon switching as well as a style meter which push it further than Revengeance. I admire the combat in DMC (esp. 3) and would love for Revengeance to take a bit more complexity from that series. They still could have used the circle button for something though.

[@dejureclaims8214]

Still waiting on that MGS5 review, Matt. It'll be the KZbin highlight of my year, no doubt.

[@glitchwalker5422]

De Jure Claims Still waiting

[@shukterhousejive]

WRT the weapon-switching, Platinum has done games where you could switch weapons, but MGR uses far too many system resources to allow 2 weapons loaded into memory at once, hence the classic menu

[@TheKatamariguy]

Did you listen to the codec conversations? They put a lot of writing work into this game.

[@pkshd]

CAUTION: This comment contains spoilers, but so does the video, so I guess its alright. I'm personally of the opinion that the Peace Walker allusions were deliberate with the final chapter. Both big boss and Raiden have Jack as their (supposed) real names, both lost an eye, and both started out as competent, if naive soldiers in the shadow of another they looked up to. The stage theme leading up to MGEx and the theme song for Armstrong himself also contain parts that sound strangely close to the Peace Walker main theme, which is far too deliberate for it to be a co-incidence. This could very hint at the start of the saga of a new Big Boss type figure, which the ending where Raiden quits Maverick permanently to go on his own one man war against Desperado seems to hint at, as pulls up his H/F blade with that twisted cyborg grin.

[@Amunarath]

Revengeance had a lot of problems (many which I blame on the short development, just over a year I believe), but I ended up enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. The bosses, combat, characters and music were great and I was surprised with how I enjoyed the story.

[@chickenheelnakano]

Wasn't this game announced in 2009?

[@Amunarath]

Dillon Sheil Probably. It ended up being cancelled and Platinum Games took over and started from scratch.

[@furyberserk]

Avatar Korra Only if Platinum worked this hard on your game huh?Nevermind I said that....

[@Huge_Echman]

furyberserk Hey, come on, it's fine.

[@Huge_Echman]

furyberserk Hey, come on, it's fine.

[@G4LERNE]

I'd like to point out that the game also has a very good story, although it is hidden on the Codec messages. Almost everything is explained and it has a fuckload of philosophy involved if you're into listening people rambling for hours, MGS4 style. (I know I loved it)

[@insertnamehere001]

You can actually line up the cut and then press square to cut without needing to flick R3.

[@hellcopter31]

It turns out that on-the-fly weapon switching was actually impossible to implement. This game is so intense that Platinum Games was unable to make it work at all.

[@archentity]

Really? How hard could it be? Devil May Cry 3 did a great job of on the fly weapon switching even if you could only use up to 4 different weapons at a time (two guns, two melee weapons). They could have easily just followed that mechanic.

[@hellcopter31]

A combination of the game running at 60fps and having to account for a huge number of physics objects, iirc. They definitely would've if they could've. I certainly never used subweapons in my playthrough.

[@archentity]

hellcopter31 Even still, i may not be a L337 HaX0r, but I know a thing or two about how video games work and simply pressing a button that makes a different weapon appear in Raiden's hand while also immediately switching his offensive moveset doesn't seem like a cpu intensive procedure at all. Luckily those other weapons weren't actually needed.

[@aolson1111]

Nah, you don't know much about how videogames work. Having those weapons available on the fly would mean that the models and animations would need to be loaded into memory. The 360 and PS3 have a pitiful amount of memory, and the extra space in the framebuffer they needed for full 720p 60 fps means that they had even less space than most games. So, either you use weapon selection to let the game load the models and animations, or you cut something else from the game.

[@hg9777]

I'm a big ass MGS fan, and unlike many who say it ruins the franchise, I fucking LOVED Revengeance. Not once have I had more fun playing an MG game. For me it was more like a breath of fresh air.

[@padlockjones9743]

"Jumby" is Trinidadian slang for a monster or ghost

[@KitKatNisa]

I don't think "Jack" was intended as an alter ego, just as Raiden giving up on his attempt to stop killing, and go back to killing anyone in his way, like he did in the past

[@scapelife]

Who would've thought Revengeance would be the last good metal gear game

[@4mash]

Metal Gear Solid 5 exists you know.

[@karpopper]

Im okay with pretending metal gear survive never happened, this game would be a good conclusion.

[@MrThezyga]

@@4mash unfortunately

[@DiskusGames]

If you ignore the price, Ground Zeroes is really good for what it is.

[@MrThezyga]

Its not half bad but its really hard to call it a game

[@niespeludo]

The best action game from recent years, only Bayonetta 2 in this same bracket, EVEN with how flawed this game is. It stands as a testament to Platinum and their capacity to churn out good action games fast...they had less than a year to take over and change whatever Konami had to make this and deliver it on time. They still released a monster of a game under a pretty tight schedule. I always believed this game would have one of those sequels that fixes EVERYTHING wrong with it (a lá AssCreed2), but alas, it didn't happen due to Konami. I hope Platinum games does work on a spiritual sequel though... I'm just scared it'll lose its charm. Excellent review Matthew, you cover a lot of points that should be highlighted and are for better or worse a result of rushed development. Though given the circumstances in which this game was developed, I can only give merit to Platinum games and wish for a sequel down the road. MGR:R2 would have been a better way to use the IP than MGS:Zombies edition in my opinion and Platinum finally has enough cashflow to actually develop something for themselves. In a perfect world, Capcom will pay Platinum to make them DMCxBayonetta 3, Konami will pay for MGR:R2 and SEGA pays for Vanquish 2.

[@qw3rtypounc3s]

They'll never make metal gear rising 2, because then they'd have to make a final boss better than Armstrong.

[@niespeludo]

qw3rtypounc3s Shame they'll never make a MGR:R2 as long as Konami lives of their Pachinko business unit. Armstrong is one of the best final bosses in action game sin history, only rivaled by Vergil in DMC3.

[@qw3rtypounc3s]

niespeludo Indeed.

[@SuperGamer61499]

Honestly, this may be just me but I find it okay at best. It's a fun action game I admit but it's not the best I have played in the genre but again, that's just me. However, I would like to see a sequel because while I had issues with Rising I do think there is potential as the first game did have it's highlights.(For example, Senator Armstrong. I love how over the top his boss battle is it's pretty damn solid.) I loved that the writers made fun of MGS 4 though for the whole nano machines being the explanation for every little thing for that game. And in general even though this is probably my least favorite Platinum Games game I have played yet it's not bad to me. I just think that it could of been better and I wasn't expecting a Bayonetta 2 in terms of the content but at least a little fun action game for the price I paid.(Being I think around 5-$10.) I can't say at least I was disappointed.

[@sebastianplugaru5417]

They have experience ! :)

[@keeperofthek]

Good stuff as always. I'd only add a few points about the codec conversations. In my opinion, some of the best codec work to come out of the series. Almost all the information, especially the dialogue with Wolf and Doktor serve for terrific world building that, while by no means essential, cast the game in a new light. It drives home the fact that MGR isn't just MGS4 four years later, but a fully realized world. The downside being that it has to grind the action to a halt to take place.

[@mermynator]

Never stop doing reviews. I'd be glad to see your videos crack the millions.

[@AkimboLizard]

For the parrying bit, in the actual VR tutorial it offers before you start the game it gives you a detailed parrying bit

[@WarMomPT]

The reason why you can't swap weapons without a menu is because Rising's dynamic cutting, even though parts disappear quickly, requires that a ton of RAM be set aside at all times.

[@WilHiteWarrior]

Gotta point out that you're mistaken about having to snap the right analog stick to make precision slashes. You CAN do it that way but its much more efficient to line up your slash and hit square. But I do agree on pretty much all other points, especially that the circle button shouldve been mapped to dodge.

[@qw3rtypounc3s]

It Has To Be This Way is so good.

[@Sorrelhas]

"I've played on Normal mode, without healing items" And I did the same, because I didn't know you could heal. To me the only way to heal was with Zandatsu. I only learned how to heal during the Armstrong fight. The comical thing is, once I learned how to heal, I started to depend on it.

[@Arexion5293]

The most efficient way of avoiding damage in this game is actually countering and dodging. Because dodge is also an attack that doesn't reset your combo, it will help you keep your combo up. Dodge can also be used to avoid any attacks, thanks to the invincibility frames at the start of the animation. But since in the animation Raiden jumps, he cannot cancel this animation, which will leave you completely open for attacks if you happen to time it wrong or try to dodge a combo. The fastest way to cancel an animation is by using blade-canceling. You use it by simply quickly tapping the blade-mode button and it will cancel all your movement and animations. But there are couple of moves that cannot be canceled, so keep that in mind. There are two types of parry. Light parry and heavy parry. Heavy parry is a successfully blocked heavy attack that cannot be parried. You'll be stuck in this parry animation for a moment, so trying to move right away or use dodge won't do anything. Light parry on the other hand lets you move right away, or even counter the attack if timed right.

[@TheeOakTree]

I can't wait until this channel gets huge and I get to say that I was one of the first couple thousand subscribers :D keep up the good work, man. I absolutely love your reviews

[@misterbonkers]

i screamed aloud when i saw that you had reviewed MGR. this was my favorite game of this year so far and if not for dark souls my favorite game of this gen. and i love your reviews for how meaty they are, covering everything. i was not disappointed. i love your videos and hope you continue making them.

[@ThePreciseClimber]

Does MGS4 *really* look better? Both games look pretty bloody similar to me.

[@SuperGamer61499]

I would say if you have the time you should look at footage of both MGS4 and Metal Gear Rising. I say this because while Metal Gear Rising is far from bad looking Metal Gear Solid 4 is probably the most impressive looking PS3 game I have seen outside of the Naughty Dog titles on the PS3. And plus Rising does have some moments when the environment don't look that great. Case in point, the glass shattering. To me, the fact that it's not moving or even interacting when Raiden is on top of it really doesn't look that good. But though, that's just me. But then again it's not really not Platinum Games' strong point. Their games look great but they're not usually pushing the system to it's limits. And more often than not the priorities with Platinum Games are to make a fun over the top Action game than a jaw dropping gorgeous game.

[@ArctheLadder]

This is a very limited platform for discussion, but if anything, I really felt your review attempted and successfully accomplished being critical in a thoughtful way. Something many reviewers did not attempt with this game in their comparisons with past titles. Excellent work, man.

[@XX-sp3tt]

I never got the idea here Ripper was some sorta alternate personality, rather, it was Jack letting go and letting his darker impulses play out.. letting out all the feelings he'd bottled up and fought against trying to live a normal life. Thankfully Jack holds onto himself enough with, "I don't want this... for anyone else."

[@cannonfodder4000]

26:42 Important to note: Codec dialogue for Metal Gear Excelsus says it's called a Metal Gear only for marketability/funding purposes, since it can't even fire a nuke, it's not a true Metal Gear

[@Tuberuser187]

I don't know how Metal Gear can go on after this, the jump in character power is so huge. Its not "power creep" more along the lines of "power supernova", how can Snake with his rifle and rocket launcher compare to a Cyborg that when faced with a barrage of rocket fire from a giant battle mech can simply hop from one rocket to the next like stepping stones before chopping the whole mech up with a sword... Here is Cyborg Raiden thats almost unstoppable as a super hero like one of the Avengers or something that can take on Metal Gears in hand to hand combat and here is Snake hiding in a box, how can Snake be relevant any more?

[@tomatoesofdoom]

that's why he killed him self that's the whole premise of MGS4

[@YourFavoriteDakimakura]

He isn't. The whole point of MGS4 was ending Snake's life as a soldier.

[@garrycotton7094]

I understand what you mean but let's be fair, some of it is just poetic licence. That same poetic licence saw Snake jump on and off a rocket WITHOUT any cyborg enhancements vs. the Hind D in The Twin Snakes. Snake's tale is over but hypothetically speaking if he were to exist in this future he'd also be in a cyborg suit and therefore competing just fine.

[@tomatoesofdoom]

***** yeah he did the "retcon" is a joke and you wont be seeing solid snake in the future anyway

[@tomatoesofdoom]

***** That's what im talking about when I say retcon, that scene was added in AFTER release of the game due to "fan outcry" which means, its a sad stunt to make fans happy, when in canon, Snake shoots himself

[@LorneOfTehInterwebz]

I think the circle button SHOULD have been used as a grab button, similar to how Nero's Devil Bringing worked in DMC4. It would have been a great way to get enemies off of you, which by association would mean more enemies could exist on screen at one time, and attack more viciously than they did previously.

[@jackdaone6469]

Or maybe as a dedicated parry button, instead of the finicky "do a light attack while moving toward your opponent" setup. A perfectly-timed parry would make Raiden execute a counterattack while negating all damage, while just holding it down is a standard block.

[@LorneOfTehInterwebz]

Jack Daone That coupled with the under-used effect of enemy attacks still doing damage through your block would have been really great.

[@hristijanvelkovski6317]

Azelliz Remtora Or maybe even a tag enemy action where if you press the button once you tag a certain enemy and a tag icon stays up them , showing their position off-screen , and when double tapping the button Raiden does a dash move and then if the player has the weapon from the 3rd boss ( forgot the name lol ) as a secondary , Raiden could do a vault over him and if they are weak enemies , just do something like that cool move Rachel had in Ninja Gaiden Sigma 1 . It's just an Idea thou . I don't know how well would it work in-game or how useful would it be :P

[@Pjpwnz]

Thank you Matthew for actually taking time to talk about a game in depth. Your videos are great and I really love watching them.

[@Catboost]

The most reasonable Rising review out there. Good work.

[@NoobLord9001]

11:37 a very adult-sounding voice for a child-looking character. That's just off-putting.

[@darqfalls849]

GammaWALLE And Sunny definitely should have sounded older. She's how old? 14? She sounds the same as when she did when she was 8 or 9 in MGS4.

[@rezulia1269]

+Darqfalls She's actually 11 in Revengeance. Yep, surprised me too.

[@darqfalls849]

Rezulia I read somewhere that she was younger. Huh.

[@SavioureG]

I just want to comment on his point about combat not giving players an incentive to try out different moves, actually there is, if you want to get an S rank in combat you will have to be creative in stringing combos while at the same time avoiding damage, you can't spam the same moves or easy cut your way through to a higher score.

[@NinjaHunter950]

Not really, though. Unlike in DMC, where you're rewarded for actually mixing up moves, MGR just allows you to mash, and it's more about combo count than variety. I S-ranked that sucker on every difficulty, and it's pretty easy to just mash bullshit away once you know how to perfect parry, and the alternate weapons/items aren't terribly useful.

[@SHSLRuby]

+Emperor Wu Yeah, emperor's right, I S-Ranked easy as long as I kept the combo count high

[@Showasama60]

The Japanese version is worse for wear. Since the violence is slightly censored and cyborg blood is white instead of red, making for awkward situations

[@CruelestChris]

Apparently the reason you can't switch weapons on the fly is it wasn't possible given the memory limitations of the last-gen consoles: it needs that little pause to dump the animations from the old weapon out of RAM and load up the new set.

[@witchsniffer5764]

8:48 That's odd, I assume you've played DMC and Bayonetta before playing Revengeance. The design philosophy from these games has dictated that two primary attack buttons and an additional situational button is the ideal way to do a hack and slash action game. Even the predeccesor to the sub-genre, Onimusha, had two attack buttons. Devil May Cry Close Range button Long Range button With the later introduced Style specific button Bayonetta Punch/Hand Ranged Kick/Foot Ranged Long Range Revengeance Light Attack Strong Attack Side Weapon

[@tebrakobra4636]

I find your comment amusing. What they found, at the time, for the specific game to be ideal is irrelevant. At this point I can only discuss it as a matter of preference, but if I were to argue anything it could only be an expansion of present systems.

[@xCyph0nx]

The most detailed and in-depth review of MGS:R I've seen yet. Keep up the good work, Matt.

[@TheTundraTerror]

Glad I'm not the only one who had an issue with how the parry system was explained. Even the tutorial simulation... thing doesn't give you nearly enough time to really figure it out and get the hang of things.

[@Kyfow]

It's nice to see someone highlight just what a special game revengeance is. Good job matthew!

[@ThomasAtlus]

I don't know if anyone's brought it up here but the weapon swap problem is because consoles legit don't have the memory to handle that AND the ridiculous amounts of cutting so the time it takes to choose a weapon in the menu is basically the devs giving the game time to load up the new weapon from memory for use without making the processor shit itself.

[@_cripticon8004]

What you said about the parry button is completely accurate, I was like 10 years old and my friend lent me the game for two weeks. I never understood the parry mechanic and couldn’t even beat bladewolf. Then he took the game back and I felt like trash

[@garrycotton7094]

Definitely agree on the Blade Mode problem - the Right Analog stick often snaps back at a slightly different angle than where you originally positioned it which is a problem in the Armstrong fight.

[@WarMomPT]

Also, Sundowner does introduce a new element; direction-specific blade mode. You can get by using square or triangle for slapping the shields, but to take them off you have to manually aim. After that you have to take that up another level in Armstrong's final form.

[@tyler-xo3rb]

you cash do that at any point before

[@TCCWhitesmiths]

Aside from bosses you don't have to kill anyone, there is a non-lethal way to take down enemies

[@Strekks]

I found the simple controls, with reliance on the same combos and the parry system hurt the whole game for me, as it came down to the same easy manuevers. But I've got to say, I can see exactly why you said what you did in this review, especially the music. I don't think my mind will change, but this has gave me reason to go back with a fresh mindset. As ever, your reviews really just carry themselves to being legitimate instead of being purely emotional or biased. Brilliant as ever.

[@matrix3509]

Raiden states it clearly in this game. Jack the Ripper is the REAL him, the persona that was the result of the atrocities he committed. The Raiden we knew in MGS2 was a coping mechanism, an alter ego developed to help keep the real him under control. Its handled quite well IMO. The excuses Raiden proffers while slicing dudes up are nothing but platitudes to make himself feel better while at the same time placating Jack The Ripper's bloodlust.

[@HamsterPants522]

I legitimately just played this game for the past week. Really happy to see a review from you on it.

[@DrRESHES]

i especially love in this game that when somebody shooting an RPG rocket at you, you can cut it off. its one of the things you need to be daring to think to discover by yourself. makes it so much fun,freaking love this game.

[@HamsterPants522]

Matthew, it's really great to see a good review of this game for once. I would just like to add that the skills which you can unlock in the customize screen really do a lot to enhance the combat mechanics and give you more things you can do. The evade skill is particularly significant, and in the Very Hard difficulty campaign, will be just as invaluable as parrying.

[@timothytheantisjw4571]

You forgot one point on the Armstrong fight. He has a little habit of winding up to one attack, then switching to another, giving the player just enough time to react if they were paying attention to how he's moving.

[@MannFace51]

I think I speak for everyone, especially now that the MGS3 remake is confirmed, when I ask for your review of MGSV.

[@neovillen]

I loved the way that, during a little time in the final battle, Raiden has his sword taken out and jumps around the way he did on MGS2, contrasting the fact the in MGS2 he was GIVEN a sword at the final boss battle. The little things that Platinum did to appeal the old fans in clever ways were what really sold me on Rising.

[@ZerogunRivale]

"It's not the greatest action game ever made" - I'm curious now, Matt. What titles do you consider the greatest action games ever made?

[@Lassenissen]

Mine is probably DMC 4 Despite the backtracking being tedious, the combat, combo variety, and potential for mastery is the best I've ever seen.

[@TheSeth256]

Cifer Null Then you should play DMC3,it is better.

[@wtfkiffer]

DMC3 and Bayonetta 2 are definitely the high points in the genre. But MGRising is a really under appreciated game

[@SerenGetter]

I'd argue God Hand, Bayo1/2, DMC3/4, & W101 as the top action games out there

[@crowcade]

Personally speaking, it's always been Viewtiful Joe for me, because of its unabashed love for Hollywood and Japanese quirks. It takes some of my favourite elements from Western and Eastern cultures and lovingly smashes them together for an experience that few games have ever matched since for me. Plus you can be fucking Dante, imo the closest runner-up for best Action title. Whatever the case, I think we can all agree that Clover/Plat has made some of the best shameless Action titles.

[@BaneDane_JB]

Why does no one else but me like to point out how stupid it is that Raiden "has" to chop George in half when he's being held hostage by a guy twice his height?. (Paired with Raiden's obvious precision in this game its a laughably bad plot twist.)

[@The_Blog]

+BaneDain That is actually explained in the game. His normal self would have probably easily made a precise cut and just kill the Doctor without harming Goerge. But what basicly happened was that his Jack the Ripper Persona came through. He simply wanted to see that guy dead and didn't give a fuck. Ofcourse you may think whatever you want about that, but I just wanted to provide an explenation.

[@shinluis]

+BaneDain Its not stupid. It's the rules of nature.

[@qw3rtypounc3s]

+BaneDain Wait that's what happened? I had no idea!

[@shinluis]

what? man, you gotta review some basic physics

[@LoudWaffle]

He only chops George's arm off, doesn't he? And that makes sense because the doctor was holding onto his one arm, making it impossible to bisect the doctor without going through a bit of George. Only chopping off his arm was the best choice in the situation, and George even accepts what has to happen entirely.

[@LeoKRogue]

Excellent work. To address a minor point of confusion I see in comments: I pretty quickly became aware that these are not commercial or buyer's guide reviews, they're critical or analytical reviews. It'd be better-served being called an Analysis, but it's easy to understand what Matthew's intent is with these videos, and that applies to all of them. He's a game design analyst, and we don't come to Matthew's channel to decide whether or not to purchase a product (there are tons of way better places to help people do that, TotalBiscuit among 'em) but to gain a better understanding of a game's infrastructure, core, and the degree to which its own design supports the experience it tries to deliver.

[@djs9997]

I think it's even better to call this a review honestly,, heightens the standards a bit

[@zognarreg]

It's all the little details like victory/Zandetsu poses along with the music changes all happening at breakneck speeds that makes this and Bayonetta so much fun, IMHO.

[@Higginbun]

Hey Matthewmatosis, I was thinking the other day how cool it would be if you did an in depth review on the Devil May Cry series when I remembered in this review that you mentioned the series. It would be a pretty good series for you to do imo since all the games in the series, including the reboot, are similar to one another but with varying degrees of depth and different little design/story changes in each one that makes them all pretty different to each other. It would be pretty neat to see the similarities and differences that build along in the series while also making note of what the reboot does with the series.

[@ahegao7050]

3 and DmC felt the best imo...

[@Greener221]

>Liking Donte the best

[@VicSaladin]

I found the parry to be superb and really satisfying once you get it right but I agree it could have been explained better. The music was incredible, Jamie Christopherson did a phenomenal work and the new aproach really suited the MGR formula. Anyway, keep up the good work, Matthew.

[@Matthewmatosis]

I didn't see your second comment until after I wrote my reply. I think we're very much on the same page on the combat since we both more or less said the same thing about the camera. I would like to see the circle button utilised for something though even if it's an existing skill like the dodge, if you give players an easier way to do stuff you can push the enemy designs further because that new skill is expected of them.

[@natesdisturbed8719]

2021 Called, we’d like a new Metal Gear Rising game please.

[@321cheeseman]

It's actually totally possible to not kill the majority of, and maybe even all, enemies (cyborgs anyway, the robots don't count). You can just cut off their limbs, and the battle sequence will end when the enemies retreat when they can't fight back. You even get a no kill bonus for this. There's also an unlockable sword that lets you beat enemies into submission, rather than slice them up.

[@BinaryDood]

Mistral is awesome. The forgettable fight is Excelsius... and a bit of Sundowner

[@scrunchyhoward8400]

That kid is not merely speaking slang; that's an English-lexified creole language like what you would hear in the Carribean or Livalect (a language that Rastafarians deliberately constructed to seperate themselves culturally from what they consider to be colonialistic imperialists, or "Babylon"). My guess is that George could be from Belize; I don't know a lot about Belize Kriol but that country is adjacent to Mexico. Edit: looked at the wiki, he's from Guyana and speaks Guyanese.

[@CRAZEH247]

At 9:40, you're completely wrong. If you don't direct the cuts using the analogue sticks (either depending on the controls scheme you have on), you can press Square for horizontal and Triangle for vertical slashes. While if you aim your slash using a stick, and press either Square or Triangle... it'll slash how you aimed it to. I never once used the Stick flicking method to slash because it's annoying and doesn't work. But it's astounding the amount of people who never even tried using the attack buttons while directing their slash in slow-mo just to see what happens. Aim and attack, aim and attack. Makes the slow-mo and Zandatsu mode VERY easy to use. Precise cuts in instants instead of wasting time trying to get the perfect angle by using the second stick.

[@balaruth961]

[Final boss spoiler warning] I thought this review was pretty spot on, with just one problem with the Armstrong fight that you omitted. While you mentioned that Sam's sword meant the Armstrong fight was balanced in terms of damage, it also means you lose all of your upgrades in fuel efficiency, which means using Blade mode with Sam's sword drains your fuel cells VERY fast, which makes the tedious cutting sequence in the fight doubly frustrating if not downright impossible if you hadn't bought/found every fuel cell upgrade in the game. (Of course, it is in fact possible to evade the debris by running, but I suspect that was developer oversight and not every player will realise/discover that anyway.)

[@thechugg4372]

You had problems with the armstrong zandatsu because you think all 4 squares need to be hit, only 3 are needed.

[@PilotTails]

I think your assessment of this game is very hopeful. Given the concept that Platinum built this game with roughly less than a year's time, It's wonderful. Definitely one of the most anticipated spinoffs, and it was handled well. It definitely lets you know that the universe is the same, yet different. If and when Platinum gets a sequel out the door, it could easily be the type of game you rarely see these days, original, conceptual, and not a damn shooter.

[@kingpepe4862]

NANO MACHINES SON!

[@Just2Evil]

You bring a new layer of depth to reviews that is unparalleled in the world of game reviews.

[@alialmuhanna4938]

1:35 YES ! The thing that sold me on this game was when, in the trailer, they showed Raiden doing a street fighter throw on Metal Gear Ray ! That was epic !! I wish there were more fights like this one.

[@fearedjames]

You seem to completely misunderstand the blade mode. The idea is that you pull accross to the other side, allowing you to have the Samurai look of holding a blade after a slash, then simply curve to the next angle.

[@mercury2157]

You don't have to let the stick snap back in Blade Mode to attack. Just press one of the attack buttons.

[@archentity]

+ainsley toledo I don't even think you are supposed to let it ''snap back''. I believe you are supposed to actually move it in the opposite direction as if you are swinging an actual sword.

[@mercury2157]

+I'm shenoku people just didn't explore the mechanics enough and complain about it just for the sake of complaining

[@Vogeluff]

+ainsley toledo but a game shouldnt hide its mechanics in a way, that has you to really search for them, if you don't want to be blamed for not using them by internet comments. I'm not using a helpful mechanic not because I feel like punishing myself, I don't use it because I didn't knew it existed, which makes the developer the one to blame.

[@archentity]

Vogeluff Not always. Hidden mechanics actually create depth within games. As long as the hidden mechanics aren't necessary for to complete the game in an enjoyable manner, a game should have hidden mechanics because it creates replay value.

[@Vogeluff]

***** yeah thats fine. but if someone under a youtube video feels like blaming the player for not "exploring the gameplay enough", i feel like thats stupid.

[@Galavantworks]

I don't blame you on ripper mode, in-fact I can see how Jack adopting this ripper persona in MGR actually making more sense than past MGS. Especially given that name was originally a poorly done plot element for Raiden's character just to make him seem more appealing or more in-depth compared to his predecessor, Snake. But in MGR they actually did well to with Raiden reverting back to, or at least finally acknowledging his sociopathic side in order to accompany the fitting tone of the game.

[@TehListeningPost]

Your reviews are fantastic! Keep them coming!

[@ArctheLadder]

When you activate Blade Mode, you have one opportunity to line up a cut and then engage it with the Square or Triangle (X or Y) button. You line up the slice and then press the attack button and it slices in that exact direction.

[@TheGreenEquinox]

Best videogame review/analysis videos on youtube. Since you have covered pretty much all the essential MG games now, what is the next series of reviews going to be?