The white blooded solider from the Metal Gear Solid series makes his appearance in Playstation All-Stars. But, this version of Raiden isn’t the one we remember from MGS 2. This Raiden is the badass cyborg ninja from MGS 4, and MGS Rising: Revengance. His appearance in PS All-Stars is a very intimidating one, and he is one of the more aggressive characters in the game. When playing as Raiden most players make the mistake of constantly mashing his attack buttons to build AP. This is effective against players who do not know how to effectively block, and roll. But, when you come into contact with a more advance player. Tactics such as that will no longer cut it. Raiden has a few tools most players may have forgotten that are crucial to his gameplay. So I’ve decided to list several key features of Raiden that all Raiden players should remember.
1. Raiden’s Backstab:
Whenever you’re laying down pressure on an opposing player there’s always the chance they will tech roll out of your combo string. When this happens most characters will still be stuck in an attack animation, leaving you open for counter attacks. Raiden’s best defense in keeping pressure off him when this occurs is his Backstab attack. Â This backstab attack is quick, and has attack cancel properties. If you’re successful in landing the backstab attack the opposing player be placed in hit stun. This opens a whole new window for Raiden to gain AP off which should be the goal of every player. If an opposing player predicts Raiden’s backstab your best defense is to know his rush attacks.
2. Raiden’s Rush Attacks:
If an opponent is running away Raiden has 3 rush down attacks to pin them down. The first one is his ->Square  depending on which side you’re facing. This attack covers a small distance. But, if it hit confirms it will knock down a player and allow Raiden to repeat the same attack, or start-up  a new string. You can easily build about 60{3a19833c997fa52158a43c449fe089ff048ac0506a335cac10721cfa396ff282} of your level 1 AP bar if you can combo this attack with Raiden’s Square-Square-Square combo. His other two rush attacks are the ->Circle depending on which side you’re facing. This rush attack covers about half the screen, and has knock down capabilities as well. What makes this attack useful besides the increased range is that it can be used in the air as well.  This gives Raiden almost undisputed control of air, and land combat.
3. Raiden’s Level 1 Super:
Everyone’s goal when playing PS All-Stars is to get their level 3 as quickly as they can; because of this most of the time players seem to neglect the fact they have a level 1 super. Raiden has one of the best level 1’s in the game, and can build the meter for it very quickly. Raiden’s Level 1 has a quick start-up which allows him to easily catch opposing players off guard if their bunched up together. What makes this level 1 so deadly though is the range it covers. Raiden Can also move a small distance which just adds to his overall killing potency. This level 1 super combined with his meter gain, and fast combos can rid a Raiden player of having to use his level 2 or level 3 to win.
Overall Raiden is definitely one of the higher tier characters to use, and has a wide assortment of killing tools at his disposal. Players should always be on their toes when they come across a Raiden player within their match, and try to isolate him to prevent him from building AP. Raiden also works well with keep away characters such as Radec, Sackboy, Drake, and Jak and Daxter. If you’re looking to learn one of PS All-Stars more aggressive characters Raiden is the way to go.
