Raiden's custom cyborg body



This cyborg body was used by Raiden during the Desperado Incursions in 2018. After sustaining severe injuries in a fight with Samuel Rodrigues he was repaired and upgraded by Doktor.

Design
The system retained all the functions of Raiden's original body including boosted strength and enhanced reflexes. It also included a number of standard features for military cyborgs such as pain inhibitors which dulled the debilitating effects of pain while still making the user aware of damage to their body.

The new body used an MCFC (Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell) power source, with a built-in ability to absorb electrolytes from other cyborgs linked to both Raiden's HF Blade and at least one of his hands. This ability allowed the used of Raiden's Zandatsu technique, which used precise slashes to expose an opponent's fuel cell to allow maximum electrolyte absorption; in addition, the fuel cache also contained biotic nano-repair paste, a technology originally developed for Metal Gear RAY, allowing instantaneous healing. The Zandatsu technique could thus power Raiden's own fuel cells and repair the cyborg body from even major damage. Doktor explained that he did not include any conventional healing functions, largely because such a device would only slightly accelerate his body's natural healing abilities, and because once expended a nanorepair cache is simply dead weight inside the cyborg's chassis. Raiden's body, Doktor explained, eliminated all "non-essential" systems in pursuit of speed and maneuverability.

A direct link between Raiden's internal fuel cells and his reflexes allowed a state referred to as Blade Mode, in which the apparent passage of time slowed to allow for super-fast or high-precision cuts with the HF Blade, also boosting Raiden's strength in this state. Blade mode depleted Raiden's fuel cells rapidly while in use, requiring regular recharging from his enemies or disposable electrolyte packs.

The body also featured an internal Codec device with high-level encryption and an Augmented Reality (AR) display which could feed images directly to Raiden's optic nerve and touch sensations to his fingers, allowing it to create objects which Raiden could touch despite them only existing in his mind. The Codec menu and the slider for Raiden's digital optic zoom functioned in this way. The AR system also functioned as a broad-range sensor, allowing the construction of an augmented image using data from outside the visual spectrum and analysis of possible threats and points of interest.

Raiden's missing eye was replaced with a 200 megapixel compound image sensor, though it appears this was covered with a bandage during the actual operation. The cyborg body also features a two-piece sensor visor which closed over Raiden's face in battle or to allow use of his AR vision mode.

His sword sheath was mounted on an articulated arm which automatically switched between his back and hip for a faster draw, much like the sheath used by Jetstream Sam. This sheath also mounted what appeared to be a smaller knife, about the size of a Japanese Tanto blade, but it is not clear if this was an HF blade or just a stylised handle for picking up the sheath when it was not attached to Raiden's body; Raiden never drew it, casting some doubt on whether it was a weapon.

Raiden's body also allowed connection to Unmanned Gears, either acting as a relay for his support team or directly. Fine control was only possible with the former method, which Doktor used to give Raiden direct control over a Dwarf Gekko after interfacing with it using a USB-like connector, Raiden commenting it was creepy since it felt like he actually was the UG. Less precise control appears to have been possible without support, with Raiden taking rudimentary control over both a Slider UG while fighting Sundowner and an MQ-320 drone shortly afterwards by plunging his sword into their AI cores. This does not seem to have allowed him to do much more than steer the UGs.

Behind the scenes
The body first appeared in the original version of Metal Gear Rising Revengeance, Metal Gear Solid: Rising, which was initially supposed to take place between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4, and would have explained Raiden's transformation into a cyborg. The appearance of the body suggested that it was either a prototype to or the intended inner-workings of the cyborg ninja body that appeared in Metal Gear Solid 4. Although the overall design of the body was retained when the game was reworked into Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, its backstory was changed, owing to the game being moved to occurring four years after Metal Gear Solid 4.