Raiden is the codename of the main playable character introduced at the Big Shell in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
The game begins with a short Tanker chapter featuring Solid Snake, but its main campaign shifts to Raiden during the Big Shell incident. Raiden is a rookie operative working for FOXHOUND, and the player initially knows little about his past or his connection to the Patriots.
His role was deliberately controversial because promotional material emphasized Snake while much of the story places the player in Raiden’s perspective. The contrast explores expectations built by earlier games and asks how simulated experiences shape identity.
Raiden later appears in Metal Gear Solid 4 and becomes the central playable character of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. He is not the same person as Solid Snake, although both are elite fighters connected to the series’ clone and military history.