Metal Gear Solid 1 created one heck of a sensation, making Snake a video game star overnight and catapulting the series into the spotlight that it always deserved. So, to say that replacing Snake with the infamous Raiden in Metal Gear Solid 2 was a risk is an understatement. Raiden's role in the game was often met with derision, especially with how Kojima kept him a secret in the months leading up to its 2001 release. But little did those fans know that Raiden brought with him one of the most insane twists ever; the S3 training program, simulating the events of Metal Gear Solid 1 in order to create soldiers on the level of Snake. Or, at least, that's what you're lead to believe until Kojima presents a twist upon the twist. Instead of the Solid Snake Simulation, S3 actually stood for the Selection for Societal Sanity and was the Patriots' way of controlling human thought. It created a series of conversations that questioned the very nature of our own society and how information control is crucial, something the Patriots were keen to distort for themselves. It's pretty intense stuff, but also incredibly relevant even today.
