10 Stupid Early Decisions That Ruin Entire Video Games

While the gameplay is better than ever and the setting is superb, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is known for one small narrative wrinkle.

One of the most iconic bait-and-switches in all of gaming, creator Hideo Kojima's decision to bench series hero Solid Snake in favour of someone entirely new was a decision that people still talk about to this day, 21 year after it released.

However, the game's biggest failing, and one that ruined the events of Sons of Liberty was having Solid Snake playable in the first place.

At the time of Metal Gear Solid 2's release Solid Snake had three games under his belt that solidified his heroism and made him one of gaming's best protagonists. Because of this, opening the second PS1 game in the series with the character only to introduce Raiden early on immediately put the latter at a disadvantage.

Raiden is a great character, but the game set him up to fail as fans were constantly reminded of Solid Snake because the intro, as well as promotional material implied Sons of Liberty was his adventure.

The worst decision Metal Gear Solid 2 made was showing off Solid Snake's skills, as it set unrealistic expectations for Raiden, a character who would later rival Snake in the cool department in later games.