7 Video Game Characters That Completely Changed After Fan Backlash

6. Raiden - Metal Gear Solid 4

Metal Gear Solid 2's Raiden was an interesting experiment. Some would say he was a cruel trick, but let's be generous for a second. Even though he was the main playable character, he wasn't mentioned in any of the pre-release promotional material, all of which showed series staple Solid Snake sneaking around and snapping necks.

When fans finally got their hands on the game though, they realised all the footage they'd seen had been doctored. Snake was playable for the introductory prologue, but was swapped out for this rookie without warning as soon as the meat of the story kicked into gear.

Needless to say, fans were not happy. It wasn't just that they'd been bamboozled, it was the fact that Raiden was purposefully inept and annoying, a boy scout without even a hint of gruffness. He didn't even really have an identity of his own - acting as more of a cypher for the player than a real character.

Potentially out of spite, director Hideo Kojima brought the character back two games later in a supporting role, and transformed him into the most badass member of the cast. No longer a personality-free Snake imitator, he was now an unstoppable cyborg killing machine chopping up mini Metal Gears with knives wedged between his feet.

In 2002, if you told MGS fans Raiden would get his own spin-off, they'd have revolted. After MGS 4, they lapped it up.