Metal Gear Solid: 20 Things That Made You Love Hideo Kojima

18. Choosing Raiden Over Snake In MGS 2

At the time? Madness. Now? Genius. Only Hideo Kojima could take a character the entire world fell instantly in love with, drew artwork of all around the internet and devoted some of their flesh to - and swap him out with an effeminate white-haired fop with the same codename. Everyone justifiably lost their minds in 2001, but Kojima's rationale was solid - he wanted to show Snake from a different light and perspective, and what better to do that than by putting you in the shoes of someone who's definitely everything he's not? In the most brilliant of ways, forcing you to play as the ridiculously pedantic Raiden - with his skintight 'skull suit' - meant every subsequent action only made you pine for Snake more, making for a fantastic return of sorts in MGS 3, and especially 4 when we finally got to play as him properly again.