The Context: By the time the game reaches its climactic final boss battle the story has become complex and convoluted beyond words; it's still amazing but far too much to actually analyse right now. What's truly important is that Solidus is the man who killed Raiden's parents and molded him into a child soldier. Personal differences aside, Raiden's mission success depends on killing Solidus once and for all in a thrilling sword-to-sword showdown on top of Federal Hall. The Fight: Admittedly, the free blade controls back in 2001 (where the blade's swings were mapped to the right analogue stick) were highly unorthodox and clunky to use, but after taking some time to adapt - along with learning the attack patterns of Solidus - the frustrations can be overlooked. Furthermore, the battle can be seen for what it truly is; an epic bladed confrontation that is unlike any other boss battle in the franchise. As usual, as the fight goes on it becomes more and more complex with Solidus drawing another sword to fight with one in each hand, and utilising new attacks by dashing across the entire rooftop towards Raiden, all while leaving scorching trails of fire to dodge. To top everything off, after the battle there's a really beautiful shot of Solidus reaching up towards the statue of George Washington while dying face first on its base, rounding his character arc off perfectly.
