UPDATE - Debunked: Raiden (Metal Gear) to Appear in Super Smash Bros. - News
by Brent Galietti , posted on 03 April 2014 / 7,483 Views
UPDATE: Gamevoices has amended the quote from Langdon that this rumor is based on. It now reads as follows:
"Let me think about that. Well the Metal Gear series is always coming in and out of my ‘field’. We have put bids out on it a couple of times. Raiden was always a character that I had wanted to play. I did end up playing him on PlayStation All-Stars (*amended at the request of Mr.Langdon); so I actually did kind of end up playing him eventually (* Amended- Reuben here is referring to playing Raiden in Mocap- not as a voice actor). But NOT to the extent that he exists in the other games."
ORIGINAL STORY: Voice actor Reuben Langdon, best known for his voice work as Devil May Cry's Dante and Street Fighter's Ken Masters, was interviewed by Gamevoices. He spoke about his career, his favorite games and roles, but it was a comment about Metal Gear character Raiden that has gotten the attention of many gamers.
When asked if there was a game franchise that he wanted to be a part of, Langdon said "Raiden was always a character that I had wanted to play. I did end up playing him on Super Smash Bros; so I did end up playing him eventually. NOT to the extent that he is in the other games."
Raiden has never had a spoken role in a Super Smash Bros. game before, meaning that Langdon would ostensibly be referring to the upcoming Super Smash Bros for Wii U and 3DS titles. If Raiden has a voiced role in the game, then that could mean a lot of things. Is he a playable character, or more likely, an assist trophy? Could he be part of a codec call? More importantly, if Raiden is in the game in any capacity, that would almost certainly mean Solid Snake will make a return to the series, having previously appeared in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Metal Gear series creator Hideo Kojima, however, doesn't seem to think Solid Snake will be in the upcoming Super Smash Bros. game. In a Twitch interview last month, Kojima responded to a question on the subject by saying, "I'm not working on that game so I don't know, but I don't think that's likely. Well, if Mr. Sakurai [Super Smash Bros. lead developer] is watching this, please use Snake." While that would seem to indicate Solid Snake will not be in the game, we know that Kojima can be a very sly man when it comes to Metal Gear.
So what to make of all this? Did Langden mistake Super Smash Bros. for PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale, a fighting game that Raiden was playable in? That wouldn't jive with his quote, as Raiden was voiced by Quinton Flynn in that game. Perhaps he made a mistake and meant that he played as Raiden while playing the game himself? It's hard to say for sure, and Langden has not yet responded to any inquiries about the quote. But if we take his word at face value, Raiden will be making an appearance in Super Smash Bros., and the probability of Solid Snake returning to the playable roster just shot up exponentially.
