I'd argue the whole main series is, for different reasons per game, but they all can largely be played by most of anyone and be able to get something from them
11:27 i love how genuinely happy Armstrong is thinking he changed Raidens mind. Like quickly pulling him up, dusting him off and giving him a hug. You can tell Armstrong genuinely believes he is fighting for the greater good.
Those that actually believe in what they are doing are the most dangerous, they are zealous to the point that they would kill anyone that doesn't agree 100% I suppose that's why Raiden had to put him down. I think Raiden did agree with majority of Armstrong's beliefs but drawed the line when he was talking about destroying the weak and make the strong control everything. Raiden's and Armstrong's beliefs are more or less the same but Armstrong's was the extremists version of Raiden's.
9:47 If i remember correct, the "make America great again" line was originally heard from "Ronald Reagan" in the 80s. This game is from 2013, before The Orange man candidate for President in 2016 for the first time. SO in other words: Like Armstrong said in the cut scenes "Not writing your own speeches". Plus Armstrong is a Walking and talking parody of Presidents, and his speech is a jumbled combination of all kinds of different phrases that other presidents said in the past.
While yes, Armstrong is somewhat parody, what he said is actually legitimate because he basically wants to end politicians abusing and gaslighting the public into wars in order to line their pockets or for niche beliefs. Granted the way he says this is by saying get rid of the weak and the strong will thrive; in which the weak are those who can only talk and manipulate and the strong are those who act, but Raiden didn't understand what he meant at first, and when he did understand there was too much bad blood between them to let him live.
@@yumin_pluto558 Armstrong's plan is also bad. It's just fascism but presented as american. Like really, you shouldn't agree with somebody who says we need "to purge the weak", thatns how you get austrian painters in power.
@@MrBanera A little fun fact portable ops’ story and overall concept comes from kojima the credits say “Original Game Design and story concept by Kojima” and the script of the original SOLID Rising is just an unused story arc of raiden from mgs4 where he was considered as a playable character in mgs4’s early dev stages like how raiden was supposed to infiltrate the patriots lab and rescue sunny but got captured and experimented upon, there’s even a concept art of raiden carrying sunny which looks strikingly similar to Death Stranding Kojima was even promised to be heavily involved with Solid Rising and his role was “more than a typical producer” Sadly even that story concept for Rising got scrapped as the game was in turmoil/dev hell as it had less than 40~ employees (to make it even more sad Solid Risings team consisted of new young employees) and kojima sadly couldn’t step in as he was already working on mgsv (c. 2009 pre-prod) and was finalizing peace walker I’d even say that Solid Risings main concept came from another unused mgs4 idea in which kojima envisioned “environmental destruction”
Look, if i was fighting a giant robot spider and the guy piloting it ran at me after i beat it and he was *stronger* than the fucking robot, i think id just fold
One issue I got with that scene, is that they focus on a few extremists/'potential trolls' on social media. Those individuals are gonna be the first and loudest in such conversations. What should be more concerning would be the later news reports coming a few hours later that would shape the public opinion. I know this is just pure fiction, but it's a important too in the real world
I can't remember where i first read this but its excellent writing that for all Armstrong goes on about individualism his power relies on billions of nanobots working together.
The funniest detail for me is that Armstrong genuinely believes Jack after he says he was wrong. He even dusts him off and the motion captured animation done by a person obviously much smaller than Armstrong is the cherry on top.
Armstrong is easily a top 10 video game antagonist and he has less than an hour of screen time. Also an insane amount of people would vote for Armstrong. Nobody would be able to match his charisma.
@@Sir_Bucketwhat? He objectively isn’t? He’s pitching anarchism? Anarchy usually leads to a dictatorship, but a dictatorship does not have to be formed via anarchy. Even a democracy could theoretically become a dictatorship.
@@UnluckyLilly the conditions he speaks of specifically lead to dictatorship. He doesn't want people to get back powers to live in equality, he wants "the strong to rule" and "the weak to be purged". That's a dictatorship. He plans to reach that through anarchy yes, but the end goal is a dictatorship.
Done RIGHT. But Raiden still wishes to protect weak, Armstrong wanted to snuff them out completely. It's where their ideals clash, and why Armstrong needed to be put down
@@DirectorOfChaos9292it’s more that Armstrong is a super exaggerated version of the “Pull yourself up by the bootstraps” idea in America. He thinks it’s fully on the weak to become stronger, and Raiden thinks it’s the strongs job to pull the weak up
@@jtreview7506 No, Armstrong is an exaggeration but the ideology behind him is ultimately correct. If we don't purse meritocracy and 'greatness' but equality initiatives and "equity" etc. society tends to stagnate as we have seen for the last few decades. Armstrong is actually right, his position is just very exaggerated to the point where it has to involve violence and murder.
This game’s relevance increases exponentially with its age edit: I said proportionally but what I meant was exponentially lmao. my brain wasn't working earlier today
@@diegomedina9637I don't get the second point, but no he did not have anything to do with the game. This is by Platinum and written by someone else at Kojipro.
People find it refreshing to have a politician with actual beliefs they would literally fight and die for. Even if it goes against some of their own values, people will tend to lean towards the more fervent and "real" politician.
Armstrong's plan for making America filled with the strong and free was to fund an experiment about kidnapping orphans, robbing them of their humanity, and making them go to war. Raiden would not have pulled up if Armstrong wasn't a hypocrite. But most monologuing villains are hypocrites anyways. Pushing ideals like that requires a lot of awareness of situations that Armstrong lacks, or perhaps just doesn't care about since orphaned Mexican children aren't his voter-base.
0:47 Instant internet access isn't all that amazing. It's the fact that he is a walking PC setup. Man casually walks around with a gajillion display monitors at his disposal. The fact that his weapons are like, RGB colors, doesn't help. He js a literal walking gaming PC.
For some reason this put the age old question in my head and I now am obligated to ask it. How many Skyrim ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) mods do you think Raiden's body can handle before he explodes?
I only found out about this game cause of Max0r. And now I need to play it for myself. Armstrong is one of the most charismatic, hilarious, and compelling villains I’ve ever seen. Everything about this game just oozes goofy personality and I love it.
I like how Vinny pokes fun at the game for how on the nose it is with it's message, but then you go and see how many people unironically agree with Armstrong and I'm left wondering if it wasn't clear enough.
Hey what the hell is this goin on in game. I mean. I know the metal gear franchise is a bit silly but this one is majorly insane. I'm completely enamored with the derangement.
"Free will is a myth. Religion is a joke. We're all pawns, controlled by something greater: memes! The DNA of the soul! - real words a voice actor was paid to say for this beautiful game
@@scrungles7853 one time I was asked to write a paper about free will early in college. Made up a bunch of bullshit about epigenetic and meme theory then ended with that line. I got an A, somehow.
Metal Gear has always been a critique of war. All games have strong things to say about it. But this is the first time they've been this blatant. And in fact, touches onto an alternate world view than what MGS usually critiques. The games always bashed how we handle war, but this time it bashed an alternative to how we currently do it. Because the current way we do it is attrocious, but that doesn't mean all options are better.
Armstrong’s writing is so funny in this game because he goes on about choosing your own war and deciding laws for yourself and everyone freaks out and loves him and calls him a man of conviction and principle. Then Blade Wolf walks onscreen, declares it has chosen its own war and making its own laws, and Armstrong kicks the shit out of it for that explicit reason. Like I suppose the writing could be *less* subtle, but not by much.
I think when people say "Kojima didn't write this" they mean "Kojima didn't get a writer credit". They probably just went out to a bar with him a few times and just secretly recorded what he said for a few hours. "And then Raiden is a cyborg! I know he's already a cyborg, but now he's even MORE of one! And at the start of the game he gets his shit kicked in and then gets even MORE of a cyborg what he is! It's his character!"
Armstrong: "I gotta kill you! Don't want any eyewitness reports of our activities here!" also Armstrong: (has a crowd cheering for him after he does his football move)
It’s weird to see 2016 referred to as “past vinny” but it’s been longer between these streams when and he started streaming and he played MGR this was a tricky ass sentence to write god damn
Saucy Jack was how Jack The Ripper referred to himself in one of the Jack the Ripper Letters. Allegedly. Chances are it was a hoax latter. It seems no one ever gets that reference.
Armstrong wanted men and women to fight their own wars. Boss wanted soldiers to lay down their arms and say no to orders to kill the opponent. That is why Armstrong’s dream is ultimately flawed though mingled in truth.
@@nothingwrong2293 That's because it's just that: a desire for a peace and unity among men, surpassing the borders and wars established by ideology and nations. It's inherently nebulous, and so prone to misinterpretation. "Politics, economics, the arms race - they're all just arenas for meaningless competition. I'm sure you can see that. But the Earth itself has no boundaries. No East, No West, No Cold War. [...] In the 21st century everyone will be able to see that we are all just inhabitants of a little celestial body called Earth. A world without communism and capitalism... that is the world I wanted to see." (MGS 3) Big Boss interpreted this as soldiers fighting for wars without being tied to anything, conflict itself giving life purpose, eventually achieving an equality and unity through an endless war, fought solely because that is a soldier's reason for being: "We will forsake our countries. We will leave our motherlands behind us and become one with this earth. We have no nation, no philosophy, no ideology. We go where we're needed, fighting, not for government, but for ourselves. We need no reason to fight. We fight because we are needed." (MGS PW) By rejecting the Boss' pacifist desires, he condemned himself to forever be entrapped within the very systems of war governed by ideology and national competition that the Boss wanted to end: "Zero and I, Liquid and Solidus, we all fought a long, bloody war for our liberty to free ourselves from systems, nations, norms and ages, but no matter how hard we fought, the only liberty we found was on the inside, trapped within those limits." (MGS 4) His contrast emerged in the Patriots and the war economy: an endless war, conducted not according to the freedom of men's convictions, but controlled and perpetuated by a singular consciousness seemingly for its own continued existence. Human behavior and thought controlled through systems of the digital world, eternally in want for the day the gunfire stops, but unified beyond the constraints of ideology and nations.
Armstrong is a charismatic villain. his entire THING is making convincing arguments for abominable, monstrous acts. he wants to return things to the Way Of The Strong. If you think you would be one of those Strong and thus support his ideals, trust me, you would not be one of them. The entire point of these kinds of strongman speeches is to make people think they won't be the ones crushed underfoot by the select few. the real problem is people see someone like Armstrong as aspirational, and not a catastrophic threat to the foundation of society itself. So many people in chat and comments of streams of this game are like HE'S MY HERO without understanding they would absolutely be the ones fed into the gringer like so much meat, not the ones at the helm. They want to be him, without understanding they can never be him. Much like trump supporters, really
Honestly it’s the same kinda thing that gets people wanting 40k stuff to be real, for example - everyone thinks they’d be at the top in their fantasies, like you said
That’s the thing, people like Armstrong use words like “freedom” “individuality” “fighting for yourself” all of these words that sound inspirational on the service, until you realize what they actually mean. He isn’t fighting for people’s rights, he’s fighting for his idealize version of society. That’s what fascism is, it fights for what it deems to be the superior person, whether based on class, race, or culture. It hides its horrific nature under good sounding words in order to sound morally virtuous despite being pure evil.
"Making the mother of all omelettes here Jack, can't fret over every egg." still hits as hard as it did the first time I heard it honestly. such a simple, sick line.
Why did you skip Armstrong kicking Wolf? You included everything else. Yeah, I know kicking a dog is bad, but still would've liked to see his reaction.
Becuase it was rally disturbing Vinny started cheering and turned his webcam on and he had a bunch of foam in his mouth and was jumping around and clapping it was super duper fucked up
"This is a game in which you fight a chainsaw robot wolf, a lady with a thousand arms, a cyber samurai, but somehow culminates in an hour-long battle against a United States Senator. A white guy in a business suit who smokes a cigar and boasts that he played football in college. A politician whose only explanation for his near-invincibility is the phrase, "NANOMACHINES, SON!," a fictional US Senator who, in 2013, shouts "Make America Great Again." The meme-ic density of this fight is unprecedented, the sheer volume of ideology and imagery almost impossible to take in. [...] The Senator pummels you with fists and unhinged dogma. He claims that the war will benefit the American people, he says, no joke, that "[he] has a dream." It is, for all the absurd spectacle, grossly familiar. But Metal Gear Rising is not a game that limits itself to the rules of our political reality. Because the single most fantastical, most intoxicating moment of the fight, the part our reality can only dream of, is when he finally goes mask off. Because the Senator admits, actually says out loud, that his ultimate goal is to burn every American support system to the ground. That what he wants to do, above war, above economics, above party, is simply to push the country into a state of true primal cruelty. That his America is one without kindness or compassion, where mass, preventable suffering would indeed serve as proof of some animalistic definition of freedom. It is the same ideology that seems to lurk behind countless real politicians' lips, one implicit in new policies we all see every day. It often seems like THE driving force behind our entire political machine, and yet it's something they will never, ever admit. But here, in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, a game without subtlety, a game without brakes, a game that hasn't stopped accelerating from the word go, the hulking nanomachine-fueled United States Senator finally just says it. ...And then you rip out his f**king heart." - Why Does Metal Gear Rising Keep Getting More Popular?, Jacob Geller
Gellar really is the platonic ideal of the youtube video essayist. Hypnotic presentation and delivery so good you miss that part where he just states outright how little he understands the material. Just refuses to address that after you rip his heart out you consume it to gain his power and internalise his ideology to create a synthesis. Just can't help himself from reducing Armstrong to an idol of his political enemies that he gets to kill and stop thinking about.
As far as raiden "internalizing armstrong's ideology": nothing, apart from generic 'might makes right' and "fighting -for what you believe in- your own wars". And the last one is a unifying theme throughout this game, it doesn't just come from Armstrong. *Those* parts of his Armstrong's ideology are passed on, but nothing that's unique to him. He is who Raiden fears in himself, all of his cruel and sadistic (intrusive?) thoughts and tendencies. In an ironically brutal move, raiden squeezes the life out of armstrong's heart, to make sure he can't endanger the lives of the weak and powerless ever again. Raiden isn't just absorbing armstrong's power, he's making sure that fcker is dead.
@@anjoliebarrios8906 The difference between Raiden and Armstrong is there definition of a better world and their red lines on achieving it. Both are totally willing to kill as many people as required with their bare hands to if there is a better world on the other side. Raiden just happens to have a thing about children and choices. Armstrong is his shadow (you can see this visually at the conclusion of the fight) and helped him stay on the path that he started on in Denver. Armstrong’s ideology is not making crazy child cyborg soldiers its just something the current system lets him do to acquire power. Raiden looks miserable at the end of the fight because he comes to understand Armstrong and wishes that things could have been different. He honours Armstrong’s legacy but not his methods by stepping outside of the system and following his dream of destroying it.
The only way I'd not vote for Armstrong is if he running against Michael Nelson from Metal Wolf Chaos. Of course I can only see that race ending in a tie and the two having a mech battle to determine the winner.
A few folks have touched on it but I'll toss my 2 cents in. Armstrong's ideology falls apart when you ask "Who do you say is weak?" or, more pointedly, "Are the 'weak' even people to (the strong)?" Then you purge the "weak" and have to have a new "weak." It leads to caste systems, rigid hierarchies, effective or out-and-out slavery, bloody pogroms, even bloodier revolutions, constant cycles of massacre and reassignment over the course of generations, with whoever is at the bottom being expendable at best. A constant shifting target of who is bad for society and the carte blanche to "fix" them however is necessary. This, so far as I can tell, is the ideal end result. Raiden's ideology starts at the premise that, regardless of position, accomplishment, or circumstance, you *are* a person. That very baseline means you deserve not only life, but dignity and a chance to make the most of yourself as you see fit, mistakes and all. It leads to disorder, to inefficiency, to bouts of stagnation, but it also allows not only personal freedom but an overall elevation of everyone. It's slow to respond to problems but, ideally, *does* deal with them with the least amount of harm. If you genuinely think the former is the better path, you're just wrong. A society with an explicit enemy focuses on that target at the expense of all else. Stagnation is guaranteed and the prosperity a handful experience is a lie built upon the suffering of so many more. It isn't meritocratic, its oligarchic, aristocratic, a constant positive feedback loop *of* the rich and powerful *to* the rich and powerful. Don't let honeyed words lead you astray simply because of your, rightful, disdain for corrupt, ineffective politicians. If you value genuine freedom then the former *can't* be an option. Too many words to be 2 cents, damn inflation.
These cutscenes truly did age like the finest wine lmao. This game is unironically art, a masterpiece. Anyone can say what they will, but man am i glad i got into Metal Gear with this game. I also would unironically love to live in a country ruled by someone like Armstrong. What he described is the very definition of freedom.
Armstrong has to be one of my favorite Metal Gear villains, and this game wasn't to be taken seriously in the continuity of the orignal series. If I have to make a list I say these are my top 5. Ocelot Armstrong Phycho Mantis The Boss Vulcan Raven
9:48 I'll keep this brief and as light as possible on politics but for anyone wondering on the history of it, the make America great again quote comes from regan. Trump took alot of inspiration from him.
I think Kojima was supervising MGR? He was directing it before but when it was handed to Platinum he played a more supervisory role from a distance, i think? Probably just there to make sure the whole thing was suitably insane.
To this day this remains the greatest Metal Gear game in the series, it's a crime we never got a sequel. Raiden has performed feats in this game which put him above the likes of Big Boss and Solid Snake, they really managed to turn him into the biggest badass there is.
@@BusAlexey The war economy was literally a major factor in pulling the US out of the Great Depression, so yeah that bit really isn't new. Kojima wasn't predicting things, he was telling it like it is and adding in wild anime shit to make it more fun to sit through.
I'll keep this brief and as light as possible on the politics 9:48 but for anyone wondering, it's highly unlikely trump played this game. the make America Great Again quote is from Regan, which trump took massive inspiration from.
The number of people who say they would vote for Armstrong is always worrisome. I know it is usually a joke, but plenty of people seem to say it sincerely. He is literally advocating for comic-book anarchy where anyone can rob or kill anyone they want, so long as they have the strength to do so. And he is saying that in a world in which those with tons of money have access to insane cybernetics that let them become as powerful as, well, Armstrong or Raiden. So in real life, it would mean "the people with the biggest guns and the least morality can at any time abuse and rob and murder anybody they want". Somehow, people who say they like what Armstrong is saying never realize that they themselves could become victims of shit like that. ...of course, there are SOME who would ACTUALLY love that because they cannot wait to use their stockpile of firearms to threaten or kill anybody they do not like, but I would hope that those kinds of sociopaths are in the minority.
The appeal usually starts and ends at his "burn it down" mentality. Lots of people are upset with the system, and like any politician who agrees. Of course, that's a good way to accidentally support some crazy worldview like Armstrong's, which is an issue in its own right, but I don't think most are on board once he gets to the whole violent, wild-west anarchy part.
Saucy jack was a name used to sign a post card that was believed to be sent by Jack the Ripper, raidens nick name.
I finally have the answer to this question.
Thank you.
Raider???
Bro
What if instead of saucy jack we called him freaky jack
If Jack the Ripper was alive today would they call him Sussy Jack?
Sussy Jack
This game is still very timely even now
And it’ll probably be more and more timely for centuries
_"the memes..."_
So true Boss
@@pendalink So excited for coliseums to come back.
Sometimes I feel the Excelsus theme could replace the National Anthem these days.
This game is fucking evergreen.
I'd argue the whole main series is, for different reasons per game, but they all can largely be played by most of anyone and be able to get something from them
that's why Kojima is genius, entire series is evergreen
@@sadge0 Kojima didn't make this game tho?
It's actually called Metal Gear Rising.
It’s so ironically and unironically cool
11:27 i love how genuinely happy Armstrong is thinking he changed Raidens mind. Like quickly pulling him up, dusting him off and giving him a hug. You can tell Armstrong genuinely believes he is fighting for the greater good.
neither of em fighting for good though
@@Aiveq they're fighting for what they believe in. Which to their individual perspectives is the greater good.
@@Patbacknitro2 Which is exactly the point of the story. Good theming.
@Alveq Raiden TECHNICALLY is. Armstrong's plan is insane and his means of going about it are undoubtedly EVIL.
Those that actually believe in what they are doing are the most dangerous, they are zealous to the point that they would kill anyone that doesn't agree 100% I suppose that's why Raiden had to put him down. I think Raiden did agree with majority of Armstrong's beliefs but drawed the line when he was talking about destroying the weak and make the strong control everything. Raiden's and Armstrong's beliefs are more or less the same but Armstrong's was the extremists version of Raiden's.
Raiden: Senator! How do your clothes stay so clean?!
Armstrong: Washing Machines son! The soap reacts to Physical Stains!
You can’t dirty me, Jack!
*Blade wolf appears in the distance, carrying a bucket of used oil.
@@rompevuevitos222*crude oil
Indestructible man thinks people should pick themselves up by their bootstraps.
Pick themselves up by their nanomachines
, son
Many such cases
COMMENTARY
To be fair, he does deliver a counter argument to your point right after saying that.
9:47 If i remember correct, the "make America great again" line was originally heard from "Ronald Reagan" in the 80s. This game is from 2013, before The Orange man candidate for President in 2016 for the first time. SO in other words: Like Armstrong said in the cut scenes "Not writing your own speeches".
Plus Armstrong is a Walking and talking parody of Presidents, and his speech is a jumbled combination of all kinds of different phrases that other presidents said in the past.
Technically DJT ran a rather unsuccessful presidential campaign a fair number of years before 2016 ?
Orange Man ran as President before but was unsuccessful. He even advertised on Oprah.
While yes, Armstrong is somewhat parody, what he said is actually legitimate because he basically wants to end politicians abusing and gaslighting the public into wars in order to line their pockets or for niche beliefs. Granted the way he says this is by saying get rid of the weak and the strong will thrive; in which the weak are those who can only talk and manipulate and the strong are those who act, but Raiden didn't understand what he meant at first, and when he did understand there was too much bad blood between them to let him live.
@@RAINMAKEEER Orpah was such a wild show
@@yumin_pluto558 Armstrong's plan is also bad. It's just fascism but presented as american.
Like really, you shouldn't agree with somebody who says we need "to purge the weak", thatns how you get austrian painters in power.
Every line a poem: ❌️
Every line a meme: ✅️
This game was written by Etsu Tamari. Huge shame more people don't know his name!
He was also an additional writer on MGS V and apparently wrote the radio scripts for Peace Walker.
finally, a Kojima successor
People always say that without Kojima there's no new metal gear, but this game and portable ops are proof enough that it's possible and can be amazing
@@MrBanera A little fun fact portable ops’ story and overall concept comes from kojima the credits say “Original Game Design and story concept by Kojima”
and the script of the original SOLID Rising is just an unused story arc of raiden from mgs4 where he was considered as a playable character in mgs4’s early dev stages like how raiden was supposed to infiltrate the patriots lab and rescue sunny but got captured and experimented upon, there’s even a concept art of raiden carrying sunny which looks strikingly similar to Death Stranding
Kojima was even promised to be heavily involved with Solid Rising and his role was “more than a typical producer”
Sadly even that story concept for Rising got scrapped as the game was in turmoil/dev hell as it had less than 40~ employees (to make it even more sad Solid Risings team consisted of new young employees) and kojima sadly couldn’t step in as he was already working on mgsv (c. 2009 pre-prod) and was finalizing peace walker
I’d even say that Solid Risings main concept came from another unused mgs4 idea in which kojima envisioned “environmental destruction”
Look, if i was fighting a giant robot spider and the guy piloting it ran at me after i beat it and he was *stronger* than the fucking robot, i think id just fold
19:45 I really like the visual metaphor they have here, where Armstrong IS Raiden's shadow.
Oh wow, now i see it
Didn't realised this throughout the years watching this
Never noticed that detail before. That's pretty cool
12:15 I really like the visual metaphor they have here, where Armstrong IS spreading his asscheeks at Raiden.
@@beenings213hard to miss that detail. Still, that’s pretty cool
@@slendersblenderArmstrong wasn't really trying to be discreet, so, it makes sense.
He’s a character you want more of but this is the perfect amount of him
The perfect dose, because after a while he would get really annoying.
Raiden opening twitter in the beginning is the best scene in gaming.
“This one’s calling me a Redditor”
One issue I got with that scene, is that they focus on a few extremists/'potential trolls' on social media. Those individuals are gonna be the first and loudest in such conversations. What should be more concerning would be the later news reports coming a few hours later that would shape the public opinion.
I know this is just pure fiction, but it's a important too in the real world
I can't remember where i first read this but its excellent writing that for all Armstrong goes on about individualism his power relies on billions of nanobots working together.
The whooshing of armstrongs arms at the beginning....
They're just that powerful.
I genuinely think this ending is probably the best in the series, just layers upon layers of awesome writing and action
It really is. The boss fight is super fun too.
In the series? nah. It's good though, and funny
I prefer Arlington, but this is a good sorta "just so you know, Raiden's still protecting the weak" follow-up.
The funniest detail for me is that Armstrong genuinely believes Jack after he says he was wrong. He even dusts him off and the motion captured animation done by a person obviously much smaller than Armstrong is the cherry on top.
Armstrong is easily a top 10 video game antagonist and he has less than an hour of screen time. Also an insane amount of people would vote for Armstrong. Nobody would be able to match his charisma.
You know, when the whole game takes 6-8 hours to complete its not surprising
Which is kinda sad considering Armstrong is pitching a dictatorship
@@Sir_Bucketwhat? He objectively isn’t? He’s pitching anarchism? Anarchy usually leads to a dictatorship, but a dictatorship does not have to be formed via anarchy. Even a democracy could theoretically become a dictatorship.
@@UnluckyLilly the conditions he speaks of specifically lead to dictatorship. He doesn't want people to get back powers to live in equality, he wants "the strong to rule" and "the weak to be purged". That's a dictatorship. He plans to reach that through anarchy yes, but the end goal is a dictatorship.
@@UnluckyLilly Democracies can not only "theoretically" become a dictatorship, we have plenty of historical cases where it already happened.
Fun fact: Armstrong and Mimir from GoW share the voice actor
Another fun fact: Armstrong's voice actor used to be married to Skylar Whites actress, Anna Gun
He also voices Celebrimbor from the Shadow of Mordor/War games!!
Your fucking with me rigth now
@@stegosandrosos1291 nah man, look it up. Alastair Duncan
Sad fact: That will mean nothing to Vinny as he refuses to play those games for whatever reason.
I find it funny how Armstrong told Jack to fight for what HE believes in, meanwhile Raiden was on a personal crusade ever since Denver.
Raiden is the personification of Armstrong's ideology
Done RIGHT. But Raiden still wishes to protect weak, Armstrong wanted to snuff them out completely. It's where their ideals clash, and why Armstrong needed to be put down
@@DirectorOfChaos9292it’s more that Armstrong is a super exaggerated version of the “Pull yourself up by the bootstraps” idea in America. He thinks it’s fully on the weak to become stronger, and Raiden thinks it’s the strongs job to pull the weak up
@@jtreview7506 No, Armstrong is an exaggeration but the ideology behind him is ultimately correct. If we don't purse meritocracy and 'greatness' but equality initiatives and "equity" etc. society tends to stagnate as we have seen for the last few decades. Armstrong is actually right, his position is just very exaggerated to the point where it has to involve violence and murder.
@@dabelidubelidabelidadada1222 that’s why I said exaggerated, the idea isn’t wrong, but like anything taken to extremes, stuff gets real wonky
This game’s relevance increases exponentially with its age
edit: I said proportionally but what I meant was exponentially lmao. my brain wasn't working earlier today
To the point where I'm not sure if Kojima had something to do with this game personally or if he was just a hack.
@@diegomedina9637 probably neither I guess
This and MGS2...except this was much simpler to digest. Lol
@@diegomedina9637I don't get the second point, but no he did not have anything to do with the game. This is by Platinum and written by someone else at Kojipro.
No.
God its strange how different Vinny sounded back then
2016 still feels like it was yesterday
hi pip
heya pip
Seek grass
Holy shit, I really do see you everywhere
@@Erblorg he's a brony, probably doesn't have anything better to do with his life tbh
I love how he says he would vote for him while being his exact target.
Dude, you ARE the 24h trivia celebrity bullshit.
People find it refreshing to have a politician with actual beliefs they would literally fight and die for. Even if it goes against some of their own values, people will tend to lean towards the more fervent and "real" politician.
@@LouisAndPillz The age old story of people voting for the face-eating leopards.
Its not vinnys fault he doesnt push celebrity trivia.
Armstrong's plan for making America filled with the strong and free was to fund an experiment about kidnapping orphans, robbing them of their humanity, and making them go to war. Raiden would not have pulled up if Armstrong wasn't a hypocrite. But most monologuing villains are hypocrites anyways.
Pushing ideals like that requires a lot of awareness of situations that Armstrong lacks, or perhaps just doesn't care about since orphaned Mexican children aren't his voter-base.
Metal Gear Rising never dies. Hence the name Rising, its popularity rises.
the old mic, very nostalgic
0:47 Instant internet access isn't all that amazing.
It's the fact that he is a walking PC setup. Man casually walks around with a gajillion display monitors at his disposal.
The fact that his weapons are like, RGB colors, doesn't help. He js a literal walking gaming PC.
With a body that looks like a gamer mouse
For some reason this put the age old question in my head and I now am obligated to ask it. How many Skyrim ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) mods do you think Raiden's body can handle before he explodes?
@@jonolivier9126 better yet, how many crysis 3 can raiden run?
@@jonolivier9126 idk but do you think he uses Subway Surfer's footage to keep his serotonin addiction fed?
@@jonolivier9126I think his battery would die before that
Good lord raidens voice is so funny
I'm shocked it 2024 and people don't realize the shit Armstrong says isn't just memes and actually from the game.
I am only now realizing that Armstrong is voiced by Celebrimbor from the Shadow of Mordor/War games
That’s hilarious
Also Mimir in God of War
And Kaito in Judgment
@@dantetouchdown9030Kaito is voiced by Crispin freeman, sundowner's voice actor
@@paul-nj1ig my bad, this is Alastair Duncan right?
I only found out about this game cause of Max0r. And now I need to play it for myself. Armstrong is one of the most charismatic, hilarious, and compelling villains I’ve ever seen. Everything about this game just oozes goofy personality and I love it.
The fact this game is so topical even still, today, is immaculate.
“I was wrong, you’re not greedy…YOUR BATSHIT INSANE” PEAK 🔥
I like how Vinny pokes fun at the game for how on the nose it is with it's message, but then you go and see how many people unironically agree with Armstrong and I'm left wondering if it wasn't clear enough.
Everyone wants anarchy till they can’t call the police to help them
@@Mirage475
Ew, cop lover.
He says a lot of smart things and a shit ton of dumb immoral things. That's why Raiden takes his advice but not fully of course
Broken clock and all that
Jack: "Let's dance!"
Armstrong: *Instantly dies of cringe*
If Armstrong was running for this election he would absolutely win
Is either him or two zombies
This is the hydrogen bomb vs coughing baby meme except is
Coughing old man vs Nanomachine bomb vs old orange man
Is either him or two zombies
This is the hydrogen bomb vs coughing baby meme except is
Coughing old man vs Nanomachine bomb vs old orange man
Metal Gear Rising will never die!!!
For real.
It will, as all things do, but it will stay in the minds of people for some time. It's a truly brilliant game.
Hey what the hell is this goin on in game. I mean. I know the metal gear franchise is a bit silly but this one is majorly insane.
I'm completely enamored with the derangement.
MGR is the most insane metal gear game and I love it
"Free will is a myth. Religion is a joke. We're all pawns, controlled by something greater: memes! The DNA of the soul! - real words a voice actor was paid to say for this beautiful game
@@dianauwu1312 The dna of the soul...
@@scrungles7853 one time I was asked to write a paper about free will early in college. Made up a bunch of bullshit about epigenetic and meme theory then ended with that line.
I got an A, somehow.
Metal Gear has always been a critique of war. All games have strong things to say about it.
But this is the first time they've been this blatant. And in fact, touches onto an alternate world view than what MGS usually critiques.
The games always bashed how we handle war, but this time it bashed an alternative to how we currently do it. Because the current way we do it is attrocious, but that doesn't mean all options are better.
9:47 WHAT
'yea quinton. you deliver the shit out of those lines' is exactly how i felt playing this
13:49 that fuckin reaction from Vinny is pure gold, oh my god
Armstrong’s writing is so funny in this game because he goes on about choosing your own war and deciding laws for yourself and everyone freaks out and loves him and calls him a man of conviction and principle.
Then Blade Wolf walks onscreen, declares it has chosen its own war and making its own laws, and Armstrong kicks the shit out of it for that explicit reason. Like I suppose the writing could be *less* subtle, but not by much.
There's nothing inconsistent about it. If Bladewolf is too kickable to enforce his will over Armstrong's, that's on him.
Blade Wolf's war interfers with Armstrong's war.
Or something idk
Pretty sure both Armstrong and trump were quoting Reagan or something when they said MAGA but it would be really funny if trump played metal gear
Find it nuts in retrospect that Vin happened to stream the finale around 2 weeks before the 2016 presidential elections
I wish elections were like this.
Hmm... Judging by the state of the States right now, I think they are. Over there.
They’re even worse 😂
@@invisisolation they lack the epicness of a physical fight, they need to box each other or play a FPS game while saying their arguments
@@luckyinky7849 Presidents should become wrestlers
@@MSCDonkeyKong Lincoln set the precedent, now it's time for even more election kayfabe
I think when people say "Kojima didn't write this" they mean "Kojima didn't get a writer credit".
They probably just went out to a bar with him a few times and just secretly recorded what he said for a few hours.
"And then Raiden is a cyborg! I know he's already a cyborg, but now he's even MORE of one! And at the start of the game he gets his shit kicked in and then gets even MORE of a cyborg what he is! It's his character!"
For what it's worth, he wanted it to be a prequel about Gray Fox.
Armstrong: "Put power back into the hands of the people"
Also, Armstrong: "The weak will be purged"
It is a common loophole:
"The world will be objectively better, FOR the people that i want to have in it"
I still cant believe this is actual dialogue in this game. Its so fucking funny.
Armstrong: "I gotta kill you! Don't want any eyewitness reports of our activities here!"
also Armstrong: (has a crowd cheering for him after he does his football move)
Man it's so surreal listening to past Vinny.
It’s weird to see 2016 referred to as “past vinny” but it’s been longer between these streams when and he started streaming and he played MGR
this was a tricky ass sentence to write god damn
both this game and vinny have aged magnificently
That “WHAT!?” at the Make America Great Again phrase. LOL
the "burn america down" platform has been gaining steam steadily since 2013
Saucy Jack was how Jack The Ripper referred to himself in one of the Jack the Ripper Letters. Allegedly. Chances are it was a hoax latter. It seems no one ever gets that reference.
Armstrong wanted men and women to fight their own wars.
Boss wanted soldiers to lay down their arms and say no to orders to kill the opponent.
That is why Armstrong’s dream is ultimately flawed though mingled in truth.
At this point I'm convinced that even Kojima himself doesn't know what the hell the Boss' will is
@@nothingwrong2293I don't think so.
@@vladvolkov6052 you'd be surprised how much writers leave to imagination of consumers
@@nothingwrong2293 That's because it's just that: a desire for a peace and unity among men, surpassing the borders and wars established by ideology and nations. It's inherently nebulous, and so prone to misinterpretation. "Politics, economics, the arms race - they're all just arenas for meaningless competition. I'm sure you can see that. But the Earth itself has no boundaries. No East, No West, No Cold War. [...] In the 21st century everyone will be able to see that we are all just inhabitants of a little celestial body called Earth. A world without communism and capitalism... that is the world I wanted to see." (MGS 3)
Big Boss interpreted this as soldiers fighting for wars without being tied to anything, conflict itself giving life purpose, eventually achieving an equality and unity through an endless war, fought solely because that is a soldier's reason for being: "We will forsake our countries. We will leave our motherlands behind us and become one with this earth. We have no nation, no philosophy, no ideology. We go where we're needed, fighting, not for government, but for ourselves. We need no reason to fight. We fight because we are needed." (MGS PW) By rejecting the Boss' pacifist desires, he condemned himself to forever be entrapped within the very systems of war governed by ideology and national competition that the Boss wanted to end: "Zero and I, Liquid and Solidus, we all fought a long, bloody war for our liberty to free ourselves from systems, nations, norms and ages, but no matter how hard we fought, the only liberty we found was on the inside, trapped within those limits." (MGS 4)
His contrast emerged in the Patriots and the war economy: an endless war, conducted not according to the freedom of men's convictions, but controlled and perpetuated by a singular consciousness seemingly for its own continued existence. Human behavior and thought controlled through systems of the digital world, eternally in want for the day the gunfire stops, but unified beyond the constraints of ideology and nations.
I don't think Armstrong cares about the boss or the patriots
this awesome speech paired with vinny’s absolutely broken and shallow political analysis is genuinely hilarious
Senator Armstrong was a great parody when he was originally conceived, but wow has it only gotten closer and closer to reality since 2013
Armstrong is a charismatic villain. his entire THING is making convincing arguments for abominable, monstrous acts. he wants to return things to the Way Of The Strong. If you think you would be one of those Strong and thus support his ideals, trust me, you would not be one of them. The entire point of these kinds of strongman speeches is to make people think they won't be the ones crushed underfoot by the select few. the real problem is people see someone like Armstrong as aspirational, and not a catastrophic threat to the foundation of society itself. So many people in chat and comments of streams of this game are like HE'S MY HERO without understanding they would absolutely be the ones fed into the gringer like so much meat, not the ones at the helm. They want to be him, without understanding they can never be him. Much like trump supporters, really
Honestly it’s the same kinda thing that gets people wanting 40k stuff to be real, for example - everyone thinks they’d be at the top in their fantasies, like you said
That’s the thing, people like Armstrong use words like “freedom” “individuality” “fighting for yourself” all of these words that sound inspirational on the service, until you realize what they actually mean. He isn’t fighting for people’s rights, he’s fighting for his idealize version of society. That’s what fascism is, it fights for what it deems to be the superior person, whether based on class, race, or culture. It hides its horrific nature under good sounding words in order to sound morally virtuous despite being pure evil.
@@evanrutledge-sz4yoagain, he doesn’t want fascism, he wants rule of the jungle
@@averagelithuanian Worse than that, he wanted a jungle he can rule with an iron fist.
What's with all the small cuts. You removed Raiden yelling "ARMSTROONG!"
I literally yelled it before that part and was so sad when it was cut aaaaa
I want to see this fucking man run against Funny Valentine for President.
Would be the best election in US history.
"Making the mother of all omelettes here Jack, can't fret over every egg." still hits as hard as it did the first time I heard it honestly. such a simple, sick line.
Between MGS2 and this, it's funny how Raiden-centric games manage to walk the line of insane and poignant. Or something.
Why did you skip Armstrong kicking Wolf? You included everything else. Yeah, I know kicking a dog is bad, but still would've liked to see his reaction.
Becuase it was rally disturbing Vinny started cheering and turned his webcam on and he had a bunch of foam in his mouth and was jumping around and clapping it was super duper fucked up
Yeah V-Dub had to come in and broke his sternum giving him an adrenaline shot
Of Mountain-Dew
@@Boney9551 dude even better wtf
The quota
@@Boney9551 I cant believe Vinny said the N-Word live on stream
17:39 I love that Vinny’s palpatine impression is just Mike Stoklasa’s palpatine impression
Jim Cornette was truly the best MGS villain of all time.
Holy shit I've never taken the time to watch this cutscene.
This game is pure theatre.
15:40 oh.. "Sorry for being rough last night"
One of the many times they get the villian to say true things.
Finally, some good flubbin food
"This is a game in which you fight a chainsaw robot wolf, a lady with a thousand arms, a cyber samurai, but somehow culminates in an hour-long battle against a United States Senator. A white guy in a business suit who smokes a cigar and boasts that he played football in college. A politician whose only explanation for his near-invincibility is the phrase, "NANOMACHINES, SON!," a fictional US Senator who, in 2013, shouts "Make America Great Again." The meme-ic density of this fight is unprecedented, the sheer volume of ideology and imagery almost impossible to take in. [...]
The Senator pummels you with fists and unhinged dogma. He claims that the war will benefit the American people, he says, no joke, that "[he] has a dream." It is, for all the absurd spectacle, grossly familiar. But Metal Gear Rising is not a game that limits itself to the rules of our political reality. Because the single most fantastical, most intoxicating moment of the fight, the part our reality can only dream of, is when he finally goes mask off.
Because the Senator admits, actually says out loud, that his ultimate goal is to burn every American support system to the ground. That what he wants to do, above war, above economics, above party, is simply to push the country into a state of true primal cruelty. That his America is one without kindness or compassion, where mass, preventable suffering would indeed serve as proof of some animalistic definition of freedom. It is the same ideology that seems to lurk behind countless real politicians' lips, one implicit in new policies we all see every day. It often seems like THE driving force behind our entire political machine, and yet it's something they will never, ever admit. But here, in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, a game without subtlety, a game without brakes, a game that hasn't stopped accelerating from the word go, the hulking nanomachine-fueled United States Senator finally just says it.
...And then you rip out his f**king heart."
- Why Does Metal Gear Rising Keep Getting More Popular?, Jacob Geller
Gellar really is the platonic ideal of the youtube video essayist. Hypnotic presentation and delivery so good you miss that part where he just states outright how little he understands the material.
Just refuses to address that after you rip his heart out you consume it to gain his power and internalise his ideology to create a synthesis. Just can't help himself from reducing Armstrong to an idol of his political enemies that he gets to kill and stop thinking about.
@@gma5607 You ignored the last line there.
@@MrMrprofessor12345
By ignore you mean directly address that Gellar misunderstands the symbolism and context of the heart ripping?
As far as raiden "internalizing armstrong's ideology": nothing, apart from generic 'might makes right' and "fighting -for what you believe in- your own wars". And the last one is a unifying theme throughout this game, it doesn't just come from Armstrong. *Those* parts of his Armstrong's ideology are passed on, but nothing that's unique to him.
He is who Raiden fears in himself, all of his cruel and sadistic (intrusive?) thoughts and tendencies. In an ironically brutal move, raiden squeezes the life out of armstrong's heart, to make sure he can't endanger the lives of the weak and powerless ever again. Raiden isn't just absorbing armstrong's power, he's making sure that fcker is dead.
@@anjoliebarrios8906
The difference between Raiden and Armstrong is there definition of a better world and their red lines on achieving it. Both are totally willing to kill as many people as required with their bare hands to if there is a better world on the other side. Raiden just happens to have a thing about children and choices.
Armstrong is his shadow (you can see this visually at the conclusion of the fight) and helped him stay on the path that he started on in Denver. Armstrong’s ideology is not making crazy child cyborg soldiers its just something the current system lets him do to acquire power. Raiden looks miserable at the end of the fight because he comes to understand Armstrong and wishes that things could have been different.
He honours Armstrong’s legacy but not his methods by stepping outside of the system and following his dream of destroying it.
The best part about political satire is that more serious it takes itself the funnier and better it ages
3:14
He says, while y'know, harvesting street urchins for his VR Torture Nexus to create a cyborg death squad army of traumatized zombified children.
in my country, armstrong face looks like former governor of jakarta anies baswedan
Cyborg Ninja rips a giant super mech to shreds, but a swole senator kicks his ass. Why?
"I played college ball, you know?"
The only way I'd not vote for Armstrong is if he running against Michael Nelson from Metal Wolf Chaos. Of course I can only see that race ending in a tie and the two having a mech battle to determine the winner.
Armstrong is the mecha.
A few folks have touched on it but I'll toss my 2 cents in.
Armstrong's ideology falls apart when you ask "Who do you say is weak?" or, more pointedly, "Are the 'weak' even people to (the strong)?" Then you purge the "weak" and have to have a new "weak." It leads to caste systems, rigid hierarchies, effective or out-and-out slavery, bloody pogroms, even bloodier revolutions, constant cycles of massacre and reassignment over the course of generations, with whoever is at the bottom being expendable at best. A constant shifting target of who is bad for society and the carte blanche to "fix" them however is necessary. This, so far as I can tell, is the ideal end result.
Raiden's ideology starts at the premise that, regardless of position, accomplishment, or circumstance, you *are* a person. That very baseline means you deserve not only life, but dignity and a chance to make the most of yourself as you see fit, mistakes and all. It leads to disorder, to inefficiency, to bouts of stagnation, but it also allows not only personal freedom but an overall elevation of everyone. It's slow to respond to problems but, ideally, *does* deal with them with the least amount of harm.
If you genuinely think the former is the better path, you're just wrong. A society with an explicit enemy focuses on that target at the expense of all else. Stagnation is guaranteed and the prosperity a handful experience is a lie built upon the suffering of so many more. It isn't meritocratic, its oligarchic, aristocratic, a constant positive feedback loop *of* the rich and powerful *to* the rich and powerful.
Don't let honeyed words lead you astray simply because of your, rightful, disdain for corrupt, ineffective politicians. If you value genuine freedom then the former *can't* be an option.
Too many words to be 2 cents, damn inflation.
13:18 Vin's reaction here always kills me
Damn, all that's missing is Senator Armstrong rambling about windmills and his crowd sizes
These cutscenes truly did age like the finest wine lmao. This game is unironically art, a masterpiece. Anyone can say what they will, but man am i glad i got into Metal Gear with this game. I also would unironically love to live in a country ruled by someone like Armstrong. What he described is the very definition of freedom.
Revengeance is a guideline for what people should do to Armstrong like people
What did he mean by this?
@@ghoulbuster1 idk if I could be clearer
@@wumbojetor gayer
@@HHTwicetrue.
OP is gay as all hell.
This is honestly so atemporal. Even the graphics, the game ages like wine.
Man rejects materialism, tells people to think for themselves like he does or else. There is a message there.
this game, this final boss , is just relevant every election. Any year
0:15 You sound like somebody from Batman
he jonklibg
Armstrong has to be one of my favorite Metal Gear villains, and this game wasn't to be taken seriously in the continuity of the orignal series. If I have to make a list I say these are my top 5.
Ocelot
Armstrong
Phycho Mantis
The Boss
Vulcan Raven
"Vinny doesn't watch anime--" explain this then
9:48 I'll keep this brief and as light as possible on politics but for anyone wondering on the history of it, the make America great again quote comes from regan. Trump took alot of inspiration from him.
I think Kojima was supervising MGR? He was directing it before but when it was handed to Platinum he played a more supervisory role from a distance, i think? Probably just there to make sure the whole thing was suitably insane.
STANDING HERE, I REALIZE!!!!
To this day this remains the greatest Metal Gear game in the series, it's a crime we never got a sequel. Raiden has performed feats in this game which put him above the likes of Big Boss and Solid Snake, they really managed to turn him into the biggest badass there is.
Kojima is the reincarnation of Nostradamus. He predicted 9/11, COVID, and the war economy.
except Nostradamus was wrong on basically every prediction
Predict war economy? My dude, Bush's been beating on the war machine drums a long time before this game
@@BusAlexey
The war economy was literally a major factor in pulling the US out of the Great Depression, so yeah that bit really isn't new. Kojima wasn't predicting things, he was telling it like it is and adding in wild anime shit to make it more fun to sit through.
The boss hasent started and senetor already has the wish woosh sfx everytime he moves
I'll keep this brief and as light as possible on the politics 9:48 but for anyone wondering, it's highly unlikely trump played this game. the make America Great Again quote is from Regan, which trump took massive inspiration from.
The number of people who say they would vote for Armstrong is always worrisome. I know it is usually a joke, but plenty of people seem to say it sincerely. He is literally advocating for comic-book anarchy where anyone can rob or kill anyone they want, so long as they have the strength to do so. And he is saying that in a world in which those with tons of money have access to insane cybernetics that let them become as powerful as, well, Armstrong or Raiden. So in real life, it would mean "the people with the biggest guns and the least morality can at any time abuse and rob and murder anybody they want". Somehow, people who say they like what Armstrong is saying never realize that they themselves could become victims of shit like that.
...of course, there are SOME who would ACTUALLY love that because they cannot wait to use their stockpile of firearms to threaten or kill anybody they do not like, but I would hope that those kinds of sociopaths are in the minority.
Agreed. There's also what he was doing with children too; removing their brains and eyes and turning them into literal weapons.
That quote sounds just about the same as what happens in the actual real world though.
The appeal usually starts and ends at his "burn it down" mentality. Lots of people are upset with the system, and like any politician who agrees. Of course, that's a good way to accidentally support some crazy worldview like Armstrong's, which is an issue in its own right, but I don't think most are on board once he gets to the whole violent, wild-west anarchy part.
Still better candidate then last 8 years for america
LOG OFFFFFFF HOLY SHIT
armstrong knows armament haki lol
i can't believe vinny didn't know senator armstrong is who originated "nanomachines, son!"
I still haven't played this game yet but it's one of the goats of all time.
It was peak then, it's peak now. I'll never forget my first playthrough
he heard "nanomachines, son" and turned into that gif of Danny DeVito going "I finally get it..." from It's Always Sunny
If they released this game 2020-2024 it gonna be game of year.
World's most quotable game and world's greatest villain.