Due to his participation in the Liberian Civil War, Raiden was one of the few Force XXI VR subjects to possess actual combat experience. Also, because of his past as a child soldier, as well as his possessing
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, as a result, he also occasionally pushed away even people he cared about due to his being "afraid of the night." Because of this, he was outwardly cold and distant even to people whom he personally knew, such as his then-girlfriend Rosemary. It was largely because of this cold nature, as well as his pushing people he knew away that resulted in Rosemary initially fearing that he was unfaithful to her. When he first infiltrated the Big Shell, Raiden appeared to be a young and "inexperienced" agent of a "reformed" FOXHOUND unit, occasionally prone to emotional outbursts.
Throughout his mission, however, being that the memories of his past began to slowly resurface, he also began to suspect that he enjoyed killing, and reluctantly informed Rosemary as much.
[24] When the memories of his time as a child soldier began to resurface, he gained somewhat of a low opinion of himself, especially in comparison to Solid Snake's accomplishments. He also held some hero worship for Solid Snake, as part of the reason for his agreeing to partake in the Big Shell Incident to take down the terrorist leader was so he'd meet the legend face-to-face, and was initially disappointed when it seemed Snake had truly died in the Tanker Incident.
Although he immensely respected Solid Snake, there were instances where it had its rough spots during the Big Shell Incident, such as when he learned that Snake and Otacon lied to him about whether they knew about the Big Shell being a great big conspiracy, as well as a remark Snake made that got him angered enough to make explosive insults about Snake, not realizing that he was in earshot, and when Snake "betrayed" Raiden at Arsenal Gear to lessen security onboard without warning him beforehand. Prior to finding out that Pliskin was in fact Snake, he also held some respect for Pliskin in terms of mentorship and camaraderie. Nonetheless, he did end up suspicious when Rosemary seemed to be praiseworthy of Pliskin.
Raiden used to smoke
cigarettes at one point in his life, but had quit by the time of the Big Shell Incident.
[25] He also possessed barcode tattoos all over his body.
[26]
Raiden shared some similarities with his Cyborg Ninja predecessor,
Gray Fox: both had been child soldiers who were given nicknames (and to a lesser extent, formal names) due to their brutality, they both ended up being taken from a rehab center by a group that was implied to have connections to the current organization in power (in Gray Fox's case, the CIA and the Philosophers, in Raiden's case, an NGO group and the Patriots) before being experimented in a way that was implied to also have resulted in suppressed memories, they both underwent cybernetic experimentation by the Patriots and used technologically advanced blades, and they both saved Solid Snake from a Metal Gear (Fox with
Metal Gear REX, and Raiden with Outer Haven). Raiden was also similar to Gray Fox's adopted sister, Naomi, in that he was adopted by the same person who murdered his parents. Raiden was also similar to
Kazuhira Miller, in that he bore unusual features regarding his country of origin. Raiden was the only known Cyborg Ninja to have survived, and also the only one who hadn't fought Solid Snake.
Raiden was skilled at cleaning up messes, as he mentioned to the Colonel regarding not leaving stuff lying around at Strut C during the Big Shell Incident. He implied that he gained the skill at cleaning up from having to clean up various messes that Rosemary left at her apartment.
Raiden had some knowledge of pop culture, as his meeting with Rose occurred from an argument relating to the building the titular monster climbed in the film
King Kong (Rose claimed it was the Chrystler Building which Raiden pointed out was in
Godzilla), and was at least familiar with the film
Escape from New York, as he deduced the partial origin of Solid Snake's alias, Iroquois Pliskin, from that film. At one point in 2018, he told fellow Maverick member Courtney Collins that he was a huge movie buff, when she reacted with surprise that Raiden actually watched samurai films. He also read the French novel
L'Étranger.
He also knew Spanish, as evidenced by his telling two Mexican pedestrians who spotted him "Adios, amigos!" (Spanish for "Goodbye, friends!"). In a Codec conversation with Courtney, he told her that he learned Spanish while training with FOXHOUND. However, his skills at Russian were less than stellar. He also seemed to understand at least some French, as he understood Mistral's last words.
Raiden's main characteristic was his long white-blond hair. Because of the length of the hair, Emma once speculated that the hair was actually a wig and that it was a badly done wig.
[27] Raiden, having overheard that comment with a directional microphone, called her via Codec to set her straight that his hair is actually real and not a wig. Similarly, his appearance also led him to being mistaken for a woman, as evidenced by James Johnson mistaking him for a female Patriot assassin before realizing his mistake by grabbing his crotch and then reacting with slight surprise that Raiden was male. As a child, this characteristic, alongside his Caucasian appearance, had him stand apart from other Liberians, whom at that time were largely African in ethnicity.
By the time of Liquid Ocelot's Insurrection, Raiden had changed considerably; the trauma of his break-up with Rose and the "miscarriage" of their
unborn son, combined with rigorous training and his torture at the hands of the Patriots, changed Raiden from an inexperienced rookie to a cold and virtually emotionless soldier, who seemingly doesn't care about his own life; for instance, in his fight with Vamp in South America, he freely admitted to Vamp that he didn't fear death. Raiden's only real display of emotion occurred after the death of Big Mama; Snake told Raiden that he (Snake) has no future, while Raiden has a family; at this, Raiden grabbed Snake, shouting that he too has nothing, before collapsing, seizing Snake by the leg, and begging him not to leave him alone. Nonetheless, due to his past experiences with Snake, he was completely loyal to the legendary soldier and citing his personal views about Snake. Upon discovering the truth about Rose's "marriage" to Campbell, Raiden seemed to regain some of his old self. In addition, in large part because of his experiences during the Big Shell Incident as a test subject for the S3 Plan, as well as Snake's advice in the aftermath of the S3 Plan, he also aimed to follow through with Snake's vision of people living their own lives, also believing that doing so will fully free him from being a pawn to the Patriots' proxies.
By the time of his Maverick activities between 2014 and 2018, his original style at Maverick was styled after
issatsu tasho, killing one so others may live. As a direct result of the disastrous events in Africa, Raiden had become somewhat bloodthirsty, yet harboring a strong desire for justice.
[28] He also became somewhat cocky as well, as evidenced by, after kicking an enemy soldier into a parked black car hard enough to almost flip over the car as well as set off the car alarm, his remarking that it was "too easy" before promptly cutting up the enemy soldier. Because of his first cyborg ninja conversion, he also bore several scars near his mouth, giving his mouth an appearance similar to that of a Glasgow grin both in his human cyborg form and in his second cyborg ninja body. Because of portions of Raiden's reconstructive surgery also included the implementation of an optical implant in Raiden's right eye, his normally blue eye occasionally glowed red. Because of his earlier failure to protect the African Prime Minister, and Desperado's involvement, he also had an extremely cold outlook regarding the cyborg members of Desperado, claiming that they were nothing more than "walking vending machines" (referring to his capability of yanking specific electrolyte body parts to recharge his cyborg body after cutting them up). He even compared himself to the reaper when mentioning that they chose death when taking the job. His outlook was significantly uncaring to the extent that even his fellow Maverick PMC members were deeply disturbed by his behavior. He also had a dry sense of humor and was somewhat sarcastic during this time as well, as he responded to Boris when he asked how it felt to be flying like a bird (referring to his being carried over by the MQ-133C flying wing to Abkhazia) that it felt like "a bird strapped to a rocket."
After becoming a Cyborg Ninja, his overall strength, speed, agility, and endurance had increased to superhuman levels, allowing him to swing two Gekko with little effort by the wires and was even able to temporarily block Outer Haven. His cyborg body appears to conduct electricity or he seems to be highly resistant to it as when he is separated from his H.F Blade the lightning seems to stop. During the attack on Outer Haven, he also appeared amidst several lightning strikes that killed several
FROGS. Raiden's cyborg body during this time appears to be pressurised in some manner, as shown during the two occasions in which he fights Vamp, when knives are propelled out of his torso, as well as when he disengages his visor. The exoskeleton can also bulk up to enhance the strength and speed of Raiden, similar to Solidus Snake's exoskeleton. During 2018, he often released discharges of electricity while moving.
In addition, while adopting the Cyborg Ninja outfit, he was strong enough to not only parry a modified Metal Gear RAY umanned unit's blade, but also to lift it up by the blade and throw the RAY a great distance, as well as agile enough to springboard across several HEMP missiles towards the RAY unit, as well as jump up to the RAY unit's blade after throwing it a great distance in a small period of time. He later pulled a similar feat with the much larger Metal Gear EXCELSUS. In both Cyborg Ninja bodies, he also had elevated pieces on his feet, near his heel portion. These act as grips for his HF blade, in the event that he attempted to use a breakdance-like maneuver to cut up enemies. His abilities were likewise improved after his second cyborgification, to the extent that he joked that he "wouldn't even need both eyes" to take down any of Desperados cyborgs if ambushed. Raiden was also capable of surviving falls large enough to kill any ordinary person, as evidenced by his falling down into the cityscape of Denver, although Boris implied that this was largely due to luck. His strength was also enough for him to effortlessly pry open a gate with his bare hands. His strength, although greatly benefitting him, can also get him into big trouble, a notable instance of this was when he arrived at Solis, where he accidentially (and unknowingly) wrecked the front gate's electronic lock. When Sunny confronted Raiden about this via Codec, Raiden mentioned he thought the gate was simply unlocked for him. This conversation ends with Sunny landing him with an invoice requiring him to fully pay off the restructuring and repair costs.
By the time of 2018, he became an adherent of the
katsujinken ("sword that gives life") and
issatsu tasho ("one life to save a thousand") philosophies originating in Japanese Buddhism, which justify the taking of lives in order to protect society, preserve justice, and defend the weak.
[29] His desire to protect the weak at all costs, even if it meant taking lives to ensure the weak were protected, stemmed from his past as a child soldier in Liberia, and not wanting anyone else to experience the kind of childhood he had. He was also willing to break the law if he knew it is morally right, as evidenced by his decision and motives to conduct a corporate raid on World Marshal's headquarters in Denver, Colorado.
Because of his experiences with the Patriots' AIs, he also wasn't initially trusting of sentient neuro-optical AI weapons like Blade Wolf, with Raiden being bemused that Blade Wolf, then the LQ-84i, in his dying sentiments, could conceive of, much less desire, freedom, as well as calling out Blade Wolf for claiming that AIs never lie by claiming that the Patriots AIs did just that. However, throughout his partnership with Wolf, he began to trust him, even telling him that he was free to pursue his own destiny.
Raiden also held some distrust for
politicians, feeling that they "[gave] big promises, but [were] all talk," only sought to line their pockets with capital and maintain their approval ratings/votes, and overall had little, if any principles. This belief was made explicit during his fight with Steven Armstrong, when accusing him of only using Operation Tecumseh to get himself elected for little reason, like the rest of the politicians, and even called him "another maggot crawling in the pile" if America had indeed "gone to shit."
[30]
Raiden also displayed signs of mental and emotional instability and a
dissociative identity around the time he started his missions involving Desperado. During the fight with Sam in Colorado, he ends up losing control of his inner nature and his suppressed "Jack the Ripper" persona, resulting in their respective moral alignments becoming blurred. He began viewing himself as being "part of the 2%" of people who take joy in murdering enemies upon making their first kill in the battlefield. Indeed, while under this persona, he frequently breaks out into manic laughter when killing his enemies; he also emits a crimson aura, and keeps the blood of his enemies on his sword. He also speculated that, in addition to his training under Solidus Snake, he may have had this maniacal relish for killing in his very blood.
Raiden wasn't much of a sports fan, although he had admitted that the closest he'd came to actually liking a sport was basketball.