Critical reaction
Raiden's replacement of fan favorite Solid Snake in Metal Gear Solid 2 proved controversial; GamesRadar considered the replacement a reason to dislike the series. The same site criticized Raiden's role in Metal Gear Solid 2 and called him one of the worst aspects of the game. Snake's voice actor, David Hayter, was also surprised by the inclusion of Raiden in Sons of Liberty, believing his character was meant to be the returning protagonist. The book Playing with Videogames states that Raiden's inclusion was intended to surprise Metal Gear fans who, instead of playing as Snake, played as his opposite. Writer James Newman commented that fans' reactions were highly negative; they acted as though Kojima had betrayed their expectations. He compared Raiden to the controversial Star Wars character Jar Jar Binks. Newman considered trailers for Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater in which Raiden is mocked to be Konami's comic response to fans' disapproval. Eurogamer's Tom Bramwell enjoyed Raiden's role, commenting that his interactions with the other characters also helped expand Solid Snake's character. Raiden's introduction was given an award for "Biggest Surprise" by GameSpot in 2001, while Dave Meikleham from GamesRadar called Raiden a "surprisingly likeable character" and found his dynamic with Snake appealing. On the other hand, Raiden proved to be more popular in Japan; according to Yoji Shinkawa this was because he matched the stereotype of the manga hero.
Raiden's role in Metal Gear Solid 2 has been analyzed by several writers, who said he is intended to represent the player. His interactions with veteran Solid Snake identify the former as "a Metal Gear fan". As the game progresses it is stated that Raiden "has become Snake", having developed skills similar to those he gained from taking part in the Big Shell's fights that resemble Metal Gear Solid's Shadow Moses Island. When an artificial intelligence tells Raiden to "turn off the console", which confuses both Raiden and the player, this is first interpreted as a fourth wall-breaking joke, but the game's climax goes deeper into Raiden's connection with the player. Both the player and Raiden take different paths at the game's end; the player is told not to waste time playing games while Raiden's character is expanded with his decision to move on with his life, rejecting his previous identity by discarding the dog tags the player wore in the beginning. VG247 wrote the game helps Raiden to better distinguish himself, and for the player to distance themselves, from Snake's revered image by deconstructing the latter as an unreliable ally. The recurring plot twist involving Raiden's life and the people with whom he often interacts have been praised as being early post-truth content in a video game. The character's romantic relationship with Rosemary became popular over how much the narrative reminds the protagonist of how they met and propose in the ending.
Response to the character in subsequent games was mainly positive. GamePro's Pattrick Shaw analyzed his new design for Metal Gear Solid 4; he said Raiden "was in one hell of a fight". Gavin Mackenzie from PLAY criticized and stated that the costume was "cool" but had unnecessary accessories. It has also been compared with Gray Fox's cybernetic-ninja design in Metal Gear Solid. GameSpot staff stated that Raiden "is definitely the inheritor of the quasi-unkillable Cyborg Ninja inheritance" when he made his first appearance in a Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer. GameSpot applauded his actions in the trailer, calling it "wordlessly awesome" and comparing his stunts with those in the film Casshan: Robot Hunter. Among several cutscenes featuring Raiden, his fight with Vamp was heavily praised by critics due to finding appealing moves. Upon the revelation of Raiden's new design as a cyborg ninja, writers said he distanced himself from his previous appearance that imitated Solid Snake. For Metal Gear Solid 4, Meghan Adams sees the new design as evidence that the slightest hint of androgyny demands the use of coercive violence, even while Raiden's androgyny "is, in fact, masculine-leaning." Voice actor Reuben Langdon described Raiden as a character he always wanted to play as, most notably on Super Smash Bros. In a 2010 Famitsu readers' poll, Raiden was voted the 42nd most-popular video game character.
Dave Meikleham of GamesRadar said people who disliked the character would find him appealing in Rising. In 2012, manga artist Hiro Mashima drew an illustration of Raiden in anticipation of the series' following game. He mentioned having had difficulties illustrating the character. Raiden's role in Revengeance was praised by critics, with GameSpot's Peter Brown praising him as an anti-hero, and GameTrailers wrote that Raiden's new gameplay mechanics contrasted with those found in the earlier games produced by Konami. The Escapist said Raiden was now worthy of his own game based on his characterization. Polygon said that while Raiden's actions provide a departure from the stealth games, his actions were referred as "outlandish and ridiculous". The detail given to Raiden's past was also praised. IGN wrote that fans of Metal Gear Solid 4 would enjoy the game more because Raiden can replicate his moves from that game's cutscenes in gameplay. Eurogamer said a major change in Raiden's characterization is Revengeance, referring to him as a "the ultimate cyborg and also the ultimate killer" based on his darker persona that is explored in combat. The idea of Flynn's performance earned mixed response due to the tones he gives Raiden when interacting with allies and enemies. Raiden was compared with the lead characters from Devil May Cry and God of War favorably due to how they fight.
In the book Rules of Nature, Heather Alexandria, a former writer for Kotaku and Polygon, praised Raiden's dark persona as it causes an existential crisis in the protagonist's ideals of hero to his psychopath roots. Despite his anti-heroic tendencies, Raiden's humanity deeply affects BladeWolf, who stands out as a result of he being an artificial intelligence but manages to make his own rules after interacting with him several times. Another character addressed as a parallel is Sam, who comes across as Raiden's rival and starts doubting his alliance with the final boss, Armstrong, to help Raiden even after his death by providing him his weapon. Although Armstrong is Raiden's final opponent, Rich Stanton of Eurogamer preferred the rematch against Sam, calling it "classic, a desert duel for the ages". Meanwhile, Rizky Anugrah Putra in the journal Pulchra Lingua: A Journal of Language Study, Literature & Linguistics examined how the final boss track "It Has to Be This Way" illustrated the conflict between Raiden and Armstrong and how both men wanting to make the world better, with Armstrong dreaming of America "becoming a country where every citizen can realize and fight for his dreams". However, despite being able to apprehend each other's viewpoints and knowing violence would only make things worse, Armstrong's ideals are so extreme that the only resolution is violent conflict, and the resulting destruction will bring change.
Raiden finding conviction with his inner past persona during Revengeance was noted to go with the ideas of enjoying the hack and slash mechanics, leading to the handling of violence in video games. In further analysis of Raiden's persona from Metal Gear Rising, PlayStation LifeStyle praised how the game makes a heavy analysis of Raiden's psychology when he starts questioning his missions' cause and delve into his psychotic instincts when meeting Monsoon. During this scene, Raiden allows himself to go back to his Jack the Ripper persona so that the children he has to save do not meet the same fate as a result of the George Sears Programm which aims to create more soldiers like Raiden. PlayStation Life Style found Raiden's mindset to be unique in gaming as both the protagonist and the gamer are addressed about all the previous missions explored before in the title as Raiden had already killed several soldiers to achieve his means. This contrasts other violent video game protagonists Kratos from God of War or Nathan Drake from Uncharted whose actions are never questioned in their stories while Raiden instead accepts the sins he has committed.