Halo’s Arbiter is the perfect counterpoint to Metal Gear Solid’s Raiden

It is a strange pairing of the Raiden and Arbiter in Halo. One of them is a brunette-haired doofus, who can complete all VR simulations, while the other one is voiced by Keith David and is 8 feet long. We are talking about them both together, so why not? Because they’re both key players in two of the most shocking protagonist swaps in gaming history.

The Arbiter, despite all the similarities between them, stands out as an anti-Raiden. This shows that Halo has more than one Master Chief. Whereas Raiden’s story is one of a hero growing into his own confidence and capability, the Arbiter is already a capable character.

The second Metal Gear Solid, Hideo Kojima launched lengthy trailers for Metal Gear Solid 2, all featuring Solid Snake, the series’ badass spy protagonist. The gameplay was a bit different. Only a few hours into the game, Solid Snake “dies” and players take over as Raiden. The actual storyline is very complex, as Solid Snake isn’t actually dead, and Raiden is unknowingly working for the bad guys. It’s a great story, made better by Raiden’s personal connection to the main antagonist — the “twist” wouldn’t be as effective if Snake was the player character. The swapping out of Raiden to Snake is still controversial.

Image: Bungie via Halo Fandom

Bungie took the brilliant Kojima idea to change the character of the player unintentionally as a story device and modified it for their needs. Halo: The Evolution of Combat Launched two days following Metal Gear Solid 2However, Halo 2It was in 2004 that it came to be three years later. Halo 2It opens with an extended cutscene juxtaposing Covenant and UNSC perspectives. Master Chief gets rewarded for all his hard work. Halo, and the Elite who would become The Arbiter is being stripped, branded, and jailed for his failure to protect the “sacred ring.”

Here’s the twist: A few missions into the game, players take a first look through the eyes of the Arbiter. You can read the rest here. Halo 2Players can swap regularly between the Master Chief or the Arbiter to gain unique perspectives and locations throughout the campaign. Making you play as the “villain” gives the Covenant much more dimension. The role of Arbiter is sacred to the Covenant, but it’s also a death sentence. They’re tools of the Prophets sent on holy suicide missions. That context makes it even more badass when you, as the Arbiter, survive the ridiculous mission you’re sent on. It culminates when the Covenant rebels against the Arbiter by leading a civil warfare effort.

Thought Metal Gear Solid 2And Halo 2 Although they use the exact same strategy, their goals are very different. Raiden makes you miss playing as Solid Snake — Snake’s proximity, disguised as “Iroquois Pliskin,” helps enforce that feeling. Snake is essentially an ’80s action hero, complete with gravely voice and sex appeal. He’s also wildly competent and cool — like Master Chief with a personality and libido. Raiden, a total newbie, is confused and lost throughout the game. The way Kojima makes you work with “Pliskin” (who is very clearly Snake in disguise) really forces you to reconcile how much cooler Snake is than Raiden. It manifests the disappointment poignantly, and it’s great.

Image: Bungie via Halo Fandom

The initial impression of being the Arbiter in the game may be disappointing, but the game soon gets past that feeling. In the first mission, you are assigned to be an Arbiter. Halo 2The goal is to find a Heretic leader and assassinate them. That’s already pretty cool. In the second of two missions, however, the Arbiter removes another Covenant from their Sky Facility and cuts its cables to keep it floating with his energy sword. The station begins to plummet towards the surface. This reduces the gravity and lures the Heretic Leader from hiding. The Arbiter is an Elite that doesn’t care if he lives or dies, and he does some absolutely wild shit to prove that — making for fun, intense gameplay.

At the end Halo 2, the Arbiter is an established character with a compelling story that rivals Halo’s main arc. The Master Chief might be one of them. The coolest video game protagonists, but he wasn’t much of a character in the first game (though this also arguably aided players in latching onto him as an avatar). Bungie does a better job characterizing Chief in the sequel, but he’s almost overshadowed by the characterization of the Arbiter. And that’s an impressive feat.

Photo: Konami Digital Entertainment

Though Raiden didn’t steal the show in quite the same way, his role gets expanded in later Metal Gear games — unlike the Arbiter, who mostly takes a back seat in the Halo franchise. (Although the Arbiter’s story could ostensibly continue in Halo Infinite. Raiden was a comical cyber-ninja. Metal Gear Solid 4His style finally led to his very own action game. Metal Gear Rising: A Revengeance. In this role, the Arbiter was a supporter. Halo 3, serving as a co-op character, and didn’t emerge again until Halo 5where he led the people against the Covenant’s remaining provisions.

No matter what their fates, the characters offer a new perspective for the player. However, Metal Gear Solid 2’s story is certainly more in-depth, and the character swap is more iconic, the Arbiter gets to show players that the mindless aliens they spent all of Halo: The Evolution of CombatKilling has its own culture and some killers are as competent as Master Chief.

I’m not here to argue whether Metal Gear Solid 2Or Halo 2The Arbiter deserves to be in the hall of fame for video games. But the Arbiter gives Master Chief a run for his money as “badass video game protagonist,” and he does it in only six missions.