Metal Gear Rising - [New Player Guide]

[Saurian Dash]

Fantastic port so far, absolutely loving it. Really hoping 120Hz support will come soon, but it's fantastic at a solid 60fps still.

I just wanted to jot down a quick primer to get new players acquainted with the system.

360 controller layout used in examples.

Movement
Raiden has two modes of movement: Normal and Ninja Run. To move normally simply use the [LEFT ANALOGUE], Raiden will either walk or run in the direction pushed depending on how much you puch the stick. To Ninja Run, hold [RIGHT TRIGGER] while pushing the [LEFT ANALOGUE], Raiden will automatically duck under or leap over obstacles for the duration of the Ninja Run. The Ninja Run also defends against machine gun fire, Raiden will automatically block shots with his sword during the Ninja Run.

Attacking
The combo string system in Metal Gear Rising is a little different to other action games. You have two types of attack; Light [X] and Wide [Y]. Repeatedly pressing Light attack will trigger a never-ending sequence of low-damage sword attacks, these attacks can be cancelled freely into any other action. Wide Attacks are slower, yet more powerful and can only be instantly cancelled by certain actions (notably Evade). You will notice that all pre-set combo strings start with Wide attack: Wide > Light, or Wide > Wide > Light, or Wide > Wide > Wide > Light and so on. This enables you to tag a Wide led combo string onto the Light combo sequence any time you like, allowing you to create a constant rate of attack.

Light Attacks also trigger a special type of Ninja Run which allows you to zip between targets quickly. To instantly turn and target another enemy during the Light sequence, simply push the [LEFT ANALOGUE] towards your new target and press Light. Raiden will quickly dash over and begin attacking with a Light without breaking his flow.

Blade Mode
Blade Mode is activated by holding [LEFT TRIGGER]. When activated, time will slow down and either the [RIGHT ANALOGUE] or Light and Wide buttons can be used to perform sword attacks. You can directly aim Blade Mode by pushing the [LEFT ANALOGUE], holding the [L3] button will allow Raiden to walk during Blade Mode. Activating Blade Mode will deplete the Charge gauge situated below your Health gauge, you don't get much time so accuracy is key! You can perform sword attacks in Blade Mode in a number of ways: firstly you can use the [RIGHT ANALOGUE] to accurately dictate the exact angle a cut is made, simply hold the stick in the angle you desire then release it to slice through. The Light button will perform a horizontal slash and the Wide button will perform a vertical slash, these buttons come in very handy in heated moments.

What you are aiming for in battle is successful ZANDATSU finishers, this is a precise sword slice which will remove the power source from your target for Raiden to absorb and fully replenish his Health and Charge gauge. In order to perform a Zandatsu, you have to weaken an enemy beyond a certain threshold which causes a red target square to appear when you activate Blade Mode for the kill. Line up the red target with [LEFT ANALOGUE] (signified with a bleep) then press either Light or Wide button to slice through the red target, if you get it right you will be able to press [A] to rip out the power source and absorb it.

It is possible to slice throught he red targets of multiple enemies at once. Try to see how many power sources you can rip out during a single instance of Blade Mode!

A full Charge gauge enables special finishing techniques which can be used against Stunned enemies. If you have a full Charge gauge and approach a Stunned target, you will see an {A}+{B} button prompt appear. Hit both buttons at once and Raiden will perform a finishing strike (specific to each enemy type). At the end of a finishing strike, you will be prompted to activate Blade Mode, do so, then slice through the red square target to trigger the [A] prompt for the Zandatsu (which once again fully charges your gauge).

If you run out of Blade Mode charge gauge, you will need to recharge it (until it turns blue) by attack enemies. Non Blade Mode attacks will actually build up the charge meter, the fill rate can be upgraded via the Customise Menu (Absorption Upgrade).

There are many ways to stunn a target. In many situations, simply dealing damage constantly will eventually lead to a stun. But more often than not you will find other ways to trigger the condition, mostly through the use of the Parry technique.

Blocking and Parrying
To block an enemy attack, simply push the [LEFT ANALOGUE] towards the attack and press [X]/Light at the same time. If you enter the command (during) an enemy attack animation, Raiden will raise his sword and block to nullify the incoming damage. You can cancel the Blocking animation into another Block, or an Evade, or you can simply continue attacking. Against a rapid series of strikes you need to enter multiple Blocking commands in rapid sucession, cancelling one instance of Block into another.

Blocking
In order to correctly judge the correct time to Block, you will need to pay attention to and learn the enemy attack signposts. The vast majority of attacks in the game have a clear and definite signpost to signify the start of the attack animation. There are two types of attack you need to be aware of, red attacks (Blockable) and yellow attacks (Unblockable).

For example: against the regular cyborg soldiers you will notice a pair of red laser lines signifying the exact direction of the attack as the attack animation begins. Keep a look out for these red lines, these are what signify a red attack and let you know in advance that you can Block to nullify the damage.

Yellow attacks are usually signposted by the enemy itself, or body part/weapon used for the attack, glowing yellow during the attack animation. These attacks cannot be blocked, you will need to evade these (we'll cover this later).

The key to making use of the Blocking function is to learn the enemy attack signposts. Attacks don't simply appear out of nowhere, you will always be told that an attack is going to commence by means of either a visual cue, or by an audio cue. Audio cues are most useful when judging attacks which occur from off-screen. For example: the RPG soldiers will often hang back and fire rockets at you from a distance while you busy yourself with multiple targets. Before the rocket is fired you will see the targeting laser appear on Raiden, then the soldier will say something before he fires. All you need to do is quickly move away from the spot you are standing on just before the rocket fires, the Evade is a very handy tool for this (covered later).

Parrying
Again, I cannot stress how important it is to learn the attack signposts in this game. In order to perform a Parry, an incredibly powerful sword counter-attack, you will have to perform a Blocking command JUST before an enemy attack hits you. This technique is best used against physical attacks with the enemy within close range, the counter-attack damage is based on a multiplication of the enemy attack damage you just Parried. So the more powerful the enemy attack is, the harder you hit back! To Parry, you need to enter the Blocking command at the last possible moment before the enemy attack hits you, if you get this right Raiden will Block then seamlessly retaliate with a sword attack. This counter-attack very often inflicts a Stun effect on the enemy, or against tougher enemies, triggers a situation where you can break down their armour or weaponry. If you have a full Charge gauge you can quickly trigger a finishing strike against a Stunned enemy for a chance to score a Zandatsu, which will fully charge the gauge again allowing you to repeat the process.

Evade
The key point here is that when you know the enemy attack signposts, it no longer matters if an attack can be seen or not (whether it's on-screen or off-screen. This is because the Evade mechanic (Offensive Defensive ability purchased in the Customise Menu) is invincible on start-up. So this means that in order to completely evade incoming damage, you just need to place these invincible frames over the hit frames of the incoming attack. To Evade you need to press the [LEFT ANALOGUE] forward, backward or sideways (relative to Raiden's direction) and press [X]+[A] at the same time.

Raiden has 3 different evades, all of which actually deal damage via the sword as they execute:

Forward is a very fast flip with very little directional momentum. Forward is best if you want to pile on the pressure and stay in an enemy's face as it attacks. Rememeber that Raiden is invincible to attack damage during the Evade start-up, if you time it right you can sail right through an incoming attack and immediately start attacking again.

Backwards will move Raiden a fair distance away from a target as he performs a sword slice. Backwards can also be used to back away from a rapidly attacking enemy, if you time it right you can perform a series of these evades to stay just outside of the enemy's attack range as you back away and attack at the same time.

Sideways is very useful for dodging projectile weapons, throw attacks and is also useful as a means to keep Raiden mobile during combo sequences. Note that Raiden will track around a nearby target in an arc as the sideways evade executes, this is useful for getting behind enemies to keep yourself safe from being caught off-guard by one of its comrades.

Dodge Offset
You can continue any Wide led combo string after an Evade from the same point you left off when the evade was triggered. So suppose you want to perform Wide > Wide > Wide > Light > Wide, it's actually possible to throw an evade in between each of these attacks before pressing the next button in the sequence. This will enable you to stay on the move while you dish out powerful Wide attacks.

Misc: Blade Mode cancelling
If you very lightly/quickly tap [LEFT TRIGGER] you will activate Blade Mode for a split second, the important thing to note here is that Blade Mode will cancel mosf attack animations. This is an extremely useful way to remove the delay/recovery frames from powerful technques, or to quickly transition from one pre-set combo string to another. Experiment by performing a full Wide led combo string, then quickly cancel the recovery frames with Blade Mode then immediately start a new combo string. Special attacks, such as the directional command techniques you buy from the Customise Menu can also be Blade Mode cancelled. Try cancelling powerful attacks such as back, forward + Light (purchased from Customise Menu) over and over out of and back into itself - it's brutal once you get it right!

I hope this helps new players get into this awesome game. It would be great to talk about the actual game mechanics here instead of the usual kinds of posts you see in these forums, if you have any questions or if you have any tips for other players, please post them here.

[Master Logarius]

This seems like a very good explaination of the controls.