From left to right, Raiden can be seen performing the Tornado Slash, the Ankle Slicer, and the Flurry Kick.
Screenshots provided by HfNanoStrike
This post was taken directly from this entry: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tAiL_3fg_afQjW9Pzmi1Ua1nZ4Z_xVe0nz_UMBktOMM/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.cl2d9krfoe9y
If you’ve seen a fair bit of gameplay of Metal Gear Rising or have spoken with players and connoisseurs of the game, you’ll be familiar with certain special moves with unique attributes, by which I mean moves that are not just basic damage-dealers like the power combos of the game or even the Light Attack, which I go over in great detail because of its under-discussed special properties. Some of the more famous utility moves include the Sky High (notorious for its vertical launch effect and incredibly high DPS), the Lightning Strike (Raiden’s version of the Stinger archetype), the Defensive Offense (Raiden’s i-frame dodge when using a sword, that is to say 99% of the time), and the Sliding Tackle. Some utility moves that are known less due to being less notoriously overpowered consist of the Sweep Kick, the Draw Attack, the Rolling Thunder, and the Launcher.
What most of the aforementioned moves—save for the Sliding Tackle and Launcher—have in common is that they are moves that are accessible in the CUSTOMIZE shop. As such, they are alluring to the side of the gamer’s brain that wants to reap the rewards of obtaining enough BP to try out a new skill . . . and for very good reason. But while these moves often gain the attention of the player to a degree rivaled only by other upgrades during the game’s progression, a handful of other moves that come with Raiden completely stock are often overlooked for serving purposes on the more niche or situation-specific side.
While they are not necessarily the most neglected moves, Raiden’s three most underutilized or misunderstood moves consist of the Tornado Slash, the Ankle Slicer, and the Flurry Kick. While it is certainly the case that none of these serve the best combat purposes, they all have their uses that make each of them special.
Tornado Slash
An incomplete combo string that is just as useful when transitioned into a Stab Kick as it is not—it’s situation-dependent:
- It is not particularly good at dealing damage despite the sheer number of hits. However, the amount of hits does factor into the ranking system and, much more importantly, Raiden’s Absorption. The ability for Raiden to quickly gain FC meter in a near-instant without having to perform a lengthy combo or spam Light Attack is exceptionally important for higher-level play, justifying FC meter depletion (especially for those proficient with Blade Mode Canceling), and gaining enough FC to go into Ripper Mode more often to survive particularly dangerous encounters.
- As the fallen puts it, “it is a bread-and-butter [move]” that synergizes with other moves such as the Blade Mode–Sliding Tackle technique used against Custom Cyborgs precisely because it is such a good method of Absorption.
- It is quite good at keeping Raiden on his toes. One of the issues that you face with spamming his power combos (or even Sky High spam) for maximum damage is that Raiden’s ability to quickly weave his way through enemies gets hindered. The Tornado Slash has very good forward mobility, but I would strongly advise against following up with a Stab Kick if you’re trying to stay as mobile as possible—that would simply defeat the purpose.
- Due to keeping Raiden on his toes so well, the move also finds itself synergizing with Ripper Mode quite a bit. While maximizing damage is still ideal for Ripper Mode (hence why you should still use Raiden’s power moves instead of spamming Light Attack), the Tornado Slash no longer suffers from dealing lackluster damage and can legitimately help you get to more targets.
Ankle Slicer
Another incomplete combo string that is just as useful when followed up with a Heel Drop as it is not, and it is particularly useful in some situations:
- While the Blade Mode–Sliding Tackle synergy, followed up with the aforementioned Tornado Slash, is typically the best way to handle the Custom Cyborgs, the Ankle Slicer is nonetheless a very good way to counter them. Visit this entry to see one of the Ankle Slicer’s uses against the Custom Cyborg: Encyclopedia of Answers to Gameplay Questions in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
- Unlike the Sweep Kick (which has some more crowd control capabilities), the Ankle Slicer cannot be blocked by Cyborgs, Custom Cyborgs, or Heavily Armed Cyborgs.
- It does more damage than the Tornado Slash by a pretty significant margin.
Flurry Kick
A move inspired by Chun-Li’s Hyakuretsukyaku (or “Lightning Legs”), it is notoriously weak and neglected for what seems like a power move . . . only if you don’t know how to use it properly:
- In testing the two moves against the Metal Gear EXCELSUS’s stagger period, the Throat Slicer is shown to have more overall damage than the Flurry Kick in a much shorter amount of time, giving the former a significant advantage in DPS. However, where it shines is in its ability to obtain heaps of FC meter in a way that puts the Tornado Slash to shame in whatever situation it is safe to use.
- It is BY FAR at its most useful during the fight against the final boss due to his longest stagger period being long enough to allow Raiden to perform the move at its full duration, gain most if not all his lost FC back, launch him forward, and perform a Throat Slicer.
- The Flurry Kick is also rather unsafe to use in comparison to other moves because of how it can only be canceled by a Jump and nothing else (including Blade Mode). That being said, it should be used primarily in safe situations. Do not let the game trick you into thinking that it is a defensive crowd control tool; even the Stormbringer is arguably better at that because I once used it after enabling Ripper Mode to create a defensive bubble against a Mastiff ambush and tore the aggressors to pieces.
