Maniacs have defaced the glorious Metal Gear Rising art mural in Leeds

Governments change. Nations rise and fall. Movies dip into trends and abandon them as quickly as they came for the next one. But throughout history, there have been certain constants in life. Death. Taxes. A white wedding playing Nkalakhata. And of course, the Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance advert that took up an entire wall in Leeds, England.

You’ve probably heard about Metal Gear Rising, due to the fact that it’s the greatest video game of all time and makes other games like God of War, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey look like Rogue Warrior in comparison. A blisteringly brilliant explosion of energy that told a thrilling tale about the American business of war, no game has come close to Metal Gear Rising’s majesty. Which probably explains why everything that Platinum has produced since then has been kind of lame. Where do you go when you reach the top?

Anyway, the advert was a fixture on Aire street, a simple white wall slapped with the inimitable ink of Metal Gear series artist Yoji Shinkawa. There was Raiden, standing vigilant and untouched by time or vandals who had since moved on to prepare an egg-chucking contest at a statue of my hero, the iron-fisted snatcher of children’s milk known as Margaret Thatcher.

And then some prats decided to make some money and deface Shinkawa’s eternal artwork with a fashion advert featuring this pair of trendy twats. Thanks for ruining my day, Kraker and Biroguyleeds:

There Raiden shall lie for the years to come, plastered over by more adverts and sleeping like an Arthurian legend, waiting for gaming’s darkest hour to come and rising up to meet it with Metal Gear Rising 2: Die Hard With a Revengeance. When video games need him the most, the giant handsome robot man will return.

Last Updated: December 2, 2020