The script decision greatly surprised not only the players.
In Metal Gear Solid 2, players were in for a twist: the main character turned out to be Raiden, not Snake.
As it turned out, David Hayter, the "voice of Snake," did not know until the very end that such a script decision had been made.
The voice actor said that he learned about the replacement of the protagonist during the recording process:
«I love Metal Gear Solid 2 and think it's an amazing game. But I, like everyone else, was surprised that Snake wouldn't be the main character. I found out about it right in the booth while we were recording. And I ask: \"What's going on?\" And they answered: \"No, no, Raiden will be the main character.\"»
And I was like: \"Wow. Okay... well, let's see how people react to this.\" The game came out and was amazing, but there were quite understandable discussions about [the replacement of the hero].
Then Metal Gear Solid 3 came out, which really brought everything back to square one, my favorite game in the series. It just very accurately conveyed the essence of Snake and the essence of Metal Gear».
