Samuel Rodrigues isn't your typical video game villain. Honestly, he’s barely a villain at all. If you’ve spent any time playing Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, you know that Samuel—better known as Jetstream Sam—is the heartbeat of the entire experience. While the main protagonist Raiden is busy wrestling with his "Jack the Ripper" persona and philosophical debates about the memes of the soul, Sam just shows up with a cool smirk and a high-frequency murasama blade. He’s a breath of fresh air. He’s also the guy who kicks your butt in the first ten minutes of the game, taking Raiden’s eye and arm in the process. Talk about an introduction.
The Problem With Most Rivals and Why Metal Gear Rising Revengeance Sam is Different
Most gaming rivals feel forced. They show up because the plot demands a foil, usually shouting some nonsense about power or destiny. But Metal Gear Rising Revengeance Sam operates on a totally different wavelength. He doesn't have cybernetic enhancements for the majority of his life. That’s the wild part. In a world where everyone is turning into a literal walking tank, Sam was out there taking down cartels and PMCs with nothing but a sword and incredible Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills.
He’s a "normal" guy in a world of monsters. Well, normal-ish.
When you finally face him in the Colorado desert, there’s no grand monologue about world domination. There isn't even music at first. Just the wind. It’s a duel of ideologies, sure, but it’s mostly a duel of skill. This is where PlatinumGames really showed off. They didn't make Sam a bullet sponge; they made him a reflection of the player's own mastery of the parry system. If you can’t parry, you don't beat Sam. Period.
That Red Blade Isn't Just for Show
Let’s talk about the Murasama. It’s easily one of the most iconic weapons in the Metal Gear mythos. The blade is a heritage piece, passed down through Sam's family, but the sci-fi twist is the sheath. It’s basically a rifle mechanism. He "fires" the sword out of the scabbard to achieve a draw speed that shouldn't be physically possible. It’s flashy, it’s loud, and it’s peak Metal Gear.
But there’s a deeper layer to Metal Gear Rising Revengeance Sam and his equipment. By the time Raiden meets him, Sam has lost his way. He started as a vigilante, a man looking to dismantle corruption, but he ended up working for World Marshall and Desperado—the very people he should have hated. He’s a tragic figure who hides his cynicism behind a grin. You can see it in his animations. He taunts you, not because he thinks he’s better (though he probably is), but because he’s testing if Raiden’s conviction is actually stronger than his own.
The DLC We Didn't Deserve But Definitely Needed
If you haven't played the Jetstream DLC, you're missing half the story. It’s short, yeah, but it’s dense. It shows Sam’s infiltration of World Marshall and his eventual "recruitment" by Senator Armstrong. Seeing Sam realize that he can't win against the sheer systemic power of the Patriots' legacy is heartbreaking in a weirdly subtle way.
The gameplay shift is also fascinating. Sam doesn't play like Raiden. He’s heavier. His dodge is different. His taunts actually serve a gameplay purpose by making enemies more aggressive but also more vulnerable. It’s a brilliant bit of ludonarrative harmony—Sam gets in people's heads, so the game mechanics force you to do the same.
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- The Intro Fight: You're supposed to lose. It sets the stakes.
- The Mid-Game Teasing: Sam pops up on comms or in cutscenes just to mess with Raiden's head.
- The Final Duel: No gimmicks. No giant robots. Just two men and the sunset.
The fight in the Badlands is frequently cited by fans and critics alike as one of the best boss battles in action game history. Why? Because it’s fair. Every time Sam hits you, it’s because you messed up a timing window. There’s no "cheap" AI logic here. It’s a dance. And when "The Stains of Time" kicks in? Forget about it.
Why the Internet is Still Obsessed with Sam
Search for Metal Gear Rising Revengeance Sam today and you'll find a mountain of memes. "There will be blood-shed!" has become a shorthand for any high-octane gaming moment. But beneath the memes, there's genuine respect for the character design. He looks cool. The exoskeleton suit he eventually wears is sleek compared to the bulky designs of Sundowner or Senator Armstrong. It retains a samurai silhouette while looking futuristic.
PlatinumGames, led by director Kenji Saito and overseen by Kojima Productions, understood that a rival needs to be likable. You want to be Sam. Even Raiden wants to be Sam, in a way. When Raiden eventually takes Sam’s sword to fight Armstrong, it’s a passing of the torch. The Murasama is the only thing that can cut through the Senator’s nanomachines, symbolic of Sam’s lingering will finally getting the win he couldn't achieve in life.
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The Narrative Depth People Often Miss
People call MGR a "silly" game. And sure, you can suplex a Metal Gear Ray. That’s pretty silly. But the dialogue between Raiden and Sam touches on some heavy stuff. Sam calls out Raiden’s hypocrisy. He points out that Raiden uses "justice" as a shield to justify his love for killing. Sam, conversely, is honest. He knows he’s a hired gun. He knows he’s lost his soul to the machine.
That honesty makes him the most human character in the game. He doesn't hide behind slogans or political agendas. He just is.
- Nationality: Brazilian (Japanese descent)
- Fighting Style: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu mixed with Kenjutsu
- The Arm: He loses it to Armstrong, which is why he has the cybernetic replacement in the main game
- The Smile: A mask for his disillusionment
Comparing Sam to other rivals like Vergil from Devil May Cry is natural. They both represent a pure mastery of the blade. However, while Vergil seeks more power, Sam seems to be looking for a reason to stop. His final duel with Raiden feels like a suicide mission. He left his sword unlocked for Raiden to use. He knew one of them had to die to stop Armstrong, and he was okay with it being him if Raiden proved strong enough.
How to Actually Play Like Sam (Actionable Tips)
If you're jumping back into the game or trying the DLC for the first time, you have to unlearn Raiden’s habits. Raiden is about speed and relentless pressure. Sam is about the "Iai" style—the art of drawing the blade.
- Master the Charged Slash: Sam’s heavy attacks can be charged. In the DLC, this is your bread and butter. Time it for when an enemy is recovering.
- Use the Taunt: It’s not just for flavor. Taunting an enemy increases the damage they take significantly. If you’re confident in your parrying, always keep the enemy taunted.
- Air Combat: Sam has a double jump. Use it. He’s much more mobile in the air than Raiden, which helps in managing crowd control during the DLC’s tougher encounters.
- Watch the Hands: In the boss fight against Sam, watch his scabbard. When it flashes red, he’s about to use the trigger-draw. That’s your cue to get ready for a high-speed parry.
The legacy of Metal Gear Rising Revengeance Sam persists because he represents a specific era of gaming where "cool" and "meaningful" lived in perfect harmony. He isn't just a hurdle; he's a teacher. He forces Raiden (and the player) to stop relying on brute force and start thinking about the edge of the blade.
Even years later, the community keeps finding new things to love. Whether it’s the way his theme song "The Only Thing I Know For Real" perfectly encapsulates his loss of identity, or the way his Brazilian heritage is integrated into his fighting style rather than being a superficial trait, Sam remains a gold standard for character writing in action games.
To get the most out of your next playthrough, try focusing entirely on the parry-counter mechanics during his fight. Don't just chip away at his health. Try to find the rhythm. When you finally hit that Zandatsu finish, it feels earned in a way few other boss fights ever do. Sam wouldn't want it any other way.
Next Steps for Players:
If you want to master Sam's playstyle, start by finishing the main campaign to unlock the Jetstream DLC. Focus on the VR Missions specifically designed for Sam; they are significantly harder than Raiden's and will force you to master his unique dodge-offset and charged strike timings. Once you've cleared those, go back to the main story's Chapter 6 and fight Sam on Revengeance difficulty without taking damage. It's the ultimate test of everything the character stands for.