Comparisons: Straight Swordsmen

Raiden (MGS4)

"I just don't fear death"

Once a stealth-based super soldier not unlike Solid Snake, Raiden was subsequently turned into a Cyborg Ninja by the Patriots, which gave him extreme combat abilities with a blade. His reflexes were turned up to ridiculous levels and his athletic abilities are nearly unmatched. One of his most striking features is his pain threshhold, which gives him the ability to take an unbelievable amount of damage and still fight on full force. His blade is also no ordinary blade, but rather a high frequency blade used only by cyborg ninjas. This blade resonates at a high frequency, which increases its temperature and greatly increases cutting ability. The suit he wears gives him little protection, but it further enhances his abilities to levels that shouldn't be real. Many of his abilities can be viewed in this video:

Who could possibly compete with such an inhuman opponent?

Ryu Hayabusa

"My strength comes from my training, not from the curse in my blood"

Ryu Hayabusa is a young man in his early twenties at peak physical condition, but has the wisdom of someone who has lived through decades of hardship and disaster. He is part of the Hayabusa ninja clan, from which he earned his surname through years of training and excelling his peers. In combat he is a man of unstoppable will, and through his life he has become a cold, calculative killer. He wears the legendary Black Falcon's outfit, which offers him a good deal of stealth and some protection against light weapons. His sword is called the Dragon Sword because it was created from the fang of a dragon god, and is powered by the spirits of twelve dragons. The sword itself has excellent cutting ability, being able to cut a giant wolfman vertically with ease (you'll see in the video.)

1:20 he starts to actually do things

Comparison:

Ryu Hayabusa has been a Ninja since he was 6, which gives him alot of experience compared to the 5 years Raiden has. They both have extremely fast reflexes, but Ryu shockingly has the edge in that department even after the thousands of enhancements Raiden has. According to the video Ryu can also fly about as good as Batman, which is pretty good in it's own right. Raiden can work his sword extremely well though, and has the edge as far as cutting power goes. If both swords were to clash, I'm not sure what would happen, but I'd put money on the Dragon Sword being cut in half, which is a huge hinderance when he doesn't have the luxury of other weapons to fight with. Ryu does know martial arts backwards and front though, so he could certainly kick some ass in a fist fight, however Raiden's pain threshold stops me from believing that he has no chance in that situation. Overall, I'd say that Ryu Hayabusa has a close edge for his speed and experience, since the first hit will normally be the kill between these two.

Edge: Ryu Hayabusa