| Solid Snake | |
|---|---|
| Metal Gear character | |
 Solid Snake as he appears inMetal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001) | |
| First appearance | Metal Gear (1987) |
| Created by | Hideo Kojima |
| Designed by | Yoji Shinkawa (Metal Gear Solid series) Ikuya Nakamura (Metal Gear: Ghost Babel) Tsubasa Masao (Metal Gear Acid series) |
| Portrayed by | Giacomo Talamini (Metal Gear Solid: Philanthropy) |
| Voiced by |
|
| Motion capture | Mizuho Yoshida (Metal Gear Solid 2,The Twin Snakes) Ryoji Okamoto (Metal Gear Solid 4) Ian MacDougall (Metal Gear Solid 4 [facial capture]) |
| In-universe information | |
| Nationality | American |
Solid Snake[1], real nameDavid, is a character and one of theprotagonists ofKonami'sMetal Gear series, created byHideo Kojima. He is depicted as a formerGreen Beret and highly skilledspecial operations soldier engaged in solo stealth andespionage missions who is often tasked with destroying models of the bipedal nuclear weapon-armedmecha known asMetal Gear. Controlled by the player, he must act alone, supported via radio by commanding officers and specialists. While his first appearances in the originalMetal Gear games were references to Hollywood films, theMetal Gear Solid series has given a consistent design by artistYoji Shinkawa alongside an established personality while also exploring his relationship with hismentor and father.
During theMetal Gear Solid games, the character has been voiced by voice actorAkio Ōtsuka in the Japanese version and by Canadian-American screenwriter and actorDavid Hayter in the English version. He also appears inNintendo'sSuper Smash Bros. series as a playable fighter, as well as the battle royale gameFortnite. Considered to be one of the most iconic protagonists in video game history, Solid Snake has been acclaimed by critics, with his personality and both Ōtsuka's and Hayter's voice acting being noted as primary factors of the character's appeal.
In the early games, Solid Snake's visual appearances were references to popular actors. He was given his own consistent design inMetal Gear Solid. He also establishes Philanthropy, an anti-Metal Gear organization carrying the motto "To let the world be", with his friendOtacon. InMetal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, he has access to OctoCamo, which allows him to change his appearance to match the surface he is leaning on. And FaceCamo, which can change his facial appearance to make him look like other characters, as well as his younger self.
Snake possesses anIQ of 180 and is fluent in six languages. Solid Snake has been on the battlefield for most of his life,[2] and says that it is the only place he feels truly alive.[3] He is a hardened veteran, burying his emotions within himself during missions, every one of which has different motives.[4] He is also immediately shown as a loner,[5][6] often with no intentions of taking orders from anyone anymore[7] and he shows no sign of longing for the army or the country of which he was a part.[8] However, along with these traits he has a more human side, being flirtatious,[9] self-sacrificing[10] and with a strong belief that even on a battlefield friendship[11] and love[12] can flourish, and that violence is not glorious.[13] Snake's perceived stance on violence may be a case of denial, as Snake's enemies and at least one of his allies have claimed that he enjoys killing, and label him as more evil than the people he has killed.[3][14][15] When he is not on duty, his favorite recreational activity is being amusher.[16]
Metal Gear introduces Snake, a rookie recruit of the elite special forces unitFOXHOUND. Snake is sent by Big Boss intoOuter Heaven, a rogue nation in South Africa, to rescueGray Fox and discover who or what the "Metal Gear" is.[17][18] As his mission progresses, Snake finds out that he has been set up; Big Boss's phantom intended to use TX-55 Metal Gear (the experimental, nuclear-armed weapon) to establish Outer Heaven as a nuclear power.[19] After destroying the Metal Gear, Snake confronts and defeats Big Boss's phantom.[20]
The sequelMetal Gear 2: Solid Snake sees Solid Snake called up to infiltrate Zanzibar Land, a heavily fortified enemy base in Central Asia that has aggravated an international oil crisis and declared themselves a nuclear power by kidnapping Dr. Kio Marv (after the creation of a bio-engineered algae that produces an oil substitute) and the Metal Gear engineerPettrovich Madnar.[21] Snake infiltrates the base and discovers that Pettrovich as well as Fox has defected to Zanzibar Land, and that Zanzibar Land is led by the true Big Boss.[22] Snake destroys Metal Gear D, and defeats both Fox and the true Big Boss.[23][24][25]
Metal Gear Solid and its remake –The Twin Snakes – reveals Solid Snake's real name as David (デビッド,Debiddo). He is pulled out of retirement byRoy Campbell to deal with the "Sons of Big Boss" led byLiquid Snake who seized an isolated American nuclear weapons disposal facility on Shadow Moses Island. Snake's mission is to rescueDonald Anderson andKenneth Baker but he is unable to prevent both hostages' deaths.[26] As the game progresses, Snake infiltrates and learns aboutMetal Gear REX while meeting up with rookie soldierMeryl Silverburgh and REX's engineerHal Emmerich, confronts and defeats each member of the corrupt faction of FOXHOUND (consisting ofRevolver Ocelot,Decoy Octopus,Psycho Mantis,Sniper Wolf,Vulcan Raven, and the Genome Soldiers), several confrontations with the Cyborg Ninja, is able to destroy REX, and personally confronts Liquid. During their fight, it is revealed that Solid and Liquid are twin brothers artificially conceived from Big Boss's genes during the "Les Enfants Terribles" government project designed to create the perfect soldier, in which one brother was genetically modified to be superior over the other.[27] Liquid harbors a strong resentment towards Snake since Solid was apparently given their father's dominant "soldier genes" and Liquid was seemingly cast aside. A grueling series of battles and Liquid dies from the FOXDIE virus that was previously implanted into Snake byNaomi Hunter in order to wipe out FOXHOUND without risking any damage to REX for retrieval.[28] In the end, it is revealed that Liquid got Big Boss's superior "soldier genes" while Solid was actually the inferior one.[29]
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty shows Solid Snake as a central character. During the game's extensive prologue sequence, he is sent by Otacon's anti-proliferation organizationPhilanthropy to infiltrate a cargo tanker and photographMetal Gear RAY.[30] During the operation, however, RAY is hijacked and the tanker destroyed, with Snake apparently dead and framed for the deed.[31] During the game's main portion,Solidus Snake steals Snake's identity,[32] and leads the "Sons of Liberty" (consisting of Revolver Ocelot,Fortune,Fatman,Vamp andOlga Gurlukovich) while Snake himself uses the pseudonym Iroquois Pliskin (イロコィ・プリスキン,Irokoi Purisukin) as a non-playable character who assists rookie agentRaiden through the remote offshore Big Shell facility and in taking down Solidus and RAY while also learning aboutthe Patriots.[33]
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots features an aged incarnation of the character who nicknamed himself Old Snake (オールド・スネーク,Ōrudo Sunēku) as the protagonist once again. Thanks to Otacon andSunny, he wears a sneaking suit outfitted with "Octocamo" technology which allows him to blend with his environment as well as a face mask which alters his appearance.[34]
For his final mission, he is once again enlisted by Campbell to assassinate Liquid Ocelot, CEO of a giant mother company that are trying to take control of the Patriots' AIs.[35] He also learns from Naomi that his life has been artificially shortened as part of the cloning process so that his genes can't be used as a weapon in later research, thus explaining why he has the physical appearance of an elderly man despite being only forty-two years old.[36] Snake and his allies are forced to destroy the Patriots' AI and fight through Ocelot's forces until Snake defeats Liquid's doppelgänger in hand-to-hand combat. Snake tried to commit suicide as his DNA contains a mutated FOXDIE virus that might trigger an epidemic, but Big Boss revealed a new variant overwrote the mutant version to which the two make up as father and son. David is told he still has a chance to live "not as a snake but as a man" so he decides to live out the remainder of his life in peace, vowing that he will live long enough to see what the future holds for the new world he has helped create.[37]
TheMetal Gear Solid prequels alludes to Solid Snake's existence;Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops has him briefly alluded in aprophetic vision asNaked Snake's "son [who] will save the world" (after Liquid and/or Solidus as Big Boss's "son [who] will bring the world to ruin"),[38] andMetal Gear Solid: Peace Walker showsKazuhira Miller mentioning the "twin sons" that are two years old at the time.[39]
Solid Snake is featured/mentioned inMetal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes andMetal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.[40][41] The unlockable bonus mission "Déjà Vu" on the PlayStation platform and later Xbox platform ofGround Zeroes in which Naked Snake must re-enact situations from the originalMetal Gear Solid game and answer a series of trivia questions after fulfilling the mission. If all the questions are answered correctly on the Normal difficulty setting, the mission can be replayed with his low-polygon model fromMetal Gear Solid in place of his father's standard character model.The Phantom Pain also shows that his low-polygon model fromMetal Gear Solid can be an alternate outfit forVenom Snake after transferring the save data fromGround Zeroes. David is also alluded to in association with Eli during a conversation between Big Boss and Revolver Ocelot.
Solid Snake also serves as the protagonist inSnake's Revenge, a sequel to the originalMetal Gear for the NES released for the western market in 1990 and developed without Kojima's involvement. Set three years after the events of the Outer Heaven incident,Snake's Revenge has Snake leading a team of FOX HOUND operatives as they infiltrate an undisclosed enemy base where the Metal Gear weapon is being mass-produced. Snake is addressed by themilitary rank ofLieutenant and starts the game already equipped with a handgun and acombat knife, in contrast to the first game, where Snake had to procure all of his weapons on-site.
After the success of the originalMetal Gear Solid, KCEJ produced a trilogy ofMetal Gear spin-offs for portable platforms set in a parallel universe outside the main Kojima-directed series. All three of these portable games were directed byShinta Nojiri.[42] The first of these isMetal Gear: Ghost Babel (released outside Japan asMetal Gear Solid), in which Solid Snake must infiltrate a rebuilt Outer Heaven (now called Galuade) to defeat a FOXHOUND-like team of rogue agents called Black Chamber and destroy a stolen Metal Gear prototype, Gander. Although the actual in-game artwork ofGhost Babel was done by Ikuya Nakamura, Yoji Shinkawa provided the promotional art like he did with the originalMetal Gear Solid. In the second of these titles,Metal Gear Acid, Snake must retrieve "Pythagoras" from the Lobito Physics and Research Laboratory, in order to satisfy hijackers who have kidnapped presidential candidate Viggo Hach. This mission is complicated by La Clown, an expert mimic who impersonates Snake's contact Teliko, and subtle brainwashing that nearly convinces him that he is Hans Davis, a ruthless scientist that worked at the Lobito facility. He overcomes both and contacts the real Teliko, then destroys the latest model of Metal Gear,Metal Gear KODOQUE.Metal Gear Acid 2 features a main character who is not the real version, but a clone created from tissue samples of the man from the originalMetal Gear Acid, following the events of the Lobito Island mission; the Solid Snake from the originalAcid is implied to be dead in the sequel.
The character appears in his Old Snake form as a playable character inMetal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus, a stand-alone expansion to thePortable Ops focusing on online play. InMetal Gear Rising: Revengeance, the VR Missions DLC add-on for the game's Japanese version includes a new weapon that can be used by Raiden known as theHebidamashi, a talking wooden sword which speaks with Solid Snake's voice (as portrayed by Akio Ōtsuka); the weapon was never made available for the English version.[43]
Outside video games, Solid Snake appeared in theMetal Gear Solid audio drama that focuses on his missions following the battle from Shadow Moses.[44] He also appears in Alex Garner'scomic book adaptations ofMetal Gear Solid andMetal Gear Solid 2.[45]Raymond Benson'snovelizations of these two games also feature Solid Snake; Benson's adaptation of the character frequently focuses on the comical aspects of his characterization.[46][47] He also appears inProject Itoh's novelization fromMetal Gear Solid 4 where his actions are told from Hal Emmerich's point of view.[48]
In theWorlds of Power novelization series created byF.X. Nine, Solid Snake appears in the second in the series, based onMetal Gear. In the book, written byAlexander Frost, he is Marine Captain Justin Halley.[49] This version of the character is non-canon and is not referenced by other versions.
Solid Snake has appeared in a number of other games, including other Konami games. Hideo Kojima makes a habit of referencing his previous work. In the Kojima-producedBoktai 2: Solar Boy Django (andShin Bokura no Taiyō: Gyakushū no Sabata), Snake appears as an unnamed character who sells items to the player. Konami'sEvolution Skateboarding features Snake and Raiden as hidden characters, as well as two stages set in the Big Shell (the skateboarding minigame inMetal Gear Solid 2: Substance is a demo ofEvolution Skateboarding composed exclusively of these elements).[50] Solid Snake also appears in both halves of a crossover between theMetal Gear andApe Escape franchises: theApe Escape monkeys appear with Solid Snake in the "Snake vs. Monkey" minigame featured inMetal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. In turn, Snake appears in the correspondingMetal Gear Solid minigame featured inApe Escape 3, where he is rescued by Pipo Snake (Snake's character design in this minigame is taken directly from Naked Snake's).
He has also appeared in several cross-company fighting games. InDreamMix TV World Fighters, Solid Snake appears as a playable character alongside otherKonami,Hudson Soft andTakara characters such asBomberman andOptimus Prime. Similarly, inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl, the third installment from the popular fighting game seriesSuper Smash Bros., Solid Snake appeared as a playable fighter alongsideSega characterSonic the Hedgehog and a variety of characters fromNintendo franchises such asMario,The Legend of Zelda, andDonkey Kong.Brawl DirectorMasahiro Sakurai has stated that Snake was included under Kojima's request, and that he had talked to Sakurai about adding Snake to the roster of the previous gameSuper Smash Bros. Melee, which did not materialize due to the game being too far into production.[51] Snake returned as a playable fighter inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, after being absent inSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. In addition, Snake has appeared as a playable character in other Konami crossover titles, such asNew International Track & Field andSuper Bomberman R.[52]
Old Snake has appeared in the Japanese version ofScribblenauts, having been published by Konami in that region.[53] Customizations in Media Molecule'sLittleBigPlanet for thePlayStation 3 allow the player character, Sackboy, to take on the appearance of Old Snake.[54] In December 2020,Paul W. Anderson stated that his 2020 filmMonster Hunter had been based on a 2010Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker crossover event withMonster Hunter Freedom Unite, in which a military squad briefly faced monsters from theMonster Hunter series, with Snake's equivalent in the narrative,US Army Ranger Artemis, being portrayed byMilla Jovovich.[55]
Solid Snake appears as an outfit inFortnite as the "Bonus Outfit" ofChapter 5 Season 1'sbattle pass[56] and was unlockable by completingin-game quests from January 23, 2024, through March 8, 2024, the end of that season.
"The name 'Snake' inMGS comes from creeping up on someone silently like a snake. The adjective 'Solid' expresses Snake's strong and blade-sharp image - paradoxical when combined with a snake's litheness. Normally, 'snake' and 'solid' do not go together. It's like talking about 'hot ice.' I came up with the name to express this lack of balance and equilibrium. But when I decided the codename would be Snake, the character was more Plissken than snake-like at the subconscious level. If I had used a different name for 'Snake' inMGS, he probably would have been a totally different character."
Solid Snake was apparently named after the fictional special forces operativeSnake Plissken,Kurt Russell's character inEscape from New York.[58][59] However, Kojima revealed in March 2014 that the character's name origins were something else. According to Kojima, he was given the "Snake" name because snakes are a symbol of stealth. Additionally, the "Solid" part of his code-name was given to give the opposite impression of a soft image.[60] Kojima has compared Snake's personality withLupin III ofMonkey Punch'sLupin III franchise, stating that in "MGS, Snake became this sharp-tongued, Lupin III-like guy who flirted with women and told lots of jokes".[61] His real name David[62][63] is a tribute to the film2001: A Space Odyssey that has a character with the same name (and coincidentally shared with his English voice actorDavid Hayter).[64] Kojima later described Snake's role in the originalMetal Gear as the "player's presence", contrasting the defined personality acquired inMetal Gear Solid.[65]
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In addition to expanding Solid Snake's backstory, as the firstMetal Gear game to feature voice acting,Metal Gear Solid established his characteristic voice and appearance.[66]
Various scenes from the games relate Solid Snake's ideals with Hideo Kojima's. DuringMetal Gear Solid 2, Snake encourages Raiden to trust himself in making his own choices with the former representing the veteran developer and the latter the younger staff who are to decide whether a sequel to the series would be made without Kojima.[64] InMetal Gear Solid 4, Snake tries to protect the next generation by stopping Ocelot which represented Kojima working with the staff to avoid bugs from occurring within the game.[67] Kojima introduced the cloning origins of Snake toMetal Gear Solid in order to provide Snake with an adversary who would be his equal, since the story, being a continuation of the original MSX2 games, established Snake as an experienced soldier.[68] Kojima explained that his decision to introduce a new playable character in Snake's place forMetal Gear Solid 2 was done in order to develop Snake from another character's perspective, but also to avoid treating Snake as a rookie by having a new character be instructed via Codec instead.[69] Snake was written to act as father figure not only to protect those he cares but also leave a message for the future generation despite his imminent death. As a pacifist message, Snake's stress increases when killing enemies.[70] Snake and Otacon were meant to die in the game, with Kojima being inspired by the movieSacco & Vanzetti in regards to how the duo use death as a penalty for how they are criminals rather than heroes. While the novel retained this idea, the ending in the game was changed with Snake and Otacon surviving.[71] Following Kojima's departure from Konami, the company indicated that it does not intend to produce furtherMetal Gear games with Solid Snake as the protagonist;[72] Kojima has himself stated that Solid Snake "is one character that I don't want to entrust to other people".[68]
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Much asMetal Gear began as apastiche ofaction movies of the time, Solid Snake began as a pastiche of action movie heroes. On the cover artwork of the originalMetal Gear he resembles actorMichael Biehn asKyle Reese in the 1984 filmThe Terminator,[73] although Kojima claimed to have no involvement in the production of the game's packaging illustration.[74] In the in-game portrait ofMetal Gear 2: Solid Snake, he resemblesMel Gibson.[73]
Yoji Shinkawa's Solid Snake design, characterized by his navy blue bandanna and "sneaking suit", would serve as the template for all future incarnations in laterMetal Gear games. According to Shinkawa, Snake's physique inMetal Gear Solid was based on that of action starJean-Claude Van Damme, while his facial appearance inspired by actorChristopher Walken. Shinkawa described his rendition of Solid Snake fromMetal Gear Solid as a "middle ground" between the younger Snake who was in the cover artwork of the firstMetal Gear and the middle-aged Snake from the MSX2 version ofMetal Gear 2.[59][75] For the initial events from the Big Shell chapter fromMetal Gear Solid 2, Snake's visual appearance was sightly modified with his hair being more blonde, and his appearance somewhat resembling theMan with No Name (as portrayed byClint Eastwood).[76] Shinkawa commented that Snake was one of the easiestMetal Gear characters for him to draw, as his appearance is consistent across games with only minor changes.[77] According to Kojima, Snake's character model was specifically designed to have a well-sculpted buttocks, as the player spends the majority of the game staring at the character's back from athird-person view.[78]
By the timeMetal Gear Solid 4 started development, Kojima told Shinkawa about his idea of making Snake look elderly, which surprised the designer. Once Shinkawa showed his artwork of Old Snake to the staff, they were all also surprised by the idea of playing as an old version of the character. However, they were satisfied with the end product as the staff began to like the character.[67] InMetal Gear Solid 4, one of Kojima's endings would have had Snake and Otacon turn themselves in for breaking the law, and subsequently they would be convicted and executed.[68] However, comments from Kojima's staff who were disappointed with his death resulted in the character's survival.[79] InMetal Gear Solid 4, Old Snake is modelled afterLee Van Cleef who appeared inEscape from New York.[80]
In the games, Solid Snake has been voiced byAkio Ōtsuka in the Japanese version, and byDavid Hayter in the English adaptations. When working inCaptain Planet, Hayter met the casting director of this show,Kris Zimmerman, who would later also be the voice-over director forMetal Gear games. When debuting inMetal Gear Solid, Hayter was impressed by the game's cutscenes and the amount of dialogue. One of Snake's lines that Hayter liked was "I just didn't expect a world-class designer of military technology to be so… cute." when Snake interacts with Mei Ling, believing it showed a more fun side of him. Solid Snake's English voice was inspired by Hayter's experience with Japan's storytelling, resulting in minor changes for the script. Hayter himself felt shocked whenSons of Liberty was released as the narrative focused more on newcomer Raiden rather than him. Although there were no news about Snake's future role inMetal Gear, the actor believesGuns of the Patriots gave the character a proper closure.[81] One of Snake's final scenes in this game bothered Hayter as during the ending the character hesitates to kill himself despite having killed multiple enemies in fights. Nevertheless, Hayter stated that he "loves" the character he was given to portray.[82]
Other than the aforementioned voice actors, Solid Snake has also been dubbed in four different languages for the European localization ofMetal Gear Solid; in French byEmmanuel Bonami,[83] in German byStephan Grothgar,[84] in Italian by Alessandro Ricci,[85] and in Spanish byAlfonso Vallés.[86]
Solid Snake's character was very well received by gaming media.Retro Gamer included him in the section "top ten forces of good" in their 2004 list of top 50 retro game heroes.[87] In 2005,Electronic Gaming Monthly listed Solid Snake as number one as the top ten video game characters of all time.[34] Solid Snake appeared in multipleGameFAQs "Character Battle" contests, and was runner-up in three: the "Character Battle V" in 2006,[88] the "Character Battle VII" in 2008,[89] and the "Character Battle IX" in 2013.[90] In anOricon poll from 2008, his character was voted as the most popular video game character in Japan, tying with Nintendo'sPikachu.[91] In aFamitsu poll in 2010, Solid Snake was voted by readers as the most popular video game character.[61] His character was amongst the last 16 contestants on the greatest video game hero onGameSpot contest held in 2009, and lost out toGordon Freeman on a tiebreaker.[92] In theGuinness World Records Gamer's Edition from 2011, Solid Snake was voted as the fourth most popular video game character.[93] In 2011,Empire ranked Solid Snake as the 19th greatest video game character, adding that "beginning as an action pastiche, he swiftly evolved into his very own character".[94] In 2007,ScrewAttack ranked him as thesixth "coolest" character in video games.[95]1UP.com listed him second in the list of top video game smokers, whileGamesRadar placed him at the top of their 2009 list of manliest men in video game history.[96][97]Complex ranked him as fourth on the list of top "pervs" in games in 2012[98] and as the seventh greatest soldier in video games in 2013.[99] In 2021, Chris Morgan forYardbarker described Snake as one of "the most memorable characters from old school Nintendo games".[100]HobbyConsolas named Snake as third of their "The 30 best heroes of the last 30 years."[101]
Critics have commented on his traits and appearance, often praising Solid Snake for his appealing personality.[34] Rich Knight and Gus Turner fromComplex acknowledged him as one of the best video game mascot, praising his "deep, human emotion that other characters fail to match."[102]IGN also remarked their rivalry, saying "Few rivalries in games have spanned as massive and confusing a timeline as Solid Snake and Liquid Snake".[103] Among the several characters he encounters, critics noticed that Snake's friendship with Otacon was one of the best parts of his character due to the contrast it has with enemies as well as how he Snake comforts him inSons of Liberty.[104][105] His rivalry with Big Boss was also popular according to journalists, especially when they are compared as son and father and genetic heir.[106] Various gaming sites such as1UP.com,Game Informer andKotaku joked on the poor relationship between the two of them as the father attempts to murder his own son.[107][108][109] Among other character relationships, Snake and Gray Fox were popular due to the variety of enemies the player faces.[110][111]
Solid Snake'sMetal Gear Solid 2 design was at the bottom of the worst game character makeovers list byGamePro, condemning his conversion in hairstyle in comparison to hisMetal Gear Solid design,[112] and was also at the top ofIGN's list of the worst video game haircuts.[113] The bookPlaying with Videogames states that Raiden's inclusion was intended to surpriseMetal Gear fans who, instead of playing as Snake, played as his opposite. Writer James Newman commented that fans' reactions were highly negative; they acted as though Kojima had betrayed their expectations. He compared Raiden to the controversialStar Wars characterJar Jar Binks.[114]Eurogamer's Tom Bramwell commented that his interactions with the other characters also helped expand Solid Snake's character.[115] His interactions with veteran Solid Snake identify the former as "aMetal Gear fan". As the game progresses it is stated that Raiden "has become Snake", having developed skills similar to those he gained from taking part in the Big Shell's fights that resembleMetal Gear Solid's Shadow Moses Island.[116] BeforeMetal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, the character was thought to be the game's protagonist because of his physical resemblances with Naked Snake. However, later previews speculated how was it impossible for Solid Snake to be in the game's settings, leading to the conclusion it was a young incarnation of his father.[117][118][119] A comparison between Solid Snake's and Big Boss's characters was made byIGN in an article titled "Stars Thunderdome: Snake vs. Big Boss."[120]
The character's appearance inMetal Gear Solid 4 has received mostly positive opinions. Before it was released, various speculations were made regarding his role. As he was the only one who suffered from a drastic change in appearance,IGN commented that the most famous rumor was the one of his body deteriorating across the game.[121] Moreover, since it had been announced it would be his last appearance,IGN andGamesRadar wondered whether the character would die during the game and if Raiden would replace him following his death.[122][123]GamesRadar commented that his character was one of the few gaming characters that aged across video games.[124]GamePro also listed Old Snake as one of the biggest surprises from the game, as the character was found interesting in contrast to pessimistic thoughts they had before the game's release.[125]GameDaily listed the "old hero" as one of their list of top video game archetypes, using the old version of the character as an example of this.[126]PLAY gave praise to his moustache considering how highly detailed it is, and represents the change from Solid Snake's character.[127] On the other hand,1UP.com criticized it as the most gracelessly aging characters as it gave negative messages about aging.[128]1UP.com listed their fight as the 13 "most dumbass" boss battles for its simple style in comparison to other more challenging bosses fromMetal Gear Solid 3 and its excessive length for a hand-to-hand fight between two old people.[129] The design resulted in mixed reactions regarding whether or not the character kept his original sex appeal.[130][131]
GameDaily made Solid Snake top theirSmash Bros. characters list,[132] whilePLAY listed him as one of the characters they wanted to be playable inMortal Kombat.[133] The character customization inSoulcalibur IV that allowed to create Solid Snake was listed byUGO as one of the best ones from the series owing to his popularity within gamers.[134] Gavin Jasper ofDen of Geek ranked Solid Snake as 12th ofSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate characters, and stated that "bringing Snake inSmash Bros. was an act of pure dominance."[135] Jeremy Parish ofPolygon ranked 73 fighters fromSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate "from garbage to glorious", listing Solid Snake as 18th, stating that "The legendary super-soldier Solid Snake remains one of gaming's greatest and most tragic figures."[136] People expressed some disappointment onSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate when Solid Snake wore a skintight stealth suit, and the rendition was completely changed, including the character's butt being reduced.[137]
Akio Otsuka's and David Hayter's performances as Solid Snake's voice actors has received praise. Ōtsuka remembers being surprised during his debut as a result of the large amount of dialogue Solid Snake was given.[138] Hayter's performance was called one of the greatest in gaming as well as one of the character's most recognizable traits.[139][140] In 2013,Game Informer ranked Hayter's role as Solid Snake as the seventh most memorable character voice in video games for "a portrayal that's considered to be a real classic in the history of video game voice acting".[141] In 2024, a poll conducted byBAFTA with around 4,000 respondents named Solid Snake as the fourteenth most iconic video-game character of all time.[142]
In theTekken 7Evo 2019 finals, the character was used to have a chat with developerKatsuhiro Harada. The organizers of Evo stated this was a joke as many fans believed it was a hint for a possible usage of the character as downloadable content.[143] David Hayter complained about this joke as Evo did not consult Konami or him when using the audio.[144]
Big Boss: Big Boss speaking. Operation Intrude N313. Penetrate the enemy's Outer Heaven and destroy the ultimate weapon, Metal Gear!
Big Boss: First, contact missing Gray Fox and destroy Metal Gear!
Big Boss: Solid Snake! You've finally come here. Yeah, I'm Big Boss General Commander of Foxhound. And in charge of this castle, Outer Heaven.
Solid Snake: This is Solid Snake... Metal Gear's destruction is a success.
Roy Campbell: Snake... Right on time, as always. Let's get started... Commencing Operation Intrude F014. Let's go over this one more time. Your mission is to infiltrate Zanzibar Land and rescue the kidnapped Czech biologist, Dr. Kio Marv.
Solid Snake: Big... Boss?! /Madnar: The very same! With Metal Gear and OILEX, he plots to rule the world. We cannot let the secret of OILEX fall into his hands!
Gray Fox: Snake... I'm not the same as I used to be. And neither is Metal Gear. I'll show you what fear really is. Prepare to taste defeat!
Big Boss: Even I make mistakes from time to time. Snake! This will be our final battle... Let's end this once and for all!
Solid Snake: FOX-HOUND hijacking a nuclear weapon? /Campbell: Now you understand how serious the situation is. You'll have two mission objectives. First, you're to rescue the DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) Chief Donald Anderson, and the ArmsTech president Kenneth Baker. They're both being held as hostages.
Liquid Snake: There's a killer inside you... You don't have to deny it. We were created to be that way.Solid Snake: Created?Liquid Snake: Les enfants terribles... the terrible children. That's what the project was called. It started in the 1970's. Their plan was to artificially create the most powerful soldier possible. The person that they chose as the model was the man known then as the greatest living soldier in the world...
Liquid Snake: The Pentagon only needed for you to come into contact with us. That's what killed the ArmsTech president and Decoy Octopus. /Solid Snake: You don't mean... /Liquid Snake: That's right. You were sent in here to kill us so they could retrieve Metal Gear undamaged along with the bodies of the genome soldiers. From the beginning, the Pentagon was just using you as a vector to spread FoxDie!
Revolver Ocelot: Yes, although [Solid Snake] proved he was superior and was the winner after all. ...That's right. Until the very end, [Liquid Snake] thought he was meant to be the inferior one.
Solid Snake: All right. I'll head to the bridge ASAP. /Otacon: Try to avoid confrontations. Our goal is to collect evidence on Metal Gear development and expose it to the world. It would be best if you could get out of there without alerting anyone. /Solid Snake: Don't worry. I know the drill -- we're not terrorists. /Otacon: Very good. Don't you forget that you're a part of "Philanthropy" now, an anti-Metal Gear organization and officially recognized by the UN.
Revolver Ocelot: ...Yes, at the location we discussed. Yes. I have photographic evidence of Snake on the scene. The Cypher was most useful...I look forward to tomorrow morning's news flash. I would say the Marine Corps' plans are on indefinite hold.
Raiden: So your the boss around here? /Solidus Snake: No, not just around here. I'm the boss to surpass Big Boss himself. Solid Snake. /Solid Snake: No! That is not Solid Snake!Solidus Snake: What a pleasant surprise – brother.
Solid Snake: I'm not an enemy. Calm down. My name is S... My name is Pliskin. Iroquois Pliskin, Lieutenant Junior Grade.
Campbell: His will lives on - in the body of the man once known as Ocelot. He aims to fan the flames of war even higher - to create the perfect world once envisioned by Big Boss. /Old Snake: The one world in which soldiers will always have a place... /Campbell: He must be stopped... Before it's too late.
Naomi Hunter: You're clones created for one purpose - war. And so in order to prevent you from being abused by clients or stolen by the enemy... They shortened your lifespan and removed your ability to reproduce. It was a safety device to ensure that the seed of Big Boss didn't end up in the hands of others. The reason you're aging so rapidly isn't that of disease, or faulty research, or FOXDIE. It's how you were born. It's your natural lifespan.
Otacon: Our fight is finished. There's nothing left for us to do. /Old Snake: No. There's one thing I still have to do. I have to see this age off... See what the future brings.
Meryl: So...where to, Snake?//Snake: David. My name is David...Meryl: Okay, so where to, Dave?
Big Mama: My, how you've grown...David...
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