Solid Snake
Encyclopedia
Metal Gear
, initially released in 1987, introduces Solid Snake, the rookie recruit of the elite special-forces unit FOXHOUND
. Snake is sent by team leader Big Boss into the rogue nation Outer Heaven to rescue his missing teammate Gray Fox and discover who or what the "METAL GEAR" mentioned is, and as his mission progresses he finds out that he has been set up; the leader of Outer Heaven is actually Big Boss, who intends to use Metal Gear—an experimental, nuclear-armed mecha
—to establish Outer Heaven as a nuclear power. After destroying the Metal Gear itself, he then confronts Big Boss and defeats him.
In the sequel, titled Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
and initially released only in Japan for the MSX2, follows after the original Metal Gear rather than Snake's Revenge; indeed, all later games ignore the events of Snake's Revenge.
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake sees Solid Snake once again called up to infiltrate a heavily fortified enemy base, this time in Zanzibarland. Zanzibarland has aggravated an international oil crisis and declared themselves a nuclear power by kidnapping Dr. Kio Marv, the creator of a bio-engineered algae that produces an oil substitute, and Dr. Pettrovich Madnar, the developer of the original Metal Gear. Snake infiltrates the base and discovers that Pettrovich and his former comrade Gray Fox have defected to Zanzibar Land, and that Zanzibar Land is led by none other than Big Boss. Snake destroys their new Metal Gear D, confronts and defeats Gray Fox, in a hand-to-hand fight in a minefield, and defeats Big Boss by setting him ablaze with a makeshift flamethrower.
Solid Snake is the playable character of the extensive prologue sequence of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
, in which he is sent by the anti-proliferation
organization Philanthropy to infiltrate a cargo tanker and photograph Metal Gear RAY, the latest Metal Gear model. During the operation, however, the Metal Gear RAY is hijacked and the tanker destroyed, with the apparently dead Snake framed for the deed. The remainder of Sons of Liberty follows the actions of the rookie FOXHOUND agent Raiden
(the character now controlled by the player), who has been assigned to rescue the U.S. President and a number of other government officials being held hostage at a remote offshore oil shell facility. Solid Snake, who survived the explosion in the prologue, appears throughout the main portion of the game (initially adopting the pseudonym , as a non-playable character who assists Raiden.
The PlayStation 3
game Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
features an aged Snake, once again the main protagonist and identified as by the game. On account of his genetic code being a potential threat if it fell into enemy hands, he was designed with a short life span; as such, while Snake is only 42 years old, he has the body of an old man. In the game, 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 (allowing the player to use his younger look during gameplay as well and disguise Snake as other characters). Snake is once again enlisted by Campbell to defeat Liquid Ocelot who is following Big Boss' will. At the end of the game, Snake destroys the AIs of the Patriots, and, after meeting Big Boss once again, ultimately decides to live out the remainder of his life in peace.
. The first of these games is the Game Boy Color
version of Metal Gear Solid (released in Japan as Metal Gear: Ghost Babel). In Ghost Babel, Solid Snake infiltrates 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. While the promotional art for the game was drawn by Yoji Shinkawa, the actual in-game character designs were done by Ikuya Nakamura, who would go on to direct the Kojima-produced Boktai
series. Ghost Babel has, however, been briefly spotted in various Metal Gear games, such as a poster in MGS1 and the "Patriot" AI refers to infiltrating "Galuade" in MGS2.
In Metal Gear Acid
, Solid 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 Solid 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. The sequel, Metal Gear Acid 2
, features a main character who is not the real Solid Snake, but a clone created from tissue samples of the Solid Snake from the original Metal Gear Acid, following the events of the Lobito Island mission; the Solid Snake from the original Acid is dead.
Though Snake does not explicitly appear in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
, he is mentioned, though not referred to by name; Elisa, a teenage German psychic with multiple personalities
, has a prophetic vision
of Naked Snake's future as she dies: she mentions that one of his sons will save the world after another son (Liquid Snake) brings it to ruin. He appears (in his MGS4 form) as a recruitable character in Portable Ops Plus.
and Nintendo
.
Hideo Kojima makes a habit of referencing his previous work. In the Kojima-produced Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django
(and Boktai 3: Sabata's Counterattack), Snake appears as an unnamed character who sells items to the player. Konami's Evolution Skateboarding
features Snake and Raiden
as hidden characters, as well two stages set in the Big Shell (the Skateboarding minigame in Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance is a demo of Evolution Skateboarding composed exclusively of these elements).
Solid Snake also appears in both halves of a crossover between the Metal Gear
and Ape Escape franchises: the Ape Escape monkeys appear with Solid Snake in the "Snake vs. Monkey" minigame featured in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
. In turn, Snake (voiced by Peter Lurie
in the English version instead of David Hayter, his usual voice actor) appears in the corresponding Metal Gear Solid minigame featured in Ape Escape 3
, where he is rescued by Pipo Snake. Snake's character design in this mini-game is taken directly from Naked Snake's.
He has also appeared in a pair of cross-company fighting games. In DreamMix TV World Fighters
, Solid Snake appears as a playable character alongside other third-party characters such as Bomberman
and Convoy (Optimus Prime). Similarly, in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
, a popular fighting game from Nintendo
, Solid Snake appeared alongside Nintendo-owned characters such as Mario
and Donkey Kong, and Sega
's Sonic the Hedgehog
. According to producer Masahiro Sakurai
, Snake's inclusion in Brawl was done under Kojima's request, who wanted Snake to be featured.
Snake has appeared as a playable character in the Nintendo DS
game, New International Track & Field
, alongside fellow Konami characters such as Sparkster and Simon Belmont, as well as new original characters. Also, Old Snake has appeared in the Japanese version of Scribblenauts
, having been published by Konami in that region.
Customizations in Media Molecule's LittleBigPlanet
for the PlayStation 3
allow the player character, Sackboy, to take on the appearance of Old Snake.
saw him act for the simple fact that it was an order, while Operation Intrude F014
was to avoid a world energy and nuclear crisis but even at the early stages of the series he already showed an indomitable will and courage as shown in later games when his beliefs are the only thing driving him. However, he has also committed some criminal acts in war, with Colonel Campbell mentioning that Snake committed enough crimes for him to serve jailtime until he was a "very old man."
It is with the Solid series that the technology gave tools to develop Snake into a full-fledged, complex and memorable character. He is immediately shown as a loner and with no intentions of taking orders from anyone anymore, he shows no sign of longing for the army or the country he was part of.
During his infiltration into Shadow Moses he is shown to be cold-hearted, analytical, and with a clear view of his role as a mercenary.
Along with these traits he has a more human side, being flirtatious, self-sacrificing and with a strong belief that even on a battlefield friendship and love can flourish, and that violence is not glorious. Although the last bit is debatable due to statements from his enemies and at least one of his allies that he might enjoy all the killing, and even being labelled as being truly evil at one point.
In the second
entry of the Solid series, Snake is shown to be more relaxed, openly liking better having his very own orders and in the second part of the game, acting as a supporting character, the narrative shows him being always one step ahead of Raiden who hails him as a hero and a legend, which Snake openly dismisses. However, he still expresses his cold nature, such as having nothing to feel about SEAL Team 10's deaths at the hands of Dead Cell, causing Raiden to chastise him as a result especially when they were technically his allies.
Still as a supporting character more of Snake's personality traits are shown; he expresses a strong friendship towards Otacon, stating that only his beliefs got him in the mission, citing Gray Fox's sacrifice as a result of this. He expresses much more hope than in Shadow Moses and with an optimistic, philosophical view of life and personal purpose.
In his final mission
, Snake, now with the body of an old man, has only his willpower for fulfilling what he feels is his duty driving him.
While still (maybe even more than before) believing that he is in no way a hero, he is full of compassion for his fellows, he still has some sense of humor and his courage enables him to endure inhuman punishments to accomplish his duty.
At the end of his life, Snake finds some peace and vows to live long enough to see what the future holds for the world he helped to build.
of the time, Solid Snake began as a pastiche of contemporary action movie heroes. For example, on the cover artwork of the original Metal Gear, he resembles Michael Biehn
in The Terminator
, and the in-game portrait of Snake in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
resembles Mel Gibson
in the game's opening sequence. Solid Snake was even named after another fictional special forces operative: Snake Plissken
, Kurt Russell
's character in Escape from New York
. In Guns of the Patriots, he is modeled after Lee Van Cleef
, who appeared in Escape from New York. Kojima later described Snake's role in the original Metal Gear as the "player's presence", contrasting the defined personality Solid Snake acquired in Metal Gear Solid
.
In addition to expanding Solid Snake's backstory, as the first Metal Gear game to feature voice acting Metal Gear Solid established his characteristic voice and appearance. Yoji Shinkawa
's Solid Snake design, characterized by his navy blue bandanna and "sneaking suit", would serve as the template for all future incarnations of Snake in later Metal Gear games. According to Shinkawa, Snake's physique in Metal Gear Solid was based on that of action star Jean-Claude Van Damme
, while his facial appearance in the same game was inspired by actor Christopher Walken
. Shinkawa described his rendition of Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid as a "middle ground" between the younger Snake who graced the cover artwork of the first Metal Gear and the middle-aged Snake from the MSX2 version of Metal Gear 2.
Kojima introduced the cloning origins of Solid Snake to Metal Gear Solid in order to provide Solid Snake with an adversary who would be his equal, since the story, being a continuation to the original MSX2 games, established Snake as an experienced soldier. Kojima explained that his decision to introduce a new playable character in Solid Snake's place for Sons of Liberty 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. In Guns of the Pariots one of Kojima's endings for the game would have had Snake and Otacon turn themselves in for breaking the law, and subsequently they would be convicted and executed. According to Ryan Payton of Konami, Guns of the Patriots is the final canonical Metal Gear game to feature Solid Snake as the main character. Kojima himself stated that the series will continue but he does not want the character to be handled by anyone else.
In the games, Snake has been voiced by Akio Ōtsuka starting with Metal Gear Solid. Ōtsuka remembers being surprised during his debut as a result of the large amount dialogue Snake was given. In the English adaptations, Snake's role was made by David Hayter
who found his work notable as he was originally a screenwriter and did not expect to become famous for dubbing a character. For the crossover game Super Smash Bros, Hayter remembers having fun in voicing the character due to the comical lines Snake had to say.
poll from 2008, he was voted as the fourth most popular video game character in Japan, tying with Nintendo's Pikachu
. In a Famitsu
poll done in February 2010, Snake was voted by readers as the most popular video game character. In the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition
from 2011, Snake was voted as the fourth most popular video game character. Also, Electronic Gaming Monthly
listed him as number three as the Top Ten Video Game charactes of all time.
Snake appeared in multiple GameFAQs
"Character Battle" contests, and was runner-up in two, the "Character Battle V" in 2006, and the "Character Battle VII" in 2008. His character was amongst the last sixteen contestants on the greatest video game hero on GameSpot
contest held in 2009, and lost out to Gordon Freeman
on a tiebreaker. He was ranked seventeenth in UGO Networks's "Best Heroes in Entertainment." GameDaily
listed him on their top 10 Smash Bros. characters list, while Play listed him as one of the characters they wanted to be playable in Mortal Kombat. Sites have also commented on his traits and appearance. 1UP listed him second in the "Top 5 Video Game Smokers" while GamesRadar
placed him at the top of "The 10 manliest men in videogame history." Solid Snake's endurance in the face of extreme punishment was even made the focus of a comedy article in the satirical newspaper, The Onion
. The character customization in Soul Calibur 4 that allowed to create Snake was listed by UGO as one of the best ones from the series owing to his popularity within gamers. The character's Metal Gear Solid 2 design received negative comments. He was at the bottom of the "8 Worst Game Character Makeovers" by GamePro
, condemning his conversion in hairstyle in comparison to the one in Metal Gear Solid, and was also at the top of IGN's "Worst Videogame Haircuts". Before Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Snake was thought to be the game's protagonist because of the physical resemblances between him and Naked Snake. However, later previews speculated how was it possible for Solid Snake to be in the game's settings, leading to the conclusion it was a young Big Boss. A comparison between Solid Snake's and Big Boss' characters was made by IGN
's Phil Pirrello in articled called "Stars Thunderdome: Snake vs. Big Boss." David Hayter's performance as Snake's English voice actor has received praise to the point of being called one of the best ones in gaming as well as one of the character's most recognizable traits.
Snake's appearance in Metal Gear Solid 4 has received mixed opinions. Before it was released, various speculations were made regarding Snake's role. As he was the only who suffered from a drastic change in appearance, IGN commented that the most famous rumor was the one of Snake's body deteriorating across the game. Moreover, since it had been announced it would be his last appearance, IGN wondered whether the character would die during the game and if Raiden would replace him following his death. GamesRadar commented that Snake was one of the few gaming characters that aged across video games. GamePro also listed Old Snake as one of the biggest surprises from Metal Gear Solid 4 as the character was found interesting in contrast to pessimisitc thoughts they had before the game's release. GameDaily listed the "old hero" as one of their top 25 video game archetypes, using the old version of Snake as an example of this. Play gave praise to the his moustache considering how highly detailed it is, and represents the change from Snake's character. On the other hand, 1UP placed him third in the article of "Top 5 Gracelessly Aging Characters" as it gave negative messages about aging.
Metal Gear (video game)
is an overhead military action-adventure video game originally released in by Konami for the MSX2 computer standard in Japan and parts of Europe. Considered to be the progenitor of the stealth game genre, it was also the first video game designed by Hideo Kojima, who also directed many of the...
, initially released in 1987, introduces Solid Snake, the rookie recruit of the elite special-forces unit FOXHOUND
Foxhound
A foxhound is a type of large hunting hound. Foxhounds hunt in packs and, like all scent hounds, have a strong sense of smell. They are used in hunts for foxes, hence the name. When out hunting they are followed usually on horseback and will travel several miles to catch their target. These dogs...
. Snake is sent by team leader Big Boss into the rogue nation Outer Heaven to rescue his missing teammate Gray Fox and discover who or what the "METAL GEAR" mentioned is, and as his mission progresses he finds out that he has been set up; the leader of Outer Heaven is actually Big Boss, who intends to use Metal Gear—an experimental, nuclear-armed mecha
Mecha
A mech , is a science fiction term for a large walking bipedal tank or robot, including ones on treads and animal shapes.-Characteristics:...
—to establish Outer Heaven as a nuclear power. After destroying the Metal Gear itself, he then confronts Big Boss and defeats him.
In the sequel, titled Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
is an overhead stealth action game that was originally released by Konami in for the MSX2 computer standard exclusively in Japan. Metal Gear 2 was directed and written by Hideo Kojima, who also designed the MSX2 version of the original Metal Gear...
and initially released only in Japan for the MSX2, follows after the original Metal Gear rather than Snake's Revenge; indeed, all later games ignore the events of Snake's Revenge.
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake sees Solid Snake once again called up to infiltrate a heavily fortified enemy base, this time in Zanzibarland. Zanzibarland has aggravated an international oil crisis and declared themselves a nuclear power by kidnapping Dr. Kio Marv, the creator of a bio-engineered algae that produces an oil substitute, and Dr. Pettrovich Madnar, the developer of the original Metal Gear. Snake infiltrates the base and discovers that Pettrovich and his former comrade Gray Fox have defected to Zanzibar Land, and that Zanzibar Land is led by none other than Big Boss. Snake destroys their new Metal Gear D, confronts and defeats Gray Fox, in a hand-to-hand fight in a minefield, and defeats Big Boss by setting him ablaze with a makeshift flamethrower.
Metal Gear Solid games
Metal Gear Solid sees Solid Snake pulled out of retirement by Colonel Campbell in a mission to deal with FOXHOUND. Under the leadership of Liquid Snake, FOXHOUND has gone rogue, seizing Shadow Moses Island, an isolated American nuclear weapons disposal facility. Snake infiltrates the base and meets up with Meryl Silverburgh, a rookie soldier, and Dr. Hal "Otacon" Emmerich, the designer of Metal Gear REX. Snake defeats each member of FOXHOUND one by one, destroys Metal Gear REX, and confronts Liquid. Liquid reveals that he and Solid are twin brothers artificially conceived from Big Boss' genes during a government project designed to create the perfect soldier titled "Les Enfants Terribles", in which one brother was genetically modified to be superior over the other. Liquid harbors a strong resentment towards Snake since his brother was given their father's dominant "soldier genes" and Liquid was cast aside. After a grueling series of battles, Liquid dies from the Fox-Die virus that was previously implanted into Snake in order to wipe out FOXHOUND without risking any damage to Metal Gear REX and the Genome soldiers' bodies for retrieval. In the end, it is revealed that Liquid got Big Boss' superior "soldier genes", not Solid.Solid Snake is the playable character of the extensive prologue sequence of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
is a stealth action video game directed by Hideo Kojima, developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 in 2001....
, in which he is sent by the anti-proliferation
Nuclear proliferation
Nuclear proliferation is a term now used to describe the spread of nuclear weapons, fissile material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information, to nations which are not recognized as "Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also known as the...
organization Philanthropy to infiltrate a cargo tanker and photograph Metal Gear RAY, the latest Metal Gear model. During the operation, however, the Metal Gear RAY is hijacked and the tanker destroyed, with the apparently dead Snake framed for the deed. The remainder of Sons of Liberty follows the actions of the rookie FOXHOUND agent Raiden
Raiden (Metal Gear)
, whose real name is , is a video game character in the Metal Gear series of stealth games by Konami. Created by Hideo Kojima and designed by Yoji Shinkawa, Raiden was introduced in the series as the main playable character of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty...
(the character now controlled by the player), who has been assigned to rescue the U.S. President and a number of other government officials being held hostage at a remote offshore oil shell facility. Solid Snake, who survived the explosion in the prologue, appears throughout the main portion of the game (initially adopting the pseudonym , as a non-playable character who assists Raiden.
The PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
game Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
is a video game developed by Kojima Productions for the PlayStation 3 console. The game was directed by Hideo Kojima and made its worldwide release on June 12, 2008, ten years after the release of Metal Gear Solid and twenty years after the North American release of Metal Gear.Guns of the Patriots...
features an aged Snake, once again the main protagonist and identified as by the game. On account of his genetic code being a potential threat if it fell into enemy hands, he was designed with a short life span; as such, while Snake is only 42 years old, he has the body of an old man. In the game, 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 (allowing the player to use his younger look during gameplay as well and disguise Snake as other characters). Snake is once again enlisted by Campbell to defeat Liquid Ocelot who is following Big Boss' will. At the end of the game, Snake destroys the AIs of the Patriots, and, after meeting Big Boss once again, ultimately decides to live out the remainder of his life in peace.
In spinoffs
Three Metal Gear spinoffs, which do not follow the storyline of the main Kojima-directed series, were directed by Shinta NojiriShinta Nojiri
Shinta Nojiri is a Japanese video game designer at Konami. Born in Tokyo, he worked for Konami since 1995, and has directed various games in Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear series and NeverDead.-Selected works:*...
. The first of these games is the Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
version of Metal Gear Solid (released in Japan as Metal Gear: Ghost Babel). In Ghost Babel, Solid Snake infiltrates 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. While the promotional art for the game was drawn by Yoji Shinkawa, the actual in-game character designs were done by Ikuya Nakamura, who would go on to direct the Kojima-produced Boktai
Boktai
Boktai is a video game series developed by Konami for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS handheld consoles. The title is an abbreviation of the series' full Japanese title Bokura no Taiyō or Our Sun. They are recognized for using a solar sensor that is a key element of gameplay...
series. Ghost Babel has, however, been briefly spotted in various Metal Gear games, such as a poster in MGS1 and the "Patriot" AI refers to infiltrating "Galuade" in MGS2.
In Metal Gear Acid
Metal Gear Acid
is a turn-based collectible card video game developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan for the PlayStation Portable handheld game console. The game was first unveiled at E³ 2004 in May, and was released in Japan on December 16, 2004, in North America on March 22, 2005 and in Europe on...
, Solid 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 Solid 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. The sequel, Metal Gear Acid 2
Metal Gear Acid 2
is a turn-based collectible card video game developed by Kojima Productions and published by Konami for the PlayStation Portable. It is the sequel to the original Metal Gear Acid, with the story set sometime after the events of the previous game...
, features a main character who is not the real Solid Snake, but a clone created from tissue samples of the Solid Snake from the original Metal Gear Acid, following the events of the Lobito Island mission; the Solid Snake from the original Acid is dead.
Though Snake does not explicitly appear in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
is a stealth game directed by Masahiro Yamamoto and written by Gakuto Mikumo, with series creator Hideo Kojima acting as a producer. Portable Ops was developed by Kojima Productions and published by Konami in 2006 for the PlayStation Portable. It is the third Metal Gear title for the PSP and the...
, he is mentioned, though not referred to by name; Elisa, a teenage German psychic with multiple personalities
Dissociative identity disorder
Dissociative identity disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis and describes a condition in which a person displays multiple distinct identities , each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the environment....
, has a prophetic vision
Precognition
In parapsychology, precognition , also called future sight, and second sight, is a type of extrasensory perception that would involve the acquisition or effect of future information that cannot be deduced from presently available and normally acquired sense-based information or laws of physics...
of Naked Snake's future as she dies: she mentions that one of his sons will save the world after another son (Liquid Snake) brings it to ruin. He appears (in his MGS4 form) as a recruitable character in Portable Ops Plus.
Other appearances
Solid Snake has appeared in a number of other games, including other Konami games, and more unusually, under license in games developed and published by other companies, such as SonySony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
and Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
.
Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django
, also known as Zoktai, is a video game that was developed and published by Konami for the Game Boy Advance. Released in North America and Japan in 2004 and in Europe in 2005, it is the sequel to Boktai: The Sun Is in Your Hand.-Plot:...
(and Boktai 3: Sabata's Counterattack), Snake appears as an unnamed character who sells items to the player. Konami's Evolution Skateboarding
Evolution Skateboarding
Evolution Skateboarding is a skateboarding video game released by Konami for the PlayStation 2 and GameCube. It consists of several popular skateboarders, such as Rick McCrank, Arto Saari, Kerry Getz, and Danny Way. There is also a create-a-skater feature and an unlockable character for every...
features Snake and Raiden
Raiden (Metal Gear)
, whose real name is , is a video game character in the Metal Gear series of stealth games by Konami. Created by Hideo Kojima and designed by Yoji Shinkawa, Raiden was introduced in the series as the main playable character of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty...
as hidden characters, as well two stages set in the Big Shell (the Skateboarding minigame in Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance is a demo of Evolution Skateboarding composed exclusively of these elements).
Solid Snake also appears in both halves of a crossover between the Metal Gear
Metal Gear (series)
is a series of stealth video games created by Hideo Kojima and developed and published by Konami. The first game, Metal Gear, was released in 1987 for the MSX2. The player takes control of a special forces operative Solid Snake who is assigned to find the eponymous superweapon "Metal Gear", a...
and Ape Escape franchises: the Ape Escape monkeys appear with Solid Snake in the "Snake vs. Monkey" minigame featured in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
is an award-winning stealth action video game directed by Hideo Kojima. Snake Eater was developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2, and was released on November 17, 2004 in North America; December 16, 2004 in Japan; March 4, 2005 in Europe; and on...
. In turn, Snake (voiced by Peter Lurie
Peter Lurie
Peter Hill Lurie is an American television personality, Sports anchor and voice actor who has worked in several television shows, movies, and dubbed anime, since the mid-1990s. He is well known as the voice of Vulcan Raven in the Metal Gear Solid video game series, and the Marvel Comics...
in the English version instead of David Hayter, his usual voice actor) appears in the corresponding Metal Gear Solid minigame featured in Ape Escape 3
Ape Escape 3
Ape Escape 3 is a platforming video game published and developed by Sony for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It was first released in Japan on July 14, 2005, and was later released in North America on January 17, 2006, in Europe on May 5, 2006, and in Australia on May 18, 2006...
, where he is rescued by Pipo Snake. Snake's character design in this mini-game is taken directly from Naked Snake's.
He has also appeared in a pair of cross-company fighting games. In DreamMix TV World Fighters
DreamMix TV World Fighters
is a 2003 multiplayer fighting video game for the GameCube and PlayStation 2 in Japan. It features licensed characters from a few well-known Japanese companies, including Konami, Hudson Soft, and Takara.-Story:...
, Solid Snake appears as a playable character alongside other third-party characters such as Bomberman
Bomberman
Bomberman is a strategic, maze-based computer and video game franchise originally developed by Hudson Soft. The original game was published in 1983 and new games in the series are still being published to this day. Today, the commercially successful Bomberman is featured in over 70 different games...
and Convoy (Optimus Prime). Similarly, in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBB or simply as Brawl, is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games, developed by an ad hoc development team consisting of Sora, Game Arts and staff from other developers, and published by...
, a popular fighting game from Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
, Solid Snake appeared alongside Nintendo-owned characters such as Mario
Mario
is a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
and Donkey Kong, and Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
's Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog (character)
, trademarked Sonic The Hedgehog, is a video game character and the main protagonist of the Sonic video game series released by Sega, as well as in numerous spin-off comics, cartoons, and a feature film. The first game was released on June 23, 1991, to provide Sega with a mascot to rival Nintendo's...
. According to producer Masahiro Sakurai
Masahiro Sakurai
is a Japanese video game designer, the creative force behind both the Kirby and the Super Smash Bros. series on Nintendo platforms. He is currently Director of Software Development for the video game developer's Sora Ltd. and Project Sora. He is also the author of a weekly column for Famitsu...
, Snake's inclusion in Brawl was done under Kojima's request, who wanted Snake to be featured.
Snake has appeared as a playable character in the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
game, New International Track & Field
New International Track & Field
, is a sports video game by Konami for the Nintendo DS. Developed by Sumo Digital, it is the latest game in Konami's Track and Field series.-Overview:...
, alongside fellow Konami characters such as Sparkster and Simon Belmont, as well as new original characters. Also, Old Snake has appeared in the Japanese version of Scribblenauts
Scribblenauts
Scribblenauts is an emergent puzzle action video game developed by 5th Cell for the Nintendo DS published by WB Games. The game was released September 15, 2009 in North America, September 30, 2009 in Australia, and October 9, 2009 in Europe. Konami released the game in Japan under the name on...
, having been published by Konami in that region.
Customizations in Media Molecule's LittleBigPlanet
LittleBigPlanet
LittleBigPlanet, commonly abbreviated LBP, is a puzzle platformer video game, based on user-generated content, for the PlayStation 3 first announced on 7 March 2007, by Phil Harrison at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, California...
for the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
allow the player character, Sackboy, to take on the appearance of Old Snake.
Personality
Snake has been on the battlefield for most of his life, a hardened veteran, he has his emotions buried very deep inside himself. Every one of his missions has different motives; while he considers himself a soldier, only Operation: Intrude N313Metal Gear (video game)
is an overhead military action-adventure video game originally released in by Konami for the MSX2 computer standard in Japan and parts of Europe. Considered to be the progenitor of the stealth game genre, it was also the first video game designed by Hideo Kojima, who also directed many of the...
saw him act for the simple fact that it was an order, while Operation Intrude F014
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
is an overhead stealth action game that was originally released by Konami in for the MSX2 computer standard exclusively in Japan. Metal Gear 2 was directed and written by Hideo Kojima, who also designed the MSX2 version of the original Metal Gear...
was to avoid a world energy and nuclear crisis but even at the early stages of the series he already showed an indomitable will and courage as shown in later games when his beliefs are the only thing driving him. However, he has also committed some criminal acts in war, with Colonel Campbell mentioning that Snake committed enough crimes for him to serve jailtime until he was a "very old man."
It is with the Solid series that the technology gave tools to develop Snake into a full-fledged, complex and memorable character. He is immediately shown as a loner and with no intentions of taking orders from anyone anymore, he shows no sign of longing for the army or the country he was part of.
During his infiltration into Shadow Moses he is shown to be cold-hearted, analytical, and with a clear view of his role as a mercenary.
Along with these traits he has a more human side, being flirtatious, self-sacrificing and with a strong belief that even on a battlefield friendship and love can flourish, and that violence is not glorious. Although the last bit is debatable due to statements from his enemies and at least one of his allies that he might enjoy all the killing, and even being labelled as being truly evil at one point.
In the second
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
is a stealth action video game directed by Hideo Kojima, developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 in 2001....
entry of the Solid series, Snake is shown to be more relaxed, openly liking better having his very own orders and in the second part of the game, acting as a supporting character, the narrative shows him being always one step ahead of Raiden who hails him as a hero and a legend, which Snake openly dismisses. However, he still expresses his cold nature, such as having nothing to feel about SEAL Team 10's deaths at the hands of Dead Cell, causing Raiden to chastise him as a result especially when they were technically his allies.
Still as a supporting character more of Snake's personality traits are shown; he expresses a strong friendship towards Otacon, stating that only his beliefs got him in the mission, citing Gray Fox's sacrifice as a result of this. He expresses much more hope than in Shadow Moses and with an optimistic, philosophical view of life and personal purpose.
In his final mission
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
is a video game developed by Kojima Productions for the PlayStation 3 console. The game was directed by Hideo Kojima and made its worldwide release on June 12, 2008, ten years after the release of Metal Gear Solid and twenty years after the North American release of Metal Gear.Guns of the Patriots...
, Snake, now with the body of an old man, has only his willpower for fulfilling what he feels is his duty driving him.
While still (maybe even more than before) believing that he is in no way a hero, he is full of compassion for his fellows, he still has some sense of humor and his courage enables him to endure inhuman punishments to accomplish his duty.
At the end of his life, Snake finds some peace and vows to live long enough to see what the future holds for the world he helped to build.
Creation and development
Much as Metal Gear began as a pastiche of action moviesAction film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
of the time, Solid Snake began as a pastiche of contemporary action movie heroes. For example, on the cover artwork of the original Metal Gear, he resembles Michael Biehn
Michael Biehn
Michael Connell Biehn is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in James Cameron's science fiction action films The Terminator as Kyle Reese, Aliens as Cpl. Dwayne Hicks, and The Abyss as Lt. Coffey. He has also acted in such films as Tombstone, The Rock, and Planet Terror...
in The Terminator
The Terminator
The Terminator is a 1984 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, co-written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr., and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, and Linda Hamilton. The film was produced by Hemdale Film Corporation and distributed by Orion Pictures, and filmed in Los...
, and the in-game portrait of Snake in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
is an overhead stealth action game that was originally released by Konami in for the MSX2 computer standard exclusively in Japan. Metal Gear 2 was directed and written by Hideo Kojima, who also designed the MSX2 version of the original Metal Gear...
resembles Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
in the game's opening sequence. Solid Snake was even named after another fictional special forces operative: Snake Plissken
Snake Plissken
S.D. Bob "Snake" Plissken is a fictional character in John Carpenter's films Escape from New York and Escape from L.A., played by Kurt Russell. He is an ex-special forces commando/war hero in World War III turned criminal...
, Kurt Russell
Kurt Russell
Kurt Vogel Russell is an American television and film actor. His first acting roles were as a child in television series, including a lead role in the Western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters...
's character in Escape from New York
Escape from New York
Escape from New York is a 1981 American science fiction action film directed and scored by John Carpenter. He co-wrote the screenplay with Nick Castle. The film is set in the near future in a crime-ridden United States that has converted Manhattan Island in New York City into a maximum security...
. In Guns of the Patriots, he is modeled after Lee Van Cleef
Lee Van Cleef
Lee Van Cleef was an American film actor who appeared mostly in Western and action pictures. His sharp features and piercing eyes led to his being cast as a villain in scores of films such as High Noon, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and The Good The Bad and the Ugly.-Early life:Van Cleef was...
, who appeared in Escape from New York. Kojima later described Snake's role in the original Metal Gear as the "player's presence", contrasting the defined personality Solid Snake acquired in Metal Gear Solid
Metal Gear Solid
is a videogame by Hideo Kojima. The game was developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and first published by Konami in 1998 for the PlayStation video game console. It is the sequel to Kojimas early MSX2 computer games Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake...
.
In addition to expanding Solid Snake's backstory, as the first Metal Gear game to feature voice acting Metal Gear Solid established his characteristic voice and appearance. Yoji Shinkawa
Yoji Shinkawa
is a Japanese artist. He is most famous for his character, environment and mechanical designs for the Metal Gear and Zone of the Enders series....
's Solid Snake design, characterized by his navy blue bandanna and "sneaking suit", would serve as the template for all future incarnations of Snake in later Metal Gear games. According to Shinkawa, Snake's physique in Metal Gear Solid was based on that of action star Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg , professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor, best known for his martial arts action films, the most successful of which include Bloodsport , Kickboxer , Double Impact , Universal Soldier , Hard Target , Timecop ,...
, while his facial appearance in the same game was inspired by actor Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken is an American stage and screen actor. He has appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows, including Joe Dirt, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, The Prophecy trilogy, The Dogs of War, Sleepy Hollow, Brainstorm, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, At Close Range, King of New...
. Shinkawa described his rendition of Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid as a "middle ground" between the younger Snake who graced the cover artwork of the first Metal Gear and the middle-aged Snake from the MSX2 version of Metal Gear 2.
Kojima introduced the cloning origins of Solid Snake to Metal Gear Solid in order to provide Solid Snake with an adversary who would be his equal, since the story, being a continuation to the original MSX2 games, established Snake as an experienced soldier. Kojima explained that his decision to introduce a new playable character in Solid Snake's place for Sons of Liberty 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. In Guns of the Pariots one of Kojima's endings for the game would have had Snake and Otacon turn themselves in for breaking the law, and subsequently they would be convicted and executed. According to Ryan Payton of Konami, Guns of the Patriots is the final canonical Metal Gear game to feature Solid Snake as the main character. Kojima himself stated that the series will continue but he does not want the character to be handled by anyone else.
In the games, Snake has been voiced by Akio Ōtsuka starting with Metal Gear Solid. Ōtsuka remembers being surprised during his debut as a result of the large amount dialogue Snake was given. In the English adaptations, Snake's role was made by David Hayter
David Hayter
David Hayter is a Canadian-American voice and screen actor and screenwriter. He is best known for providing the English voices of Solid Snake and Big Boss in the Metal Gear video game series, and for writing the screenplay for X-Men and co-writing the screenplay for The Scorpion King and X2...
who found his work notable as he was originally a screenwriter and did not expect to become famous for dubbing a character. For the crossover game Super Smash Bros, Hayter remembers having fun in voicing the character due to the comical lines Snake had to say.
Reception
The character of Solid Snake has received positive response, ranking in various polls as one of the best video games characters in history. In an OriconOricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
poll from 2008, he was voted as the fourth most popular video game character in Japan, tying with Nintendo's Pikachu
Pikachu
is one of the species of Pokémon creatures from the Pokémon media franchise—a collection of video games, anime, manga, books, trading cards, and other media created by Satoshi Tajiri. As do all Pokémon, Pikachu fight other Pokémon in battles central to the anime, manga, and games of the series...
. In a Famitsu
Famitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
poll done in February 2010, Snake was voted by readers as the most popular video game character. In the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition
Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition
Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition is a Guinness World Records book dedicated to video games. The first edition was released in February 2008 in association with the video games world records' tracking organization Twin Galaxies. The second edition was released in 2009...
from 2011, Snake was voted as the fourth most popular video game character. Also, Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
listed him as number three as the Top Ten Video Game charactes of all time.
Snake appeared in multiple GameFAQs
GameFAQs
GameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff "CJayC" Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by CBS Interactive. The site has a database of video game information, cheat codes, reviews, game saves,...
"Character Battle" contests, and was runner-up in two, the "Character Battle V" in 2006, and the "Character Battle VII" in 2008. His character was amongst the last sixteen contestants on the greatest video game hero on GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
contest held in 2009, and lost out to Gordon Freeman
Gordon Freeman
Gordon Freeman is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Half-Life video game series. He is a theoretical physicist who finds himself thrust into a battle for survival against both alien and human forces. Throughout the series, Gordon must prevail in hostile situations despite...
on a tiebreaker. He was ranked seventeenth in UGO Networks's "Best Heroes in Entertainment." GameDaily
GameDaily
GameDaily was a video game journalism website based in the United States. Launched in 1995 by entrepreneur Mark Friedler under the name Gigex and focused on free game demo downloads, The site changed its business model from a flat fee per download CDN distributed service network to an...
listed him on their top 10 Smash Bros. characters list, while Play listed him as one of the characters they wanted to be playable in Mortal Kombat. Sites have also commented on his traits and appearance. 1UP listed him second in the "Top 5 Video Game Smokers" while GamesRadar
GamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
placed him at the top of "The 10 manliest men in videogame history." Solid Snake's endurance in the face of extreme punishment was even made the focus of a comedy article in the satirical newspaper, The Onion
The Onion
The Onion is an American news satire organization. It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news, in addition to a non-satirical entertainment section known as The A.V. Club...
. The character customization in Soul Calibur 4 that allowed to create Snake was listed by UGO as one of the best ones from the series owing to his popularity within gamers. The character's Metal Gear Solid 2 design received negative comments. He was at the bottom of the "8 Worst Game Character Makeovers" by GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
, condemning his conversion in hairstyle in comparison to the one in Metal Gear Solid, and was also at the top of IGN's "Worst Videogame Haircuts". Before Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Snake was thought to be the game's protagonist because of the physical resemblances between him and Naked Snake. However, later previews speculated how was it possible for Solid Snake to be in the game's settings, leading to the conclusion it was a young Big Boss. A comparison between Solid Snake's and Big Boss' characters was made by IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's Phil Pirrello in articled called "Stars Thunderdome: Snake vs. Big Boss." David Hayter's performance as Snake's English voice actor has received praise to the point of being called one of the best ones in gaming as well as one of the character's most recognizable traits.
Snake's appearance in Metal Gear Solid 4 has received mixed opinions. Before it was released, various speculations were made regarding Snake's role. As he was the only who suffered from a drastic change in appearance, IGN commented that the most famous rumor was the one of Snake's body deteriorating across the game. Moreover, since it had been announced it would be his last appearance, IGN wondered whether the character would die during the game and if Raiden would replace him following his death. GamesRadar commented that Snake was one of the few gaming characters that aged across video games. GamePro also listed Old Snake as one of the biggest surprises from Metal Gear Solid 4 as the character was found interesting in contrast to pessimisitc thoughts they had before the game's release. GameDaily listed the "old hero" as one of their top 25 video game archetypes, using the old version of Snake as an example of this. Play gave praise to the his moustache considering how highly detailed it is, and represents the change from Snake's character. On the other hand, 1UP placed him third in the article of "Top 5 Gracelessly Aging Characters" as it gave negative messages about aging.