Editing Snake (SSBU)

'''Snake''' ({{ja|スネーク|Sunēku}}, ''Snake'') is a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''. Snake is classified as fighter #31.

Rather than {{s|wikipedia|Kiefer Sutherland}}, who voiced his predecessor in  the ''Metal Gear Solid V'' series, {{s|wikipedia|David Hayter|David Hayter's}}'s portrayal of Snake from ''Brawl'' was repurposed for the English version of ''Ultimate,'' with Hayter initially [https://twitter.com/DavidBHayter/status/1006580149540700160 confirming on Twitter] that he would be reprising his role as Snake. Akio Otsuka also reprises his role in the Japanese version.

*Clear {{SSBU|Classic Mode}} with {{SSBU|Link}}, being the fifth character in his unlock tree after {{SSBU|Meta Knight}}.

With the exception of the third method, Snake must then be defeated on [[Shadow Moses Island]].

Snake received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition from ''Brawl'' to ''Ultimate'' but was nerfed overall. The most notable buffs he received were to his previously slow mobility, no longer being among the slowest in the series. The universal 3-frame jumpsquat and Snake's improved air speed give Snake better options when transitioning from the ground to the air, while the reduced landing lag on all of his aerials gives him landing options. In addition, many of his moves have been given reduced startup (e.g. neutral and down aerial's multi hits) or end lag (e.g. down tilt), or even both (e.g. down smash). His [[Remote Missile]] is significantly faster and more controllable making it a stronger tool against opponents who are off stage. Finally, the removal of chain grabbing significantly improves his endurance against certain characters.

However, Snake also received some glaring nerfs as well. Due to Snake's reduced weight, the removal of [[momentum canceling]] and given that Cypher can now be destroyed, his overall endurance especially while offstage is much weaker. In addition, while his ground game still remains strong, it has been nerfed in several ways; his neutral attack has less range and is significantly weaker, his forward tilt has less range, deals far less damage, the first hit has been altered removing its ability to [[trip]] and the second hit is slower and weaker. His up tilt's infamously horizontal deceptive range has been reduced, and the explosions from his explosion-based attacks can now be absorbed, further limiting his effectiveness in certain character matchups. While he has seen some improvements to his aerials, they are all weaker (especially down aerial). The removal of DACUS and the Gatling combo severely limit his approach options despite the aforementioned increase to his mobility. Lastly while the removal of chain grabbing improves his endurance, it also means that he can't chain grab with his down throw severely reducing its damage racking and [[tech chase]] potential.

Despite the changes, however, Snake retains multiple key traits from his ''Brawl'' incarnation, and remains a viable choice in tournaments within the early meta.

<!--Please do not make a comment about Snake's butt. As sad as it is, the wiki is not a place for it.-->

*{{change|Snake retains his design from ''Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty''. However, his body suit appears less form-fitting than before, and his overall appearance appears to be more detailed, particularly his hair and bandana.}}

*{{change|Snake has refined animations for many of his moves.}}

*{{change|Snake's [[series symbol]] has changed from the FOX logo to the "!" Alert symbol seen in ''Metal Gear Solid'' games.}}

*{{change|Snake always speaks during his [[on-screen appearance]].}}

*{{bugfix|Snake's medium and heavy knockback clips that went unused in ''Brawl'' are now properly used.}}

*{{change|Snake has two additional [[alternate costumes]], increasing his total to 8. One is a somewhat shiny, pure black costume resembling the Metal camouflage from ''Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots''. The other is a lighter green costume resembling the leaf camouflage from ''Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater''.}} 

*{{change|Snake has a new [[victory animation]]. He does a spin kick, a side kick, and then finishes in a CQC stance. The pose is a reference to the end of ''Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots'' when Old Snake fights Liquid Ocelot. It replaces the cardboard box victory pose from ''Brawl''.}} [https://i.redditmedia.com/rgI5tgRJU8NnjMoxNmCmt3oaAGRwdhaFRK_6PxxJUmE.png?w=1024&s=24cc1e5811448d6c5b2845fdc3ef654b]

*{{change|Snake no longer uses unique sounds on hit for his jab, dash attack, tilts and aerials.}}

*{{buff|Like all characters, Snake's [[jumpsquat]] animation now takes three frames to complete, the biggest difference out of everyone (down from 9).}}

*{{buff|Snake [[walk]]s faster (0.84 → 0.882).}}

*{{buff|Snake [[dash]]es much faster (1.35 → 1.595).}}

*{{buff|Snake's initial dash is much faster (1.1 → 1.76).}}

*{{buff|Snake has faster [[air speed]] (0.94 → 0.987).}}

*{{buff|Snake's [[fast fall]]ing speed is higher (2.422 → 2.768).}}

*{{change|Snake is much [[weight|lighter]] (113 → 106), going from third heaviest in ''Brawl'' to tied for 16th in ''Ultimate'', worsening his endurance but making him less susceptible to combos, especially at higher percents (although this is negated by the removal of [[hitstun canceling]]).}}

*{{buff|The removal of chain grabbing noticeably improves Snake's endurance against certain characters.}}

*{{buff|The changes made to [[air dodging]] benefit Snake's recovery, improving his horizontal range and versatility.}}

*{{nerf|All of Snake's explosions (including forward smash, up smash, Hand Grenades, Remote Missile and C4) can now be [[absorb]]ed.}}

**{{nerf|Neutral attack deals less damage (14% → 11%) and has less range. The first two hits no longer have set knockback making them connect less reliably with the third hit at higher percents and the third hit also has drastically decreased knockback, no longer KOing until around [[sudden death]] percents.}}

**{{nerf|Forward tilt does less damage (8% → 4% (hit 1), 9%/10%/12% → 9% (hit 2)) hindering its KO potential.}}

**{{buff|Up tilt deals more damage (13% → 14.5% (clean), 12% → 13.5% (late), slightly improving its KO potential.}}

**{{nerf|Up tilt's knockback on the sweetspot has been slightly reduced.}}

**{{nerf|Up tilt's notoriously large horizontal disjointed hitbox has been reduced, to the point where opponents have to be close to Snake in order for the move to connect.}}

**{{change|Down tilt now sends Snake forward then back to where he started. This makes the move safer as Snake moves back, but removes the move's ability to pseudo-crawl.}}

**{{buff|Down tilt has less ending lag (frame 35 → 31).}}

**{{nerf|Down tilt deals less knockback, no longer KOing until very high percentages.}}

**{{buff|Dash attack connects more reliably at close range as Snake can no longer run through his opponents.}}

**{{nerf|Dash attack's sweetspot has a shorter duration (frames 5-12 → 5-8) and the sourspot deals less damage (9% → 8%).}}

**{{nerf|The [[Gatling Combo]] can no longer be performed.}}

**{{change|Snake now vocalizes his forward smash after the move has been performed. It additionally has a new "clicking" sound effect.}}

**{{change|Up smash's mortar shells now only land in front of Snake making its trajectory more reliable.}}

**{{change|The move's sound effects are now more realistic, replacing the previous move's distinctive "bloop" sound.}}

**{{buff|Up smash's mortar shell deals more damage (10% → 14%) improving its KO potential and it travels higher when uncharged.}}

**{{buff|Up smash has less ending lag (frame 53 → 51).}}

**{{nerf|The removal of [[DACUS]] significantly hinders Snake's up smash's approach potential.}}

**{{nerf|The mortar shell has much more startup lag (frame 29 → 36).}}

**{{nerf|The first hit connects into the mortar much less reliably, even at lower percents.}}

**{{change|Snake has a new down smash: a double-sided kick that is slightly similar to {{SSBU|Zelda}}'s, capable of sending opponents at horizontal angles with considerable knockback (especially the back hit). This increases its range and makes it more consistent and reliable at KO'ing, though it removes Snake's landmine combos and weakens his ability to stage control.}}

**{{buff|New down smash is dramatically faster than the old one, having much less startup (frame 55 → 8) and ending lag (frame 78 → 45).}}

**{{nerf|The front hit deals less damage than the old landmine (14% → 12%).}}

**{{nerf|Up aerial deals slightly less knockback.}}

**{{buff|Snake halts his momentum in the air while performing down aerial, similar to {{SSBU|Lucario}}'s. This makes down aerial autocancel in a short hop.}}

**{{buff|Due to Snake's new frame 3 jumpsquat, down aerial is now a powerful damage-racking option out of shield.}}

**{{nerf|All hits of down aerial deal less damage (6% → 4% (hit 1), 5% → 3% (hits 2-3), 12% → 10% (hit 4); a total change of 28% → 20% if all hits connect). This reduces its damage racking potential. The final hit also deals much less knockback, greatly hindering its KO potential.}}

===Throws/other attacks===

**{{nerf|All grabs have more ending lag (frame 30 → 35 (standing), frame 40 → 43 (dash), frame 30 → 38 (pivot).}}

**{{nerf|The changes to aerial [[grab release]]s heavily hinder Snake as he no longer has any guaranteed follow ups out of an aerial grab release (such as dash attack or a re grab) outside of his explosives. The change to his down smash also heavily limits his aerial grab release's follow up potential as it can now only set up into one of his self detonating explosives.}}

**{{change|Forward throw has a different animation, with the ending pose causing Snake to pose with his arms out.}}

**{{nerf|Forward throw deals slightly less knockback.}}

**{{buff|Up throw deals more damage (10% → 11%).}}

**{{buff|Up throw has increased followup potential due to the removal of [[hitstun canceling]]. Snake's shorter jumpsquat also improves up throw's follow up potential.}}

**{{change|Snake performs down throw slightly faster.}}

**{{change|How soon an opponent can act out of down throw is now based on their percentage. This hinders its [[tech chasing]] potential at lower percents but gives Snake guaranteed followups at higher percents.}}

**{{nerf|Due to the removal of chain grabbing, Snake can no longer use down throw repeatedly, reducing his potential damage output.}}

**{{change|Hand Grenades are much larger, making them more likely to hit opponents but also more likely to hit Snake himself.}}

**{{buff|C4 now sticks to opponents much more reliably than in ''Brawl''.}}

**{{change|Snake has a new Final Smash called [[Covering Fire]]. It involves him throwing a flare grenade to call an airstrike. A crosshair will first appear to mark opponents in intervals before five homing missiles are fired at the marked victims. Targets must be marked multiple times in order to send more of the missiles at them. Any missiles not given a target when their mark is placed will simply fly at where the crosshair was at the time. This resembles the way flare grenades are used in ''Metal Gear Solid V'', where a support helicopter could be called to provide backup, with homing missiles being one of the options. The UI for the missiles bears a resemblance to the one used for the FIM-92 Stinger homing missile launcher.}}

==Update History==

'''{{GameIcon|ssbu}} 1.2.0'''

*{{bugfix|Fixed an issue that allowed Snake himself to launch incorrectly at maximum percentages using [[C4]].}}

|neutralname=&nbsp;

|neutraldesc=Two punches, followed by a spinkick. Holding the attack button will have Snake repeat the first hit. Based off the attack combo from ''{{s|wikipedia|Metal Gear Solid}}'' and ''{{s|wikipedia|Metal Gear Solid 2}}''.

|ftiltname=&nbsp;

|ftiltdmg=4% (hit 1), 9% (hit 2, body), 10% (hit 2, arm), 11% (hit 2, fists)

|ftiltdesc=A forward knee-thrust. Pressing the attack button a second time will have Snake follow upwith an overhead swing of both arms. The knee slightly launches opponents vertically, making it harder to connect the second hit at higher percents. This move is seen during a cutscene in ''Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes'' when Snake fights [[Gray Fox]].

|utiltname=&nbsp;

|utiltdesc=An upward scorpion kick. A strong move with high vertical range. Depending on the opponent's damage, this makes a great follow up from down throw.

|dtiltname=&nbsp;

|dtiltdesc=A low spin kick while prone.

|dashname=&nbsp;

|dashdesc=Snake does a somersault forward. Moves Snake forward quite a bit. The somersault and subsequent transition to crouching are visually identical to those moves used by Snake in the ''Metal Gear Solid'' series.

|fsmashname=&nbsp;

|fsmashdesc= Snake takes out an {{s|wikipedia|RPG-7}} rocket launcher and aims it at the ground directly in front of himself, causing a huge explosion. It has very slow startup but deals huge knockback when it hits.

|usmashname=&nbsp;

|usmashdesc=Snake slams a mortar in front of himself and fires a shell into the air. The movement of the shell is almost entirely vertical, and it lands directly in front of Snake's position. Charging the up smash does not increase its power, but it increases the speed and height of which it travels. When fully charged, greatly exceeds the range of {{SSBU| Palutena}}'s up smash. The fixed trajectory of the mortar, coupled with the fact that it charging doesn't affect the damage, makes this move great for edgeguarding.

|dsmashname=&nbsp;

|dsmashdesc=A double-sided kick. Launches opponents at horizontal angles with considerable knockback. One of Snake's fastest ground moves.

|nairname=&nbsp;

|nairdmg=3% (hit 1 - 3), 12% (hit 4)

|nairdesc=Snake performs four kicks in quick succession. At low percents against heavy and fast-falling characters, a short-hopped neutral aerial can lead to a neurtal attack, tilts, and a short-hop down aerial.

|fairname=&nbsp;

|fairdmg=15% (foot), 14% (leg)

|fairdesc=A midair axe kick. Has slow start-up and high ending lag, but it is a very powerful [[meteor smash]] with great vertical and horizontal reach. Connection with the leg results in very powerful vertical knockback.

|bairname=&nbsp;

|bairdmg=16% (clean, feet), 14% (clean, legs), 10% (late, feet), 9% (late, legs)

|bairdesc=Snake dropkicks behind himself, planking in the air. Has fairly fast start-up along with good reach and very high horizontal knockback when sweetspotted. While it has high ending lag like his other aerials, Snake's back aerial never auto-cancels, unlike his other aerials, so it is very punishable if it misses. Has [[sex kick]] properties.

|uairname=&nbsp;

|uairdmg=14% (clean), 10% (late)

|uairdesc=Snake dropkicks straight upwards, similar to his back aerial. Has fairly fast start-up with good vertical reach and powerful vertical knockback, but has considerable ending lag, like the rest of Snake's aerials.

|dairname=&nbsp;

|dairdmg=4% (hit 1), 3% (hits 2 and 3), 10% (hit 4)

|dairdesc=Snake launches four subsequent kicks below himself. A powerful damage-racking out-of-shield option. Similar to Lucario, Snake's down aerial halts his momentum, making it autocancel in a short hop.

|grabname=&nbsp;

|grabdesc=Reaches infront of himself with both of his arms, grabbing and holding his opponent in a restraining chokehold. The grabbing position itself is unique to Snake. Based on a similar maneuver from the ''Metal Gear Solid'' games.

|pummelname=&nbsp;

|pummeldmg=1.2%

|pummeldesc=Tightens his chokehold.

|fthrowname=&nbsp;

|fthrowdesc=Snake twists the opponent's arms behind their back, steps his leg forward, and then forcefully shoves them into the ground in front of him.

|bthrowname=&nbsp;

|bthrowdesc=Snake shifts the restrained opponent towards him, trips them with a sweep of his leg, and flips them over, slamming them on the ground behind him.

|uthrowname=&nbsp;

|uthrowdmg=7% (slam), 4% (throw)

|uthrowdesc=Snake suplexes his opponent, slamming them back-first. Can combo into his up tilt at low percents.

|dthrowname=Silent Takedown

|dthrowdesc=Lays opponent on the floor, putting the opponent into a downed status. How soon an opponent can act depends on their damage. At high percents, gives Snake guaranteed follow-up options. Resembles a similar CQC maneuver from the ''Metal Gear Solid'' series, in which Snake rendered enemies unconscious by suffocating them.

|floorfdesc=While getting up, kicks on one side and punches on the other.

|nsdmg=0.9~3.7% (grenade), 8.6~11.2% (explosion)

|nsdesc=Snake pulls out a grenade and unpins it. The grenade can be held for up to 2.5 seconds before it detonates, which can be "cooked" by holding the special button as soon as he takes out a grenade. The distance Snake throws the grenade can be controlled by pressing either forward, backward, or pressing no direction at all. Pressing the shield button will drop the grenade. Snake can throw up to two grenades at a time.

|ssdesc=Snake takes out a Nikita and fires a remote-controlled missile. The missile can be controlled with the [[control stick]] and be cancelled out by pressing the [[shield]] button. One of his best moves for edgeguarding.

|usdesc=Snake grabs onto the flying reconnaissance camera and slowly hovers upwards. Snake gains slight armor while rising on the camera. One can cancel the move early by performing any aerial attack, pressing down, or by airdodging, upon which the Cypher will become an upward projectile.

|dsdesc=Snake bends down and plants a C4 on the ground where he is standing, drops one when used in the air, or sticks one towards a wall if he is standing near one. By using the move a second time, he takes out a remote and presses the button, detonating the explosive. If Snake is standing near an opponent, he can attach the C4 directly onto them, which acts like a [[Gooey Bomb]].

|fsdesc=Snake will toss a flare grenade, exclaiming "It's showtime!", before crouching and putting his hand up to his ear, which will cause a crosshair to appear onscreen. At the upper left are two bars: one solid, and one made up of 5 segments. The solid bar indicates how much time until the missiles are launched, while the segmented bar underneath represents the missiles: missiles that have locked onto an opponent are shown as red segments, while those that have not are shown as grayed-out segments.

*Snake's stealth camouflage disengages to reveal himself to his opponent(s). Snake then announces "Kept you waiting, huh?" upon appearing. Comes from an intro cutscene of ''Metal Gear Solid 2''.

*'''All taunts''': Puts a [[Cardboard Box|cardboard box]] over himself, which is removable. All three of his taunts are variations of this. His up taunt being the fastest to cancel, his down taunt being the slowest and his side taunt between both of them speed-wise. When he removes it, any nearby enemies will receive damage. The damage ranges from 1.8% to 3.1%. The box can also be picked up and thrown by opponents, although any character will automatically throw the box once it is picked up. The box falls a considerable distance when removed over a ledge, making it a possible edgeguarding option.

**'''Smash Taunt''': Kneels down and contacts his support team - [[Colonel Roy Campbell]], [[Otacon]], and [[Mei Ling]], and even [[Slippy Toad|Slippy Toad]] (only when in a Smash with {{SSBU|Falco}}) - via his [[codec]]. This is possible only on Snake's home stage, [[Shadow Moses Island]], and is performed by inputting the down taunt command extremely quickly. Snake will hold a pose for a few seconds, then a conversation between Snake and his support team will begin. This can only be done once each round and if the player is hit while Snake is holding his pose before the conversation starts, it is cancelled. However, the player can be hit while the conversation is going, though the conversation ends if Snake is KO'd, which, in a nod to the ''Metal Gear Solid'' game over screens, causes the character Snake was talking with to shout ''"SNAAAAAAAAKE!!"''. It can be done with any number of other players on the screen - if there is more than one opponent, the game will randomly choose one to talk about.

 

This taunt only works against the characters who were in ''Brawl''. Any characters who where introduced in ''Smash 4'' and ''Ultimate'', as well as those who where first introduced in ''Melee'' (i.e. Pichu, Dr. Mario, Young Link, and Mewtwo) do not have unique codec conversations. Additionally, Ike’s codec conversation won’t play when he is in his ''Radiant Dawn'' costumes.

* Scratches his beard.

* Quickly looks behind himself.

* Does a spin kick, a side kick, and then finishes in a CQC stance, all while saying "Not even close!". The pose is a reference to the end of ''Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots'' when Old Snake fights Liquid Ocelot.

* Seen in a crouching position from the side, saying "Colonel, mission accomplished." into his codec.

* Crawls forward a step and rolls into a crouching position, saying into his codec "This is Snake. I'm done here."

Snake's opponents all use projectile weapons. Additionally, all the items that spawn are either projectile weapons or explosives, to go with the theme of the route. OSP stands for On-Site Procurement, which is the condition for many of Snake's missions in the series.

{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"

!Round!!Opponent!!Stage!!Music

|1||Male and Female {{SSBU|Inkling}}s||[[Moray Towers]]||Encounter

|2||{{SSBU|Diddy Kong}}||[[Kongo Falls]]||Theme of Tara

|3||{{SSBU|Pit}}||[[Shadow Moses Island]] ([[Battlefield form]])||Theme of Solid Snake

|4||{{SSBU|Link}}||[[Jungle Japes]]||Snake Eater

|5||2 {{SSBU|Samus}}es and 2 {{SSBU|R.O.B.}}s||[[Norfair]]||Main Theme - METAL GEAR SOLID PEACE WALKER

|6||Snake (Green Costume)||Shadow Moses Island||MGS4 ~Theme of Love~

|colspan="4"|Bonus Stage

|Final||{{SSBU|Galleom}}||?||Boss Battle - Super Smash Bros. Brawl

During the opening cutscene Snake was present on the cliffside when [[Galeem]] absorbed the Master Hands and unleashed his beams of light. While the other fighters were attempting to deflect or dodge the beams, Snake hid in his cardboard box; this proved useless, as a beam of light vaporized him and his box, placing him under Galeem's imprisonment along with the rest of the fighters, except for {{SSBU|Kirby}}.

Snake can be found in a military base sub-area reminiscent of his series, where [[Galleom]] is fought.

==[[Spirit]]s==

Snake's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing [[Classic Mode]]. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Snake in World of Light allows the player to preview the spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a Fighter Spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Each Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in ''Ultimate''.

Solid Snake Spirit.png|749. '''''Solid Snake'''''

<!--Snake amiibo.png|Snake's [[amiibo]].-->

SSBUWebsiteLuigi4.jpg|Getting hit by {{SSBU|Luigi}}’s neutral attack on Coliseum.

SSBUAnnouncerGo!.png|Snake and King K. Rool begin their battle at [[Kongo Jungle (SSBM)|Kongo Falls]].

=== Character Showcase Video ===

*Snake was announced to return in ''Ultimate'' on June 12th, 2018, which was also the 10 year anniversary of ''Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots''.

*Snake is the only returning third-party character to have his [[Final Smash]] completely changed.

**While [[Super Sonic]] and [[Super Pac-Man]] have different mechanics, they are otherwise the same Final Smash.

*Snake is the only returning third-party character not to appear in ''Super Smash Bros. 4''.

*''Ultimate'' is the third time Snake, {{SSBU|Simon}}, and [[Bomberman]] appeared in a video game together, the first two being ''{{s|wikipedia|DreamMix TV World Fighters}}'' and ''{{s|wikipedia|Super Bomberman R}}''.

*Snake can be unlocked by playing Classic Mode as Simon or {{SSBU|Meta Knight}}. This likely references Simon and Snake being Konami characters and Snake's team-up with Meta Knight in [[Subspace Emissary]].

[[Category:Third party characters]]