Snake (SSBB)

This article is about Snake's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For other uses, see Solid Snake.

Snake
Solid Snake
Universe	Metal Gear
Appears in	SSBB
Availability	Unlockable

Unveiled at E3 2006, Snake (スネーク, Sunēku) is a character appearing in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Instead of using a gun, he uses explosive-type weapons from his own games. He is the first third-party character to appear in any Super Smash Bros. game. His sneaking suit is based on the one appearing in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.

A popular rumor states that Hideo Kojima, the creator of Metal Gear, wished Sakurai (or "practically begged" according to Sakurai, himself) to include Snake in Super Smash Bros. Melee, but the game was in an advanced development stage and in an early launch in Japan.

Snake is the only character whose official art on Smash Bros. DOJO!! portrays him in a different pose from his original art from his old profile.

Another note is that his victory theme is the theme to the original Metal Gear Solid game, which many fans also interpret as the "Game Over" theme.

How to Unlock

• Play 15 matches in VS Mode on Shadow Moses Island
• Play 130 matches in VS Mode
• Have Snake join your party in the Subspace Emissary

Role in the Subspace Emissary

Snake has stowed away somewhere on the Halberd, hiding inside a cardboard box. When his time comes, Snake emerges from his box and begins to investigate, but when he sees Lucario and Meta Knight, he hides again inside his box. Lucario sees through the box by looking at his aura, and pulls off Snake's disguise. Snake is surprised to see that he has been discovered (an exclamation point appears above his head along with the Metal Gear "you have been found" sound) and quickly assumes a fighting stance. Meta Knight is glad to oblige, when Lucario senses security Primid coming from the corridor behind him, so they end up forming a partnership with Snake. After battling through the onslaught of Primid, Snake and the others meet up with Zelda and Peach. Shadowbugs make clones of Peach and Zelda, and the trio fights. Later, Snake, Lucario and Meta Knight find the bridge of the ship and are surprised to see a group of Mr. Game & Watches is maintaining the bridge. Snake and Co. throw all of the Mr. Game & Watches out of the window, and they all land on the front deck. The Mr. Game & Watches revert into Shadowbugs and combine into a giant metal monster called Duon. Lucario, Snake, and Falco join Fox, Sheik, and Peach to battle and defeat the monster. Snake shows up with everyone else at the entrace of Subspace and like the rest, he turns into a trophy by Tabuu's attack, but is later revived. Snake can be chosen to fight Tabuu in the final battle.

Snake is one of the few characters in the entire SSE storyline to have dialog. When he reveals himself, he states to the player "Kept you waiting, huh?".

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Neutral A Combo is extremely fast and has incredible priority. The final kick in the cominbination has good range and knockback. It is useful for clearing the opponent and spacing away.
• Ftilt is a great and arguably Snake's best kill move, with the power and knockback of a smash with the speed and priority of a tilt.
• U-tilt has enormous range and upward velocity, and kills at surprisingly low percentages (without decay involved Jigglypuff can be killed at 82%).
• Nair can do up to 28% if all kicks come in contact with opponent. The final kick has high knockback. It is also possible to utilize forward and backward directional influence with this aerial.
• Dair can be short-hopped out of a shield and directional influenced in order to land all four kicks.
• Down Throw can be used numerous times by tech chasing.
• Side-B, the Nikita Missile, is useful for edgeguarding.
• Third heaviest character
• Up smash has potentially huge vertical range.
• Forward smash is incredibly powerful.
• Has the most projectiles of any character.
• Fair is a powerful spike with interesting properties.
• Bair and uair have long range and duration and high knockback.
• Up-B recovery gives Snake great vertical recovery, and has super armor frames.
• Can use any aerial attack and B-Attack after using Up-B (obviously, this excludes the Up-B).
• Has the lowest Crawl in the game.
• Has the longest Smash-Boost in the game, his being called Snakedashing.
• Down-B can be adhered to walls, sides of some stages, and enemies.
• Attacks can combo into each other well (C4 into Up Smash into C4 Detonation into Forward/Back Air)
• Can edgeguard in numerous ways, such as using back air, setting up C4, and land mines, as well as his U-Smash and Side-B.
• F-tilt can Knee Lock
• Exploding himself with a grenade or a C4 while in mid-air will allow him to use his up special again, giving him an infinite vertical AND horizontal recovery.
• Unlike most projectiles, the Nikita does more damage the further it goes.
• Shield-Dropping grenades allows Snake to avoid most enemy attacks and escape combos and chaingrabs.
• C4 can stick to opponents when used while standing on them.
• If he snake hop is back aerial he can still hit with it and have no landing lag on it. It also let Snake fully execute is nair

Cons:

• Smashes and special moves are laggy.
• Mines, grenades, and C4s can hurt Snake and his teammate(s) (if he has any) as well.
• Down Smash does no immediate damage.
• Slow dash and jump speed.
• The C4 might switch with someone else if the character it was on passes someone else, including Snake.
• Vulnerable when using Up special because if Snake is grabbed and not pummeled and thrown, he cannot use his Up special again which usually results in an instant death unless he detonates a C4 on himself.
• Long landing lag on all aerials.
• Side special (Remote Controlled Missile) can leave Snake very vulnerable and is easily deflected with attacks.
• Up special can't sweetspot the ledge on the way up.
• Slow and Predictable Air Game

Standard Moves

Ground Attacks

• Neutral A - Punch, Punch, Spinkick. The kick has high knockback, and works as a moderate percent kill move. 14% damage. This is the combo from MGS2 and MGS:TS games for hand to hand combat.
• Dash Attack - Snake does a somersault forward, and ends up half-crouching at the end. Easily transitions to crouching. The somersault and subsequent transition to crouching are visually identical to those moves used by Snake in the Metal Gear Solid series. 11% damage.
• Down Tilt - Snake is fully prone while crouching, and he sweeps his legs around. 10% damage.
• Up Tilt - Snake plants one hand on the ground and kicks one leg up vertically. 13% damage.
• Forward Tilt - Does a knee-thrust forward. If you press A again, he will follow-up with an overhead swing of both arms, which has high knockback. 21% damage.
• Up Smash - Snake takes out a mortar and places it in front of him. Then, he charges, and fires a mortar shell up in the air. The distance traveled vertically depends on the time spent charging; charging time does not affect damage. The rocket can hit any opponent in the arc upwards and subsequent fall back to the ground, and explodes on contact with an enemy or the ground. By far the longest Up-Smash in the game. Mortar can vertically knock players in front of Snake up, setting them up to be hit by the mortar shell. Can not damage Snake. 14% damage.
• Down Smash - Snake crouches and starts digging in the ground as he charges, and sets a landmine. Explosive damage of the mine increases the longer it was charged. This is a very slow smash, and does not actually deal any damage right away. A short while after planting the mine, it becomes active, and will detonate if anyone (including Snake) steps on it. Damage and knockback are based on how long it was charged. Also, if the platform the mine is set on disappears (like at Rainbow Ride or Delfino Plaza) the mine falls down and if it hits ground, explodes. You can't plant more than one mine at a time though, but you can change its position by using the attack anywhere on the stage. A fully charged attack causes Snake to plant two mines in place of just one. 14% damage.
• Forward Smash - Snake takes an RPG- 7 rocket launcher and aims it at the ground directly in front of him, causing an explosion when released. High knockback, but low range and hits the ground, similar to something like Samus's Down tilt. It is a very good move for finishing off someone. It can be a One-Hit KO at best. 23-28% damage.

Aerial Attacks

• Neutral Aerial - Snake performs four quick kicks in the air. The fourth kick has high knockback. Best performed soon after double jump. Can also be used in a full single jump, but not a shorthop. 28% damage.
• Down Aerial - Stomps multiple times beneath him, the last hit having high knockback. (another attack best performed after double jump) 30% damage.
• Back Aerial - Snake kicks his legs out behind him, falling completely horizontal. High range and knockback, long duration. 14% damage. This attack, if performed correctly on a airborne or even a grounded opponent, can result in a horizontal KO to them. The high knockback will push the opponents into the side blast line. It KOs at about 100% damage. It is also very useful for breaking Smash Balls from above.
• Forward Aerial - Snake lifts a leg to head height and axe-drops it down. Similar to DK's Forward aerial, it is slow, yet powerful, and can spike at the end. It appears to actually spike an enemy that is in front of Snake down and behind him, and can "drag" an enemy in front of him, even on the stage off to their doom if Snake is using it while recovering. 14% damage.
• Up Aerial - Thrusts his legs straight upwards, similar to his back aerial except upwards. 14% damage. This attack is very good for killing airborne opponents by a Star KO. At around 100% damage this can KO if you jump under the targeted airborne opponent and attack. The knockback should push the target into the upper blast line, resulting in a Star KO. It works especially well on light, floaty opponents (i.e. Jigglypuff, Kirby, or Meta Knight).

Grabs and Throws

• Grab - Holds his opponent in a restraining chokehold.
• Pummel - Tightens his chokehold. 2% damage.
• Back Throw - Throws opponent over his knee; The same type of throw is also seen in the MGS games. 9% damage.
• Up Throw - Back suplex, similar to Jigglypuff's back throw. 10% damage.
• Down Throw - Lays opponent on the floor, causing an unconscious status at high damage, (great for setting up combos). 12% damage.
• Forward Throw - Flips them over and drops them (scoop slam). 9% damage.

Strategies and Tips

• Take advantage of Snake's amazing attack priority, range, and speed. Utilize his Jab Combo, F-Tilt, U-Tilt, all of which are Snake's best close combat moves on land.
• Use Snakedashing to approach enemies at a distance. Not only will you be able to come closer to your enemy, but the mortar dropped in front of snake can be used as a temporary defense as well as an attack.
• Don't overuse Snake's forward smash. Although it is one of the most powerful attacks in the game, it is slow and predictable. His down smash also takes a long time to use, plant it only when your opponent is coming back from a death or when you are sure that you are in a safe position.
• Try to control the center of the stage. You are in a much better position when you are pushing your opponent out of the stage, rather than if you constantly trying to recover from the the outside of the stage back in.
• Never approach through the air. Snake doesn't have the best approaching aerials, and you will be punished by your opponent after you land.
• When platforms are present, plant your C4 on it. The hitbox of the C4 explosion underneath a platform is quite large.
• Surprise your opponent by keeping hold of your grenade instead of throwing it instantly. With right timing, you can throw the grenade at your opponent as soon as it's about to explode.

Stickers

Although he has a few melee attacks, Snake is all about Explosives and Weapons damage. Add boosts to Explosive, Specials: Indirect and Launch Power and Snake should have little trouble KO-ing other characters. If you wish to boost some of his other attacks, consider Leg over Arm, or even use a small sized Leg, Arm combo sticker.

Exclusive Stickers

The following stickers can only be used by Snake:

• Eva: [Electric] Resistance +44
• Meryl Silverburgh: [Weapon] Attack + 7
• Naked Snake: [Specials: Indirect] Attack +32
• Solid Snake (Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes): [Arm, Leg] Attack + 7

Snake's Codec Message

Snake: "Colonel! It's me! I'm fighting myself!"

Colonel: "Snake, what's going on out there?!"

C: "Could it be...? Has the 'Les Enfants Terribles' project really come this far?!"

S: "It's more than that. He's got my moves, my gear... It's like looking in a mirror."

C: "Do you think they collected data on you and created another Snake...?"

S: "He's got the same build, too. Creepy."

S: "But his Sneaking Suit is a different color. And his tactics are slightly different."

C: "Interesting. So even if you're evenly matched in power, your fighting styles will make a big difference."

C: "You've faced tougher odds in the past, Snake. Don't let this imposter beat you!!"

Special Movements

Taunts

All: Puts a box over himself, which is removable. Depending on which button you press, Snake will get in the box in a different position. When he removes it, the enemy receives some damage (if they are in close range). The box can also be picked up and thrown by opponents. This gives 2% damage, making it the second damaging taunt next to Luigi's down taunt. Surprisingly, you can destroy the Smash Ball with the taunt with one hit of the box.

Secret: Kneels down and contacts his support team -- Colonel Campbell, Otacon, and Mei Ling, and also Slippy Toad (only when in a Brawl with Falco Lombardi) -- via codec. Snake then receives info on one of his opponents; this goes for every fighter in the game, including himself, and with separate conversations for Sheik and Zero Suit Samus. You can do this, only on Snake's home stage Shadow Moses Island, by quickly flicking the down taunt button + the D-Pad button. Then a conversation between Snake and his support team will occur (although there is a easter egg in which Slippy from Star Fox will talk to Snake if Falco is the subject of conversation). You can only do this once each round and if you are hit while starting the conversation, it won't happen. However, you can be hit while the conversation is going, but 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 Snake and another character, but if you have more than one character and Snake, the taunt will randomly choose one character to talk about. If every character is Snake when he talks to the colonel he will tell him that he is fighting himself.

On-Screen Appearance

Rises from a kneeling position as his stealth camoflague malfunctions saying, "Kept you waiting, huh?"

Idle Stance

• Scratchs his chin.
• Looks behind him.

Victory Pose

• Victory Theme: Metal Gear Solid Theme
• Throws off his cardboard box disguise and stands up, saying "Not even close!"
• Crawls forward a step and rolls into a crouching position, saying into his codec "This is Snake. I'm done here."
• Seen in a crouching position from the side talking into his codec, saying "Colonel, mission accomplished!"

Wii Remote Choice

Says "It's show time."

Credits Music

• Calling to the Night

Trivia

• Snake is one of the only characters, along with Captain Falcon, Ness, Lucas, Wario, and Ike to talk in Subspace Emissary, saying "Kept ya waiting, huh?" This also makes him the only character to break the fourth wall.
• In a nod to MGS3: Snake Eater, Snake is the only character that talks when he eats food items. Sometimes he may say "Mmm, tasty!" or "This is too good!" The rest are all just generic "om-nom" sounds.
• If one of Snake’s grenades explodes near him, Snake will react by wincing and covering his ears. Kirby will do the same thing if he copies Snake and uses one of his own grenades.
• If Snake hits an opponent with his Remote Missile, he will do a quick fist pump as if saying, "Yes!" On the other hand, if it misses, Snake will do a quick pose showing his disappointment.
• Another nod to MGS3: Approximately one out of every six C4 packs Snake uses will be a C3 butterfly explosive. The power of the attack is unchanged in these instances.
• A good number of projectiles, like Fox’s Blaster, weaken when used from far away. Snake’s Remote-Controlled Missile is an exception to this rule. It will do more damage with the missile if it hits from farther away.
• Missiles cannot be destroyed by most attacks; a Smart Bomb will cause a missile to stay in a stationary position while in midair.
• Snake is the only character who hails from an M rated game series.
• All of his color costumes hail from the different camouflage suits from MGS3, with the exception of his default, which hails from MGS2.
• If you look closely on Snake's right leg, you'll notice a .45 ACP Colt M1911 pistol in a holster. Captain Falcon also has a gun of some sort in a holster on his belt.
• Snake's entrance originated from the first cut scene in MGS2: Son's of Liberty, in which, right after his camouflage malfunctions from landing impact, he calls Otacon via codec, with the line, "Kept ya waiting, huh?" being one of the first lines used during the conversation.
• If Snake summons Gray Fox from an Assist Trophy, the two will exchange dialogue with each other.
• The line "Kept ya' waiting, huh?" is also said by Old Snake when the player presses the Start button after Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots on PlayStation 3 finishes a roughly eight-minute installation process.
• Snake is the only character who can hit himself with his down smash.
• With the exception of stickers, Snake is the only character other than Wolf who doesn't have trophies for characters from their franchise that appeared in Brawl: namely the Colonel, Otacon, and Mei Ling.

External Links

• Solid Snake's page at Smash Bros. Dojo!!