Snake (SSBU)

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Snake in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Metal Gear
Other playable appearance	in Brawl
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Covering Fire

“	Back by popular demand, Snake brings a ranged fighting style unlike any other fighter in the game. His Final Smash locks onto an opponent and fires five homing missiles.	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Snake (スネーク, Snake) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Snake is classified as fighter #31.

Rather than Kiefer Sutherland, who voiced his predecessor in Metal Gear Solid V, David Hayter's portrayal of Snake from Brawl was repurposed for Ultimate, with Hayter initially confirming on Twitter that he would be reprising his role as Snake. Akio Otsuka also reprises his role in the Japanese version.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play VS. matches, with Snake being the 39th character to be unlocked.
• Clear Classic Mode with Link, being the fifth character in his unlock tree after Meta Knight.
• Have Snake join the player's party in World of Light.

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

Changes from Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Snake received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition from Brawl to Ultimate. 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. down aerial) or end lag (e.g. down tilt), or even both (e.g. down smash). Finally, due to Snake's lower weight and the removal of chaingrabbing, he is much less vulnerable to combos.

However, Snake also received some glaring nerfs as well. Due to Snake's reduced weight, and given that Cypher can now be destroyed, his overall endurance while offstage is much weaker. In addition, while his ground game still remains strong, it has been nerfed in several ways; his forward tilt deals far less damage, his up tilt's previously 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. Lastly, the removal of DACUS, the Gatling combo and the ability to chaingrab with his down throw all severely limit his approach options despite the aforementioned increase to his mobility.

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

Aesthetics

• 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.
• Snake has refined animations for many of his moves.
• Snake's series symbol has changed from the FOX logo to the "!" Alert symbol seen in Metal Gear Solid games.
• Snake's medium and heavy knockback clips that went unused in Brawl are now properly used.
• 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.
• 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. [1]
• Snake no longer uses unique sounds on hit for his jab, dash attack, tilts and aerials.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Snake's jumpsquat animation now takes three frames to complete, the biggest difference out of everyone (down from 9).
• Snake walks faster (0.84 → 0.882).
• Snake dashes much faster (1.35 → 1.595).
• Snake's initial dash is much faster (1.1 → 1.76).
• Snake has faster air speed (0.94 → 0.987).
• Snake's fast falling speed is higher (2.422 → 2.768).
• Snake is much 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.
• The removal of chain grabbing noticeably improves Snake's endurance against certain characters.
• The changes made to air dodging benefit Snake's recovery, improving his horizontal range and versatility.
• All of Snake's explosions (including forward smash, up smash, Hand Grenades, Remote Missile and C4) can now be absorbed.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • Neutral attack hits connect much better and the final hit has less startup lag (frame 10 → 8).
  • 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.
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt's range has been reduced.
  • Forward tilt does less damage (8% → 4% (hit 1), 9%/10%/12% → 9% (hit 2)) hindering its KO potential.
  • The first hit now launches opponents vertically making it harder to connect with the second hit and removing its ability to trip opponents.
  • The second hit has more startup lag (frame 6 → 8) and has more ending lag (frame 31 → 40).
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt deals more damage (13% → 14.5% (clean), 12% → 13.5% (late), slightly improving its KO potential.
  • Up tilt's knockback on the sweetspot has been slightly reduced.
  • Up tilt's notoriously large disjointed hitbox has been reduced. Its horizontal range is now lower, to the point where opponents have to be close to Snake in order for the move to connect. However, it retains its high vertical range.
• Down tilt:
  • 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.
  • Down tilt has a shorter duration (frames 6-9 → 6-7).
  • Down tilt has less ending lag (frame 35 → 31).
  • Down tilt deals more damage (10% → 12%).
  • Down tilt deals less knockback, no longer KOing until very high percentages.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack connects more reliably at close range as Snake can no longer run through his opponents.
  • Dash attack's sweetspot has a shorter duration (frames 5-12 → 5-8) and the sourspot deals less damage (9% → 8%).
  • Dash attack deals less knockback and sends opponents at a less vertical angle hindering its KO potential.
  • The Gatling Combo can no longer be performed.
• Forward smash:
  • Snake now vocalizes his forward smash after the move has been performed. It additionally has a new "clicking" sound effect.
  • Forward smash has less ending lag (frame 81 → 74).
  • Forward smash deals less knockback.
• Up smash:
  • Up smash's mortar shells now only land in front of Snake making its trajectory more reliable.
  • Snake now vocalizes his up smash after the move has been performed.
  • The move's sound effects are now more realistic, replacing the previous move's distinctive "bloop" sound.
  • Up smash's mortar shell deals more damage (10% → 14%) improving its KO potential and it travels higher when uncharged.
  • Up smash has less ending lag (frame 53 → 51).
  • The removal of DACUS significantly hinders Snake's up smash's approach potential.
  • The mortar shell has much more startup lag (frame 29 → 36).
  • The first hit connects into the mortar much less reliably, even at lower percents.
• Down smash:
  • Snake has a new down smash: a double-sided kick that is slightly similar to 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.
  • New down smash is drastically faster than the old one, having much less startup (frame 55 → 8) and ending lag (frame 78 → 45).
  • The front hit deals less damage than the old landmine (14% → 12%).

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have less landing lag (30 frames → 16 (neutral), 30 frames → 19 (forward/back), 22 frames → 15 (up), 30 frames → 20 (down)).
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial's later kicks have less startup lag (frame 22/34/44 → 18/26/36 (hits 2/3/4) and neutral aerial can now finish in a short hop. It also has less ending lag (frame 68 → 60).
  • Hits of neutral aerial connect better due to their faster speed and the weakening of SDI.
  • All of neutral aerial's hits deal less damage (6% → 3% (hit 1), 5% → 3% (hit 2), 4% → 3% (hit 3), 13% → 12% (hit 4); a total change of 28% → 21% if all hits connect). All hits except the final hit have shorter durations (4 frames → 2) and the final hit deals less knockback hindering its KO potential.
• Forward aerial:
  • The removal of meteor canceling improves sweetspotted forward aerial's reliability.
  • Forward aerial no longer gives Snake a small vertical boost. Additionally, both the sweetspot and the sourspot deal less knockback hindering their KO potential.
  • Forward aerial has significantly decreased start-up lag (frame 21 → 14).
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial's sweetspot has been re-positioned. It is now placed on his feet rather than his body. This makes it stronger when spaced, but less effective up close.
  • Back aerial deals less knockback.
  • Back aerial no longer has a hitbox on Snake's head.
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial deals slightly less knockback.
• Down aerial:
  • Snake halts his momentum in the air while performing down aerial, similar to Lucario's. This makes down aerial autocancel in a short hop.
  • Down aerial's later kicks have less startup lag (frame 14/25/36 → 10/17/25).
  • Due to Snake's new frame 3 jumpsquat, down aerial is now a powerful damage-racking option out of shield.
  • Hits of down aerial connect better due to their faster speed and the weakening of SDI.
  • 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

• Grabs:
  • All grabs have more ending lag (frame 30 → 35 (standing), frame 40 → 43 (dash), frame 30 → 38 (pivot).
• Forward throw:
  • Forward throw has a different animation, with the ending pose causing Snake to pose with his arms out.
  • Forward throw deals slightly less knockback.
• Back throw
  • Back throw deals less knockback.
• Up throw:
  • Up throw has an altered throwing animation.
  • Up throw deals more damage (10% → 11%).
  • 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.
• Down throw:
  • Snake performs down throw slightly faster.
  • 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.
  • Down throw deals less damage (12% → 9%).
  • Due to the removal of chain grabbing, Snake can no longer use down throw repeatedly, reducing his potential damage output.

Special Moves

• Hand Grenade:
  • Hand Grenades are much larger, making them more likely to hit opponents but also more likely to hit Snake himself.
  • Hand Grenades now operate on a timer of 2.5 seconds, down from 3 seconds in Brawl.
  • Snake moves faster with a Hand Grenade in his hand.
  • Grenades deal less damage (12% → 9%) hindering their KO potential.
  • When a second Hand Grenade is thrown, the first no longer falls straight down.
• Remote Missile:
  • Remote Missile has less startup lag (frame 43 → 41), travels faster, turns much quicker and deals more knockback, making them significantly more controllable and very effective for edgeguarding or KOing.
  • Remote Missile uses a different sound when preparing to fire a missile.
  • Remote Missile no longer fully stops and drops down when shielding, instead falling in an arc carried by its forward momentum.
• Cypher:
  • Cypher can now be destroyed, worsening Snake's recovery.
  • Due to changes to teching, Snake can no longer infinitely stall by using Cypher, hitting himself with C4 and then tech into the stage unless his percent is low enough hindering his recovery at very high percents.
  • Grab release glitch on Cypher was fixed.
• C4:
  • C4 now emits a flashing red light for a few seconds after being placed, improving its visibility. This allows Snake to keep track of his C4 more easily, but also allows enemies to do the same.
  • Snake can now say "There!" in addition to "Now!" when detonating a C4.
  • C4 now sticks to opponents much more reliably than in Brawl.
  • C4 stuck to an opponent no longer falls off as often after they are launched by a high-knockback move.
  • Snake can now place and detonate C4 from a crouching position.
• Final Smash:
  • 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

1.2.0

• Fixed an issue that allowed Snake himself to launch incorrectly at maximum percentages using C4.

Classic Mode: Weapons and Equipment OSP

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.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music
1	Male and Female Inklings	Moray Towers	Encounter
2	Diddy Kong	Kongo Falls	Theme of Tara
3	Pit	Shadow Moses Island (Battlefield form)	Theme of Solid Snake
4	Link	Jungle Japes	Snake Eater
5	2 Samuses and 2 R.O.B.s	Norfair	Main Theme - METAL GEAR SOLID PEACE WALKER
6	Snake (Green Costume)	Shadow Moses Island	MGS4 ~Theme of Love~
Bonus Stage
Final	Galleom	?	Boss Battle - Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Role in World of Light

Snake was among the fighters that were summoned to the cliffside to fight against the army of Master Hands.

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 Kirby.

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

Alternate costumes

Gallery

• 

  Image of Snake as posted on the official Japanese Metal Gear Twitter account.

• 

  Snake's fighter card.

• 

  Snake on Temple.

• 

  Snake using his neutral attack against Little Mac on Kalos Pokémon League.

• 

  Snake readying his Remote Missile on Coliseum.

• 

  About to detonate his C4 on Bowser Jr. on Tomodachi Life.

• 

  Taunting with a crouching R.O.B. on Magicant.

• 

  Snake crouching next to a Ramblin' Evil Mushroom on Gaur Plain.

• 

  Snake getting hooked by Isabelle on Great Bay.

• 

  Snake getting hit by King K. Rool's Gut Check on Magicant.

• 

  An aerial Snake hit by Lucario’s down tilt on Moray Towers.

• 

  Getting hit by Luigi’s neutral attack on Coliseum.

• 

  With Shulk on Shadow Moses Island.

• 

  Snake and Zero Suit Samus crawling on Shadow Moses Island.

• 

  Snake with Lucas's Rope Snake on Pokémon Stadium 2.

• 

  Snake and King K. Rool begin their battle at Kongo Falls.

Character Showcase Video

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Trivia

• 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.
• The official Smash Bros. website lists Snake as being the 31st character to join the series, which is coincidentally the same amount of years from the first installment of the Metal Gear series was released, back in 1987, to Snake's return to Smash, in 2018.
• Snake is the only returning third-party character not to appear in Super Smash Bros. 4.
• Snake is the only character in Smash history whose series symbol has been entirely changed: the FOX logo was altered to the "!" Alert symbol from Metal Gear Solid.
  • This is possibly due to the FOX logo also being the logo for the former Kojima Productions, a studio within Konami responsible for developing Metal Gear games which have since dissolved and reformed as an independent developer.
• Ultimate is the third time Snake, Simon, and Bomberman appeared in a video game together, the first two being DreamMix TV World Fighters and Super Bomberman R.
• Snake can be unlocked by playing Classic Mode as Simon or Meta Knight. This likely references Simon and Snake being Konami characters and Snake's team-up with Meta Knight in Subspace Emissary.