Snake (SSBB)

Snake in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Universe	Metal Gear
Other playable appearance	in Ultimate
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Grenade Launcher
Tier	A- (6)

Snake (スネーク, Snake), is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He was unveiled at E3 2006 at the end of the Brawl reveal trailer. Snake is one of the two third party characters in Brawl, the other being Sonic.

Snake is voiced by David Hayter in the English version, and by Akio Ōtsuka in the Japanese version, both reprising their roles from the Metal Gear Solid games.

Snake ranks 6th on the tier list (the second-highest ranked unlockable character). One of Snake's strongest attributes is his ability to quickly deal damage and camp with his explosives; his Hand Grenades come out on frame 1 and explode when attacked (providing him protection from some combos), dealing 13% each while producing very large explosions with high knockback. His Grenades, C4, and down smash mines provide excellent stage control and can make the stage very difficult for opponents to traverse without being damaged.

Snake has fast and powerful neutral and tilt attacks, and his forward tilt, up tilt, down tilt, and neutral attack all have low startup and ending lag, good range, and deliver high damage and high knockback (in particular his up tilt), giving him a strong ground game. Snake's disproportionately high weight grants him strong momentum cancelling abilities, as well as excellent endurance, and his far-reaching recovery makes him one of the most difficult characters to KO, especially vertically. Snake can also use his DACUS to approach easily and give him very fast movement speed across the ground (sliding a very large distance at a speed similar to Sonic's dashing speed). Almost all of his moves have high KO power, and he can set up tech-chases with his down throw that can deal lots of damage if he can read his opponent's actions.

Snake is not without his flaws, however; his air game, due to his slow aerial attacks, fast falling speed, poor jumping height, and slow air speed, is among the worst in Brawl. Due to his poor mobility and air game, Snake is very vulnerable to being juggled (although using Grenades can remedy this to some degree), edgeguarded, and gimped; his Cypher recovery, while far-reaching, does not even have a hitbox, which makes him very vulnerable to edgeguarding. Because of his weight, he is also vulnerable to chain grabbing by characters such as Pikachu and King Dedede. Regardless of these flaws, Snake has strong matchups against most characters (being countered only by Pikachu and losing to only three other characters) and has been the second most successful character in tournaments after Meta Knight.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play 130 VS. matches.
• Play 15 VS. matches on Shadow Moses Island.
• Have Snake join the player's party in the Subspace Emissary (Battleship Halberd Interior)

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

Attributes

Snake, as seen in the first trailer for Brawl at E3 2006.

Snake's up tilt is known for its hitbox appearing before his leg is even extended. This attribute is controversial, but unorthodox hitboxes are common among Snake's direct attacks.

When using Snake's down throw, CPUs will simply roll over to the nearest edge, allowing for easy exploitation.

Despite not being as large as other heavyweights, Snake is a super heavyweight character; therefore, he has excellent momentum cancelling abilities, giving him high endurance, especially vertical endurance. In competitive play, it is not uncommon for skilled Snake players to survive until 200%. His disproportionately high weight also allows him to trade blows with opponents at little risk of getting KO'd, particularly with his self-damaging explosives, as few characters can survive at KO percentages as high as he can. His other stats are also reflective of this archetype, possessing incredibly powerful attacks and slow movement.

Snake has one of the best ground games, with many attacks that are quick to come out and retain high KO potential. His neutral attack is fast, has good range, and is easy to connect, making it a very easy-to-use and effective combo move. His forward tilt is arguably the best in the game, with very low start-up, great range, high knockback, and monstrously high damage. His up tilt is the best in the game, as it not only has all of the characteristics of his forward tilt, but it also has deceptively high horizontal reach that makes it Snake's most reliable finishing option. Snake’s dash attack shares the speed of his tilts, and unlike most dash attacks, can KO at realistic percentages. Snake has the lowest crawl in the game, which allows him to dodge many projectiles and some melee attacks. Snake's down throw is considered to be one of the best in the game, as it forces his opponent into a tech chase, keeping the opponent close to Snake and in range of his deadly ground game.

His aerials are also not lacking in utility. Both his neutral and down aerials are tied for the second-most damaging aerial in the game, and each also does strong horizontal knockback on the last hit. His up aerial has long vertical range and knocks opponents vertically, granting it slight juggling ability. His back aerial is the same as his up aerial, but its hitboxes and angle are positioned horizontally, meaning it can be used to perform a wall of pain. Lastly, his forward aerial is completely unique, as it is a very strong meteor smash when sweetspotted, making it great at edgeguarding, while its sourspot deals marginally weaker vertical knockback that can KO aerial opponents reliably under 120%.

Snake is as deadly from afar as he is when close to his opponent, as he has the most projectiles in the game (practically, five, or seven when counting his Final Smash and taunt). His Hand Grenade is arguably his most versatile projectile, able to be used as a shield-dropped throwable item, a defensive option while shielding by damaging nearby opponents caught in the explosion, or a deterrence to opponents from approaching (unlike other throwable explosives, Grenades do not detonate on contact with enemy players). His up smash, the mortar, has the greatest vertical reach of any attack in the game. C4, the Remote Missile, and his down smash claymores act as great edgeguarders in conjunction with his forward aerial meteor smash and his back aerial.

Putting all of the above together leads to Snake's greatest strengths: his camping potential and defensive game, which are some of the best in the game. Since his projectiles can deter enemy approaches, they contribute to his already strong ground game. His up smash is known to have a great DACUS that lets Snake cover about half the length of Final Destination very quickly, compensating for his slow dash speed while at the same time releasing another explosive projectile onto the battlefield. His C4 has a variety of applications, aside from placing it on the stage itself as a defensive move, as it can be used in team battles to create a "suicide-bomber" (where the C4 is placed on a teammate like a Gooey Bomb), as well as being used on Snake himself to regain his recovery move, the Cypher. Nearly all of his projectiles can be used for edgeguarding.

On the downside, Snake suffers from severe mobility problems, particularly in the air. He has a high falling speed, which (coupled with his disproportionately high weight) makes him extremely vulnerable to juggling and chain grabs, although his Hand Grenade, which comes out on frame 1, can ameliorate this. Although all of his aerials deal both high damage and knockback, they have long ending and landing lag, making them very punishable if missed. Being multi-hit attacks, his neutral and down aerials can be escaped by players with good SDI, which prevents him from getting the last hits on the attacks with strong knockback while also leaving him open for punishment. Snake also has the slowest ground jump in the game (10 frames). With the disadvantages of having a fast falling speed, very slow ground jump and long start-up, ending and landing lag in his aerial attacks, Snake has one of the worst aerial games (although his aerials themselves are stronger than his tilts) which makes him vulnerable to counter-picking on stages like Rainbow Cruise and Norfair where he is forced to attack in the air.

Snake also has difficulty recovering, especially from below the stage, as Cypher is very slow and predictable. The inability of the Cypher to deal damage to edgeguarding opponents leaves Snake vulnerable to meteor smashes when recovering. Snake's high falling speed also shortens his recovery potential. However, Snake can strategically damage himself with a C4 dropped in the air to allow him to use Cypher again, making his recovery nearly infinite. Also, grab releasing him (even with special grabs such as Wario's Chomp) after he has used his Cypher but before he has landed on the stage will make him lose his Cypher, which forces him to detonate C4 to attempt to recover again.

Moveset

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			4%	Snake punches twice, then performs a spinkick. The first hit has low startup and ending lag, to the point where it can even lead into a forward tilt against very light characters. The first hit has set knockback and it launches opponents horizontally if hit at close range (which can be used as a jab lock and it can lead into an forward tilt as previously mentioned) and it launches opponents vertically if hit from afar. The second hit is slower and it always launches opponents horizontally. The final hit has high knockback, being a viable KO option at high percentages (being the strongest neutral attack in the game) however, it has very high startup and ending lag for a neutral attack. The final hit can even be shielded by the heaviest characters on hit and if the move is shielded, it is very punishable. It is overall a solid jab although Snake is usually better off using his forward tilt. Based off the attack combo from Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2.
			3%
			7%
Forward tilt			8%	Snake does a knee-thrust forward. If the attack button is pressed again, he will follow up with an overhead swing of both arms. Both hits can deal up to 20% total. The first hit comes out very quickly on frame 4 and it has deceptively long range, making it a great move to stuff out approaches. On grounded opponents, the first hit is weak meteor smash with set knockback, which allows Snake to link the opponent into the second hit. It can even occasionally trip opponents, which can then lead into another forward tilt or an up tilt. The second hit deals solid damage and knockback, being a viable KO move at high percents, especially near the ledge. The second hit also possesses incredible horizontal range which along with its relaitvely low ending lag, makes it very difficult to punish to shield. The only notable downsides with the move is that it is less effective at close range or against aerial opponents. At close range, the first hit deals horizontal knockback which is not set while the second hit is weaker. Against aerial opponents, the first hit has horizontal knockback which can KO opponents at very high percents but it does not lead into the second hit at all, which is weaker against aerial opponents (although it has even more range than against grounded opponents). It is overall regarded as one of the best forward tilts in the game (along with Meta Knight's and Sheik's) due to its incredible speed, range and damage output. This move is seen during a cutscene in Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes when Snake fights Gray Fox.
			9% (body), 10% (aerial hand), 12% (grounded hand)
Up tilt			13% (clean), 12% (clean)	Snake performs an upward scorpion kick. It has low startup lag, deceptively long range (especially horizontally) and it deals high damage and knockback, being one of the strongest up tilts in the game (with the clean hit KOing Mario at 102% on Final Destination). After its first two active frames, the move becomes weaker and its hitboxes become attached to Snake's leg although it still has solid power and its hitboxes are still deceptively large. Its only real downside compared to some other up tilts is that it has moderate ending lag, preventing it from having followup potential, although its power and range more than make up for this. Arguably the best up tilt in the game due to its speed, power and range.
Down tilt			10%	Snake does a low spin kick while prone. It has fairly low startup lag and Snake low profiles quite low, allowing him to avoid high hitting attacks. It deals 10% and strong vertical knockback (especially in the middle of his leg), being a viable KO option at high percents. It also has deceptively long range albeit not to the same extent as his other tilts. It is overall a very solid tilt although it is outclassed by Snake's other tilts. It is mainly used as a KO move at higher percents when Snake's other tilts are stale.
Dash attack			11%/9% (clean), 8%/6% (late)	Snake does a somersault forward. Deals moderate knockback and moves Snake forward a fair amount. The somersault and subsequent transition to crouching are visually identical to those moves used by Snake in the Metal Gear Solid series.
Forward smash			22%	Snake takes out an 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 immense knockback when it hits. It is generally the third most powerful forward smash behind King Dedede's and Ike's.
Up smash			4% (startup), 10% (mortar)	Snake slams a mortar in front of himself and fires a shell into the air. The movement of the shell is almost entirely vertical, but there is a small amount of random horizontal movement. Charging the up smash does not increase its power, but it increases the speed at which the shell is fired, making it go higher. When fully charged, it travels great distances, almost the entire height of the 'large' stage builder area, making it have by far the greatest vertical reach of any attack. The shell explodes if it makes contact with a ceiling, an opponent, a wall or the ground no matter what direction it's moving in. Slamming down the mortar has a hitbox that produces very weak vertical knockback that knocks opponents into the mortar's line of fire. Oddly enough, the shell does not break blocks in the SSE, but yanking the mortar out does.
Down smash			14%	Snake starts digging a hole in the ground and places a claymore inside. A short while after planting the claymore, it becomes active, and will detonate if anyone (including Snake) steps on it. If the platform the claymore is set on disappears (such as on Rainbow Cruise or Delfino Plaza) the claymore falls down and if it makes contact with anything, even the ground, it explodes. Snake can't plant more than one claymore at a time, but it can be moved by using the attack again, which removes it from its previous position and plants it at Snake's current position. After a while, or if Snake gets KO'd, the claymore will vanish.
Neutral aerial			6% (hit 1), 5% (hit 2), 4% (hit 3), 13% (hit 4), 28% (total)	Snake performs four forwards kicks. The first three hits deal set knockback while the final hit deals high horizontal knockback. The move deals 28% if all hits connect which is very high for an aerial. The move has fairly high startup lag for a neutral aerial, long gaps between each kick, a long total duration and high landing lag, making it unwieldy and easily punishable if used incorrectly. Snake cannot even get the final hit out when performing the move in a short hop, forcing him to full hop or double jump to effectively use the move. Opponents can easily avoid getting hit by every single kick due to the long gaps between each kick combined with the multi hits in general not leading into each other very well. The move cannot auto-cancel out of a full hop although the move does auto-cancel shortly after the final hit ends so if Snake can find a situation where he can auto-cancel the move, it can be very safe on shield, especially considering the final hit's deceptively long range. Neutral aerial is overall a flawed yet occasionally useful aerial.
Forward aerial			14% (body), 15% (leg)	Snake lifts his left leg over his head and axe-drops it down. If the opponent is hit by Snake's body, they will be launched upwards while if they are hit with his leg, they will be meteor smashed, both with high damage and knockback. The move hits both above and in front of Snake. The downside to the move however is that it has very high startup lag, ending lag and landing lag which makes it very difficult to land. The move gives Snake a slight vertical boost as the hitboxes come out. It is overall a high risk high reward aerial.
Back aerial			16%/14% (clean), 10% (late)	Snake extends both his legs out behind him, planking in the air. The move is stronger if Snake hits the opponent with his body rather than his legs. It has fairly low startup along with good reach and high damage and knockback, making it a solid KO option. When sweetspotted, it is the second strongest back aerial in the game, KOing Mario at around 105% from the middle of Final Destination. The move also has a late hit which is weaker but it lasts for quite some time and it still has decent power for a lingering aerial. The main downside with the move however is that it has high landing lag and it cannot auto-cancel in a short hop, which makes it very risky to use. The sweetspot also has an unfavourable position, forcing Snake to be inside of his opponent to land it, which only makes the move even more punishable if Snake misses.
Up aerial			14% (clean), 10% (late)	Snake thrusts both his legs straight upwards, similar to his back aerial. It is not particularly fast, having considerable startup lag, ending lag and landing lag although it has good vertical reach and powerful vertical knockback. It is overall slightly weaker than Snake's forward aerial. The move has a weaker late hit and unlike Snake's other aerials, it can auto-cancel in a short hop, making it a useable anti-air.
Down aerial			6% (hit 1), 5% (hits 2-3), 12% (hit 4)	Snake launches four subsequent kicks below himself. It comes out extremely quickly on frame 3, it deals a very high 28% if all hits connect and the final hit deals very high horizontal knockback, often KOing even earlier than back aerial. The move is very unreliable however, with opponents easily being able to fall out of the move. In addition to this, it has high ending lag, high landing lag and it cannot auto-cancel out of a full hop (led alone until the animation finishes) making it a highly punishable aerial. It is overall a very exploitable aerial, with neutral aerial usually being a better multi hit option.
Grab			—	Grabs and holds his opponent in a restraining chokehold, which is a grabbing position unique to Snake. Snake's standing grab has slow startup lag although all of his grabs have good range and his pivot grab is very fast. Snake's grabbing position functions uniquely too, as the opponent is held higher compared to other characters. Snake can force every character into an aerial grab release and opponents are grab released higher than if any other character grab released them. This can be a good or a bad thing depending on the character.
Pummel			2%	Tightens his chokehold. An average pummel.
Forward throw			9%	Flips opponent over and drops them (scoop slam). It has serviceable power for a forward throw, being able to KO opponents at the ledge at very high percentages.
Back throw			9%	Turns around and slams opponent on the ground. It is similar to Snake's forward throw although it is faster and slightly stronger, making it the better throw overall.
Up throw			10%	Performs a suplex, similar to Jigglypuff's back throw. Can setup for his up tilt at low percentages although this is avoidable.
Down throw		Silent Takedown	12%	Lays opponent on the floor, putting the opponent into the downed status. The throw is very slow although it has no ending lag, the opponent cannot DI the throw and Snake and his opponent can act at the same time. It is overall one of the best tech-chase moves in the game as it can easily and consistently be set up from a grab and the opponent cannot tech. Deals high damage when fresh, and Snake has numerous options if he can predict his opponent's action. This includes landing one of his stronger moves or going for a grab to reset the situation. Its only real downside compared to some other down throws is that it does not lead to completely guaranteed chain grabs although its strong mixup and mindgame potential regardless of the opponent's percent make it an incredibly solid throw overall despite this.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			6%	Gets up while kicking his foot out on one side and punches on the other side.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			6%	Rotates his body around with both his feet sticking out and gets up.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Gets up and kicks both sides of himself.
Edge attack (fast) Edge getups (fast)			8%, 6%	Climbs on to the stage and performs a sweep kick.
Edge attack (slow) Edge getups (slow)			8% (body), 9% (hip), 10% (legs)	Slowly gets up and thrusts his left leg forward.
Neutral special		Hand Grenade	2-4% (throw), 12% (explosion)	Snake pulls out a grenade and unpins it. The grenade can be held for up to 3 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. Snake can throw up to two grenades at a time. Considered to be one of the best projectiles in the game.
Side special		Remote Missile	7% (missile early/ dropped), 14% (missile)	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.
Up special		Cypher	6% (camera)	Snake grabs onto the flying reconnaissance camera and slowly hovers upwards. One can cancel the move early by performing any attack (excluding the up special), pressing down, or by airdodging, upon which the Cypher will become an upward projectile.
Down special		C4	17% (explosion)	Snake bends down a 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.
Final Smash		Grenade Launcher	18% (grenade)	Snake leaps off the stage and grabs onto a rope ladder of a helicopter, shooting up to twelve grenades from the foreground. After firing six shots, Snake reloads another six shots. If no rounds are fired within a few seconds, Snake will automatically shoot a grenade towards the crosshair.
Up taunt			1%~3%	Pulls a cardboard box over himself from his left side, then discards it. All of Snake's taunts are a variation of this move, with slightly different animations and timing. The taunt can be canceled by pressing another input, making Snake discard the box earlier. The total duration of the taunts is different because of the different starting animations when Snake puts the box over himself, with his up taunt being the fastest to complete. Once Snake discards the box, it will fall down and hit for weak damage. The box can fall over the edge for a great distance, making it a situational edgeguarding tool, though predictable because of the long duration of the taunt. Opponents can remove Snake's box while he is hiding under it, but with the exception of Donkey Kong, will be forced to throw it immediately. Removing the box doesn't cause the taunt animation to end prematurely.
Side taunt			1%~3%	Lies down and pulls a cardboard box over himself, then discards it. It is the slowest of Snake's taunts to complete.
Down taunt			1%~3%	Kneels and pulls a cardboard box over himself from in front of him, then discards it. It is in the middle of Snake's taunts speed-wise.

On-screen appearance

• Snake's stealth camouflage simply disengages to reveal himself to his opponent(s). Snake will sometimes say "Kept you waiting, huh?" when appearing. Comes from an intro cutscene of Metal Gear Solid 2.

Taunts

• Puts a cardboard box over himself, which is removable. All three of his taunts are variations of this. The box itself deals 1-3% damage, making it the second damaging taunt in the Smash series after Luigi's down taunt.
• Smash taunt: Kneels down and contacts his support team - Colonel Roy Campbell, Otacon, and Mei Ling, and even Slippy Toad (only when in a Brawl with Falco) - via his codec. Snake then receives information 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. 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.

Taunt	Smash taunt

Idle poses

• Scratches his beard.
• Quickly looks behind himself.

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Snake! Snake! Snaaaake!*	Snake!
Pitch	Group chant	Group chant

*A reference to the Metal Gear Solid "game over" screen

Wii Remote selection sound

• Snake says "It's showtime!" like in his Final Smash.

Snake's selection sound

Victory poses

A cover of the iconic "Game Over" music from the Metal Gear series.

• Seen in a crouching position from the side, saying "Colonel, mission accomplished." into his codec. In Japanese: 大佐、任務完了だ。 (Colonel, mission complete.)
• Throws off his cardboard box and stands up, saying "Not even close!" In Japanese: まだまだだな！ (Not just yet.)
• Crawls forward a step and rolls into a crouching position, saying into his codec "This is Snake. I'm done here." In Japanese: こちらスネーク、これより帰還する。 (This is Snake, returning feedback here.)

Up	Left	Right

In competitive play

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Character Matchups

Avg.

According to the current SmashBoards matchup chart, Snake's matchup spread has the seventh highest unweighted rank and the eighth highest weighted rank. Snake's matchups are overall very positive. He is only countered by Pikachu, soft countered by Meta Knight, Olimar and King Dedede, and has even matchups with seven characters. He soft counters twelve characters, counters seven characters, and hard counters six characters. Snake's ability to camp and to have great stage control with his explosives are very effective, and along with his fast, powerful, and greatly ranged ground moves, helps him have favorable matchups against most of the cast. Being a super heavyweight and having fast falling speed acceleration, he tends to be a target to characters who can chain grab fast fallers well, such as Pikachu, who can repeatedly use its down throw and forward throw on him and can finish with a Thunderspike, and King Dedede, who has an infinite chain throw on Snake with his down throw (however, the infinite without a wall requires a buffered pivot grab which is extremely difficult to consistently perform). With his recovery being predictable, which makes him easy to edge guard, and his slow and sluggish air game, characters who have a great air game and who can gimp well, such as Meta Knight, have an advantage over him.

Most historically significant players

See also: Category:Snake professionals (SSBB)

•  Ally - Was the undisputed best Snake main in the world throughout Brawl's history, having won numerous majors with the character. Was the highest ranking Snake player on the 2014 SSBBRank at 8th, the last active year of Brawl's competitive life.
•  Bizkit - Was one of the best Snake mains in the United States, that was a national level threat throughout most of Brawl's competitive life, before becoming inactive in its last year before Smash 4's release. He was additionally one of the best players in New England, once being ranked as high as 2nd on the Spring 2013 New England PR.
•  DIO - Was one of Japan's best Snake mains throughout Brawl's later competitive life, including getting 17th at Sun Rise Tournament and 9th at Sumabato X Final.
•  Fatal - Was considered the best Brawl player from New England and the third best Snake player in North America during most of its competitive life, renowned for his unusually aggressive play with Snake. He finished top 16 in most of the MLG brackets, including 15th at the final MLG Dallas 2010 championship bracket, and while less active in Brawl's late life, he finished 60th on the 2014 SSBBRank.
•  MVD - Was considered one of the best Snake mains in Brawl's later life, including being the second highest rated Snake at 24th on the 2014 SSBBRank. He was additionally one of the best players from Florida, being ranked 1st on the last Florida Power Rankings.
•  Shogun - Considered one of the best Snake mains in the world, being ranked 30th on the 2014 SSBBRank, with placements such as 9th at Sun Rise Tournament, 17th at Apex 2014, and 17th at Sumabato X Final.
•  UltimateRazer - Was considered to be the second best Snake main in the world after Ally for most of Brawl's competitive life, having had multiple top 8 finishes at majors. He was ranked 31st on the 2014 SSBBRank.

Tier placement and history

At the very beginning of Brawl, Snake was seen as a mid-tier character due to his slower speed and laggy attacks. However, with the quick discoveries of multiple techniques as well as his very high and disjointed power, Snake skyrocketed to being a top tier. Snake was ranked 2nd on the tier list shortly after Brawl's release, right below Meta Knight, although some believed that he was 1st instead; Snake was one of the most commonly used characters at tournaments, and it was not uncommon for the top-placing players to all use Snake. However, as Snake's vulnerability to juggling and gimpable recovery became exploited, and other characters' powerful abilities were discovered, Snake has fallen to 6th place. Despite this, he is still in the top tier and has been the second-most successful character in tournaments after Meta Knight, often allowing many players to believe he should be ranked higher, and above Marth.

Role in The Subspace Emissary

Snake in SSE

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 "Discovery" sound) and quickly assumes a fighting stance.

Meta Knight is glad to oblige, when Lucario senses security Primids coming from the corridor behind him, so they end up forming a partnership with Snake. After battling their way through the Halberd, Snake and the others meet up with Zelda and Peach. Some Shadow Bugs appear and create false versions of the princesses, which the trio fights and defeats. The duo are then freed and Snake tells them to stay, but they went out against his order (Zelda turns into Sheik to hide from him). Later, Snake, Lucario and Meta Knight find the bridge of the ship and are surprised to see a quintet of false Mr. Game & Watches controlling it. Snake and Lucario throw all of the Mr. Game & Watches out of the window and they all land on the front deck. The doppelgängers dissolve into Shadow Bugs and form into Duon, whereupon Lucario, Snake, and Falco join Fox, Sheik, and Peach to defeat it. Snake shows up with everyone else at the Entrance to Subspace and, like everyone else, he is turned into a trophy by Tabuu's Off Waves. He can be revived by collecting his trophy by Kirby in Subspace (Part II), making him eligible for the final battle against Tabuu.

Snake is one of the few characters in the entire SSE storyline to have dialogue. When he reveals himself, he states to the player "Kept you waiting, huh?". This is a reference to the fact that he was seen earlier in the storyline in his box during the epilogue of The Forest. At the same time, it's also a direct reference to both Snake and Naked Snake's lines in the beginnings of Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3. Both games were eagerly anticipated by fans. Naked Snake's line also plays on the fact that MGS fans were excited to find that the main character of MGS3 was to be a Snake, after being disappointed with Raiden's appearance in the previous game.

Playable appearances

• Battleship Halberd Interior
• Battleship Halberd Bridge
• Entrance to Subspace
• The Great Maze (if rescued in Subspace (Part II))

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

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• Event 36: High-Tech Special Forces: Snake must defeat Samus, Captain Falcon, and Wolf on Shadow Moses Island.
• Event 39: All-Star Battle x2: Snake is one of the eight opponents fought in this event along with King Dedede, Ike, Lucario, R.O.B., Toon Link, Sonic, and Wolf.
• Event 41: The FINAL Final Battle: The player must defeat Snake along with Sonic and a giant Mario on Final Destination.

Co-op Events

• Co-Op Event 18: The New Weapon of Shadow Moses: Snake and R.O.B. must defeat two other R.O.B.s on Shadow Moses Island.
• Co-Op Event 21: The True All-Star Battle: Two players select a character and take on the entire roster on Battlefield.

Trophies

Snake's main and Final Smash trophies can be obtained by clearing Classic Mode and All-Star mode respectively with Snake.

Solid Snake

A former member of FOXHOUND with an IQ of 180 and mastery of six languages. He's an infiltration specialist whose ability to carry out missions under any conditions has made him a legend. He's saved the world three times from the threat of bipedal, nuclear-armed mechs called Metal Gear. Currently, he's working with the anti-Metal Gear group known as Philanthropy.

Metal Gear Solid

: Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes

Grenade Launcher

Snake's Final Smash. He grabs a ladder hanging from a helicopter and appears in the foreground, then fires a grenade launcher at foes. The grenades explode on impact and damage anyone in the vicinity. Each clip holds six grenades—empty one and Snake reloads. He can fire a total of twelve shots, but with such limited time, it's better to shoot 'em all.

: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

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  Classic Mode trophy

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  Grenade Launcher

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Original Brawl artwork of Snake

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  A scene from the 2006 trailer. Notice how Snake's box is located at a normally inaccessible part of the stage.

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  Snake fighting Zero Suit Samus.

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  An early screenshot of Shadow Moses Island, depicting a location inaccessible in the final version of the game.

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  Snake's down smash mine.

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  Snake grabbing Ike.

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  Snake using his Box Taunt

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  Snake's codec regarding Diddy Kong begins in Brawl.

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  Soft throw of his Grenade

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  Mid throw of his Grenade

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  Strong throw of his Grenade

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  Snake aims the Nikita missile against Ike in Brawl

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  Snake firing a Nikita missile in Brawl

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  Snake using his Cypher

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  Snake setting a C4 in Brawl.

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  C4 being planted on Kirby.

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  C4 being detonated.

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  C4 being planted on a wall.

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  Snake using his Final Smash.

Trivia

• Snake is the only character in Brawl to be included in M-rated games, and only one of four in the series as a whole, the others being Bayonetta, Simon, and Joker.
• Snake's original artwork from his reveal differs from the final artwork used in-game; the shading is heavier, he faces a slightly different angle, and the color scheme is darker. He is one of three characters whose official art on Smash Bros. DOJO!! portrays him in a different pose from his original art from his old profile, the others being Pit and Zero Suit Samus.
• Snake is the only character who talks when he eats food or other edible items. He often makes a "Nom" sound, but will sometimes say "Tasty!", and very rarely "Good!" (However, when Wario eats his own bike or any other large item, he can be heard saying something like "Yom!"). This is a reference to Metal Gear Solid 3 when the player eats food from their inventory, and the character reacts to the taste.
• Snake carries a Heckler & Koch Mark 23 SOCOM .45 caliber pistol in a leg holster, but he never uses it in combat. Similarly, Captain Falcon carries a futuristic pistol, Sheik carries a dagger, and Ganondorf carries a broadsword, but none of them use these weapons in-game. Ganondorf would later use his sword for smash attacks and Sheik would use her dagger in her Final Smash in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The SOCOM is the first weapon available to the player in Metal Gear Solid, and is thus the one Snake would most consistently have throughout the game.
• Snake is the highest ranked super-heavyweight on any tier list in the Smash Bros. series.
  • Snake is also the only super-heavyweight character in Brawl who does not shake the screen when they land.
• Snake's forward smash has the same amount of total frames as Ike's and King Dedede's forward smash. When compared to these two, Snake's forward smash is in the middle in both start-up and ending lag.
• Snake and Luigi are the only characters in Brawl who have a taunt that can damage an opponent.
• Pikachu, Zelda, and Snake are the only characters in the game whose taunts all temporarily make a held item disappear.

External links

• Solid Snake's page at Smash Bros. Dojo!!
• Snake Character Guide on SmashBoards
• Snake's hitbox size of each of his moves