Solid Snake
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is the protagonist of the Metal Gear video game series. Introduced in the 1987 video game Metal Gear and created by series creator Hideo Kojima, Solid Snake is a quintessential soldier and spy, who is repeatedly entrusted with the destruction of the latest incarnation of the Metal Gear, a bipedal, nuclear-weapon-armed mecha.In each game, Snake, controlled by the player, must act alone, but is supported via radio by commanding officers and specialists who advise him (and, by extension, remind the player what he or she needs to do or where to go). He enters armed only with his wits, his radio, and a pack of cigarettes, and has to acquire on-site any equipment, such as weaponry or his signature cardboard-box disguise.
He is voiced by actor/screenwriter David Hayter in the English releases of the Metal Gear Solid series, and by veteran seiyū Akio Otsuka in the Japanese releases.
History
On the MSX and NES
Much as Metal Gear began as a pastiche of and homage to action movies of the time, Solid Snake began as a pastiche of then-current action movie heroes; on the cover artwork of the original Metal Gear, he resembles Michael Biehn in The Terminator, and the in-game portrait of Snake in [[Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake]] resembles Mel Gibson (who, at the time, was starring in the Lethal Weapon movies). Solid Snake was even named after an action movie hero: Snake Plissken, Kurt Russell's character in Escape from New York.
Metal Gear, initially released in 1987 on the MSX2 home computer, features Solid Snake, the rookie recruit of the elite special-forces unit FOXHOUND, who is sent by team leader Big Boss into the rogue nation Outer Heaven to rescue his missing teammate Gray Fox and discover who or what the "METAL GEAR" mentioned in Gray Fox's last transmission is. After meeting up with local resistance, Snake discovers that he's been set up; the leader of Outer Heaven is actually Big Boss, who intends to use Metal Gear, an experimental, nuclear-armed mecha, to establish Outer Heaven as a nuclear power. He confronts Big Boss (and, in the MSX2 version of the game only, the Metal Gear itself), and defeats them.
Metal Gear, after being ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System and released in North America, was an unexpected million-seller, prompting a sequel. This sequel, developed without Kojima's involvement, is titled Snake's Revenge, and was released only in North America and Europe.
In Snake's Revenge, Lieutenant Solid Snake (who, in this game, resembles Arnold Schwarzenegger), at the head of a team of FOXHOUND infiltrators, must infiltrate a new base to investigate rumors of the development of a new Metal Gear. Here, he discovers that not only is the enemy constructing mass-produced units of the original "Metal Gear 1" model, but that a new prototype known as "Metal Gear 2" is being developed at the heart of the main base. Snake must finish his mission alone, as the rest of his team is killed or captured, but defeats the enemy commander (who is revealed to be a massive, cybernetically-enhanced Big Boss) and destroys the new Metal Gear 2.
Kojima has told a story in several interviews about riding the train home and running into one of the staffers working on Snake's Revenge, and being asked to rejoin them and help make an authentic sequel to Metal Gear. He agreed, and the game they produced was [[Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake]]. Metal Gear 2, which was, in 1990, initially released only in Japan for the MSX2, doesn't follow after Snake's Revenge but instead the original Metal Gear; indeed, all later games don't reflect the events of Snake's Revenge, relegating it to non-canon status.
Metal Gear 2 sees Solid Snake once again called up to infiltrate a heavily-fortified enemy base, this time in Zanzibar Land. Zanzibar Land has aggravated an international oil crisis and declared themselves a nuclear power, by kidnapping Dr. Kio Marv, the creator of a formula to bio-engineer algae to easily and cheaply make fuel-grade oil, and Dr. Pettrovich (Dr. Madnar in later remakes of Metal Gear 2), the inventor of the Metal Gear. Snake infiltrates the base and retrieves Dr. Marv's fomula (albeit not Marv himself, who is tortured to death). However, he discovers that Pettrovich and his former comrade Gray Fox have defected to Zanzibar Land, and that Zanzibar Land is led by none other than Big Boss himself. Snake destroys the new Metal Gear D, confronts and kills Gray Fox in a fist fight in the middle of a mine field, then kills Big Boss with a makeshift flamethrower in a final confrontation.
Metal Gear Solid
Solid Snake would not appear in another game until eight years later, in 1998's Metal Gear Solid, for the PlayStation. Metal Gear Solid debuted at E3 1997 to great fanfare and, after its release, great sales, topping charts around the world. This game would see the solidification of many of Solid Snake's attributes, including his enduring appearance, his voice, and his backstory.
Metal Gear Solid sees Solid Snake pulled out of retirement, to deal with FOXHOUND, who, under the leadership of Liquid Snake, have allied with a group of genetically-engineered soldiers called the "genome soldiers" and gone rogue, seizing Shadow Moses Island, the home of an American nuclear weapons disposal facility. Snake infiltrates the base and meets up with Meryl Silverburgh, a rookie soldier, and Hal "Otacon" Emmerich, the designer of Metal Gear REX. Despite the betrayal of Mister Miller, part of his radio support team, Snake defeats each member of FOXHOUND one by one, destroys Metal Gear REX, and confronts Liquid Snake. Liquid Snake reveals that he and Solid Snake both are clones of Big Boss. He then challenges his brother to show who is truly superior, a confrontation which ends in Liquid Snake dying by the FOXDIE virus which had previously been implanted in Solid Snake.
In addition to telling Solid Snake's backstory, this game marks the first appearance of Yoji Shinkawa's character designs, and the Shinkawa-designed Snake, characterized by the dark grey "sneaking suit", bandana, mullet, and perpetual stubble, would become the dominant design in all later games.
The first reappearance of the Metal Gear Solid Solid Snake would be in the 2000 Game Boy Color game [[Metal Gear: Ghost Babel|Metal Gear Solid]] (originally released in Japan as Metal Gear: Ghost Babel). This game, set after Metal Gear, is a non-canonical side-story, and features Snake infiltrating Galuade, a fortress built on the remains of Outer Heaven, seeking to defeat the rogue Black Chamber and destroy the latest Metal Gear.
The modern version of Solid Snake reappears in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, but, in a controversial move, he is replaced in the bulk of the game by Raiden, an effeminate rookie soldier. Promotional materials before the game's release and the prologue Tanker portion of the game features Solid Snake, now a member of anti-proliferation organization "Philanthropy", infiltrating a cargo tanker to photograph Metal Gear RAY, the latest model of Metal Gear, but he apparently dies when the tanker is destroyed. The bulk of the game instead features Raiden as the playable protagonist, with Solid Snake (using the pseudonym "Iroquois Pliskin" and posing as a Navy SEALS operative) in a non-playable supporting role as one of several conspirators attempting to destroy Arsenal Gear and defeat the Patriots, an organisation secrectly controlling the USA.
While Solid Snake doesn't appear in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (save for a guest appearance in the Snake vs. Ape minigame), Naked Snake, a new character who shares Solid Snake's appearance, voice actor (both, in Japanese and English versions of the game), and several other characteristics, including his trademark bandanna and expertise in warfare and espionage, serves as the protagonist in his place. By the end of Snake Eater, It is revealed that this character is Big Boss, the antagonist of the early Metal Gear games and the genetic father of Solid Snake and his clone brothers.
[[Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots]] is a reversal of Snake Eater; instead of a young Big Boss looking like Solid Snake, an aged Solid Snake appears, looking much like Big Boss. While this game hasn't yet been released, in trailers and promotional materials, Solid Snake has aged greatly, apparently unnaturally (Guns of the Patriots is set only two years after Sons of Liberty). While he still has his signature suit, bandana, and mullet, he is apparently decades older and wears the "Solid Eye", an eyepatch with embedded sensors and HUD.
Metal Gear Acid
Shinta Nojiri, who served as event planner on Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, directed the Metal Gear Acid series, and takes a dramatically different tack from the main Metal Gear series. These games, which aren't canonical with respect to the main, Kojima-directed series, have Solid Snake confronting identity crises, as, in each game, Snake isn't exactly what he seems.
In Metal Gear Acid, Solid Snake must infiltrate the Lobito Physics and Research Laboratory, in order to retrieve "Pythagoras", to satisfy hijackers who have kidnapped Viggo Hatch, a presidential candidate. This mission is complicated by Swallowtail, an expert mimic who impersonates Teliko (Solid Snake's intended inside contact), and subtle brainwashing that nearly convinces him that he is Hans Davis, a ruthless scientist that worked at the Lobito facility. He overcomes both and contacts the real Teliko, then destroys the latest model of Metal Gear, Metal Gear KODOQUE.
Metal Gear Acid 2 forces upon Snake a different kind of identity crisis. An amnesiac Snake, framed for the death of the president of the Serena Republic, is coerced into teaming up with an agent named Venus to infiltrate SaintLogic Labs, to investigate illegal experiments. The illegal experiments turn out to be a rebuilt Metal Gear KODOQUE and its successor, Metal Gear Chaioth Ha Qadesh, but their destruction is no end to Snake's troubles. It is revealed that he is not Solid Snake at all, but instead a clone based on tissue samples from Lobito Island. After this revelation and his separation from Venus, Snake commandeers the Chaioth Ha Qadesh to launch himself into the ocean, where he is rescued and reunited with the Serena Republic resistance.
Other appearances
Solid Snake has appeared in a number of other games, including other Konami games, more unusually, under license in games developed and published by other companies, such as Sony and Nintendo.Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game
Like several other characters and items from Konami's games, the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game has a card based on Solid Snake. The "Tactical Espionage Expert," on which appears a brown-haired, mulleted spy in a dark bodysuit, is a common card in the Rise of Destiny set.
Ape Escape 3
In Ape Escape 3, a platformer game from Sony Computer Entertainment, Solid Snake appears in a mini-game. In the mini-game Mesal Gear Solid, he helps out Pipo Snake, by sending him help via codec.Boktai series
In the second and third games in the Kojima-produced, Konami-published Boktai series, Solid Snake makes cameo appearances, under the name "?".DreamMix TV World Fighters
In DreamMix TV World Fighters, a fighting game from Hudson Soft, Solid Snake appears as a playable character alongside other fictional characters such as Simon Belmont and Optimus Prime.Evolution Skateboarding
In Evolution Skateboarding, from Konami, Snake, along with Raiden, appears as hidden playable character. The game includes two levels based on the Plant stage featured in Metal Gear Solid 2. (A demo of Evolution Skateboarding is, in turn, included in [[Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance]].)Super Smash Bros. Brawl
On May 10, 2006, Nintendo announced that Solid Snake will make an appearance in the new Wii title Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which is slated to come out in 2007. Snake is the first third-party character to appear in the Super Smash Bros. series; previously, it had included only characters from games either made by Nintendo or their second-party developers. Snake utilizes explosives and his cardboard box to battle against the likes of Mario and Link.Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai, who was brought back to work on Brawl, has stated that he doesn't want to use real-world weapons as Snake's attacks. "[E3 06: Solid Snake in Super Smash Bros. Brawl]" Ign.com. URL Accessed June 3, 2006. Sakurai stated on Snake's page on the official website that he will not be using real-world weapons, and only explosives[Smash Bros Dojo!: Solid Snake profile] .