Solid Snake - Reception

Reception

The character of Solid Snake has received positive response, ranking in various polls as the best video game character in history. In an Oricon poll from 2008, he was voted as the most popular video game character in Japan, tying with Nintendo's Pikachu. In a Famitsu poll done in February 2010, Snake was voted by readers as the most popular video game character. In the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition from 2011, Snake was voted as the fourth most popular video game character. Also, Electronic Gaming Monthly listed him as number one as the Top Ten Video Game characters of all time.

Critics have often praised Snake's commitment to war as well as his appealing personality. Snake appeared in multiple GameFAQs "Character Battle" contests, and was runner-up in two, the "Character Battle V" in 2006, and the "Character Battle VII" in 2008. His character was amongst the last sixteen contestants on the greatest video game hero on GameSpot contest held in 2009, and lost out to Gordon Freeman on a tiebreaker. He was ranked seventeenth in UGO Networks's "Best Heroes in Entertainment." GameDaily listed him on their top 10 Smash Bros. characters list, while Play listed him as one of the characters they wanted to be playable in Mortal Kombat. Sites have also commented on his traits and appearance. 1UP listed him second in the "Top 5 Video Game Smokers" while GamesRadar placed him at the top of "The 10 manliest men in videogame history." Complex.com ranked him as fourth on the list of "Top 25 Pervs in Games". Solid Snake's endurance in the face of extreme punishment was even made the focus of a comedy article in the satirical newspaper, The Onion. The character customization in Soul Calibur 4 that allowed to create Snake was listed by UGO as one of the best ones from the series owing to his popularity within gamers. The character's Metal Gear Solid 2 design was at the bottom of the "8 Worst Game Character Makeovers" by GamePro, condemning his conversion in hairstyle in comparison to the one in Metal Gear Solid, and was also at the top of IGN's "Worst Videogame Haircuts". Before Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Snake was thought to be the game's protagonist because of the physical resemblances between him and Naked Snake. However, later previews speculated how was it possible for Solid Snake to be in the game's settings, leading to the conclusion it was a young Big Boss. A comparison between Solid Snake's and Big Boss' characters was made by IGN's Phil Pirrello in articles called "Stars Thunderdome: Snake vs. Big Boss." David Hayter's performance as Snake's English voice actor has received praise to the point of being called one of the best ones in gaming as well as one of the character's most recognizable traits.

Snake's appearance in Metal Gear Solid 4 has received mixed opinions. Before it was released, various speculations were made regarding Snake's role. As he was the only one who suffered from a drastic change in appearance, IGN commented that the most famous rumor was the one of Snake's body deteriorating across the game. Moreover, since it had been announced it would be his last appearance, IGN and GamesRadar wondered whether the character would die during the game and if Raiden would replace him following his death. GamesRadar commented that Snake was one of the few gaming characters that aged across video games. GamePro also listed Old Snake as one of the biggest surprises from Metal Gear Solid 4 as the character was found interesting in contrast to pessimistic thoughts they had before the game's release. GameDaily listed the "old hero" as one of their top 25 video game archetypes, using the old version of Snake as an example of this. Play gave praise to his moustache considering how highly detailed it is, and represents the change from Snake's character. On the other hand, 1UP placed him third in the article of "Top 5 Gracelessly Aging Characters" as it gave negative messages about aging.