A lot of people hear me talk about Smash often, and some even ask me about what exactly I do and why it is impressive. The answer to that is not simple, but I figured teaching how to play Snake would be a great place to start, just to show how complicated he is.

For those that are not familiar, Solid Snake is a cloned mercenary and protagonist of the Metal Gear Solid series. His appearance in Smash is actually a hybrid between Solid Snake and his DNA-predecessor, Big Boss. The games revolve around stealth and infiltrations, which is ironic because his moveset is quite the opposite. While he does have close-quarters-combat in his kit, he relies mostly on blowing things up.

That is the one feature that most players will notice and either love or hate about Snake as a playable fighter. While he certainly has no shortage of explosions in his moveset, there is actually an optimal way to use them to win. Throwing around grenades and shooting missiles without a plan will get you nowhere. 

Let’s talk about his special moves first. His neutral special is a grenade, which can be dropped, picked up, lobbed, thrown or exploded on impact. It is the key to saving Snake from taking big hits and trading damage that benefits him more in the long run. The side special is a guided missile launcher, which is useful for confirming stocks and preventing enemy approach. The recovery move is a cypher drone which also has a lot of armor so it is a very powerful method of reaching the stage safely. 

The down special is my personal favorite, the C4. It can be placed on the stage, in midair or on the opponent and detonated on command. It also explodes on its own roughly 26 seconds after placement. The C4 is one of the most effective ways to take stocks. It also can be used to purposefully blow Snake up for an infinite recovery.

Snake’s smash attacks are very powerful and unique. His up smash is another missile launcher that lobs an explosive directly upward and can be charged for distance. It honestly seems like one of those moves that is perfectly described as “unfair.” His forward smash is a rocket launcher that can take stocks really early but is one of the laggiest moves in the entire game. Snake’s down smash is a kick that covers both the front and back. It’s not super useful, but it is guaranteed to throw off the opponent.

The tilt attacks in this character’s kit are also very unique. He has a sweeping kick that is also low-profile against projectiles, a frontal jab separate from the default jab and the most broken move of all time, the up-tilt kick. The up-tilt is one of the win conditions for Snake and is extremely dangerous for the opponent.

Snake’s legs are mostly used in his aerials. His up-air is a double-header kick as well as his back-air. His forward-air is a spiking move which is not easy to land but still very powerful. His down-air is a series of kicks that can be used to control an opponent’s movement around an exploding grenade.

Knowing the kit behind Snake is not enough. The strategy is what wins games. The main thing Snake players focus on are “cooking” grenades. This means holding a grenade for longer so that when it is thrown it explodes immediately. Cooking grenades is a good way to keep your opponents guessing and has potential for juggling. The more grenades thrown out, the better. The amount of damage that can build up in mere seconds is insane when done correctly.

Another important strategy is setting up off of grabs. Snake’s down throw lays the opponent on the ground, leaving them vulnerable for about a millisecond as they figure out which way to escape. This gives Snake the potential to set up traps around the opponent. Having absolute control of the stage at all times is the goal for a good Snake player to defeat their opponent.

Finally, the win conditions for Snake include C4, up smash, up tilt and aerials. By cooking grenades and controlling the stage, a Snake player can set up the perfect opportunity to force the opponent into a situation where they explode. With quick movement, it becomes easy to distract the opponent with aimless grenades or quickly placed C4s. All of these techniques combined make Snake a very powerful fighter.

Currently, Solid Snake is the third-best character in the game. The meta is constantly changing as people learn about characters, but it has been a long time coming that the mercenary would be recognized for his wits.