LogFAQs > #896113755

1. Solid Snake (Metal Gear Solid series)

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"I'm no hero. Never was. Never will be."

Is there any part of Snake that isn't amazing? His voice as performed by David Hayter is the most iconic voice in gaming outside of Charles Martinet as Mario. His character arc is engrossing and stretches over more than a decade, both in-game and out of game. He's gets a redesign every game and manages to look awesome every time - no one else would be able to make that mustache in MGS4 work, but Snake is Snake. I could write a literal essay on all the ways, both big and small, that combine to make Snake the incredibly popular character that he is, but I'll keep it...within 3 posts.

Snake got a pretty good headstart in the way of good timing. Back when Metal Gear Solid was released, games were in their awkward transitional period between 16 bit graphics and high-def 3D. Cinematic games with a huge story focus like Final Fantasy VII had already come out, but it still had lego graphics and no voice acting. Then Metal Gear Solid happened. I played MGS1 like 5 years after it actually came out and it still felt like it was miles ahead of everything else in terms of production values and storytelling. It helps that everyone was a lot younger back when MGS1 came out (wait was that really 20 years ago, jesus fucking christ) so the game's more mature/realistic tone was pretty memorable. In a time period where games had simple plots or were anime as all fuck, MGS1 was discussing nuclear proliferation. Not that Metal Gear Solid was lacking at all in the weirdness department, sporting wonders like the cyborg ninja and Kojima's ideas on how dominant/recessive genes work, but it definitely had a more mature edge to things. It created a new benchmark for cinematography and storytelling in gaming.

I'm talking a lot about Metal Gear Solid itself instead of Snake himself, but here's the thing - it's impossible to seperate the two. Much like MGS1, Snake was a protagonist unlike any other in gaming up until that point. You had your badass soldier dudes, some of them even wearing bandanas, but none were in 3D, none were fully voiced, and few of them had characterization or life stories that were delved into as much as Snake's were. And much like MGS1, he was both mature and weird enough to become memorable. Snake is a supersoldier capable of taking on a heavily-guarded base almost entirely on his own, but he also sneaks cigarettes onto missions and uses ketchup to escape a prison cell. By the end of the game he's discussing his views on life after learning he was infected with FOXDIE, but that's only after he fistfights Liquid on top of a Metal Gear and rides off into the sunset on a snowmobile. Snake is the perfect protagonist for a game like Metal Gear Solid. He elevates the game, and at the same time, the game elevates him.

Of course, Snake wouldn't be as iconic as he is without more than one game under his belt. Each MGS game that was released afterwards only solidified his status as being inseparable from the series. MGS2 is the only game where some version of a Snake isn't a protagonist, and despite Solid Snake being there in full badass mentor glory, people fucking rioted. MGS3 told the story of Big Boss but kept the exact same design and voice (because Solid Snake being a clone of BB made for a really easy excuse even despite Liquid looking/sounding nothing like him). And as Snake built himself up a mythos in the real world, the world of Metal Gear Solid did the same. Solid Snake, depending on who you ask, is a myth, a menace, a legend, a terrorist. Wherever he goes, changes follow. At one point his visage gets carved into Mount goddamn Rushmore - courtesy of Liquid Ocelot, but still.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.