Who do you find more compelling? Big Boss or Solid Snake?

Solid Snake, BB's story has more emotional depth, but Solid's more compelling.

I think part the reason is that BB feels a bit overplayed. he's had a lot of games under his belt, while SS only has one proper game. (old snake in MGS4, and only in the prologue of MGS2). I actually enjoyed old snake, it added a lot of weight to the character, and played up the "hero who's reluctantly dragged back" theme from mgs1 to an extreme, it showed that snake was the ultimate badass, even with all the odds against him, he still manages to win.
BUT they should've made more games with younger snake before going for that. that's why im hoping for the eventual Metal Gear 1/2 remakes to be awesome. both solid snake and big boss in one game.... omg. Also I associate david hayter with solid snake a lot more. hopefully kojima doesn't fuck it up.
 
Echoenigma said:
Big Boss is goofy and naive, and while that can be fun, it hurts his character as a whole.
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MGS3 was the story of how a goofy and naive young man became a cynical traitor to his country. Hell, it's in his name: Naked Snake. He's a greenhorn who just discovered the real world and wasn't prepared.
akidnamededdy said:
Salad Snack. I liked Big Boss in MGS3 but Portable Ops and Peace Walker were both just flat out dumb. Thank goodness Kojima's closing the narrative gap between Big Boss timeline and MG1 with Phantom Pain's 9 year coma, I don't think I could stand yet another "okay this one will REALLY show you how Big Boss became a bad guy" story.
Click to expand...
...But that's exactly what The Phantom Pain is.

Which is one of the reasons I find it completely unnecessary.
 
Click to enlarge (no Solid Snake pun intended) said:
m1B2CEH.jpg
Click to expand...
Seriously though, they're compelling in their own way. Big Boss story is more of a downfall story; a great man turning on his own beliefs (the boss' beliefs), getting fueled by anger/hatred and [Potential MGSV spoilers I guess]
turned into a warmongering megalomaniac, training children that are taken from warzones and turning them into soldiers for future conflicts
, while Solid's arc is a chain of hardships and successes.(Snake being tricked by BB in MG and defeating him. Snake finding about him being a clone of BB and defeating his genetically superior clone-brother Liquid. Snake's continued work in MGS2 to stop the development of Metal Gears. Snake struggling with his aging process while trying to stop Liquid Ocelot in 4 and in the end gets the job done and BBs admiration and finally earns his rest.) Solid was merely seen as a pawn by others but he carved his own way and had his own fundamentals and principles and stuck with them even though he was pretty much alone (not counting Otacon). And in the end did most dirty work willingly because he wanted to and saved the world when he is supposedly a inferior clone of a man who failed trying.

MiamiWesker said:
Solid to me is more interesting. I find good more interesting than evil. We know what happens to Big Boss, guy gets fed up with the world, gives into his emotions and goes crazy. Doesn't give a shit about anyone but himself, so much self-pity and anger over things he helped create.

Solid was a major pawn always being pushed around by others. Experienced just as much bullshit as Big Boss did but instead of giving into anger Solid chose to believe in mankind and the future. Solid actually loves people, he loves Meryl, he loves Otacon, he cares about human beings.

And I really dont get what is your guys problem with MGS4, it was Solid's best moment. That entire game is designed to be a torture of Solid Snake. Moment by moment its just events that would crush any other person. The person he loved comes back and thinks he are too old and worn out to be of any use. He finds out he will die in a few months and worst still will become a weapon that will kill everyone he knows. Everyone is constantly telling him to get out of the way.

And yet through all of that Solid Snake never wavers and when the fate of the entire world hung in the balance it was Snake who put the world on his back and saved the day. Only a few people would ever know what Snake did, he didn't do it for glory, he did it cause that is who he is, that is what he believes. He is far more like The Boss than Big Boss could ever dream of being.
Click to expand...

This guy gets it
 
Drencrom said:
Seriously though, they're compelling in their own way. Big Boss story is more of a downfall story; a great man turning on his own beliefs (the boss' beliefs), getting fueled by anger/hatred and [Potential MGSV spoilers I guess]
turned into a warmongering megalomaniac, training children that are taken from warzones and turning them into soldiers for future conflicts
, while Solid's arc is a chain of hardships and successes.(Snake being tricked by BB in MG and defeating him. Snake finding about him being a clone of BB and defeating his genetically superior clone-brother Liquid. Snake's continued work in MGS2 to stop the development of Metal Gears. Snake struggling with his aging process while trying to stop Liquid Ocelot in 4 and in the end gets the job done and BBs admiration and finally earns his rest.) Solid was merely seen as a pawn by others but he carved his own way and had his own fundamentals and principles and stuck with them even though he was pretty much alone (not counting Otacon). And in the end did most dirty work willingly because he wanted to and saved the world when he is supposedly a inferior clone of a man who failed trying.



This guy gets it
Click to expand...

That image is amazing, I am trying and failing to stifle my laughter in front of my coworkers.
 
I was, and still am, sad that the series turned away from Snake and focused on big boss and it moved forward. It's always bugged me playing as big boss. maybe it's just me but I always felt it kind of took away from the series. I guess I liked big boss better when he was a mystery. I would love a game that featured snake and wasn't as crazy. Tone down the crazy, bring it back to earth, MGS1 nuclear war premise, was interesting and believable. I feel like the series has gotten out of hand at this point. I'm still looking forward to GZ, and even thought I prefer Snake, I think MGS3 was an extremely strong game on nearly every level.
 
Prototype said:
I was, and still am, sad that the series turned away from Snake and focused on big boss and it moved forward. It's always bugged me playing as big boss. maybe it's just me but I always felt it kind of took away from the series. I guess I liked big boss better when he was a mystery. I would love a game that featured snake and wasn't as crazy. Tone down the crazy, bring it back to earth, MGS1 nuclear war premise, was interesting and believable. I feel like the series has gotten out of hand at this point. I'm still looking forward to GZ, and even thought I prefer Snake, I think MGS3 was an extremely strong game on nearly every level.
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but MGS2 and 4 were the craziest games in the series
 
Prototype said:
I was, and still am, sad that the series turned away from Snake and focused on big boss and it moved forward. It's always bugged me playing as big boss. maybe it's just me but I always felt it kind of took away from the series. I guess I liked big boss better when he was a mystery. I would love a game that featured snake and wasn't as crazy. Tone down the crazy, bring it back to earth, MGS1 nuclear war premise, was interesting and believable. I feel like the series has gotten out of hand at this point. I'm still looking forward to GZ, and even thought I prefer Snake, I think MGS3 was an extremely strong game on nearly every level.
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MGS3 is probably the most grounded game in the (Solid) series, and I feel weird saying that about a game with a guy who is always covered in bees.
 
I only played as Big Boss in MGS3 and he was pretty uninteresting there, very boring character actually. Need to get MGS HD to play PW, but the rest of his story I know is interesting.
 
Drencrom said:
Seriously though, they're compelling in their own way. Big Boss story is more of a downfall story; a great man turning on his own beliefs (the boss' beliefs), getting fueled by anger/hatred and [Potential MGSV spoilers I guess]
turned into a warmongering megalomaniac, training children that are taken from warzones and turning them into soldiers for future conflicts
, while Solid's arc is a chain of hardships and successes.(Snake being tricked by BB in MG and defeating him. Snake finding about him being a clone of BB and defeating his genetically superior clone-brother Liquid. Snake's continued work in MGS2 to stop the development of Metal Gears. Snake struggling with his aging process while trying to stop Liquid Ocelot in 4 and in the end gets the job done and BBs admiration and finally earns his rest.) Solid was merely seen as a pawn by others but he carved his own way and had his own fundamentals and principles and stuck with them even though he was pretty much alone (not counting Otacon). And in the end did most dirty work willingly because he wanted to and saved the world when he is supposedly a inferior clone of a man who failed trying.



This guy gets it
Click to expand...

I want to be friends with both of you.
 
Drencrom said:
Seriously though, they're compelling in their own way. Big Boss story is more of a downfall story; a great man turning on his own beliefs (the boss' beliefs), getting fueled by anger/hatred and [Potential MGSV spoilers I guess]
turned into a warmongering megalomaniac, training children that are taken from warzones and turning them into soldiers for future conflicts
, while Solid's arc is a chain of hardships and successes.(Snake being tricked by BB in MG and defeating him. Snake finding about him being a clone of BB and defeating his genetically superior clone-brother Liquid. Snake's continued work in MGS2 to stop the development of Metal Gears. Snake struggling with his aging process while trying to stop Liquid Ocelot in 4 and in the end gets the job done and BBs admiration and finally earns his rest.) Solid was merely seen as a pawn by others but he carved his own way and had his own fundamentals and principles and stuck with them even though he was pretty much alone (not counting Otacon). And in the end did most dirty work willingly because he wanted to and saved the world when he is supposedly a inferior clone of a man who failed trying.



This guy gets it
Click to expand...
Hahaha that picture.

Solid Snake in my eyes will always be the REAL Snake.

His character in MGS1 was more compelling than anything Big Boss has featured in, and is more of a badass.
 
Solid snake.... and while i've enjoyed all iterations of him, be it young or old. I feel like kojima has purposely being trying to force him out of the limelight. After MGS. He basically acted as a side character to lame girly boy raiden, and then they made him old and comparatively unappealing? Just feels like sabotage to me.

while big boss gets insane love across multiple platforms, spin offs and all sorts. I understand wanting to bridge the gap between big boss and solid snake, but MGS isn't quite MGS without the bleeding edge, futuristic stuff imo. Even down to the "metal gears". Shagohod had absolutely nothing on rex and ray in terms of design. And frankly i'm beginning to miss it. So hopefully, once kojima is done with MGSV, says he's passing the torch onto his team and that he's never making any ore MGS games...i really hope he makes an MGS game with solid snake as the main character.
 
Verendus said:
Bunch of confused souls in this thread.

Solid Snake:

- On his first mission, he rescued Gray Fox, destroyed Metal Gear, and defeated Big Boss.
- In MGS, he came out of an early retirement, saved the pansy that is Otacon, defeated FOXHOUND single handedly, fought a fucking ninja and won, saved the world again by taking care of another Metal Gear, and beat the crap out of his British twin brother.
- In MGS2, he helped Raiden grow some balls (miraculous feat), sank a goddamn tanker, inspired millions, and he swam down a Metal Gear Ray. That's right. That's how insane his skills are. He swims fast enough to keep up with a machine.
- He also has an IQ of 180 and is fluent in six languages.

Whilst we don't know what happened with this great man beyond the events of MGS2, we know he's due for a return.

Big Boss's resume includes killing his own mother figure (good job you ungrateful twat), crying about killing his own mother figure, sexually assaulting some loli looking girl, getting his ass tortured by Drago, being put into a coma (jesus christ), growing a dick on his head, then having the shit beat out of him by his own student of CQC when he tried the whole grandmaster villain reveal. He also has difficulty speaking one language, let alone six.

'Oh, I was forced to kill The Boss. Oh cruel fate, how you have abandoned thee!!'

If only Solid Snake could go back in time and kill his crippled ass.
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That why I like Big Boss more. He isn't a superhuman or a machine that doesn't make mistakes like solid snake. Big boss has flaws and do make mistakes like a normal human being.
 
MormaPope said:
A man in his 20 's beat a elderly man, congratulations Solid Snake, you're a really strong dude.



Yup, being a dog sledder and choosing to fish or hunt is the same as being dropped into a unknown environment and having to eat anything to survive.

Some of y'all's Solid boners are messing with your heads.
Click to expand...

Big Boss came back with Cybernetic enhancements and he still got his ass whooped.
 
Drencrom said:
Seriously though, they're compelling in their own way. Big Boss story is more of a downfall story; a great man turning on his own beliefs (the boss' beliefs), getting fueled by anger/hatred and [Potential MGSV spoilers I guess]
turned into a warmongering megalomaniac, training children that are taken from warzones and turning them into soldiers for future conflicts
, while Solid's arc is a chain of hardships and successes.(Snake being tricked by BB in MG and defeating him. Snake finding about him being a clone of BB and defeating his genetically superior clone-brother Liquid. Snake's continued work in MGS2 to stop the development of Metal Gears. Snake struggling with his aging process while trying to stop Liquid Ocelot in 4 and in the end gets the job done and BBs admiration and finally earns his rest.) Solid was merely seen as a pawn by others but he carved his own way and had his own fundamentals and principles and stuck with them even though he was pretty much alone (not counting Otacon). And in the end did most dirty work willingly because he wanted to and saved the world when he is supposedly a inferior clone of a man who failed trying.



This guy gets it
Click to expand...
That image is great. I especially love:

- Struggled to beat a bunch of old WW2 vets, one of them being a 142 year old sniper who can die waiting for you.
- Gets put into comas every 2 weeks.
- Not your friend, probably wants to go home and think about the boss.

Solid Snake is a cool cat who matured and tried to make a difference. Big Boss is like that loser who kept crying all the time about the world being unfair and eventually turned into that jabroni who basically went insane because he couldn't handle real life. Such a pussy.
 
It's not exactly a fair comparison. Snake only had two games to flesh out his character, and one of them spent more time closing loops on other character's stories than giving Snake anything to work with.

It'd be easier to compare the two if Snake had another game that took place before/after 2 or before 4.
 
Can't really choose, but if forced--Big Boss.

Solid Snake is awesome, but Old Snake was not only grumpy and annoying, but also managed to become a pawn of The Patriots again just before proving himself ultimately a pawn of Ocelot. But it's ok, he's free to live his life now, again, for a couple months.

Meanwhile, Big Boss rebelled, first by creating the Patriots, then by trying to bring them down. Solid Snake beat his ass a couple times (as a tool of the Patriots), but should he have?

Big Boss has some twisted yet interesting ideals, the details of which we have yet to see (I think MGS3 story would have been enough really) whilst Solid Snake's whole deal of believing in something and living your life is kind of straightforward, not to mention sad since he's constantly used as a pawn.

Solid Snake's best moments are as Iroqois Pliskin, where he isn't a part of the 'simulation' and is truly acting of his own accord. He provides an anchor for Raiden to rely on when things get too twisted.

Btw, ain't nothing wrong with Raiden in MGS2 (outside of the awful dialogue, especially with Rose, but that kind of crap writing turns up in every MGS game). He proves himself every bit as gritty and strong as Snake whilst faced with an impossible nightmare of a scenario and fighting off repressed memories. At least he takes a lesson from all of this and decides to live his life thanks to Snake. Annnnnd cyborg Raiden ruins all that, making him whinier and more emo than ever before. "I HAVE NO FAMILY!". Stfu cyborg Raiden and go get the Colonel off of Rose's tits for Pete's sake! But yeah, anyone who prefers MGS4 Raiden to MGS2 is quite shallow, for starters.
 
MGS3's Big Boss.
He's a ridiculous lunatic and everyone around him (except the CIA and his meowing groupie) recognizes that he's a complete idiot, which gives the game a refreshingly honest tone.
All he wants from life is to discover what everything tastes like and to get inside a box. He's the perfect protagonist for the crazy cartoon world of Metal Gear.
 
I think Kojima cutting SS story by making him an useless, dying old man was a bad choice.
With mgs4 SS was done, no room for further development, no point in bringing the character back, which forced Kojima to use that other Snake in subsequent games
 
Things BB did:
- ate every kind of shit. Including an old man's parrot.
- invented the Walkman, among other things that include a man catapult.
- destroyed single handedly dozens of tanks, choppers, armored vehicles that all looked alike. While he roofied enemy soldiers into submission.
- had a cat as a friend and understood what the cat meowed.
- fucked up hardcore dinosaurs / cryptids.
- built an army and a secret base/fortress/evil lair 4-5 times we know of. That includes building sovereign nations with nuclear deterrence.

Okay, he might have been a psycho from the start.
 
Crakatak187 said:
Big Boss came back with Cybernetic enhancements and he still got his ass whooped.
Click to expand...

Specifically, he wielded a machine gun against a guy with jack shit who had to Macgyver together a flamethrower out of a lighter and an aerosol can on the fly to level the field.
 
Crakatak187 said:
Big Boss came back with Cybernetic enhancements and he still got his ass whooped.
Click to expand...

Ahh, yeah cybernetic enhancements.
I forgot about those, so I guess there are theories that the bionic arm and stuff BB gets in tpp happen after the fight with SS ? Would be rather awesome if the fight with SS at the end of mg1 was part of tpp, but I guess it takes place much earlier than those events.

Things BB did:
- ate every kind of shit. Including an old man's parrot.
- invented the Walkman, among other things that include a man catapult.
- destroyed single handedly dozens of tanks, choppers, armored vehicles that all looked alike. While he roofied enemy soldiers into submission.
- had a cat as a friend and understood what the cat meowed.
- fucked up hardcore dinosaurs / cryptids.
- built an army and a secret base/fortress/evil lair 4-5 times we know of. That includes building sovereign nations with nuclear deterrence.
Click to expand...

- also climbed a ladder
 
i find big boss to be more compelling and while solid snake is amazing, seeing the fall of Big Boss in MGSV is going to be very interesting
 
Solid Snake. His gruff cynicism is always a treat and him beginning to fight for what he believes in after Gray Fox's speech was great to see.

Maybe, MGSV will get me to come around with Big Boss but at this point, he seems pretty empty inside.
 
Solid Snake. He's not nearly as retarded as his daddy. And he doesn't get a hard-on every time he gets a new weapon. He also puts all the women in the game on notice for dat solid snake.

His father is a braindead moron. He's just emo as fuck.

oh noes

muh boss

oh noes

let me get all mad salty at american govemtns and go set up try-hard mercs

Solid Snake is a true hero of the people.
Big (lol) Boss is mad salty and emo at everything and everyone.

Solid Snake is a man. He has shit to sneak up. People to hold-up. Metal Gears to blow-up.
Big (lol) Boss is a sissy. Cries all the time. Probably has a livejournal where he tells everyone about how awesum The Boss was. How Ocelot is pretty good. How Kaz is not that kind of guy.
 
rvy said:
Solid Snake. He's not nearly as retarded as his daddy. And he doesn't get a hard-on every time he gets a new weapon. He also puts all the women in the game on notice for dat solid snake.

His father is a braindead moron. He's just emo as fuck.

oh noes

muh boss

oh noes

let me get all mad salty at american govemtns and go set up try-hard mercs

Solid Snake is a true hero of the people.
Big (lol) Boss is mad salty and emo at everything and everyone.

Solid Snake is a man. He has shit to sneak up. People to hold-up. Metal Gears to blow-up.
Big (lol) Boss is a sissy. Cries all the time. Probably has a livejournal where he tells everyone about how awesum The Boss was. How Ocelot is pretty good. How Kaz is not that kind of guy.
Click to expand...
The only Big Boss game I have played is MGS3 but is Big Boss actually like that in all the other MGS games? LOL.
 
I have yet to play Peace Walker, which I think might be the issue. But I kinda find Snake more compelling, because I'm hung up on the clone shit I think. I still find that shit weird and interesting. Big Boss has a better journey though as a character, based only on playing MGS3.
 
The Big Boss story is a known quantity and I always hate knowing the destination even if you do it for the journey
 
I've played most of the MGS games and I can't tell the difference between them. Just seems like a bunch of gibberish to me. As far as I'm concerned they're all the same character.
 
Lindsay said:
Was he even a good villian though?

Hero turned lackluster run of the mill badguy just makes him look lamer then he already is!
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Don't think its fair to use MG1/2 for characterization stuff like that, the only things still canon from those games is the general outline of the main events.
 
MiamiWesker said:
Solid to me is more interesting. I find good more interesting than evil. We know what happens to Big Boss, guy gets fed up with the world, gives into his emotions and goes crazy. Doesn't give a shit about anyone but himself, so much self-pity and anger over things he helped create.

Solid was a major pawn always being pushed around by others. Experienced just as much bullshit as Big Boss did but instead of giving into anger Solid chose to believe in mankind and the future. Solid actually loves people, he loves Meryl, he loves Otacon, he cares about human beings.

And I really dont get what is your guys problem with MGS4, it was Solid's best moment. That entire game is designed to be a torture of Solid Snake. Moment by moment its just events that would crush any other person. The person he loved comes back and thinks he are too old and worn out to be of any use. He finds out he will die in a few months and worst still will become a weapon that will kill everyone he knows. Everyone is constantly telling him to get out of the way.

And yet through all of that Solid Snake never wavers and when the fate of the entire world hung in the balance it was Snake who put the world on his back and saved the day. Only a few people would ever know what Snake did, he didn't do it for glory, he did it cause that is who he is, that is what he believes. He is far more like The Boss than Big Boss could ever dream of being.
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I agree with you -- so I'd say Solid.
 
Yeah problem for me is I find Snake Eater to be the best game by far, making me like big boss more...Even if he wouldn't keep a secret handshake with his bro secret from da baws, lol.
 
rvy said:
Solid Snake. He's not nearly as retarded as his daddy. And he doesn't get a hard-on every time he gets a new weapon. He also puts all the women in the game on notice for dat solid snake.

His father is a braindead moron. He's just emo as fuck.

oh noes

muh boss

oh noes

let me get all mad salty at american govemtns and go set up try-hard mercs

Solid Snake is a true hero of the people.
Big (lol) Boss is mad salty and emo at everything and everyone.

Solid Snake is a man. He has shit to sneak up. People to hold-up. Metal Gears to blow-up.
Big (lol) Boss is a sissy. Cries all the time. Probably has a livejournal where he tells everyone about how awesum The Boss was. How Ocelot is pretty good. How Kaz is not that kind of guy.
Click to expand...

Now we know where Liquid got his emoness from.
 
Big Boss for me, I enjoyed his journey to earning that title much more than Solid Snake's in MGS1 (Can't speak for MGS4 though)
 
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