(Ring, ring.)
Sakurai: Hello?
Hideo Kojima: Sakurai-san! It's been a while!
Sakurai: Oh, hey! How are you?
Hideo Kojima: Great! And yourself?
Sakurai: Just awesome. Another day at the office!
Hideo Kojima: I know how that goes. So, how's the game coming along?
Sakurai: Oh, you know. It's coming along.
Hideo Kojima: Mind if I come on down to the studio and play the latest build?
Sakurai: Sure.
(Phone call ends.)
So Sakurai and Kojima play the latest build of Brawl. Sakurai selects Kirby and Kojima goes with Snake; the backdrop for their battle will be Shadow Moses. The match starts off with Kojima at a complete advantage because Kirby was graciously un-nerfed. After a few SHFFled b-airs and a spike (yes, Kirby will now have a spike), Kojima's first stock is shaved off with relative ease. Try as he may, Kojima just can't seem to get a solid combo on him. The rest of the match is a haphazard effort for the mega-producer/director at Konami.
The match soon ends. Disheartened by his loss, Kojima places his controller on the floor in front of him.
Sakurai: Kojima-san, you look a little...disappointed.
Hideo Kojima: It's nothing, Sakurai-san.
Sakurai: No, no! I can sense that there's something wrong. You can tell me, you know.
Kojima sighed and asked Sakurai if they could have another match. Sakurai reluctantly agreed and they went about setting things up. Once again, Sakurai was Kirby and Kojima was Snake. Their backdrop was the modified version of Dreamland 64 from the original games. When the match starts, Kojima asks Sakurai to wait a second.
Hideo Kojima: Sakurai-san, I want you to tell me what is wrong with this picture.
Sakurai: ...okay.
Kojima demonstrates. It turns out that Solid Snake, Konami's reputed badass, has the moveset of a pansy. His A moves were altered from the trailer; rather than CQC-style fighting techniques that were seen, we see Snake hopelessly flailing his limbs ala Luigi-style. The worst of his regular attacks is his F-smash, which involves Snake doing the "you're so silly" slap that those of a different sexual orientation would perform. In addition to how bad it looks, the knockback on the attack sucks horribly. In fact, the knockback for all of his regular attacks are horrible which leaves Snake with a lack of kill moves.
At this point, Sakurai looks to Kojima questioningly. Kojima tells Sakurai to be quiet for just a little while longer while he finishes his example.
Snake's B-moves received a similar level of the attention that was given to the A moves. Neutral B throws water balloons that pretty much have the same effect as Fox's lasers in Melee, only with about half the range. Though these balloons do indeed explode when they land short of their target, they do not cause splash damage. The only upside is that this projectile can be spammed---ALOT. Solid Snake's Forward B whips out one of those kiddie Nerf launchers and fires a nerf missile at the target. Like Link's bow-and-arrow from Melee, the nerf missile can be charged. However, at max, it can only deal about 5% damage---and it doesn't even stun them. Snake's Down-B summons one of the monkeys from Ape Escape, which he then uses as a shield ala Peach. Unlike Toad, however, the monkey will not reflect a small percentage of the attack back on the attacker. The monkey will actually go hog wild upon getting hit and jump on Snake's head for about two seconds. While the monkey is on his head, Snake cannot take any actions whatsoever. Also, coming out of the Down-B has alot of lag.
At this point, Kojima pauses and gestures to the screen. The final move that he performs is Snake's Up-B, which summons a parachute. Unlike most Up-B's, this move does not give Snake any vertical lift---it merely allows him to glide.
Hideo Kojima: Well? What do you have to say for yourself?
Sakurai: Um, yes...about that, Kojima-san. The powers-that-be were really coming down on me for having Snake in the game. I mean, he's an M-Rated character and Brawl is supposed to be a kid-friendly game! So I was given an ultimatum: Either I do something that gives him a more light-hearted air or replace him entirely.
Hideo Kojima: But...that's ridiculous! This isn't Snake.
Sakurai: I am truly sorry, Kojima-san.
Despite Kojima's valiant future attempts, the final version of Brawl (with characters like Bill Rizer and the Happy Mask Salesman in the roster) ships with this new Solid Snake. In addition to having this moveset, Sakurai (at the behest of Nintendo, of course) added a one more thing to Snake's repertoire: In addition to adding a pink variant to his standard costume, Sakurai also added an alternate outfit with Snake in overalls and with a fizz hat with a propeller on top.
Dear Lord. This would be horrible. I can't believe I thought of that.
Smooth Criminal
P.S. I am not a homophobe, nor was it my intent to bash other's sexuality. It was just a stereotype that I used. Calm down.