CaV: NickZ (Solid Snake) vs Sherlock (Link)

Solid Snake -

Mk. 23 SOCOM Combat Pistol

Mk. 22 Supressor Gun

Patriot

OctoCamo

Solid Eye

Link -

Goddess Bow W. Bomb arrows

Master Sword

Hylian Shield

Double Claw Shot

Goddess Harp

Fight at 30 yards.

@Sherlock

I'm rootin for my homeboy link!

@18hunt:

So for basic starters here its obovious that Snake has a ranged advantage on Link.A bow is great but guns were made for a reason.The only difference is the damage output from the bow.Explosions trump bullets but since getting a shot off wont be easy by any means i doubt the bow will come into play.

Getting this to a close combat situation wont be an easy task but using the clawshot to my advantage will make things easier.The clawshot will allow Link to get up into the trees and navigate them quickly.The Hylian Shield is indestructible so deflecting gun fire with it wont be a problem.

Link has also shown the ability to return projectiles to the sender (Elvis Reference there) so Snake will have to be careful of the bullets that get sent flying back.

In H2H id give Link the over all advantage   

So for some unknown and annoying reason my vids arent working  
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=uy5PQfezvSY 
 
Heres a Link for it (See what i did there)

@Sherlock

True, any decent martial artist needs his cannon fodder feats, but it's not like Snake is without his own. Defeating four INVISIBLE soldiers at once in a close quarters elevator shaft, killing a group of Genomes with their weapons already trained on him before anyone can even react, and of course his systematic annihilation of Big Mama's elite guard in their own place.

ALL that is strictly CC. Opening up Snake's arsenal a bit, the man has fought off entire armies at a time, so there is no doubt that he not only can, but already has matched Link's feat.

Cannon fodder is cannon fodder, but the fact that those little pests just ran around aimlessly for Link to one shot pretty much puts them on a whole new level. Comparatively, Snake's usual cannon fodder is a bit more elite; Genetically Enhanced Super Soldiers all hocked up on Super Soldier Serum, plus technologically enhanced private mercenaries, are most definitely more than your average thug. For reference, Colonel Campbell is quoted as saying that the Genome Army is far more dangerous then the entire Nuclear Stockpile on all of Shadow Moses Island put together.

Take a guess at which army Snake then went on to wipe out.

There's also the fact that Link only fought those grunts in waves, rather than all at once. He never actually fought more than a dozen or so enemies at a time.

With all these factors in mind, I have no doubt that, were he to be placed in the same situation, Solid Snake could replicate that feat.

Hell, may not be up to par with what Link did, but I consider this a pretty admirable feat, especially with the ease of which Fox did it with.

Few minutes later, this happened

Now, the Cyborg Ninja was a lightning fast 100 tonner who was cutting bullets midair before even becoming a Cyborg. In additon, Frank Jaeger was the top agent FOXHOUND ever had, equivocal to the League of Assassins, so he's not without skill either.

Beating him in CC is pretty much the best H2H feat a guy can have.

Which brings me to my next point; how will this fight go down. There are two ways our combatants can go about this, both of which branch off into a number of their own variables and dependents, ALL in the end leading to, in my opinion, a hard earned victory for Snake.

SCENARIO 1: RANGE

You said yourself Link won't fair well at range and will attempt to get in close, so I won't dwell on this for too long, but I just want to make a few points clear.

We seem to be in agreement that Assault Rifle>Bow and Arrow; though not slow, arrows aren't really fast either; not enough to catch Snake at least. Link has special exploding munitions of course, but again, it's not something Snake will have much trouble dealing with, when the guy can escape the blast radius of a tank missile unscathed, tank shells moving faster than arrows of course.

Comparatively, Link might have difficulty dodging automatic fire from a marksman of Snake's caliber, who as we've been over has fought off armies, killed Sniper Wolf in a sniper duel despite the latter being heralded as the greatest sniper on the planet, and stalemated Revolver Ocelot, which is not easy to do.

^ Ocelot sharpshooting, killing an entire KGB team in bullet time with superhuman perception, bullet ricocheting, plus Big Boss fight scene (Solid Snake>Big Boss)

All this leads to Snake winning in a ranged battle. Link can deflect Snake's bullets back at him of course, but the soldier has dodged a lot more than his own gunfire (Ocelot's gunfire for example. Mach 20 Rail Gun projectile, and Vamp's knives, which Cyborg Raiden deadpanned that he himself couldn't, and much like Gray Fox, Raiden was deflecting Machine Gun fire before even becoming a Cyborg)

Not as if Snake will just blast Link and be done with it. The elf is a great marksman in his own right, and his variety of different types of arrows will surely catch Snake off guard, but I'm confident that in combination with his superhuman reaction time and firearm skill, Snake will be the last man standing in the end (or are we using kid Link here? Ok, Snake will be the last human standing. Err, Snake will be the last sentient life form standing. There, that good?)

SCENARIO 2: CLOSE QUARTERS

Now here is where things get interesting. Assuming Snake doesn't gun Link down before the elf can reach him (I'll be looking for some pretty good speed feats of Link that justify him doing so!) we'll have a pretty epic battle on our hands, if I do say so myself.

Starting with the actual means to battle - weaponry - Link uses a sword. His potential to one shot Snake with a well aimed swing might make it seem like he has the immediate advantage, but there's more to it then that. First thing to get out of the way, it's not like Snake hasn't dealt with swords before. He's actually a master in his own right, it's just that he's "not a fan of blades", as he himself put it.

Doesn't change the fact that after a 10 minute crash course in sword use from Snake, Raiden, a guy who's never even held a sword before in his life, became a master ninja. It's mentioned that Snake and Olga had an offscreen altercation during the Big Shell Incident, and Olga was a highly proficient swordswoman (easily cutting down a hailstorm of bullets from a few dozen soldiers at once)

Though their fight was H2H, it's still worth noting that Gray Fox was one of the greatest swordsman around. Vamp was a "wizard with knives" and skilled enough to beat down a 100 tonner in knife combat, but Old Snake CQCd and easily got the better of him.

Point is: Solid Snake knows his way around a blade. Hell, his twin clone Solidus Snake was a proficient sword wielder, and they were almost identical on the genetic level.

So while Link's use of a sword poses great danger for Solid Snake, it also severely limits Link in his options. All he can do is swing and stab, complex maneuvers like holds and throws are not an option. Ironically, holds and throws are exactly what Snake specializes in.

So what it's gonna come down to is simply Snake maneuvering around the blade until he sees an opening, then it's all over. You're a Resident Evil fan yes? Well then, you might be familiar with Ada's fight with Svetlana in Damnation. The two seemed pretty even at first, but once Ada got a knife, all Svetlana had to do was dodge, and counter. Ada's only option was to swing until she hit, countering and defense was almost impossible; same goes for Link.

Coupled with Snake's vastly superior physicals, this should be more than do-able.

Now that introductions are over with, it's time to breakdown an actual battle strategy. Snake's greatest advantage in this fight, as is his advantage in all fights, is his propensity for stealth. The man is the sneak-king, I don't have to tell you that, hell, take a look at the CQC fight above, maybe you didn't catch David vanishing from thin air and reappearing right next to the soldier?

The Genome Soldiers all have enhanced superhuman senses, yet Snake made them look like fools. Gurlukovich's mercenary force was the best in the business, but sneaking around them wasn't even worth Snake's time; that's how we got Raiden. The PMCs of course all had nanomachines flowing through their blood that turned a man who'd never even fired a gun into a capable soldier. The MGS4 novel describes a single PMC sniper as headshotting two militiamen jumping from a truck before their feet even hit the ground. In addition, they all have enhanced senses and an almost mental link allowing for perfect teamwork, and coordination. Quote, "They see what I see."

Again, Snake made fools of them all, MGS4 leads us to believe that Snake never fired a single bullet in his entire mission that wasn't a scripted sequence. From the Novel,

Snake went prone upon the gravel, and his camouflage shifted to blend in. Slowly, he crawled through the open streets like an inchworm. The area outside the base provided no cover, but Snake, utilizing Native American tracking techniques, gave the soldiers nothing to see and nothing to hear.

Of course the OctoCamo was a major factor in his success, but Snake's sense of connection with the world around him was even more crucial. He was part of his surroundings, a part of the world. By closely matching himself in with that baseline, he could be more stealthy then what might seem possible.

Add in his OctoCamo suit to all this, and he's nearly invisible.

It won't take Snake much to make Link lose sight of him, and from there, all it takes is a press of a button and Snake has the entire area mapped out on his Solid Eye.

The Solid Eye is an eyepatch-like radar that maps out and keeps track of the entire area, weapons, and enemies, all in real time. All it takes is one second and Snake knows not only exactly where Link is, but everything Link has in his arsenal. A minute or two later, and that 180 IQ will go to work on forming out a plan of attack.

I really don't see any counters Link can have to keep Snake from sneaking up on him, unless the guy has some REALLY good situational awareness. Obviously the soldier won't be one shotting Link from behind, but if David can get the drop on him, that's all he needs to secure a victory.

I will get on this the holiday has been busy for me

@Sherlock

True, any decent martial artist needs his cannon fodder feats, but it's not like Snake is without his own. Defeating four INVISIBLE soldiers at once in a close quarters elevator shaft, killing a group of Genomes with their weapons already trained on him before anyone can even react, and of course his systematic annihilation of Big Mama's elite guard in their own place.

ALL that is strictly CC. Opening up Snake's arsenal a bit, the man has fought off entire armies at a time, so there is no doubt that he not only can, but already has matched Link's feat.

 

Cannon fodder is cannon fodder, but the fact that those little pests just ran around aimlessly for Link to one shot pretty much puts them on a whole new level. Comparatively, Snake's usual cannon fodder is a bit more elite; Genetically Enhanced Super Soldiers all hocked up on Super Soldier Serum, plus technologically enhanced private mercenaries, are most definitely more than your average thug. For reference, Colonel Campbell is quoted as saying that the Genome Army is far more dangerous then the entire Nuclear Stockpile on all of Shadow Moses Island put together.

There's also the fact that Link only fought those grunts in waves, rather than all at once. He never actually fought more than a dozen or so enemies at a time.

Hell, may not be up to par with what Link did, but I consider this a pretty admirable feat, especially with the ease of which Fox did it with.

Few minutes later, this happened

Now, the Cyborg Ninja was a lightning fast 100 tonner who was cutting bullets midair before even becoming a Cyborg. In additon, Frank Jaeger was the top agent FOXHOUND ever had, equivocal to the League of Assassins, so he's not without skill either.

Beating him in CC is pretty much the best H2H feat a guy can have.

Which brings me to my next point; how will this fight go down. There are two ways our combatants can go about this, both of which branch off into a number of their own variables and dependents, ALL in the end leading to, in my opinion, a hard earned victory for Snake.

 

Comparatively, Link might have difficulty dodging automatic fire from a marksman of Snake's caliber, who as we've been over has fought off armies, killed Sniper Wolf in a sniper duel despite the latter being heralded as the greatest sniper on the planet, and stalemated Revolver Ocelot, which is not easy to do.

^ Ocelot sharpshooting, killing an entire KGB team in bullet time with superhuman perception, bullet ricocheting, plus Big Boss fight scene (Solid Snake>Big Boss)

All this leads to Snake winning in a ranged battle. Link can deflect Snake's bullets back at him of course, but the soldier has dodged a lot more than his own gunfire (Ocelot's gunfire for example. Mach 20 Rail Gun projectile, and Vamp's knives, which Cyborg Raiden deadpanned that he himself couldn't, and much like Gray Fox, Raiden was deflecting Machine Gun fire before even becoming a Cyborg)

So while Link's use of a sword poses great danger for Solid Snake, it also severely limits Link in his options. All he can do is swing and stab, complex maneuvers like holds and throws are not an option. Ironically, holds and throws are exactly what Snake specializes in.

So what it's gonna come down to is simply Snake maneuvering around the blade until he sees an opening, then it's all over. You're a Resident Evil fan yes? Well then, you might be familiar with Ada's fight with Svetlana in Damnation. The two seemed pretty even at first, but once Ada got a knife, all Svetlana had to do was dodge, and counter. Ada's only option was to swing until she hit, countering and defense was almost impossible; same goes for Link.

Coupled with Snake's vastly superior physicals, this should be more than do-able.