MGS3: Snake Eater Players Don’t Actually Have To Eat Snakes

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is one of the franchise’s most celebrated entries, thanks to its top-notch story and gameplay. It was a welcome return to the series’ classic formula after the stylistic departure that was Metal Gear Solid 2. However, apart from setting a new bar for quality in the series, MGS3 is also unique for how it takes its own name literally. Among other things, this game lets Snake eat actual snakes.

Granted, “snake eating” is only required in its most symbolic sense to beat the game. The literal eating of snakes is an optional activity for players to partake in, though it is highly encouraged. What isn’t optional is Snake’s reason for going cannibal on the reptilian critters: MGS3‘s hunger mechanic. The bar just below Naked Snake’s health meter tracks his stamina, and it’s one of the most important mechanics in the game. Players keep the stamina bar full by eating various items found in each area, and poor management of Snake’s stamina can easily get him killed, so it’s good to know how and why players should keep themselves well-fed.

The stamina meter in Metal Gear Solid 3 determines a surprisingly large number of outcomes for the player. A full stamina bar lets players recover from injuries faster, hold their breath underwater longer, and even remain undetected; if Snake’s stamina meter dips too low, his stomach will actually start growling, and enemy guards will be able to hear the sound. If they do, they are quite likely to investigate, compromising Snake’s stealth.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater’s Unique Hunger System Explained

To avoid this, Metal Gear Solid 3 players can find food items scattered throughout the world to fill their stamina meter. It is actually more common, though, to hunt down some of the wildlife found in every area of the game. Even indoor sections have creepy crawlers for Snake to snack on. Different foods and animals will restore different amounts of stamina, according to how tasty he thinks they are. Eating a bad-tasting animal several times will cause Snake to develop a taste for them and, therefore, increase their stamina rewards. Hunted animals can also rot after some time, making Snake sick if he eats them and depleting his stamina meter as he vomits.

Perhaps more interesting than actually eating animals is how players can use them against Metal Gear Solid 3‘s enemies. Snake has several opportunities to sabotage the guards’ food rations during the game, causing them to go hungry. Players can then feed them anything, including rotten food that makes them sick. Snake can also capture live animals to throw directly at them, inflicting poison damage, should the animal be a venomous snake or spider.

In terms of actual snake-eating, however, there are a handful of snake species available for Snake’s hungry gullet in Metal Gear Solid 3. They range in taste from “eh” to “amazing” and, in some cases, will trigger a unique snake-eating animation in the food menu. It is possible for players to beat the whole game without ever seeing this animation or even eating an actual snake – outside of one MGS3 cutscene. The name term “Snake Eater” is a symbolic title for Snake, as he is tasked with killing every member of the elite Cobra Unit. Granted, he doesn’t actually eat them (though he may have eaten some human guard meat found in a vulture’s stomach), but it is the closest thing to any actual, mandatory snake-eating players will do over the course of the game.

About The Author

Jonah Schuhart
(148 Articles Published)

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Jonah Schuhart is a Freelance Writer at Screen Rant. Growing up as the stereotypical gamer, Jonah absorbed everything he could about his favorite video games until adulthood came knocking. He decided to become a games journalist after his dad purchased a subscription to Gameinformer when he was 10 years old. Now, he follows in the footsteps of his early influences, giving his two-cents on the games he loves.

You can also find Jonah on Looper, where he writes about his favorite TV and Movies. Follow him on Twitter @JonahSchuhart, or reach him by email at [email protected]

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