RTTP: Metal Slug 1 - 3 | The Pinnacle of the Run-and-Gun Genre

[Deleted member 7529]

Hoo boy, it's a new year and time again to revisit everyone's favorite run-and-gun series, Metal Slug. This time, I've dipped on the series for the umpteenth time with the ACA release on the Nintendo Switch and it's just as good as ever.

Metal Slug was a refreshing twist on the Contra formula with it's bizarre humour, abundance of gore, and it's unique personality in mech designs.

Despite some technical hiccups, Metal Slug 2 built on the foundation of Metal Slug but amplified it tenfold with larger, more fantastical bosses, and better variety of levels and enemies.

Then Metal Slug 3 came along, and this game has to be the pinnicle of the run-and-gun genre. The shift from purely machine-based bosses to a tour de force of monsters and aliens was astounding. Not to mention the sheer variety of afflictions that can change the player, or the plethora of vehicles to ride.

Enemies that will turn you into a blood vomiting zombie? Got 'em.

A boss that makes you explode into coins upon death? You bet.

Riding an elephant that shoots lightning from it's trunk? Abso-fucking-lutely!

The early entries in this series are a masterclass of both game design and visual fidelity that I'm not sure will ever be topped, but I'd love to see SNK track down the original staff and push out another entry in this beloved series.

I could gush about this series for hours, but how about sharing some of your own fond memories of the series?

 

[Deleted member 11018]

I absolutely loved the graphics on Metal Slug when it came out, i had a tear in my eye to find a game that had as much attention to detail as some irem games (like in the hunt)... and when i managed to play the game it was like a dream coming to life, not only was it beautiful but it played like a charm as well.
A perfect arcade game in my book, credit muncher but 1ccable with practice.
Too bad i stopped buying games on NeoGeo at that time, to focus on buying PC hardware. If i have had disposable income i would have bought the game.

 

[RM8]

I love them and they're incredibly beautiful games, but I personally prefer more platforming in my run-and-gun games.

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

They're works of art.

 

[Deleted member 24118]

Metal Slug 1 is the arcade game perfected. I think 2 and especially 3 (and most of the later ones barring 7, which is imo the second best MS game even if the visuals aren't that great) kind of went a bit too far in with the bullet-sponge enemies and places where the only way to survive is to slowly inch forward and poke away at enemies from far away.

I also love MS1's black comedy tone. The game is far from serious - this is a game where a soldier would rather flush himself down the toilet than face you - but it doesn't quite approach the more goofball atmosphere of the later games.

 

[Deleted member 1726]

Any arcade perfect releases of these on any platform?

 

[Dreamboum]

OP I'd like to say that I am very happy that you're putting gifs at the correct resolution. Albeit small, they highlight the visual craft of this game nicely

 

[Ludens]

Oh Love these games a work of art. Does anyone know if SNK will make a brand new MS game?

 

[Vault]

Sprite work is so good

 

[Poppy]

3 went too far off the rails for me to actually enjoy playing, i only play it co op while credit feeding

1 is great and i have either 1ccd it or finished with like one death on the second credit, i cant really remember

2 is the best and i will play it anytime, but it foes have some downsides

 

[AGoodODST]

Metal Slug 1 is so good.

While I like 2 and 3 I feel they up the bullshit level way too much with the amount of enemies on screen and all the bullet sponge enemies.

 

[Deleted member 24118]

Oh Love these games a work of art. Does anyone know if SNK will make a brand new MS game?

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SNK please.

Man, it's been almost a decade since MS7 :(

 

[sadistic_greyfox]

I couldn't tell you the amount of money I dropped on Metal Slug as a kid. I used to love getting off the bus after school and wasting a couple quarters on it at the arcade. It's just one of those games that always drew other kids around the cabinet to watch, lol.

 

[MaLDo]

I only want to say that using Finalburn core in Retroarch you can save your overclock per game so every Metal Slug game runs perfect without slowdowns.

The previous game from same devs is Gunforce 2 and is amazing too. Sadly it had even more slowdowns than Metal Slug, but you can use an autohotkey script in combination with a savestate to fix the problem using the mame core.

Metal Slug series are the only games I can play at 30 fps. That's how incredible they are.

 

[Jimnymebob]

Any arcade perfect releases of these on any platform?

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I know it's kinda pointless mentioning then now, as I'm sure they're delisted worldwide, but the PS3 Neo Geo Station version of MS2 was arcade perfect as far as I remember, but also had the option to overclock it, which got rid of the framerate issues that plagued the original/forced them to make MSX.

 

[IglOoO]

I sure hope the SNK game that will be announced is a new Metal Slug. Nothing has topped this saga in the run'n gun genre. Sprites' insane quality sure did a great job to get these games in that position.

 

[Jimnymebob]

I sure hope the SNK game that will be announced is a new Metal Slug. Nothing has topped this saga in the run'n gun genre. Sprites' insane quality sure did a great job to get these games in that position.

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I can't see another sprite based Metal Slug being made, unfortunately.

 

[IglOoO]

I can't see another sprite based Metal Slug being made, unfortunately.

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Maybe they can use the same technique that Arc System used for Guilty Gear or DBfZ, with some filters to attenuate the anime feeling. Or it seems there is some softwares that convert 3D model into 2D sprites, with a very good final aspect; I can't provide the link unfortunately, and it was works from some "amateurs", but hey, a man can dream!

 

[Deleted member 7529]

Metal Slug 1 is the arcade game perfected. I think 2 and especially 3 (and most of the later ones barring 7, which is imo the second best MS game even if the visuals aren't that great) kind of went a bit too far in with the bullet-sponge enemies and places where the only way to survive is to slowly inch forward and poke away at enemies from far away.

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I was really interested to see this opinion pop up a few times over this thread. Admittedly it's been awhile since I revisited Metal Slug, but I wasn't aware that there was such a fondness for it's game design. I had always assumed the difficulty of enemies was pretty similar across each title but it seems I was off the mark.

OP I'd like to say that I am very happy that you're putting gifs at the correct resolution. Albeit small, they highlight the visual craft of this game nicely

Click to shrink...

It's my pleasure, I've always preferred most game gifs at their original resolution.

 

[King Dodongo]

Loved X the most, dunno if that one counts. From 3, I only liked the top tier zombie level and that's it.

 

[BusterJol]

Metal Slug 4 is pretty wonderful in my opinion due to the music and addition of the slide mechanic.

I would rather have had Tarma and not Trevor though.

 

[Deleted member 7529]

I wanted to add to the discussion at some point, that one of gaming's greatest tragedies is that we may never know who the original art staff were.

Listed in the credits by the aliases Akio, Cannon, Flying Fox, Kozo, Kuichi, Susumu, and Tomo, they never revealed themselves at any point before or after being disbanded. Former Nazca staff Kazuma Kujo was also tight lipped about their identities and refused to give out any names during an interview. Trying to follow where the artists went or what they worked on is an almost impossible task, although Kozo is listed in the credits of Sammy's beautiful arcade shooter, Dolphin Blue.

 

[Bartend3r]

Do we have a consensus on which one is the best? I'll buy one of them on the Switch.

 

[CO_Andy]

I wonder where all of Japan's awesome pixel artists went? They could be making serious bank off our nostalgia.

 

[Deleted member 7529]

Do we have a consensus on which one is the best? I'll buy one of them on the Switch.

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You can't go wrong with either Metal Slug X or Metal Slug 3. I prefer the variety and ridiculousness of 3 over X, but both are incredible in their own regard.

 

[Era of not Yakuza]

Metal Slug 3 final mission is MOTC
I remember playing as a kid, the plot twist and creativity of that mission was amazing

 

[bionic77]

You can't go wrong with either Metal Slug X or Metal Slug 3. I prefer the variety and ridiculousness of 3 over X, but both are incredible in their own regard.

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3 is better than X in my opinion except for the ending which goes on a little too long and is just too fucking hard (at least for me).

That said play all of them! They are all amazing games as the OP makes very clear.

 

[Tizoc]

Do we have a consensus on which one is the best? I'll buy one of them on the Switch.

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Buy all of them; 1, X and 3. If 2 has an option to disable its slowdown consider getting it too.
You can't go wrong with any of them but the early games are all great in their own way.

 

[Barrel Cannon]

I love all of them. 3 and X are my favorites. I still enjoy 1 but its way too easy. 4 and 5 I like a lot but felt the balance was off(love the sliding). 6 I feel got a bit too complicated with it's controls. It lost a bit of the series simplicity.

 

[Innuendo84]

To me, this is also the pinnacle of pixel art. Even today it looks amazing on an iphone when playing Metal Slug Attack (the game is gatcha trash, but the sprites look ridiculous).

 

[Rangerx]

Yeah they're masterpieces. I spent hours playing them in the arcade.

 

[Treasure Silvergun]

Best of their genre, world-leading in pixel art and arcade gameplay. Metal Slug 1-3 are pretty much immortal video games.

 

[NeonZ]

I actually really enjoy 5. Giving a special forces make over to the enemies was a neat idea, and they attempted to avoid recycling 2 or 3's craziness and go for different stuff, like hidden tribes and a cult with a cursed mask, rather than zombies or mars people again. Not to mention the robot slug that can also use a tank mode... but then it hits me that the game is blatantly unfinished when getting to the later stages...

It's a shame after that they basically gave up and just recycled MS1-3 nostalgia in inferior games.

 

[SmittyWerbenManJensen]

The sprite-work for these games makes me feel things. Absolutely incredible design, even all of these years later.

 

[Bulebule]

Best spritework and pixel art in arcade games ever, but damn did 3 go overboard with the length of that last stage. It just kept going on and on.

 

[BadWolf]

Absolutely, they have sort of 'ruined' the genre for me since nothing else comes close. The sprites are beautiful, the music is fantastic and the gameplay is rock solid. Played through the games countless times.

MS1 and MS2 are my faves.

 

[mikeamizzle]

Metal Slug 3 AES (JP v1) is the pinnacle of my gaming possessions/collection.. I agree there is something about these games that is just artistic and technical wizardry.

 

[ShinUltima]

While I would agree to Metal Slug 3 being the pinnacle of the series, I personally think Metal Slug X is the best game in the series. I thought MS3 went a little too far in the "inch forward, shoot a bunch of stuff, inch forward, shoot a bunch of stuff" trial-and-error gameplay and where losing weapons were a little too costly/enemies too tanky. I actually found it rather unfair. Fun and a lot of variety, but unfair. Metal Slug X was awesome but still fair IMO.

That said, lovely as they are, I wouldn't call MS1-3 the pinnacle of the run-and-gun genre (that would be Contra III: The Alien Wars). One thing I never liked about MS, especially the earlier ones, was the controls, where I never had quite the control over my character as I would have liked. Everything had a split-second lag that irritated the hell out of me no end.

 

[petran79]

I wanted to add to the discussion at some point, that one of gaming's greatest tragedies is that we may never know who the original art staff were.

Listed in the credits by the aliases Akio, Cannon, Flying Fox, Kozo, Kuichi, Susumu, and Tomo, they never revealed themselves at any point before or after being disbanded. Former Nazca staff Kazuma Kujo was also tight lipped about their identities and refused to give out any names during an interview. Trying to follow where the artists went or what they worked on is an almost impossible task, although Kozo is listed in the credits of Sammy's beautiful arcade shooter, Dolphin Blue.

Click to shrink...

Metal Slug was made by the developers of Irem Corporation/Nazca who had joined SNK during that time.

http://metalslug.wikia.com/wiki/The_origin_of_Metal_Slug


Gunforce 2 had many elements which were borrowed by Metal Slug. You had a variety of weapons to pick, you could ride a good amount of vehicles such as tanks, jeeps, walker robots and a hovercraft. Your mission was to rescue prisoners, altough here they are women instead of bearded, starving POW's. Both games use the same graphic designs, even with similar explosion effects. Some of the sound effects are the same as Metal Slug, such as the enemies grunts, which are the same grunts used by the Rebels.

When the ex-Irem programmers created Nazca, they decided to create a new game based on Gunforce 2, thus creating Metal Slug: Super Vehicle-001. The game was a success, and SNK, the owner of the Neo-Geo MVS system, decided to assimilate the entire Nazca staff into itself, so they would continue to create the Metal Slug games are now under SNK.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazca_Corporation


Nine of the original Nazca staff (including Meeher, Akio, Susumu and development manager Kawai) answered questions from an undated text interview that was translated and included in Metal Slug Anthology.

Because the common use of pseudonyms in arcade titles to hide identities, details of its staff remains scarce. One known key member is composer Takushi Hiyamuta (credited with names such as "HIYA!" and "HIYA-UNIT"), responsible for composing nearly every game listed here, in whole or part (he did not compose for Kaitei Daisensou; also, although he did not compose for R-Type II, he did for Super R-Type). He was considered part of SNK's in-house band, the "Shinsekai Gakkyoku Zatsugidan". He was interviewed for the Metal Slug Complete Sound Box released in 2008. The only work he is credited for since Metal Slug 3 is Yuusha 30 and may be working as a freelance musician and sound producer.

Kazuma Kujo, credited as KIRE-NAG in the first Metal Slug,[1] went on to form Granzella Games after leaving both Irem and Nazca, but declined to comment on the status and identity of key staff members including lead designer Meeher and graphic artists Akio and Susumu.

Atsushi Inaba, formerly of Capcom and producer at PlatinumGames, was a member of Nazca (after leaving Irem) doing income management, then SNK after its acquisition, rekindling his interest in video game development. Although details were never delved, Inaba stated he did programming work on a Samurai Shodown title and was unhappy with his experience at SNK. Atsushi Kurooka (credited as A. Kurooka in the first Metal Slug), who is also a producer at PlatinumGames, revealed on Twitter to a user he worked on Metal Slug and GunForce 2 (known as Geo Storm in Japan).[2]

 

[No Depth]

I love them and they're incredibly beautiful games, but I personally prefer more platforming in my run-and-gun games.

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This. They are stunning and hard not to love for their quirky humor and rich visuals, but strip that away and there are many other run and gun shooters that offer much more fulfilling game design. Metal Slug can be extremely punishing and tends to favor bullet-hell mentality with some memorization, luck, and cheap traps that can really break the fun. They are effective coin-gobblers, but not as compelling in the home.

 

[Deleted member 2620]

The series post 3 gets too much shit imo but I understand where it's coming from.

I've 1CC'd the original and love it. 3 is fantastic, but I don't know if I have it in me to finish the final stage. It seems particularly grueling and almost comically over-the-top in terms of enemy flood quantities, to the point where I question whether it'd be fun to learn to play through legitimately.

 

[Deleted member 19274]

I love the Metal Slug series. The Caravan and High Score modes in the ACA releases are lots of fun.

This seems like a as good a place as any to brag about my top score in Metal Slug High Score mode

 

[Deleted member 24118]

I was really interested to see this opinion pop up a few times over this thread. Admittedly it's been awhile since I revisited Metal Slug, but I wasn't aware that there was such a fondness for it's game design. I had always assumed the difficulty of enemies was pretty similar across each title but it seems I was off the mark.

Click to shrink...

MS1 is definitely more "tough but fair" than the later games. Most enemies die in one shot, enemies that don't like tanks usually have highly-telegraphed attacks. Enemies almost always come from the right, times where you just walk into a spawn zone and get swarmed are rare (and are mainly in the final mission), so a little observation goes farther. Whereas MS3 swarms you with enemies all the time, enemies come packing lots of health (even the standard Morden soldiers can "soak" a few bullets before going down). MS2's final boss is very reliant on getting good RNG with weapon drops, and MS3's bosses go straight into bullet hell territory. Etc.

Overall I'd say MS1 is perfect, MS2 is mostly great but missions 2 (MSX fixed a lot of problems, but it's still kinda boring) and 5 have problems, MS3 is edging kind of close to style-over-substance territory. For what it's worth, 4 is stupendously hard for all the wrong reasons, 5 is pretty manageable but has weirdness with them removing the telegraph animations for some recycled enemies, 6 has a lot of the same problems 3 has, and 7 is where it gets back to MS1 levels of "tough but fair."

 

[myojinsoga]

I bought them on Steam but stopped playing when I realised I needed an arcade stick two arcade sticks to play them the way God intended.

It's all good tho because I will be getting sticks this year and I fully intend on leathering these bad boys.

 

[Mg.]

Just search for any sprite sheet of any character in any of the (Neo-Geo) games. It's insane not only in the pixel perfect detail, but also how smooth these goddamned animations are. I fear we'll never get another game that matches the quality in spritework.

This fucking game series is literally the only reason why I bought an arcade cabinet with a Neo-Geo MVS motherboard. In fact, I'm gonna boot up some Metal Slug X right fucking now.

 

[IrishNinja]

knew OP would have some great gifs in it, and was not disappointed.

i tend to lean more towards Rolling Thunder/Elevator Action Returns type run-n-guns myself but have a lot of love for Metal Slug

 

[Deleted member 7529]

On top of the beautiful pixel art, Max-D provided some incredible (and bizarre) concept work for these games. I highly recommend giving Metal Slug MIA a view if you're even slightly interested in the series.

 

[Jintor]

RAWKET LAWNCHAIR

 

[Vilix]

Metal Slug has some of the best, if not the best, sprite and 2D animation. It also has some of the most addictive gameplay. When MS3 came out for the original Xbox I played it for hours.

 

[Slime Stack]

Which Metal Slug game is the easiest 1cc? The first game?