Metal Slug (1996)

Preliminary: This is playing much better than the later Metal Slugs that I had access to. I always remember them being way too much of the bullet hell/chaos thing. This has a nice intro first area at least, tho I'm sure it will get too much soon. They do have swarms of enemies already but they are manageable. And it was fun watching the chaos of me shredding them knocking down the rocks and whatnot. I doubt I will play this for very long and I'm already skeptical of this second helicopter battle, but yea.

I like the jazzy segments of the music but for the most part the Sound is just standard shooter game fare. And the Look is neat, but I can't claim I love it.

I got through the first Mission and still mostyl enjoying it. The backgruond near the end made the Look neater. I just don't see this going above a 3 star.

Yeahhh I'm burning out in Mission 2. But neat enough shmup.

Look: 8/10 Nothing spectacular, but one of its highlights.

Sound: 7/10 Good but nothing special.

Play: 7.5/10 Better than most of this style

Feel: 7.5/10

Attachment: 7/10

Overall: 7.4/10

The very first Metal Slug entry is a fast-paced run-and-gun game that captures the charm of the original arcade version. The game features detailed, hand-drawn sprites and smooth animations, giving it a distinct personality with humorous enemy behaviors and interactive environments. The gameplay is engaging, with a variety of weapons, destructible scenery, POW rescues, and the iconic SV‑001 tank sections adding depth and excitement.

The PlayStation release includes bonus modes like “Combat School” and mini-games, as well as galleries that showcase the art and animations, giving fans extra content beyond the arcade experience. The combination of fast action, humor, and visual flair makes it a memorable game even on the aging PlayStation hardware.

However, the port has its drawbacks, load times interrupt the action, some animations are simplified or missing, and certain audio elements lack the crispness of the arcade original. The difficulty ramps up sharply in later stages, and the overall length is relatively short, making replayability dependent on score-chasing or cooperative play.

Despite these limitations, the game holds up well for retro gamers. Its humor, style, and explosive action remain entertaining, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of classic run-and-gun games, even if the PS1 version is not the definitive edition. Even though this is the most limited one since it was the very first implementations and ideas, it is really one of the best games of all time, proving how good this formula was.

Metal Slug is a well known series. It was one of the popular neo geo cabinet games (which were arcade game cabinets that had several games in them that you could select which one to play) I've played these games many times this way but never did a complete playthrough of any of them I don't think.
Metal Slug's graphic design are a big win. Sprite, backgrounds even animations all highly detailed and really feel alive.

The Side-Scrolling Platform Shooting Action sometimes has occasional shifts in your attack perspective (such as sometimes the fighting being more vertically oriented). With some weapons (such as the Heavy MAchine Gun) you can 'roll-fire' the way you can in Cybernator, firing and spraying a volley of shots all over the place at different angles to rake your target(s) with fire. You can also pick up grenades and hurl them. These are the best way to take out a tank.

The game is known for its high level of detail.

The game is just rad. It's one of the best looking games of all time IMO. IT has a certain kind of anime aesthetic that is stylish, iconic and top notch. The sprites are expressive and borderline Super-Deformed (SD) this goes great with the tongue=-in-check humor of the game. The game is loud and obnoxious full of gunshots and explosions (it is an arcade game). The setting and the levels are funny. It's as if you were fighting the Germans in some alternate pseudo-mashchinenkrieger type world war 2 reality.

The cool factor of this game is hard to put into words. Its a combination of both how neat the game looks combined with some of the concepts that develop as you play it (like firing a gun offa patrol boat diagonally and at different angles at incoming aircraft trying to bomb you) This is kind ofa thing in the series that I recall, often being suprised at some point at ajoke or an idea in a level, a "wow, they did that!" reaction.

Fantastic Series. Best played with a friend and an infinite supply of quarters. You burn through credits quick in this one (its only flaw, that and its short with only 6 stages)

completed in just under 20 credits in 1 player, but don't be like me play these in co-op they are fantastic

“God created war so that Americans would learn geography.” -Mark Twain

Strap on your army boots and grab the biggest bazooka you can find because that golden classic, the original Metal Slug is now available on the Nintendo Switch. The ACA (Arcade Archives) series has been of tremendous value in gaming by translating great arcade titles to home consoles, making games accessible to gamers who previously might have never had a chance to play them, given the rising rarity of actual arcades. The sub-category ACA NeoGeo re-releases Neo Geo titles, some of which have never been on home console before. ACA NeoGeo Metal Slug can be found on PlayStation and Xbox but this review is focused on the Switch version. The hardware is uniquely appropriate to short games with high accessibility and co-op, after all.

Metal Slug is the first game in the series released by Nazca Co. and SNK in 1996, ten years before the Arcade Archive version. It is an energetic, dynamic, humorous run and gun. The series hasn’t changed much since its inception though it has steadily grown weirder over time. What you’ll find in this first entry is more realism, though in Metal Slug more realism simply means “less ridiculous”.

There are however none of the space aliens, gigantic mutants, marching undead, or impossible war machines that later games in the series introduced. Metal Slug is much more straightforward and somewhat within the realm of being grounded. One could at least imagine that this is the adapted story of two soldiers who single-handedly win World War II armed with nothing but their pistols, a few heavy weapons, and a tank now and then… okay, so not realistic at all. Maybe just about the only realistic thing in Metal Slug is you can only get hit once before you’re dead.

But that’s the enjoyable thing. The reason why Metal Slug retains its appeal, among other things, is because it’s the gaming equivalent of two kids playing with their action figures. “Well I brought my dinosaur! Who eats forcefield dogs!” This is underscored by the delicious animation. It’s enough to make Don Bluth blush. The cartoonish explosions and almost slapstick violence keep the game from appearing too serious as you charge through ranks of enemies and their vehicles, blasting away the bad guys as macho men Cpt. Marco and Lt. Tarma.

Both highly proficient soldiers are members of the Peregrine Falcon Strike Force. Their mission, broken down into six stages, is to stop the villainous General Morden from exacting his coup d’état upon on the world. His army of tyrannical and riotous rebels aim to overthrow the governments and establish Morden’s rule. The General has also procured the deadly Metal Slug all-terrain tank and its technological variants. Only you can stop them. Marco and Tarma must destroy every Metal Slug they come across to keep the tech out of the General’s greedy hands, as well as defeat the rebel armies and rescue prisoners of war. The grateful POWs will offer their two rescuers ammunition and weapon upgrades. You’ll need all you can get. More firepower equals more freedom! It’s all very much Saturday morning cartoon stuffs.

Click here for the full review... https://thewellredmage.wordpress.com/2017/05/12/aca-neogeo-metal-slug/

Platform:

Neo Geo Arcade version.

Graphics/Sound:

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, the Metal Slug series has some of the best 2D graphics of all time. When I first played this I was really blown away by the graphical detail. The sound is cool too but nothing special.

Gameplay:

The gameplay is simple run and gun, you can shoot in 4 directions with your normal gun, and in even more with some upgraded weapons, like the heavy machine gun. Sometimes you run into vehicles you can drive like a tank. The levels are all linear but in some there is more platforming involved than in others. It never feels boring though, since there is so much going on. One of Metal Slug's specialties is to have huge ridiculous bosses. The first game's bosses for the most part are not as overly huge as in the rest of the series, but they were certainly very creative, each of them feels unique. The best thing about the gameplay is that you can play with two players at the same time.

Metal Slug is a hard game, it's actually very hard. But luckily I didn't have to actually pay for the continues, otherwise I would have paid as much as the full price of a new game for just one playthrough. What I really appreciate is that you never have to replay anything when dying.

If you don't know Metal Slug go ahead and play it. Everybody that likes action games should have played this. My girlfriend didn't think she'd like that kind of games until we played Metal Slug, that's how good it is.

1001 Games - #321

Pros: simple controls, excellent animation, high replay value to perfect levels, well designed levels and boss battles, co-op available

Cons: quickly eats quarters for beginners (or frustrating to complete in 'arcade mode' on consoles)

Recommendation: essentially the peak of the run-and-gun genre. While short, it never overstays its welcome, and there are plenty of other games in the series to get your fix. Best played with a friend, but don't expect to make it through without many, many deaths.