Metal Slug (1996 video game)

Metal Slug is a run and gun game reminiscent of Contra where players assume the role of captain Marco Rossi and lieutenant Tarma Roving of the Peregrine Falcon Strike Force, shooting constantly at a continual stream of enemies in order to complete each mission. At this point, players confront a boss, who is usually considerably larger and tougher than regular enemies. The player does not die by coming into contact with enemies, and correspondingly, many of the enemy troops have melee attacks. Much of the game's scenery is destructible, and occasionally, this reveals extra items or power-ups. During the course of a level, the player encounters prisoners of war (POWs), who, if freed, offer the player bonuses in the form of random items or weapons. At the end of each level, the player receives a scoring bonus based on the number of freed POWs. If the player dies before the end of the level, the tally of freed POWs reverts to zero. Getting hit by enemy fire, colliding against solid stage obstacles or falling off-stage will result in losing a life and once all lives are lost, the game is over unless players insert more credits into the arcade machine to continue playing. There are a total of six missions taking place across locations such as forests, garrisoned cities, snowy mountain valleys, canyons, and military bases. The vast majority of enemies are soldiers equipped with weaponry befitting their specific role. There are several mechanized enemies, such as tanks, mobile artillery, aircraft, armored personnel carriers and technicals. Much of the game's humor comes from how the enemies are depicted; the player often encounters them as they are sunbathing, roasting food over a fire, or conversing. They tend to scream loudly if they see the player, and often try to either run away or fight back. == Development ==

Metal Slug was developed by most of the same team that previously worked on several projects at Irem, such as In the Hunt and GunForce II, before departing from the company and forming Nazca Corporation. Kawai and Takashi Nishiyama served as chief development manager and producer, respectively. Kazuma "Kire-Nag" Kujo and Meeher acted as co-designers. Shinichi "Hamachan" Hamada, Kenji "Andy" Andō, Atsushi Kurooka (currently of PlatinumGames), Tetsuya Yokota, H. Yamada and "Pierre" Takada worked as programmers. Artists Akio Oyabu, Susumu, Kazuhiro "Max.D" Tanaka, Tomohiro, Takeshi Okui (currently of Monolith Soft) and Kozo were responsible for the pixel art. Composer Takushi "Hiya!" Hiyamuta scored the soundtrack. The team recounted the project's development process and history through various publications. Metal Slug was first playable during a location test at Osaka, and was later showcased to attendees at the 1995 Amusement Machine Show from 13 to 15 September. The plot was similar to the final version, but revolved around Regular Army members Phil Gene and Michiko Nakajima controlling the SV-001 and SV-002 prototype tanks instead. == Release ==

Metal Slug was first released by SNK for the Neo Geo MVS arcade system on 19 April 1996, followed by the Neo Geo AES on 24 May. The North American AES release has since become one of the more expensive titles on the platform, with copies of the port fetching over US$20,000 on the secondary video game collecting market. On 5 July 1996, a Neo Geo CD version of the game was released, featuring a "Combat School" mode that allowed players to revisit previously-played missions with new objectives. followed by the PlayStation on 7 August; the Saturn port was developed by SNK, while the PlayStation port was developed by Ukiyotei. Though the software market was increasingly dominated by polygon-based games, conversions of Neo Geo games to the Saturn and PlayStation had been selling well in Japan, motivating SNK to produce conversions for Metal Slug as well. To retain all the animations of the arcade version, the Saturn version uses newer compression techniques, inter-level loading, and a 1 MB RAM expansion cartridge. The Saturn port was available in two revisions: 1.002 and 1.005, which included some minor bug fixes. Both ports feature the "Combat School" mode from the Neo Geo CD release, while the PlayStation version features "Another Story", a new mode consisting of plot-based minigames, and an art gallery featuring concept art. In 2006, Metal Slug was included alongside its arcade sequels as part of Metal Slug Anthology for the Wii, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable. It was later released for PC in 2009 (as Metal Slug Collection PC), and later for the PlayStation 4 in 2020 by Limited Run Games; the latter version was an emulated iteration of the arcade version, without additional game modes or content featured in previous home releases. In 2008, Metal Slug was included as part of SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 for Wii, PlayStation 2 and PSP, and was also released by D4 Enterprise for the Wii's Virtual Console. In 2010, a version by M2 for the NEOGEO Station service was published by SNK Playmore on PlayStation Network. In 2012, a wireless version was released by DotEmu for iOS and Android. Metal Slug is available as one of the 20 pre-loaded games with the Neo Geo X, and was also included in the Neo Geo 25th Anniversary Humble Bundle, released in 2015. Hamster Corporation re-released Metal Slug for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch between December 2016 and March 2017 under their Arcade Archives series. The game was also recently included in the international version of the Neo Geo mini, the Neo Geo Arcade Stick Pro plug and play game device and the Neo Geo MVSX table top. == Reception and legacy ==

Upon its initial appearance, Metal Slug received mixed reviews. The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly heavily criticized the game's unfair difficulty and one-hit deaths, remarking that playing through the arcade version requires an inordinate amount of quarters, while the Neo Geo AES version's lack of an option for limited continues means players of all skill levels can complete it in a single sitting, with no motivation to play again or improve one's skill at the game. However, the four reviewers also concurred that the game is fun, chiefly due to its smooth and humorous animations. American and European magazines reviewing the Sega Saturn port as an import praised it for being a faithful arcade conversion, but noted its low longevity. Computer and Video Games Steve Rey praised the weapon selection, attention to detail, humor and two-player mode. A reviewer of NowGamer criticized the PlayStation conversion for its lack of replay value aside from Combat School mode. However, he praised the gameplay for being fun in short-term. In their issue from 1 June 1996, Japanese magazine Game Machine listed the game as the seventh most-popular arcade game for the previous two weeks. In the United States, it was one of the top ten highest-grossing arcade games of 1996. According to Famitsu, the "SNK Best Collection" re-release of Metal Slug on PlayStation sold over 8,064 copies in its first week on the market. The PC port sold 156,631 digital copies worldwide on Steam. When Metal Slug was re-released on the Virtual Console in 2008, IGNs Lucas M. Thomas awarded it an "Editor's Choice" badge. 148Appss Carter Dotson heavily criticized the iOS version for its control scheme but praised its graphics and sound, as well as the gameplay and replay value. Nintendo Lifes Damien McFerran praised its graphics and humor, although McFerran noted that its overall simplicity compared to later titles in the Metal Slug series may be seen as a shortcoming. In a retrospective review, AllGames Brett Alan Weiss and Kyle Knight praised its unique hand-drawn visual style, refined gameplay, simple controls, intense action, humor and replay value but criticized the game's slowdown when many objects are present on-screen, the overall length and found the music to be average. Knight regarded the title as one of the best side-scrolling shooters on Neo Geo. Metal Slug spawned a series of six sequels, a remake and four spin-offs. Marco Rossi appears as a playable character in the tag-team fighting game NeoGeo Battle Coliseum. Several developers have also created games similar to Metal Slug such as Demon Front, CT Special Forces, Alien Hominid, Commando: Steel Disaster, Apocalypse Max: Better Dead Than Undead, and Mercenary Kings. == Notes ==