By 1996, it seemed that Neo Geo had hit its technological ceiling, where sagas such as The King of Fighters or Samurai Shodown, continued year after year to attract fans with new deliveries.
However, a small, previously unknown studio called Nazca Corporation introduced Metal Slug, a title that became a worldwide success from the very first day of its launch. Today, a highly prized collector’s item, it is perhaps still the most desired in the entire catalog.
About the game
The argument takes us into the not-too-distant future, specifically the 20s of the 21st century. These years have been heavily marked by international terrorism in recent decades, and the situation, instead of improving, has worsened.
The world as we know it is defended by the Regular Army, well-armed and well-trained military forces that were created by governments after observing how international terrorist forces organized themselves, creating their own army, The Rebellion, whose aim was nothing less than to destabilize the world system as much as possible and ultimately put an end to the most powerful governments. Terrorist attacks took place mainly from the year 2020 onwards, and the Regular Army could now contain the situation.
Among the Regular Army officers, one in particular stands out, Vice Admiral Donald Morden, who began serving in the Marine Corps shortly after ending up in Intelligence. He was a man respected by all, and fully trusted by his men.
He served in the Army until 2023, the year in which, after a terrible mistake, the Regular Army mistakenly bombed Central Park, killing his son, after which he swore revenge on them, and decided to join The Rebellion, proclaiming himself Chief General. His right hand will be Allen O’Neil, a veteran soldier loyal to the general for many years. His favorite weapons are the M60, grenades, and the knife.
From then on, La Rebelión ceased to be a paramilitary organization and became a royal army, with well-armed men highly trained in the terrorist arts, and thanks to their commanding general, Morden, they launched a series of organized attacks that would make things really difficult for the regular Army. Chief among them is the assassination attempt on the President of the United States in 2025.
It was at this point that the Regular Army decided to create a new weapon that would enable it to stand up to its enemies: the special tank called Super Vehicle-001. Mass-produced, it was to be the Regular Army’s last resort in slowing the advance of La Rébellion.
Three years later, in 2028, we find ourselves in the hands of two lieutenants, Marco Rossi and Tarma Roving, belonging to a Regular Army special forces command called the Peregrine Falcons, who, after pulling some strings, lead them to launch a covert operation that will include the use of these tanks, with the difficult objective of putting an immediate end to General Morden. The mission will take us through forests, thick jungles, enemy-infested towns and cities, snowy, and desert terrain. Strong enemy resistance is expected, so they’ll need all their skills to get back alive.
Gameplay
The mechanics are not excessively different from other well-known Run and Gun games. It’s simply a matter of taking our protagonist through his six phases, putting an end to all Rebellion troops and liberating the world from its oppression.
We’ll be able to use a wide variety of weapons to make things easier. Of course, your ammunition will be limited, so we can’t waste it if we don’t want it to disappear in a few seconds. These weapons will be taken as objects that appear during the game, easily distinguishable by the inclusion of the weapon’s initial in each one.
Characters
Marco Rossi
He’s an Italian-American entering the Academy of Special Technologies. After graduating, Marco joined the Regular Army, specifically the Peregrine Falcon team. He quickly distinguished himself in this unit for his acts of service, also known for his severe training, and soon became the team’s first lieutenant and leader.
Tarma Roving
Tarma, whose father was a decorated soldier, immediately entered the Special Tactical Combat Officer Academy. He was assigned to the Peregrine Falcons Squad after rescuing the President, at the age of twenty. There, he met and befriended his best friend, Marco.
Allen O’Neil
Allen is General Morden’s most trusted soldier. During the Regular Army’s operation in the Käthehirt Valley to destroy the rebellion’s mobile park, it was he who massacred the attacking Regular Army troops while trying to climb a mountain. He is a very arrogant person. After the defeat, he always utters the words “See you in hell!”. Use an M60 machine gun, a knife, and blue grenades that explode in a huge red flame after detonation.
Donald Morden
After college, he enrolled as a private in the professional Army Marine Corps. He was then transferred to the Regular Army’s intelligence agency, and on his own merits achieved the rank of vice-admiral. However, he suffers a terrible crisis when his son is killed in the Central Park attack of 2023, during which he is wounded and loses sight of one eye. After her son’s death, she learns that the Regular Army could have prevented the attack.
Weapons
Pistol
The game’s basic weapon is a pistol with a low rate of fire, whose shots, although infinite, cause very limited damage. A poor choice if you want to get through the adventure alive.
Machine gun
This is the power we’ll come across most often during the game, which we’ll appreciate because it’s a very effective weapon if we compare it with the pistol, being able to fire in any direction. Their ammunition is finished.
Shotgun
This is the weapon of choice for many players, due to its strength in combat. It crosses the border into gore, since if we fire a shot at any soldier, for example, he’ll instantly vanish in a cloud of flesh and blood…
Flamethrower
This powerful weapon can eliminate groups of enemies who remain close together. It has very limited ammunition, so we recommend that you don’t leave the fire button pressed, but fire shot by shot individually.
Rocket launcher
Efficient as little, it fires missiles at a more than acceptable rate, as it is a weapon of this nature. Ideal against vehicles of all types or enemy groups. Destruction and chaos are guaranteed.
Graphics
Graphically, it’s superb and spectacular with every meter our protagonists cover. The graphics are so polished in this first opus that the effects designs, scenarios or sprites will follow the lines marked by this first part.
The introduction is direct and brief, but with spectacular animations and sounds, and they encourage nothing more than to see her press the STAR button.
Once in the game, you’ll notice that everything has been meticulously studied to achieve the greatest realism ever seen in a Neo Geo Run and Gun. Its phases show us a wartime setting that catches the eye from the very first moment. We must also highlight the great work done on the design of the character’s tour itself, since every summit, every platform, and every jump, has been carefully studied so that the adventure doesn’t lose an iota of fun or interest.
For their part, the sprites have been taken care of to give the title the best war setting, and that’s because the character and vehicle designs are, like the settings, superb. Animations are fluid and realistic. These are not just limited to shooting movements, but will simulate normal “extra” activities, such as sleeping, eating, sunbathing, panicking …
In the case of the vehicles, their designs are equally spectacular, not only for their realism, but for the variety we’ll find throughout the adventure, especially the Bosses, some of them already considered mythical.
Curiously and related to sprite designs, it’s surprising that The Rebellion’s forces are based on the Nazi army from World War II, so don’t surprise us that we’re able to distinguish semi-organic vehicles, tanks, etc., with a more than reasonable resemblance to reality.
Another section to comment on is the visual violence. It’s very violent, although it’s also true that blood has been censored in the US and in the European region. But if we can have the opportunity to play with red blood, please don’t stop shooting at the forces of the Rebellion.
We highlight the humorous component that will accompany us throughout the adventure. We’ll be able to observe countless times as if we were attacking them by surprise, they’ll exclaim and want to flee in terror. Even when referring to our protagonist, for example, if we leave him standing too long without doing anything, he’ll call out on the radio, or a green mucus will come out of his nose… Otherwise, we can also see how we’re attacked by an orc, or how a soldier tries to crush us with a snowball.
Sound
That’s another aspect we worked hard on. The melodies are influenced by military music, although the theme has obviously been varied to better suit the game, with even accents of jazz music. The rhythm is fast-paced, keeping us in the heat of battle. It’s also very complex in composition, very difficult indeed that we’re able to hum an entire song by heart.
The voices are one of the highlights, starting with the voice-over that reports both the title and the items we collect during the game. “Metal Slug”, ‘Heavy Machine Gun’ or ‘Rocket Launcher’, among many others, are just some of the words that will stick in our minds. Otherwise, the soldiers’ screams will also be very well realized, be they cries of pain or fright when we see ourselves coming. The rest of the sound effects – explosions, gunfire, fire, engines, etc. – are the best our system has come up with. They’re all very real.
In-Game Items
We can constantly free the POWs scattered throughout the levels, which will provide us with items such as bonuses, weapons, and so on. If we free these POWs without losing a life, at the end of the phase they’ll give us a tally of all those we’ve rescued, and so obtain luscious bonus amounts.
Throughout the adventure, we’ll have the invaluable help of Super Vehicle 001. We’ll find him on rare occasions during the game, but when we’re in charge, we’ll be relentless. We’ll have an infinite machine gun, as well as a limited number of projectiles for the cannon.
We’ll have an energy bar, which will force us to take matters into our own hands, as it will only withstand three direct impacts. Once they reach us and the tank is about to explode, we’ll have a few seconds to abandon it if we don’t want to disappear alongside it. For the more advanced player, it can be used as a kamikaze vehicle if the vehicle about to explode is abandoned alongside any enemy.
Metal Slug: A Wonderful and one of the best Retro War Games
It’s got it all, spectacular graphics and sound, gameplay that takes the hiccups out of you, and fun in abundance. It’s not that it’s excessively long, being able to finish in just over half an hour, but such is the variety of enemies and scenarios, so much action, that they’ll have us hooked from game to game.
It laid the foundations for this long-running saga, and has been technically surpassed by subsequent installments, but still has the ingredients to keep us coming back for more.
