Metal Slug: a retrospective

So, does the name Metal Slug ring a bell? No? Come on! It's the best run-and-gun series ever! The first game even had a Saturn port, although it needed the 4mb ram cart, making it a not so common game in your average Saturn collection. Anyway, most people played it in the arcades or using MAME, so I think it's safe to assume everyone knows what I'm talking about. What most people don't know is the amount of sequels that came out.


Metal Slug 2 is your average sequel, including new weapons, enemies, levels, etc, etc... A good game, though. Metal Slug X is, in my opinion, a lame remix/rip-off version of MS 2, something we didn't need since we all wanted a true sequel. Then it came, Metal Slug 3, introducing A LOT of new features but also increasing the already high difficulty of the series, making it a bloody hard game to beat. Many fans call it the best MS ever. I just call it the "Metal Slug from hell"...


These are the games most gamers know about or played. I too also thought for a long time that the series ended after this original trilogy. How I was wrong...
Some time ago I found out that there were more Metal Slugs out there, not just one, or two, but another whole trilogy!

Metal Slug 4 is by far the worst MS ever. The development company changed from the experienced guys who created the series to some fucking n00bs that didn't know how to make a decent MS. Most of the backgrounds were taken from previous games, nothing special was added and the overall experience is BAD! Avoid this game, unless you're like me and want to be able to proudly say "I've completed every MS game!".


Then came Metal Slug 5 to redeem the MS name. It has a more mech oriented theme and General Morden, the main antagonist of the whole series, is nowhere to be seen. This may seem bad, but the overall quality of the game makes up for this.


Finally, Metal Slug 6, is not only a return to the origins but also the first game not to run on the MVS arcade hardware, using Atomiswave instead. This means better graphics (more noticeably the backgrounds, since the characters look fairly equal), with zoom effects and other treats. This was, at least for me, the hardest game to find, but fortunately it was included in Metal slug Anthology, a collection that includes all of the mentioned games and is available for the PS2, PSP and Wii. If you are a fan of Metal Slug make sure you have this game, for it is one of the best compilations you'll ever find, along with other personal favourites of mine like Sonic Mega Collection Plus or Sonic Gems Collection (I intend to write something about these titles in the future).


So, why am I posting this all of a sudden? Well, those who regularly read my comments may remember me talking about a new imported game for the Saturn that was somewhat late, thus making me occupy my time with something else... That something else is what made me write this post as some sort of an "introduction" to what I'm about to post next. Be sure to come back tomorrow...

(uh, the suspense... xD)