Metal Slug - Super Vehicle-001 - Arcade Machine

Metal Slug - Super Vehicle-0012.txt

One of the most important shooters in the history of video games, a series full of great humor and great playability and a reason why Neo-Geo - the cult Metal Slug was worth having. One of the most important shooters in the history of video games, a series full of great humor and great playability and a reason why Neo-Geo - the cult Metal Slug was worth having.

The shooter franchise from SNK has become one of the most important games in history, not because of the lack of genre or the amazing graphics (which in fact is amazing), but because of the level of refinement, humor and gameplay. Metal Slug quickly became one of the most recognized SNK licenses alongside games such as Samurai Shodown, The King of Fighters and Fatal Fury.

The forefather of Metal Slug is Gunforce 2, which was born in 1994 in the Irem studio, known for such series as the cult R-Type. It was then that the refugees with Irem formed a band that gave the world Metal Slug. Praise them for that. The game in many respects was the progenitor of the Metal Snail - the appearance, animations, and physics resembled the later games of the authors.

The misfortune of this title was the fact that it never appeared on stationary consoles, which is why a large number of players had no idea about it. Later, Metal Slug itself also had a problem with sales, in which almost everyone used to play, but virtually no one saw the legal version.

1996 was a breakthrough - a huge, amazing 2D shooter with lots of beautiful animations, stages bursting with secrets and a perfect setting appeared on the then powerful Neo-Geo slot machine. There was cooperation, there were vehicles (i.e. the title Servants), there was a characteristic enemy resembling German soldiers from the Second World War.

To this day, the great pixel-art setting of the game and beautiful character animation make a huge impression - such things do not get old and do not need high resolution to please the eyes. I will never get bored of watching the shaking parts of huge machines, the reaction of soldiers after they kill someone and he returns with a powerful weapon, and an environment full of elements to be destroyed.

The plot of the series, although secondary, generally revolves around the struggle of two armies - the Regular Army and the Rebel Forces, led by the former army general, the powerful Morden, who was destroyed by a psychologically personal tragedy. In fact, both the sketches and scraps of plot show that Metal Slug was meant to be darker and more grotesque than it eventually came out. Maybe that's better.

Metal Slug became one of SNK's most important brands and sold well. The first part in one form or another appeared on Neo-Geo, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, Wii, PC and Sedze Saturn. On the other hand, it goes without saying that "1" is one of the weakest parts for me - because there was still little of everything in it. It is not a bad game, it is a title with many solutions for which time and money were needed. Fortunately, both of these things were found.

So things changed with Part Two and its Metal Slug X remix - these are my two favorite parts, even though most players prefer three. The two and X feature octopus-like Martians for the first time, mummies (they change players into bandaged commandos with their breaths), two new female characters, there are even more charming animations, enemies, great music, types of weapons and servants.

It beautifully combines the dynamics of its predecessor with diversity - a whole world awaits, a multitude of enemies, tons of machines and scrap metal with which the player fights, but also elements parodying Resident Evil, Independence Day, Contra or Indiana Jones.

Although the third part did not win my heart that much, I bow to it - great setting, a dozen non-linear paths in the stages and tons of new elements - again servants, enemies, types of weapons. In three, the hero can turn into a zombie, fight the Giant Enemy Crab (present there before the meme was created). You can go through the ostrich stage or fight the masses of Yeti with an elephant. Despite playing Metal Slugi for several years, I'm still sure I haven't seen everything in this game yet. This is the most comprehensive part of the series, offering hours of fun and an amazing final stage. I recommend it with all my heart. The first Metal Slug trilogy is the most successful one - by no means perfect, but certainly timeless. Even as a big Contra fan, I have to admit that the Konami series (and recently also Arc System Works) does not have the power and quality of Metal Slug, which is polished, beautiful and fun. The three was the last installment produced by the original team - later the financial problems of SNK made themselves felt. If you have never played Metal Slug - make up for it! In Poland, the classics for computers are respected and remembered, often, for obvious reasons, omitting the one from consoles and slot machines. And games like Metal Snail don't hurt even years later. Fortunately, they don't hurt. Unfortunately, due to piracy, SNK had problems with the series that raised many of today's players. After all, it was easier to download the emulator from the Web than to buy a console version or throw at least one token into the machine. But about that another time.