Metal Slug is an overall meh series with two (three?) great games

[Takumaji]

Slug 3 was a big disappointment for me when it was new. Bought the US version from Shawn and almost went crazy when it finally arrived here but about 20 minutes later, I almost regretted spending that much on the game. The sheer amount of bullet sponge enemies and some bosses I found really annoying, graphics and sprites were amazing but overall, it wasn't what I expect from a Slug, and don't get me started on that big-ass Mission 5. Yeah, I know, skill issue, but it just wasn't and isn't as fun for me to play as the other Slugs, including 4 which I played much, much more than 3. 4 can't hold a candle to 1 or 2 but for me, there's way more Slug gameplay in it than in 3.

Again, 3 is a masterpiece in terms of graphics and sound (and of course coding itself is flawless, no prob with that in any way), some of the sprites like the elephant or the giant electric eels are among the best I've ever seen in a 16 bit game. That's why I still put it in from time to time (I mostly play the og Xbox port these days) to go on a visual tour, so to speak, but usually stop after Mission 4. I can see where they wanted to go with the game but between all the visual and acoustic splendour, they IMO slightly lost sight of what made the prequels great.

 

[yagamikun]

Slug 3 was a big disappointment for me when it was new. Bought the US version from Shawn and almost went crazy when it finally arrived here but about 20 minutes later, I almost regretted spending that much on the game. The sheer amount of bullet sponge enemies and some bosses I found really annoying, graphics and sprites were amazing but overall, it wasn't what I expect from a Slug, and don't get me started on that big-ass Mission 5. Yeah, I know, skill issue, but it just wasn't and isn't as fun for me to play as the other Slugs, including 4 which I played much, much more than 3. 4 can't hold a candle to 1 or 2 but for me, there's way more Slug gameplay in it than in 3.

Again, 3 is a masterpiece in terms of graphics and sound (and of course coding itself is flawless, no prob with that in any way), some of the sprites like the elephant or the giant electric eels are among the best I've ever seen in a 16 bit game. That's why I still put it in from time to time (I mostly play the og Xbox port these days) to go on a visual tour, so to speak, but usually stop after Mission 4. I can see where they wanted to go with the game but between all the visual and acoustic splendour, they IMO slightly lost sight of what made the prequels great.

100% - I feel the team took a "kitchen sink" approach with Slug 3. It's visually stunning with a lot of variety, sure, but the pacing of the game got lost in trying to cram in so much variety that it ends up feeling bloated. The difficulty is noticeably higher than the first three games as well with normal enemies having very high HP and some bosses just taking much too long to beat.

I still enjoy it, sure, but I can't recall the last time I actually beat the game where as every time I sit down to play 1 or X I beat them every time.

 

[Tarma]

I never understood with Slug 3 why Stage 5 wasn't split into two stages, with "Stage 6" starting after the scrolling shmup section.

Nevertheless, I was blown away with how polished everything was back in the day, and it wasn't until after a few replays that the final stage really started to grate on me. I haven't played it in a long time now, and not really bothered as to whether I reacquire it on home cart or not.

I have 1, 2 and X and that's good enough for me, as imo they represent the zenith of the series, and epitomize best what Nazca intended.

I agree wholeheartedly with @Takumaji regarding 5 - I think that had the potential of being a great game, and truly worth entrant into the series... had it been finished. Hopefully one day we'll at least find out why Playmore rushed it to market.

 

[konrad]

For mine metal slug 1 and 3 the best series.

 

[LoneSage]

For mine metal slug 1 y 3 the best series.

it's X not Y

 

[Heinz]

it's X not Y

And yet the question is Y X and not 2

 

[kernow]

Slug 3 was a big disappointment for me when it was new. Bought the US version from Shawn and almost went crazy when it finally arrived here but about 20 minutes later, I almost regretted spending that much on the game. The sheer amount of bullet sponge enemies and some bosses I found really annoying, graphics and sprites were amazing but overall, it wasn't what I expect from a Slug, and don't get me started on that big-ass Mission 5. Yeah, I know, skill issue, but it just wasn't and isn't as fun for me to play as the other Slugs, including 4 which I played much, much more than 3. 4 can't hold a candle to 1 or 2 but for me, there's way more Slug gameplay in it than in 3.

Again, 3 is a masterpiece in terms of graphics and sound (and of course coding itself is flawless, no prob with that in any way), some of the sprites like the elephant or the giant electric eels are among the best I've ever seen in a 16 bit game. That's why I still put it in from time to time (I mostly play the og Xbox port these days) to go on a visual tour, so to speak, but usually stop after Mission 4. I can see where they wanted to go with the game but between all the visual and acoustic splendour, they IMO slightly lost sight of what made the prequels great.

it's a technical masterpiece for sure. as a game. they didn't care because they were fucked

 

[kernow]

Slug 1 will always be the best slug

 

[Takumaji]

Slug 1 will always be the best slug

Have to agree here, although I've played 2 more than 1, simply because I wanted to find all the secrets and rack up max scores in various missions or mission segments. We had some threads about that back then, good times.

 

[radiantsvgun]

Slug 1 will always be the best slug

Facts. It’s got some nasty areas but it’s still the best.

3 looks great but man it’s way too long.

 

[city41]

It seemed like 10-20 years ago 3 was practically revered as holy. How the times have changed.

I never really liked 3 either, and Takumaji summed up perfectly why.

All these decades later I still play 1 regularly. It's an absolutely stellar game. My only complaint is bosses are decimated by grenades.

 

[kernow]

I stopped playing 1 after I got sick of it after the 1cc. A game I don't want to revisit.

 

[radiantsvgun]

I stopped playing 1 after I got sick of it after the 1cc. A game I don't want to revisit.

I revisited it last year and the first 3 stages are great, after that it’s straight boot to the testicles.

All these years later it’s still fantastic. At some point I need to muster up the will to go through 2 or X but man, it’s hard to break from the PC.

 

[Neo Alec]

Contra games are very doable with practice. For some reason Metal Slug games always descend into chaos for me by around stage 4. Up until then I'm holding my own.

Maybe the screen is just too busy for me in Metal Slug games. For all the great animation MS has, Contra games are cleaner to read.