Ranking the Metal Slug Series! Which Slug Will Win? All Games from Neo Geo to Dreamcast and More!
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- Опубліковано 25 лис 2024
- It's Metal Slug Mania Time! A Ten Part Series dedicated to looking at the history and evolution of the mainline Metal Slug franchise from SNK! and what do you know?! SURPRISE! I lied about the last episode ;) I can't end the series without the always controversial ranking list can I?! Because retro gaming needs another ranking video (it probably doesn't)
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I really wanted to take a look at the Metal Slug franchise as it's one of my favorite arcade series of all time and the history behind the games and their evolution is quite interesting. When it comes to retro gaming you can't skip Metal Slug!
Up last: for real this time! I rank every Metal Slug mainline entry ever made. The list of games is as follows. It's a retrogaming showdown!
Metal Slug - Neo Geo AES - MiSTer FPGA
Metal Slug 2 - Neo Geo AES - MiSTer FPGA
Metal Slug X - Neo Geo AES - MiSTer FPGA
Metal Slug 3 - Neo Geo AES - MiSTer FPGA
Metal Slug 4 - Neo Geo AES - MiSTer FPGA
Metal Slug 5 - Neo Geo AES - MiSTer FPGA
Metal Slug 6 - Atomiswave / Sega Dreamcast
Metal Slug 7 - Nintendo DS
Metal Slug XX - Sony PSP
Metal Slug 3D - PS2
Metal Slug Advance - Gameboy Advance
Metal Slug 1st Mission - Neo Geo Pocket Color
Metal Slug 2nd Mission - Neo Geo Pocket Color
Metal Slug Tactics - I dunno? It's not out!
Fingers crossed Metal Slug 8 gets announced one day!
Questions? Comments? Just leave them below and I will do my best to answer each and every one of them!
/ videogameesoterica
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VGE
The whole series is a masterclass in spritework.
Yes the artists at Nasca were amazing with sprites
I had just gotten into game development when I first saw this game in the arcade (I was like 12) and this inspired my work to a very high degree.
01. MS3 brings unique enemies like sea crab, bee, angry fish, Zombie, Ice bear in cave, 2nd boss, alien, clon alien etc.
02. MS3 has unique zone like sea, forest, cave, underwater, sky, space etc.
03. MS3 is also unique for its long and hard mission. The last mission is as long as a whole length game.
All great enemies too
The best environmental story-telling too. The second mission is my favourite for this.
@smotbutterman1127 the little background details do tell a great story
I just can't get enough of the "Heavy Machine-gun" sound bite.
That and “MISSION START”. It’s as iconic as DAYTOOOOOONA from Daytona USA
this comment is the best haha
👍
"RAWKET LAUNCHAR!"
I'm just happy to see anyone still talking about these masterpieces.
Glad you enjoyed :)
X > 2 > 1 > 3 >>> 5 > 4 > 6 > XX > 7 >>> 2nd Mission > 1st Mission > Advance >>> 3D
If 5 didn't have so much cut content, I'd probably put it in 3's place.
(Fun fact: Castlevania Rondo of Blood's director helped direct MS5)
Rondo Slug haha
My kids don't really like arcade style games as much, but one game they love is MS3 and the zombie blood puke. They mention it from time to time even though we haven't played in a while.
to me the zombie blood attack is the most memorable moment of any Metal Slug ever made
@@VideoGameEsoterica The first time I saw it, I was like "whoa, someone programmed this into a game??"
a genius idea from the devs!
I think your list is pretty good but Metal Slug 1 would take the #1 spot for me personally
thats fair :) I am not the final arbiter after all
part one will always have a special place in my heart, but i think 3 & 5 really are over the top
3 will always be my fav
@@jonniefast 5's boss fights are horrible.
Really enjoyed your whole series, this one just makes me smile seeing so much footage from across the games.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Really enjoyed your metal slug series. I've only played 1&3 but but love them
Gotta play em all!
Man metal slug is so amazing. I just started collecting and this video just made me want to get this game even more. I remember playing on a original metal slug cabinet when i was a kid when my parents went to a Asian market in the late 90's. I was blown away and had so much fun even though i was getting distroyed. I remember buying it later when i got older on xbox 360 and havnt touched it since. Cant wait to get the correct hardware to play it along side a physical cart!
And ive played them all and dont have amazing memories but i agree metal slug 3 is the best. Its what i think about when i think of metal slug. The beach intro and the zombie part is forever stuck in my brain!
It’s just an awesome series. Sure it has its low points but every series does. But yes 3 is just 100% my jam
Great rankings, I personally have a soft spot for seven because I bought it at release date and I really like the the artwork and utilization of the dual screens on the ds more so than what we got with XX. Also first and second mission are great games for the hardware they’re on but I don’t believe they are better than any of the mainline games. Love the love that you gave metal slug advance though, collection all the cards in the game was tough but I had a blast doing it back then and I would rank it just as high as you did. The rest of my ranking would be very similar to yours for similar reasons although since I played metal slug 1 in the arcades more than probably any other arcade game except mortal kombat 2 back then I’m going to rank it higher than 2 and X. My rankings would be
13. Metal slug 3d
12. Metal slug first mission
11. Metal slug second mission
10. Metal slug 4
9. Metal slug 5
8. Metal slug XX
7. Metal slug 7
6. Metal slug advance
5. Metal slug 6
4. Metal slug 2
3. Metal slug X
2. Metal slug
1. Metal slug 3
Solid rankings. Glad you enjoyed them as well! Makes sense why you’d rank 1 higher…nostalgia!
@@VideoGameEsoterica yes the nostalgia games like 7, advance and 1 I ranked higher because of nostalgia but hey nostalgia impacts pretty much everything about us in life so I’ll embrace it
I won't comment on your rankings as a whole, but I think your top 4 lines up with mine, though given the similarities between 2 and X, and how much more often I reach for X and OG Metal Slug than I do 2, I would probably rank them:
4: Metal slug 2
3: Metal Slug
2: Metal Slug X
1: Metal Slug 3
I definitely think they all represent the best the series has to offer, and 3 represents the best of the best, though X is a very close second.
Usually I have some snarky remark about something or other, but instead I'm gonna say great job with these videos. You're killin' it, and I like that you have your own style and presentation. Keep up all the great work!
Yes honestly the top four are interchangeably as good as the others! Thanks for the compliment too!
I’m pretty much in agreement with your list. As far as you putting 6 over 5, I’m a huge Atomiswave fan and like all of the mainline SNK entries (also including KOF XI and SamSho VI) it has beyond the consensus opinion of them.
I stumbled upon your channel recently and decided to subscribe. It reminds me of the simpler days of UA-cam before video game content creators became little movie stars. Keep up the good work!
So you are saying I’m not a movie star? How dare you? Good day sir! 😂
But yeah 6 over 5 isn’t the popular choice but it’s how I feel :)
@@VideoGameEsoterica Haha yeah I don't want to poop too much on the very popular retro gaming UA-camrs. It seems like once someone gets big enough, though, there's strong motivation to pump out videos to generate clicks (and keep the ad revenue coming in) rather than create content they're actually passionate about.
Eh I just do whatever I’m entertained by. Even when it’s not good for views lol. I’m here to entertain myself basically lol
@@VideoGameEsoterica Right on!
MSX is my favorite (MS3 final stage is way too long and should be split in two imo) but I also have a soft spot for MS5. I think a lot of people write off 5 especially if they were soured by 4 and assume a poor reputation from Playmore. MS5 really charmed me with its soundtrack and taking on a new enemy faction long after General Morden is supposedly deceased (kinda like Street Fighter III in regards to plot and timeline). Only real shame about it was all the cut content found in the game due to rushed development.
5 is def decent. Its not great IMO but its still a genuinely fun time
I love Metal Slug 5 cut contents as hell
5 is still fun for sure
Metal Slug 4 is so underrated.
Id say its pretty accurately rated but thats me. But everyone gets their opinion :)
Agreed. Reused assets be damned, the game itself is very fun and the final boss is one of my favorites in the entire series. I also found the game to overall be more fun than 5.
You know something is funny.
At the moment I have only one Metal Slug game, at that is 3.
I got it at a garage sale for $1 many years ago!
I got very lucky!
Wait you got it for $1 on AES???
@@VideoGameEsoterica That would be insane, but no. I got it for $1 on my original Xbox at a garage sale.
@@VideoGameEsoterica Honestly I have little to no hope to ever get an AES, but that is okay as at least there are other ways to experience these SNK gems nowadays without breaking the bank.
Haha I was gonna say
As much as i really love Metal Slug 3, they killed it with that mega long last stage and it just got too far beyond a joke with the aliens. Love the branching paths, it's great. I just think the aliens really killed it from number one for me.
I have one and two on both CD and Home carts, the CD versions have more options and it brings them up just a touch higher.
The NEO-GEO can't be called 24bit any more than the Mega Drive can be, they're both using the same CPUs, and they're both 100% 16bit.
The 24bit marketing garbage was never used outside of USA or US based publications that i've ever seen.
Man the metal slug games takes me back in my childhood during the early 00s. Loved playing the original Metal slug with my siblings and cousins at "Fat ducks pizza" even tho it was the censored version hahaha.
Fat ducks pizza lol. How was the pizza?
Great ranking! I mostly agree with your choices. If you ever get the chance give Metal Slug 2 Turbo a try. It’s a version where the slowdown is fixed…well not fixed completely, but it’s much better. The NGPC slugs were the first I played and the hardware makes those games better than they have any right to be. The clicky joystick on the NGPC is perfection!
Personally I flip flop between X and 3 as my favorites depending on the day. To me X is more fun with a friend over because it’s a shorter play through for quick fun. 3 however is what I’ll play if I am going solo.
I did a video on Turbo and XX a few weeks back actually :)
@@VideoGameEsoterica hah! You’re right, I watched it too, but completely forgot you specifically talked about turbo!
You don’t need to play this version. Just set the cpu speed overclock in fba to 150 to 200%. No slowdown on any metal slug. Also the Metal Slug Anthology port has no slowdown. Although I prefer the arcade versions.
@@Bo_Knows_Tecmo true that can work, but I typically play on a consolized MVS so that’s not really an option. Plus that alters the rest of the game, not just the slowdown issue. The turbo version isn’t just an overclocked version.
It needs slowdown. Authentic!
Love it! Eager to hear your thoughts on Speedollama considering it plays very closely to Metal Slug titles.
Maybe I’ll do a video on it eventually
i know you're going with MS3 before I even clicked on the video, but MSX will always be the best for me, and the first MS I could 1CC.
haha yeah 3 at the top spot was a foregone conclusion if you watched my full video on it weeks and weeks ago
You’re stupid…
I only said that because you told me to. I actually agree, whole heartedly, with your list. I love this series and I think you put it perfectly when you said, “ask me on a Tuesday…” Truth be told, any of the top 4 Metal Slug games are practically interchangeable. There really is no BAD Metal Slug game (except Metal Slug 3D).
I was never fortunate (or rich) enough to own a NeoGeo. I always wanted one. I have emulated and all that, but there is just something special about playing NeoGeo games in an arcade or on a console. I have a custom arcade stick and I download the ACA NeoGeo games whenever they are on sale at $3.99.
$3.99!!!!! Can you believe that?! These games, which were $200+ a pop back in the day, can be gotten for a measly 4 bucks! And the people at Hamster have done a phenomenal job in emulating these games for the Switch.
Right now, Metal Slug is going for $3.99, along with Real Bout Fatal Fury Special. I’m about to get both of them, so I wanted to check out how others felt. That’s how I came across your amazing Metal Slug Ranking video.
My only wish is that they would come out with a Metal Slug Anthology for Switch, as they did for the PS2. That way, I could have a physical copy to go with my Samurai Shodown Collection and my NeoGeo Pocket Color Collection vols. 1 and 2. I guess you just can’t have it all.
Thank you for the time you put into making this. It was such fun to see these games placed. I even got to learn about Metal Slug XX, which I never even knew existed. I am an instant subscriber, as I love your presentation and knowledge of these games. I’ll be sure to check out your other videos.
Wish I could keep talking, but I have some new games to play. Keep making ‘em; I’ll keep watching ‘em!
Haha suddenly getting a lot of comments on these old videos. Wondering why
Nice ranking but that gameplay was hard to watch. Who loses a life in the first minute of Metal Slug 3?
Lol it happens
Me when I tried to knife the crabs. ;-;
nice list. my biggest takeaway was realizing I missed your video on the PSP entry.
as good a time to watch it today as any!
Subscribed just because this video and your commentary were so good!
Haha thanks. Appreciate that
metal slug 4 is my favourite. that 12th place hurt my feelings
Tightest stage design at the cost of romhacky feel of the game
I love Metal Slug 3. Best run and gun game next to Contra Hard Corps
I always enjoy contra but I love the cartoony nature of Slug a bit more. But that’s all down to aesthetics
Having played all of these, I would mostly agree with the rating, except maybe switching Metal Slug 6 and 5.
I really wanted Metal Slug 6 just to end.
Also, I dislike Metal Slug 3 for its end level.
Your ranking is the closest to mine I have ever seen.
4＝5＜7＜XX＜6＜2＜1＜X≦3
Very close
**loads up metal slug series review**
[metal slug 3D appears]
me: 😳 what the hell is even that 😅
the ds game is still fun but i feel weird about the touchmap screen & the spikey spritework
its a shame they didnt "remaster" it on the 3ds eshop
there were some really cool "3d" remasters of classics that turned out great, sonic, kirby, etc
metal slug would have been awesome with added 3D and polished sprites
my copy of MS6 is on an mvs cart (pirate)
ill check it closely and report back
i wonder if its a 1:1 conversion
I’d be curious
Touch never really aged well it seems outside of a few games
If I could pick my rankings, it would be 3, X, 6, 1, 5, and 4. 6 is a personal favorite of mine because it just added so much to the series.
A fair ranking for sure :) what about 7/XX though?
@@VideoGameEsoterica 7/XX is forgettable. I didn't really like it, so I forgot to add it in. I probably would say it's my least favorite in the series. It's cheap, unimaginative, boring, unfair, and I just really didn't like it.
That’s a fair assessment :)
MSlug 1-3 and Gun Force II are the peak of pixel art and animation, to this day.
I agree. If they came out today they'd get 10/10 marks on the graphics
I look forward to next week's final video in the Metal Slug retrospective!
lol no more final videos. This is truly the last on
One
@@VideoGameEsoterica End of an era. :(
Haha new eras starting soon!
Nice list. 7 is probably my 2nd favorite MS game in the series. I’ll just put rankibg here
S: MS3, MS7/XX
A: MS5, MSX
B: MS2, MS6
C: MS1
D: MS4, MS Advance.
MS6 is good but for me it’s kind of disappointing imo. The final mission of the game is very underwhelming personally.
MS7 final mission imo is much better but not as good as MSX and MS3’s final mission.
MS7’s Mission 6 was amazing personally while Mission 5 for me kinda suck.
A well thought out list! Can’t say I’m in agreement for all of it but still love getting rankings :)
@@VideoGameEsoterica Thanks! Personally I would have put MS5 at S tier if the game wasn’t too short. The game just ended so quickly which is a shame because the game was awesome.
Sadly no MS game can never match the goodness of 3. The game with level design, replayability, and content are just superb. It’s literally peak Metal Slug which sadly never got that peak again.
3 will always be my fav if for nothing more than zombie blood missiles 😂
The first has become my favorite. I play it on Saturn slowdown and all and like it's simplicity and how relatively based in reality it was. No mummys, aliens zombies or Center earth people. Just Marco and Tarma vs Saddam Mussolini Stalin's army.
I need my aliens and mummies
And full Screen Blood vomit. Also the first game Lacks Fio and love me some Fio.
Full screen blood vomit is the best thing ever to happen in a Slug game IMO
Along side getting fat. BIG
Haha what a random thing to add in. I love it
Great list! Personally I prefer metal slug X to 3, I believe that it's the perfect metal slug package: memorable and fun from start to finish. I find 3 to still be an outstanding title, but I didn't like the bosses that much and I'm not a fan of the fact that the final mission is basically half the game. It's not a matter of length, but of consistent variety, and while I appreciate that NAZCA wanted to go out with a bang of a finale... I feel like the product is a bit hurt by the ambition. Another title i want to mention is 5, because it's one of my favourites in the series too. A guilty pleasure? Probably, but even if it was rushed and therefore lacked some planned bosses (including the first phase of the final boss, I'm still kinda mad about that) I can't help but love it all the same. It's so... Cool! Over the top mechanical bosses (I personally prefer artificial and robotic foes in metal slug, even if the wackier alternatives in 2 and 3 are great too), an absolutely *m e t a l* soundtrack that fully embraces its CD nature, creative and insane set pieces, completely original enemies, a short length that makes the game comfortable to replay, consistently fair level design... It's just a metal slug that's prefect for me, that's all
X and 3 are both so good it’s like interchangeable
@@VideoGameEsoterica sure thing
But 3 is still best haha
Meu Ranking - Metal Slug:
1- Metal Slug X
2- Metal Slug 1
3- Metal Slug 3
4- Metal Slug XX
5- Metal Slug 6
6- Metal Slug 5
7- Metal Slug 4
I feel like 2 deserves to be in there along with X somewhere
Metal Slug 3 is definite favourite.
Same here
Ps2 version of Metal Slug 3 have 2 extra minigames: one is 2d tactical shooter, and another one is fat contest
Lol fat contest
I remember a metal slug game that I played in Sega Dreamcast, which has rewards section that we could open up backgrounds, character info etc. But I couldn't find which game that was and I've tried purchasing all the metal slug games on PS3 but none of them has that feature. Can someone help me please?
Hmm...I am not 100% sure because there is just Metal Slug 6 on Dreamcast and that's recent / a hack to get it running. Sure it was Dreamcast?
@@VideoGameEsoterica I am not 100 percent sure but it was probably Deramcast. I've played that game nearly 20 years ago. Between the years 2000 and 2003.
Yeah I dunno on that one
Metal slug countdown!!
So far not a lot of controversy...kinda disappointed!
First hehehe :D
Also: yeah, XX over Advance for me. And I don't know if I'd rank 4 this low 😅
Hmmm actually, I'd probably rank XX above MS5. Love 5 but honestly, feel like XX is too low here :D
Otherwise agree with your rankings :)
I expected people to take issue with my ranking for 5 lol
@@VideoGameEsoterica in a good faith debate tho :D! As you say 'I might agree with you on a Monday and disagree with you on a Tuesday'
haha exactly...things always change!
nostalgic masterpiece i recently started again, ngl slug 3 is best
An absolute classic for sure
Nice video!
Appreciate that!
Totally agree with the list, personally i think ms6 is way better than ms5.
5 is fun. 6 is better
and what about metal slug defense?
That blood is awesome
Yeah it is!
7 looks like it was intended for Atomiswave like 6 and ported to DS. Glad the PSP one looks better. I heard the ports of XX from PSP to PS4 and PC were botched. I have the 360 version and it has an ugly filter. Not sure if that has the same extra lag as the PS4 version.
Interesting. I hadn’t heard about the botched port job. I’ll have to look into that!
Agree 100%, MS3 all the way
Def my fav
Yeah, MSX and MS3 are really top tier games.
Def the top tier
yeah nah the original IS and has been goated to the point where its a proven masterpiece all the same for being 1996 is absolutely incredible.
They are all great in their own way. Except 4
I love metal slug 2 are well i do perfur it over x i am strange like that.
Haha nothing wrong with that
Monster. You’re specifically trying to anger the algorithm with this MS2 heresy.
it's not my fault I tell people the hard truth! lolol
@@VideoGameEsoterica Truly SNK was ahead of its time. A broken game that the developers released a full price “patch” for a year later!? WHAT IS THIS EA / ACTIVISION / UBISOFT
hahaha...they lead the pack! one little coding / math error and it CHUGGED
@@VideoGameEsoterica THE FUTURE IS NOW
they weren't wrong...it was SO ahead of its time
why would you rate ds lower than ngpc? ds is closer to actual metal slug
I just don't like what the DS entry did graphically...its a bit of an ugly game iMO
@@VideoGameEsoterica true to me ngpc is also ugly but still has its own unique charm
it fits the hardware. 7 does not fit the hardware. Thats how I separate them
i think its fair criticism for 7
the ds could have done more
its still a fun/great game
if i made a game as good as the worst (2D) metal slug i would be rich/famous lol
best to worst
3
X
2
5
XX
1
6
Advance
2nd Mission
1st Mission
4
Very close to my list
@ yeah cause its a pretty agreeable list
Have myself some Stouffer's Lasagna (Party Size) to sit back to enjoy this from you VGE . Great way to cure my boring midweek blues with you in action bro. Well...At least it's better than Monday. 8^)
Anthony..
Hahah always better than Monday. Sadly I can say this is it for Slug. But plenty of Neo Geo cued up for this fall and winter!
I would set metal slug 5 on number 3 but whatever
Awww how disappointing, I literally just bought an MVS copy of Metal Slug 4 off eBay and have never played it before. And I was wondering why it was that this game never seems to get talked about in the neo geo communities...
Yeahhhh. It’s not great. But there is still fun to be had
I thought Metal Slug XX was pretty good. :)
It’s a fun time for sure. Just not that high up the list
@@VideoGameEsoterica Very true sir! I just wish the NEW metal slug awakening would come out soon. I fear the US/China relations will delay it further.
Who knows
If I ever have to hear you say the words metal slug again in my life …
lol wait till Tactics releases!
@@VideoGameEsoterica I hope they don’t fuck up tactics ..
fingers crossed!
@@VideoGameEsoterica METAL SLUG X 4 LIFE!
Man I hate metal slug 6 lol. The new aliens are what it boils down to, later in the game it just feels like you're killing thousands of them endlessly.
It does throw the most amount of enemies at you of any Slug
Fair List.
Personally I would of swapped 5 and 6 but thats a real close call.
My top 3 though would be a little different.
I would say X, 1, 3 but as you say any of the original trilogy are fair game for the top spot.
Yes and game in the original trilogy can be at number 1 and it makes sense to fans
Sorry, 5 is absolutely better than 6.
Everyone gets their opinion. Mine is 6 is better haha
Idk but why everyone always have the same idea of "ms3 better!" Just because is the final productivo with the original developers doesnt mean is The best
I mean everyone gets their opinion
I mean ms3 is pretty good still, it's that final mission has the filler portions that hurts the pacing
MS4 is really good what yall talking about
It is not really good. It’s fine. But I don’t mind you think it’s really good :) everyone gets their opinion
I know the answer to that.
haha what is it then?
@@VideoGameEsoterica 3, since it’s everyone’s favorite to my annoyance, but XX for me.
XX. wow
@@VideoGameEsoterica It’s the least flawed!
Maybe but its lacking the pure charm of 1/2/3
It seems the people who are salty about Metal Slug 3 hate it because they prefer to 1cc shorter games. I love it because it just goes all out. Don’t care about deathless runs.
I would've put it as my favorite slug had it cut down the filler portions on the final stage
It def has some filler
😍
:)
They all look the same to me
Haha a bit
I'm so pissed off right now this guy got me hooked up to watch this video and than he start the crap of metal slug 1 is not #1
lol it’s just an opinion