We haven't gotten a new* Metal Slug in ten years as of today

xir · Feb 23, 2020

Metal Slug 7 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

So caveats: Metal Slug XX came out in NA 2/23/2010. Earlier in Japan.

Metal Slug XX is a remix of 7, but I'm counting it since most Slug-fans would count Metal Slug X's remix of 2 as a main game, and also it got it to a lot more platforms than DS for 7. Also, I just happened to notice this yesterday and decided to do this thread today.

I have noooo clue what's up with SNK in the year 2020, ran by gangsters? The government? Korea? Regardless, not counting mobile offerings, it's been a decade!

Uh, share your fav slug memories and demand a new one.

Also, why is 4 so bad?

justiceiro · Feb 23, 2020

It's weird, I loved playing these games on ps1, but I couldn't really get into it in my ds. I'm not really sure if I want more.

But I certainly doesn't want it if is not pixel art, that's for sure.

skeezx · Feb 23, 2020

does SNK do anything other than KoF anymore*? (as in, like, "real" games). are they kinda like Konami in that they exist but kinda not

*i am aware of samshow

Tace · Feb 23, 2020

I just got the anthology on PS4. What a fun series. Can't believe it's been so long since XX. Would be cool if we got a Metal Slug team in KOF XV

Deleted member 17210 · Feb 23, 2020

Great games but they never varied enough by sequel. I don't need another one unless they change it up a bit.

CielYoshi · Feb 23, 2020

I feel like I'm the only one who likes MS4 in the world...

xir · Feb 23, 2020

i guess Metal Slug has a special place in my heart, i would have been 15-17 first time i played it, at a pizza hut in connecticut.

For 96-97 it's pixel graphics and contra gameplay somehow felt like faux-retro? Like it was a throwback but not rubbing your face in it, and the gentle humor was amazing. I wasn't a fanatic, but I could beat the first level with no deaths and in the slug.

For a certain era, I do feel like it was the pinnacle of pixel art, and though there's been A LOT of sprite recycling in the later games, I'm curious what we could get in this era, considering all the different styles and techniques that have come out of the indie scene in the last few years (also, most of those homage games are not very good) and not limited to the neo geo hardware (which to be fair it was unshackled from awhile ago in the series.) oh well

also, the space aliens kinda look like boobs, esp in the NGPC minigame in match of the millenium

Taco_Human · Feb 23, 2020

There's a rumor another one is getting announced this year. No idea what graphics are supposed to look like. I'm staying tuned.

doof_warrior · Feb 23, 2020

i dont think snk has the resources/money to do spritework that would live up to the old games
and i dont think i would want a polygonal metal slug...so yeah i dont know
unless they farm it out to the people making streets of rage' 4s graphics

Mbolibombo · Feb 23, 2020

Pretty sure a new Metal Slug game was revealed to be in development last year at their investor meeting in April I believe it was.

PBalfredo · Feb 23, 2020

God I love Metal Slug but I just can't imagine it ever making a real return since so much of its character comes from the craft of its pixelart. You just look at Metal Slug 1 and it's immediately apparent how much sheer effort went into all the details and animation of that game. And they could justify that effort because at the time it was not only artistically ahead of its competition, but technologically as well. Metal Slug in the arcades blew away everything else, especially on home consoles.

Today? They aren't going to invest that much effort into what is seen as a "retro" genre. It's why all the sequels had various degrees of asset reuse, with 4 being the worst case of it by far. And I'm not sure if SNK has the craft to recapture the same style in polygons.

Which is all a shame because I adore the series and seeing those soulless mobile games make be die inside.

xir · Feb 23, 2020

huh that delisted scott pilgrim game will be ten years old this year too
in honor of both:

Keym · Feb 23, 2020

The series died with 3 for me. It was all downhill from there.

Cow Mengde · Feb 23, 2020

NeoZeedeater said:
Great games but they never varied enough by sequel. I don't need another one unless they change it up a bit.

I love the series, but I agree.

Dache · Feb 23, 2020

Metal Slug 4 was a weird game because it was a transitional period from the Nazca-based original team that made Metal Slug 3, to the new team by the new licence holders. The art team lead by Akio was gone, and they had the code from Metal Slug X (not 3 for some reason), but it was complicated, poorly-commented, and based on years and years of built-up work on a pretty specialised hardware platform by a single main programmer. The new lead programmer wasn't given a great amount of time to learn the engine and add new features, the budget wasn't huge, and it wasn't until MS5 and 6 that they had finally fully sorted through and understood the codebase, documented and cleaned it up, resulting in 6 and beyond (Advance, 7 and XX) on different platforms.

These days, Andoh Kenji, the original programmer from MS1 - MS3, and Hidenari Mamoto, the programmer who lead development on the series from 4 onwards, work at the same developer together (or at least did recently).

OP, you want this: Metal Slug: The Ultimate History

Kanann · Feb 23, 2020

They said they doing it so we can just wait and hope it good.

The mobile one is decent tho, so many characters LOL

StreamedHams · Feb 23, 2020

xir said:
huh that delisted scott pilgrim game will be ten years old this year too
in honor of both:

God, I haven't seen that in ages. It's so good.

Vinegar Joe · Feb 23, 2020

We're never going to return to the series heyday, but I think a new Metal Slug could work using 2.5D graphics if handled correctly.

Dache said:
OP, you want this: Metal Slug: The Ultimate History

Can confirm this art book is an absolute must for anyone with even a passing interest in the series. It's fantastic.

WellbornWarrior · Feb 23, 2020

While I would love to stand corrected I don't think the current staff at SNK can replicate what made Metal Slug so great nor can they find a way to transform the outdated coin eater arcade style gameplay into something more modern.

ReyVGM · Feb 23, 2020

I want SNK to make Metal Slug games until they reach Metal Slug 69, and then remix that as Metal Slug XXX.

Sumio Mondo · Feb 23, 2020

Didn't they announce a new one was in development a while ago (for consoles)? Did that just evaporate?

mute · Feb 23, 2020

I have so many ways to play them...Switch/PS4/MisTer/NeoGeo Mini/NeoGeo ASP...if they release them on some other new thing I'd probably buy them there too lol.

Dark Ninja · Feb 23, 2020

Why aren't you counting the mobile game?

Its a great series I hope they figure out a 3D one or 2.5D one. A 3D one could be like Battalion Wars.

Hate · Feb 23, 2020

I really miss the announcer voicing every weapon pickup.

xir · Feb 23, 2020

Dark Ninja said:
Why aren't you counting the mobile game?

looking for the traditional gameplay

FTF · Feb 23, 2020

Dache said:
Metal Slug 4 was a weird game because it was a transitional period from the Nazca-based original team that made Metal Slug 3, to the new team by the new licence holders. The art team lead by Akio was gone, and they had the code from Metal Slug X (not 3 for some reason), but it was complicated, poorly-commented, and based on years and years of built-up work on a pretty specialised hardware platform by a single main programmer. The new lead programmer wasn't given a great amount of time to learn the engine and add new features, the budget wasn't huge, and it wasn't until MS5 and 6 that they had finally fully sorted through and understood the codebase, documented and cleaned it up, resulting in 6 and beyond (Advance, 7 and XX) on different platforms.

These days, Andoh Kenji, the original programmer from MS1 - MS3, and Hidenari Mamoto, the programmer who lead development on the series from 4 onwards, work at the same developer together (or at least did recently).

OP, you want this: Metal Slug: The Ultimate History

Wow that looks amazing, I need to pick that up. Love the Metal Slug series and 3 is one of my fav games of all time.

Raide · Feb 23, 2020

I want a new Metal Slug game made by the Ori devs or the Cuphead devs.

Vampirolol · Feb 23, 2020

This is really sad, I played X and 3 a lot lately, still incredible games.

Sumio Mondo · Feb 23, 2020

I knew I wasn't going mad:

The Metal Slug title is an all-new release, not linked with the mobile game currently in development at mobile giants Tencent. This title is being built for a mainstream console release sometime in the future.

SNK reportedly working on new Metal Slug and 'Neo Geo Versions 2 and 3'

Investor meet brings interesting tidbits Veteran developer/publisher SNK held an investor report in Seoul earlier today. According to a report...

www.destructoid.com

Hopefully it's a better game than Contra's awful "revival"

Dache · Feb 23, 2020

Vinegar Joe said:
Can confirm this art book is an absolute must for anyone with even a passing interest in the series. It's fantastic.

Absolutely, although I wanna make clear that it's way more than just an art book. It's a fascinating, super-detailed oral history (with plenty of previously-unknown info) of the core series' development, plus an extensive art book. :)

ViewtifulJC · Feb 23, 2020

+1 for the Metal Slug history book. Lot of interviews with previously unknown developers, lot of insight into the design process. The craziest thing was it was originally just starring the Metal Slug tank itself, and the location tests were so bad they basically had to remake the game with Marco/Tarma in only a few months cuz the game had to come out. Very stressful time, but the game was hugely successful.

SNK did say they're working on a new one, but TBH the series definitely peaked at 3. That was the last game by the original team before the SNK bankruptcy, and they kinda threw everything and the kitchen sink in there.

xir · Feb 23, 2020

I remember when gamefan had an issue with 100 screens of metal slug 3. Seems like another planet

Finaika · Feb 23, 2020

xir said:
I have noooo clue what's up with SNK in the year 2020, ran by gangsters? The government? Korea? Regardless, not counting mobile offerings, it's been a decade!

They are own by China.

Alienhated · Feb 23, 2020

Didn't they say that a new MS game is in development right now, alongside the new KoF?

N_Cryo · Feb 23, 2020

I bet metal slug 8 will be a "break glass incase of emergency" reveal.

Pyro · Feb 23, 2020

Surprised we haven't even gotten an announcement of a new one since SNK has pivoted away from pachinko and back into traditional games for ~5 years now.

xir · Feb 23, 2020

With 35 supplies and ~1.5k views maybe people don't care and the "stale" argument is generally valid?

this all with me revising anthology and running through 1 again. Still pretty fun

OmegaDL50 · Feb 23, 2020

I won't be surprised if people don't take the next Metal Slug game seriously because it may not use 2D sprite work. Take KOF 14 for example. The game borrows heavily from KOF '98 in terms of mechanics, being one of the most beloved KOF games of all time, but a lot folks passed over it like a fart in the wind all because of the aesthetic regardless how solid it's gameplay was.

Thankfully it seems some folks somewhat got over it when Samurai Shodown didn't nearly get as much criticism for it's art style.

Even with a low budget release, I don't really expect a return to the Irem / Nazca era of Metal Slug in terms of sprite work. Even Irem's R-Type Final 2 is 2.5D for example.

Even with the best hope that SNK is working with indie studio much like how Lizardcube is doing SOR4 for Sega. The closest I think we'll get to replicating the Metal Slug formula is SNK working with folks that did Iconoclasts. At least out of all the indies I've played that game art style comes the closest to replicating the Metal Slug sprite designs.

Rygar 8Bit · Feb 23, 2020

Really wish they'd make a new 3D one. Game could use modern overhaul.

Futaleufu · Feb 23, 2020

Would a run and gun game be worthy of a AAA budget in 2020?

1upsuper · Feb 23, 2020

Metal Slug is one of my favorite game series. I would really like to see it continue, but the circumstances that allowed the marvelous spritework the series is known for are surely long gone. I don't think SNK has the means or even the desire to try and replicate or outdo those early games. Any future games will probably use polygons, unless they can use the new assets they made for the mobile games and build a Frankenstein's monster out of them, much like later games in the series after 3. Maybe a hand drawn style like Hollow Knight or Skullgirls would be a nice compromise, but doing that style well is a herculean task too.

SturokBGD · Feb 23, 2020

Futaleufu said:
Would a run and gun game be worthy of a AAA budget in 2020?

If your run and gun game costs $100 million dollars, you might want to take a look at your project management team.

thomasmahler · Feb 24, 2020

Honestly, if I'd be in charge of SNK, I'd turn it into a FPS game. I'd use an art style similar to Team Fortress 2, but with very detailed models and explosions and focus on a heavily scripted campaign that's insanely over the top. Doom2016 has shown very well that people are still into arcade-feeling, fun shooters instead of just realistic stuff... every single impact would need to feel crunchy and satisfying. I think it'd be tremendously fun to bring Metal Slug to 3d.

OmegaDL50 · Feb 24, 2020

thomasmahler said:
Honestly, if I'd be in charge of SNK, I'd turn it into a FPS game. I'd use an art style similar to Team Fortress 2, but with very detailed models and explosions and focus on a heavily scripted campaign that's insanely over the top. Doom2016 has shown very well that people are still into arcade-feeling, fun shooters instead of just realistic stuff... every single impact would need to feel crunchy and satisfying. I think it'd be tremendously fun to bring Metal Slug to 3d.

While I respect your opinion being I love Ori, unfortunately side scroller platformer run'n'gun style is the reason why I love Metal Slug so much. I don't think Doom 2016 or Team Fortress 2 when I think of Metal Slug

There are case examples of long time franchises which drastically divergent formulas being a huge turn off of what to expect out of a given series. Look at the recent Contra Rogue Corps as a example, and it the Contra series creator was involved in a supervisory role as well.

A lot of the humor and oddities of the Metal Slug games simply won't transition well into a FPS style game. Like when you transform into a Zombie and can do the Blood Breath attack, nevermind the emphasis on platforming levels.

1upsuper · Feb 24, 2020

thomasmahler said:
Honestly, if I'd be in charge of SNK, I'd turn it into a FPS game. I'd use an art style similar to Team Fortress 2, but with very detailed models and explosions and focus on a heavily scripted campaign that's insanely over the top. Doom2016 has shown very well that people are still into arcade-feeling, fun shooters instead of just realistic stuff... every single impact would need to feel crunchy and satisfying. I think it'd be tremendously fun to bring Metal Slug to 3d.

Gotta be honest, this does not sound good. Run 'n gun games are not in abundant supply anymore. I would hate to see one of the best in the genre dive into the ocean of FPSs.

I'm also not really sure what about Doom 2016 feels arcade-y. It has 90s bombast, but not much of the ethos of shmups and run 'n guns.

thomasmahler · Feb 24, 2020

OmegaDL50 said:
While I respect your opinion being I love Ori, unfortunately side scroller platformer run'n'gun style is the reason why I love Metal Slug so much. I don't think Doom 2016 or Team Fortress 2 when I think of Metal Slug

There are case examples of long time franchises which drastically divergent formulas being a huge turn off of what to expect out of a given series. Look at the recent Contra Rogue Corps as a example, and it the Contra series creator was involved in a supervisory role as well.

A lot of the humor and oddities of the Metal Slug games simply won't transition well into a FPS style game. Like when you transform into a Zombie and can do the Blood Breath attack, nevermind the emphasis on platforming levels.

1upsuper said:
Gotta be honest, this does not sound good. Run and gun games are not in abundant supply anymore. I would hate to see one of the best in the genre dive into the ocean of FPSs.

Haha, well, I'm pretty confident in my ability there. I'm a HUGE Metal Slug fan (I actually own all the NeoGeo games apart from the first one) and I've been thinking about what I'd do with the franchise quite a few times while playing them - I don't think a company like SNK would make a 2d Run 'n Gun ever again and if they go higher res, they have like 0 chance to match the quality of the pixelart of the olden days... Look at what they did with Samurai Spirits, I'm pretty sure they'll do this kinda thing to all their games since producing 3d stuff is just far more cost-effective than making another 2d game. And that comes from me having made probably the highest end 2d games for the past 10 years.

I have an idea in my head that'd get me excited, I'm pretty certain all of the charme of the series could be brought over to 3d if it's done properly with the right people. And yes, there's lots of FPS games out there, but they're all kinda samey, realistic, etc. - it's all pretty devoid of creativity. And not just in terms of visuals, but also in terms of gameplay. I don't see why the style and charme of the old Metal Slug games couldn't be ported to 3d at all and I'm pretty sure if I'd have the time to make a prototype, I'd be able change your folks minds on this. But alas, this isn't going to happen, so I just hope SNK will do something awesome with the series. Metal Slug deserves a ton of love!

Jintor · Feb 24, 2020

gameplaywise they fell off after 3 anyway

that said

post sprites

WellbornWarrior · Feb 24, 2020

Actually one way I could see a 3D or 2.5D game work is if they use the same techniques like ArkSys in their games. But that would also mean an exorbitant amount of work, which is the reason to not use sprites anymore in the first place.

5pectre · Feb 24, 2020

Last year they tweeted something, from their earningscall maybe, that hinted at a Metal Slug game in development

JangleLuke · Feb 24, 2020

It's a damn shame, but at least the Metal Slug mobile game (Metal Slug Attack) has some legitimately awesome original spritework.
The craziest thing is that they're surprisingly faithful to the original art-style, a 20-year-old one at that.
(This is also an excuse to post some sprite eye-candy)

(I'm refraining myself from posting the more "risquee" ones, it is a gacha game)

Let's hope that new Metal Slug project comes to fruition in a satisfying way.
As for me, I'll take anything graphics-wise, I just want some awesome Run N' Gun action.

We haven't gotten a new* Metal Slug in ten years as of today

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