Metal Slug: The First Mission is SNK’s first attempt to squish down this iconic series into portable form for their Neo Geo Pocket Color system. We play as Marco who is given the orders to find and take down a powerful arms dealer that goes by the name Colonel Hilde Garn. To accomplish this, we will shoot down anyone and anything that crosses our way using many of the series signature weapons such as the rocket launcher and shotgun. Our primary gun and only one that has infinite ammo will be the pistol. It oddly enough does not kill enemies in a single hit like the main series, instead they will take two shots before they are down for the count.
We are also capable of taking more than a single shot now thanks to the new health bar feature. How many hits we can take depends on the difficulty level we pick from the Options menu which are five in total ranging from Kids to Very Hard. Also found in the options menu is how many times we can retry before it’s game over with 9 being the maximum you can choose. No longer can we just jam in another quarter whenever we die to respawn on the spot, dying in ‘The First Mission’ will take you back to the last checkpoint. Having a life bar makes this much more manageable than it would have been otherwise. You can also refill a bit of health by chowing down on whatever food you may happen to find.
Both health pickups and those simply for points are usually dropped after killing some foes though this title also added in areas to explore which may net you some goodies. All previous Metal Slug games typically involve you just running to the right to progress, but in First Mission, the levels are pretty open ended with doors to enter and secret paths to take. As cool as this sounds some level layouts are confusing, and it does feature a fair amount of platforming which makes it feel like a mix of Duke Nukem 1 and Mega Man more so than Metal Slug. You will be jumping over endless pits, timing when flames burst out and jumping on detonating bombs to reach higher platforms while being moved by a conveyor belt.
It is not necessarily bad but if you love Metal Slug, do know that this title has a very different feel, to the point that you should not buy this title for its namesake alone. Making a return are two vehicles, the tank, and fighter jet. You will not simply be able to hop into them like you usually do, instead they have entire sections or levels dedicated to them where you cannot get out of them and having your ride blow up will lead to death. This also has the effect that it causes some levels to suddenly turn into a shmup instead of a run & gun. These levels are fun and are short enough to not be a major turn off for those not into the genre.
One mission is absolutely terrible, however. It involves you mashing the A button to speed up a rail-cart in order as you jump over electric fences and try to avoid falling on the floor the entire time. Luckily it is also short, but it was just pointlessly gimmicky. Most of your deaths will occur in situations such as these, where you either miss a jump or a gimmick screws you over. Once again, it is a far different game than what one would expect from Metal Slug. As much as I seem to be bashing it, it is in fact a decent title in its own right and looks great on the small screen. No one would expect it to be as flashy as its arcade counterparts, but it is packed with detail and areas differ greatly from one another.
There are over 15 levels to play through that funnily enough, will take you longer to go through than a main Metal Slug game. Most of the sacrifices were made on the audio side of things. There is no voice acting whatsoever, and the tunes have been scaled down but are still recognizable as well as charming. There is also a slight fault with the control scheme. The Neo Geo Pocket only has two buttons which are used for jumping and shooting though to use grenades you will have to press the Option button to switch between either a gun or an explosive. Why they didn’t just make Option throw a grenade instead of having us go through the extra step of switching your weapon is beyond me.
That aside, the game controls great, and you will have no trouble doing what you intend to do. Your most common enemy will be the soldier that is easy enough to take on when alone but with their friends jumping off ledges ready to knife you and others shooting at you it becomes more of a dangerous fight. Just touching them does not harm you, instead however manages to knife the other first will be the victor. Some show up with riot shields which is where your grenades will come handy, and some will be sitting in wait with their tanks that definitely take more than two shots to destroy. Your biggest threat will be the massive, mechanical bosses that will show up in some levels that will give you a run for your money.
They are fun to fight, and most occur while on foot. A certain boss most be defeated while on a jet and is by far the most difficult fight in the game due to your huge hit-box while in it, having little room to maneuver and it having a ton of health. Defeating bosses will cause a lot of goodies to burst out of them, giving you a significant amount of points. Speaking of, all pickups in general, be it health or point based disappear far too fast. You must react quickly, or they will disappear into nothingness just as suddenly as they appeared annoyingly enough. If you manage to beat the game, you will unlock an extra character that plays the same but is a nice addition nonetheless. In the end of the day, Metal Slug: The First Mission takes a ton of liberties that will alienate fans of the series that are not fans of platforming but it is the most innovative entry in the franchise, and a content-packed adventure worth checking out.
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