Tag: Arcade

Alright, let’s do this one more time. Not the last time, mind you. We still have Garou left. But the age of my comparison reviews between ACA NEOGEO re-releases and the pre-existing (and still available) Dotemu-developed versions is just about at its end. Metal Slug X ACA NEOGEO ($3.99) is the latest release in Hamster and SNK’s mobile Arcade Archives initiative, and one that I know a lot of folks have been waiting for. I mean, I even told you to wait for it when Metal Slug 2 ACA NEOGEO hit. Took a little longer than I thought, but here we are. Let’s go into the details.

If you’ve read any of previous reviews of ACA NEOGEO releases that ostensibly replace the decade-old Dotemu versions of the same games, a lot of this is going to be familiar. I will go through it anyway, because some of you might be new. Feel free to head on to the next paragraph if you deem it necessary. So, the Dotemu version of Metal Slug X. It was quite good for its time, but its time was when Iron Man 3 was ruling the movie screens and everyone was doing the Harlem Shake. Things have marched on, and despite receiving updates over the years those original mobile versions are in rough shape now. While you can still buy the Dotemu version and save a buck by doing so, you should not. The ACA NEOGEO version is superior in every meaningful way. There, that’s all settled.

Metal Slug X is a strange game in the context of its series. While Metal Slug 2 had been very well-received and was a big success, it was hard to deny its technical issues. It suffered from severe enough slowdown that even a generation of players who had been raised on NES slowdown found it jarring at times. Developer Nazca Corporation had started work immediately on Metal Slug 3 after finishing up the second game, intending to make it the biggest and best run-and-gun action game that SNK’s NEOGEO platform would ever see. Fair beans to Nazca – the developer did more or less pull that off.

Still, those intentions meant that the third numbered installment would take two full years to finish development, which was a very long time for a company that was in dire financial straits and needed every hit it could muster. Egads! SNK’s 1999 fiscal year was ruined! But what if… Nazca Corporation were to make some adjustments to Metal Slug 2, shift it over to the more advanced Metal Slug 3 engine, and disguise it as a new game? Oh ho ho ho ho ho! Delightfully devilish, Shin Nihon Kikaku.

I’m being a little cute here to force the reference, but there’s no getting around the fact that Metal Slug X is a meal slapped together from the leftovers of last night’s Metal Slug 2 dinner. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, of course. This is a safe space and I think we can all admit that hot turkey sandwiches are usually better than the roast turkey the night before. It happens. And that is what happened here, too. I feel bad for people who were buying the extremely pricy AES cartridges, as they basically got Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3‘d here, but they were probably rich anyway. Metal Slug X rules. It’s a better game than Metal Slug 2 in every single way, and it’s just different enough to justify picking up even if you already own the game it’s based on.

It’s better on a technical level, with considerably fewer instances of slowdown and substantially lower severity when it does occur. There are more enemies about, owing to the freedom the Metal Slug 3 engine offered. Aesthetically, while the stages themselves use the same themes and layouts, the time of day has been changed in most of them to make things feel fresher. The music has been arranged and altered in some stages, and the Metal Slug 3 announcer has been added. There are some new sound effects, and an improved credits sequence.

Over on the gameplay side, there are a lot of little changes that add up to a big difference. New bosses, new enemies, new vehicles, more P.O.W.s and power-ups to find, new weapons, improved versions of existing weapons, and new behaviors for various objects and gimmicks. It’s a more difficult game, but not egregiously so. Indeed, I think the difficulty is just right in this game, with the extra heat compared to Metal Slug 2 proving to be most welcome. The pacing is really good too. I love Metal Slug 3, and it’s certainly a towering achievement in its genre. But I can’t argue with anyone who says that the last stage drags out far too long. You won’t have that issue with Metal Slug X. It’s all killer, no filler.

My heart struggles to choose between this game and Metal Slug 3 when I’m asked which is my favorite game in this series. I can’t pick, but the point is that if you’re into this genre at all you might as well own both of them. Four dollars? Yeesh. I threw way more quarters than that into this game back in the day. I think its snappy nature also makes it more well-suited to mobile than Metal Slug 3. Now, this game does suffer from the same issues we’ve seen with all the other Metal Slug ports to mobile. If you’re not using an external controller, you’re stuck with using touch controls in a game that can be quite demanding in terms of precision. But you have unlimited credits, so it doesn’t particularly matter if you die a lot. You know, if you just want to have fun and tour the game. The other issue is that to play multiplayer, you’ll need enough controllers for everyone and a display you feel comfortable enough crowding around.

Otherwise, it’s smooth enough sailing. You get both the Japanese and international versions of the game, tons of options to mess around with, a handy save state feature so you can stop and pick up at any point, and the usual extra modes every Hamster game comes with. The timed Caravan mode is decent here, and the score attack mode is a good challenge. There are online leaderboards to compete on as well, which can add some replay value to the game if you need more. Everything is emulated well, but there’s no surprise there. NEOGEO has been a solved problem for Hamster for a very long time now.

If you have an external controller or don’t mind the idea of playing with touch controls, Metal Slug X is about as good a run-and-gun experience as you’re liable to get on mobile. It’s a tightly-paced, action-packed tour through some wild and wacky stages that will keep you on your toes the whole way through. One of the best games on the NEOGEO, and I’m glad we’ve got a fresh version of the game to enjoy for the next ten years.

Well, here we go again. The latest addition to SNK and Hamster’s mobile Arcade Archives line is none other than Metal Slug ACA NEOGEO ($3.99), a second take on a game we got a mobile version of a decade back from Dotemu. That was a fine version for its era, albeit with all of the problems one would expect from trying to convert a run-and-gun action game from sticks and buttons to touch. Time has marched on, however. Despite some updates over the years to keep the game running, there are a lot of issues with it in the current year. Is that enough to merit buying the game again if you already own it? Should those who have neither version spend the extra buck for the new one? Come on in and find out the obvious answer.

So again I do want to clarify that Dotemu’s Metal Slug 1 ($2.99) was a perfectly fine version for its time. Things were very different in the mobile scene back in 2013 when that game was first released on mobile, especially with regards to screen sizes and aspect ratios. While the app saw occasional updates to maintain compatibility with various versions of iOS, some aspects didn’t get much in the way of reworking. One of the biggest problems with these older Dotemu NEOGEO ports is that the touch screen buttons are too small for modern displays, even at their largest setting in the options. That is also the case here, and it makes the old version very hard to play. You can use an external controller, but compatibility is a bit spotty. There are also a few minor emulation issues.

I’m repeating myself here from other recent reviews, but despite the slightly cheaper price I would caution strongly against buying the older version over the ACA NEOGEO one. I don’t even think SNK should still be selling that version now that this one exists. I doubt it will ever get the necessary updates to make it as playable as it used to be, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets retired in the near future. The ACA NEOGEO version isn’t exactly a treat to play with touch controls either, but it’s a lot more comfortable. It also offers many more options and modes, which I think makes it the one to pick all-around. Even if you’re using an external controller, you’ll find the ACA NEOGEO version runs and plays better.

As to the game itself, Metal Slug probably doesn’t need too much introduction if you’re interested enough in NEOGEO games to be reading this review. If SNK’s home/arcade console system is known for one thing, it’s The King of Fighters. But if it’s known for two things, the second one is Metal Slug. Developed by ex-Irem folks at Nazca Corporation, this run-and-gun action game is among the very finest the genre has to offer. It’s not hard to see why it spawned such a long-running and popular series. The graphics are incredibly detailed and lavishly animated, the gameplay is excellent, the pace of the game is zippy, the vehicles are exciting to use, the bosses are ridiculous, and it’s as much fun to play alone as it is with a friend. It’s also silly without pushing things too far, which is welcome in a genre that tends to tilt one way or the other when it comes to humor.

That said, the level of challenge and the fact that you need to pull off some wild moves make this ill-suited for touch controls, though in this ACA NEOGEO version you have access to an infinite number of credits to finish the game with. If you’re going to play the game seriously, you’ll probably want to make use of an external controller. It plays great that way, and it makes this version perhaps the best, most affordable official way to play Metal Slug. Throw in the usual extra modes, which work out quite well for this sort of game, and you have a really nice package here. Will the online leaderboards be populated? You can be part of the solution to that one, my friends.

The Dotemu version of the game had a handful of nice options, but this ACA NEOGEO version offers quite bit more to play around with. You can adjust the various difficulty options, tweak the controls to your liking, and tinker with the video and audio to a decent extent. You also get the usual save and load options, something the previous version was lacking. It’s nice to be able to stop and pick up a game like this anytime you want on mobile. Of course, the usual ACA NEOGEO issue is here in that you can’t play multiplayer very easily. You’ll need a couple of external controllers and must both play off the same device, so unless you have something bigger than your iPhone it’s going to be a bit of a cramped situation.

I think players going the touch screen route will want to carefully consider what they are looking for from ACA NEOGEO Metal Slug. If you don’t mind the fact that you will probably be playing sub-optimally, having trouble hitting angles and doing quick maneuvers, and dying a whole lot, then you can still have a good bit of fun here just touring the game with unlimited credits. It’s certainly no worse than any other virtual button-based run-and-gun game on iOS, and the quality of the original game shines through sufficiently for you to have a nice time with it. Sixteen quarters, people. You can own this game and keep it in your pocket for sixteen quarters. Tell that to the you of 1996. Their mind would be blown.

I’ve said a lot of this before about various other ACA NEOGEO releases, and this perhaps collects many of those points. Better than the previous version? Absolutely. Good game? Friend, it’s so great. Well-suited to mobile? Probably not, especially if you’re using touch controls. Worth picking up anyway? Yes, I think so. It’s feature-rich, gives you all the margin for error you could ask for, and is affordable to boot. A solid pick for fans of arcade classics.

All the way back in August of 2012, Dotemu and SNK released an iOS version of the NEOGEO classic Metal Slug 3. For its time, it was about as good of a port as you could ask for, hampered only by the difficulty of playing such a precise game with virtual controls. But time marches on, and like the other NEOGEO games developed by Dotemu, that version of the game hasn’t seen any significant updates in almost a decade. I’ll go into why that’s a problem, but suffice it to say I can see why Hamster and SNK have decided to release an ACA NEOGEO version of Metal Slug 3 ($3.99) for iOS. What are the differences? Venture in and we’ll have some talkies.

I’ll go into my usual rigmarole soon, but I want to deal with the elephant in the room first. The old version of Metal Slug 3 is still on the App Store and it’s a buck cheaper than this one. Why shouldn’t you buy it? Certainly, it has a couple of features that aren’t found in this new one, in particular support for multi-device multiplayer via Bluetooth. It’s a bit difficult to play the mobile ACA NEOGEO games with other players, and that does make a difference for a game like Metal Slug 3. There’s also the Mission Mode feature that allows you to jump to any level you’ve previously reached. It’s a handy feature in a game as long as this, especially given the branching paths that characterize this installment.

But friends, take heed: very old iOS games that haven’t been given regular care come with some serious drawbacks, and Metal Slug 3 is no exception. The biggest issue comes from the virtual controls. The buttons in the old version were the right size for the displays of the era, but eleven years later things have seriously changed. The virtual buttons are now absolutely tiny and barely useable. The stick in particular is a real pain. The old version sported compatibility with the iCade, which was about as much as you could have hoped for at the time. That’s… not so useful now, and its support for modern external controllers is a bit spotty. Metal Slug 3 with touch controls was always dicey, but the ravages of time have made that old version extremely awkward to play in the current year. I wouldn’t recommend it, even if the extra buck might get you a delicious Snickers bar. Well, probably half of one these days.

Okay, that’s out of the way now. Don’t buy that old version. SNK should pull it off the store, frankly. This new ACA NEOGEO version has all the usual features. You can tweak a bunch of options, use some properly-sized touch controls, play with an external controller, use save states, compete on the leaderboards in a few different modes, and use as many continues as your little heart desires. And your little heart will desire many, because this game is a coin-guzzling pig. I think my singular greatest gaming accomplishment was finishing this game with one credit back in 2006. It took me a year of near-daily practice. It just keeps going. Unlimited continues! You’ll want them.

This whole review feels like I’m backing out of a tricky parking spot. So, let’s talk Metal Slug 3. This is my favorite Metal Slug game. Some others prefer one of the first few games, and I can respect that. A few prefer one of the games after this, and I’m not sure how to feel about that. Enjoy, I guess? This was the last game in the series developed by the original team, and in a lot of ways it feels like the developers knew this was the grand finale. It’s a massive game, perhaps too large for some. The last stage is almost as long as some entire games. Most of the stages have branching paths, and often more than one. Each leads to a completely different area, often with unique backgrounds, enemies, and bosses. This is disgusting excess, and I absolutely love it.

The usual four heroes are here, and you can choose whoever you like. It doesn’t matter much. There are tons of different weapons, lots of vehicles to commandeer, and fun transformations in some of the stages and branches. Metal Slug 3 is constantly throwing new things at you, so the run-and-gun action stays exciting from start to finish. This game came out in the year 2000, when things were pretty grim for this genre and 2D games as a whole. Metal Slug 3 had to keep the fires burning, and it brought enough firewood for all. If you haven’t played it before and have any love for the genre at all, you really should.

But is this version the way you should play it? If you have an external controller, that’s an easy choice. Yes, this is a fantastic version. It runs the way it should, and the suite of options fills things out nicely. The only downside is that you can’t play multiplayer unless you have a couple of external controllers and don’t mind crowding around a single display. As a single-player experience, it’s as good as any other option. Connect your controller, drop the necessary four bucks, and have a lovely day going through it all.

If you don’t have an external controller, it’s harder to recommend. This is a very intensive game and it requires a lot of precise movement if you want to avoid dying several hundred times. I’m a fairly deft hand with touch controls, but even for me this is a bit tough to deal with. Can you still have sixteen quarters’ worth of enjoyment? Sure. You’ll die a ton, but you have as many credits as you need. It’s a hefty enough game that you’ll get your value out of it even if you’re just touring it by throwing dead bodies at the bosses. But if you want to play it seriously, I don’t think the touch controls are going to do it for most.

If you’ve never played Metal Slug 3 before, this isn’t a terrible way to dive into it. Throw in an external controller and you’ll have a grand time. It’s also easily worth the upgrade over the old, now sadly outdated Dotemu version. This is one of the crown jewels of the NEOGEO, and I’m glad we have a fresh version on mobile. It’s a poor fit for touch controls, but the game itself is so good that it’s worth putting up with it to see everything it has to offer. Not every SNK mobile game is worth the double-dip, but I think Metal Slug 3 is.