Metal Slug 3
This week’s review is for Metal Slug 3 by SNK for the arcades. I know that I said that I would do Fatal Fury 2 last week, but I just don’t wanna review that game. Besides, here is another SNK title that is worthy of your time. You’re favorite guys are back to take down Saddam Hitler, then take down the aliens! If you’ve never played a Metal Slug game, here would be a good place to start. If you have played a Metal Slug game before, then it would still be good to play this!
Name: Metal Slug 3
Game Ownership: Are you kidding?
Game Status: Beat one player mode using 60 lives.
How it was Acquired: Emulation
Played at: MAME
Condition when Bought: N/A
Game Type: Shoot em Up (Side-Scroller)
Preliminary Comments:
Rant: Why is the original character art for the select screen so ugly?
Fact: This is widely considered to be the best Metal Slug in the series.
Fact: This is the last game SNK did before they went bankrupt and lost the Metal Slug license.
Graphics - 7.0
Graphics are pretty good. Of course, just about everything has been rehashed directly from the past Metal Slug games. Characters, enemies, weapons, vehicles, EVERYTHING! Even though the rehashing wasn’t as bad as Metal Slug 4, it was still a bit much. I understand that they have to consider the limitations of the Neo Geo, but it’s still a shame. Animation is the same as before too. The game doesn’t lag out too often, which is good. Other than that, there really isn’t anything else to mention
Sound - 5.0
A lot of people like to say that Metal Slug has some good soundtracks, but I seriously can’t remember any of them…at all! I remember it was pretty decent, but absolutely nothing else about them. Actually, I do remember the fanfare when you win, but that’s it. Sound effects are something that I do remember, and they aren’t bad. They are not anything too different from other shoot-em-ups, but it is worth mentioning.
Story - 5.0
I’ve never been able to piece together the story of Metal Slug. It has something to do with Saddam Hussein working with aliens to conquer the world. Ok, I know it’s not really Saddam Hussein, but come on, look at him! Anyway, this installment in the series continues with that guy teaming with the aliens once again. Now, you all should know that the aliens screw him over at the end, and then you fight them. Even if you’ve never played Metal Slug, it should be really obvious. It’s not an original storyline, but since when was a SNK game original?
Fun - 8.0
Fans call this game the best in the series, and even though I’ve never played Metal Slug 5 or 6, I am willing to comply. Now, I don’t want to ruin the suprises for you, but let me just say don’t let the 5 levels make you think the game is short. Other than that, the game plays similar to the other Metal Slug games. You can still get a wide variety of attack vehicles and weapons and can still transform into a fat guy. If you love that quick, button-mashing, pseudo-nazi killing action, not to mention it being the hardest of all Metal Slugs, then this game will still bring tears to your eyes. Also, be prepared for certain suprises you’ll see along the way as well as the ability to take different paths through levels, which is always great.
Difficulty - 8.0
Arcade games live by one simple rule: to be so frustratingly hard that the kids have to pump tons of quarters. This game follows that rule to the core. In fact, it will drive you insane. I myself had to have 60 continues of 3 lives each. If each continue is 25 cents, then I would have spent 15 dollars! Think about that for a while.
Replayable - 7.5
This game is great to play alone or with someone else, which is a rare quality in games today. If you’ve wanted to play the Metal Slug series recently, then play the best one.
