Metal Slug Retrospective

Get your rocket launchers and heavy machineguns ready as we blast through the history of Metal Slug.
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00:00 Intro
00:20 Origins of SNK
01:30 NeoGeo
03:41 Nazca Corporation
04:50 Metal Slug
12:30 Metal Slug 2
16:40 Metal Slug X
18:17 Metal Slug: 1st Mission
20:58 Metal Slug 2nd Mission
22:25 Metal Slug 3
26:47 The Death and Rebirth of SNK
29:48 Metal Slug 4
32:11 Metal Slug 5
34:08 Metal Slug Advance
35:50 Metal Slug (2006)
39:23 Metal Slug 6
42:25 Metal Slug 7
44:52 Outro
47:00 Final Word
48:42 Credits and Sources

[@DobbyBogg]

6 months of work paid off. This was really good dude, everything about it. The editing, the voice over all of it was real good. Metal Slug is one of my favorite series happy people are still talking about it.

[@BandenTCY]

This series will always have a special place in my heart no matter what. 60% of my childhood in elementary school was built with playing Metal Slug games on my PSP and PS2, other than Bomberman and GTA. Now we look forward to Metal Slug Awakening!

[@kingwou]

Metal Slug Awakening look soulless tho, pixel art is a crucial part of metal slug identity, thing Awakening doesn't seem to apprehend

[@mattrice5998]

i remember even playing metal slug on the snk arcade machines they had at mcdonalds

[@kingwou]

@MyLazySundae 2d doesn't mean its outdated or old, it's an artistic choice every game has one, 2.5 is not an improvement over 2d its just another artistic choice.

[@kng_yt_]

@@kingwouAwakening is for new generations. New generation ‘d puke on pixel stuff. They did a great job. For nostalgic preaks we have Metal Slug Tactics and from the old Nazca, Black Finger Jet. Enjoy

[@CJ-jl6hf]

pssssh.... playing on a PSP? I use to play this on a cabinet as a kid and spent so many quarters doing so...... 💀

[@danielj.nickolas17]

My family used to go bowling every Saturday night; there was a huge alley not from my childhood home (48 lanes). The alley had a small arcade, which included a cabinet of Metal Slug X. My brother and I beat that game several dozen times during our childhood. He played as Marco Rossi, I played as Fio Germi, and we’d often spend most of the night fighting off rebels and alien octopus monsters. We only ever stopped playing because the cabinet was eventually replaced. I’m somewhat surprised to hear that Metal Slug 3 is considered the best. A Metal Slug game better than Metal Slug X would have to be literally flawless!

[@mattsmith5253]

At the end, can't forget Commando from Miniclip!

[@NIGH11]

Incredible video man...idk how tf this channel hasn't blown up like a rocket lawnchair !

[@travisedwards3543]

"Lawnchair" 😂

[@iMernerner]

​@@travisedwards3543avy machinga

[@llIZeroIIl]

Here, let me help with that :) (Subs and pulls out a lawn chair)

[@MAR10WORLD]

now that’s a reference I haven’t heard in a long time lol

[@8justintracy8]

Yes, great video!!

[@Inferno144]

Metal Slug's soundtrack really gets you in the zone for these fights. Hearing that sick guitar riff or the classic final battle song.

[@boyonthephone1]

One of the most beautiful looking and best playing games of all time as evidenced by the number of versions/ports.

[@maxhammer4067]

To play these games in the 90s on a neo geo must have been amazing

[@isaacperez7664]

Fr the pixel at is just 🤌

[@chunkymilk]

why? it's better in the arcade.

[@cajampa]

@@chunkymilk Are you confused? Neo Geo is the arcade. And if you had the home unit you had the exact same experience, hardware and game that was the whole point. And why the hardware and games was so expensive Even the controller was massive and very much like the cabinet. And back then it was all CRT we played on at home so it was very similar to the cabinet.

[@AelfricBlack]

Yes it was… yes it was.

[@armyofninjas9055]

Arcade was more fun. Same with all the capcom games.

[@KamiSilver]

I managed to complete X with no deaths back in the day. It felt amazing!

[@drryanmorris]

Metal slug was an obsession for me growing up. We had a giant metal slug 2 machine at our local bowling alley. That holds a lot of my pocket money. I remember the day my friend said he had them on PC on the neo geo emulator. He became my best friend on the spot and we spent many hours playing haha. Great video, takes me back 25 years

[@CySaiCy]

Metal Slug will always have a special place in my heart

[@dineez627]

Man I love Metal Slug so much. I still have a Playstation 2 and the Metal Slug Anthology so I can always play this masterpiece of a series.

[@donskiver]

That neo geo startup jingle is soooo good.

[@ty_sylicus]

I love this series and am thrilled to have most of the games available on modern consoles. Will never forgot burning through dollars worth of quarters to play the first game over and over as a kid.

[@doctorhunter5553]

Few things that i think no games can do is replicate the charm of Metal Slug series art style, the soundtrack, character design, enemy and boss designs, sound designs and finally it's charm. from what i've seen so far Whenever i think of Metal Slug it hurts my heart since it's one of the few arcade games i played with and remembered the most when i was younger and as much as i hate Metal Slug Attack ( the gacha game that shutdown in january 12, 2023 ) i still liked it because of the pixel art style. thanks to youtube for recomending me this and thanks for making this video

[@danzena4059]

This is one game I NEVER get bored. Ever. The graphics and art style, the controls, the fun factor is just so accessible and easy to pick up and play.

[@artursjoblom5142]

Great retrospective. The old Neo Geo era is legendary, especially Metal Slug.

[@DraxFyre]

Metal Slug is my go to games when I'm in the arcade while all my other friends are busy playing KoF, SF, Virtual cop. 1 coin could last me till the last stage. Incredible video that brings back nostalgia.

[@matg9844]

I remember playing metal slug for the first time because mortal kombat and killer instinct were both taken. Metal Slug blew my 8 year old mind and I love it to this day.

[@kayDawgTV]

Metal Slug 2 was my first game, where I could get to the final mission on one credit. I didn’t even know it was the final mission. Man I was so proud when I finished it. To this day it is probably still my favorite arcade game.

[@matoinoir1780]

This is the Best Metal Slug Retrospective Video I Seen! You Deserve more Views

[@2100mrmel]

Every Mexican kid played this religiously

[@mr.sageclaw8086]

Up until now I thought I was a huge fan of MS, but I had no idea of how little I actually knew about the series. Well done. Big thumbs up.

[@sabbathjackal]

Right! We are bad fans of metal slug

[@slamtilt01]

Great video on my favourite Neo Geo game. I used to work in arcades back in the mid 90’s to 2000. When Metal Slug hit, its humour made people talk. It was violent, yet cartoonishly. Which seemed to make it more acceptable to parents for their children to play.

[@mrgtmodernretrogamingtech6891]

This game is still vivid in my memories, in the early 90's, as my mom takes me for groceries, I always ask her if I can go to the arcade area on the 2nd floor of the groceries store (CVC Supermarket Paso De Blas Valenzuela, Philippines) while she's doing her shopping. Since then, for me, it's been advanced hardware and a game that produces pixel art masterpieces of mayhem, while watching behind the grown-ups playing it. Such great childhood...

[@jean-noelduquesne3156]

Amazing work!

[@BiyikFrostDiaz]

The metal slug franchise is nothing short of legendary and revisting one of my childhood games reminded me of awesome arcade game could be

[@handiz25]

Metal slug was make me who i am right now . I still remember it when im still kid play it on ps and until now still play it again and again . Even now i have new game that good on battle and gun fight , metal slug was still number one in my live.

[@Mach5Johnny]

Definitely a criminally underrated and overlooked game series!…. I especially miss Metal Slug Attack! I enjoyed playing that on my phone!

[@drizzziit1]

It's back ! 🙏🙏🙏

[@drizzziit1]

It's back ! 🙏🙏🙏

[@Vicente.G]

Nice retrospective, this series will have a very special place in my heart, it's tha game that hooked me into gaming itself on a PS2 of all things XD

[@walouinsanityshed]

Love that you let gameplay and music roll out without commentary. Too rare in game videos

[@BastosFC2]

Omg i've been looking for the name of "Kung Fu Master" forever. I loved that game. Thanks

[@kaidrescher6321]

I grew up with X on the Playstation, played through it many many MANY times with my brother, it never stopped being fun, that game was simple couch co-op perfection.

[@heardofrvb]

This is an amazing, indepth retrospective. PEACE FOREVER!

[@yairgomez9090]

Man, what a nostalgia trip, I grew up with this series.

[@TROPHYEARNER]

It’s wild to think about how many quarters my brother and I must’ve sank into the Metal Slug 2&3 and Simpsons Arcade cabinets at our local Pizza Hut, when I was 6-12 or so (before they removed them entirely). It got to the point where my mom would bring a magazine to read, as she’d wait to order ‘til we either finally reached the end, needed to call it quits and run to the bathroom, or got too hungry to continue. For someone who was only there for the last gasp of arcade cabinets in the mid aughts to early tens, I still have tons of nostalgia for them. Playing games on those machines hits different. Hell - my brother and I certainly didn’t stop putting our limited kid money into those Metal Slug cabinets, even after we ended up buying the anthology; along with a lot of other arcade game collections we endlessly played at home

[@ColdFuse96]

I play this game all the time when I was little, and goddamn did this video give me nostalgia for it. Thanks so much, SNK. You made a game that's truly deserving of the title of one of the classics of gaming!!!!

[@Renplays_doesFunny]

This series is a gem and always have a place in my heart

[@Eight-Bytes]

How they managed to create such a masterpiece in such a short time is insane, especially for the time. With some of the most impressive sprites to date. These guys were on another level.

[@jessycruz2465]

Metal slug will always have a special place in my heart. The game is like a lovechild of the 16bit and 32bit era which is my fav era of gaming.

[@LandmanEDC]

What an incredible video. Watched the whole thing and I *thought* I knew everything about Metal Slug but I was wrong! Thanks for all your work!

[@TheDuckofLaw]

This was an excellent video - Metal Slug has a special place in my heart.

[@ReaperCore15]

Metal slug is a legendary series, it deserved a legendary review, glad you did it !

[@WashiWashiJuan]

I absolutely love this series, thanks for making this video i have no idea how i didn't get it recommended before

[@thrillhouse_vanhouten]

for anyone reading this: Metal Slug 1st & 2nd Mission on Neo Geo Pocket Color are low-key the best home console games in the Metal Slug series. Don't sleep on them, they're excellent!!

[@VOAN]

As was Metal Slug Advance which is technically Metal Slug 3rd Mission, just not on NeoGeo Pocket Color.

[@ferdinand12390]

Metal Slug is one of my favorite series, first one i played was X and it was kinf of reluctantly, but as i played it, i loved it and didn't drop it since, this year i just finished the Anthology. Wish there were more of to come.

[@SpilledMug]

Amazing video, I have so much nostalgia for metal slug, my favourite arcade game series of all time

[@hardmode6082]

great video dude, lm surprised it doesnt have thousands or millions of views already! You certainly deserve them. MS is one of the games that played during my whole teen age and adult years and l learned a lot about it just with the first 10 minutes of your video. Perfect speech and you go straight to the point and none of that sentimentalistic or dorky or nostalgic tone some youtubers seems to fake many times, men gets me cranky lol Anyways, keep it up men you got much talent for this The only think it lacked, or at least l didnt heard it, is who made the music

[@ZeroEscape2074]

metal slug, and honestly every SNK game in the arcades + capcom arcades, is where I spend most of my free time as a kid, even when I don't have the money to play, it's always fun to just watch others play

[@tojoisathomeinthisfunben9364]

Six months of work? It shows. Damn this is one of the best researched retrospectives I've seen. With the quotes from the interviews, a synopsis of the stories.. everything. I really liked the part when you mentioned the prototype neo geo catching fire and the staff asking if the ram was fine but not the developer right in front.

[@125discipline2]

how many titles survive the way metal slug did? this title is genuinely loved by its fans, its 2D art sprite is true hardwork of art

[@soulsguy120]

You know I actually thought I was going to watch an hour on just the first game but i was very happy to see it was the full series!

[@byleobb]

That was amazing! I grew with Metal Slug and I played 1, X, 3 and 4 almost everyday in a nearby arcade here in Brazil. Awesome video, dude. Looking forward to the next one

[@JoseCarranza]

25:00 will always be one of the best and most surprising moments in my arcade gaming ever. MS3 is one of my favorite games. And congratulations for such a great job with this amazing retrospective. Very informative with rich content for every entry ~ ✌️

[@B0redZer0]

Metal slug 3 was the first one of these i ever played and it was so fucking cool. I vividly remember that the hotel i was in for a skiing trip ages ago had a ps2 setup like an arcade machine, with one of the games on there being Metal Slug 3. The console didnt have a save card in it, so every time the console was shut down it was back to square one. This meant that most of my free time during the trip at that console, having an great time, until sometime into the second week of the trip i finally managed to get to the final mission. I was so suprised and excited when after you first fight the general shit starts going down, your character gets kidnapped and you blast up into space with the awesome music blaring all the way up. When the music for that mission came on in the video it was such a rush hearing it again. I fucking love all of these games and i would commit unspeakable acts to once again be that kid glued to the screen of the arcade machine as if there wasnt anything more important in the world at that moment. Of course, my parents were less than thrilled when i came to them bragging that i finished the violent shooter game on the arcade machine, but cant win em all i quess. But yeah.. TLDR: Metal Slug is fucking awesome.

[@theimperfectgod7140]

Metal Slug is the GOAT run & gun game. the 3rd game being my favorite, hard as balls to the wall!!!

[@BanksVSDavis]

You win! For making this documentary

[@ricoissuave7012]

I grew up playing this with my uncle as a little kid! Good memories

[@animonarch3858]

I love how you use all the osts perfectly in videos, and you got my sub

[@LanEXHikari]

Great retrospective! All your months of hard work really show, keep it up! 👍🏼

[@TheDuckyDino]

This is probably the best retrospective video I’ve seen on Metal Slug so far. Something that wasn’t mentioned about 6 is that it has an alternate ending where Rootmars saves you instead of Morden, depending on the path you take in mission 4. Hope they get around to porting it to something other than the ps4 eventually.

[@thrillhouse_vanhouten]

What's this? A tiny channel under 200 subs uploaded a 52-min Retrospective on the entire Metal Slug series? Someone must have really worked hard on this, because it sure wasn't made with ad revenue in mind. I'm in!! Update after watching: yup, you hit all the bases and summarize the series history far more accurately than SlopesGameRoom did, and with no editorializing. Excellent work!

[@tsukinotsubame17]

Metal Slug will always be a Legendary Coin Arcade Game to all Players who Played it ...

[@gornak5]

Just watched this. Great work on a classic series. 'Tactics out in 2023' was a gut punch.

[@ActAccordinglyNow]

Metal slug was the first arcade game I ever played as a kid growing up. I can still smell the laundry detergent every time I play it :)

[@Wierdcrap]

I remember being in Mexico playing the arcade and going through coins. Man some of the best nights were just the excitement of waiting to go play it with my cousins

[@leWolpis]

I always wondered about the existence of both Metal Slug 2 and X, and just now got my answer, great video!

[@CharlyHyo]

What a great retrospective of Metal Slug, without a doubt it shows all the interest and affection that you took in the series, take that break since going through all the 2D games is exhausting so you definitely leave a great documentary, Since you mention Aruze and his low blow that he did to SNK, Metal Slug is a beloved series for those of us who grew up with arcades, here in Mexico it was popular to the point that it had its space in every arcade room, pharmacy, shopping center and place where there was a "maquinita" since that's what we called the arcades, thanks for the hard work, rest assured soldier your mission complete.

[@diamondhamster4320]

Damn, massive Metroidvania-genre game set in Metal Slug universe would be pretty awesome...

[@lukefairbanks8622]

I remember one of the arcade games as a kid then had the anthology on one of my consoles, hell yea brother

[@TheChrisBeans]

Honestly, brilliant. Metal Slug is the reason I bought arcade cabs, and I now have multiple cabs and every arcade iteration of MS. I’m in deep, I’m often underwhelmed by MS KZbin videos, and I have to say that this was worth every one of those 52 minutes. Attention to detail, and clearly a lot of research and effort in here. Great stuff. Thanks!

[@NeoGato2point0]

As an SNK fan, I’m loving this video! Great work! I also had no idea that the creators of Metal Slug also created Neo Turf Masters! That game is slept on and strangely fun. I became a big SNK fan because of the fighting games, but I also discovered many other colorful and unique shooting games and others.

[@dur7021]

This was great. Loved seeing all the concept art. Subscribed

[@cullermann2]

I played this with my brother in Tunisia on family holidays in the hotel arcade lobby with a bunch of kids from the whole hotel in the late 90s. I remember very clearly how like 12 kids were gathered around the one arcade machine and everytime someone died, we switched the player and whoever had a Dinar (the currency), put it in the machine :D good memories

[@everpolo29]

As confirmed by Akio (the MS 1 - 3 pixel artist), this creature at 26:46 was going to be one of the main enemies of MS4.He wanted the plot to be underwater. However, the idea was discarded since the team split up some time later after MS3 was released.

[@PotatoTimeBomb]

I'll always watch an hours worth of Metal Slug content ❤

[@shiroka1371]

Marvelous Retrospective about the Series! I've played the Series even originally on Arcades back at my Hometown spending A LOT of Quarters (MS1-3) While MS1 and 2 were doable, I've spent a lot more on MS3 especially on the Zombie Level with the final Boss :D I regard MS3 still as the pinnacle of the Series (Although the "Final Attack Theme" of MS5 is the best Version which was even picked solely for KoF15!) There were some details though you probably forgot to mention or didn't see as important: -Being Fat: The Weapons morphed too when you were fat by changing slightly their Properties like MG having "round" big sprites when shot covering more space or Laser Beam being more "thick" -Slug Suicide Attack: Slugs could do a Suicide Attack where the player char gets thrown out and the slug crashes into the first enemy with explosion (Camel just bites and then runs away ^^). Due to the Combination you had to input (A+B) it could sometimes lead to misinput when you shoot and jump with your Tank and then initiate Suicide Attack -Ralf's Vulcan Punch: Ralf can also do the "Vulcan Punch" which even could do heavy damage on Tanks with few punches! All in all you did a fine job presenting one of the best "Run 'n Gun" Game Series of all Time. You're dismissed now :D

[@Jitsara]

Thanks for being so informative and time that you spent to bring all the good memories back,

[@TheLoneTraveler.]

metal slug 3 rockets launching into space always hits different

[@deavyhick6803]

I can still remember the tap of the arcade buttons and shake of the machine from the joystick lol

[@Xhalonick]

Amazing video. Love how you are concise yet detailed at the same time. You deserve a rocket lawcha

[@razzledazzle84921]

Appreciate the effort that went into this, it added a huge amount of context to the games and the company. Thanks man.

[@ronindebeatrice]

I've always thought the art of Metal Slug was absolutely unrivaled, but I'd never seen MS3 in motion!

[@danbrown4420]

Played loads of this as a kid, in arcades and on ps1, and I did not know the tank was actually the "Metal Slug" 😅 I assumed the game title was just referring to freedom seeds. Great memories with my brother playing these games for hours on end 🤘

[@zach6372]

fantastic work, im glad someone finally made a series retrospective. the time you spent on this shows. There's a ton of passion put into this video. great work, keep it up!

[@SolCresta3405]

To this day, I still wish we had Metal Slug 8...

[@KingXanadu]

This was absolutely excellent . Thanks for the video, you’ll keep growing big with content this good

[@wizdude]

That was a great retrospective and you put in some solid work which has clearly paid off. An awesome piece of work to be proud of. Thank you for producing this. Cheers! 😊

[@travezripley]

This was so well put together! Thank you!

[@ghost_ib9928]

Man this series was one of the highlights of my childhood,this was a joy to watch on this,you deserve tons of success my man, great job.

[@iwuvu5940]

This series is freakin awesome

[@user-en7ll3og6c]

One of my favourite games from my childhood. Such good memories i have with it. Glad people still thinking about it. Brilliant video btw

[@oudomchem180]

Amazing video! I've been a huge Metal Slug fan for a long time and to see people acknowledging the art of it, really warms my heart.

[@stephenkim589]

Did Arnold voice "Rocket launcher?" Lol

[@HowdyImAlex]

Well researched and well put together video! I appreciate the sources listed at the end, the flourishes of gameplay audio mixed in with your commentary, and giving clips room to breathe when introducing a new title. Good stuff.

[@superslavbross9935]

6 months of work! Holy shit dude,the quality of the video is outstanding! Love the content. Hope you will get more subscribers soon!

[@ZenHorakti]

that Final Metal Slug 2 is makes me teary. Its so awesome you together with your sworn enemies fighting aliens. and you win because one of them choose to do kamikaze

[@m.a6416]

14:51 . Left shop is called "Food poisoning Restaurant" and the one on the right "Sek without a job" Totally missed that as a child.

[@CTKix]

Amazing job. Metal Slug will always be one of my favorite series. You did this documentary absolute justice!

[@nayruc.2717]

Really well made video, I love Metal Slug and I'm glad you've done this retrospective.