Lost In Translation/Metal Slug - Super Vehicle-001

About The Game
Metal Slug - Super Vehicle-001 is an horizontal-scrolling, parodistic World War II-themed platform arcade video game shoot-em-up.

Extra weapons can be picked up and used for greater firepower, and vehicles (such as the 'Super Vehicle-001' - or Metal Slug - of the game's title) can be entered and driven. The levels are also littered with bearded hostages who, when rescued, award the player with point bonuses (in the form of medals) and weapon power-ups. Metal Slug is a superb game which achieved the status of instant classic and is still considered by many to be the pinnacle of 2-Dimensional game design.

Additional Technical Information
Players : 2

Control : 8-way joystick

Buttons : 3

=> Character > [A] Shoot, [B] Jump, [C] Grenade

=> Metal Slug> [A] Gun Attack, [B] Jump Board Vehicle, [C] Artillery Attack

Trivia
Released in April 1996.

Etymology of 'Metal Slug' : Meeher, the lead designer of the game for Nazca, wanted to create an armored fighting vehicle that could crawl on the ground like a 'slug', similar to a snail but without an outer shell protecting its body. The word 'metal' in the title indicates that the vehicle is mechanical. Initially players regarded the title as being 'not good enough'. Meeher later joked about the title, saying 'Maybe I don't make much [sic] of a sense?'.

Slugs in Metal Slug sequels included animals (usually only the Vulcan cannon mounted on the animal, with a cannon attachment occasionally available), planes and other vehicles that do not fit Meeher's original definition.

While being an obvious parody of World War II and the Nazi regime (the rebel army's flag is a deliberate pastiche of the Nazi "Swastika"), Metal Slug also lampoons 'Full Metal Jacket' and 'M*A*S*H'. General Morden, the rebel army's evil general, is a parody of Saddam Hussein.

Just as the 2 main heroes (Marco & Tarma) appear on every chapter in the Metal Slug series, General Morden & Allen O' Neill (the machine gun wielding, trash mouth-talking, buffed soldier) are the series' classic main villains.

Brad Russell holds the official record for this game with 378,640 points.

The same team that created Metal Slug previously created a handful of games for Irem which have very similar graphics and gameplay. "Cyber Lip" (1990) had some of the core developers as the original Metal Slug. "Gunforce" (1991) and "In the Hunt" (1993) had noticeably similar gameplay, with graphics that have a slight resemblance to Metal Slug. "Gunforce 2" (1994) not only had similar gameplay but the sounds of dying soldiers were almost exactly the same as Metal Slug. Because of this, some fans refer to Gunforce 2 as "Metal Slug Zero".

Tips and tricks

 * Metal Slug features a 'blood ON' option (soldiers squirt blood when shot, instead of water). This can be activated via the 'Setting The Soft Dip' option in the game's dip switch menu.


 * When you drop down at the start of a mission, press B to make the parachute disappear, thus allowing your character to drop down more quickly.


 * Don't waste ammo like an idiot. Metal Slug requires some thinking and shooting like a maniac is not the best way to play this game.


 * Don't waste special weapons on shields. Shielded soldiers will toss aside their shields when they need to fire, so shoot at them only at this instant. Or use your knife if you manage to get close enough.


 * Use your knife against lone enemies. No need to waste 10 rounds of your Heavy Machine Gun on a single bastard!


 * When Metal Slug is dangerously low on health (but not that low so you are forced to leave it), use the frontal attack for major damage.


 * Most enemy tanks and machines, except for with the front ends and pointy parts, are harmless. As Marco or Tarma, jump on them and he'll constantly bounce on top of them.


 * Whenever you jump out of the slug, you are invincible for a brief amount of time. Obviously, this is a cool advantage and it can save your ass in a lot of occasions. Specially against the blue mortars since you can't avoid them. Note, however, that there is no invincibility time when you jump back into the slug.


 * There is apparently no 'reload time' when you throw grenades or rockets. The rate depends on how many of either are currently on-screen such that if you are close to an enemy, the rate will be negligible. You may use this trick against some bosses and in any other situation to pass through unscratched.


 * Those score-maniacs will be particularly pleased to learn that you get a shit-load of points by killing all those jumping/flying soldiers who are such a nuisance. So, if scoring is your cup of tea, linger around during these points and stock up.


 * Killing the enemy soldiers can be fun, but the best things about this game are certainly the comedy scenes and the hidden secrets. The greatest contributors of points, rescued hostages points, are also the hardest to earn. The first problem is to find them, the second is to stay alive to get credit for your rescues (Once you complete a mission, you receive 10,000 pts for every POW you rescued).

Mission 1
Hostages : 10

Two lots of 2 hostages hidden in the two waterfalls just before you get to the boss. Just blast the tops of the waterfalls and they will fall.

Mission 2
Hostages : 12

Blast down at the green bush underneath the bridge just before you reach the mid level boss (large tank on rails above you) and three secret prisoners will come running in your direction.

Mission 3
Hostages : 15

There are secret hostages hidden within the two large trees that you can blast down in the section where you have the Metal Slug tank. These seem to be random, just try blasting those trees down and sometimes they appear.

There are hidden hostages that drop down from the sky when you are fighting the end of level boss; just don't kill the boss until they have all appeared.

Mission 4
Hostages : 20

Just after you have got the Metal Slug tank at the beginning of the level : blast the ceiling of the bar just above the light/lampshade high up on the wall at the entrance of the bar.

At the end of level bosses you can either blast in the top right hand corner of the cave to get 3 hidden hostages OR blast the far bottom left hand corner for 3 hidden hostages. It is not possible to get both of these groups. You can only get one or the other.

Mission 5
Hostages : 13

Blast the first and second houses and two hostages will appear.

Fire at the top of the first and second trees in the stage inbetween the shops and houses. The first tree yields 3 POW's and the second only two.

Blast the undercarriage of the end of level boss after it has lifted up on stilts to get three extra prisoners who also provide useful power ups!

Mission 6
Hostages : 25

At the beginning, shoot above you to find one prisoner.

Destroy the big pack of rocks to deliver one POW.

Blast the small white cloud above you just after the boat you are on has run ashore to get two hidden hostages.

When you're out of the boat, go left in the water to find some points.

POWs appear on screen during the fight with the final boss, if you shoot in the top right corner.


 * Beat the game in two players mode to view a different ending sequence.

Series

 * 1) Metal Slug - Super Vehicle-001 (1996)
 * 2) Metal Slug 2 - Super Vehicle-001/II (1998)
 * 3) Metal Slug X - Super Vehicle-001 (1999)
 * 4) Metal Slug 1st Mission (1999, SNK Neo Geo Pocket Color)
 * 5) Metal Slug 2nd Mission (2000, SNK Neo Geo Pocket Color)
 * 6) Metal Slug 3(2000)
 * 7) Metal Slug 4 (2002)
 * 8) Metal Slug 5 (2003)
 * 9) Metal Slug 6 (2006)
 * 10) Metal Slug 3D (2006, Sony PlayStation 2)
 * 11) Metal Slug 7 (2008, Nintendo DS)

Staff

 * Designers:
 * Akio
 * Susumu
 * Max.D
 * Tomohiro
 * T. Okui
 * Kozo


 * Planners:
 * Meeher
 * Hire-Nag


 * Sound:
 * Hiyamuta (Hiya!)
 * Jim


 * Programmers:
 * Hamachan
 * Andy A. Kurooka
 * T. Yokota
 * H. Yamada
 * Pierre

Ports

 * Consoles :
 * SNK Neo-Geo CD (1996)
 * Sony PlayStation (1997)
 * Sega Saturn (1997)
 * Sony PSP (2006, "The Metal Slug Collection")
 * Nintendo Wii (2006, "The Metal Slug Collection")
 * Sony PlayStation 2 (2006, "The Metal Slug Collection")