Metal Slug 2

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Metal Slug 2: Super Vehicle 001/II

Developer(s)	Nazca Corporation
Publisher(s)	SNK
Release date(s)	April 2, 1998
Genre(s)	Run and gun
Mode(s)	Single player, 2 player Co-op
Platform(s)	Arcade
Input	8-way Joystick, 3 Buttons
Arcade cabinet	Upright
Arcade system(s)	Neo-Geo (362 Mbit cartridge)
Arcade display	Raster, 304 x 224 pixels (Horizontal), 4096 colors

Metal Slug 2 (メタルスラッグ 2, Metal Slug 2^?) is a run and gun video game for the Neo-Geo console/arcade platform created by SNK. It was released in 1998 for the MVS arcade platform and is the sequel to the popular Metal Slug. It is the second title in the Metal Slug series. The game was later re-released in a slightly modified/remixed form as Metal Slug X.

1 Story
2 Gameplay
3 New features
4 Trivia
5 External links

[edit] Story

General Morden, the antagonist from the first game is back once more with his army, bent on taking over the world. It is up to the Peregrine Falcon squad to once again save the day, who are now joined by two new female characters: Eri Kasamoto and Fiolina Germi. As the levels unfold, it turns out that Morden made a pact with the Devil, when he made an alliance with aliens to help facilitate his domination plans. Eventually the tables are turned, when Morden comes under attack. An ad-hoc alliance is formed between the Peregrine Falcon squad and General Morden's army to combat the greater alien threat.

[edit] Gameplay

The feel of the game was not altered significantly from Metal Slug. Overall, it is the same game with many additional weapons, items, and features that fit very well in the game's animated and comedic setting. Nazca made slightly less of each level destructible, with a lower percentage of unnecessary destruction yielding helpful items. There are a total of six levels in the game.


Gameplay screenshot showing Marco in "obese mode"	One of the new weapons introduced, the Laser, being used on the Mars People	Gameplay screenshot showing the Camel Slug, one of the new vehicles.

[edit] New features

[edit] Character transformation

Metal Slug 2 introduced the ability into the franchise for characters to transform into different variants during the course of the game. The first transformation is one into a mummy during the second mission of the game. Any hit from the purple tinged attacks of the mummy-variants or bats drop will trigger the transformation. This causes a drastic reduction in player movement speed and reversion of any special weapon back into a pistol. The mummy fires the pistol at a rate of half as fast as normal, and takes several seconds to toss a grenade. Another hit by purple mist will cause the player, transformed as the mummy, to deteriorate and die. There are antidotes hidden throughout the level and dropped by enemies that can restore the player to human form.

Also introduced in this game was the ability to become obese. This transformation is gained, logically, by the acquirement of many food items during a single game-life. Once enough food is obtained a voice yells "Uh-oh, big" and the character is radically transformed. Movement speed is slowed, but every weapon's attack is altered: melee attacks are changed from a knife to a fork, grenades are changed to larger comedy-style bombs, and the current weapon is replaced with a version that has larger bullets and may have its properties altered. If a diet-powder canister is found, enough time passes without picking up any food items or the player is killed, the player(s) will revert to their former average-girth selves.

[edit] New weapons

Laser: The only main firearm weapon to be introduced in this version, the LS-05 Laser Rifle performs in a very similar manner as to how it is implemented in Contra; it is a continuous, highly-damaging thin beam of light that depletes ammunition very quickly. In comedic flair, the player's hair stands on end, as if electrocuted, while shooting the rifle.

A.P. Shells: This powerup transforms normal tank mortar shells into armor piercing shells and adds 10 more. A.P. shells travel at a faster velocity, in a more linear fashion. They do much more damage to their intended target.

Firebomb: These Molotov Cocktails replace the grenades in the player's inventory (once depleted, the player still retains the original amount of grenades). Although they do less damage than a regular grenade, the splash damage created is enormous.

[edit] New vehicles

Camel Slug: A zumbooruk, the first vehicle the player is presented with in the game, the camel is basically just the directional blaster from the Metal Slug tank with no protection and no cannon. Grenades can be thrown from atop the camel's hump.

Slug Flyer: This vehicle is an obvious take on the VTOL Harrier jet. Players can shoot with a vulcan similar to on the other vehicles, except that it could not be shot backwards. Missiles can be launched from the vehicle as well; they drop out of the plane and rush straight to the target. They do not deviate like the rocket launcher weapons do. Like the tank, the plane used as a kamikaze weapon, one can survive if they eject out of the plane before impact. Ejection causes the players to parachute to the ground.

Slugnoid: This vehicle has two vulcan cannons and can launch shells through the bottom of the vehicle. It is encountered during the boss sequence in Mission 2. Upon the first two impacts of enemy gunfire, a vulcan will fly off the vehicle one by one. It can adapt your current rifle to its cannon.

[edit] Supporting Characters

Metal Slug 2 is the first game in the series to provide characters to help the players in battle. The first is Hyakutaro Ichimonji, a prisoner who, when rescued, will fight alongside the player who saved him, throwing homing energy balls similar to the Hadoken at enemies, or roundhouse kicking them if they manage to get within melee range. Also appearing is Sergeant Rumi Aikawa, a Regular Army supplier who lacks a sense of direction (and memory thereof), earning her the title "The Wandering Ghost"; she carries a huge, overstuffed backpack and drops items (more than given if a hole is made in her backpack). Her twin, Madoka, appears from Metal Slug 3 onward.

[edit] Music

The music from the first mission has an Arabian motif.

[edit] Trivia

Seemingly parallel to Samurai Shodown IV, on the advisory screen, "advisory" is misspelled as "advisoly" (in SS4 "victory!" is infamously misspelled at "victoly!"), a play on the Japanese accent.
The ending of Metal Slug 2 resembles the ending of the movie Independence Day.
First appearance of the "Mars People", enemy characters which would go on to become popular in the SNK universe, to the extent of even becoming playable in SvC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom and Neo Geo Battle Coliseum.
The Battleship Boss in both Metal Slug 2 and Metal Slug X is a caricature of the famous Space Cruiser Yamato. The similar weapon which also appeared in TV anime series Mobile Suit Victory Gundam.
A bug in the system's AI causes the boss in the second stage to freeze, giving players an unfair advantage to eliminate it without any difficulty. To exploit this, the player must ride the Slugnoid vehicle and jump vertically once just right after the stage's boss has appeared. If done correctly, the boss will not move at all and the player can shoot it straight on until it is destroyed.