Introduction Metal Slug 5 was developed by Noise Factory and published by SNK Playmore, released for the Neo Geo MVS arcade system in 2003 as the fifth mainline entry in the run-and-gun series. Following the mixed reception to the outsourced Metal Slug 4, SNK Playmore brought development back closer to the series’ original creative team’s…
Introduction Metal Slug 4 was developed by Mega Enterprise and Noise Factory and published by SNK Playmore, released for the Neo Geo MVS arcade system in 2002 as the fourth mainline entry in the run-and-gun series. Unlike the previous three games, which were developed primarily in-house at SNK, Metal Slug 4 was outsourced to the…
Introduction Vectorman was developed by BlueSky Software and published by Sega, released for the Genesis in 1995 as a run-and-gun platformer built around a distinctive visual style combining traditional 2D sprite animation with pre-rendered 3D-modeled character graphics, similar in spirit to the technique Rare had used for Donkey Kong Country on the SNES the year…
Introduction Metal Slug X was developed and published by SNK for the Neo Geo MVS arcade system, released in 1999 as an enhanced remake of 1998’s Metal Slug 2, built specifically to fix that game’s notorious slowdown by trimming and rebalancing its most sprite-heavy sequences. Alongside the technical cleanup, SNK reworked enemy placement, added new…
Introduction Aliens was developed and published by Capcom, released in arcades in 1990 as a loose adaptation of the 1986 James Cameron film of the same name. Up to three players take control of Colonial Marines fighting through a series of increasingly hostile environments overrun by the film’s iconic Xenomorphs, blasting through waves of acid-blooded…
Introduction Metal Slug 3 was developed and published by SNK for the Neo Geo MVS arcade system, released in 2000 as the third mainline entry in the run-and-gun series. Building on the technical lessons learned from the sprite-heavy Metal Slug 2, the game refined performance while going even further creatively, introducing branching mid-level paths that…
Introduction Metal Slug 2 was developed and published by SNK for the Neo Geo MVS arcade system, released in 1998 as the direct sequel to the original Metal Slug. Players once again control members of the Peregrine Falcon Squad, running and gunning through hand-drawn, richly animated levels packed with rescuable prisoners, destructible scenery, and the…
Introduction Metal Slug was developed by Nazca Corporation, a studio staffed largely by former Irem developers behind games like In the Hunt and GunForce II, and released by SNK for the Neo Geo MVS arcade system in April 1996, shortly before Nazca merged into SNK outright. The game underwent a major shift mid-development: it was…
Introduction Front Line was developed and published by Taito, originally released to arcades in 1982 as one of the earliest overhead-view run-and-gun shooters, predating and helping establish a genre template that countless similarly themed games would follow throughout the 1980s. Taito handled the Famicom conversion itself, bringing it to Japan’s console in August 1985, years…
Introduction Super C was developed and published by Konami as an enhanced NES conversion of the 1988 arcade game Super Contra, known in Japan as Super Contra: The Alien Strikes Back and released across Europe as Probotector II. The NES cartridge programmed by Shigeharu Umezaki with art from Kengo Nakamura and Setsu Muraki reached Japan…
Introduction Contra Force was developed and published by Konami, programmed by Mitsuo Takemoto with art from Koji Horie and a score by Kenichi Matsubara and Tomoya Tomita, releasing in North America in September 1992 as the third NES entry carrying the Contra name after the original Contra and Super C. Its history is unusual for…
Introduction Jackal was developed and published by Konami, originally released to arcades in 1986 under the North American title Top Gunner before the NES conversion arrived in September 1988 as a genuine remake rather than a straight port, restructured into six distinct stages instead of the arcade’s single continuous level. Konami renamed the console version…