zer0hue
Angel's Love Slave
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2003
- Posts
- 916
The Metal Slug series has always been known for frenetic action, gorgeous 2-D animation, and inventive level designs. However, a key yet subtle aspect of these wonderful games has gone largely overlooked: the myriad movie/pop-culture references (mostly to American science fiction films) strewn about this crazy, war-infested universe. I thought it would be interesting to compile a list of references from the series, citing both the work being referenced and the items within the games by which homage is paid. After playing each the titles through several times, I believe the following to be as authoritative as possible. The (revised) list looks something like this:
Metal Slug:
The case could be made that the original Metal Slug pays indirect homage to the following:
–-The Great Escape (1963) [Don’t tell me the Morden army guys aren’t just Nazis wannabes.]
–-Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) [All those crazy motorcycles!]
–-Platoon (1986) [Something about the way those helmets rest so hauntingly on the rifles at the end.]
Metal Slug 2 & X:
--Orca (1977) [Mr. “C’mon Boy!” swallowed by the whale.]
--Independence Day (1996) [The final kamikaze pilot.]
Metal Slug 3:
--Mysterious Island (1961) [Those giant crab things look an awful lot like a Ray Harryhausen creation.]
–-Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) [Both Marco and Tarma give the Terminator’s signature thumbs-up when they drown.]
--Night of the Living Dead series, predominantly Dawn of the Dead (1978) [The zombies... of course!]
–-E.T. (1982) & Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) [The alien creatures that serve as the bosses in Level 2 are a humorously ingenious hybrid of E.T. and the diagnoga (one-eyed trash monster) of Star Wars fame.]
–-2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) [The falling monoliths in the final Level 2 boss sequence.]
--Thunderbirds (1964-1966) & In The Hunt (1993) [The Submarine Slug shares the likeness of the Thunderbird 4 and the submarine from In The Hunt (developed for Irem by members of the Metal Slug staff).]
--Starship Troopers (1997) [The giant worm things, nearly a spitting image.]
–-The Star Wars Saga (1977, 1980, 1983) [The first wave of spaceship in the shmup sequence are blatant Tie-Fighter rip-offs.]
–-War of the Worlds (1953) [The second wave of spaceships in the shmup sequence (the ones with the eyeballs).]
--Forbidden Planet (1956) [Can we say “Rob the Robot”?]
–-Patlabor 1: The Movie (1990) [The little, red, exploding spider things in the final mission are reminiscent of the climatic infiltration sequence.]
--Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002) [I guarantee you the final clone stage had something to do with this film.]
–-Aliens (1986) [The airlock sequence just before the final (final!) battle with the mutant brain thing.]
–-Thunderball (1965) [The final image of the Metal Slug crew safely bobbing (with Metal Slug in tow) inside the yellow life raft.]
Metal Slug 4:
--Terminator (1984) [I guess that’s why Mr. “C’mon Boy” will always “be back.”]
–-Mission Impossible (1996) [The descent into the underground facility that begins the final mission.]
--Forbidden Planet (1956) [Rob the Robot strikes back as the final boss!]
Once again, feel free to contribute in addendum if I missed anything...
<small>[ August 26, 2003, 11:52 AM: Message edited by: zer0hue ]</small>
Metal Slug:
The case could be made that the original Metal Slug pays indirect homage to the following:
–-The Great Escape (1963) [Don’t tell me the Morden army guys aren’t just Nazis wannabes.]
–-Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) [All those crazy motorcycles!]
–-Platoon (1986) [Something about the way those helmets rest so hauntingly on the rifles at the end.]
Metal Slug 2 & X:
--Orca (1977) [Mr. “C’mon Boy!” swallowed by the whale.]
--Independence Day (1996) [The final kamikaze pilot.]
Metal Slug 3:
--Mysterious Island (1961) [Those giant crab things look an awful lot like a Ray Harryhausen creation.]
–-Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) [Both Marco and Tarma give the Terminator’s signature thumbs-up when they drown.]
--Night of the Living Dead series, predominantly Dawn of the Dead (1978) [The zombies... of course!]
–-E.T. (1982) & Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) [The alien creatures that serve as the bosses in Level 2 are a humorously ingenious hybrid of E.T. and the diagnoga (one-eyed trash monster) of Star Wars fame.]
–-2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) [The falling monoliths in the final Level 2 boss sequence.]
--Thunderbirds (1964-1966) & In The Hunt (1993) [The Submarine Slug shares the likeness of the Thunderbird 4 and the submarine from In The Hunt (developed for Irem by members of the Metal Slug staff).]
--Starship Troopers (1997) [The giant worm things, nearly a spitting image.]
–-The Star Wars Saga (1977, 1980, 1983) [The first wave of spaceship in the shmup sequence are blatant Tie-Fighter rip-offs.]
–-War of the Worlds (1953) [The second wave of spaceships in the shmup sequence (the ones with the eyeballs).]
--Forbidden Planet (1956) [Can we say “Rob the Robot”?]
–-Patlabor 1: The Movie (1990) [The little, red, exploding spider things in the final mission are reminiscent of the climatic infiltration sequence.]
--Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002) [I guarantee you the final clone stage had something to do with this film.]
–-Aliens (1986) [The airlock sequence just before the final (final!) battle with the mutant brain thing.]
–-Thunderball (1965) [The final image of the Metal Slug crew safely bobbing (with Metal Slug in tow) inside the yellow life raft.]
Metal Slug 4:
--Terminator (1984) [I guess that’s why Mr. “C’mon Boy” will always “be back.”]
–-Mission Impossible (1996) [The descent into the underground facility that begins the final mission.]
--Forbidden Planet (1956) [Rob the Robot strikes back as the final boss!]
Once again, feel free to contribute in addendum if I missed anything...
<small>[ August 26, 2003, 11:52 AM: Message edited by: zer0hue ]</small>
