Which SNK person deserves to have my Metal Slug Advanced shoved up their @$$?

Looking at the credits in the manual we have the following options:

1) Ben Herman - the president responsible for butchering this release
2) Eric Feiner / Mark Rudolph - the marketing suits who gave up on the Neo faithful in order to appease the prepubescent GBA crowd
3) Yvonne Rodriguez - the executive assistant who must have Lewinskied someone to appear in the credits
4) All of the Above

On pure basis of the act itself, I'd recommend Yvonne since she's probably handled it before.

OK, so whose bright idea was it to

- blend and shake as many previous elements as possible into one huge rehash
- introduce the annoying collecting element into a straight mindless shooter
- use the same sound for hitting any enemy as the one for shooting out a hidden spot
- give the most hideous respawning possible for those of us who actually need to go back up that tree branch the rescue the hostage holding the precious frigging "bread" card we're missing
- create the most lackluster bosses the MS series has ever seen
- give us those wonderful "classic" Ninja Gaiden scenarious of being constantly hit by something that knocks the character into a deep pit of death

I want to love this game. I want a superb portable Metal Slug that properly represents the best that the Neo Geo, and possibly the 2-D action shooter genre, has to offer. I also want world peace and a four-way with triplets (twins are so yesterday, plus this way you can have a blonde, brunette AND redhead).

Sincerely,

Mikhail

lol

welcome to 2005.
I'm thankful to even have 2d games still.
i've seen worse from playmore so I'm not terribly mad at the whole situation.

I think Metal Slug for the NGPC is really good. Why not play those?

Other than the respawning enemies, I like this game alot. It would be better had they waited and added more to it for the DS maybe or the PSP, but as it is, I like it a heluva lot better than the NGPC versions.

you left out the barone family.....oh forget it this is playmore specific

Considering all development was done in Japan, and all those people did was get it released over here, I'd say "None of the above."

I like MSA perfectly fine. NEO GEO graphics (sans the animation) + a home'ish card collecting quest kind of thing = good MS on the road fun for a long time. I really like MSA, and is totally worth the money.

Enemy respawn is certainly teh worst thing about the game, and it really isn't that bad. Remember Ninja Gaiden? That was tough. Castlevanias, Metroids, Batmans had respawn too.

Sorry you hate the game, I guess you can afford more love for the NEO versions huh?

Electroman said:

I like MSA perfectly fine. NEO GEO graphics (sans the animation) + a home'ish card collecting quest kind of thing = good MS on the road fun for a long time. I really like MSA, and is totally worth the money.

Enemy respawn is certainly teh worst thing about the game, and it really isn't that bad. Remember Ninja Gaiden? That was tough. Castlevanias, Metroids, Batmans had respawn too.

Sorry you hate the game, I guess you can afford more love for the NEO versions huh?

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I do not have a problem with the graphics. I believe they were executed very well, much more detailed than the PSX port of MSX and without the blurriness of MS3 on the X-Box. However, I do not view the card collecting as anything more than a gimmick. Metal Slug has always been a straight run 'n gun arcade shooter. Why fix what ain't broken by substituting some sort of RPG collecting element to stimulate replay value? Good action shooters such as Contra and Gunstar Heroes always have replay value regardless of their length and/or straight forwardness.

One can argue that enemy respawn was certainly important in games such as Metroid to regenerate one's life over the course of the quest. However, as prevalent as this practice was in the other titles you mention, it was as inhibitive to the progress of a game as it is in MSA. One is frequently put into "gauntlet" situations where you are faced with numerous enemies that must be eliminated to progress. It is simply unfair to have these situations be repeated just by the virtue of back-tracking half-a-screen to collect a hostage or pick up a dropped card/weapon.

I will not even bother addressing the NGPC versions of Metal Slug in much detail. If I wanted to play something that looked like it was a 1989 GameBoy game, I'd play Tetris. It's sad that even the original Operation C and Contra Alien Wars on the GB handle and look better than the NGPC MS games.

Yes, this game was produced in Japan, but it is the sorry SNK Playmore of America who is to blame for being no more than indentured lackeys to their Japanese counterparts. People in communist Russia seem to have had more input into the system than these guys do, and that's downright pitiful.

I love the Metal Slug series. I own the home carts because they are my favorite games and the rank amongst the few games in existence that can still sustain my limited attention. I just hate seeing a good thing fall below par.

Sincerely,

Mikhail

Hmmm...I think some of you are being a bit harsh. I saw the videos of Metal Slug for the GBA, and it seems like it is basically the NGPC version with enhanced graphics.

Personally, I think the NGPC versions are great. For the time, the graphics are certainly the best a handheld could have produced in 1999. Granted, the gameplay is a little different. The life meter is a little annoying, and the having to hit an enemy twice or three times to kill them is a bit lame, but overall, the gameplay is still a lot of fun.

Maybe it is just me, but I have not played anything on the NGPC that I have truly hated thus far. Even some of the rather quirky games are still pretty fun.

Granted, I think SNK Playmore has the worst customer service on the face of the planet (except for perhaps Buyrite, shivers), but their games are still pretty good.

Albeit, glitchy and redundant.

Mikhail-

I respect your opinions though... I too would have preferred MSA to be a straight up MS sequel/prequel with a good amount of credits, to play in a no bullshit manner.

All in all though I'm glad I have at least something.

man... MSA blows all the NGPC versions away.

I used to like playing the NGPC versions a lot, but once you play MSA... you see what a good job they did.

MK... I see what you are saying, but don't you think this game is good at all? I find it to be wonderfully made... and heck.... I have never seen a better handheld metal slug.

The music, gameplay, animations..etc... are VERY well done. Of course the big Neo versions are better.... but the GBA sure pulled some huge things off in this game.

†B†V†

Bluevoodu said:

MK... I see what you are saying, but don't you think this game is good at all? I find it to be wonderfully made... and heck.... I have never seen a better handheld metal slug.

The music, gameplay, animations..etc... are VERY well done. Of course the big Neo versions are better.... but the GBA sure pulled some huge things off in this game.

†B†V†

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If it's a choice between not getting laid and getting a poor lay, I'd rather not get laid. It spoils future moments and corrupts your memories. But that's just from personal experience.

Yes, the music and graphics are very well done. No, I don't expect this to equal the MVS Neo versions. However, this does not mean that they should have implemented poor level design, atrocious respawning that borders on cheapness, and a distracting card collecting element that forces replay rather than encouraging it through fun and addictive gameplay. The regular Metal Slugs reward uncovering hidden hostages by providing extra points/weapons. They don't stick it in your face with a list and remind you that you are missing something.

The best example I can think off from the top of my head is Super Mario Land for the original GameBoy. The graphics were obviously not up to par compared to Mario 3 on the NES, nor was the music. However, the basic gameplay style was retained, along with a new addition of a submarine mode. The game stayed basically the same and remained fun even though it was a reprogrammed and reimagined on a less effective platform.

I'd rather play any Metal Slug on the MVS than the GBA version. This is a travesty to me. If MSA came out as MS6 on the Neo, I would raise the same concerns and not purchase it. MS4 may have had reused graphics and MS5 may have contained questionable level design, yet both retained the basic Metal Slug structure with minimal compromises.

I respect your and other's opinions. Fuck, I've had one night stands and poor lays myself. I'd just rather not go through it again.

No longer a porn man,

Mikhail

You do make a very good point here. One of the most enjoyable things about the NGPC fighters is that, regardless of graphics, the basic gameplay elements that are so treasured in the originals remain in tact. In the NGPC versions of Metal Slug, though fun, they completely reworked the formula. They could have kept the same formula of the original games in tact and the game would have been a lot more fun.

There is no hardware difficulty then nor now to prevent them from doing it. Granted, the games may have ended up being shorter, but who would have cared if you could have Metal Slug gameplay on a handheld device.

Though I am not disappointed by these games, I do see your point in that they could have been so much better.

Kiselgof said:

If it's a choice between not getting laid and getting a poor lay, I'd rather not get laid. It spoils future moments and corrupts your memories. But that's just from personal experience.

Yes, the music and graphics are very well done. No, I don't expect this to equal the MVS Neo versions. However, this does not mean that they should have implemented poor level design, atrocious respawning that borders on cheapness, and a distracting card collecting element that forces replay rather than encouraging it through fun and addictive gameplay. The regular Metal Slugs reward uncovering hidden hostages by providing extra points/weapons. They don't stick it in your face with a list and remind you that you are missing something.

The best example I can think off from the top of my head is Super Mario Land for the original GameBoy. The graphics were obviously not up to par compared to Mario 3 on the NES, nor was the music. However, the basic gameplay style was retained, along with a new addition of a submarine mode. The game stayed basically the same and remained fun even though it was a reprogrammed and reimagined on a less effective platform.

I'd rather play any Metal Slug on the MVS than the GBA version. This is a travesty to me. If MSA came out as MS6 on the Neo, I would raise the same concerns and not purchase it. MS4 may have had reused graphics and MS5 may have contained questionable level design, yet both retained the basic Metal Slug structure with minimal compromises.

I respect your and other's opinions. Fuck, I've had one night stands and poor lays myself. I'd just rather not go through it again.

No longer a porn man,

Mikhail

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