Metal Slug: 1st Mission

Metal Slug: 1st Mission is a handheld take on the famous arcade shooter that doesn't try to be just a shrunken copy of the original but builds its own mission structure. The player moves through side-scrolling levels, shoots down enemy soldiers, frees prisoners, and along the way collects fuel, ammo, and weapon upgrades. The key new addition is branching progress: at the end of certain sections you choose which path to continue on, so a single playthrough never shows everything, giving a natural incentive to replay. The iconic armored vehicle the series is named after is here too, changing the pace of firefights and offering a temporary edge that a single mistake can easily cost you.

Technically it's a solid achievement. The characters have compressed proportions but keep the original's typically exaggerated animation, including enemy hit reactions and explosions that fill part of the screen. The console has a smaller resolution than the arcade board, so the view is narrower, and the game compensates with a slower pace and more careful enemy placement. The music borrows the series' marching, slightly jazzy motifs, and even in its simplified chiptune form it keeps the playful, mildly parodic mood that suits a world full of absurd military machines.

At the time it was seen as welcome proof that SNK could bring even its action brands, not just its fighters, to a handheld. Compared to the arcade entries it lacks the crowded spectacle and two-player co-op, but with its optional paths and resource management it carved out its own identity. Today it plays as a pleasantly compact action game for short sessions, where a single mission takes just a few minutes and a shortage of ammo forces real aiming. Anyone who knows the series from arcade cabinets will especially appreciate how faithfully its visual humor was preserved. And anyone looking for a reason to replay will find it in the mission branching, which reveals a different slice of the campaign each time through.