It’s a bit of a double edged sword as while it increases the replay value by adding multiple ways of progression, it’s very jarring to realize that by simply being shot down in a plane, you won’t see the next level. This will lead to a different set of levels and progression, sometimes outright skipping four or five levels. Getting shot down in a Slug Flyer or blown up in a Metal Slug won’t kill you, but instead take you to a prison camp or smaller area where the mission must be finished in a different manner, resulting in an incomplete mission. A first for the series, the game offers multiple pathways that are opened up based on how you do in the game. Metal Slug 1st Mission offers a whopping seventeen missions, which is pretty impressive given that the arcade titles usually clock in at around six, making it and its handheld successor the longest games in the series. While Metal Slug 1st Mission doesn’t perfectly replicate its forerunners, it’s hard not to admire it for trying. On a two inch screen with a limited color palette, capturing the essence of the arcade titles must have been quite the daunting task. A far cry from the days of Magician Lord, the Metal Slug series was known for its lush environments, creative sprites and screen-filling assets. The problem then became that out of all of the Neo Geo games, Metal Slug was one of the most graphically intense. As such, when the Neo Geo Pocket Color was released three years later, there was no question that it needed to launch with a Metal Slug title.

Even though it debuted in 1996 - a full six years after the console debuted - Metal Slug quickly became representative of the brand. Outside of the fighters, nothing better epitomizes the Neo Geo brand than Metal Slug.

As the majority of its library can be picked up loose for under ten bucks on eBay, Pocket Power (using only original hardware/software) is devoted to guiding new and old NGPC collectors alike before prices rise and availability lowers thanks to nostalgia-hungry collectors.

Much like its arcade/home brothers, Neo Geo Pocket Color games have aged incredibly well for a fourteen-year-old handheld system. While largely ignored on its original release, gamers have since picked up the handheld console and begun to experience the unique features it has to offer - and for good reason. Coming out in the wake of the Game Boy Color and only two years before the Game Boy Advance, it’s no secret why the Neo Geo Pocket Color enjoyed limited success in America.

Metal slug 1 was on which console