Metal Slug 3

Metal Snail 3: Super Vehicle 001/III
Metal Slug 3 Title Screen
Developer(s)	Nazca Corporation
Publisher(s)	SNK
Platform(s)	Arcade, PlayStation 2, Xbox
Release	June 1, 2000
Genre(s)	Run and gun
Mode(s)	Single player, 2 player Co-op
Arcade system	Neo-Geo (708 Mbit cartridge)

Metal Slug 3 (メタルスラッグ 3) is a run and gun video game for the Neo-Geo console/arcade platform created by SNK that was released in 2000 and is the direct sequel to Metal Slug 2. It is widely acclaimed by many fans to be the best in the Metal Slug series to date. It is also the longest game in the series, tied possibly with MS6. Being the last Metal Slug that SNK was working on, it was given a lot of features, enhancements and improvements. Also, the music of the game was developed by Noise Factory.[1]

Template:Spoiler The rebellion orchestrated by General Morden to bring about a new global regime is now ancient history, and order and peace has begun to return to the world. Morden, brought back into power, was attempting another coup d'état, but government forces got wind of the plot beforehand and pre-empted the impending assault.

Instrumental in squashing Morden's rebel forces, Marco and Tarma of the Peregrine Falcon Strike Force are ordered to lead the team after their earlier requests for resignation were denied. Although General Morden has been written off as "missing" by his followers, they have hidden themselves throughout the world, and Marco and Tarma's abilities and experience are seen as a necessity to destroy remaining rebel strongholds, one by one. Throughout the furious fighting against the holdouts, Marco and Tarma cannot help but suspect Morden's involvement in this new evil plan for world domination.

Meanwhile, the Sparrows, a special strike force within the government intelligence agency, have come across a series of strange events running parallel to the Peregrine's pursuit of General Morden. From trivial abductions of livestock to the disappearance of government officials and the appearance of freakishly large creatures, numerous occurrences with nothing in common point to one grim possibility. General Morden is not the only menace to worry about. Eventually it is learned that the alien menace that appeared in Metal Slug 2/Metal Slug X have returned. Once again, an ad-hoc alliance is formed to combat the external threat.

Gameplay

Screenshot of Metal Slug 3	Screenshot of Metal Slug 3	Screenshot of Metal Slug 3	Screenshot of Metal Slug 3
As General Morden is beaten, he turns out to be an alien	Gameplay screenshot showing the space suit from the final mission	Tarma riding the Elephant Slug	Marco in the Slug Mariner encountering a large Moray eel

The gameplay mechanics are the same as previous Metal Slug games. New for Metal Slug 3, however, is the branching path system; in most missions, there are forking paths for the player to choose from, each with their own obstacles, and of varying length and difficulty. However, no matter what route the player takes, all paths will ultimately lead to the same end. This iteration of the series marks a departure from the trend of increasing shootable objects on-screen.

Enhancements

Many new features can be found in Metal Slug 3.

New Character Transformations

In addition to being transformed into a mummy and going into Big mode (from Metal Slug 2), there are several new transformations for the player to take on.

Zombie: If the player is hit by the vomit that the zombies generate, zombification will take place. In zombie mode, the player is practically invincible to all forms of normal attacks except from the zombie vomit attack and boss attacks. The player, however, loses almost all jumping ability, moves very slowly, is unable to crouch and unable to utilize any weapon power-ups. The player does gain a powerful 'bomb' attack, which is a long arching stream of blood.

Jet Pack: In the beginning of the final mission, the player will be using a jet pack if the player chooses not to operate either the Slug Flyer or the Slug Copter within a certain time limit or if the Slug that the player has been piloting gets destroyed. While using a jet pack, the player is only able to shoot towards the right. The player also gains a different bomb type that is essentially a supercharged Enemy Chaser.

Scuba Gear: The player will get into a scuba diving gear when the player has to perform the missions underwater. It is similar to the Jet Pack version, but with the ability to turn about so as to shoot to the left side of the screen as well, but the player is still unable to shoot vertically. Also, instead of the typical bomb being used, the player launches out a depth charge.

Space Suit: The player will don the space suit in the final mission after the player defeats "General Morden" where the game resembles an overhead shoot 'em up. This is a variation of the Jet Pack, where the player is only able to shoot upwards due to the context of the level. The player can also launch a space bomb upwards that is similar to the depth charge of the Scuba Gear version.

New Weapons

Thunder Cloud [CLOUD]: Upon picking up this weapon, the player has a thunder cloud hovering over him or her. Whenever an enemy is nearby, the cloud approaches the enemy in a striking pose. When the player initiates the attack, the cloud strikes the enemy with a bolt of lightning. Starts off with 30 shots.

Mobile Satellite/Torpedo Satellite [MOBS]: A combination of both the Thunder Cloud and the Laser gun. It hovers over the player like the Thunder Cloud and has the rate of fire and damage similar to the laser. The MOBS automatically picks its own target when the player attacks. Moreover, since it is not a handheld weapon like the laser gun, the player gets to keep the pistol to deal additional damage. Starts off with 200 shots.

New Vehicles and Slugs

A wide array of new vehicles and Slugs can be found in Metal Slug 3 in addition to the previous versions of Slugs found in Metal Slug 2.

Elephant Slug: The Elephant Slug is possibly the biggest Slug you will find in the game. As a result, it moves slower than typical Slugs, but due to its size, the player is usually safe from most attacks. The Elephant Slug is unable to jump. Initially, the Elephant Slug only has a vulcan cannon attachment, but it is able to pick up either a Battery or Chili to gain a cannon that fires either a supercharged Laser Shot or a supercharged Fire Shot respectively. As with all animal-based Slugs, the Elephant Slug offers no protection to the player. If the player gets turned into a zombie, they cannot re-board it.

Slug Mariner: This Slug can only be found in or near water environments. The controls of this Slug are very similar to the Slug Copter, except with the minor replacement of bombs with torpedoes as the 'cannon' weapon. Unlike the vulcan cannon in other Slugs, the characteristic blue shots are affected by gravity and will eventually arc downwards.

Ostrich Slug: Functions the same as most Slugs, with the exception that it has a powerful jump, allowing the player to leap across gaps that would be impassible without the use of this Slug. However, it takes time to turn around (it only has a forward-firing arc), leaving the player vulnerable as the player is unable to attack while turning and also because the Ostrich Slug offers no protection to the player.

Drill Slug: The Drill Slug has a unique ability, instead of jumping like most Slugs, the Drill Slug has a mechanism that "jacks up" the cockpit from the base foundations and is able to remain in that elevated position until the player desires to bring themselves down. If the player gets out of the Drill Slug while it is elevated, the Drill Slug will automatically bring itself down. The Drill Slug's cannon shot is launching out the drill located at the front and has a limited, but powerful, range.

Slug Copter: The Slug Copter is the second flying Slug in the Metal Slug series. The Slug Copter is able to shoot in all directions, unlike the Slug Flyer. In addition, the Slug Copter's vulcan cannon deals comparatively more damage per shot and the vehicle moves somewhat faster. However, the Slug Copter's bomb is weaker and has a much shorter range than the Slug Flyer's missiles due to the fact that it drops to the ground almost immediately when deployed.

Astro Slug: The Astro Slug, or "Rebel Astro", is used during the middle of the final mission. Unlike typical Slugs, the Astro Slug does not come with a vulcan cannon. However, it is still able to shoot from its main gun located at the tip of the Slug. The player can pick up upgrades as attachments to the Slug, and should it survive long enough, it can pick up two additional vulcan attachments that are able to shoot in any direction. Picking up weapon power-ups grants an additional two weapons consisting of weapon pods located at the side of the main vessel, giving a total of five weapons. However, being hit by enemy fire will cause the Slug to lose one of its vulcan attachments and/or one of its weapon pods.

Level Armor: Technically, this vehicle is not actually a Slug; it is enemy exo-armor that is captured during one of the later levels. Initially, the Level Armor Suit will have 10 cannon shots and 200 heavy machine gun shots. When close to an enemy, it will use its claw to punch instead of fire its weapon. Although this vehicle will gradually run out of ammunition, it is able to replenish itself by picking up standard weapon power-ups. The armor suit can utilize almost any weapon power-up in the game. The player can also perform a double jump/boost while in this vehicle.

Slugnoid Type-R: While not an entirely new Slug, this SlugNoid operates in opposite tandem of the direction of the player. The cannon launches out what is essentially a fat version of the Iron Lizard.

New Enemies

Not only are the aliens and Morden's army fighting against you, but a host of mutated and genetically altered animals are also out to get you, such as giant crabs, jellyfishes and man-eating plants. In addition to that, Morden and the aliens have boosted their ranks by introducing new enemies not seen in the previous Metal Slug games. One very interesting enemy is the alien clone of Player 1(after being abducted by aliens), they are capable of performing moves very similar to an actual player and take more than just a single shot to kill. These clones are also capable of using power-ups and also utilize bombs, making them very dangerous adversaries.

New Prisoners

There are three new types of prisoners that you can rescue.

Monkey (Utan): The monkey wields an Uzi and is found trapped within a cage. Destroy the cage to free him and he will accompany throughout the rest of the stage, occasionally providing additional fire to help you out. He will leave if you are shot dead or transformed into a zombie.

V.I.P (CEO President): Upon rescuing him, he will call down 2 of his bodyguards and each of the bodyguards will drop a bonus for the player. The V.I.P. is also known as the "CEO" in certain SNK literature. He is often left behind accidentally by his henchmen.

Morden Soldier: They do not provide any bonus for the player but neither do they seek to fight the player.

Bosses

• Mission 1—Hermit Crab: A mutated hermit crab captured for military purposes.
• Mission 2—Monoeyes: A groups of aliens with only one eye. The Ten Commandments of Moses: An alien artifact used as a beacon for the Martians.
• Mission 3—Jupiter King: A nuclear powered robot sent to protect the rebellion's weapons factory.
• Mission 4—Sol Dae Rokker: An instrument of the Solar God that some Japanese believe in.
• Mission 5—Rootmars: A giant Martian who controls every aspect of its mothership, Rugname.

PlayStation 2 and Xbox extras

On the console versions, ported by Playmore, once the arcade mode has been beaten, there are two additional mini-games: 'Storming the UFO Mothership' and 'Fat Island'.

Storming the UFO Mothership

This mode allows you to play as one of the soldiers of General Morden on quest to rescue fellow soldiers and attack the UFO forces. The player can choose between the Riot Shield Soldier, Bazooka Soldier, and Grenade Soldier. The player is given a single life; this is balanced out by the number of reinforcements from other fellow soldiers. The 'bomb' button brings back the familiar machine gun toting, bare-chested, mini-boss from the series, which is a devastating attack that will destroy every single enemy (with exception of the boss character) on the screen.

Fat Island

Two players compete to gain the most weight in a limited amount of time by eating various foods. They start out with 100kg and must finish with 200. Live animals impart more weight, but disappear sooner than fruits and vegetables. If players lose enough weight, they will return to normal size and then to a mummy state.

Trivia

• The music used for mission one of Metal Slug 3 is a remix of the music used in mission one of Metal Slug.
• Many of the prisoners' names are actually the names of the developers and producers of the Metal Slug series.
• The American version of the Xbox port was criticized for being too difficult due to having "5 CREDITS", which is a Neo Geo Port.
• In the final mission, the player actually encounters not two (execpt MS1, all of the other games featured often two final bosses), but five bosses. The first three final bosses appeared in Metal Slug and 2/X respectively.
• In the final mission on board the alien spaceship, there is a chance for the player to gain a Morden grenade-throwing soldier to accompany him/her for a short portion of the game indefinitely until the Morden Soldier is killed or the player transits to the next portion of the game.
• In the final mission after defeating the second boss, the character of player one will be abducted. The replacement character that comes onto the screen to fill in and rescue the abducted character is supposedly the loved one of the abducted, so to speak. Marco and Fio will come to each other's rescue, and Tarma and Eri will help each other out.
• This was one of the first games that was not approved by SCEA (along with SVC:Chaos).
• The black "X" in the white circle surrounded by red painted on Morden's vehicles is the Nazi Swastika except without the other legs on the design.

External links

• Metal Slug 3 at the Killer List of Videogames
• Interlaced - Metal Slug 3 (XBOX) review

• Metal Slug 3 at Neo-Geo.com (reviews) 1 2 3
• Template:GameFAQs
• Metal Slug 3 at MobyGames