Metal Slug 2: Super Vehicle-001/II

Metal Slug 2: Super Vehicle-001/II
Year	1998
Developer	SNK
Publisher	SNK
Genre	Platformer, Run N' Gun
Platforms	Neo-Geo, Neo-Geo CD, Mobile (Android/I-OS), Steam

Metal Slug 2 (メタルスラッグ 2) is a run and gun video game for the Neo-Geo console/arcade platform created by SNK. It was released in 1998 for the MVS arcade platform and is the sequel to the popular Metal Slug: Super Vehicle-001. It is the second title in the Metal Slug series.

An improved version of the game, called Metal Slug X, reduces the original's notorious slowdown while adding new weapons and enemies into the series.

Story

General Morden, the antagonist from the first game, is back once more with his army bent on taking over the world. It is up to the Peregrine Falcons Squad, who are now joined by two new characters: Eri Kasamoto and Fio Germi of the Sparrows Intelligence Unit, to save the day.

As the levels unfold, it turns out that Morden has allied with Martians to help facilitate his plans. In the final level of the game, the tables are turned when Morden comes under attack and is betrayed by his Martian allies and he is taken prisoner by them. An ad-hoc alliance is formed between the Peregrine Falcon Squad and the Rebel Army to combat the greater alien threat. After a long battle, they succeed in defeating the Martians' mothership, driving them off the Earth.

New features

General

• Controls are smoother and more refined than its predecessor.
• Players can select their character including the returning Marco and Tarma and newcomers Eri and Fio.
• Once the mission is completed, the playable character performs a victory pose.
• Slug Bonuses are increased from 10,000 to 100,000 points but now require the player to be on a Slug at the end of a mission's boss fight to earn them.

Weapons

Metal Slug 2 adds new weapons to the player's arsenal.

	The Flame Shot has been upgraded to deal massive damage to both units and vehicles.
	A single shot from the Laser Gun is capable of killing a row of infantry and sustained fire quickly destroys vehicles.
	The Fire Bomb helps clear away a large area of ground enemies.
	The Armor Piercer alters the SV-001's cannon to shoot straight at extreme speeds and pierce through enemy units.

Slugs

Alongside the SV-001, three new Slugs are introduced. Though just as susceptible to enemy fire as the SV-001, these vehicles provides alternate modes of transportation and advantages associated with each.

	SV-Camel: A Vulcan cannon mounted onto a camel. The rider is elevated and still vulnerable to enemy fire but has improved movement. Using the Metal Slug Attack causes the SV-Camel to trample over enemies.
	Slugnoid: An armored frame is capable of leaping to great heights. Its cannon is pointed downward to assail the enemy below. Twin Vulcan cannons provide plenty of fire but are stripped with each hit the Slugnoid takes.
	Slug Flyer: A VTOL jet fighter. It fires powerful aerial missiles at its targets, and its Vulcan Cannon is designed to fire upon forward targets. Another player can "wing-walk", or ride on top of the plane.

Transformations

Metal Slug 2 introduces player transformations:

Mummification: Any hit from the purple tinged attacks of the mummy-variants or potions dropped by bats will trigger the transformation. This causes a drastic reduction in player movement speed and loss of any special weapon. Mummified characters hold only a pistol, which they fire at a rate of half as fast as normal, and they take time to toss a grenade. Players can not use the knife when transformed. Another hit will cause the mummified player to burn in a purple flame and die. There are antidotes that can restore the player to human form.

Fat: This transformation is gained, logically, by the acquirement of many food items during a single game-life. Once enough food is obtained, the character radically gains weight. Movement speed is slowed, but every weapon's attack is altered: melee attacks are changed from a knife to a fork (belt whip if sitting), grenades are changed to larger cherry-style bombs, and the current weapon is replaced with a version that has larger bullets and may have its properties altered. If a diet-powder canister is found, enough time passes without picking up any food items, or the player is killed, the player(s) will revert to their former average-girth selves.

Supporting characters

Metal Slug 2 introduces support characters to help the players in battle:

	2nd Lieutenant Hyakutaro Ichimonji: A prisoner who, when rescued, will fight alongside the player who saved him, throwing homing energy balls at enemies, or roundhouse kick if they manage to get within melee range. He'll leave whenever the player dies or enters a new area.
	Sergeant Rumi Aikawa: A Regular Army supplier who lacks a sense of direction, earning her the title "The Wandering Ghost". She carries a huge, overstuffed backpack and drops items; more are dropped if the backpack is shot.
	An unlimited number of Rebel infantry and a few Girida-O's will assist the player in the final fight against the Rugname.

Stages and Bosses

Stage	Name	Mid-boss	Boss	BGM
1	Drifting in Desert	Mosque Artillery	The Keesi	Judgement
2	Monument of Depression		Aeshi Nero	Prehistoric Site The Cenotaph
3	Madrigal of Wind		Dragon Nosuke	Livin' on the Deck
4	Return to Hong-Kong	Double-Decker Bus	Big Shiee	Back to the China
5	Kiss in the Dark	Subway	Hozmi	New Godokin Street Kiss in the Dark Metamorphosis
6	I Wish to Believe in Love	Allen O'Neil	Dai-Manji Rugname	Assault Theme First Contact

Versions

Home versions

Home versions of Metal Slug 2 were released for the Neo Geo AES console (released on April 1998) and the Neo Geo CD (released on June 1998). The Neo Geo CD version features an exclusive "Combat School" mode (similar to the Neo Geo CD version of the previous game) where the player goes for the fastest times through individual missions and clear the game in a single life.

Metal Slug X

A revised version of Metal Slug 2, titled Metal Slug X, was released on March 1999 for the Neo Geo MVS. The game solves 80% of all the bugs, glitches and slowdown that Metal Slug 2 had. Metal Slug X introduces a few new elements to the Metal Slug 2 game system. New weapons and items are added, such as the Iron Lizard and Drop Shot. The enemy placement and bosses were re-arranged to increase the game's difficulty. Metal Slug X also added more food items in all missions, thus allowing the player to "go big" starting from Mission 3, not just be exclusive to Mission 4 like in Metal Slug 2. Most missions have their time of day changed.

Metal Slug X was released during the development of Metal Slug 3 and was built using Metal Slug 3's engine. As such, various items, Slugs, enemies, and missions from Metal Slug 3 are present and playable in an early state. Elements and missions from the first game are also present in the game's data.

Metal Slug X was ported to the Neo Geo AES (May 1999) and the PlayStation (January 2001). The PlayStation version was released in North America and the PAL region by Agetec. The PlayStation version features the same Combat School mode previously featured in the Neo Geo CD versions of the first two games.

Later releases

Both Metal Slug 2 and Metal Slug X, are featured in the Metal Slug Anthology released for the PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2 and Wii. The games featured in this compilation are all emulations of the original MVS cartridges and lack the "Combat School" mode featured in the Neo Geo CD and PlayStation versions of the games.

Individual ports of Metal Slug 2 have been released for the Wii Virtual Console, mobile platforms (Android/iOS), and on Steam. The game is also part of the Arcade Archives series for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows 10, and Nintendo Switch.

Original Soundtrack

See: Metal Slug 2 Original Soundtrack

Trivia

• The ending is remarkably similar to the ending of Independence Day in which a plane kamikazes into the alien mothership's laser as it powers up.
• The arcade version of the game contains a boss-freezing bug in Mission 2. The Aeshi Nero stops climbing and cannot attack the player. Players can exploit this to net the most points out of it with little effort (attacking the boss solely with the default weapon pistol). This bug was fixed in Metal Slug X.
• The fat female characters legs would swap between shorts and pants when scooting. This was also fixed in Metal Slug X.

External links

• Metal Slug 2 at Neo-Geo.com (reviews) 1 2
• Metal Slug 2 at MobyGames
• GOG Store page

Screenshots

Hyakutaro helping against the missile towers

Facing the Arabians with the Camel Slug

Fighting the mummies

Rumi sneaking in the tomb

Being pursued by a jet-ski

Using the Slug Flyer against the third boss

Player turned fat

An infestation of crawlers in the sewers

Flyers and covers

Arcade flyer

Neo-Geo CD cover