Metal Slug 6 (メタルスラッグ 6) is a run and gun video game for the Sammy Atomiswave arcade platform released in 2006. It was the first main game in the franchise not to run on SNK's Neo Geo MVS arcade hardware. This game, alongside Metal Slug 3D, were created as commemoration for the series' 10th anniversary.
There was a PS2 port in September 14, 2006. It is also featured in Metal Slug Anthology for the Wii, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable, and Metal Slug Complete PC for the PC.
Story[]
From the Metal Slug Anthology manual:
A farewell to arms—it was all supposed to have finished with that final battle. Morden’s third attempt at world conquest was over. But his whereabouts still remain unknown. But even with the remnants of Morden’s army neutralized, our heroes’ requests for discharge from the service were still refused.
For a brief moment there was peace, but the frequent chatter of late, intercepted by the expanded and consolidated Division of Intel, suggests this peace will not last long. Recent intel includes testimonials from people who have seen UFOs, aliens, and giant creatures. Fortunately, there have been no reports of damage or injury, but one can’t help feeling the Mars People, or maybe even Morden, are behind all of this. And finally intelligence officers acquired conclusive proof:
A group resembling Morden’s army hid themselves in a mountainous region and were gathering weapons and building installations. Yet there were still doubts: General Morden’s army was nowhere to be seen. The objectives of the group were unclear, and whether this group was in fact Morden’s army remained inconclusive. Although it was concluded that this could not be a military group by any standard, those at HQ, particularly sensitive to anything concerning Morden, however, quickly summoned the usual four: Marco and Tarma from P.F. Squad and Eri and Fio from S.P.A.R.R.O.W.S.
Only moments away from deployment, no one attempted to voice their opinions. They stood face to face with two new but yet somehow familiar faces ready to join their team. “It’s not that we don’t trust the four of you,” the commander spoke, “but word from the top dictates that you’ll be working with these two private contractors for this operation.”
“Ralf Jones here. Let’s get this baby done!”
“Clark Still. It will be my honor if I can be of assistance to all of you.”
With their newly furnished weapons in hand, this new team began their parachute drop into hell.
Metal Slug 6 returns to the Rebel-Martian alliance featured in Metal Slug 2/X and Metal Slug 3, but on a much broader scale. Rather than repeating the previous games' events of the Martians breaking the alliance and the Rebels assisting the player in turn, the player now teams up with the Rebels and Martians to combat an even greater threat.
In the series' timeline, chronologically also considered a prequel, Metal Slug 6 takes place before the events of Metal Slug 4, but after the events of Metal Slug 3. The latter game's antagonist, Rootmars, was in the middle of being rescued from the ocean's depths before the Invaders attacked.
The game has two different endings depending on the route taken in Mission 4. Morden rescues the player for the top path, and Rootmars rescues the player for the bottom path.
Gameplay[]
Aside from the game's internal difficulty levels (from 1 to 8), there are two distinct modes of play the player can choose from the start: Easy and Hard.
|
|
New techniques are now present as well, activated through certain button combinations. A secondary melee attack is also available. Conversely, the sliding technique from Metal Slug 5 has been removed.
Metal Slug 6 introduces a new play mechanic dubbed the Weapon Stock System. Two gun power-ups can now be carried at the same time. Players can switch between the two weapons, or simply put them both away in favor of the default weapon. When obtaining a new weapon power-up, it will automatically occupy the inactive slot (or, if both are holstered, replace the less recent weapon of the two). Characters can also throw away one gun power-up's worth of ammunition to give to the other player or simply discard altogether.
The game's second new mechanic is a combo system called the Rush Blaster System, where the score is multiplied by powers of 2. The faster the speed at which enemies are killed, the higher the multiplier. When it says "Max" (x16), enemies and destructible objects will drop coins for an extra high score.
Controls[]
Below are the default controls for the game. The PlayStation 2 standalone release allows the Vulcan Fix to be used by all characters; it is turned off by default.
On Foot[]
Button(s) Atomiswave |
Button(s) PS2 Standalone |
Action |
---|---|---|
A | Square | Shoot |
B | X | Jump |
C | Triangle | Grenade |
D+A | R2 R1+Square |
Alternate Melee |
D+C | L1 | Toss Weapon |
Up+D+A | Up+R2 Up+R1+Square |
Ralf: Vulcan Punch Clark: Super Argentine Backbreaker |
E | Circle | Switch Weapon |
Slug[]
Button(s) Atomiswave |
Button(s) PS2 Standalone |
Action |
---|---|---|
A | Square | Shoot |
B | X | Jump |
Down+B | Down+X | Exit Slug |
C | Triangle | Cannon |
Down+C | Down+Triangle | Grenade |
D | R1 | Metal Slug Attack |
E | Circle | Switch Weapon |
Characters[]
The number of playable characters has expanded for the first time since Metal Slug 2; the original team of Marco Rossi, Tarma Roving, Eri Kasamoto and Fio Germi is joined by newcomers Ralf Jones and Clark Still of King of Fighters and Ikari Warriors fame.
As a series first, each playable character now possesses his or her own unique attributes. The amount of ammunition received from weapons, defensive ability of vehicles, and melee speed vary from person to person, each of whom possess a special ability:
Marco: His default weapon (Pistol on Hard, Heavy Machine Gun on Easy) has twice the ordinary strength. Fio is his savior if he is brainwashed. | |
Tarma: While riding in or on a Slug, durability and the effects of power-ups are doubled; additionally, the Vulcan cannon's power is increased by 50%. He also is capable of using Vulcan Fix when on or in any vehicle. Eri is his savior if he is brainwashed. | |
Fio: Begins each mission with the Heavy Machine Gun in the Weapon Stock (on Easy mode, she begins with the Big Heavy Machine Gun by default). Weapon supply is also increased by 50%. Marco and Ralf are her saviors if she is brainwashed. | |
Eri: Receives twice as many grenades upon starting or resupplying. She can aim her throws in specific directions, including upwards and downwards, and at varying distances. Tarma and Clark are her saviors if she is brainwashed. | |
Ralf: Melee attack speed is doubled, at the expense of weapon and grenade supplies being halved. He can also use the special Vulcan Punch attack, rapid melee strikes capable of damaging vehicles. Can take two hits from most attacks before losing a life. Lastly, he is the only character able to damage vehicles and larger enemies with his melee attacks. | |
Clark: He can perform his Super Argentine Backbreaker against most non-vehicle enemies. Using it on a vulnerable target grants him temporary invincibility during and after the move, while earning generous amounts of points that rapidly increase with each additional enemy thrown. |
The brainwashed character who serves as the mid-boss in the final mission depends on the character Player 1 has chosen. This character is unselectable during the whole mission even after they're rescued.
New Slugs[]
The SV-001, SV-001 Type-R and Slug Flyer make an appearance in the game, as well as some new ones:
Donkey Slug: A donkey with a mounted Vulcan cannon. Like all animal slugs, the donkey provides no protection to the rider. The Donkey Slug can acquire a two-wheeled out-house cart mounted with a Metal Slug cannon for extra firepower without using grenades. | |
Slug Digger: A multi-purpose subterranean digger as well as a helicopter. It has retractable drills on the left, right, and bottom sides, which are used to drill into the earth, and sports two Vulcan cannons, which can also be used to drill through the dirt. The players cannot get out of the Slug, neither can they perform the Metal Slug Attack with it. If the Slug Digger is destroyed, the player is killed. It is also armed with proximity mines. | |
Protogunner: The Slug Gunner from Metal Slug 5 in its development phase. It has no melee attack, it does not have tank mode, and the player is exposed to enemy attacks. Its Vulcan cannon is more like that of the SV-001. It has a built-in Vulcan Fix that any character can use. | |
Rootmars: When taking an alternate route in Mission 4, Rootmars swoops in and picks up the player characters to their next destination. Rootmars' electric brainwave is useful for eradicating through hordes of enemies. It also has two Vulcans with a Vulcan Fix, each one controlled by a separate player. |
Weapons[]
All special weapons return in this game including Fire Bombs. New to this entry is the Zantetsu "Z" Sword, which augments the player's melee weapon attack with lethal shock waves capable of neutralizing enemy fire. The Laser Gun gains the ability to travel at a 45 degree angle when changing direction of fire.
It is noted that weapon ammunition for both difficulty modes has been reduced compared to previous installments.
Weapon
|
MS1-MS5
|
Metal Slug 6
| |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Easy Mode
|
Hard Mode
| ||||||
Others | Fio | Ralf | Others | Fio | Ralf | ||
Heavy Machine Gun | 200 | ∞ | ∞ | ∞ | 100 | 150 | 50 |
Rocket Launcher | 30 | 20 | 30 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 5 |
Shotgun | 30 | 20 | 30 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 5 |
Flame Shot | 30 | 20 | 30 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 5 |
Laser Gun | 200 | 200 | 300 | 100 | 100 | 150 | 50 |
Enemy Chaser | 40 | 20 | 30 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 5 |
Iron Lizard | 30 | 20 | 30 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 5 |
Drop Shot | 30 | 20 | 30 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 5 |
Super Grenade | 20 | 20 | 30 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 5 |
Two Machine Guns | 200 (MS4) 300 (MS5) |
400 | 600 | 200 | 200 | 300 | 100 |
Zantetsu Sword | N/A | 20 | 30 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 5 |
Missions and Bosses[]
Mission names are based on the mission's first section title according to its debug menu[1].
Stage | Name | Boss | BGM |
---|---|---|---|
1 | African Winds | Bull Drill | Main Theme from MS6 Cliff and Cave |
2 | The Illusion of El Dorado | Iron Sentinel | Inner Goldfield |
3 | Asian Impact | Brain Robot | Asian Impact |
4 | Golden Bridge is Falling Down | Elder Centipede | Bridge 256 Aim High Chase Fast |
5 | Ancient Law | Controller (Miniboss) Invader King (Final Boss) |
Final Attack [MS6 Version] |
Ports[]
The Japan-only PlayStation 2 version of Metal Slug 6 comes with extra features:
- Art Gallery - Concept Art of Metal Slug: Super Vehicle-001 to Metal Slug 6.
- Sound Gallery - Music from Metal Slug: Super Vehicle-001 to Metal Slug 6.
- Game Options - Including secondary difficulty (as in the Neo Geo games), lives, and violence setting. Two cheats can also be unlocked: infinite ammunition and infinite bombs.
- Combat School - A modified version of Arcade Mode where skills are tested by completing missions under certain objectives.
- Records - A trophies page and a prisoners page showing items and people collected and rescued.
Metal Slug Anthology (named Metal Slug Complete or Metal Slug Collection in some regions) has the arcade Metal Slug 6 included on the disc alongside a few pieces of concept art.
Trivia[]
- Metal Slug 6 is the first game to feature three factions working together to repel or defeat another faction. In this case, the Regular Army, Rebel Army and Mars People against the Invaders.
- Metal Slug 6 is the first in the main series to feature the characters with their own unique attributes. Prior to this, Metal Slug 4 had Nadia and Trevor use different melee weapons, and Metal Slug: 2nd Mission had Gimlet and Red Eye travel through different paths and had their own exclusive guns.
- Metal Slug 6 is the first installment since Metal Slug 2 to increase the number of playable characters.
- This is the first game in the main series since Metal Slug to be devoid of transformations.
- The Invaders originally did not had a definitive name, so fans nicknamed them the "Venusians" until their names were officially revealed in Metal Slug Defense.
- Like with the Invaders, the Elder Centipede also originally did not had a definitive name, so fans nicknamed it the "Sea Worm" (based on its concept art label) until its name was officially revealed in Metal Slug Attack.
External links[]
- Metal Slug 6 at the official Japanese website of SNK Playmore
- Metal Slug 6 Atomiswave Video
Screenshots[]
Flyers and Covers[]
References[]
- ↑ Ragey0 and candy76041820. "Metal Slug 6 Missing Areas". Metal Slug: Missing in Action. http://randomhoohaas.flyingomelette.com/msmia/6/ma.html
This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors). | ![]() |