A Walkthru for Metal Slug, the Popular Shooter Arcade Game.
Thanks for reading this walkthru. If you like it, or it helps you beat the game, e-mail me with thanks and/or opinions at frostfire@mail.utexas.edu. Metal Slug is a really cool side-scrolling shooter, and, I assure you, I know what I'm talking about when I give you tips. I've beat the game over ten times and I never get bored!!
So here's a basic walkthru of the game:
You choose from one of two soldiers (depending on what side you put the quarter in and press start on) who look different but have the same basic abilities. Your character can jump, crouch, walk, run, shoot, and throw grenades. Your basic weapons are a pistol (infinite ammo, rapid fire in one direction, very weak power), and a combat knife (used instead of gunshot to kill enemy soldier or cut hostage's ropes when you're close to them). Your character's mission is basic: blast away and go-go-go!! Through the game's six missions, you must shoot laughing and chuckling enemy soldiers, rescue hostages with very long hair, and destroy lots of heavy artillery, particularly six devestatingly dangerous boss vehicles. Of course, your character does have several special items he can pick up, get from hostages, or shoot out of buildings and crates. Most of these items like coins, fishes, monkeys, medals, turkeys, love letters, pigs, etc., just give you bonus points, but some of them actually power up your character. Here are those:
Ammo Box: This gives you ten extra grenades. Grenades have great explosive power against all enemies, and your own grenades can never hurt you. Useful in all situations, including inflicting real damage to enemy tanks and bosses, hitting enemies behind hills throwing them at you, and destroying waves of foes coming towards your character. Unfortunately, it's hard to hit flying enemies with these things. The ammo box will also give you ten extra cannon shells if you're driving the Metal Slug tank. Each life, you start with ten grenades.
Bullet Box: If you have a special weapon (any gun other than pistol), this gives you more bullets for it. Otherwise, you just get points for picking it up.
Heavy Machine Gun: Represented by an H icon, this replaces your ordinary pistol like all special weapons. You'll still use your combat knife, though, if you get close to a hostage or human foe (good for saving ammo). This gun has 200 bullets, and can shoot rapid-fire in a straight or circular pattern, unlike the pistol, which can only shoot straight. It's also a little more powerful than the pistol is. Whenever you have to continue the game, your character automatically recieves one of these in thanks.
Shotgun: Represented by an S Icon. This 30-shot weapon shoots in a wide arc close to you, meaning you can hit several enemies at once. It has about three times the pistol's power and can penetrate enemy soldiers' iron shields if they have them. The shotgun does have some real drawbacks, though. Its range is VERY limited (only a few steps away from you), and it fires powerful but slow.
FlameShot: Good weapon. This gun, represented by an F icon, carries 30 shots of fire, which will go right through enemies and can hit several advancing in a swarm or straight line. Just as powerful as the shotgun, but faster and has full-screen range.
Rocket Launcher: The R icon gives you this baby. 30 shots, explosive damage. Remember, rockets are about 3/4 as good as grenades (rockets are also twice shotgun power), when it comes to firing. Slow, though, but their range far makes up for that.
Metal Slug Tank: This is an excellent device. Instead of getting killed with one hit like your soldier, it can take three or four, and is only damaged by heavy artillery. Of course, that's what the bad guys break out when you start driving one. You can run over enemy soldiers with your tank when you have it. Your tank's basic weapon is a heavy machine gun that never runs out of ammo, and grenades are replaced by twice-as-good cannon shells. Picking up gas cans while in the tank will replenish its life meter, allowing you to take more hits before the baby goes boom. When that's gonna happen, your guy can easily jump out. And he can even crash the tank into the enemy ahead of him and jump out for massive damage! (Note: this is only advisable when used against boss vehicles). Your tank, though, does have a few disadvantages. One: it can't turn around. So cannon shots can only hit what's in front of you. It's also not as maneuverable as your character and can't jump as high. Its power does make up for that in the early levels, though, so use the tank, and use it well.
Perhaps the best thing about this game is the comedy scenes. These scenes you see occasionally range from the antics of the enemy soldiers to the clownish scenes of frightened people in a small village (Mission 5) to the arm-flapping, jumping-for-joy rescued hostages. Your soldier will also do things like change the clip in his pistol, drink from his canteen, or bark into his radio when you let him just stand there too long. These things are fun to see, but you only have a limited amount of time and life (3 lives per credit) to complete each mission, so don't just stand around too often. The comedy scenes also add to the realism of the game, making it even more fun to play.
Now let's get to the Missions:
Mission 1: You parachute into the middle of a Southeast Asian jungle. Rush past the big stone head, proceeding right and firing as you go. Enemy soldiers rush towards you, stop and shoot them as they come. They'll get you with pistols or knives if they get a chance. Ahead, shoot open the crate by the big rock for a HMG (Heavy Machine Gun). Use it on the two soldiers arguing over the pig and then grab that pig for bonus points. Keep going right, towards the wrecked and beached submarine. Blast more soldiers (watching out for ones coming from behind you), and keep an eye out for your first POW to rescue. He's tied to the post on the upper level and keeps pointing to his ropes, asking you to cut or shoot him free. Blast the ropes, blast the post for extra points, and then leap up and touch the rescued guy. He gives you a bonus medal (pulls out some big pants and it falls out, hilarious!), then says thanks, salutes you, and runs off. Try not to get killed now, or the game won't acknowledge your rescues (hard to do this on later levels). Keep going right, rescuing another POW who'll give you a HMG (more shots for the one you have if you still have it). Blast all the enemies coming at you through the sub's shell with it before you grab the FlameShot in the crate ahead. After you get it, keep advancing, shooting it ahead of you. Trade it in for another HMG from the crate up ahead, as the HMG is a better weapon against enemy bomb-dropping helicopters. Like the one that flies in once you reach the edge of the river. You must kill it to advance, so use this tactic for all bomb-dropping helicopters: Get under it, shoot up, blasting any section, get away from the volley of four bombs once they begin to fall and blast the chopper again as it flies over you for another drop. The thing will stick around till it's destroyed, and make sure you grab the love letter that falls out once it goes boom for extra points. Go through the shallow river now, shooting soldiers in front of you, and also blasting the scuba divers as they jump out of the water. If one manages to throw his big missile at you, just jump over it. Soldiers will also work alarm siren horns (blast them for extra points) and shoot at you from the wooden structures overhead. Keep your eye out for yellow barrels up there. One shot and they explode, destroying the structures and any soldiers in or on them (but their explosions won't hurt you). Keep going right, grabbing the bonus items and jump up on the structure with a house on it to get to the crate on the tower. This has an HMG, while the one below the hut just has a bonus item. Use the HMG to blast the big wooden house with two grenade-tossing soldiers ahead of you. It's good to destroy that thing BEFORE you board the waiting Metal Slug. That way you can dodge the enemy's shots more easily while you shoot the building out from under them. Grenades will waste it faster, but you want to save some for the enemy boss. Go right once the house's front area is gone, under its stilits. Another chopper appears, handle it like you did the last one, using your tank's HMG, which can shoot in all directions even if your tank can't turn around. Grab that gas the chopper leaves behind once it crashes into the enemy stilt house and keep going right, getting the cannon shells farther on. Shoot the bazooka-men that appear above, and then blast that big barrel marked "Danger" on the boat with your cannon. One shell or two, and the boat and stilit house are destroyed, meaning you can advance. Shoot down the POW hanging from the ruins of the stilt house for more cannon shells/grenades and get the gas that also falls out of the ruins. Go on up the rapids to the waterfall, watching out for two enemy tanks that come down at you one at a time. These things are easy for tanks, just get real close to them and blast away with your tank's HMG while their shells fly right over you. At the rainbow (appears when you first roll onto the bridge over the cliff falls), shoot up to destroy a hidden platform and knock down some POWs. Release them by running into them (don't worry, these guys can't die) for bonus points. Ahead, there's a wrecked plane suspended over the waterfall. A soldier waits on the wooden structure built up around it, ready to scream in panic and start sounding an alarm siren. Blast him, and free the two hostages on the plane fuselage (use your HMG to cut their ropes, then wait for them to arm-flap down and run into them) for extra explosives and a Rocket Launcher. Time to face the boss. An enemy soldier powers up the plane's heavy nose-mounted laser cannon and attacks. You'll have to destroy the cannon to beat the level. Watch for brown soldiers with bazookas rushing out of the plane during the fight, as you can shoot them with the tank's HMG for extra explosives and special weapons. You can do the same with prisoners if any more appear. This boss is pretty easy. The cannon can't move from its current position except slightly up or down, and shooting any part of the plane or the wooden structure built around the plane damages it. Basically, the cannon has only one way of attacking you. It will fire several volleys of three arcing laser blasts over your tank, which are easy to drive under before they land. It keeps doing this for some time, so just use your cannon shells on the gun in front of you, blasting the part of the plane's body hanging over the waterfall as you dodge its arcing blasts. When the gun's about halfway to going boom, it will start firing large laser balls in a one-high, one-low, and so on pattern along with the arcing blasts. Just keep up the same strategy, ducking under the high laser balls and jumping over the low ones while you dodge the arcing blasts and keep up a rain of fire on the wrecked plane. Leap out and use your rocket launcher if your tank gets destroyed, even though that shouldn't happen on such an easy boss. When that gun goes bye-bye, Mission 1 is complete and you'll get bonus points for each acknowledged rescue (as well as the POW's name, most of them seem to be Japanese or Greek guys), plus a bonus multiplier if the enemy didn't manage to destroy the Metal Slug tank. On to the next mission.
Mission 2: Welcome to London. A London that's been wrecked by the enemy soldiers, that is. You parachute in, and land next to some guys roasting marshmallows over a campfire. Blast 'em and rescue the POW dangling overhead for a bonus item. Shoot the two enemy flags, stone post, and big clock to pieces for extra points. Two soldiers with shields come in next, they can only be hurt by bullets when they pull their shields away to attack with their knife or pistol. You can still shoot them from behind, below, or above, but the best bet is to get close and use your knife. The shield can't block that. Now advance right, shooting the grenade-tossers that crawl toward you down the railroad tracks. There are three sets of lightning rods and electric wires strung across the tracks you have to pass through without touching them. Jump over the first, crawl under the second for a bonus item, and then jump the third and get that shield soldier waiting on the other side for a FlameShot. Use it on the guys with bazookas parachuting down from overhead, any shield soldiers rushing in from the right, and anybody who crawls under the wires behind you. After you roast the second shield soldier, you may proceed. Make sure to shoot the track switch for a lot of extra points, then cross the bridge over the Thames. Soldiers in life preservers will shoot at you from below, so wait until they stop shooting and go down before jumping the gaps in the bridge. You don't want to fall in the water here. Your guy can't swim, and even if he could, the big fish down there is hungry. The first bonus item you see is out-of reach, but you can shoot the lampposts on the bridge for extra points. There's a POW hanging from a lamppost shortly after you pass the "Pub and Grill" sign, shoot him down for a Rocket Launcher. Ahead, an enemy tank advances on you. Just fire rockets at it from a crouch position to blow it up, and its shots will fly right over your head. Note: This type of tank will eject a soldier who fires one rocket at you you can easily jump over, then runs away if the final blow against it isn't from a rocket or grenade. After the tank blows, grab the explosives it left behind and keep going, using rockets to shoot the groups of soldiers tossing grenades up ahead. Shoot down the POW for more rockets. Ahead, an enemy boat rolls in with guys relaxing on its deck. Toss some grenades down there to end their relaxing and jump on board. Stand next to the pilot house and blast away, this way you can damage the boat and kill any grenade-tossers who rush out. When the boat's damaged enough, it will turn over and soldiers will concentrate on bailing water out. Leap back onto the bridge from the boat, getting the HMG on it if needed and shoot downwards while in the air to kill the bailing soldiers and send the boat to the bottom. Repeat with the next two boats as they come in, getting another Rocket Launcher from the second, and a Shotgun from the third (the last boat rolls in from the left instead of the right, so be careful). After sinking all three boats, go right and blast the boathouse. The POW hiding inside will give you a bonus item once you rescue him. A shield soldier and a bazooka soldier will rush in from either side, then a tank just like the one you crouched to shoot at while crossing the bridge comes from the right. Use the shotgun to take them out, grab another load of bombs the tank leaves behind when blown up, and go right, blasting the two soldiers and POW overhead for a HMG. Don't pick it up just yet, though. The Shotgun is a better weapon against the rail-tank that rolls into view overhead. Shoot it as it comes with the shotgun, getting in as much damage as possible while it clears the track of debris before firing at you. When it does, just get out from under the slow-moving blue laser balls it drops and keep firing at it. Pick up the HMG when you run out of shotgun shells and watch out for the shield soldiers that may rush in from either side during the fight. Once the rail-tank's dmaged enough, its drivers are killed and it will fall off the track and you can keep going right. Shoot the bazooka soldier waiting to ambush you near the ramp going up. On top of the ramp, a soldier clinging to the outside throws grenades while another one rolls them down the ramp at you. Jump over their grenades and use the HMG to kill both. Then advance to the top of the ramp and board the Metal Slug. Say, is that Big Ben fallen over in the background? Roll on over the wooden ramp, shooting soldiers that climb up to lob grenades with your tank's HMG. The four POWs will give you bonus coins when freed. Next up, three planes diving in from overhead dropping easy-to-dodge bombs on you. Use the tank's HMG to soak the planes until they break up, they're much too fast for cannon shells. Once the planes are gone, the enemy General's personal air transport flies past and you can proceed. Run over the two shield soldiers in your path for extra cannon shells (two boxes) and then get the gas before boarding the rolling train car. The General's air transport flies down ahead of you, and it's the mission boss. This plane has a frightening amount of stamina, and its main attack is to drop missiles out its bottom. Just jump over the missiles if they get shot at you or roll away from them if you can. Keep up a rain of fire on the plane with your HMG, jumping up to hit it with cannon shells when it's low. Occasionally the plane's side door will open, revealing a soldier who tosses down three grenades or fires a couple weaving rockets down at you. Both types of projectiles are easy to dodge. The plane can also go to the far right of the screen and drop a bunch of round munitions on you. Just zoom to the left and dodge any incoming shells when this happens, then shoot at the plane again once it comes down. You can use the train car's three platforms as sniping posts, jumping boards, or overhead cover when they're raised (the arrow below one flashes when this happens). When you damage the plane enough, the enemy General himself, a guy wielding a rocket launcher who kinda looks like Saddam Hussein, will appear in the plane's open side door and fire at you. The plane's weapons don't shoot at you while he's out, so just dodge his rockets (pretty easy to do, especially with cover from the raised platforms) and keep shooting the plane. If your tank gets destroyed, leap out and handle the jet like you would a bomb-dropping copter, keeping in mind to leap up and lob grenades when it gets low. When the plane is eventually destroyed, it falls down and blows up. The General leaps out and is rescued by a plane like the ones that divebombed you earlier. Don't worry, you will see the General again later in the game if you survive. Mission 2 Complete!!
Mission 3: Enter the snowy alpine wilderness and get ready to climb the mountain, soldier. The first POW you see has a HMG to give you (where do these guys get their weapons?). Leap up to the ledges above you (jumping to the ledges in the direction of the arrow signs is best) and remember, if you fall off the screen, you're dead. On the long ledge with a prisoner tied to a post, you can get a cute bonus teddy bear if you free the guy and kill the two soldiers (one shield, one bazooka) who rush out to ambush you. Use the HMG to take out the paratroopers with bazookas as they drop from overhead next, making sure to jump around the ledge to dodge their shots. A bomb-dropping copter comes next, but the ledge is wide enough for you to use the same weave-back-and-forth to dodge the bombs while shooting upwards strategy you've used on them before. After you blow the copter and grab that falling love letter, an elevator descends from above. Shoot up to kill the shield soldier on board, then leap on and let the elevator carry you up. Kill the guy on the ledge to the left firing a bazooka at you (three shots per volley) with fire from a crouching position or while jumping over his shots. Then leap over there and jump onto the upper ledge. Now you have a problem. There's a big motorized column on the other side blocking you from jumping over there with its bulk and constant descent. The bazookaman firing volleys of three shots from under it is also a problem. To get past this part, stay on the small ledge above the wide one on the left where the bazookaguy can't get you and lob three grenades at that big button on the column with the up arrow on it. This will make the column go up and you can leap across to the right ledge without it getting in the way before it comes back down if you're quick enough. Shoot the bazookaman once you're over there and then stand to the left of that big "Danger" marked barrel and fire away, killing any more soldiers who rush in from the right. Once the barrel's blown, the column's destroyed and you can proceed (Note: you can also shoot at the barrel from the other side while the column is up, but doing it this way is MUCH easier and takes less time and gunshots to hit the up button). Keep jumping to higher ledges, grabbing extra bullet boxes and bonus items as you do. When you get to a ledge with a diagonal sign pointing to the upper right, stay there and jump up and down, firing at the soldier waiting to roll grenades at you on the next ledge. When you've killed him and his three waiting replacements, jump across and keep going up, grabbing more bullets and bonus items as you go. Make a running jump to the left to access the next ledge after grabbing the birdie nest and then jump up between the soldiers above you rolling snowballs around and shoot them in the back as you leap over them (the snowballs are immune to all damage, so jump over them to avoid getting crushed). Get to the far right, getting the bonus items as you go, and jump up to the ledge above. Now you're at the mountaintop. Time to face the soldier I call the jerk drill sergeant, a barechested bearded guy with a chaingun who yells insults at you while he attacks. The guy can also throw grenades at you and slash you with his knife if you get too close. Try to stay away from him during the fight, and jump over his chaingun blasts and grenades. Drop grenades on him from the upper ledges and shoot at him with the HMG if you have one. Otherwise just keep jumping, dodging, and firing away. Ignore all the stuff he yells at you and watch as he turns red (the redder he gets, the closer he is to death). Eventually, he'll fall over and go "See you in Hell!" Then you can proceed to the right. Leap up to the highest ledge and then leap from there to grab a bonus item at the treetop. Get the Rocket Launcher from the POW. Use it to blast that tank ahead of you firing arcing laser blasts one at a time. A rocket's upward arc will enable it to kill the soldier dropping grenades if you're wondering how to gte past his constant rain of explosives. Keep going right, shooting up the stack of plates blocking your way just ahead and then you're near the enemy barracks. Shoot the soldiers rushing at you, and grab a bonus item from the POW. Use your Rocket Launcher to destroy the wooden walkway overhead and bring down the boxes up there. You'll pick up two boxes of bombs, a bonus item, and a shotgun. Use the shotgun to kill the enemy soldiers rushing at you and the guy atop the latrine throwing grenades. Ignore the scared man inside the latrine (he can't be killed, nor can the toilet be destroyed) and pay attention to the three tanks just ahead. They're the type it's safe to shoot at if you crouch down while firing. The first one is directly shielded from your gunfire by the toilet, so use the shotgun or grenades instead while you crouch to take him out. Leap over the toilet between volleys, grab the ammo box the first tank left behind, and shoot at the other two from a crouching position next to them. They leave nothing behind when destroyed, but at least you can proceed right to the barracks. A soldier here will start sounding an alarm horn while more drop grenades from overhead and a tank of the type you encountered back at the waterfall in Mission 1 lobs cannon shells. First, rescue the POW for a bonus item, then shoot the two soldiers lobbing grenades from directly above you. Then kill the alarm horn guy (he pulls out a pistol and starts firing if you let him survive too long). Next, concentrate all fire on the big "Danger" marked barrel. Detonating it will destroy the tank, topple the barracks, and kill all the soldiers inside as they tumble over the cliff. You survive and can easily walk out of the rubble and go right, boarding the Metal Slug when it appears. Use the tank's cannon to take out the first enemy tank up ahead (all these tanks are ones that lob regular round shells at you like the ones in Mission 1). Then handle the one on the upper level like you would a bomb-dropping helicopter. Proceed right, staying on the lower level and shooting down any trees in your path. POWs will give you gas and cannon shells when you rescue them. More soldiers rush in to throw grenades, use your tank's HMG on them. When more enemy tanks roll in, handle the upper level ones like you would bomb-dropping helicopters and kill the ones on your level with the Metal Slug's cannon (jump over them if they come in from the left). Eventually, you'll go up a ramp and free a prisoner who gives you a rocket launcher. Then the boss tank rolls in below. You can't jump down to its level, so weave back and forth while you drop cannon shells and downward machine gun fire onto the big tank. Take out the tank's two side guns first, as they can not only shoot machine gun fire but also drop land mines onto your level that you must shoot or jump over to avoid. Then concentrate all fire on the big gun, jumping away from it when it vents its exhaust (that means it's about to fire a straight diagonal or upward laser blast that really damages your tank). When that gun's eventually destroyed, the tank will also go boom and you've completed the third mission. If you lose the Metal Slug during this fight, you can still hit the tank below you by firing downward while in the air or dropping grenades on it. You can get more explosives, HMGs, Rocket Launchers, and bonus items from POWs that appear to either side during the fight. Also, if you die here, you'll get a Rocket Launcher for continuing instead of an HMG.
Mission 4: The hilly German countryside is the setting for this one. When you've landed after parachuting in, proceed to the right and lob a grenade at the bar's back wall after you shoot the soldiers on the ground to take out the balcony bazooka sniper. Shoot the wall down and blast the soldiers behind it, but don't blow up that "Danger" marked barrel just yet! First leap on top of it and then leap to the ledge above with the speech-practicing politician (sometimes a monkey instead, but both are are bonus items) and the Metal Slug. Drive that tank down from the ledge and then blow the barrel. Roll on into the bar, shooting the soldiers who come at you with bazookas. Others leap down from above with knives extended, but they can't hurt your tank. They may try to grab onto the side, though, and hitch a ride. Weave back and forth, firing your tank's machine gun, to shake them off. As you jump over the pool table and keep going right, don't forget to grab the bonus items and boxes of explosives (from rescued POWs), plus a HMG (also from a POW) on the upper level, and shoot down the ceiling fans for extra points. Jump over the round-shell-launching tank when it appears behind you and use your cannon to destroy it. All this is easy to do in the Metal Slug. Once you get out of the bar, get ready to face some heavy-fire scenarios. Enemy tanks come up on the inaccessible ledge above and start dropping round cannon shells. To take them out, get directly under the tank (where it can't hit you) and weave back and forth to avoid any fire from other nearby tanks on the above area while shooting up. Notice the cracks appearing in the ledge area under the tank as you shoot. Once the ledge suffers enough damage, it will collapse and down comes the tank. Get out of the way so it doesn't fall on you and shoot the two or three soldiers that climb out once it hits the ground. Whoa, another tank came up to take the fallen one's place!! Don't panic, just handle it the same way you did the previous tank (the replacement tanks won't fall, just explode up there on the ledge) and no replacement for it will come once it's destroyed. Now, with no tanks bombarding you from above, keep going to the right, and watch out for soldiers hiding behind the hills up ahead and in the foxholes beyond. They'll throw grenades at you, and they can't be shot unless you can leap over their cover without getting blown up. A cannon shot or the Metal Slug's machine gun can take them out without you having to jump over. About halfway through this section, you'll meet another crouch-down-and-blast-it-type tank. Since three soldiers in foxholes and two overhead shell-dropping tanks arrive about the same type, it's a little hard to handle it all. First, fire a machine gun volley at the first foxhole grenade thrower to take him out, then use your grenades/cannon on the tank on the ground. Next, use your machine gun on the other two soldiers, and finally take out the overhead bombing tanks after that, as their shells are pretty easy to dodge. Lob a cannon shell over the next hill to kill the three grenade-tossers waiting there, destroy the last overhead bombing tanks, and then advance towards the hill. Ahead, a soldier mans a big missile launcher behind a spike-studded shield. The spikes are deadly if you aren't in the Metal Slug, so jumping over the cannon isn't a very good idea. Just lob a cannon shot or grenade at the gun to destroy it (the explosive rolls behind or flies over the shield and gets the soldier), shoot the soldiers rushing at you from behind to lay down land mines before they can do it, then head up the hill and handle the shielded cannon at the entrance to the Ardennes Forest like you did the one at the bottom of the hill. There's another Metal Slug just beyond it in case you lost the last one. Unfortunately, the forest has a lot of missile turrets among its trees, most of them on the ledges above you. Barbecue these with your Metal Slug's machine gun as they appear on the screen, backing up to avoid their missiles. Use your cannon to destroy the big guns on the path ahead of you (it usually only takes one shot per big gun) while they reload after each shot they fire, making sure to pick up the gas, boxes of explosives, or bonus items they leave behind after being destroyed. There is one POW at the start of this section, in the cave under the hill you roll down, who will give you extra explosives when freed. Just watch out for the soldiers who may ambush you from the cave with grenades. Also look out for the ones laying down land mines for you to back over and heaving grenades at your tank (in addition to the cannons) as you roll through the woods. Once past the big turret on the hilltop (use your tank's cannon to destroy it), roll into the red-hued cave and save the four POWs for two boxes of explosives, a bonus item, and a Rocket Launcher. Then the two enemy boss tanks roll onto the screen, one on the upper level from the right and one on the lower level from the left. I call these big artillery tanks "Sweeper Tanks," and they have bazooka snipers, missile launchers (shoot ones like the divers threw at you in level one, only they arc over you and then come down, able to hit you on either the upper or lower level of the cavern), and forward missile launchers (straight shot rockets), in addition to their ability to run over you. It's really best to take out the upper-level one first. Lob a few shells into it first, then do the crash-your-tank-into-the-enemy maneuver on it. You'll need the greater maneuverability of your soldier for this fight. If the shells and crash didn't destroy the upper Sweeper Tank, use your grenades while you're jumping over it as it comes at you. Dodge the missiles both tanks fire and stay on the upper level. Once the tank up there is gone, only the big missiles from the bottom one can hit you. Handle it by leaping back and forth to dodge the missiles while dropping grenades and firing downwards while in the air. Any POWs that appear during the fight will grant you extra explosives, HMGs, Rocket Launchers, or bonus items just like on the last boss fight. Once both tanks are destroyed, Mission 4 is complete.
Mission 5: Ah, a peaceful Slavic village. Whoa, check the peaceful part. It's full of enemy soldiers and vehicles. This may be one of your toughest missions. As soon as you land, a housewife will run screaming out of her home. Shoot the soldier who's chasing her and watch out for his comrades who soon arrive with knives, pistols, and grenades. After beating them, don't go forward just yet. Shoot at the building above you, taking out every balcony railing, window, doorway, and wall section. Eventually, the building collapses, an old man runs out screaming and struggling to hold his pants up, and you get lots of extra points. There's also a few bonus items and special weapons on the wreckage. Continue down the village street, shooting soldiers of all types waiting for you. Use parked cars and enemy trailer command posts as jumping platforms to reach any objects out of your reach on the buildings (most out-of-reach objects appear once the buildings are destroyed) before you shoot them to pieces for extra points and so enemy soldiers can't keep spilling out of the trailers. Any object on a balcony will fall once the balcony's destroyed, and special weapons you can get here include a couple HMGs, a Shotgun, a FlameShot, and two RocketLaunchers. Switch weapons as necessary, and make sure you destroy all the buildings and cars in your path for extra points as you continue to the right. Watch out for bazooka snipers or grenade tossers in the trees and windows above; destroy their posts to take them out, special weapons work well. The village post office (right after the building the two screaming bakers rush out of once it's destroyed, on the upper level) is the last building you can destroy. There's a cannon-shell firing tank rolling in as you come to it, use your grenades then get on the upper level and waste the post office. You'll get no special items, but will receive many points and take out a few soldiers. Free the POW for extra explosives, then board the Metal Slug and wax the enemy trailer ahead with your machine gun, then kill the round-shell-firing tank waiting behind it. Ahead is a roadway with several cars in your path and shield soldiers rushing at you with ready knives. They can't hurt your tank, so shoot or run over them and destroy the cars in your path with the tank's machine gun. When you reach the cringing old lady, enemy planes start divebombing you again. Jump over their missiles and use your machine gun to blow them out of the sky. Next comes a bomb-dropping helicopter, one that drops its bombs faster than the ones you've faced before. You'll just have to be quicker when waxing this one with your machine gun and also be careful not to rush forward too quickly, as more enemies await ahead. Namely, a wall blocking your path with a "No Tanks Allowed" sign on it you'll have to shoot down (beware the soldier atop it manning the drunk missile cannon) and a truck full of enemy soldiers coming up behind you. Best thing to do is not advance too far to the right until you've wasted the chopper, then shoot any bazooka or grenade-tossing soldiers on the inaccessible upper level with your machine gun. Next leap onto the truck and take it out (the drunk missiles are relatively easy to dodge if you aren't being bombarded by other enemy fire), then use your cannon on the wall. Proceed through the underpass, watching out for guys on motorbikes that come streaking at you (use your machine gun or jump over them) or guys on bikes with sidecars containing bazooka snipers stopping on the upper level (waste with your machine gun before you proceed). When the wooden door with the girl on it appears on the upper level, shoot it to pieces for extra points. Board the Metal Slug waiting for you in the middle of the underpass if you need to do so. At the other end of the underpass, there's a similar drunk-missile launcher and "No Tanks Allowed"sign setup, only this time you'll also have to deal with motorbike-snipers above and soldiers leaping onto your tank trying to hitch a ride. Plus, coming up behind you is a Sweeper Tank!! This is the point where not being able to turn your tank around can really piss you off. To handle this, use your machine gun on all the motorbike snipers above, then quickly blow the wall with shells (takes three), and advance to outrun the Sweeper Tank, while using your machine gun to kill the leaping soldiers. If you can get the Sweeper Tank scrolled off the screen, it won't continue the chase. There's something worse up ahead, though. Continue past the last few motorbike soldiers (for this mission, anyway; more do appear on the next), and wait for the village dogs to rush past you before proceeding. The boss vehicle, a big red spiky armed bulldozer-like tank transport will fire its missiles at you as you advance towards it, but they're easy to dodge or shoot. The tank on board the transport won't fire at you, but you do have to worry about the missiles and volleys of seven arcing laser blasts the transport itself will shoot. Crash your tank into the thing to begin (once again, you'll need your soldier's maneuverability) and then lob grenades at it till it extends its jacks and goes up, revealing a big poison gas turret underneath. Stay away from this gun (the gas will get you if you get too close), and concentrate all fire on it while you dodge the boss's other artillery. Once the gas gun is destroyed, four POWs fall out of the machine. Free them for a HMG, Rocket Launcher, a grenade-box, and a bonus item. Now stay underneath the elevated boss where only its guided missiles can get you, and shoot up at its soft underbelly. You can't use grenades on the boss now, as it is elevated too high, so it's going to take a while to destroy it. Make sure to duck under or shoot very missile that comes at you while you're underneath the boss, so that none hit you, but they're pretty fast, so don't be surprised if you need to use several credits to pass this boss. Once he's destroyed, it's on to the final mission!!
Mission 6: Time to enter the Amazon jungle for a final confrontation. Parachute in, and watch the three Metal Slugs roll away to attack the enemy base ahead of you. There are no Metal Slugs for yourself on this level. To begin, shoot that soldier hiding below you using the shoot-down-while-in-the-air maneuver and then shoot down the POW above you (hidden in the trees, you can easily spot his long blonde hair if you look hard enough) for a box of grenades. Advance to the right, killing the soldiers as they climb up the cliffs ahead of and behind you. Use grenades on any tanks that threaten. You'll soon reach one of the three Metal Slugs that you saw roll out (now destroyed) and have to kill a bunch of soldiers waiting to ambush you from inside its corpse. Go forward, crossing onto the bridge over the river. Enemy soldiers with bazookas and on motorbikes (just like the ones on the last level, either roaring straight at you or sniping from above) await on each of the bridge's two levels. Watch out for the enemies dumping steel beams on your head from their green wagons (waste the wagons for extra points) on the upper level, and keep in mind that any section of the upper level with big orange barrels attached to it can be shot to pieces if you want to restrict enemy movement up there. Tanks that come at you include a few of the round-shell-firing variety (handle them like you did the ones on lower and upper levels at the end of Mission 3, making sure to kill any enemy soldiers nearby first to avoid a great mount of fire bombarding you), and a crouch-and-blast-it type or two. These latter ones are surrounded by lots of soldiers, so it's hard to take them out with the normal strategy. Instead, throw grenades at them while dodging enemy fire and shooting the soldiers around it. The POWs on the bridge give a grenade box, a couple HMGs, and some bonus items once freed. When you reach the end of the bridge, a big Huey-type helicopter (the final boss) flies down. Your old pal the General appears in the open door, but he's not ready to fight you yet. Instead, he blows up the bridge and sends you plummeting to land on a large boat below you. This boat will automatically start heading to the right, the way you need to go, and it's equipped with a limitless-ammo machine gun turret. Hop into the turret after freeing any POWs who fell along with you and grabbing their bonus items. Get ready to shoot down three dive-bombing planes while rotating the turret back and forth to dodge their bombs. Next up, several paratroopers descend onto the boot. Jump off the turret and waste them with small-arms fire (your pistol), then the bomb-dropping copter comes. Don't bother to take out this one, just rush back and forth on the deck to avoid its bombs until it flies away. Then you'll be under the Great Amazon Highway, one of its pillars blocking your boat's way onward. If that "Danger" marked barrel is any indication, though, you do have some way to topple the freeway and proceed. First, rush back and forth on the deck, shooting down the bazooka snipers overhead. Then use your boat's turret to take down the pillar. If the bomb-dropping copter sticks around (this sometimes happens), take it out first. Your boat will keep going once the freeway section's toppled, and you can get some bonus items, a box of grenades, and a HMG from the POWs who leap down from above. Ahead, there's another swarm of divebombing planes like the ones in the last mission whose missiles you must jump over as they streak past. At the next freeway pillar blocking your way, use the boat's turret to take out the motorbike snipers overhead, and then blow up the pillar like before, watching out for paratroopers. The two POWs up there give you a bonus item and HMG once shot down from where they're hanging and rescued. Proceed onward in the boat, using your turret or pistol on any scuba divers who jump out of the water to throw missiles at you. Ahead, the boat stops at a beach. Jump off, grab the bonus items, and proceed to the right, past the burned-out husks of two more Metal Slugs (don't worry, no soldiers leap out of these), and get ready to face another super-fast bomb-dropping helicopter. Handle it by running under it as it drops its bombs, shooting straight up as you go (hold the joystick in an upward diagonal as you press the shoot button to preform this maneuver). An HMG can really help here, as its rapid fire shots will take out the chopper faster. Once it's shot down, go on to the right, blasting any knife-slashing soldiers who jump down at you. When you finally reach the enemy command center, jump up and fire at the guy hanging to the searchlight and tossing grenades. Free the POW for a Rocket Launcher, dodge the last few knife-slashers, then that big Huey you saw before flies down. The General comes out on the side-mounted platform, ready to blast away with his rocket launcher. The Huey also has a big Gatling gun under its nose, a hidden guided-missile launcher just above the Gatling gun, and can drop bombs. To avoid most of these various attacks, you need to keep moving around while you use the Rocket Launcher or HMG on the Huey, which can take a lot of punishment. The more smoke that comes out of its engine as it attacks, though, the closer it is to destruction. To avoid the missiles it launches (most frequent attack, 4 to 8 per volley, more in each volley as it gets closer to destruction), shoot the missiles down as they arc toward you and try to jump away from them so they'll collide into each other. After the volley's all been destroyed, go back to standing under the chopper and shooting upwards to blast it away. The best way to avoid the copter's Gatling gun is by fleeing to the upper platform where it can't get you. You can also hit the Huey with grenades by leaping from up there and tossing them as you sail back towards the ground. The General's rockets can be avoided by leaping over them as they sail towards you. When the chopper cycles to the top right corner of the screen and opens its bomb bay, rush over under it and shoot up to destroy any falling bombs directly over your head. As long as you shoot those bombs and don't move from your initial sniping spot till the Huey comes back on screen and resumes its regular attack pattern, you should be okay. As the copter takes more damage, more bombs will fall out in this attack, too. This will be a long battle, and may take several credits, but you should win eventually. POWs who appear on screen during the fight will provide extra grenades, Rocket Launchers, or HMGs if you rescue them. When you eventually destroy the Huey, the general will come flying out as it explodes and you can rush over and slash him several times with your knife for fun as he falls and lays on the ground (no, he's not gonna get up and fight you outside of a vehicle). Now Mission 6 is complete, and so is the game. Sit back and enjoy the impressive cinematic ending and the promise of Peace Forever!!
That's all the perils you'll face in Metal Slug. If you manage to beat the game, congratulations. You've beaten a very difficult and very cool load of fun!!
