Deja Vu, only two weeks until the upcoming big gaming event arrives, which isn't E3 but rather New Game Plus (which I never heard of until now) and this time, there's no uncertainty that SNK (the Corporation) will be there and will unquestionably show something there that isn't merchandizing. What would the stuff in question be? we don't know entirely, all we have is a post from the r/SNK post about what the company will (allegedly) put out and an article (allegedly) showing that there are 2 Metal Slug games in development, a mobile one (surprisingly not related to the Tencent made one) and the big one, the non-mobile one. As for the Reddit post, I have a suspicion that aside from being possibly half-false, it's possibly half-true, especially the new non-mobile Metal Slug game mentioned in the Seoul conference last year, which I will take it as the true part given the conference's talk of coming out with 2 big titles per year as opposed to one as well as the game in question being a reboot as opposed to a "quel" one. As for the article, it seems to corroborate with both the Reddit post and the conference talk altogether, further reinforcing my belief that Shin Metal Slug will be shown off at NGP this year, making me all the more anxious as to what SNK has to show (KOF XV is undoubtedly a given for obvious reasons and probably might take up almost half of SNK's presence in the event), which brings me to my next point. Almost last year, I made some predictions about what the new game might be like and suffice to say, I could have said that they sort of hold up well were it not for the recent news about 2 MS games being made (including the non-mobile one) during this writing, of which changed the direction of this post altogether. So henceforth, I'm going to make another set once again, this time reflecting what SNK can plausibly and realistically do in regards to how they'll make the new game in addition to the article in question (and the game being an ACTION SHOOTER and nothing else).
And like the last time, I will make these predictions under the (hopeful) assumption that the reboot game, Shin Metal Slug, retains a military theme, the same lead cast, and somewhat similar (or even the same) hardware, all in 3D graphics, cel-shaded or not cel-shaded (preferably the latter due to my distaste for them but I digress), and regardless if cutscenes are shown or not; all unless anything comes to contradict any or all of them. Nothing is certain until the day the game is finally shown off, if it's going to be so at NGP.
1. 2D Run-n-Gun similar to the first 3 games.
This one might be the best case scenario for both me and the development team and perhaps others; basically the first game with a grounded war theme (or rather near-grounded) and setting (and destructible environments) with much elements of the other two games, the platforming segments of 2/X, and the branching paths and frequent genre-switch segments of 3. All in all, a mix of the first three (ish) games in one package, added with stuff that came after 3, including the slide mechanic of 5, the hijacking vehicles of 4, the zooming in and out camera function of 6 along with the character-specific abilities, and of course being able to have more than 4 characters to chose from. Who will those characters be aside from Marco, Eri, Tarma, and Fio? no clue. Trevor, Nadia, Ralf, Clark, and perhaps Walter, Tyra, Gimlet, and Redeye might be a given (for either unlockables or DLC) along with additional ones unseen and perhaps those from that Attack game but that's another story for another time. The setup would still be the Rebels vs. Government conflict within the vague world superstate, more or less, with other forces like that of the Ptolemaics along with supernatural and alien forces (Mars People, Invaders, etc.) coming into play, perhaps through DLC chapter packs of sorts if necessary. Same with the Slug vehicles, there might be both ones from not only Attack and the non-arcade games, but also new ones too; ditto for the enemies. And of course, there might be some stuff from the non-arcade games in question added (i.e. POW rescue missions, time trials, cards, Slug customization, etc.) along with possibly stuff from the prototype 1995 version (that has yet to be released sometime) but I'm getting ahead of myself; I should also mention the possible inclusion of combat school modes with the pretty instructor waifus (and possible husbandos added). As for the story, I wouldn't mind a somewhat more emphasis on it along with being more darker and serious in tone but well a sense of humor has to be retained, hence why I opt for it being like the first game (after all it's made for people in their 30's to 40's allegedly) but then again the developers might have other ideas. For all I know, they might go with 3's emphasis on supernatural and alien themes because muh MS3 love and the war theme of 1 be damned. Still, this might be the more likely route for the team to take in terms of setup given the need to be both appealing to old-timer veterans like myself and newcomers.
2. 2D Platformer Run-n-Gun similar to 1st and 2nd Missions and Advance.
Same as before in terms of characters, mechanics, setup, factions, and Slug vehicles, but only with more emphasis on platforming like the first three spin off games. Not a bad choice, given that I like the games, though the stages might be more adjusted to accommodate the platforming (not that the way the games in question were setup didn't stop them from looking good). In addition, there would be branching paths to other stages, depending on where you find the secret exits, just like in 1st and 2nd Mission; that and specific Slug and boss-centric stages too. There might be different paths depending on the characters chosen, though some might be almost the same for two characters each. In addition, there might be specific stages for combat school, with specific challenges for each of them in terms of mechanics (but that's another story for another time). Also, there might be more or less the same possibility of supernatural/alien stuff, though they might be more reserved for specific paths or just stages, but who knows? Overall, the second best case scenario for us MS fans in general and for the development team too, though not much fancy backgrounds to see in contrast to the above form that went for the bigger picture.
3. 2D Twin-stick shooter ala Neo-Contra (and then some)
Ditto here in regards to characters, mechanics, setup, factions, and vehicles, though this time it's a top down shooter. Though it wouldn't be the first time it went in this direction (MS Zero anyone?), but it would at least be more successful in contrast to that game, in terms of visibility and profitability perhaps. The gameplay and progression would be more arcade like yet have elements of the first 3 spin off games, namely the stage progression and character-specific paths. Admittedly I haven't played much twin-stick shooters to comment further but I will draw from Neo Contra for ideas. I say this since for one, there might be more emphasis on camera changes compared to the previous two in regards to setpieces and boss battles. That and the gameplay would have to accommodate the perspective change, though there might be the jump mechanic retained to some extent. I'm quite mixed on this since on one hand it would help bring in some new ideas to the series, but on the other hand, it wouldn't fit well with people who are accustomed to the old 2D platforming ways (unless this game isn't like Neo-Contra and is more akin to it's predecessors in not being top-down but you get the idea). So henceforth I consider this a worst-case scenario in general, even if the game would turn out to be good.
4. 3D Third-Person Shooter ala Splatoon and MS3D (sort of)
Like all the above, the same applies to everything though the game will be set up like the 3D game yet would look and play better than its PS2 predecessor. Yet ironically it might be the worst case scenario for the developers given the scale of this (and whether it'd be the same for the fans is up for debate but I digress), especially given SNK's niche status as of this post. So basically take what the 3D game had, at its core, and make it bigger and better, in that it would have mechanics and stages much more suited to the 3D environment (especially with SNK's improved experience with 3D development these days). There may or may not be as much cut scenes as the PS2 game had, but if there were, it'd hopefully be more coherent and have less mediocre voice acting (there's certainly worse out there but I digress). The Slug customization might be more useful here than the other three types above, given this one's heavier reliance on the 3D environment and the opportunities the stages might provide in terms of cover and terrain. In addition, there might be co-op added to liven things up along with other multiplayer stuff (admittedly I haven't touched upon this much until now given that I'm more focused on the single player aspect). I did thought out this a long time ago when the likes of the Wii, the PS3, and the Xbox 360 were the things back in the day (so much so, I've sketched out how the controls would work on the first and third consoles respectively), since afterall, I was and still am more fond of the 3D game than most other fans are, even when the game isn't all that great to play whatsoever. Still though, it's not too unthinkable for the development to fix what's broken, and the concept of a fully 3D Metal Slug game with 3D gameplay definitely is broken, even though it's not necessary to do so right now when the likes of KOF and Samsho-Spirits had their recent games retain their old-school 2D gameplay retained with 3D graphics. So furthermore, a much better and HD take on such a game would likely not be on the cards at SNK right now nor ever, but at least the experience of making MS3D would provide some lessons to be learned in both the present and the future. Last thing SNK needs is another radical take that alienates (or at least polarizes) most fans that end up not doing much justice to the series that long needs love and care.
So those were my revised top 4 predictions for what Shin Metal Slug will be like if and of course, like before, they might not be entirely accurate, since I'm just one random internet bum compared to a company like SNK and only they know what's going on behind closed doors. All I can do is speculate and nothing else, but again it's something to get my chest off before I go off to do my hobbies, chores, and life stuff before D-Day arrives. And when that day arrives, and Shin Metal Slug gets shown off at the very least...I guarantee it will make much bigger news than KOF XV ever will and it would be soo big, it'd make the PS5 reveal look like an Indie event.
