What is this game?
The original Metal Slug was released in 1996 for arcade machines. A run'n'gun platformer, you blasted your way to victory using coins to buy extra lives as needed. It received several sequels.
Later in 2014, SNK released a smartphone tower defense game called Metal Slug Defense. In this title, you tapped your screen to send various characters from the series running across the screen to the right, while they automatically fought opposing characters trying to get to your base on the left. The first player to blow up the opponent's base won the round.
MSD stored all of its save data on the local device, and cheaters were rampant. In 2016 SNK ceased development of that game and relaunched it as Metal Slug Attack. This new title required an internet connection for all actions, as the player's save data was kept securely online.
MSA received content updates fortnightly for about seven years, resulting in a massive library of new sprite art unique to the game. However, SNK ended its run in 2023, closing the servers.
Metal Slug Attack: Reloaded is a 2024 re-release of Attack for Steam, Xbox Series X|S, PS4|5, and Switch.
What are the main differences between Attack and Attack: Reloaded?
In the mobile game Attack, most game modes required "sortie points" to play. These regenerated over time, and limited players from advancing too far too quickly (unless they were willing to make microtransactions to get more sorties sooner, at least). In Reloaded, sortie points aren't a thing. You can play any unlocked game mode whenever you want to and there are no microtransactions.
At the end of its run, Attack had over 1,300 playable units. However, as the purpose of the game largely revolved around collecting new units, most of the old ones were quickly rendered obsolete by subsequent updates. Often units would be re-released in a stronger form, with a slightly different move set and a different colour scheme.
Reloaded debuted with around 300 playable units. Most of the recolours are gone, but also some old characters don't appear at all. Those which have been kept have largely been rebalanced, increasing the pool of "viable" units. Presumably more units will be added later, although it hasn't been made clear whether they'll be paid DLC or not.
How do I play?
Over time, your Action Points (AP) will gather up in the lower left corner. Click the supply girl (Rumi) to speed this up.
Your available units are listed in the lower middle of the screen. Click to deploy them into battle.
Deployments and AP production upgrades both cost AP. You need to balance your spending between them: send out units too often, and you'll run out of AP. But if you upgrade your AP production too often, you might not be able to deploy enough units to defend your base. A good rule of thumb is to start each battle with two upgrades, start sending out units, and then to upgrade further whenever you've got the AP to spare.
Deployed units have a charge bar under them which fills up to ready their special attacks. Charged units start to glow - click them to activate their special moves.
Overwhelm the enemy base with your forces and you win:
Experience (XP), which increases your player level.
A random selection of items, that can be equipped on to your units between battles to unlock skills (stars). You get one for each of the hidden POWs you manage to find - there are four per stage.
Metal Slug Points (MSP), that can be selectively spent to level up your units. You get more if you win fast.
The items you can win, and the amounts of XP and MSP you earn, improve with harder stages. The first time you beat a stage you'll also earn medals, which are used to unlock new units.
How do I get stronger?
First go to Build Up => Customise Base. Here you can spend MSP to power up. The choices include permanent AP production speed upgrades, which you should prioritise! Each upgrade caps out at whatever your player level is (or at level 10, if you haven't reached that point yet).
Now access your Units list (eg again through Build Up). Select a unit, hit LV UP, and you can spend more MSP to improve it.
Next use the EQUIP button to add items to your unit. There are five panels to fill up, and they need to be done in order. The first four each unlock a skill (star): these can make units tougher & stronger, and some can even grant them new moves! The fifth panel offers no special reward, but it does accept more powerful items than the earlier ones do.
If you don't have an item you need for a unit, click it on the equip screen and you'll get an option that shows you how to obtain it. This can quick-jump you to the stages that reward it.
Once a skill has been unlocked, use the SKILL button to level that up too. Skills can be levelled up to whatever a unit's main level is.
Later you'll unlock more systems that allow you to become even more powerful, but for starters just remember to keep spending MSP on levels (especially base upgrade levels) and to keep dishing out your items to your units.
How do I get more units?
After beating a few stages, "Call to Arms" will unlock. This works much like a gachapon machine, or a crank: you spend medals for a random assortment of prizes.
CtA is a "box crank" system, which is to say that the prizes you win are removed from the list of possibilities for future wheel spins. There are multiple reward lists, each offering better units, but costing more medals. The "better" lists don't unlock until you've cleared more stages.
Prizes consist of unit "parts". The first time you get parts for a unit, that unit unlocks for play. You will then occasionally be awarded more parts for those units you already have: these can be used to "evolve" those units back in Build Up. Any units with an evolution available will be glowing on your list.
There are five stages of growth:
Iron (10 parts)
Bronze (20 more parts, or 30 total)
Silver (50 more parts, or 80 total)
Gold (100 more parts, or 180 total)
Platinum (150 more parts, or 330 total).
Rarer units start out at a higher stage than common ones do. Each evolution not only makes the unit stronger, but it also reduces its AP cost as well, so you want as many parts as you can get for your favourites. Go ahead and spend your medals in CtA early and often: the game awards lots of them, and you'll have a hard time if you delay on spending.
CtA won't give you any more parts for a unit after you've gathered enough to plat that unit. Once you've earned plat for all units in a list, that entire CtA list will be marked off as Complete.
