Metal Slug Location Test Version, unearthed with the upcoming Ultimate Collection

[MagicianLord77]

Anyone excited to try out this version from a time when the main concept was to control the tank?

Only known footage used to be was some magazine scans like:

here they are courtesy of flyingomelette.com (offline?) https://web.archive.org/web/20260721051033/https://randomhoohaas.flyingomelette.com/msmia/1/ef.html

I hope a valid Neo-Geo ROM could be extracted from it to play it on original hardware

 

[nem]

Would be funny if this is what SNK was teasing at the end of the 30th anniversary video with Mission Reboot.

 

[lithy]

Happened to be watching the Nintendo Direct presentation which I don't usually do, saw the Garou: City of the Wolves to the Switch 2 announcement and thought, ok a little late but cool. Then the Slug collection, ok great, I do need a way to play 6. And then this nugget in there made me pretty dang excited and already hoping ROM data can be grabbed and back ported to use on my cab similar to what happened with SamSho 5 Perfect.

When SNK solicited a fan survey in late 2025, I sort of tongue-in-cheek posted about this version of Slug 1. And also Scotland for the cart version of NTM, which is supposed to come to the AES+ release, so I'll be accepting all the credit for these and that means the rest of my wishlist of MOTW2, Crystalis 2, and Dance RhythMIX are just over the horizon as well. :p

One last note, that archived page is great, although it omits the earliest details published in Neo Geo Freak #3 where the tank seems to have a health meter that is not present in the later build pics. The later build pics look to match what brief glimpses can be seen in the trailers for the upcoming release.

With the kind of turmoil SNK has had as a business over the last 25 years, it's great that this seems to have survived somehow.