Games Like Metal Slug X

The most aggressive and mechanically rich Contra entry, Hard Corps brought the series to Genesis in 1994 with four unique playable characters, branching storyline paths, and the most demanding gameplay in the franchise. With enemies that fill the screen, constant projectile patterns, and bosses with multiple distinct attack phases, Hard Corps remains the peak of Contra's 16-bit era.

The SNES Contra masterpiece. Contra III: The Alien Wars brought the series into the 16-bit era with spectacular Mode 7 boss battles, dual weapon wielding, and relentless action that matched the hardware's capabilities.

The greatest co-op run-and-gun ever made. Contra put two commandos against an alien invasion and challenged them to survive on one hit — unless you knew the Konami Code.

SNK's 1994 Neo Geo sequel and the definitive Art of Fighting experience — Art of Fighting 2 dramatically expands the roster to 12 characters (from 2+2 boss-only in AOF1), adds Robert Garcia, Yuri Sakazaki, and King as fully playable alongside refined special move systems, improves the Spirit Gauge balance, and develops the franchise's story connecting to Fatal Fury's timeline.

SNK and Eolith's 2001 Neo Geo fighting game and the conclusion of the NESTS Chronicles — The King of Fighters 2001 features the largest roster in the classic series, concludes the K' and NESTS story arc, offers four Strikers per team (from one in KOF '99), and represents the transition year when SNK faced financial crisis, making it both a franchise milestone and a historical document of a company in difficulty.

SNK's 1994 Neo Geo fighting game and the origin of one of gaming's most enduring franchises — The King of Fighters '94 invented the three-on-three team battle format, assembled characters from Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting, and original creations into tournament brackets, and launched the annual KOF series that continued through KOF 2002 and beyond.

SNK's 2000 Neo Geo fighting game and the second chapter of the NESTS Chronicles — The King of Fighters 2000 expands the Striker System to two Strikers per team (from KOF '99's one), features the largest KOF roster to that point, introduces Ramon and Vanessa as new characters, continues the K' and NESTS story arc, and runs on the powerful NESTS team with expanded boss encounters.

SNK's 1995 Neo Geo fighting game sequel and the refinement that made KOF the franchise — The King of Fighters '95 introduces fully customizable team selection (replacing '94's fixed pre-set teams), adds Iori Yagami as Kyo's rivalry foil, introduces Rugal Bernstein's powered-up form as Omega Rugal, and delivers the series' first memorable story arc beat with the Orochi storyline's early seeds.

SNK's 1999 Neo Geo fighting game and the transition entry that introduced the Striker System — The King of Fighters '99 adds a fourth team member as an Assist Striker (a character called in for a single attack), introduces K' (Kay Dash) as the series' new protagonist replacing Kyo Kusanagi, and begins the NESTS Chronicles story arc that would run through KOF 2001.

The sequel expanded the roster to four characters and introduced the alien transformation mechanic that would define the series. Metal Slug 2's visual spectacle surpassed the original with mummies, tanks, and elaborate boss sequences — though its legendary slowdown was addressed in the bug-fixed Metal Slug X revision.

SNK's crowning achievement in the Metal Slug series — Metal Slug 3 features the franchise's most elaborate level designs with branching stage paths, multiple vehicles including submarines and zombie forms, the longest and most ambitious final stage in run-and-gun history, and the series' signature pixel art at its absolute peak. Widely considered the greatest Metal Slug game ever made.

The run-and-gun masterpiece that pushed the Neo-Geo hardware to its absolute limits. Metal Slug's hand-drawn animation — hundreds of frames per character, explosions, and environmental details that no other arcade game matched — combined with cooperative two-player action, weapon variety, and relentless design to create what many consider the greatest run-and-gun game ever made.