When playing "Metal Slug 5" I was somewhat in awe of yet another Neo Geo game with badass sound. Particularly the first stage, I could hear very clear differentiations between the water, the weapons, the explosions and even the menu sounds and all were mixed in perfect harmony.

Maybe it's more due to the headset I have, but I play a lot of retro games from the era the Neo Geo was released and most systems didn't quite pop melodically like this system did. Makes sense since it was way more expensive than the competition, but still this game releasing over ten years after the system launched and it was still awakening new heights the system could reach. The music also kicks ass! This was the kind of game that the menu system as its firing up told me I was in for a treat and for the most part that was true.

This is a stronger game than Metal Slug's 1&4, but also not quite as good as X&3 which were clearly the peaks. I love that it got way more creative with the boss encounters after 4's lackluster approach, but still nothing quite as memorable. I could even feel the influence of shmup's in some stages; particularly the carrier plan. Despite its lasting impact, it still was a strong entry in the series and one that left the series off on a good note for the Neo Geo.