Metal Slug has always been an interesting arcade shooter with some of the best pixel graphics, and some of the tightest controls out there. Sure, a lot of the game had you dying pretty easily, and the series is a known quarter muncher, but there was just something about it that made it more nuanced than simply taking all your money. Sadly, I can't say 1st Mission does anything that the Metal Slug series is known for.

While a portable Metal Slug sounds great, and would later be a possibility with the likes of the PSP/DS, 1st Mission just had the Neo Geo Pocket. For a Neo Geo Pocket game they certainly do what they can with the graphics. You can tell they are going certain backgrounds, and while the sprite work pales in comparison to the arcade counterpart it looks good on the small handheld. The music isn't really anything to write home about, but it is a passable soundtrack that keeps up with the Metal Slug usual OST flare. Either way, it's notable that Metal Slug challenged what the Neo Geo Pocket can do just like it did in Arcades.

On top of that, the mission structure was changed to having 17 different levels, with them being notably smaller and far more challenging due to screen crunch, terrible tank controls, and unfair enemy shots after victory. It really is odd that a series known for it's tough but fair game design just honestly had some unfair moments in it's first handheld game. 1st Mission is honestly just not forgiving to the fact you don't have as much information on the screen nor that you could have missed a simple jump or maneuver because of game lag or bad vehicle controls. By all means, this isn't to the point that it's unplayable, but I certainly wouldn't have gotten far without some sort of rewind feature.

Still, I wouldn't want to deter a fan of this series from playing this game, and for what 1st Mission is, it's a unique Metal Slug game that tried to do something different, and did what it could on the handheld. While an asterisks ever looms on the "for the Neo Geo Pocket", it still has a unique charm to this day with the way it looks and how it's designed. It's a bit of a shame that you have to unlock the girl character by beating the game with the male counterpart, but it is at least something neat you get for beating the game. Other than that, Metal Slug 1st Mission is just kinda a neat game.