Metal Slug: or how to get multiplayer on the Switch

Action Hero: The Game

As mentioned in my Switch overview I pretty much got Metal Slug as quickly I could when it entered the e-shop. I already mentioned I played it before, baked together with the other 4 I played on my Wii Virtual Console. But maybe I should go through them one by one to what I see as the progressions in story and gameplay? Well, what better way than start from the beginning.

First stage and the blood just flows

So after reading up on the backstory which isn't in the game at as all as far as I can say (if it isn't is in some wait for the intro at the start) it basically is that a general Morden have staged coups of all the worlds governments and plans to get hold of the Metal Slug, the only ones standing in his way is the Peregrin Falcon Strike Force and it's to officers Cpt. Marco Rossi and Lt. Tarma Roving. Would have been fun with some flavour text on why I am where I am at the start of each level. I get the final level since it's basically storming the generals base, but the others. Why am I in some swamp like jungle at the first stage followed by a town, snowy mountain and so on? That would have been more fun to know, like in Steel Empire where each mission explained why it was important to destroy the boss or liberate the area or just pass through it in the players goal to stop Saurlon. Here I just continues until the end credits which is rather boring.

What isn't boring is running and gunning killing each and every enemy as you avoid the bulletstorms around you. Living through to the end on one life is pretty much impossible... lucky I can heighten my extra lives to 99 as well as continues. Now, playing the game a bunch I can actually manage pretty well. The Wii Virtual Console didn't have this amount of lives and I actually got through without starting over. Not so in the beginning where every life and continue was used to go though take after stage. At the moment I haven't figured out if that's even possible on the Switch version.

So being one of the few multiplayer games at the moment for the Switch (that I own) I tried to play co-op with my sister and I did what I thought I was supposed to do. I split the controller and then attached the wrist-strap extension and then tried to play. Didn't react. So we sit there for a couple of minutes until I look it up on the net since there is no instructions. And basically I constantly have to pair the controllers going between multi- and single-player by entering the controller option on the home screen (except on Shovel Knight which I bought for the 3ed time were at the start screen just push (-) to get the option). I get why, but for some reason I thought I just needed to separate them and that would be it. Cause if there is one problem I feel I gave with this whole console generation is that there is no manuals at all. Zelda have none (if you don't count the mini guide you could get with the Nintendo reward program), Metal Slug have none, at the moment no game have a manual. I miss looking through manuals with artwork and trying to piece together what might happen in the game and which people I might meet. I miss the old days in that regard.