Metal Slug 7

Metal Slug 7 Nintendo DS is a 2D run-and-gun shooter from SNK Playmore, released in Japan in July 2008 and in other regions later that year. This handheld entry brings the long-running Metal Slug series to Nintendo DS with its hand-drawn military caricatures, dense enemy formations, rescuable prisoners, weapon pickups and explosive vehicles. The game is built around seven main missions and six selectable heroes: Peregrine Falcon soldiers Marco Rossi, Tarma Roving, Eri Kasamoto and Fio Germi, joined by Ikari Warriors Ralf Jones and Clark Still.

The campaign begins after an uneasy period of reconstruction, when General Morden and the Rebel Army again threaten the world. The six soldiers investigate Garbage Island, an enormous refuse site turned into a fortified rebel stronghold, then pursue the conflict through a succession of hostile locations. Morden's forces gain unexpected assistance from soldiers arriving through a time portal, giving the operation a science-fiction twist while retaining the series' familiar war-parody setting. The objective is straightforward but demanding: survive the advance, destroy the opposing war machines and close off the source of the enemy reinforcements.

Like earlier Metal Slug games, the Nintendo DS adventure is driven by immediate side-scrolling action. Players run, jump, fire and throw grenades while reacting to infantry, armored threats, traps and large end-of-mission bosses. Captive prisoners can be freed during a stage, while crates and defeated enemies yield ammunition and special arms. The recognizable weapon set returns alongside the Thunder Shot, an electric projectile with homing behavior. Temporary Slug vehicles add another layer to the action, allowing the player to meet heavy opposition with mounted firepower before returning to the vulnerable on-foot fight.

Metal Slug 7 makes purposeful use of the DS's two screens. The main action plays out on the upper display, while the touch screen provides a level map that helps track the route, rescued prisoners and useful pickups. That presentation gives the player more battlefield information without replacing the fast, arcade-rooted rhythm of the stages. Three difficulty settings—Beginner, Normal and Hard—let players approach the campaign at different levels of intensity, but each mission still rewards alert movement, careful use of special weapons and quick responses to incoming attacks.

Outside the main operation, Combat School adds a substantial set of standalone challenges. Guided by instructor Cynthia, this mode contains 80 training exercises and mini-games that test specific skills rather than simply replaying the campaign. Performance earns points and contributes to a rank, giving the DS release a structured reason to revisit its mechanics. Some Combat School content also uses settings not found in the principal seven-mission story, making it more than a basic practice menu.

Metal Slug 7 is the original single-player Nintendo DS version, rather than the later Metal Slug XX revision. Metal Slug XX reworked the game for PSP and subsequently reached other platforms with additions including cooperative play, so its extra content should not be confused with this cartridge release. For the DS, the focus remains a compact solo Metal Slug campaign designed around the dual-screen hardware: six established characters, a new battlefield, seven missions, score-minded rescues and the series' animated 2D combat.