Metal Slug’s designer looks back at SNK’S original run-and-gun hit Q&A: KAZUHIRO TANAKA

Where did the original idea for Metal Slug originate?

To start off, the characters Marco and Tarma did not exist in the very first plans of the game. In the original concept, tanks were supposed to fight against other tanks. However, after some discussion, we thought the game would not be that interesting in the end, and decided to make the tanks armoured vehicle powerups that could take out enemies in a single hit.

Why do you get power-ups from POWS?

By obtaining something from saving people, we thought that it would give more sense to the meanings of ‘saving’ and ‘being saved’. We thought that the personality of the Pows wouldn’t have been the same if they were just ‘numbers’ to be counted.

the game is very funny, how important was this humour during development?

I think that humour was the main axis of the game in all points, not only on the characters, but also in every movement and details in the backgrounds to create a unique game atmosphere.

What were the biggest challenges you faced while making Metal Slug?

I would say when we had to change expressions and movements within the space of a few pixels. The number of colours that could be used per character was limited, and we put a lot of efforts and mastered every dot pixel in order to accomplish this task.

Why do you think Metal Slug spawned so many sequels? every time we worked on a new Metal Slug, we extended the game world by adding a large variety of characters and enemies including new themes such as insects and plants, and eventually even ended up in space… but I would say that the support from players over the years was no doubt the biggest reason.