Following some superlative power-up voice samples we move onto synth brass, slap bass and lead guitar which crunch alongside other 80s synth staples and jazzy solos in the follow up track with some great bridges. Things aren’t quite as they seem however – half way through the marching band is swiftly evolved into 80s synth jazz fusion with twangy slap bass, synth pads and sampled sax solos. This really kicks from the third track – we’ve got sampled brass and military drums mashing the iconic uplifting theme that is continually reprised in the game, and happens to accompany the first level’s onslaught. Metal Slug’s soundtrack kicks off with the sparse attract screen – it’s nothing terribly impressive, but the military-otaku attention to detail and subsequent drum roll works as the perfect setup for what becomes an eclectic mash up of genres. Nazca’s legendary development on the iconic visual splendour and awesome run and gun gameplay have been the focus of all sorts of fan discussion over the years, but with this release from Data Discs we get to peel back these layers to discover an interesting and bombastic soundtrack that draws on some impressive nostalgia. Metal Slug drew all sorts of excitement when the series hit arcades in the ’90s on SNK’s fan-favourite Neo Geo platform.

Metal slug 1 cover art