Walter Ryan
A Peregrine Falcons soldier and one of the two playable protagonists.
Documented for this version
Arrow LeftArrow Right | Move left or right |
|---|---|
Arrow Up | Aim upward or enter doors and ladders where available |
Arrow Down | Crouch |
A | Jump |
B | Fire the equipped weapon |
Start | Pause the game |
Controls use the Game Boy Advance directional pad and buttons.
Weapon and grenade inputs are not listed here because mappings can vary by documented control context and are not safely inferred.
How it plays
The game is viewed from a 2D side-scrolling perspective. The main objective is to move through combat stages, defeat soldiers and machines, rescue prisoners of war, and reach each stage boss.
Players run, jump, crouch, fire, collect weapons, and use vehicles such as the SV-001 Metal Slug. The campaign is structured as a sequence of stages with branching or concealed areas and collectible prisoner cards. Progress comes from surviving encounters, finding pickups, and completing missions rather than from a persistent character-level system.
Plan your run
Conserve powerful weapons for armored enemies and bosses rather than spending them on ordinary soldiers.
Search above, below, and behind the obvious route for prisoners, weapon pickups, and hidden paths. Learn the timing of enemy projectiles before advancing, and use the Metal Slug’s mobility and cannon to clear crowded sections safely.
Meet the cast
A Peregrine Falcons soldier and one of the two playable protagonists.
A Peregrine Falcons soldier and the other playable protagonist.
The recurring military antagonist who commands the rebel forces.
A veteran enemy officer who appears as a recurring boss character in the Metal Slug series.
Before you begin
Rescue prisoners whenever possible; they can provide useful items and contribute to collectible progress.
Crouching reduces exposure to some attacks and makes it easier to fire under obstacles.
Do not rush boss patterns; identify safe positions before committing to an attack.
Metal Slug Advance is a side-scrolling run-and-gun action game developed and published by SNK Playmore for the Game Boy Advance. It adapts the series’ fast shooting, vehicle combat, rescue missions, and comic military science-fiction tone to Nintendo’s handheld hardware. Players guide one of two Peregrine Falcons soldiers through enemy bases, jungles, caves, and other battlefields while searching for prisoners and confronting General Morden’s forces. The campaign uses compact stages designed for portable play, with weapon pickups and Metal Slug vehicles supporting the core shooting action. Reception was generally positive for preserving the arcade series’ visual style and intensity on GBA, although the small screen and limited controls could make some encounters demanding.
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