Metal Slug will make its return to the App Store with Code: J

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Metal Slug Mobile game J 1
Metal Slug will make its return to the App Store for the first time since 2016.
Photo: Metal Slug Code: J

Popular run-and-gun franchise Metal Slug looks to be returning to iOS for the first time since 2016’s Metal Slug Attack. Over the weekend, Tencent’s Timi Studios released a trailer for what they are currently calling Metal Slug Code: J.

From the look of it, it picks up the gameplay that the Metal Slug games are known for, with plenty of action, ridiculously overwrought vehicles, explosions, and more. However, it includes quasi-3D movement that wasn’t part of the original SNK games and a slightly more modern art style. Check out the trailer below.

There’s currently no word on when Metal Slug Code: J will get a release. Hopefully more details will follow later this year. It looks pretty polished from the gameplay seen in the trailer. However, such things can be misleading when gauging how far along a particular title is.

The history of Metal Slug on iOS

Nonetheless, I couldn’t be more excited at the prospect of a new Metal Slug title on iOS. I’ve been a fan of the series since first playing the original games on Sega Saturn and Neo Geo back in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It’s the perfect pick-and-play gaming experience, and it will be great to see how a new title fares on mobile. (Hopefully it won’t be overloaded with in-app purchases.)

Previous Metal Slug games to arrive on iOS include Metal Slug Touch in 2009, Metal Slug: Super Vehicle-001 and Metal Slug 3 in 2012, Metal Slug 2: Super Vehicle-001/II and Metal Slug X in 2013, Metal Slug Defense in 2014, and Metal Slug Attack in 2016. Of these, only Metal Slug Touch appears to no longer be in the App Store.

Are you a Metal Slug fan? Are there other games reminiscent of it that you would recommend for iOS or iPadOS? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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