Metal Slug Advance takes that classic run-and-gun chaos and squeezes it into the GBA—somehow it still feels just as frantic. You’ve got five missions packed with the usual ridiculous explosions, weird enemy designs, and that perfect arcade-style pacing where everything’s trying to kill you at once.

The health bar’s new—no more one-hit deaths—but don’t get too comfortable. And those e-cards? They’re like little power-ups you collect mid-mission, tweaking your character’s stats in weird ways. Found one that made my pistol fire faster but also made me take more damage. Risky.

It’s still Metal Slug, just portable and slightly less punishing. The sprites are tiny but surprisingly detailed, and the soundtrack nails that military-meets-mayhem vibe. If you’ve played the arcade ones, you’ll miss the co-op, but blowing up tanks on the bus never gets old.