Below is a list of all transformations in the Metal Slug series.
Fat[]
Fio's Fat form
When the player consumes around 7 food items (bananas, fish, cabbages, watermelons, carrots, etc.) their character becomes obese. The announcer notes the transformation with the words "Woah! Big!", which was introduced in Metal Slug X.
Becoming fat increases the player's firepower but slows down their movement speed. All weapons change appearance to a comical pistol with a wide, bell-shaped barrel. The exception is the Two Machine Guns, where the player instead gets a pair of submachine guns carved out of wood. The bullet size of all weapons is increased, but certain weapons have slower firing speed. Some weapons also change properties; the Rocket Launcher acts as a slower Enemy Chaser when fat.
All other weapons are also changed to a more comical appearance. Instead of a knife, they use a fork and belt in close combat. Grenades turn into a cartoony bomb while the Stone and Fire Bomb's bottle both increase in width.
The fat transformation will wear off over time, by picking up Diet Food, or by completing the mission. When a player dies, their belly pops out like a balloon.
In Metal Slug 2, this transformation only occurs in Mission 4. In Metal Slug X, this transformation occurs from Mission 3 onward.
The Fat Transformation can be used freely in Metal Slug: Awakening by eating a Homemade Apple Pie given by events. Once transformed, a limited number of apples appear per day that can be collected and redeemed for rewards.
Zombie[]
Nadia's Zombie form
Getting hit by a zombie/Big John acid bubble or come in contact with their viscera, the player character becomes a zombie. This transformation includes having their skin turn blue, being restricted to their default pistol weapon, and reduced movement speed via a shambling gait.
Jump height is severely reduced to a small hop, although hopping repeatedly will help the player move faster. They are also unable to crouch or obtain special weapons (except for the Thunder Cloud). However, their grenade attack is changed to a deadly, bloody, vomit laser attack which unleashes a giant wave of blood from the character's mouth that covers nearly all of the screen in front of them (assuming it's done by the edge of the screen). The vomit laser can kill most enemies instantly and deal massive damage towards bosses.
The player also becomes invulnerable against most Rebel weaponry, although any another zombie attack and attacks from level bosses will kill them. The zombie transformation can be ended by picking up a med-kit.
When a zombie player is killed, there are two possible death animations depending on where the player was hit. On the ground, the limbs of the player fall little by little until their body disintegrates. In mid-air, the body of the transformed player explodes, just like it happens to any enemy zombie.
Mummy[]
Fio's Mummy form
Getting hit by purple smoke breathed by any mummy variant, a mummy's rolling bomb, or a purple cauldron dropped by a bat (green cauldrons are deadly acid), the player character turns into a mummy. All characters retain their headgear/hair and facial accessories for easy identification.
The mummy form is the most disadvantageous transformation (barring the snowman), as it carries multiple downsides with virtually no benefits. As a mummy, the player moves slower, can only use the default pistol weapon and regular grenades, and suffer a delay before throwing grenades. Because of the focus on precision jumps in most mummy-filled areas, the mummy form compensates for slow speed and a short jump delay with increased jump height and longer air time. Unlike the zombie form, the mummy form can un-wrap itself to crouch but does not gain immunity to any type of attack.
When tossing grenades in mummy form, the character may sometimes throw his/her head instead of the Grenade, both of which have the same effect, and their head regenerates.
The mummy form can only be cured with a mummy cure, a small crystal glass vial filled with multicolored flashing liquid. When a mummified player gets hit, they are engulfed in purple fire.
The Mummy Transformation can be used freely in Metal Slug: Awakening by covering themselves in Secret Purple Spray given by events. During gameplay, the player only transforms during Flashback Missions in Kemut World Adventure; elsewhere, the Mummy's purple smoke simply gives damage without extra effects.
Snowman[]
Tarma trapped in a snowman
Getting hit by a yeti's ice breath or a blue flying pod, the player character turns into a frozen snowman. Those transformed in the air are dropped and planted to the ground. As with the mummy form, each character's snowman retains their head-gear for easy identification.
The snowman form is less of a transformation and more of a state of immobilization, as the player is completely defenseless making them an easy target from enemy attacks. Luckily, rapidly pressing buttons and wiggling the joystick will free the player from the snowman state posthaste.
Monkey[]
Fio's Monkey form
Getting hit by a bullet from a scientist's rifle turns the player character into a small monkey wearing a diaper (the sprite based on Utan) with them retaining their headgear and shirt color.
The monkey form has exceptional jumping ability, but reduced ground speed, and restricts the player to a small Uzi for a weapon, which is automatic but has a slower fire rate compared to the Heavy Machine Gun. The player can also grab and climb across rails along the ceiling to fire down on enemies. The monkey form can be cured with a green serum bottle.
Cat[]
In Metal Slug: Awakening, this transformation only occurs on certain sections of the Kemut pyramid. The player character willingly turns into a cat in order to climb on walls and jump onto far-to-reach ledges. In this state, the cat form restricts the player the ability to attack enemies.
Ninja Mantis[]
Drinking a special potion transforms the player into a Ninja Mantis. All of the player's controls are changed into melee attacks: three swipes, a dash attack, and a traveling air slash. The form ends after taking too much damage or by clearing the enemy waves from where the potion was collected.
Shrinkage/Growth[]
A transformation introduced by the April Fools event in Metal Slug: Awakening. The player can use a Super Enlarge Card or Super Shrink Card to temporarily change themselves or another player in size.
Gallery[]
Mummy[]
Fat[]
Zombie[]
Snowmen[]
Monkey[]
Metal Slug: Awakening[]
Universal[]
Fat[]
Metal Slug 3 (Pachinko)[]
Artworks[]
Promotional Material[]
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- In Metal Slug 2, the fat female character's shorts would sometimes turn into pants. This was fixed in Metal Slug X.
- If a player gets hit with a zombie attack and lands on a medkit, they'll undergo the zombie transformation in their human palette but revert back to human form.
- Picking a special weapon while boarding a Slug will prevent the fat transformation, providing no more food items are consumed afterwards.
- The fat transformation is the only one with different models in Metal Slug: Awakening. The others share the same model with the mummy transformation having Marco's hair.
- Chang uses the fat death as his defeat animation in Metal Slug Defense.
- Currently:
- The snowmen transformation is the only transformation the Ikari Warriors have access to.
- The fat and snowmen transformations are the forms with the most characters having access to them, with a total of 9 characters.
- Marco, Fio, Nadia and Trevor have access to all transformations in the series.
| Gameplay Elements | |
| Screens | Status Screen • Continue Screen • Game Over Screen • Recaptured Prisoners • Best Tank Busters • Arcade Settings |
|---|---|
| On-Screen Elements | Missions • Items • Weapons • Slugs • POW • Characters • Enemies • Military Vehicles • Bosses • Environmental Objects • Civilian Vehicles • Rank Medal • Background Vehicles |
| Actions | Metal Slug Attack • Vulcan Fix • Transformations • Metallish System • Rush Blaster System • Weapon Stock • Deaths • Invulnerability • Canceling • Super Devil Mode |
| Modes | Combat School • Another Story • Another Mission • Storming the Mothership • Fat Island • Office |