While not as documented as the graphics or animations, the sound design around the Metal
Slug games is still very intricate and expertly crafted for each entry.
To aid anyone wanting to dive in deeper into the series' soundwork, I've compiled a list of various
resources and tools that might just satisfy your needs.
Metal Slug: SV-001 Lead Instruments
This is a collection of .sf2s based on the lead instruments used in the first Metal Slug.
Each instrument was isolated and recorded with Nebula Jukebox 2.9, and later edited together with Polyphone.
Keep in mind, this is not an exhaustive list of MS1's instruments, nor are they 100% complete. Some low and high
key notes may be missing, due to them simply not being used in the game's soundtrack for me to record!
This work-in-progress collection features a good portion of Metal Slug 1's main instruments and percussions, both in soundfont and .wav files.
Note that each soundfont uses a single note that's pitched up and down to create the rest of the notes, which means that
higher notes will be played really quickly and lower ones will play slowly.
This collection features and organises the entire audio work from etal Slug Advance,
from voice lines to instruments. Extra kudos to Hambaka for going all the way through!
The .zip features a couple of samples, the raw midi files, and a soundfont of them.
This collection contains the .midi files used in the Playstation release of Metal Slug X.
The audio within the files is split up into several audio tracks instead of a single one, which helps at understanding how the MSX OST was
composed for folks interested in that field!
Note that the .midi files doesn't actually contain audio, only the raw tracks. You'll have to supply them with a soundfont to play their music.
This collection contains a wide variety of audio samples used in Metal Slug 2, X, and 3.
The archive contains .dwp soundfonts of the ADPCM instruments which can be used with FL Studio, as well as a folder with the percussion samples in .wav.
The folder also contain a copy of one of the first MS soundfonts ever created by the user Tex
in 2012.
More info on the original rippers of these samples can be found in the ReadMe text also included in the archive.
This .zip features the then new soundbank exclusive to Metal Slug 6's arcade version, and currently the best version available
in terms of audio quality. Each sound was played from the sound test via Demul and later recorded and edited into .mp3 files.
Unused sound effects are included!
As an occasion to improve some aspects of the games for the series' 10th anniversary, a brand new sound design
was featured in Metal Slug Anthology, replacing the mostly stock audio files of the first 6 games.
The sounds were extracted from the PSP version with Dragon UnPACKer 5, and later read and recorded via
MFAudio.
This is a non-exhaustive .txt file that lists the coordinates of most of
Metal Slug 1's in-game tracks (+ the unused ones).
It features the coordinates, the track names and some personal notes taken during the process.
To actually listen to the game's tracks, you either need to use Nebula Jukebox
or access the Sound Test.