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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11For most players, Metal Slug Advance is the better Game Boy Advance purchase. It is a game built specifically for the handheld, with original missions, branching routes, vehicles and a card system that changes how you replay it. Choose Contra Advance: The Alien Wars EX instead if what you really want is a portable take on the Contra III formula, familiar weapon switching and additional stages made for the GBA.
Neither game wins every category. Metal Slug Advance offers more of its own identity but is short and has no two-player mode according to its contemporary review. Contra Advance leans on a proven console design and adds GBA-exclusive content, making it the safer choice for someone who values Contra III familiarity over novelty.
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At a glance: the meaningful differences
| Category | Metal Slug Advance | Contra Advance: The Alien Wars EX |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An original Metal Slug adventure developed for Game Boy Advance | A remake of the Super Nintendo game Contra III: The Alien Wars, expanded with new GBA material |
| Release information | SNK lists a Game Boy Advance release on November 18, 2004 | Nintendo presents it as a GBA remake with new graphics and levels; the cited listing does not provide a release date in the available material |
| Core progression | Five missions, alternate pathways and collectible cards | Contra-style stage progression with original GBA-exclusive stages added to the remake |
| Weapons and attacks | Gunfire, knife attack, grenades and vehicle cannons; the available controls page documents the D-pad, A, B and R inputs | Classic Contra weapon loop, including spread shot, laser and flamethrower |
| Vehicles | Metal Slug, Slug Gunner and Slug Flyer | Not specified in the cited Nintendo description |
| Damage model | A health meter allows several hits before a mission ends, according to a 2004 GameSpot hands-on report | The cited material does not establish a directly comparable health system |
| Replay hooks | Cards can alter item effects, character performance and other game elements; routes, weapon choices and vehicles add further variation | Replay appeal comes primarily from mastering the Contra formula and exploring the added GBA stages |
| Two-player play | GameSpot’s review criticized the lack of a two-player mode | The Nintendo listing supplied here does not establish full original-cartridge link functionality |
| Critical snapshot | GameSpot’s review praised the action, backgrounds, animation, bosses and weapons while noting the short campaign and absent two-player mode | No equivalent review aggregate is established in the cited material |
The table points to the central choice: Metal Slug Advance is the more distinct handheld game, while Contra Advance is the more recognizable adaptation. “Better” therefore depends less on raw quality than on whether you want an original portable campaign or a compact Contra III-style experience.
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An original GBA design, not a Neo Geo conversion
SNK’s official information lists Metal Slug Advance for Game Boy Advance on November 18, 2004. GameSpot reviewer Frank Provo specifically described it as an original game developed for the handheld rather than a watered-down conversion of an earlier Neo Geo Metal Slug. That distinction matters when buying an original cartridge: you are not simply carrying a smaller version of a console level set, but playing a campaign shaped around the GBA’s format.
#1 Best Overall
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The game keeps the series’ side-scrolling run-and-gun identity while arranging it around a compact adventure. You move with the D-pad, jump with A, fire or use a knife attack with B, and trigger grenades or a vehicle cannon with R, according to SNK’s control documentation. Those inputs make the game immediately readable, but the health meter changes the rhythm compared with a strict one-hit-per-life shooter. The 2004 GameSpot hands-on report says the meter lets the player absorb several hits before a mission ends, giving room to learn enemy patterns and boss attacks.
Five missions with reasons to revisit them
Metal Slug Advance contains five missions. That is a small campaign by console standards, and GameSpot’s review identified the limited level count as a drawback. The length is offset by structure rather than by a large number of stages: alternate pathways, weapon selection, vehicle sections and collectible cards give you reasons to return after a first clear.
Alternate routes are especially important to the value proposition. A first playthrough can be treated as a straightforward run to the end, while later attempts can investigate different paths and approach encounters with another weapon or vehicle. The result is a game that is short in calendar time but not entirely exhausted after one completion.
Vehicles that change the pace
SNK lists three rideable machines: the Metal Slug, Slug Gunner and Slug Flyer. They are not merely cosmetic substitutions for the main character. Vehicle sections change your movement, attack reach and exposure to enemy fire, so a stage can feel different when you are on foot than when you are operating a machine. The variety also helps the game avoid making every encounter a repetition of the same jump-and-shoot pattern.
Cards as a progression system
The card-collecting quest is Metal Slug Advance’s most unusual system. GameSpot says cards can provide new weapon and tank upgrades. SNK’s system description gives the broader effect: cards can change item effects, character performance and other game elements. In practical terms, collecting is tied to experimentation. You are not only trying to finish a mission; you are also building a set of modifiers that can alter later attempts.
This system gives the campaign a light progression layer without turning it into a role-playing game. The cards matter because they can change how equipment and the character perform, not because the game asks you to manage a long statistical skill tree. Players who enjoy finding optional rewards and testing different setups will get more from the same five missions than players who only want a linear stage clear.
Rank #2
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What Contra Advance changes from Contra III
A remake-plus-expansion approach
Nintendo describes Contra Advance: The Alien Wars EX as a remake of the Super Nintendo shooter with all-new levels and graphics, plus original levels exclusive to this GBA version. Its identity is therefore deliberately two-layered: it preserves the familiar Contra III foundation while adding material that was not part of the original console release.
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The weapon loop is the main appeal
Nintendo’s description calls out the spread shot, laser and flamethrower. Those weapons give Contra Advance a clear tactical loop: select the tool that matches the current formation, preserve a useful pickup when a safer option is available, and switch as the stage demands. The spread shot favors coverage, the laser rewards alignment, and the flamethrower is a distinct close-range option. The cited material does not provide a complete damage or rate-of-fire specification, so those differences should be understood as weapon roles rather than as numerical rankings.
For players who remember Contra III primarily through weapon switching, this is the decisive advantage over Metal Slug Advance. Metal Slug has its own weapons, grenades and vehicle cannons, but Contra Advance is built around the familiar Contra expectation that your current weapon is part of your moment-to-moment survival plan.
Extra stages are real, but do not erase the remake’s identity
Contra Advance does have additional content made for the GBA. Nintendo’s description explicitly mentions original levels exclusive to this version alongside the remake’s new graphics and levels. That makes the cartridge more than a straight port, but its structure still starts from Contra III. Buy it for the combination of a known game and added handheld material, not because it is an entirely new Contra campaign in the same sense that Metal Slug Advance is an original Metal Slug adventure.
How the moment-to-moment play differs
Metal Slug Advance: forgiving health, vehicles and route decisions
The reported health meter gives Metal Slug Advance a cushion that can be useful on a first run. You can survive several hits before a mission ends, according to GameSpot’s hands-on report, so the learning process is less dominated by immediate one-hit failure. That does not make the game automatically easy: enemy placement, bosses, platforming and route choices still determine whether the health reserve lasts.
Rank #3
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Its movement decisions also extend beyond the basic jump. You may choose a route, decide when a vehicle is worth using, and select an upgrade or weapon effect influenced by your cards. The game’s feel is therefore a blend of arcade shooting and light exploration. A player who likes to inspect a stage and replay it with a different setup will find more texture than the compact mission count suggests.
Contra Advance: memorization and weapon discipline
Contra Advance emphasizes the classic run-and-gun cadence: advance, read the next formation, jump or change position, and keep the most useful weapon alive. The available evidence does not establish a directly comparable health meter or a definitive difficulty ranking against Metal Slug Advance. It would be misleading to declare one universally harder from the cited material alone.
What can be said safely is that the games teach different habits. Metal Slug Advance gives you health and a set of progression modifiers; Contra Advance asks you to rely more heavily on the Contra weapon cycle and on learning the behavior of each stage. If you prefer mastery through repeated pattern practice, Contra’s structure may feel more demanding in the way you enjoy. If you prefer having upgrades and vehicle options to change an attempt, Metal Slug’s structure may feel more accommodating.
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Replay value: which cartridge keeps giving you reasons to play?
Why Metal Slug Advance has the stronger replay argument
Metal Slug Advance combines four replay mechanisms in one compact package: branching routes, card collection, weapon choices and multiple vehicle types. Each mechanism changes a return visit in a different way. Routes change where you go, cards can change how items and performance work, weapon selection changes combat decisions, and vehicles alter movement and attack behavior.
That combination is why the game can be recommended despite its short campaign. The limitation is clear—there are only five missions—but the missions are not the only content loop. Completionists can pursue cards and alternate paths, while action-focused players can revisit a stage to improve execution with another loadout.
What brings you back to Contra Advance
Contra Advance’s replay appeal is concentrated in mastery. The remake’s stages and the GBA-exclusive stages reward learning enemy placement, weapon timing and movement sequences. The game is a good fit when the pleasure is in making a familiar route cleaner and more reliable, rather than in collecting modifiers or hunting alternate paths.
Rank #4
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That difference is not a judgment against Contra Advance. It is a choice between breadth of systems and purity of arcade practice. Metal Slug offers more ways to alter a run; Contra offers a more focused reason to repeat one.
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Is either game better for two players?
Do not assume that a cartridge’s series reputation guarantees the same multiplayer options on the GBA. GameSpot’s review of Metal Slug Advance explicitly criticized its lack of a two-player mode. The Nintendo listing supplied for Contra Advance describes the remake, graphics, weapons and added stages but does not establish full original-cartridge link functionality.
If local co-op is your deciding requirement, verify the exact cartridge, hardware combination and manual documentation before buying. Treat the absence of confirmed information as a purchasing check, not as proof that every possible setup works or fails. For a solo player, this issue is less important; for two people buying one cartridge to share, it should be resolved first.
Which game is harder?
The available sources do not provide a controlled, head-to-head difficulty test, so there is no evidence-based universal winner. Difficulty also depends on what you count: surviving individual attacks, learning a stage, managing weapons or finishing optional objectives.
- Metal Slug Advance may feel more forgiving at first because the documented health meter permits several hits before a mission ends.
- Metal Slug Advance can become more demanding on completion runs when you pursue alternate routes, cards and different equipment rather than simply reaching the exit.
- Contra Advance may feel stricter to players who are new to Contra because its appeal is tied to weapon handling and memorizing the remake and added stages, but the supplied sources do not establish a numerical difficulty comparison.
Choose based on the learning style you prefer instead of buying on an unsupported claim that one cartridge is categorically harder.
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Is Metal Slug Advance worth buying on GBA?
Yes, if you want an original portable Metal Slug and accept a short campaign. GameSpot’s review praised its action, backgrounds, animation, bosses and weapons, while also identifying the five-level length and missing two-player mode as meaningful drawbacks. The card system, alternate routes and vehicles provide the reasons to replay; they do not turn it into a long game.
Best Value
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The value is strongest for a solo player who likes arcade action with optional collection and experimentation. It is weaker for someone whose priority is a lengthy campaign, guaranteed two-player play or a direct conversion of a familiar console title.
Which should you buy for a real GBA cartridge?
Choose Metal Slug Advance when:
- You want a game designed specifically for the Game Boy Advance rather than a remake of an older console release.
- You value alternate pathways, collectible cards and equipment changes.
- Vehicle sections are a major part of the appeal, including the Metal Slug, Slug Gunner and Slug Flyer.
- You mainly play alone and are comfortable with a compact five-mission campaign.
- You want a cartridge with a distinct identity instead of a portable version of Contra III.
Choose Contra Advance when:
- You specifically want the Contra III-style formula on a handheld.
- Spread shot, laser and flamethrower weapon switching matter more to you than card collection.
- You want a remake that adds new graphics, new levels and stages exclusive to the GBA.
- You prefer replaying a focused run-and-gun route to experimenting with progression modifiers.
- You are buying for nostalgia and want the game whose structure most closely follows classic Contra.
Check before paying for either cartridge
- Confirm the exact title and region. “Metal Slug Advance” and “Contra Advance: The Alien Wars EX” are the relevant GBA releases; do not substitute a different Metal Slug or Contra cartridge because the names are similar.
- Inspect the cartridge condition. Ask for clear photos of the label, shell and connector edge, and confirm that the seller tested the game in compatible original hardware.
- Verify the save behavior. These games’ progression features make a working save function important. Ask whether the seller tested saving and loading rather than only confirming that the title boots.
- Check multiplayer claims carefully. Metal Slug Advance was criticized for lacking a two-player mode, and the cited Nintendo listing does not confirm full link functionality for Contra Advance. Treat an unverified “multiplayer” description as a reason to ask questions.
- Compare condition, not just the title. Current listings, prices and cartridge condition vary, and no current market price is established here. A clean, tested cartridge can be a better purchase than a cheaper untested one.
Critical reception and what it means today
Metacritic records Metal Slug Advance at a 79 critic Metascore from 32 reviews, with an initial release date of December 2, 2004. That number is a historical aggregate snapshot, not a guarantee that every modern player will prefer it or that a particular cartridge is in good condition. It supports the view that the game was received positively overall, while GameSpot’s more specific review explains the trade-off: strong action, presentation, bosses and weapons on one side; a short campaign and no two-player mode on the other.
For Contra Advance, the strongest evidence in the supplied material is Nintendo’s description of its design rather than a comparable review aggregate. The practical conclusion is straightforward: evaluate it as a Contra III remake expanded for GBA, not by expecting the same kind of original-system experimentation that defines Metal Slug Advance.
Final recommendation
Buy Metal Slug Advance for the better all-around GBA game: it is original to the platform, has a health-based take on run-and-gun survival, includes three distinct vehicles, and gives a short campaign extra life through cards, alternate routes and equipment choices. Its brevity and lack of two-player play are real limitations, but they do not erase its unusual handheld design.
Buy Contra Advance: The Alien Wars EX when your priority is specifically Contra III’s weapon-and-movement language, supported by a remake with new graphics and additional GBA-exclusive stages. It is the more targeted recommendation, not the weaker one: the right choice for a Contra fan can be better than the more original game.
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