Kumagumi is selling a $349 Metal Slug monkey rug

Apparel maker Kumagumi has released a new collection of Metal Slug merchandise to celebrate the arcade franchise's 30th anniversary. If you are looking for more new Metal Slug gear, I have a story for you. The Kumagumi store currently lists twelve items. These range from standard graphic tees to high-end home decor. The timing aligns perfectly with the series milestone. The original game first hit Japanese arcades in April 1996. This makes it the exact month the franchise turns thirty.

The $349 Utan rug

The bulk of the collection consists of standard apparel and prints. There are six different T-shirt designs priced at $33 each. These include a "Soldier Select" shirt, a "Heavy Machine Gun" design, and a "Jupiter King" print. The Jupiter King shirt references the massive boss from the third game. You can also pick up a hoodie for $69 or various posters. The posters cover the first three games and cost $29 each. They use the original promotional artwork from the arcade flyers. That is a nice touch for collectors who want authentic Neo Geo MVS aesthetics on their walls.

The standout item is a lot more expensive. Kumagumi is selling a custom rug shaped like Utan. Utan is the diaper-wearing chimpanzee sidekick who occasionally helps players shoot enemies. The Utan rug costs $349. I appreciate a good piece of obscure character merchandise, but spending console money on a floor monkey is a serious commitment. Utan first appeared in Metal Slug 3. Players could rescue him from a cage and watch him fire a submachine gun at enemy soldiers. He is a deep cut for a merchandise line. He fits the chaotic tone of the series perfectly.

Thirty years of Nazca pixel art

It makes sense to see a wave of new physical items right now. The original Metal Slug: Super Vehicle-001 launched on the Neo Geo MVS arcade system three decades ago. Developer Nazca Corporation created the first game before merging with SNK later that same year. The studio established a signature look built entirely around fluid, hand-drawn pixel animation. That art style gave the games a frantic energy that still looks excellent on modern displays. The animators put an absurd amount of detail into the game. Enemy soldiers laugh at you when you die, and boss vehicles break apart into dozens of intricate mechanical pieces.

The collection highlights art from the franchise's peak arcade era. Several posters and prints focus on Metal Slug X and Metal Slug 3. SNK released Metal Slug X in 1999 as a remixed version of the second game. It fixed the notorious slowdown issues of the original Neo Geo release and added new enemy placements and weapons like the Iron Lizard. Metal Slug 3 followed in 2000. Fans widely consider it the mechanical high point of the series. It introduced branching paths, underwater segments, and zombie transformations to the standard run-and-gun formula.

Commemorative prints from $29 to $39

Rounding out the catalog is a dedicated 30th-anniversary print available in multiple sizes. The pricing on the prints ranges from $29 to $39. The final price depends on the dimensions. The T-shirts are a reasonable way to celebrate the milestone. You can save your money for actual Neo Geo cartridges instead of chimpanzee floor art. The Neo Geo AES home cartridges for these games routinely sell for thousands of dollars today. A $33 shirt is a much cheaper way to show your appreciation for the series.