Metal Slug X is a run-and-gun arcade game and an updated re-release of Metal Slug 2, with different stages, vehicles, and enemies. The most noticeable difference is there is less lag slowdown thanks to the improved arcade hardware, which may make the game somewhat more difficult for those that are used to the slowdown. Like with Metal Slug 2, Eri and Fio have joined the main team to stop General Morden in his plans to collaborate with the Martians and take over the world.

Here, zk547 improves on the previous "2 players" run by about 3 minutes by utilizing many improvements that have been known since the creation of the previous run and through intensive lag management. For details on how the run was achieved, including a list of tricks and methods used to reduce lag, you can read the author's notes here.