Metal Slug series. Kazuma Kujo served as its designer, writing the concept and overseeing development of the project during his time working at Irem. Kujo stated that plans for a shoot 'em up title had already been settled by the management at Irem, however he decided to make it for co-op play but disliked genre conventions such as forced scrolling and wanted the thematic to be different instead of the standard space motive found in other shooters at the time. The concept of playing as submarines was inspired during Kujo's leisure near a fountain which, after hearing the water sounds, prompted him to pursue the idea. Artist Akio Oyabu served as the game's graphic designer. In the Hunt was first released in arcades in April 1993, running on the Irem M-92 board. The game was ported to various platforms including the Sega Saturn and PlayStation in 1995 by Tsuji Jimusho and SIMS respectively, followed by a Microsoft Windows version in 1997 by Xing Entertainment. A Super Nintendo Entertainment System conversion was shown at the 1994 Consumer Electronics Show in a playable state, but it was never released. In 2019, Hamster Corporation digitally re-released In the Hunt for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4, published under their Arcade Archives series. In the Hunt is planned to be included as part of the Irem Arcade 1 compilation for Evercade. Reception In Japan, Game Machine listed In the Hunt on their June 1, 1993 issue as being the sixth most-popular arcade game at the time. Play Meter listed In the Hunt to be the sixteenth most-popular arcade game at the time. RePlay also reported In the Hunt to be the fifth most-popular arcade game at the time. Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the PlayStation version a positive review, with their four reviewers particularly praising the huge number of enemies on-screen for the bulk of the game and the minimal slowdown. GamePro were also positive in their assessment: "The very detailed graphics are supported by audio that's loaded with blasts. The controls are sluggish but mostly accurate. This sub floats above other PlayStation shooters like Galactic Attack [sic - Galactic Attack was released for the Saturn, not the PlayStation] and Jupiter Strike." Maximum expressed enthusiasm for "little innovations" like the mine powerups and the King Canute boss, but nonetheless concluded the game to be "an all-too familiar mission." They also criticized that the game is