Marco Rossi

Marco Rossi (マルコ・ロッシ) is a character from the Metal Slug series of shoot'em up games. He made his first fighting game appearance in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum. His name is an homage to the protagonist of the anime series, 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother. He is voiced by Takenosuke Nishikawa and Eric Summerer.

Story
Marco, an Italian-American, entered officer's school at the Academy of Special Technologies after attending a state technical high school. Upon graduation, Marco entered the Peregrine Falcons (PF, for short) a special army strike force. He quickly distinguished himself in this squad, known for its severe training, becoming both first lieutenant and PF's leader.

During the first coup led by General Morden, Marco scraped together the shards of the scattered government forces to reassemble PF Squad.

Putting his own fanny on the front lines as leader of the resistance against Morden, Marco heroically battled on. With his close friend and partner, Tarma, he became the hero who buried Morden and restored peace in the world. Through his achievements, he rose to the rank of major.

Marco held the squad together with his pal Tarma, the squad's true linchpin, and took part in the secret mission that crushed Morden's second coup before it could even start. Leading PF Squad in the midst of its reorganization, Marco laid waste, once and for all, to Morden's evil designs.

After "Second Mission," Marco's resignation was denied when the top brass insisted on his participation in a mission to sweep up the final remains of Morden's army.

Marco's generally gentle personality gives way to fearsome rage at the mention of General Morden, the ruthless murderer of his friends and compatriots. PF Squad's best agent is also a closet computer nerd. In fact, years ago a computer virus he created for fun mistakenly found its way into the army's mainframe server. It broke down several security systems, compromised even the lowest echelons of the army, and triggered the launch of a nuclear missile. This is one of those moments of tom-foolery not even he would mention -- no matter how many beers he has in him.

Personality
He's a prideful and easy-going leader to his troop, known to get pretty rowdy when he's on the job. Despite all appearances, Marco is actually quite intelligent and can easily figure out the best solution to a problem at hand nearly instantly. He has a personal vendetta against General Morden and will immediately investigate anything with the slightest mention of the villain's name.

Fighting Style
He's trained as an experienced sharp-shooter who uses various firearms to keep his opponents at bay. Several of his attacks in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum are fun references to the Metal Slug series. Some of which includes becoming momentarily obese after eating a great amount of food, turning into a zombie and using his blood to attack (as well as the antidote), and the weapons he names in his attacks. He can also enter an aggressive knife-fighting stance to defend himself in close ranged battles.

Game Appearances

 * Metal Slug
 * Metal Slug 2
 * Metal Slug X
 * Metal Slug 3
 * Metal Slug 4
 * Metal Slug 5
 * Metal Slug 6
 * Metal Slug 3D
 * Neo Geo Battle Coliseum
 * Metal Slug 7
 * Metal Slug Zero Online
 * Metal Slug 1st Mission - as "Hero"
 * SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium - Olympic mode only
 * Metal Slug Gaiden: Allen's Battle Chronicles - as the final boss
 * Metal Slug (pachinko)

Mobile Appearances

 * NeoGeo Tennis Coliseum
 * Metal Slug STG

Cameo Appearances

 * SNK vs Capcom: SVC Chaos - during the Mars People's ending
 * The King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match - background cameo
 * Days of Memories (second title) - minor appearance in Fio's story
 * The King of Fighters 2
 * Garou Densetsu Special
 * KOF: Maximum Impact 2 - Ralf Jones Normal Outfit-Variation G