Strider, released in Japan as Strider Hiryū, is a 1989 side-scrolling platform
game developed and released for the CP System arcade hardware by Capcom. It
became one of Capcom's early big hits prior to Street Fighter II, hailed for
its innovative gameplay and unique music. It is based on the 1988 manga
Strider Hiryu. Gameplay
The controls of Strider consist of an eight-way joystick and two action
buttons for attacking and jumping. The player controls the protagonist Strider
Hiryu, whose main weapon is a tonfa-like plasma sword known as "Cypher". He can
perform numerous acrobatic feats depending on the joystick/button
combination used. Pressing the jump button while Hiryu is standing still
will cause him to do a regular vertical jump, while pressing the jump button
while pushing the joystick left or right will enable him to do a cartwheel jump.
Hiryu can also slide under or through certain obstacles and enemies by first
crouching down and then pressing the jump button. As well as his sliding
move, both jumps can also be used to destroy weaker opponents. Hiryu is able
to latch onto certain platforms, and climb across walls and ceilings using a
metallic hook. While running down a sloped surface, Hiryu can gain enough
momentum to allow him to do a longer cartwheel jump than usual.
Numerous power-ups can be obtained from item boxes carried by certain enemies.
These includes an extension to Hiryu's attack range that lasts for one hundred
slashes, two types of health aids, a max health extension, an extra life, and a
power-up that not only makes Hiryu invulnerable to attack but also
increases his own attack abilities via shadow images of himself for 15 seconds.
Hiryu can also summon robotic companions known collectively as "options" that
help him fight enemies. These consist of up to two mushroom-like droids, a
saber-toothed robo tiger and a robot hawk, known individually as Options A, B
and C respectively. The game has five stages: the Kazakh
Soviet Socialist Republic, the Siberian Wilderness, the Aerial Battleship
Balrog, the Amazonian Jungle, and the Grandmaster's lair itself, the Third
Moon. Each of the stages is divided into a number of smaller sections, each with
their own time limit and checkpoint location. The player has a three-point
health gauge. Hiryu will lose a life when either his health gauge is fully
depleted, by moving him off the screen entirely or when the game's timer
reaches zero. It is Game Over when all of Hiryu's lives are lost, but the
player can be given the opportunity to continue.
Plot Strider is set in a dystopian future in
the year 2048, where a mysterious dictator known as the "Grandmaster"
rules over the world. Hiryu, the youngest ever Super A Ranked member of
an organization of high-tech ninja agents known as the "Striders", is alone
tasked with the Grandmaster's assassination. Hiryu begins his mission
by infiltrating the Grandmaster's capital at the Kazakh Soviet Socialist
Republic. The game features multilingual voice clips during cutscenes.
Development The arcade version of Strider was part
of a three-way project conceived in a collaboration between Capcom and Hiroshi
Motomiya's manga studio Moto Kikaku, which also included the Strider Hiryu
manga by Moto Kikaku's Tatsumi Wada that was published in Kodansha's Comic
Computique anthology in Japan, as well as the NES version of Strider. Kouichi
Yotsui, director of the coin-op Strider, was chosen for his experience with the
CP System hardware while working as a background designer on Ghouls 'n Ghosts.
The three projects were developed independently of each other.
The original arcade game soundtrack was composed entirely by female video game
music composer Junko Tamiya, who was not credited for her work in the arcade
version but was mentioned as part of the original arcade staff in some console
adaptations. Early revisions of the arcade game were missing the unique
music for the Aerial Battleship and Third Moon stages. In this version the
music from the first stage of the game was repeated here instead.
Strider contains many different styles of themes that change dynamically
throughout the game according to the stages and the situations on screen.
These range from experimental and progressive futuristic sci-fi action
themes to baroque, tribal and classical music pieces. Elements from the
soundtrack have also been used in other Capcom games where Hiryu has appeared.
These include the Marvel vs. Capcom series as well as other Strider related
games. Home versions
Ports of Strider for the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, and ZX
Spectrum were published by U.S. Gold and developed by Tiertex in 1989. The U.S.
Gold versions has the order of the third and fourth stages swapped, and the final
battle with the Grandmaster missing. As a result, the ending was changed to
reveal that the events of the game were a simulation that the player was going
through. All five versions featured downgraded graphics, less music and
missing enemies compared to the arcade version. Additionally, the controls were
modified so that the game would be compatible with one-button joystick
controllers. Despite these changes, all of the U.S. Gold releases received high
review scores by computer game magazines of the time. Later, in 1992, the assets
of the Amiga versions were used for the conversion on the Sega Master System
always made by Tiertex. A final fight with the Grandmaster was added in this
version, but the ending credits continue to say that all was just a simulation.
Sega produced their home version of Strider for the Mega Drive/Genesis,
which was released in Japan on September 29, 1990, with subsequent releases in
North America and the PAL region. It was advertised as one of the first 8-Megabit
cartridges for the system, and went on to be a bestseller. This version was
also re-released for the Wii Virtual Console in Japan on November 15, 2011
and later in North America on February 16, 2012. The Genesis/Mega Drive version
contains a different ending from the arcade game. This ending shows the
destruction of the final stage as the game's protagonist makes good his
escape. This is then followed by the main credit sequence that sees Hiryu
flying his glider in space and reminiscing about the various encounters
he had during his mission as he heads back to earth. The ending theme was an
edited combination of two separate pieces of music planned for the arcade
game, but replaced with a repeat of the first level music. Computer magazine ACE
considered the previous Amiga conversion to be "as good as this one".
Capcom separately produced a version for the Sharp X68000 computer in 1991,
releasing it exclusively in Japan. It is a very close reproduction of the arcade
original, with minimal changes. NEC Avenue produced a PC Engine version
of Strider Hiryu, which was released exclusively in Japan on September 22,
1994. The PC Engine version was released as a CD-ROM² title which requires the
Arcade Card expansion. The PC Engine port features an all-new desert stage
that was not in the arcade version, as well as newly recorded cut-scenes, music
and dialogue, with Japanese voice actor Kaneto Shiozawa as the voice of Hiryu
and Kōji Totani as the Grand Master. The PC Engine version is notable for its
long development process, having been planned in various formats, including
the ill-fated SuperGrafx at one point. The PlayStation version of Strider was
first released by Capcom in 2000 as a second disc which came packaged with the
PlayStation version of Strider 2. The North American release has the Strider
and Strider 2 game code pressed onto the wrong disc. This version was reissued
separately in Japan on October 24, 2006 as part of the Capcom Game Books series,
which included an extended manual and strategy guide for the game.
The original arcade version was included in the 2006 video game compilations
Capcom Classics Collection: Remixed for the PlayStation Portable and Capcom
Classics Collection Vol. 2 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. A Japanese
mobile phone version was released in 2010.
Reception Upon its release, EGM was impressed with
the Genesis port, devoting portions of three separate issues to it, awarding it
with best video game of the year in 1990 and winner of their best graphics
category. In 1992, Mega placed Strider at 31st spot in their list of top Mega
Drive games of all time. Strider has remained fondly remembered
for years, having spawned numerous fansites and retrospectives. In 2010,
UGO.com included Strider in their list of the 25 video games that need sequels,
and Game Informer included it on the list of ten gaming franchises that
should be revived: "Imagine the sidescrolling insanity of the Metal Slug
series, but replace grizzled soldiers with a badass ninja. That's Strider, and
it's awesome." That same year, the game was also included as one of the titles
in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die. ScrewAttack named
it as the best Genesis game ever made, and Retro Gamer included it among the
top ten Mega Drive games. According to Retro Gamer '​s Darran
Jones, "everything about Strider was epic. Its backgrounds were brilliantly
designed and featured an array of exotic locations, while its sprite design was
superb. There was a uniqueness to Strider art design that gave it a
distinctive look back in 1989 and still makes it stand out brilliantly today.
Its a mysterious mish-mash of different cultures that ensured it stood out from
its arcade peers." Jones also praised the game's "stunning animation",
gameplay, and controls, as well as its "superbly atmospheric" soundtrack.
Legacy = NES port =
Strider was released for the NES exclusively in North America a few
months after the arcade version's release. This version was produced
alongside the arcade game but follows the plot of Moto Kikaku's tie-in manga.
A Famicom version of the same game was planned for release in Japan, but never
made it to the shelves. = Sequels =
Under license from Capcom U.S.A., U.S. Gold and Tiertex produced a Strider
sequel in Europe titled Strider II for various computer platforms, as well as
the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, Game Gear, and Master System home consoles. This
European-produced sequel was not released in Japan. Like the previous
conversions of the original game, the quality of this one was very low. Capcom
later produced another sequel, unrelated to the Tiertex-produced Strider Returns,
titled Strider 2, which was released for the arcades and the PlayStation in 2000.
= Remake = An untitled Strider reboot game was
being developed by Grin in 2009, before being canceled by Capcom, soon after
Bionic Commando was released. An all-new Strider remake was developed by Double
Helix Games and released on PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3 and
PlayStation 4, Xbox Live Arcade for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One, and Steam in
2014. = Other appearances =
Strider Hiryu also appears as a playable character in the 1998 fighting game
Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, which was followed by Marvel vs.
Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes in 2000. Hiryu has also made appearances in other
Capcom-produced games such as SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash, Namco ×
Capcom and Adventure Quiz: Capcom World 2. Hiryu was one of the characters
intended to appear in the unreleased 3D fighting game Capcom Fighting All-Stars.
Hiryu's latest gues appearance was in the 2011 fighting game Ultimate Marvel
vs. Capcom 3 which marked his characters official 3D debut; this game is also
notable as being the first where he is voiced in English.
= Related games = Strider director Kouichi Yotsui left
Capcom soon after its release. He later designed an unofficial, coin-operated
sequel for Mitchell Corporation in 1996. Yotsui considers that game, titled
Cannon-Dancer in Japan and Osman in the West, a "self-parody" of his work on
Strider. Moon Diver is a 2011 Square Enix game that shares some of the same
gameplay elements and was also created by Yotsui.
= Popular culture = According to Eurogamer, Strider was a
vital influence on video game franchises such as Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden and
God of War. British rapper Tinchy Stryder named
himself partially after Strider, which he often played as a boy.
Further reading "The making of... Strider" in Retro
Gamer 76 References
External links Strider at the Killer List of Videogames
Strider at MobyGames Hardcore Gaming 101: Strider