Strider (arcade game)

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Strider
Developer(s) Capcom
Publisher(s) Capcom
Release date(s) 1989
Genre(s) Platform
Mode(s) Single player, multiplayer
Platform(s) Arcade, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, NES, PlayStation, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Sega Master System, Sharp X68000, SuperGrafx
Input 8-way joystick, 2 buttons
Arcade cabinet Upright
Arcade system(s) CPS-1
Arcade display Raster, 224 x 384 pixels (Vertical), 4096 colors

Strider, also known as Strider Hiryu, is an arcade game produced by Capcom in 1989. It is a side-scrolling platform game. It became one of Capcom's early hits before Street Fighter II, revered for its innovative gameplay and multilingual voice clips during cutscenes (presented in Japanese, Mandarin, Russian, Spanish and English).

Contents

[edit] Plot

In the game, the player takes control of Strider Hiryu, a ninja-style warrior who must defeat a legendary being known as Grandmaster Meio. Meio has observed Earth from his dwelling in a far off galaxy, and has created a space station (known as "The Third Moon"), between Earth and its original moon in order to rule earth and continue observation. The year is 2048. Armed with a Cypher (a razor-sharp blade that generates metal-cutting plasma when wielded and its a cross between a sword and a baton) called Falchion, Hiryu must travel around the globe (including the Soviet Union and the Amazon Rainforest) to find and destroy the evil being. Throughout his travels, Hiryu encounters many power-ups, including robotic animals called "Options" (a hawk and a leopard) which help him defeat enemies. He also has the ability to latch onto walls and ceilings using a metallic hook — an aspect which set the game apart from other platformers.

[edit] Home ports

A gameplay image of Strider.
Enlarge
A gameplay image of Strider.

Strider was soon released onto various home consoles and computers.

It was ported to Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum by French developer Tiertex and British publisher U.S. Gold; to the Genesis and the Master System by Sega; and to the Sharp X68000 by Capcom themselves.

Most of these ports were very far from the quality of the original, as they ran on machines far less powerful than the CPS-1 board. The X68000, Amiga, and Genesis, however, did have enough power, and the ports for such systems were critically acclaimed and commercially successful. The X68000's port, in particular, was nearly pixel-perfect, but, like that system, was only released in Japan. Additionally, the Genesis version was a massive hit, and is usually regarded as that console's first killer app; it remained the best port of Strider in the Western world until an arcade perfect conversion was done for the PlayStation (included as a freebie with Strider 2) in 1999.

Capcom also made a NES Strider in 1989, but it must be noted that this is a completely different game, rather than a direct port of the arcade game - possibly because that system also lacked the power to handle such a port properly. This version was ported to the Game Boy Advance in Fall 2006 as part of the Capcom Classics Mini-Mix compilation, which includes the NES versions of Bionic Commando and Final Fight (Mighty Final Fight), as well.

In 1994, a PC Engine version of the game was developed by NEC Avenue, which adds a desert level to the game as well as CD-quality music and animated cutscenes, although the actual in-game graphics received a notable downgrade, especially in the backgrounds.

More recently, another port has appeared on the Capcom Classic Collection Remixed compilation for the Sony PSP handheld.

[edit] The rumored SuperGrafx port

NEC was also rumoured to be working on a near arcade-perfect conversion of Strider for their ill-fated SuperGrafx console, but its existence is uncertain. It is very possible that the game never entered the development phase. Until recently, the only sign of its existence was a single screenshot that was printed in the Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine in the early 1990's.

It is often rumoured that the previously mentioned PC Engine Super CD-ROM version, which made use of the Arcade Card upgrade, was the game featured in the screenshot; or that the published screenshots were simply doctored images of the X68000 version. However, there is also evidence that the game was actually in the works, and was abandoned with the commercial failure of the SuperGrafx. [1]

[edit] Sequels and further appearances

In the early 90s, U.S. Gold and Tiertex licensed the Strider franchise and made a sequel, Journey from Darkness: Strider Returns, for the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Game Gear, Genesis, Master System, and ZX Spectrum. It was poorly received, since it was a vastly inferior game, with bland visuals and uninteresting gameplay.

In 1998, Capcom released the fighting game Marvel vs. Capcom, with Hiryu as one of the fighters. His sprite is more faithful to his appearance in the Kadokawa Shoten manga, and his movesets are directly inspired by the arcade version.

The popularity of the character among Marvel vs. Capcom players is likely to have inspired Capcom to develop another sequel. Retconning the previous sequel out of existence, they released Strider 2 in 1999 as an arcade game, and in 2000 on the PlayStation.

Hiryu and Hien (who appears in Strider 2 as a playable character) also make an appearance in Namco x Capcom.

[edit] Trivia

  • Hiryu's first appearance was in the pages of Kadokawa Shoten's manga. This manga was created by Tatsumi Wada for Moto Kikaku, a production studio started by Hiroshi Motomiya, and was published in 1988. It was later collected and released as a single volume (ストライダー飛竜, Comp Comics ISBN 404713009), though the collected version lacks the prologue found in the original monthly release.
  • In the manual of the European Mega Drive version of Strider, Hiryu's sword is called "Falchion".
    • Hiryu's Cypher (A razor-sharp blade that generates metal-cutting plasma) is also called Falchion in the manga.
  • Some of Hiryu's special moves in Marvel vs. Capcom are named after noted mythological weapons (mainly swords):
  • His Hyper Combos also have mythology-related names:
  • Along with Strider Hiryu, another character from the game made an appearance in Marvel vs. Capcom - Ton Pooh, one of the Kuniang M.A. Team (the three Chinese girls who are the bosses of the second level). She appears as a helper character.
  • An unofficial sequel to Strider is an arcade game called Osman, published by Mitchell in 1996 and created by Isuke, the same designer who made the original Strider.
  • Hiryu appears as a playable character in Namco x Capcom, along with several enemies and locations from the game. Various colored mantles (or scarves), which may be a reference to Hiryu's own red scarf, can be equipped to increase elemental resistance.
  • Hiryu's Cypher is also noted for the distinctive "shing" sound it makes when he swings it.
  • In the Japanese version of Mega Man 7, Auto mentions Hiryu if he appears in Doctor Light's place after Mega Man acquires the Slash Claw. [2] Note that this reference was removed in the American version; neither Auto nor Roll appear in Dr. Light's place after Mega Man gets a Master Weapon.

[edit] External links

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