Strider (arcade game)

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Strider

Developer(s) Capcom
Publisher(s) Capcom
Platform(s) Arcade, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, NES, PlayStation, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Sega Master System, Sharp X68000, SuperGrafx
Release date March 1989, 1990, 1991, 2000
Genre(s) Platform
Mode(s) Single player, multiplayer
Input methods 8-way joystick, 2 buttons
Cabinet Upright
Arcade system CPS-1
Display Raster, 224 x 384 pixels (Vertical), 4096 colors

Strider, released in Japan as Strider Hiryu (ストライダー飛竜 Sutoraidā Hiryū?) is a 1989 side-scrolling platform game released for the CPS arcade hardware by Capcom. 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, wielded similarly to a tonfa which generates metal-cutting plasma) 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 panther) 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] Stages

  • St. Petersburg - a representation of a futuristic Moscow, complete with a Russian-themed skyline.
    • BOSSES: Strobaya the wrestler, Novo the laser cannon
    • MAIN BOSS: Ouroboros, a fusion of the generals into a robotic serpent wielding a hammer and a sickle
  • Siberian Wilderness - Hiryu's snow-bound flight from Eurasia across caverns, mine-layered slopes, missile silos, electric plants and ride aboard huge gyrocopters.
    • BOSSES: Mecha-Pon the robotic gorilla, Solo the bounty hunter
    • MAIN BOSS: Kuniang M.A. Team, a trio of female assassins led by Ton-Pooh.
  • Aerial Battleship Ballog - aka the Flying Fortress, a humongous war aircraft of mass destruction.
    • BOSS: Capt. Beard, the eye-patched pirate/pilot who looks like Captain Hook with a whip who tries to flee from the collapsing Balrog.
    • MAIN BOSS: Gravity Core, the heart of the Balrog. Its destruction means the collapse of the Balrog.
  • Adventure in Amazon - Amazons prey on Hiryu, thinking he was one of the Grandmaster's soldiers.
    • MAIN BOSS: Lago the Mecha T-Rex, can extend his metal claw or blow forth dragon-like fire balls.
  • Third Moon - The Grandmaster's space station hideout and the final stage.
    • BOSSES: Strider's 2nd encounters with the Kuniang (optional), Gravity Core, Novo, Solo, Mecha Pon, Lago, and Ouroboros
    • MAIN BOSS: Grandmaster Meio, the dictator and galactic sorcerer. Destroy him and save the world.

[edit] Items

  • Option A: Dipodal Saucer - a two-legged drone that hovers around Hiryu, destroying anything within the vicinity or launch ring lasers. Hiryu can only have 2 saucers.
  • Option B: Terapodal Robopanter - a mech-panther. Hiryu must have 2 saucers to acquire one robopanther, sacrificing the saucers in the process. The panther can destroy almost anything it pounces on.
  • Option C: Robot Hawk - a mech-eagle flies around Hiryu for a short duration, destroying anything it passes through.
  • Hi - Heals 1 health bar of damage on Hiryu.
  • Ryu - Extends Hiryu's maximum health by 1 bar. Hiryu can have a maximum of 5 health bars.
  • Hiryu - Completely restores all health bars of damage on Hiryu.
  • Falchion - Effectively doubles the range and power of Strider's sword attacks for a moderate duration.
  • Gold Strider - Makes Strider invulnerable and endows him with trailing shadows to multiply his attacks.
  • Strider Doll - Gives the player an extra life.
  • Panda - a hidden item for points. Other common point items are available.

[edit] Home ports

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 British developer Tiertex and publisher U.S. Gold; to the Mega Drive / Genesis and the Master System by Sega; and to the Sharp X68000 by Capcom themselves.

Strider was the Mega Drive's original killer app
Strider was the Mega Drive's original killer app

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 Mega Drive and the X68000, however, did have enough power, and the ports for those 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 Mega Drive version — one of the earliest 8-Megabit console games — was a massive hit, being heralded as 1990's "Game of the Year" by Electronic Gaming Monthly; it is frequently regarded as one of, or even the very first killer app of that system.[1]

In 1994, a PC Engine version of the game was developed by NEC Avenue, which adds an exclusive 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.

In 2000, a pixel-perfect port of Strider came bundled with the PlayStation release of Strider 2.

More recently, ports have appeared on the Capcom Classic Collection Remixed compilation for the Sony PSP handheld, as well as the Capcom Classics Collection Vol.2 compilation for Sony's Playstation 2 and Microsoft's Xbox gaming consoles.

[edit] The rumored SuperGrafx port

NEC was also rumoured to be working on a high-quality 8 or 10 megabit conversion of Strider for their ill-fated SuperGrafx console, but its existence is uncertain. 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 screenshot was in fact the previously mentioned PC Engine Super CD-ROM version, which made use of the Arcade Card upgrade; or that the published screenshots were simply doctored images of the X68000 version. However, there is considerable evidence that the game was developed to a playable state, and was abandoned with the commercial failure of the SuperGrafx. [2]

[edit] Sequels and further appearances

[edit] Strider (NES version)

Capcom also made a NES version of Strider in 1989, but it must be noted that this is a completely different game, rather than a direct port of the arcade game, that was actually based on the earlier manga series published in Japan. This version was only released in North America. It was ported to the Game Boy Advance as part of the Capcom Classics Mini-Mix compilation, which includes the NES version of Bionic Commando and Mighty Final Fight, as well.

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

[edit] Strider Returns

In the early 90s, U.S. Gold and Tiertex licensed the Strider franchise and made a sequel, Strider Returns (also known as Journey from Darkness: Strider Returns or simply Strider II), for various consoles and computer systems. It was poorly received with critics citing bland visuals and uninteresting gameplay.

[edit] Marvel vs. Capcom

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, although his movesets are directly inspired by the arcade game. In the game he is in the top tier of characters.

[edit] Strider 2

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. It came bundled with an arcade-perfect port of the original Strider.

[edit] Namco x Capcom

Several characters from the series appear in the strategy RPG Namco x Capcom.

[edit] Osman

In the early 1990s, Strider's head programmer, Isuke, left Capcom and joined Mitchell Corporation. In 1996 they released Osman (also known as Cannon Dancer). Due to many similarities in theme and gameplay, it is widely regarded as a spiritual sequel of Strider. [3]

[edit] Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • 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 4-04-713009-5), 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.
  • The name "Hiryu" has the same meaning as that of another Capcom character, Fei Long.
  • Hiryu was slated to appear in the canceled Capcom Fighting All Stars. Capcom Fighting All Stars' gameplay was more down-to-Earth than Marvel vs. Capcom, and as such, Hiryu's fighting style was considerably more subdued than in his Marvel vs. Capcom incarnation. In it, he primarily used punches and kicks, with his Cypher unleashed only in special attacks. He retained several of his special moves from Marvel vs. Capcom, and gained an anti-air attack, Jinrai (ジンライ Thunderclap?), a new super move based on his Strider 2 power-up, Plasma Boost, and a Dramatic Finish, Triangle End.
  • 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. [4] 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.
  • Unused character designs for Mega Man Legends include a version of Hiryu in the same style as other characters from the game, equipped with a special weapon called the Cypher Arm.[citation needed]
  • Some versions of the arcade ROM (if any other revisions were released) seem to be "missing" the music for stages 3 & 5 and are instead replaced with the music from the first stage. This is evident in the available arcade ROMs and even the Xbox version of Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2 (which seem to have the songs missing) while the Megadrive/Genesis and Playstation ports have individual music for each stage.
  • The design of the main character (the original arcade game version) was heavily influenced by the hero of the 60s anime series Boken Shonen Shadar (called Shadow Boy in western countries).

[edit] External links

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Strider Hiryu video games