Strider 2
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Strider 2 | |
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Developer(s) | Capcom |
Publisher(s) | Capcom |
Designer(s) | Harumaru, Nezumi Otoko, Shoei |
Platform(s) | Arcade, PlayStation |
Release date | 1999 |
Genre(s) | Platform |
Mode(s) | Single Player |
Rating(s) | ESRB: E (Everyone) (Console port only) |
Input methods | 8-way Joystick, 3 buttons |
Cabinet | Upright |
Arcade system | Sony ZN-2 |
Display | Raster, 640 x 480 pixels (Horizontal), 65536 colors |
Strider 2, or Strider Hiryu 2 (ストライダー飛竜2 Sutoraidā Hiryū Tsū?) is Capcom's 1999 sequel to the original Strider.
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[edit] Background
Despite the title, Strider 2 was not the first sequel to Strider; in 1992, U.S. Gold and Tiertex — the same companies that had ported the original Strider to several computer platforms — released a sequel to it under license from Capcom. This game, Strider Returns (released as Strider II in Europe), was very poorly received.
In 1998, Capcom put Strider Hiryu in the roster of their fighting game Marvel vs. Capcom, soon noticing that the character was one of the most popular ones among players; that probably made them decide to develop another sequel.[citation needed]
Capcom chose to completely ignore U.S. Gold's previous sequel and named their game simply Strider 2, an arcade game released in 1999. It uses a mixture of two-dimensional and three-dimensional graphics giving the game a unique, if somewhat fragmented, look. Most characters are displayed as anime-style two-dimensional sprites. The background display is created from textured 3D graphics. Strider 2's gameplay is similar to the original Strider, though.
In Strider 2, the player takes control of modern-day ninja named Strider Hiryu who wields a deadly plasma-ejecting cypher named the Falchion, completing missions assigned to you. There are four starting selectable missions and a fifth is unlocked by completing them. Defeating the fifth mission unlocks the final boss mission where Hiryu will have to face off with powerful bosses which includes the rogue Strider Hien, Grandmaster Meio and a bioweapon named Caduceus. By completing all the missions, the player will unlock Strider Hien, who wields two ranged cyphers, as a playable chraracter.
There are also special unlockable and powerful skills which will ease the player on their mission. Included are the Savage Slash (Midare-Giri in Japanese), Hassou Jump, Boost (unlimited if the game is beaten using Hien), and rapid slash.
[edit] PlayStation port
The following year, Capcom released Strider 2 for the PlayStation (which is to be expected, given that the arcade used the Sony ZN-2 board, a very similar hardware[citation needed]). The game came in two CDs, one being an exact port of the original Strider arcade. Due to a bizarre labeling error, all American copies of the Strider 2 disc were labeled as the original Strider disc, and vice versa.[citation needed]
If the player completes both games, and saves both achievements on the same memory card, Strider 2's secret level "mission 00", a waterfall stage named Guyana Guaykinima Falls, is unlocked.[1]
This game, unlike Strider Returns, was well received by reviewers. [2] However, it did not sell very well.
[edit] Strider Hien
Strider Hien is a fictional character in the Strider series, appearing only in this game, although he has amassed a great fan-base. A rival to Strider Hiryu's success in the Striders, he became jealous of Hiryu's success and god-like status as he was the youngest Strider to be a Class-A ninja. Seeking revenge, he offered his services to Grandmaster Meio and assisted him in wiping the Striders out. Hiryu fights against Hien twice during the course of the game, though he is also an unlockable character in the PlayStation version as well. His weapon is a double-sided Cypher, since either side of the weapon can be thrown at his enemy like a boomerang. In his boss form, he's only vulnerable once he does this.
[edit] Trivia
- Along with Strider Hiryu, Strider Hien recently appeared in Namco x Capcom.
[edit] External links
- Strider 2 at GameFAQs
- Strider 2 at MobyGames
- Strider 2 at the Killer List of Videogames
- Arcade History Database entry
- Strider 2 at World of Spectrum
- Strider article at Hardcore Gaming 101
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