Strider (arcade game)

Strider
Arcade flyer
Developer(s)	Capcom
Publisher(s)	Capcom
Designer(s)	Planner Kouichi "Isuke" Yotsui Planning Adviser Tokuro "Arthur" Fujiwara Shinichi "Yossan" Yoshimoto
Composer(s)	Junko Tamiya
Platform(s)	Arcade, Sega Mega Drive, Virtual Console
Release date(s)	JP March 7 1989 NA 1989 Virtual Console JP November 15, 2011 NA February 16, 2012 PAL March 15, 2012
Genre(s)	Platform Hack and slash
Mode(s)	Single player (2-player alternating)
Cabinet	Upright
Arcade system	CPS-1
Display	Raster, 384 x 224 pixels (Horizontal), 4096 colors

Strider, released in Japan as Strider Hiryū (ストライダー飛竜) is a 1989 side-scrolling platform game released for the CP System arcade hardware by Capcom. It became one of Capcom's early hits before Street Fighter II, revered for its innovative gameplay, diverse and unique music, and multilingual voice clips during cutscenes (presented in English, Japanese, Mandarin, Russian and Spanish).

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 a organization of high-tech ninja-like 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.

Gameplay

A gameplay screenshot of Strider

The controls of Strider consist of an eight-way joystick and two action buttons for attacking and jumping. The player controls Hiryu himself, 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 (represented by the kanji used to write Hiryu's name: 飛 and 飛竜), a max health extension (represented by the kanji 竜, the second character in Hiryu's name), 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 30 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 tiger and a hawk, known individually as Option A, B and C respectively.

The game has five stages: the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (called "St. Petersburg" during the arcade game's attract sequence), the Siberian Wilderness, the Aerial Battleship Balrog (געלראב), the Amazonian Jungle, and the Grandmaster's lair itself, the Third Moon (spelled incorrectly in Futhark in the level intro: ᚦᛖ ᛏᚻᛚᚱᛒ ᛗᛟᛟᚾ). 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 (which can be increased to five points with the health extensions. Hiryu will lose a life when either his health gauge is fully depleted, by moving him off the screen entirely (like falling into a bottomless pit) or when the game's timer reaches zero. It's Game Over when all of Hiryu's lives are lost, but the player can be given the opportunity to continue.

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 (who is credited as Isuke in the game), 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.

Music

The game contains many different styles of music that change dynamically throughout the game according to what section of the stage you're in and what's happening 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.

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.

Home versions

U.S. Gold versions

Versions of Strider for 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 (the order of the cut-scenes were kept the same, causing a continuity error), and the final battle with the Grandmaster missing (the last stages ends with the battle against the giant robot gorilla Mecha Pong). 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 and the overall inferior gameplay, all of the U.S. Gold releases received high review scores by computer game magazines of the time.

X68000

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.

Mega Drive/Genesis

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. 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 taken from the arcade game.

Master System

Sega also released a Master System version of Strider in North America and Europe in 1992, which was separately developed by Tiertex and was in fact a conversion of their previous Amiga version).

PC Engine

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.

PlayStation

A PlayStation version of Strider was produced by Capcom, which was first released 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 (so to play Strider you actually need to insert the Strider 2 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.

Capcom Classics Collection

The original arcade version was also rereleased in 2006 as a title included in the video game compilations Capcom Classics Collection: Remixed for the PlayStation Portable and Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

Mobile phone

A Japanese mobile phone version was released in 2010.

Reception

Reception
Review scores
Publication	Score
Computer and Video Games	95%
Crash	7/10
Famitsu	30/40 (PS1)
Sinclair User	8/10
Your Sinclair	90%
ACE	910
Commodore User	8/10
MegaTech	91%
Mega	89%
Mean Machines	92%

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. Brett Alan Weiss of All Media Guide called the Genesis port "a nice effort and a lot of fun for someone who likes to travel through a dark future Earth killing everything in his/her path with a giant sword", while also noting that "it does get a little repetitious [sic] using the same weapon over and over. Even so, this is an exciting game."

Strider is fondly remembered, having spawned numerous fansites and retrospectives. In 1992, Mega placed the game at 31st spot in their list of top Mega Drive games of all time. In 2010, UGO.com included Strider in their list of the 25 video games that need sequels. Also in 2010, Game Informer included it on the list of ten gaming franchises that should be revived, adding: "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 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.

Legacy

NES game and the cancelled remake

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 it was cancelled.

An unnamed Strider reboot game was being developed by GRIN in 2009, before being cancelled.

Sequels

Under license from Capcom USA, U.S. Gold and Tiertex produced a Strider sequel in Europe titled Strider II (released in North America as Journey From Darkness: Strider Returns) for various computer platforms, as well as the Mega Drive, Game Gear, and Master System. This European-produced sequel was unreleased in Japan.

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.

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 X 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 outing 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 even credit from Strider producer Kouichi Yotsui.

Miscellaneous

The British rapper Tinchy Stryder named himself partially after Strider, which he often played as a boy.^{[citation needed]}

On October 2012, guitarist Pedro Pimentel released a music named after the game series, included in his first solo album (self-titled; independent). As published in the Brazilian edition of Guitar Player magazine (march 2013), "(Pedro Pimentel's) 'Strider' is a composition with a very modern theme and great guitar solos. Good quality recording and very tasteful tones."

External links

• Strider for Genesis at GameSpot
• Strider at the Killer List of Videogames
• Light Sword Cypher Mainframe 4.0
• Complete Strider video (Genesis) on archive.org
• Hardcore Gaming 101: Strider