Strider (arcade game)

Infobox VG
title= Strider


caption=
developer= Capcom
publisher= Capcom
released= March 1989
genre= Platform
modes= Single player, multiplayer
ratings=
platforms= Arcade
input= 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 nihongo|"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).

Gameplay

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 the course of the game, the player can obtain power-ups, including robotic animal-like companions (such as 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.

tages

*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.

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.

Development

Manga

Before the release of the "Strider" arcade game, a "Strider Hiryu" manga authored by Tatsumi Wada was serialized in the "Monthly Comic Comp", an anthology published by Kadokawa Shoten, from May to October in 1988. The manga was co-produced by Capcom with Moto Kikaku with the intentions of adapting the story into a video game. A single tankobon was published in November of the same year.cite book|first=Tatsumi|last=Wada|title=Strider Hiryu|language=Japanese|isbn= 4047130095] The plot of the manga was adapted into the NES version, which was announced but never released in Japancite web|url=http://kanyu.hp.infoseek.co.jp/gamecomic01.html|title=ストライダー飛竜/柴哲郎/和田たつみ|language=Japanese] , while the arcade game follows a different plot.

NES version

The NES version of "Strider", was released in North America in vgy|1989 a few months after the arcade version's release. As stated above, the game follows the manga's storyline, with only a few mild deviations.

Ports

*U.S. Gold released ports of "Strider" for various computer platforms in Europe in vgy|1989. Versions were produced for the Commodore Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum, all which were handled by developer Tiertex.

* Sega released a Mega Drive/Genesis version in vgy|1990, which was one of the earliest 8-Megabit cartridge for the system. It was considered one of the system's "killer apps" and was awarded "Game of the Year" by "Electronic Gaming Monthly".issue Sega also released a Master System version in Europe in vgy|1991, which was ported by Tiertex as well.

* A port for the X68000 computer platform was also released in Japan by Capcom in 1991.

* NEC Avenue released PC Engine version of "Strider Hiryu" in vgy|1994, which released in CD-ROM² format and required the Arcade Card. It featured an additional stage not in the arcade version. NEC originally planned to release a SuperGrafx port in vgy|1990, but this version was canceled.cite web|url=http://www.lscmainframe.net/sgxgame.html|title=THE LIGHT SWORD CYPHER MAINFRAME | Dossier | Strider on the NEC SuperGrafx]

* A PlayStation port was released in vgy|2000 and as a two-in-one bundle with its Capcom-produced sequel "Strider 2".

* An emulation of the arcade game is featured in "" for the PlayStation Portable, as well as in "Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2" for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, both released in vgy|2006.

Legacy

An initial "Strider" sequel titled "Strider Returns" (or "Strider II" in Europe) was produced under license by U.S. Gold and Tiertex for various computer platforms and the all three Sega-based consoles at the time. The game was not as well-received as the original.

The character Strider Hiryu resurfaced in the vgy|1998 fighting game "" along with protagonists from other Capcom action games such as "Captain Commando" and "Mega Man".

His fighting game appearance inspired Capcom to produce their own sequel to the first gameFact|date=May 2008, titled "Strider 2" (ignoring the earlier "Strider Returns"), which was developed for the PlayStation-based ZN-2 arcade hardware and released in vgy|1999. A home version was released for the PlayStation in vgy|2000, bundled with the original "Strider".

Additionally the Hiryu character has made appearances in other Capcom-produced games including ', "Namco X Capcom", "Street Fighter Alpha 2", "Capcom World 2" and '.

The vgy|1997 arcade game "Osman", released by Mitchell Corp., was produced by former staff members from Capcom who worked on the original "Strider", likening "Osman" as a spiritual sequel to "Strider".

Screwattack named the Genesis port of Strider as the #1 Genesis game while swedish POPKORN named it as the #17 Genesis game.

References

External links

*KLOV game|id=9838|name=Strider
* [http://www.classicgaming.com/strider/StriderMain.html Strider-Otaku]
* [http://www.lscmainframe.net/ The Light Sword Cypher Mainframe]
* [http://hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/strider/strider.htm Strider article at Hardcore Gaming 101]
* [http://kanyu.hp.infoseek.co.jp/gamecomic01.html Japanese article on the monthly Strider manga release]
* [http://www.archive.org/details/Longplay-Strider_GEN/ Complete Strider video (Genesis)] on archive.org
* [http://www.popkorn.nu/arkiv_topp/21_megadrive.html Strider among the topp-20 Genesis games at Swedish popular culture site POPKORN]