Strider Hiryu

General CVG character
name=Strider Hiryu


caption=Strider Hiryu in "Marvel vs. Capcom 2", illustrated by Bengus.
firstgame="Strider" (1989)
series="Strider" series
creator=Tatsumi Wada and Tetsuo Shiba (for Moto Kikaku)
artist=Shoei ("Strider" and "Strider 2")
voiceactor=
japanactor= Kosuke Toriumi ("Marvel vs. Capcom", "Strider 2")
motionactor=

nihongo|Strider Hiryu|ストライダー飛竜|Sutoraidā Hiryū| is best known as the protagonist of the arcade game "Strider" and its sequel, "Strider 2" (originally titled "Strider Hiryu" and "Strider Hiryu 2" respectively in Japan). The character is jointly owned by Capcom and manga studio Moto Kikaku due to an earlier collaboration.

The titular Striders are a fictional group of ninja-like secret agents specializing in kidnapping, assassination, demolition and other specific tasks, with Hiryu himself belonging to the "Super A Grade" class. Hiryu is usually dressed in a blue-colored ninja outfit and often wears a red large scarf that conceals the lower half of his face (In the first Strider, he wore lavender blue without his mouth covered). Hiryu's primary weapon is the "Cypher", a plasma-generating broadsword with a tonfa-like handle, although sometimes he is assisted by robotic companions which he obtains as power-ups in the original arcade game.

The original manga

A year prior to the release of the arcade game, the "Strider Hiryu" manga was originally serialized in the "Weekly Comic Comp" (see "") published by Kadokawa Shoten from May to October 1988 and later collected in a tankōbon published on November 10 of the same year. The manga series was illustrated by Tatsumi Wada and written by Tetsuo Shiba for Moto Kikaku, although Capcom is credited in the series for the original concept.

At the start of the manga, Hiryu is already retired from the Strider organization after he was forced to kill his older sister Maria, an A-grade Strider who mysteriously turned renegade years before. He is coerced out of retirement by Matic, the Vice Director of the Striders, when Hiryu's former comrade, Kain, is taken captive by the enemy in Kazakh. He teams up with Sheena and together they manage to release Kain from his captors, only to learn that he's been brainwashed by the enemy. Thanks to Hiryu, Kain manages to break free of his control, but not before Sheena is killed during the struggle.

Hiryu learns from a captive enemy officer that an organization known simply as the Enterprise is conducting a mind control program known as the ZAIN Project that can turn skilled soldiers into mindless zombies, and that Hiryu's own sister was previously subjected to the program. Moreover, Hiryu's own boss Matic had been conspiring with Enterprise in the development of the project. The rest of the story involved Hiryu and Kain's attempt to overthrow Matic and Enterprise and stop the ZAIN Project. After completing the mission, the Director of the Striders, Kuramoto, offers Hiryu to return to the organization, but Hiryu declines and leaves his Cypher behind.

After the main story was completed, an additional chapter simply titled "Strider Gaiden" was published and serves as a prequel to the main story. It recounts Hiryu's final mission before his retirement and features appearances by Kuramoto, Kain, and Sheena. This chapter was not included in the tankobon, making it rarer than the series itself.

"Strider" video games

The deal between Capcom and Moto Kikaku led to the creation of two separately produced "Strider Hiryu" games in 1989, both of which were released outside Japan under the shortened title "Strider".

The arcade game, which was first distributed to video arcades in March 1989. The arcade version was only loosely based on the manga and did not follow the same storyline. Instead, Hiryu is sent to thwart Grandmaster Meio, who plots to conquer the world. Hiryu's mission takes him to Kazakh, Siberia, the flying airship Balrog and the Amazon before the final confrontation in the Third Moon, Meio's lair in outer space. There was also a NES game which was based on the manga, though it was a non-linear action-adventure platformer, and it was never released in Japan either.

The arcade version of "Strider", also gained the license to produce an entirely original "Strider" game for computer. U.S. Gold's sequel, dubbed "" (or "Strider II", as it was known in the PAL Region), which was released for the Mega Drive and various computer platforms in 1992. In "Strider Returns", Hiryu (or Hinjo, as he is alternately referred in the manual) is forced out of retirement once again when his girlfriend Lexia is taken captive by a revived Grandmaster. "Strider Returns" was poorly received by both critics and fans of the original arcade game, due to its overall quality. The game was not produced by Capcom and is not recognized as a legitimate "Strider" sequel.

In 1999, following Hiryu's fighting game appearance in "", Capcom decided to revive the franchise with a true sequel to the arcade game titled "Strider 2". Set an unspecified amount of time after the events of the first arcade game, Hiryu must not only face the recently resurrected Grandmaster, but also against the corrupt Strider Hien. "Strider 2" retains the same 2D gameplay of its arcade predecessor, but features fully polygonal 3D graphics instead. "Strider 2" was originally released for the arcades on the Sony's ZN-2 hardware and quickly ported to the PlayStation in a two-game bundle that also contained the original "Strider". (Some copies were accidentally switched during U.S. production, so the disc with "Strider 2" printed on it was actually the original "Strider" and the disc with "Strider" printed on it was the "Strider 2" game. Like the whole "Resident Evil: Director's Cut" FMV fiasco, Capcom did not fix the problem.) Due to this mistake the title has become a rare collectors item among fans and hard core gamers. While "Strider 2" was better received by critics than the illegitimate "Strider Returns", the game was still criticized for being overly easier than the original "Strider" due to its unlimited continues. While achieving only minor commercial success, it gained a strong fan base.

Capcom has yet to produce another "Strider" game since "Strider 2". At one point Capcom producers Yoshihiro Sudo and Koji Nakajima expressed interest to do the next game for the Xbox, but no such title ever surfaced. Despite this, Hiryu still made appearances outside the series.

In other games

Hiryu has made several appearances in other games by Capcom outside the "Strider" series, particularly in crossover games which involved Capcom's characters. Hiryu makes an appearance as an adversary in the Japanese-only Trivia game "Capcom World 2" in 1992. Afterwards, he makes a cameo appearance in Ken's stage in "Street Fighter Alpha 2" as a guest in Eliza's birthday party along with other Capcom characters.

Hiryu would make an appearance as a playable character in the 1998 fighting game '. In this game, he uses the same techniques from the arcade game and even summons his robotic companions from the game in special attacks. His design in this game by Capcom artist Bengus would be the design used in all of Hiryu's subsequent appearances (including "Strider 2"). Hiryu appears in the 2000 sequel ' as well.

The character was also depicted in trading cards featured in "" and its sequels "Card Fighters 2: Expand Edition" and "Card Fighter DS". Hiryu appears in the 2005 RPG "Namco x Capcom" along with other characters from the series.

Hiryu was also scheduled to be included in the unreleased 3D fighting game "Capcom Fighting All-Stars".

References

* Motomiya-kikaku, Tatsumi Wada, Tetsuo Shiba (1989). "ストライダー飛竜". Kadokawa Shoten Shukkan Comic Comp, Japan. ISBN 4-04-713009-5

# cite web
author = Hopper Ben
publisher = GameCritics.com
year = 2000
url = http://www.gamecritics.com/review/strider2/main.php
title = Strider 2
accessmonthday = May 19
accessyear = 2006
# cite web
author = Parish Jeremy
publisher = 1up.com
year = 2005
url = http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3142487
title = 1up.com's Crucial Classics, Part 22: Strider
accessmonthday = May 19
accessyear = 2006
# cite web
author = Scion
publisher = 2002
year = 2005
url = http://www.lscmainframe.net/manga.html
title = Surveillance: Merchandise - The Manga
accessmonthday = May 18
accessyear = 2006
# cite web
author = Sotenga
publisher = Hardcore Gaming 101
year = 1999
url = http://hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/strider/strider.htm
title = Hardcore Gaming 101: Strider
accessmonthday = May 18
accessyear = 2006
# cite web
author = N/A
publisher = Spong.com
year = 2002
url = http://news.spong.com/article/3694?cb=656
title = World Exclusive: Strider 3 for Xbox enters Capcom's thoughts?
accessmonthday = May 19
accessyear = 2006
# cite web
author = Sasamoto Kouji
publisher = Strider Honbu
url = http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/ha/kouji-s/hiryuu.htm
title = ストライダー本部
year = 2005
accessdate = February 23
accessyear = 2007

External links

Fansites dedicated to the "Strider" series:
* [http://taira-s.hp.infoseek.co.jp/ 2048 . Winter]
* [http://striderguild.8m.com/ Agrios' "Strider" Guild]
* [http://www.purose.net/befis/game/hiryu/hiryu1/ Befis' Strider Hiryu Page]
* [http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Portal/7091/ The Blue Dragon: "Strider" HQ]
* [http://www.lscmainframe.net/ The Light Sword Cypher Mainframe]
* [http://nkj.sub.jp/mc/hiryu/ Magic Capsule's Strider Room]
* [http://www.angelfire.com/ny/Striderarmy/ The Official "Strider" Army Website!]
* [http://www.angelfire.com/ny/striderheaven/index.html "Strider" Heaven]
* [http://strider.classicgaming.gamespy.com/StriderMain.html "S T R I D E R" - O T A K U]
* [http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Flats/8274/ "Strider" Island Moralos]
* [http://stridercypher.bravehost.com/ "THE STRIDER CYPHER"]