Game:

Strider II (1990)

Duration: 4:18

4,691 views

0

Also known as Strider II, this particular "Strider" game has a somewhat interesting history, but can basically be summed up as a subpar (but well-meaning) attempt to breathe life back into the Strider franchise (which wouldn't see a proper sequel till much later).

The game was originally made in the early 90s for computers and was published by U.S. Gold (with permission from Capcom USA) and developed by Tiertex, and was meant to be a European-developed sequel to the original Strider. In the PC games, the story and much of the Strider universe was re-imagined-- the hero could even use a gun and transform into a robot! He lacked much of the functionality that the original Strider Hiryu possessed. The game's plot involved rescuing Princess Magenta from a group of terrorists.

The game was later ported to various home consoles, but the publishers/developers made some significant changes, the biggest one being that they designed the lead character to look like Strider, use shurikens in place of bullets, and fight the Grandmaster from the original Strider instead of, well, whoever you fought in the PC game. He also utilizes the original Strider's abilities like sliding, but doesn't handle quite as well. The setting and the like is still based on the PC game from my understanding.

Even with these changes, the game never feels quite Strider-ish; it lacks polish and feels a bit uninspired. At least to the Game Gear and Master System's credit, this game is a smoother rendition of Strider than the original Strider for Master System. This game would have been a lot more tolerable if the controls were a little better (you can't slash standing still; you HAVE to move or you'll throw shurikens), the view was zoomed out a little more (to see incoming attacks), and there were actual boss strategies (on most bosses, you'll just find yourself flailing wildly trying to kill them before they kill you with their impossible-to-dodge attacks). Visually, it's okay-- it doesn't do the Game Gear wrong, but the levels are sort of drab and unimaginative. Aurally, the game is ephemeral, but not grating.

This is a brief video of the game in action. Enjoy.