Strider (1989 arcade game)
Strider's gameplay is cited as a major influence on the video game franchises Ninja Gaiden, Devil May Cry, and God of War.It became one of Capcom's early hits, praised for its innovative gameplay, diverse and unique music, and multilingual voice samples.The player controls the protagonist Strider Hiryu, a ninja whose main weapon is a tonfa-like plasma sword known as a "Cypher".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.Hiryu, the youngest ever Super A Ranked[15] member of an organization of high-tech ninja agents known as the "Striders", is alone tasked with the Grandmaster's assassination.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.These range from experimental and progressive futuristic sci-fi action themes to baroque, tribal and classical music pieces.[10] Ports of Strider for the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, IBM PC compatibles, and ZX Spectrum were published by U.S. Gold and developed by Tiertex in 1989.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.[24] NEC Avenue produced a PC Engine CD version of Strider Hiryu, which was released exclusively in Japan on September 22, 1994 as a CD-ROM² title which requires the Arcade Card expansion.[26] This makes this standalone version technically the last original PlayStation game ever made, released after the system's discontinuation in March 2006.[58] In Japan, Game Machine listed Strider on their April 1, 1989 issue as being the third most-successful table arcade unit of the month, outperforming titles like Ninja Gaiden.[43] Commodore User praised the "high definition graphics, brilliant movements and good old-fashioned blasting action" along with a "bit of tongue-in-cheek political" content.Upon release, GamePro called the Genesis port "a faithful translation of the arcade hit", and praised its "gorgeous graphics, non-stop arcade-style action, and ... captivating and unusual sound track.[85] The game Run Saber, released by Atlus in 1993 for the Super NES, is often compared to Strider due to them being similar in play mechanics.According to Eurogamer, Strider was a vital influence on video game franchises such as Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden and God of War.[86] According to Retro Gamer, the over-the-top action of future Capcom franchises, such as Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe, draws from Strider, particularly in their inclusion of the "boss rush".[88] In October 2012, Brazilian guitarist Pedro Pimentel released a tribute theme to this game series - also named "Strider" and included in his debut solo album (self-titled).In later years, various indie developers have published platform games featuring the gameplay style of Strider, with titles such as Oniken,[92] Cataegis: The White Wind,[93] Tänzer,[94] Blazing Chrome[95] and Bushiden.Inafune has stated that he has always liked the "world view" of Strider and modeled the name of Mega Man X co-protagonist Zero after one of its characters (reportedly, Solo).[97] Capcom has also stated that one of the game's villains, Tong Pooh, served as inspiration for Street Fighter character, Chun-Li.
Developer(s)CapcomTiertex Design StudiosPublisher(s)U.S. GoldDirector(s)Designer(s)Tokuro FujiwaraComposer(s)Platform(s)ArcadeAmstrad CPCAtari STCommodore 64MS-DOSPlayStationMega Drive/GenesisMaster SystemX68000PC Engine CDZX SpectrumGenre(s)Hack and slashplatformSingle-playerArcade systemCP Systemhack and slash gamearcadesdystopianMoto KikakuTiertexNES versionGenesisElectronic Gaming MonthlyNinja GaidenDevil May CryGod of WarStrider Hiryuextra lifemushroomsaber-toothed robo tigerKazakh Soviet Socialist RepublicSt. PetersburgSiberianAmazonian JungleGame OverFederationRussian EmpireKodanshaNES version of StriderGhouls 'n GhostsmultimediaTenchi wo KurauShirato SanpeiKamui GaidenRetro Gamerfire escapeexperimentalprogressivesci-fibaroquetribalclassicalMarvel vs. CapcomIBM PC compatiblescut-scenesPAL regionVirtual ConsoleNintendo Switch OnlineCapcom Power System ChangerNEC AvenueCD-ROMKaneto ShiozawaKōji TotaniSuperGrafxStrider 2Capcom Classics Collection: RemixedPlayStation PortablePlayStation 2mobile phoneSega GenesisTurboGrafx-16AllGameComputer and Video GamesFamitsuGameProGameSpyJoystickNintendo LifeST FormatThe Games Machine (UK)Your SinclairAtari ST UserCommodore UserMean MachinesMegaTechSega PowerThe OneBest Game of the YearGamestBest Action GameThe Games Machineplatform and ladders gamevideo game of the yearGamest AwardsUGO.comGame InformerMetal Slug1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You DieScrewAttackbest Genesis game ever madeGamesradarStrider (1989 NES video game)StriderFamicomStrider II (1990 video game)Strider 2 (1999 video game)Strider IISega Genesis/Mega DriveGame GearStrider (2014 video game)Bionic CommandoDouble Helix GamesPlayStation NetworkPlayStation 3