Strider

From Sega Retro

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Strider Title.png

Strider
System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Sega Master System, Virtual Console
Publisher: Sega
Developer:
Original system(s): Capcom CPS-1
Developer(s) of original games: Capcom
Sound driver:
Sega Mega Drive
SMPS 68000
Genre: Action

















Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega Drive
JP
¥7,0007,000 G-4037
Sega Mega Drive
US
1112
Sega Mega Drive
EU
1112
Sega Mega Drive
AU
Sega Mega Drive
CA
Sega Mega Drive
BR
Sega Mega Drive
KR
GM8060JG
Sega Master System
EU
9005
Sega Master System
AU
Sega Master System
BR
Sega Master System
KR
GB4028JG
Wii Virtual Console
JP
600pts600[7]
CERO: B
Wii Virtual Console
US
800pts800[8]
ESRB: Everyone 10+
Wii Virtual Console
EU
800pts800[9]
PEGI: 7+
Wii Virtual Console
DE
800pts800[9]
USK: 12
Wii Virtual Console
AU
800pts800[12]
OFLC: Parental Guidance (PG)

Strider, known as Strider Hiryuu (ストライダー飛竜) in Japan, is an action game developed by Capcom and released for CPS arcade hardware in 1989. It was subsequently brought to home consoles and computers, including the Sega Mega Drive and Sega Master System.

Story

It is the 21st Century. Earth was ravaged by series of ecological disasters that claimed the lives of millions. Out of the catastrophe, one man took control of what remains of the human race: Grandmaster Meio, a seemingly immortal and omnipotent man who is worshipped as a living god by his followers. With science, military and even the nature itself is on his side, Meio declared himself Emperor and formed the center of his empire in the Kazafu City, a massive city located in the Eastern Europe. He is ruling the world with an iron fist.

Only force that can stop this man is Striders. A group of highly talented operatives who are skilled in infiltration, sabotage and assassination. Stiders initiated a massive assault on the Meio's forces, but despite their skills, all of them were cut to the last man.

Enter Strider Hiryu, youngest man to ever complete the hellish Strider training program with an A rank and only Strider left alive. Armed with his lethal plasma sword, climbing equipment, and a small amount of robotic weapons, Hiryu must face unsurmountable odds and save the humanity from the clutches of an evil god.

Gameplay

Strider is an action-platformer. The highly mobile protagonist needs to can walk, run, slide and climb to conquer all five stages and defeat the self proclaimed world ruler, grandmaster. Aside from his sword, Strider can also employ robotic helpers (one of them resembling a tiger) to fight his adversaries.

Stages

Notavailable.svg

Kazafu City
Emperor's official seat of power, Kazafu City is the a massive sprawling metropolis. Even though they are better off compare to the poor souls living in other destroyed cities around the world, citizens live under mortal fear of Meio's fanatically loyal army and soulless robotic weapons that patrol the city. Engage armed soldiers who still stick to their cold-war era uniforms. Eliminate Strobaya, a muscle bound giant and face off the assembly members who will combine and create Ouroboros, a caterpillar like robotic weapon who can climb walls and attack with sickle like mandibles.

Notavailable.svg

Siberian Wilderness
Endure freezing cold as you fight back hungry wolves and other armed enemies. Destroy Mecha-Pon, a prototype robotic gorilla and climb through the salt mine shafts. Solo, a relentless, jet-pack equipped bounty hunter will be after your head. Retire him from his mercenary career if you don't want him to be a problem for you in the future. Reach the air field and jump from aircraft to aircraft to reach Meio's battleship. Be on the lookout for Pooh sisters, peerless martial artists who will attempt to kill you in the name of their emperor.

Notavailable.svg

Flying Battleship Balrog
A symbol of Meio's limitless power, Balrog is a flying battleship capable of razing cities to rubble. Evade cannons and other gun emplacements as you try to find a way inside the ship's hull. Destroy the prototype graviton generator and relieve the Captain from his post to bring this flying monster to the ground.

Notavailable.svg

The Amazon Forest
Humid jungles of the South America will be a stark contrast to the freezing cold of the Siberia. Fight back the female warriors of the Amazon tribe somehow managed to survive the outside world and its demise. Survive the onslaught of once believed extinct dinosaurs. A gigantic T-Rex will be waiting for you at the end of this level.

Notavailable.svg

Space Station "Third Moon"
Prepare for the final showdown with a god. Every enemy you have faced before will be ready to lay down their lives for their emperor. At the end of the level, you will find out whether or not Meio deserves his title.

History

Legacy

Multiple other versions of Strider exist, all of which (bar the aforementioned X68000 version) are widely considered to be less accurate than the Mega Drive version. Ports were made to the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS and ZX Spectrum. A PC Engine Arcade CD-ROM², version, exclusive to Japan and released in September 1994 could be considered the Mega Drive's closest rival, but still falls short due to a number of graphical omissions (in exchange for an extra level).

Strider was unofficially followed by U.S. Gold's Strider II, however Capcom later returned in 1999 to make a true sequel under the name of Strider 2. The character of Strider Hiryuu has also appeared in other Capcom games, such as 1999's Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, released among other systems for the Sega Dreamcast.

The Mega Drive version was also made available for the Wii's Virtual Console service in 2011.

Versions

The Sega versions of Strider were licensed from Capcom, but the Mega Drive version was developed internally at Sega and the Master System version was outsourced to Tiertex under Sega's production and supervision. Allegedly Sega was not given much support by Capcom, forcing the teams to rip graphics and reverse engineer arcade units to create both games (it is rumoured that practise was also in effect for Ghouls'n Ghosts and Final Fight CD, Capcom not partaking in Sega development on their own until Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition).

Mega Drive

Strider was brought to the Sega Mega Drive relatively early in the system's lifespan, debuting in late 1990. It was seen as one of the hard hitting 16-bit action games designed to encourage users to migrate from Nintendo's NES to Sega's console, boasting high definition graphics and recorded speech samples. It was the first 1MB (8Mb) ROM cartridge released for the system, making it one of the largest cartridge-based video games available at the time.

The comparison between Mega Drive and NES is striking when discussing Strider, as despite Capcom having a hand in both developing and publishing the Nintendo version, the console's technical restrictions led to an entirely different game. Meanwhile the Mega Drive version was for a while the most accurate home arcade conversion available to consumers (inevitably superseded by a Sharp X68000 version in November 1992).

The most noticeable differences in the Mega Drive version are the slower attack speed (especially when hanging from the ceiling) and lower acceleration (meaning the jungle stage and final stage's inverse gravity section require different approaches to that of the arcade). Like its arcade counterpart, the western versions lacks Hiryu's "Ha!" shout while attacking with the sword.

There are also slight differences between regions; when playing up to the boss rush section of the final stage without losing a life in the Japanese Sega Mega Drive version, there is a high chance that Ouroboros (stage one boss), normally transporting the player to the place of the final battle, will not appear. The player has to deliberately lose a life to respawn Ouroboros. This issue was apparently fixed in the Western versions. Continues may be used in the Western versions whereas the Japanese release requires the player to input a cheat code to enable them, and the famous line, "All sons of old gods, die!", spoken by the final boss, was removed from the Western versions.

Strider is one of the few Sega Mega Drive games that has noticeable load times during stages. The game stops for about half a second when new background graphics or big enemies, like boss characters, appear. It also features an original ending scene.

Master System

This port is made by Tiertex, who also responsible for the less-than-impressive Strider Returns.

Unlike its NES counterpart, the Master System Strider is a compacted version of the arcade game, with simpler graphics and sound as is to be expected of the console. It is known, however, to suffer from heavy slowdown when the engine is under stress, so much so that simply attacking will cause the frame rate to drop. Most of the backgrounds are replaced with simple black and cutscenes appear with no rhyme or reason with "No one defeats the master" is repeated over and over again. The ending is also non-sensical as it implies that the entire game was a simulation for the real mission. This "simulation" story is also confirmed in the Master System manual of the Strider Returns. Because of these shortcomings, Master System version is usually considered the worst port of the original game.

Localised names

Also known as
Language Localised Name English Translation
English Strider Strider
English (US) Strider Strider
Japanese ストライダー飛竜 Strider Hiryuu

Production credits

Mega Drive version


Magazine articles

Main article: Strider/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Main article: Strider/Promotional material.

Physical scans

Mega Drive version

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
92 №40, p103[13]
100 №5, p22[14]
73 №, p84[15]
91 №4, p36[16]
95 №109, p68-70[17]
95 №1, p30-32[18]
90 №16, p20[19]
90 №1, p98[20]
70 №111, [1]
88 №17, p122/123[21]
99 №27, p78
83 №6, p98[22]
96 №10, p108[23]
78 №5, p94
89 №9, p22
89 №1, p65
91 №1, p80[24]
92 №2, p18-21[25]
86 №7, p26/27[26]
92 №4, p15[27]
91 №8, p24/25[28]
95 №19, p10/11
100 №23, p54
92 №6, p29[29]
87 №18, p67
94 №2/92, p21[30]
Sega Mega Drive
90
Based on
26 reviews
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)
40
[31]
ACE (UK)
92
[13]
Ação Games (BR)
100
[14]
Buzz! Computers (UK)
84
[32]
Complete Guide to Consoles (UK)
91
[16]
The Complete Guide to Sega (UK)
91
[33]
Console XS (UK) PAL
90
[34]
Computer & Video Games (UK)
95
[35]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U
90
[19]
Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK)
90
[20]
Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J
70
[36]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
88
[21]
Hobby Consolas (ES)
83
[22]
Joystick (FR)
96
[23]
Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) PAL
78
[37]
Mega Drive Fan (JP) NTSC-J
87
[38]
Mega (UK) PAL
89
[39]
Mega Action (UK)
89
[40]
Mega Play (US) NTSC-U
90
[41]
MegaTech (UK)
91
[24]
Mean Machines (UK)
92
[25]
Mean Machines Sega (UK)
91
[42]
Player One (FR)
86
[26]
Power Play (DE)
68
[43]
Raze (UK) NTSC
92
[27]
Raze (UK) PAL
91
[28]
Sega Power (UK) PAL
95
[44]
Sega Power (UK) PAL
100
[45]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
87
[46]
Sega Pro (UK)
92
[29]
Sega Force (SE)
94
[30]
Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
73
[47]
Tricks 16 bit (RU)
68
[48]
User (GR) PAL
88
[49]
VideoGames & Computer Entertainment (US) NTSC-U
90
[50]
Video Games (DE)
75
[51]
Sega Mega Drive
86
Based on
36 reviews

Strider

Mega Drive, US
Strider MD US Box.jpg
Cover
Strider MD US Cart.jpg
Cart
Strider MD US Manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, EU
Strider MD EU Box.jpg
Cover
Strider MD EU Cart.jpg
Cart
Mega Drive, JP
Strider MD JP Box.jpg
Cover
Strider MD JP CartTop.jpg
Strider MD JP Cart.jpg
Cart
Strider MD jp manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, AU
Strider MD AU cover.jpg
Cover
Mega Drive, BR
Strider MD BR Box.jpg
Cover
Strider MD BR Cart.jpg
Cart
Strider md br manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, CA
Strider MD CA Box.jpg
Cover
Mega Drive, KR
Strider MD SK Box.jpg
Cover
Strider MD KR Cart.jpg
Cart

Master System version

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
100 №5, p26[5]
67 №0, p50-52
67 №1, p158[52]
50 №25
73 №2, p26/27[53]
80 №21, p169[54]
67 №6, p62-64[55]
78 №14, p70/71[56]
74 №26, p24/25
60 №1, p60/61[57]
61 №18, p74[58]
Sega Master System
71
Based on
11 reviews
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
Ação Games (BR)
100
[5]
Aktueller Software Markt (DE)
48
[59]
Console XS (UK) PAL
79
[60]
Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK)
67
[52]
FX (UK)
85
[61]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
60
[62]
Games-X (UK)
50
[63]
Hobby Consolas (ES)
73
[53]
Joypad (FR) PAL
82
[64]
Joystick (FR)
80
[54]
Mega Play (US) NTSC-U
75
[65]
Mean Machines (UK) PAL
67
[66]
Mean Machines Sega (UK)
67
[67]
Player One (FR)
78
[56]
Sega Power (UK) PAL
74
[4]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
79
[68]
Sega Force (UK) PAL
60
[57]
Sega Force (UK) PAL
61
[58]
User (GR) PAL
68
[69]
Video Games (DE)
28
[70]
Sega Master System
69
Based on
20 reviews

Strider

Master System, EU
Strider SMS EU Box.jpg
Cover
Strider SMS EU Cart.jpg
Cart
Strider sms us manual.pdf
Manual
Master System, AU

Master System, BR
Strider SMS BR Box.jpg
Cover
Strider SMS BR Cart.jpg
Cart
Strider SMS BR Manual.pdf
Manual
Master System, KR
Strider SMS SK Box.jpg
Cover
Strider SMS KR cart.jpg
Cart

Technical information

ROM dump status

System Hash Size Build Date Source Comments
Sega Master System
 ?
CRC32 9802ed31
MD5 48af5ae2cad7c48c81d7c2553a8ed426
SHA-1 051e72c8ffec7606c04409ef38244cfdd592252f
512kB Cartridge (EU/US)

External links

  • Sega of Japan Virtual Console pages: Mega Drive
  • Nintendo catalogue pages: US, UK, AU

References

  1. File:Raze UK 08.pdf, page 25
  2. File:EGM US 016.pdf, page 78
  3. File:Supergame BR 05.pdf, page 40
  4. 4.0 4.1 Sega Power, "January 1992" (UK; 1991-12-05), page 24
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 File:AcaoGames BR 005.pdf, page 26 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:AcaoGames BR 005.pdf_p26" defined multiple times with different content
  6. https://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/vc/software/14.html (Wayback Machine: 2018-03-21 22:05)
  7. http://vc.sega.jp/vc_strider/ (Wayback Machine: 2012-05-26 16:34)
  8. 8.0 8.1 http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/EYtyOZOVLP7E_7r2RcMUPIw9o6cdB4PG (Wayback Machine: 2013-01-05 10:37)
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 http://www.nintendolife.com/games/megadrive/strider (Wayback Machine: 2018-02-22 18:26)
  10. https://archive.is/OaLWY
  11. https://archive.is/HB4Os
  12. [ ]
  13. 13.0 13.1 File:ACE UK 40.pdf, page 103 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:ACE UK 40.pdf_p103" defined multiple times with different content
  14. 14.0 14.1 File:AcaoGames BR 005.pdf, page 22 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:AcaoGames BR 005.pdf_p22" defined multiple times with different content
  15. File:SSM_JP_19950901_1995-09.pdf, page 86
  16. 16.0 16.1 File:CGtC UK 04.pdf, page 36 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:CGtC UK 04.pdf_p36" defined multiple times with different content
  17. File:CVG UK 109.pdf, page 68
  18. File:CVG IT 01.pdf, page 30
  19. 19.0 19.1 File:EGM US 016.pdf, page 20 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:EGM US 016.pdf_p20" defined multiple times with different content
  20. 20.0 20.1 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide, Virgin Books, page 98 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:MeanMachinesEssentialSegaGuide Book UK.pdf_p98" defined multiple times with different content
  21. 21.0 21.1 File:GamePro US 017.pdf, page 124 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:GamePro US 017.pdf_p124" defined multiple times with different content
  22. 22.0 22.1 File:HobbyConsolas ES 006.pdf, page 90 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:HobbyConsolas ES 006.pdf_p90" defined multiple times with different content
  23. 23.0 23.1 File:Joystick FR 010.pdf, page 108 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:Joystick FR 010.pdf_p108" defined multiple times with different content
  24. 24.0 24.1 File:MegaTech UK 01.pdf, page 80 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:MegaTech UK 01.pdf_p80" defined multiple times with different content
  25. 25.0 25.1 File:MeanMachines UK 02.pdf, page 18 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:MeanMachines UK 02.pdf_p18" defined multiple times with different content
  26. 26.0 26.1 File:PlayerOne FR 007.pdf, page 26 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:PlayerOne FR 007.pdf_p26" defined multiple times with different content
  27. 27.0 27.1 File:Raze UK 04.pdf, page 15 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:Raze UK 04.pdf_p15" defined multiple times with different content
  28. 28.0 28.1 File:Raze UK 08.pdf, page 24 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:Raze UK 08.pdf_p24" defined multiple times with different content
  29. 29.0 29.1 File:SegaPro UK 06.pdf, page 29 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:SegaPro UK 06.pdf_p29" defined multiple times with different content
  30. 30.0 30.1 File:SegaForce SE 1992 02.pdf, page 21 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:SegaForce SE 1992 02.pdf_p21" defined multiple times with different content
  31. 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 227
  32. Buzz! Computers (UK) (+0:00)
  33. The Complete Guide to Sega, "" (UK; 1991-05-xx), page 49
  34. Console XS, "June/July 1992" (UK; 1992-04-23), page 134
  35. Computer & Video Games, "December 1990" (UK; 1990-11-16), page 30
  36. Famitsu, "" (JP; 1990-xx-xx), page 1
  37. Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "January 1993" (UK; 199x-xx-xx), page 94
  38. Mega Drive Fan, "December 1990" (JP; 1990-11-08), page 79
  39. Mega, "June 1993" (UK; 1993-05-20), page 21
  40. Mega Action, "June 1993" (UK; 1993-05-20), page 65
  41. Mega Play, "February 1991" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 43
  42. Mean Machines Sega, "October 1992" (UK; 1992-09-xx), page 142
  43. Power Play, "12/90" (DE; 1990-11-16), page 156
  44. Sega Power, "June 1991" (UK; 1991-05-02), page 10
  45. Sega Power, "October 1991" (UK; 1991-09-05), page 54
  46. Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 67
  47. Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 86
  48. Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 188
  49. User, "Ioúnios 1991" (GR; 1991-0x-xx), page 66
  50. VideoGames & Computer Entertainment, "January 1991" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 54
  51. Video Games, "1/91" (DE; 1991-03-27), page 83
  52. 52.0 52.1 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide, Virgin Books, page 158 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:MeanMachinesEssentialSegaGuide Book UK.pdf_p158" defined multiple times with different content
  53. 53.0 53.1 File:HobbyConsolas ES 002.pdf, page 26 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:HobbyConsolas ES 002.pdf_p26" defined multiple times with different content
  54. 54.0 54.1 File:Joystick FR 021.pdf, page 169 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:Joystick FR 021.pdf_p169" defined multiple times with different content
  55. File:MeanMachines UK 06.pdf, page 62
  56. 56.0 56.1 File:PlayerOne FR 014.pdf, page 70 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:PlayerOne FR 014.pdf_p70" defined multiple times with different content
  57. 57.0 57.1 File:SegaForce UK 01.pdf, page 60 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:SegaForce UK 01.pdf_p60" defined multiple times with different content
  58. 58.0 58.1 File:SegaForce UK 18.pdf, page 74 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:SegaForce UK 18.pdf_p74" defined multiple times with different content
  59. Aktueller Software Markt, "Februar 1992" (DE; 1992-01-10), page 128
  60. Console XS, "June/July 1992" (UK; 1992-04-23), page 145
  61. FX (UK) (+0:00)
  62. GamePro, "June 1991" (US; 1991-xx-xx), page 50
  63. Games-X, "10th-16th October 1991" (UK; 1991-10-10), page 32
  64. Joypad, "Novembre 1991" (FR; 1991-10-1x), page 102
  65. Mega Play, "May/June 1991" (US; 1991-0x-xx), page 42
  66. Mean Machines, "March 1991" (UK; 1991-03-01), page 50
  67. Mean Machines Sega, "October 1992" (UK; 1992-09-xx), page 136
  68. Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 72
  69. User, "Fevrouários 1993" (GR; 1993-0x-xx), page 57
  70. Video Games, "3/91" (DE; 1991-09-06), page 77
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