SegaLord X, I'm glad you really liked the Strider Hiryu I made. It really was a labor of love and the fulfillment of a 25+ year dream. It's more of an homage of all things Strider (well... all, except the Tiertex releases). There's some Strider 1, Strider 2, Strider NES and a bit of Marvel vs. Capcom (although Capcom didn't want ANY MvsC in there). There are also tons of Capcom/Strider Easter eggs all throughout the game. it was only 22 people for 14 months. I would've loved to have done a sequel and address some issues that we didn't have time for, but alas it was not meant to be. Maybe one day, I'll make my own sequel, the same way Yotsui-san made Osman/Cannon Dancer and Moon Diver. Thanks again for the coverage!
@@michaelhoule2134 When you're knee-deep in something, there are a lot of things you want to do, but don't have time or had to deal with what I like to call, "executive-fuckery". But the 3 biggest things are; better explanation of the map and things you unlock (most people don't even know the TONS of lore you unlock along the way). The game kind of sags a bit 2/3 through (before you go to the Balrog). Part of that is poor planning but mostly of things that had to be cut (due to poor planning). And the number one thing is how the environments turned out. I let issues go too long and the environment's art direction doesn't do justice to the game they're in. I still think it's a great game and one of my favorites, out of the 60 or so over 3 decades.
Hey Tony! I was one of Capcom's community managers on Strider 2014 and it was a joy to work on. I thought it was really cool that the game included some stuff from the NES OST. Always thought the NES one was underrated and it was great to see you guys draw from the entire history of the series. Hope to see an "Osman" from you someday!
The Genesis version of this is still so damn impressive. Considering the tiny little card it was on and how early in the life of the Genesis it was it's truly miraculous how good a port they did given all the limitations. Sure now that we can get the arcade version no problem it lessens it's impact but that version is the version I think most people remember aside from the arcade. I always have to look at it and wonder and say how did they do this.
"It follows the formula of needing to find different items that give Strider the ability to get past obstacles" I can't help but feel he was trying to avoid saying "Metroidvania" 😅
I only played the Genesis port after I got my SNES and I must say, that game changed my approach towards the Sega 16 bit machine... Oh, the golden era of video games...
I absolutely love Strider 2014. Such an underrated game that perfected Strider imo. I bought on all three platforms over the years and still play it every now and then. It even benefits from Auto-HDR on the Series X through backwards compatibility.
I can't praise the 2014 version enough, the presentation is awesome and the gameplay smooth as butter - you feel like a ninja while playing this. Story is also kinda interesting and in most Steam Sales it goes for
As a longtime staff member at the Light Sword Cypher Mainframe, I have to say, that was a great overview of the series (even including those Tiertex abomninations - you're a brave man)! If you ever get a chance, you should read our interview with Isuke, he shined quite a bit of light on Strider's development, along with some surprising revelations, that you may find interesting.
Strider was one of my favorites back in the day, especially the Genesis and arcade versions. I used to rent it on NES and enjoyed it having a bit of deeper story (for the time) but never really felt the urge to own it. Love when Capcom lets some of it's older more forgotten series like this be used for crossovers and the like as well, Project X Zone being a guilty pleasure of mine.
Funny thing about Strider 2 on the PS1, it was a 2-disc set that included Strider 1 as well as Strider 2. I don’t know if they are all like this, but on my games, the disc labeled Strider 2 played Strider 1, and the disc labeled Strider 1 played Strider 2. Total misprint.
I absolutely love that they added Strider to the Street Fighter canon. Turns out, Guy's (Final Fight/Street Fighter Alpha) original master Zeku (Street Fighter 5) actually started the Strider initiative!
I own so many versions of Strider, but over time, the 2014 Strider has become my favorite. Yes, it's a bit dark, but I do enjoy a good metroidvania, and it's an outstanding one. Adding Strider's combat to that exploration made for a really excellent playthrough that I've revisited several times since beating it.
The genesis port is one of my all time favorite games ever. I still have it and played it recently. Still have the levels memorized although my reaction time isnt what it used to be.
I loved Strider and was also very impressed with the remake that came out a few years ago. One of my favorite iterations of Strider Hiryu is from the Marvel Vs Capcom series. I remember the excitement I felt when I saw him as a playable character in the arcade. I wish Capcom had done a full blown Strider game in that art style.
I actually didn't mind Strider Returns for the Genesis as a kid. It wasn't good by any stretch, but it was more Strider to play and my grandma got it for me as a gift outside of Christmas, my birthday, or a good report-card day...thanks again Grandma, I miss you.
Love how the boss obviously inspired by Boba Fett is called "Solo." The Grandmaster has Emperor Palpatine vibes too. I went for the PlayStation double pack with Strider 2. Japanese version has really nice cover art.
Can I also reccomend the arcade game OSman, the game the original Strider team made after leaving Capcom to form Mitchell Corp., It's often considered the true Strider 2 by hardcore fans, but is all but forgotten now sadly.
To this day, (regarding the versions that were done justice) this game is still dope and will continue to stand the test of time. Never know how many versions there actually were. Wow Thank you SLX! You never cease to impress.
I remember playing this as an arcade cabinet and being totally blown away. Then renting the Genesis port because it was damn near $80 retail at the time. The PS1 sequel was pretty good too.
The Genesis port punched so high above its weight class it's amazing. Considering the tiny cart it was on and whatnot it truly is an amazing conversion.
@Benjamin Owuye Jagun I've always heard it referred to as a fairly small cart size though. Maybe that's because they're referring to it in a more historical sense. I know they got bigger and maybe what they were trying to say was how much better it would have been had it launched later using a bigger cart. No doubt that would be true if this thing was on a 16-meg card that would have been incredible.
What I've learned from your videos is that I missed out on what might have been the thing I wanted most as a 90s gamer in 2D sprites mixed with 3D environments. Strider 2 looks absolutely incredible to me. Maybe it's why I love SOTN so much too although that's got more 2D environments.
I actually played and completed the PS1 port, and I think it’s the most faithful port of the arcade original. Besides that it also has some neat little bonuses like a sound remix which plays updated versions of the game’s soundtrack, and upon completing the game you have access to a level select, and a “game setup” menu where you can change Hiryu’s color palette, his permanent starting health, and his cypher’s permanent power level. Also upon completion, it unlocks the “Ancient Ruins” level in Strider II, and upon completion of the game you unlock “Hien Mode” which allows you to play as Strider Hien, and upon completion of that you unlock infinite boosts for Hiryu.
This was one of my favorite Genesis games growing up. Naturally it ended up getting 'lost' when I let a friend borrow it. Probably was stolen by him, or some other kid he had over. Oh well. I recently played the 2014 remake and got the platinum on PS4 last month. I quite enjoyed it. Great video, SLX. Your content is awesome.
@@Friggle_Dee I got lucky and bought a lot of the pricier titles(or at leats the ones I wanted) right before they went sky high. I got Strider 2 with the Strider 1 disc CIB for like $25.
@@zackschilling4376 Nice. I got lucky with a few games back in like 2015 -16. It wasn't too make money though. I had some disposable income and decided to buy games i grew up with and systems my parents couldn't afford as a kid. Ended up with Alundra, Klonoa, and some Saturn games.
I had the Genesis version, amazing translation. I used to have the NEC Arcade card version also, but it was no good. Imported the PS1 package with 1 and 2 on separate discs. For some reason, part 2 never worked....
All of these games of course star Strider Hiryu, but Capcom decided to deepen the lore in Street Fighter V and establish that Zeku (Guy's master) became the very first Strider. He even coined the name too.
I’ll still never get over when Victor Lucas was reviewing the Genesis classics compilation game by game and he played part of the first stage of Strider on Genesis and said he hated it, gave it a 2.5 out of 10 and said it had hit detection problems. In his gameplay he was just walking into enemies and kept getting hit... yeah, detection problems lol. The game is amazing for an arcade port. Easily in my top 3 Genesis games.
I remember my cousin Ken renting a Sega Genesis back in 1991 I believe it was. Strider went home with us as well. I remember being Awed by how this game looked and sounded. Still a great game to this day!
Thank you for this video takes me back to my childhood. I got stuck somewhere on the original genesis version. Like a wall I couldn't climb. But I will dig it out now and go ham on it once again. I also finished the x box one version and it blew me away. What a game. It's strider time again for me. Probably for the 5th time in my life lol
I don’t think it was hard. I did my speed run and hard mode trophies at the same time. It was one of the easier platinum trophies and only took like 2 days total to go through twice. Great game though, I’m playing it again on 360 just for fun.
Don't forget the awesome Cannon Dancer/Osman, which is extremely rare outside of emulation, and never received a home port. Different IP, but gameplay- (and developer-) wise, it's the only true sequel to Strider 1 arcade. Some Strider games tried to replicate the level design in Strider 1 and Cannon Dancer (Strider 2 is the best example) but never really came close
This game looks, plays and sounds best on Genesis in my opinion. I love the Vince DiCola-sequel music on the Genesis sound chip and the cinematics are better without the sloppy voice work.
@@Badguy10472Capcom's 3d development on DC was limited to arcade games (Powerstone, Spawn, Heavy Metal). Resident Evil Code Veronica was outsourced to Nextech, with Sega optimizing the framerate. That's probably how other major Capcom IPs would have ended up on DC if it lasted longer
Keep'em coming Sega Lord X, great video, well done and as always your videos are truly enjoyable because u are so true about any and all games and their content. Much appreciated. Lets see what 2021 brings us now.
Hey, thanks for not crapping all over the NES version! This was one of my childhood favorites, having never been exposed to any other versions as a kid. I've owned the Genesis version for a few years but struggle to get into it.
I played and adored the Megadrive version almost 30 years ago. I wasn't aware of most of the other versions that you've covered here, but I've been desperate to either play or see the original arcade version to compare it. I was recently able to play it through MAME and was honestly a little disappointed that it was practically identical to the Megadrive version. I honestly thought that it would be superior in some way, but it really wasn't...! From the video, only the PS1 and newer 2014 versions look to be an improvement over the Megadrive version. I've just searched on Steam and found the 2014 which looks spectacular, so I'm going to grab that...! Thanks for another incredible video...!
Strider is actually based on a manga of the same name the NES port follows the manga's story. The guy who created the series also worked on a sequel called Cannon Dancer/Osman that was released in arcades. Yeah the X68000 version is perfect mainly cause it's the same computer they used to make the game. So when you play the Capcom titles that are on the X68000 it's like playing them on a neo geo. I own it but I've never been able to get the damn thing running on my X68030.
Maaannn...so much to say about this one. One of my favourite characters ever. The NES version might've been my first experience with it as well. Either that or the version on my friend's Amiga, which looks so much worse than I remember. Those VZHEERZSH sound effects on NES still sound so cool. Developers were able to get so much more out of the NES sound APU than they did the Master System's SN76489, it's a shame Sega didn't make the FM chip standard outside Japan. The reason the X68000 was such a great machine for arcade ports is because it was the most powerful Japanese pc available at the time, meaning it's what everyone was developing all those arcade games on, or at least building their dev kits off of. You can tell from the signature FM sound everything has in that era. It's also no doubt why Sega used that processor as the basis for the Genesis. One of my biggest gaming regrets is selling off my copy of PS1 Strider 2 when I'd played it to death. At the time nobody cared about it, this was in that era when most reviewers - or at least their publishers' review policies - were pretty narrow minded about things. But it had maybe the most perfect gameplay of any action game from that era. It felt like what every game of that ilk had been _trying_ to be all along, what you misremember them as playing like. It's worth tons now and I don't think it's ever been re-released anywhere. The 2014 era remake was something I really tried to love. Especially as it hit the PS4 at a point very early in its lifespan when there wasn't much else to play. It was clear that the developers' hearts were in the right place, they understood the property & its world and wanted to do it justice. The controls were absolutely fantastic. Unfortunately the game around it wasn't in my eyes. The art design of the world felt really sterile. And its general design, having enemies constantly pelt you with tons of tough to avoid bullets just felt wrong. Maybe their intention was something like a bullet hell where your dodging had to be on point all the time, but in practice it just worked out to making your character look clumsy as he constantly tanks clouds of low-damage bullets smacking him in the face. I dunno, maybe I'll go back to it for the rest of the trophies at some point and give it another chance. Might be a better experience on hard. The original game is going to appear as part of the upcoming Capcom Arcade Stadium on Switch, looking forward to purchasing it yet again. If you wanted to do a follow-up part II video, there's still plenty to explore. The original manga released alongside the game, explaining its world. A couple of computer versions not shown here. A lame Tiger handheld. Osman, the game Strider's director Koichi Yotsui created as the unofficial sequel when he left Capcom. The character having a cameo in Street Fighter Alpha, then resurfacing in arcade & Dreamcast's Marvel vs Capcom 1 & 2. And what's more interesting, the character Zeku in Street Fighter V is revealed in his ending to be the one who founded the Striders. He is also the one who taught his ninja style, Bushin Ryu, to Guy from Fight, meaning that whole world is tied in as well. It's a style which is also practiced by Maki from Final Fight 2 & Naomi/Dreamcast classic Capcom vs SNK 2, as well as Ginsu the ninja from Captain Commando. The various Strider connections are quite the rabbit hole.
I finally finished this game last sunmer and it was so much fun! This game was and still is a banger! I'm telling ya if you haven't played it, try it out Awesome video SLX!
Strider 2014 got me into the series, but I see no one talk about it. Shame because it's a great Metroidvania title, reminds me a lot of Shadow Complex.
After loving the Nes game, the Genesis version was the game that sold me on that system. Later I had whittled down my gaming to mostly playing on the Game Gear. One of the worst disappointments of my whole gaming-life was the excitement of a Strider 2 coming out for GG, then finally playing it.
I mastered the Genesis version. I could rip through like nothing. I like the Strider series as well. Strider 2 is awesome on the ps. Great memories! Thank you for sharing
I still remember the day I got the MD version of Strider all those years ago. I had to choose between Strider and Golden Axe and chose Strider almost immediately. I definitely wasn't disappointed by my choice, not then, nor would I be if I had to make the same choice now. The 8-bit versions really are a sad thing to look at and play, though, not counting the NES one. I'm sure if they were handled by more competent developers, they could have made a better experience out of it.
The X68000 was a development machine for Capcom arcade games. Strider was developed on the X68000, and so is Street fighter 2. The X68000 predates the CPS-1 board. The CPS board is mostly chips, and even the control wiring is based on the x68k.
I love the Strider series. Even the remake was pretty decent, and played very much like the NES version, with the look of the arcade/Genesis version. The NES version was based off the manga. The arcade game was developed concurrently, and Capcom was planning on releasing all three at once as a massive multimedia campaign. However, dealings with the holder of the Strider property fell through, and America never got the manga, while Japan never got the NES/Famicom version. The deal failing is also why we have seen so little Strider exposure since.
Dont forget the fighting game appearances, and his equipment in Monster Hunter 4 (or Generations, or it may be in both. They both run together for me as I put soooooo much time into them).
It is. We were supposed to get it stateside as a three-part deal (along with the arcade game), but the "scenario" rights for Strider are not owned by Capcom, and something fell apart in the legal dealings before the manga could be localized.
@@LorenHelgeson Yeah that all sounds about right. I wish I could say it's surprising but things like that seem to happen all the time and probably did even more often back then.
@@SegaLordX I had the mastetsystem version. I liked the game, though I had no idea what was going on and never went far into it.Basically I would die without even knowing what killed me. That game of mickey and the fantasy land or magic kingdom (whatever the name was) would be more than enough to keep me playing that sysstem.
If one were to find an example of an underrated franchise from Capcom (based on a manga), Strider would have to be it. Aside from appearances in Marvel Vs Capcom and a 2014 reboot, he really needs a true sequel after the real Strider 2 (PS1). We don't talk about the trainweck that is the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive version of Strider 2 from U.S. Gold. 😑
I have Strider I, II (Megadrive) and Strider 2 with 1 (PS1), I also have the sega master System version since childhood. For some reason Strider II on Megadrive is rare and expensive in the uk. And the PS1 version, which I had years ago and sold! is also costly (anything by Capcom, fighting games etc are really pricey now on PS1 and Dreamcast particularly.) But Capcom made so many good games, it's mind boggling. Forget resident evil and street fighter. There's star gladiator, Techromancer and more crossovers than I can begin to count. Oh and Rival Schools. I never liked the design of Strider on the sega, seems like they tried to American/westernize it, and made him look like a 50 year old past his prime, captain Kirk lookalike. We all know he's the purple dude with the red mask and spikey brown hair. Good video!
Strider 2, by Capcom, released in 1999 and 2000 on the PlayStation and in the Arcades was by far the best Strider game ever made, apart from the classic original proper Strider released in 1989 and 1990 on the Sega Mega Drive and in the Arcades.
Strider Hiryu is a BADASS NINJA. I've played all the Strider games and the 2014 version is my FAVORITE Hiryu. Capcom needs to get their act together and make a sequel of the 2014 game and make it like Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden.
1st time I played it was on the nes. I eventually got the sega version later on. Strider is my guy 🙌🏿 He is poetry in motion on Marvel vs Capcom 1 & 2 I have Strider 2 on PlayStation and its great 🤷🏾♂️😃
As a matter of fact, The Amiga 500 and the Megadrive had the exact same CPU (a Motorola 68000) and quite similar specs overall (which is why the Megadrive got so many Amiga game ports to begin with). Other than because of the usual pesky licensing issues, there's pretty much no reason that the Megadrive version couldn't have been ported directly to the Amiga.
Thanks for paying tribute to this great game! I have great memories playing this in the arcade. I owned it back in the day on the Genesis and was the best home port for a near perfect copy of the arcade. I am not a fan of the remake as it's not the versions that I grew up with and love.
Strider was a bad ass character and I like the story in the original arcade game of basically the world being pretty much annihilated by the grandmaster and only Strider Hiryu can’t stop him that the levels were literally based in Soviet Russia such as stage one being based in Kazakhstan is the game called it Kazafu.
Awesome review! Never knew they were so many different strider games, I'm a big fan of the series. The nes version was the first game i played which was very awesome, the i played the geneis version but i never played journey from darkness, i wasnt aware of that tittle.
I still remember renting the NES game numerous times, only to eventually buy the Genesis version and be completely disappointed. I had never played the arcade version, so I was anticipating an enhanced edition of the NES classic.
I remember when the game first came out. I got it Christmas of 90'. Very impressive port. It was so close that I could actually do decent at the arcade game after playing the Genesis version. The only better one at the time was the Super Grafx version. I remember seeing articles about it in issues of EGM and wishing I could have it. It never came out here of course which considering how little was made for it was probably for the best.
I have a lot of respect for Strider and especially Osman (the aesthetic alone makes that game worth playing), but my heart will always belong to Strider 2 with its smooth control, the 3D environments being low-poly and still appealingly textured, combined with spriteart from a company at the peak of its artistic powers. When companies found their footing with the software of the PlayStation or N64 or Saturn, you got games like Tombi and Megaman Legends. They lacked in fidelity and memory, and they made up for it in colour theory and knowing when to apply the right amount of detail to a model or texture, and when to leave be. It's much easier to look at 2014 Strider and see why most people would prefer it (more polys and more realism = more better), but it often feels like companies today are just lacking the same powerhouse teams that Capcom, SNK et al had in the 90's and early 2000's, and I can't exactly handwave it all as nostalgic pining.
The game on the SNES, Sabre Run, was also quite inspired by Strider, shame it's so expensive now that you have to sell an arm, a leg, and a first born to buy a copy. Doesn't hurt that Osman was made by the same guy who worked on Strider 1 arcade, just with Mitchell, a company composed of former Capcom talent.
@@Bloodreign1 The same director who made Strider 1 had to wait 7 years for his chance to direct a spiritual sequel. Mitchell had a couple great action games under its belt like Charlie Ninja and titles licensed from Data East, but it seemed like their bread and butter was more pseudo-action titles like Pang or entirely match 3-based like Puzz-Loop, even up to the 3DS era. Run Saber's level design, I think, hits a more even ground between the setpiece-to-setpiece pace of Strider 1/Osman and the more exploratory, borderline claustrophobic NES Strider. It feels closer to the template of action platformers or run-and-guns from the era, levels ending in bosses rather than being punctuated with several smaller encounters. I don't say that as a detriment to the game's quality, more a sign of the devs having different plans in mind for their own footprint on the market.
I'm glad more ppl beside myself enjoy this fantastic game. Strider hooked me since first I saw it as a kid and to this day it made such an impression on me that it's still my favourite game. Cool to see all these other versions allthough I still prefer the Aecade original 👍
Wow, nice video(as per normal tbh). Strider, great memories. I didn't realize so many versions\sequels existed and that is probably a good thing I guess. I also liked the nes version and I too enjoyed the last one which I played on PC a couple years back. Mr. Sega Lord X is right its a Strider\w metrovania type play which is cool by me I like both. Kick butt!
Sweet I played strider 2 and I finished it years ago has replay value with unlocking character and strider 2014 I played it before and I loved it glad I downloaded on ps4 version and it was free during psn+
The developer of Strider 1 arcade and Cannon Dancer made a PS3 digital game, Moon Diver. It's pretty average Osman shows the gameplay isn't really unique to Strider, even though all these Strider games never really understood what the level design in Strider 1/Cannon Dancer was trying to do
Strider Returns is the Snakes Revenge/Blaster Master 2 of the Strider series. Although I do want to give Master Blaster 2 a 3rd try. Dont forget Capcom bungled the labeling of Strider 1 and 2 on the ps1 - Strider 2 is on the Strider 1 disc, and vice versa. Man, Im glad I picked it up years ago for like 25 bucks along with Project Raiden for 28 bucks. Both were complete (Strider had both discs, case manual and Raiden was CIB and the long box was clean). Although I am kickin myself for not getting Brigidine and Tail Concerto - both were like 100 bucks each, Tail Concerto was super clean, but Brigidine didnt have the map so I remember thats why I didnt get that. Those last 2 were at my local Disc Replay which I actually got a good amount of deals and steals. They actually had a CIB Harmful Park for $165 and Zanac X Zanac CIB for $60 - bought em both a week apart, but unfortunately I dont have a Japanese PS1 or 2. Id like to get a PS2 for Thunder Force VI and the Hokuto No Ken fighting game, plus a bunch of other stuff, but those 2 are priority. One day I will own a X68000...prob not, but thats the dream. Id like just to have some of the big box games they made, they re super nice looking. Capcom and Konami made a lot of great arcade ports. The Game Sack episode on it is amazing, definitely worth a watch if you re unfamiliar with it.
I bought Tail Concerto YEARS ago used at a local game shop for about $20. It strangely went missing through the years (as did my Suikoden II). I picked up quite a few sleeper hits at that little shop for great prices... It was so much fun and the artwork by Escaflowne's Nobuteru Yuki was awesome!
The X68000 port seems fantastic but the thing is, had the Mega Drive port been released on a bigger cart (it was only 8 meg, which was actually huge for its time, but it could have been even bigger), then it could have been *very* close to the X68000 version, which just shows how special Sega's console was, for a machine that cost $190 vs $3000 for the Sharp computer! :D The PC Engine Arcade Card CD port is not too bad actually, considering the limitations of the hardware, the result is decent and it has some cool cutscenes. Had it been released on SuperGrafx then it would have had less sprite flickering and more parallax scrollings but also worse sound, less extra content and maybe some other differences. I don't think that we missed out on something noteworthy and I'd have been more interested in the SuperGrafx version of Galaxy Force II even though I don't say that it could have been _great_ (there's already a pseudo-3D shooter on SuperGrafx called "Battle Ace" and it's nothing to write home about) but I'd have been curious to hear how the soundtrack could have turned out and to see if they pulled off a few special effects.
Amazing video lord, Strider is one of my favorites games in life and you get a fair aprrouch in all titles. In the future would be nice see more videos like thism thank you!
To this day i don't think I've ever got past Egypt or second stage (mexico i think) of the NES Strider. It was one of those that back in the day when I was a kid I knew that it was a good game it was just beyond my capabilities at the time unfortunately. And i never went back. But good luck playing Nintendo games on anything other than Nintendo hardware.
