Grave Gamer News & Views — strider

I’ll come clean; I don’t know much about Strider. My familiarity with the character begins and ends at his inclusion to the rosters of Capcom’s Vs. titles. I’d always confuse him for Shinobi, if we’re being perfectly honest. Can you blame me? Not that there were many chances for me to get acquainted with Strider Hiryu before now. The last installment came out fourteen years ago.

But a crash course on the series isn’t needed with admission. Whether you’re fresh to the series, such as myself, or if you’re reuniting with Hiryu once again, it won’t stop you from enjoying this fast-paced, satisfying – if not filling – slice of side-scrolling Metroidvania action.

Strider Hiryu Speed Paint by suzuran

Ninjas, cybrogs, and side-scrolling. Great glowing swords, did 1989 come back to life? Join me as I stream my very first time playing Capcom and Double Helix Games’ Strider revival! 

Stream’s done and over, but if you click the link, it’d sure be mighty green of ya to give my channel a follow!

Strider Releases This Month

Double Helix and Capcom’s downloadable reboot of Strider, the classic tale of a man and his violent hatred of things that stop him from moving on one side of the screen to the other, comes out this February.

PS3 and PS4 users can find Mr. Hiryu on PSN Feb. 18th, while both Xbox versions (current-gen and next-gen) as well as the PC release can be purchased Feb. 19th. The retro revival will cost you $14.99.

Two new modes make the cut, too, including “Beacon Run” – where you’ll make speed runs across levels while dicing foes – and “Survival Mode” – in which waves of enemies barrel your way as you utilize an assortment of weapons and items to end them.

More than that, it’s been revealed that you can locate alternate costumes throughout the game, giving you access to new customization options. You’re morbidly peeling these clothes off of dead Striders, but the cost of fashion has always been high.

Strider (PC/PS3/PS4/X360/X1 - Q1 2014)

From the ashes of GRIN’s cancelled reboot, Capcom is staying closer to Strider’s roots, enlisting Double Helix’s services to do so (the studio, which is finishing up Killer Instinct for Microsoft, is now making a habit of giving mouth-to-mouth to dead franchises).

Though making a graphical jump to 3D, very little else of Strider’s 2D platforming, reactionary hack n’ slash ways have changed from its old school predecessors.  Even the story gels closely to 1989’s original narrative.  You are Hiryu, the youngest enlistee to earn an A-Class ranking in the rigorous “Strider program,” making you just enough of a light-footed hardass to off Kazakh City’s biggest tyrannical sonavubitch, Grand Master Meio.

Appearing to be a hellish cross between the Soviet Union at its prime and Blade Runner, players are allowed to freely traverse the landscape in true MetroidVania fashion, whacking those fool enough to run into the titular hero with your Cypher – Hiryu’s plasma powered sword designed to inflict spectacular amounts of pain upon his enemies as well as absorb new properties to aid your speedy murder tirade.

Some of the best franchise revivals know to stick close to the source material.  Injecting 2.5D into Strider is a smart move, allowing the title to walk between fresh for newcomers and classic for old blood begging to see Hiryu outside of yet another damn fighting game.  Going for digital instead of full-on retail tells a tale of wisdom on Capcom’s part, too.  The price will be easier to down for the discerning consumer and Capcom gets to test the waters to see if a new Strider sinks or floats through a safer, cheaper to publish bet.  Win-win territory there.

The last ingredient is simply that the game has to be good.  Strider is running towards an early 2014 release on both current and next-gen consoles.