8.2 /10 1 Votes
9/10 Steam Artist(s) Sho Sakai Composer(s) Michael John Mollo Publisher Capcom | 7.5/10 IGN Director(s) Tony Barnes
Koji Oda Writer(s) Tony Barnes Initial release date 18 February 2014 Mode Single-player video game | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Producer(s) Jorge Oseguera
Andrew Szymanski
James Vance Designer(s) Daniel Jacbos
Brian Smith
Paul Silva
Tony Barnes Genres Platform game, Hack and slash, Metroidvania Platforms PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows Developers Capcom, Double Helix Games Similar Double Helix games, Platform games | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Strider is a platform-adventure hack and slash video game developed by Double Helix Games and Capcom's Osaka studio. It was released in February 2014 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. It is a reboot of the 1989 video game Strider.
Contents
Gameplay
The player control the series' main character, Strider Hiryu. The environment is freely explorable in search for weapons and items. Strider Hiryu's main weapon is his Cypher, a plasma weapon that can take several properties. Upgrades for the Cypher can be obtained by exploring Kazakh.
Plot
The Strider organization sends their best assassin, Hiryu, to kill the villain, Grandmaster Meio, in the metropolis of Kazakh City.
The game is a retelling of the "core Strider story" and its common theme which centers around Hiryu's battle against Grandmaster Meio. The game mixes together elements from the first arcade Strider game, the NES console game, Strider 2, his fighting game appearances, and the original manga.
Development
In 2009, a Strider reboot was in development by Grin. However, due to financial difficulties that bankrupted the company, the game was cancelled.
Development of the 2014 game was made possible thanks to the series' popularity especially in thanks to Capcom's surveys and forums. Strider was announced by Capcom in July 2013 during the San Diego Comic-Con. Capcom found Double Helix could work well with their Osaka studio which is handling the character designs and game design. Producers from the game commented they wanted to make the classic Strider games less linear and expand their length to satisfy current generation's players. Due to the character's popularity, developers want him to retain all of his abilities from the first and second Strider games but at the same time encourage the players to obtain new skills in order to progress and provide more variety. This was how the team had the idea of giving Cypher the power to change forms. Additionally, the team wanted to contrast other games that start with the character completely powered up just to remove most of his skills in the game's beginning.
Kouichi Yotsui, also known as "Isuke" and original designer of the first arcade version of Strider, was not involved in the development of the 2014 game but gave his blessing by giving his prayers to Capcom USA. One of the staff's main influences is the video game Shadow Complex as producer Andrew Szymanski wanted Strider to imitate the game's balance between combat, speed and exploration. The action in the reboot is eight times faster than the original game, making this balance one of the staff's greatest challenges. Hiryu's appearances in the Marvel vs. Capcom series also influenced the character's gameplay mechanics.
The game's soundtrack features multiple homages to classic Strider themes but with several modifications. The sound quality is also meant to resemble the music from the original games.
Reception
Strider received mostly positive reviews. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the PlayStation 4 version 77.05% based on 33 reviews and 77/100 based on 37 reviews, the Xbox One version 75.56% based on 18 reviews and 76/100 based on 26 reviews, the Microsoft Windows version 75.20% based on 5 reviews and 78/100 based on 10 reviews, the Xbox 360 version 72.67% based on 6 reviews and 76/100 based on 10 reviews and the PlayStation 3 version 69.40% based on 5 reviews and 70/100 based on 8 reviews.
Adam Beck of Hardcore Gamer gave the game a 4/5, saying "Double Helix has done a phenomenal job in bringing the futuristic ninja into the modern day by not only upgrading the visuals while maintaining the two-dimension plane, but adding an addictive and well-constructed progression structure to keep the campaign interesting."
PSX-Sense, Push Square and PSX Extreme all praised the game's controls, saying that they stayed true to the original. 3DJuegos liked the graphics, and TheSixthAxis agreed. Website Everyeye said the game was a cross between Metroid and Castlevania, and the same comparison was made by Meristation, DarkStation, Eurogamer, Metro and IGN. Game Informer summarised it as "a great reboot for old-school arcade junkies and at the same time a fresh action experience for newcomers to the franchise."
The game reached #5 in the European sales charts, and #1 in the United States.