Capcom’s Strider franchise has been around since the late 1980s, first appearing as a popular coin-op arcade game before it was ported to the fledgling Sega Genesis library. Its combination of fast-paced acrobatic combat and hyperactive gameplay made it an instant hit.
The series has continued on with several sequels and a full-fledged 2014 reboot, proving there’s still a lot of life left in this killer series. Here are 10 things you never knew about the Strider games, from their inception to the overall plot.
10 STRIDER HIRYU ISN’T A NINJA
Although his signature acrobatic moves and attacks are reminiscent of ninjitsu, the character of Strider Hiryu isn’t a practitioner, at least not explicitly so. Actually, creator Kouichi Yotsui took influences from popular ninja comics from the 1960s to lend influence over the character design.
“As the game creator and manga artists delusions clashed, the setting was decided - the near future. The hero would be derived from a ninja. We loosely decided on that.” said Yotsui.
9 STRIDER HIRYU IS A MERC
This killer for hire is part of a larger branch of Strider mercenaries who undertake various covert operations contracts that official governments dare not touch. With no loyalty to any government or country, they nevertheless keep the identities of their clients a secret, even on pain of death.
For this reason, Strider Hiryu can’t be considered a hero by the traditional definition, but more likely an anti-hero who gets swept up in a battle against the forces of Grandmaster Meio. His client is a rebel group seeking to depose Meio and his domination of Earth.
8 MEIO DOESN’T HAVE MUCH OF A BACKSTORY
Similar to M. Bison, another Capcom villain with a less-than-clear backstory, there isn’t much to go on regarding Grandmaster Meio, either. What little there is of his past begins in a future 2042 where world powers have been weakened due to prolonged conflict.
At some point, Meio seized control of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic and spread outwards like cancer, eventually dominating the world. He then dumps his resources into researching the secrets to creating life, so he may destroy all life on Earth in favor of his new master race.
7 GENERAL MIKIEL IS THE FIRST BOSS OF THE GAME
It’s a little difficult to determine who is who in the Strider games, especially the first one. The cut-scenes in between levels offer very little in the way of exposition, making the story hard to follow. As such, certain characters like General Mikiel are largely unknown in comparison to the rest of the story.
Take note! Mikiel leads the council of 23 that leap out of their seats at the end of the first stage and turns into the bionic centipede Ouroboros, the Iron Ruler. Somehow, he survives the fight with Hiryu long enough to bemoan the victory.
6 A MANGA SERIES WAS RELEASED
Although the coin-op arcade version of Strider was the first video game appearance of Strider Hiryu, it was actually beaten to the punch by a six-chapter manga series that came out just prior to its release. What’s even more interesting is the NES version of Strider is more faithful to the storyline of the manga than the arcade game.
The manga chooses not to focus on the arcade game’s conflict between Hiryu and Meio, instead concentrating on a story involving the Kazakh Secret Police’s clash with rebel uprising groups, the latter of which hire Striders to assist in their cause.
5 THE STRIDERS HAVE TIES TO STREET FIGHTER
It’s not uncommon to see Capcom properties crossing over into one another’s backyards, and Strider is no exception. Street Fighter V made this connection abundantly clear with the character of Zeku, Guy’s martial arts master.
In addition to resembling Strider Hiryu in appearance, he also hints at himself being the principal architect of the Strider organization. Capcom never passes up an opportunity to make a reference!
4 THE REMAKE WAS BASED ON FAN POLLING
According to legend, the 2014 reboot of Strider was made possible thanks to fan demand from services like Capcom Unity Surveys, as well as internet forums. The level of enthusiasm for the original games was a major determining factor in the green-lighting of the title.
To give something back, Capcom expanded on the original gameplay by jettisoning a side-scrolling action title in favor of a Metroidvania system. It also sped the gameplay up many times faster than the original, creating a far more complex and deep game than the 1989 coin-op title it was based on.
3 THE CONSOLE PORTS EXPANDED ON THE ARCADE GAME
Typically, console ports from the 80s and 90s were forced to trim content in order to fit the storage media, but with Strider, it was the reverse. The Sega Genesis port was nearly identical to the coin-op version, yet sported entirely new music tracks for certain levels, where the arcade game recycled them.
The PC-Engine version of Strider is also quite close to the arcade game, with the addition of an entirely new Oil Fields level that featured two new bosses to battle.
2 STRIDER’S CLIMBING WAS INSPIRED BY A REAL INCIDENT
The original arcade version of Strider featured a climbing mechanic where Hiryu could use a sickle to scale walls and hang from ceilings and other objects. According to Kouichi Yotsui, this came about after an incident where he became trapped on the roof of a Hilton hotel, forcing him to climb down the building to reach a fire escape.
It should be noted that Yotsui also had a fondness for outdoor activities, including mountain climbing, so perhaps we should take this particular story with a grain of salt!
1 IT SHARES ITS CURRENCY WITH FORGOTTEN WORLDS
The official arcade sequel Strider 2 brought the titular character back for another punch-up with Grandmaster Meio and introduced a few nice elements into the formula. For the first time, a Score-Up system was used to rank the player’s performance using a series of items.
One such item is the monetary currency Zenny, most commonly associated with another Capcom arcade title, Forgotten Worlds. This currency would also be featured in other titles like Breath of Fire and Mega Man Legends, proving once again that Capcom will gladly pull out all the stops for a nod and a shout-out to its other franchises!
NEXT: 10 Awesome Coin-Op Brawlers From The Past
