Review: Strider (360)

Strider Hiryu was one of the original 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System-via-Capcom’s badass characters, the super-agent ninja with the cat-like agility and razor-sharp sword – the Cypher – starring in Strider. From that origin in 1989, he remained a popular figure in the Capcom franchise collection, finally making a return in 2000 to the PlayStation in Strider 2 that was a well-received update.

Fifteen years later, the ninja returns, in a game closer in spirit to the original while being thoroughly updated for the modern gaming landscape. The result is a triumphant re-emergence of one of Capcom’s beloved characters in a solid looking and playing 2D side-scroller on Xbox Live Arcade, Strider.

While there’s a story driving the ninja action throughout Strider, it’s the gameplay that is all that really matters. Super A-ranked agent Hiryu, the youngest of his kind, is a one-man ginsuing wrecking crew in his quest to assassinate the maniacal Grandmaster Meio, the supreme dictator of Earth.

Meio has created a technologically driven dystopian society, imposing his will on the entire planet’s populous. Hiryu is out to put an end to Meio’s madness by penetrating Kazakh City, Meio’s stronghold. Strider is basically a modern retelling of the original game with some new elements to expand the gameplay and storyline.

And expand it does, as Strider is a very satisfyingly long-lasting title, clocking in at about 12-15 hours from start to finish. Recapturing good 2D side-scrolling gameplay within modern gaming is Strider’s biggest achievement.

The gameplay itself was given a turbo-charged, high-octane boost, clocking in at eight times the speed of the original. Secret areas, power-ups, plenty of enemies, vertical gameplay, jumping and sliding and of course use of a powerfully charged ninja sword all assemble a solid gameplay experience. The only minor frustration at all in the controlling of Hiryu is that jumping from wall-to-wall sometimes results in a “stickiness” that keeps him clinging to an unintended wall instead of leaping to the intended one, making it sometimes inadvertently difficult to avoid damage-inflicting enemies/obstacles.

Sound quality-wise, there’s also a nice homage to the original game’s musical score. Again, with a contemporary flair.

Visually, Strider is faithful to the look of the original, as outdated and primitive as that is by today’s standards, but bringing a definitively present-day appeal to ninja fruition. It isn’t easy to retain that 8-bit charm in balance with the need for 2014 graphical prowess to appeal to the nostalgia of old-school gamers along with the retro magnetism to attract new-school players. But developer Double Helix successfully walks that tightrope and with a colorful, detailed masterstroke, and has given gamers a fantastic-looking Strider game.

Even with some slight control issues, notably the “stickiness” of wall jumping, and a few unnecessarily hard Boss Battles, Strider is a great upgrade of the NES classic, slicing its way back into the gaming realm after a long sword-slumbering absence. With great graphics, long-lasting 2D side-scrolling gameplay with varied levels and plenty of enemies to slice-and-dice through, Strider is an exceptional reboot of a once-and-now-present exceptional franchise.

‑ Lee Cieniawa

The Good:
- Successfully updates an 8-bit classic with an “old-school” look and gameplay modernized for today’s gaming world
- Provides challenging gameplay traversing through detailed and long-lasting levels with the usual “Big Boss Fight” payoff at the conclusion of each level

The Bad:
- Jumping from walls sometimes gets a bit too sticky, making it sometimes inadvertently difficult to avoid damage-inflicting enemies/obstacle