Strider (Sega)

“Strider,” also known in Japan as “Strider Hiryū,” is a fast-paced hack-and-slash platform game that was released in arcades in 1989 by Capcom. The game takes place in a dark future, the year 2048, where the Earth is under the control of a cruel ruler called the Grandmaster. The hero of the game, a young ninja named Hiryu, who is the youngest ever to achieve the highest rank in his ninja group, the Striders, is on a mission to stop the Grandmaster and end his harsh rule.

Hiryu is equipped with a futuristic, sword-like weapon called a “Cypher,” which is like a glowing plasma blade. Players use a joystick and two buttons to control Hiryu, making him jump, slide, and use his Cypher to battle foes. Hiryu can perform amazing acrobatic moves like cartwheel jumps and can even slide under obstacles. He can also climb walls and hang from ceilings with his metallic hook, which helps him navigate through the Grandmaster’s heavily guarded capital in what used to be the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic.

The game is known for its action-packed gameplay and its ability to use different languages in its voice clips during cutscenes, including English, Japanese, Mandarin, Spanish, Russian, and Swahili, adding to the international feel of Hiryu’s adventure. As players guide Hiryu on his daring mission, they get to explore a variety of detailed levels and face intense battles against the Grandmaster’s forces, all in a bid to bring freedom back to the world.

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