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[xexex]

here's something ancient, yet should be extremely interesting to fans of Strider mythos:

Japanese magazine pics of Strider that were purported to be the NEC SUPERGRAFX Strider,

if images die, here:
http://nfg.2y.net/grafx/StriderSept90.jpg
http://nfg.2y.net/grafx/StriderJan91.jpg
http://nfg.2y.net/grafx/StriderSept91.jpg


and can someone please translate the text to english, i wanna know what's being said.
most appreciated.

(hope this isnt against the TOS, these scans are extremely old, not even remotely close to current)

 

[aoi tsuki]

i swear i remember seeing the image on the top left of the second page in an ad for Diehard Gamefan games for the Super Grafix. It was in the Christmas '91 issue IIRC.

 

[Fularu]

here's something ancient, yet should be extremely interesting to fans of Strider mythos:

Japanese magazine pics of Strider that were purported to be the NEC SUPERGRAFX Strider,

if images die here:
http://nfg.2y.net/grafx/StriderSept90.jpg
http://nfg.2y.net/grafx/StriderJan91.jpg
http://nfg.2y.net/grafx/StriderSept91.jpg


and can some please translate the text to english, i wanna know what's being said.
most appreciated.

(hope this isnt against the TOS, these scans are extremely old, not even remotely close to current)

It was canceled and then rushed out as an Arcadecard CD version and sucked big times. Keep your MegaDrive version

 

[xexex]

It was canceled and then rushed out as an Arcadecard CD version and sucked big times. Keep your MegaDrive version

I know SGX Strider was cancelled, then a downgraded, crappier Arcade Card CD version came out a few years later.

p.s. I sold my Genesis version a long time ago and now have the pretty much arcade perfect Playstation1 version.

 

[ourumov]

Wasn't the lead programmer of Strider sent to a mental sanatory after the development of the Genesis port due to high presure ? Hence the cameo in Alpha 2 of Strider launching a teddy bear in the Ken stage...

 

[xexex]

Wasn't the lead programmer of Strider sent to a mental sanatory after the development of the Genesis port due to high presure ? Hence the cameo in Alpha 2 of Strider launching a teddy bear in the Ken stage...

the lead programmer of Strider for the SuperGrafx supposedly ended up in mental facility or hospital (or he killed himself) because of the severe pressure he was under to surpass both the MD/Genesis conversion *and* the arcade version.

 

[eso76]

wtf, is this story true ? where can i read more ?


Also, there was a very good strider version on x68000, much better than Genesis' one

 

[fausty]

the lead programmer of Strider for the SuperGrafx supposedly ended up in mental facility or hospital (or he killed himself) because of the severe pressure he was under to surpass both the MD/Genesis conversion *and* the arcade version.

I thought he died in a motorcycle accident or something...

 

[Warm Machine]

The Genesis version was a flickery buggy mess.

 

[capslock]

The Genesis version was a flickery buggy mess.

So true, I remember playing it for the first time in 91 and wondering what the big deal was.

 

[GhaleonEB]

i swear i remember seeing the image on the top left of the second page in an ad for Diehard Gamefan games for the Super Grafix. It was in the Christmas '91 issue IIRC.

I also remember this ad.

 

[GhaleonEB]

The Genesis version was a flickery buggy mess.

It also won GOTY from EGM. (I thought it rocked.)

 

[Craig Majaski]

I'm sure I'm in the minority here, but I didn't care for the Genesis version. I absolutely loved the NES version though.

 

[bionic77]

I'm sure I'm in the minority here, but I didn't care for the Genesis version. I absolutely loved the NES version though.

The NES game was cool, but the Genny version was so much better.

No one will ever forget the boss fight where there is no gravity.

 

[DCharlie]

any one know which people from the Strider team were involved in the creation of Cannon Dancer (a.k.a. Osman)?

Or whether that story is rubbish or not?

It's certainly an "homage" at least....

 

[stewy]

Seeing that image in a Die Hard Game Fan ad isn't strange. Almost all the images from their older ads were cut and pasted from Japanese magazines.

I loved the NES version, too, Craig. I played it well before I'd even heard of Strider in the arcade. Liked the Genny version fine, too, for what it was. But I enjoyed the adventure aspect of the NES game.

 

[op_ivy]

strider is definitely a classic game. i'm a huge fan of the arcade/genesis incarnations. a remake ala ninja gaiden would fucking own

 

[Buffy4ever]

The Genesis version was a flickery buggy mess.

well a lot of games back than on the Nes, Genesis, snes, and Turbografx 16 had flickery.... I was use to it. That game was pushing the Genesis at the time. I loved the Genesis Strider. I remember calling Sega and tell the person on the phone how awesome it was. And the man at Sega was surprise I had it already. do anybody have pictures of the Arcade Card CD version. how bad was it? I have seen a lot of good conversion for the PC Engine and a lot of games are just as good as the Genesis and snes versions of games.

 

[xexex]

MD/Genesis Strider was a good game, but way over-hyped. it was neither close to arcade-perfect, nor the first 8-meg home videogame, not even counting NeoGeo games. the 8-meg Ghouls'n Ghosts on SuperGrafx and 8-meg Midnight Resistance on MD both came out before MD/Genesis Strider.

Indeed, the MD/Genesis Strider was a flickery buggy mess, though still an exellent game.


the X68000 Strider absolutely demolishes the MD/Genesis, even though it too is not arcade-perfect. it's pretty close.


MD/Genesis

X68000

CPS Arcade

SuperGrafx aka PC-Engine2

PC-Engine Arcade Card CD

obviously the unreleased SuperGrafx aka PC-Engine2 version looks the best, while the PC-Engine Arcade Card CD version which was released years after the SuperGrafx version was cancelled, looks the worst.



more Arcade Card CD screens

and now, more web-postings of the guy that killed himself over Strider or at least ended up in a mental hospital
http://www.concentric.net/~flarb/deaths.html

That Guy Who Killed Himself Over Strider


For a brief period in the early '90s, Strider was the benchmark for next-generation systems. Capcom's dismal NES port managed to crush the characteristic gameplay of Capcom's rather run-of-the-mill coin-op hit. However, Sega produced a conversion for the then newly released 16-bit Genesis system in 1990 which heralded their new 8-megabit sized cartridge. It was a fairly accurate, but incredibly easy, reproduction of Capcom's arcade unit. Soon after the hype machine was underway, news of an even better version for NEC's upcoming PC Engine successor, the SuperGrafx, was appearing in various gaming publications.

The SuperGrafx made a brief run in Japan, where it died after only little more than a half-dozen games were released. Strider was not one of them. Although prototypes are rumored to exist, SuperGrafx Strider never saw the light of day. Eventually a port to NEC's PC Engine Arcade Card was released in the mid '90s, but it paled in comparison to even Sega's flawed release. It is this failure to surpass even the Genesis/Megadrive's level of quality that apparently drove one of its programmers to suicide. Although this is a completely unsubstantiated rumor, I have heard from very trustworthy sources that one of the programmers took his own life in a bout of depression allegedly caused by the poor quality of the game.

http://216.239.63.104/search?q=cach..._10_02.html+Strider+"SuperGrafx"+mental&hl=en

Street Fighter Trivia
Rumor out of Capcom had it that Strider's inclusion in Ken's background was a tribute to a former Capcom employee who had been involved in working on a conversion of Strider for NEC's ill-fated SuperGrafx console. The story has it that NEC placed heavy pressure on the Strider team to cram more detail into the SuperGrafx conversion than had been fit on the 8-megabit Sega Genesis cartridge, and that the Capcom employee cracked under the stress and wound up in a mental hospital. Strider's SFA2 teddy bear was supposedly a reference to the employee's intractable condition. Strider was cancelled for the SuperGrafx and an unimpressive port was released years later for the PC Engine.

http://www.classicgaming.com/strider/history.html

On a down side, a one Kevin Williams, brought to my attention the reason that the Super Grafx version was never finished. Below is and email I received from him (in part)

"The game was originally developed as the 4th game on the CP System from Capcom, and became a mega hit, but at that time Capcom was turning to R&D / consumer platform development and the games programmer was directed straight into the SuperGrafx version after that Sega Genesis version. The NEC management pressured the programmer intensely to make a 'better-than-arcade' version for the system, and sadly the young man cracked under the strain. The version was canceled following the hospitalization of the individual. I was glad to see the screen shots you had, and only wish that Capcom would release his name (or any names of their developers), so that he could be respected for such a fantastic game. But the interesting point is that Strider has made two additional arcade appearances recently. In Street Fighter Alpha 2 the Strider Hiryu character holding a teddy bear is on a poster in the back of Ken's bed-room (a homage to the lost programmer by the team). A second appearance is in Marvel Vs. Capcom fighting game with Hiryu a selectable character to fight with."

Thank you Kevin!

 

[ourumov]

I own the japanese MD cart and it certainly plays very bad. Add to this the unresponsiveness of the MD pad and well...start to cry.

Strider is one of my favourite games ever. It's a beautiful piece of art. The first level is mindblowing. Just think in the whole scene. Russia, the politburo, a giant worm attacking you with a hammer and sickle...

Or when you run in Siberia descending the mountain and then the music suddenly changes...


Definitelly even in those days it rocks to play such a great title. I wish they had released a SNES version. Awesome game.

 

[Loki]

I beat Genesis Strider in 5 minutes and 15 seconds on normal difficulty (skipping through cut scenes quickly, obviously). That's my claim to fame.


Great game, with amazing bosses for the time. I remember how amused I was when the Strider mecha-ape showed up in Sega's arcade E-Swat. I remember that Strider and Thunderforce 3 were the big games at CES in that year's EGM blowout-- I was floored when I saw pics of both of them.

 

[xexex]

web page on Arcade Card CD Strider

http://www.pcengine.com.br/strider/strider.htm

STRIDER (NEC AVENUE / CAPCOM)

ARCADE CARD CD-ROM (JAPANESE VERSION)


One of the most adored games of all-time, Strider was a truly masterpiece released by Capcom in 1989. In a time when 8-bit consoles were the standard, Strider was a massive success on arcade houses, and showed that 16-bit CPU would make a HUGE difference on videogames market, in the following years.

Right after being released on the arcades, Sega made a near perfect Strider conversion to Megadrive / Genesis (first 8 Meg cartridge released for it). A lot of computer and videogame systems had their own Strider version (AMIGA, X68000, PC-ENGINE). For the PSX, Strider came as a bonus game, along with Strider Hiryu 2.



Strider had a very troubled path till its PC-ENGINE release! Formerly planned to be a Super-Grafx game (16-bit), Strider project was cancelled due to the SGX sudden death. Time has passed, and when nobody could really see Strider on PC-ENGINE as a reality, NEC Avenue finally decided to release it for the Arcade Card, in 1994.


The musics are the most attractive aspect about the PC-ENGINE version ... all that beloved original tunes had never sounded so nice! Strider also have some really cool cinemas, and the best part: EXTRA STAGES, NEVER SEEN ON ANY OTHER STRIDER VERSION!! The game itself is pretty cool, though it's still a step behind the Megadrive / Genesis version on playability and graphics .



Strider is a highly recommended game. I think is pretty much like the webmaster of "La Gamme NEC PC-ENGINE", Olivier Fohanno, said: "This Strider version might not be the best of all, but at least is OUR version!".



Marcelo Reis

info and more screens on the very exellent X68000 computer port of Strider
http://nfg.2y.net/sales/html/EpZpyFpupEpfGBQqfm.html

Capcom's Strider is one of the most lavishly rendered games of its time. Luscious graphics and incredible atmospheric sound ensure it a place in video game history. I remember clearing it on one credit in the 'cade and thinking it was about the greatest thing ever. The X68000 version is a far more faithful rendition than Sega's MegaDrive/Genesis version, to be expected perhaps when this one used three times as much storage, but remember that the main CPU in the Genesis is the same as the X68k - the Motorola 68000. This version isn't quite arcade perfect, there's more flicker than the arcade version.

X68000 closest rival, the Amiga, got a translation of Strider also....

(......)


finally, (for now anyway, hehe) this page compares the Genesis and CPS Arcade versions
http://users4.ev1.net/~sheath/Strider.htm

be warned though, the pictures on this page put the Genesis version in a much more favorable light vs the arcade, than differences in reality, which are much greater.

 

[Anyanka]

Why would a teddy bear be a reference to the guy? What's the connection between him being in a mental hospital and a bear?

 

[ourumov]

That's what a friend told me he had read...Me neither sees a relation...

 

[xexex]

found another account of the story, and this one is much more reasonable

http://lscmainframe.topcities.com/sgxgame.html


Surveillance: Strider on NEC SuperGrafX

In the wake of Strider's massive success in the arcades and on multiple consoles, someone at Capcom decided that now would be the time to capitalize on its success. That person proposed an updated version of the game be released to a home console, which would be the be-all end-all of Strider games anywhere. The idea was to strengthen Strider's admittedly gaping plot holes with fully animated cutscenes and in-game graphics that superceded the CPS-1's capabilities.
At the time, the most powerful home system out was the NEC SuperGrafX, a Japanese system that boasted of graphics that could even beat out dedicated arcade machines...which was no mean feat back in 1989. It was the only system that even stood a chance of living up to these expectations, but even so, it would take some fairly hefty programming to pull it off.



The demand for the SGX version grew exponentially with every photo Capcom released to the press, placing more stress upon the lone programmer they had recruited for the conversion. The young man worked tirelessly until the game neared completion, then suddenly snapped. The reports vary, but he either committed suicide or was committed himself, as a result of the stress.
As a homage to the lost programmer, a teddy bear was placed in every Strider game, and even in games where Hiryu was merely making a cameo appearance.

Or at least, that's the legend. I personally don't buy it, mainly because there's a teddy bear in THE ORIGINAL ARCADE GAME. You can see it for yourself...download Callus, download the ROM, and follow these directions. Once you actually get inside Ballog on the third level...past the tanks and the railgun, down the conveyors, and you're on the floor next to a bunch of shells...go up the conveyor to the topmost row of shells and destroy them. Once you do that, a small teddy bear will pop out of a porthole and laugh at you.

What probably happened was the programmer got fed up with all the bullshit he had to put up with and quit working on it. The SGX never caught fire in Japan, much less here in the States, so that's probably why the game wasn't completed...the console died before they got a chance to get it out.
Far be it from me to get in the way of a legend, though. Never let the truth get in the way of a good story."



regarding what i highlighted in bold: that might have been the intent, but the reality was that the SuperGrafx was technically not on par with CPS-1 or most 16-bit arcade boards of the mid to late 1980s. SuperGrafx was really only a mildly enhanced PC-Engine. same CPU, same audio. only beefier 2x the graphics of a PC-Engine. that said, i suppose it would be within the realm of possibility for a SuperGrafx version of Strider to have surpassed the arcade if programmed well enough. Strider probably didn't really push CPS-1 the way Street Fighter 2 did. the likely proof that SuperGrafx Strider actually did surpass the arcade, at least in stills, is the screen shots i posted eariler.

 

[Dsal]

and can some please translate the text to english, i wanna know what's being said.
most appreciated.

A loose translation:

The top article is the newer of the two. It talks about this version of Strider being an SG exclusive, and that there is finally a game to the graphical pedigree of Super Ghouls and Ghosts. It says it's so chock full of quality and detail that they had to make it 8 meg.

The middle part seems to either go with the top one or be a little news snippet that came before the top review. It talks about how while it was originally slated to be a dual release for the old PC Engine, they are now making it SG exclusive so they focus on maxing out the quality of the game. Also it surmises that it's because there's not much exclusive SG stuff so they might be doing it just so it has some exclusives.

The pic at the bottom must be the oldest one, because it talks about Strider being a dual platform release and only 20% done.


Man, when Strider came out in the arcades it just blew me away. I suppose in some ways it's a game that changed my life, just because it was (for then) so out-of-the-blue imaginative that I came to want more of my entertainment to have that surreal cool edge to it. And it was the first arcade game that I really got addicted to.

I would just like to have been at the design meeting where they said, "And then.. you see the politburo... and uh... they all jump in the air and turn into a GIANT CATAPILLER," and then they approved it? Genius.

I actually like the NES one too. It was kind of its own dog, mixing Strider elements loosely with RPG style stuff. Music in both versions was incredible too.

 

[xexex]

Dsal thankyou for the loose translation. I was really hyped for Strider, both on Genesis and later on SuperGrafx. i was crushed when SuperGrafx Strider was canned along with the whole console. it was the worst system death for me, aside from the Dreamcast.

 

[JackFrost2012]

I love the NES Strider. I respect the Genny/Arcade ones but none of them are as cool to me as the original flickery NES one. TRIANGLE JUMP!

 

[eso76]

Strider was love at first sight for me.
I first saw a single picture taken at some Japanese arcade exhibition on a magazine.
At the time, it was still called Falcon / Eagle, the caption was "the way this giant moves is incredible", i remember reading about the main character acrobatic skills, and thinking he kinda looked like Ryu (from the original Street Fighter) in that he looked as detailed and more or less the same size, which was impressive for an action game at that time.
Then i saw it at my local arcades; the first thing i saw was the battle with the mechanic dinosaur at the end of stage 4; never before had i seen a videogame character moving so gracefully; the way strider jumped and flipped around this huge monster had me floored..
The next thing i saw was the section where hiryu runs down the snowy mountain; it's breathtaking the way he sometimes recklessly leaps down the mountain side, and you can't see where he's going to land (also, the second layer shows mountains which seems to float, you just can't see the bottom) i remember holding my breath thinking he just jumped off the cliff and falling to his death, but then you'd see him landing somewhere and running downhill faster and faster; and then the section with the animated mass of clouds where you only get to see the sprites and foreground's silhouette's...
What struck me was the way hiryu recklessly moved at such incredible heights and the sense of height, reminding of some Miyazaki anime. The theme of man against machines, fighting alongside animals; the eagle and the panther -although mechanical- helping hiryu, the dinosaurs and the whale he lands on when credits roll...
This game deserves a proper sequel, dammit, they could further expand those themes in real 3D. But they'll never do it : (

Why not do it ourselves ? i can design a new strider game, i have great ideas, all i need is a couple programmers, 3d artists and musicians : )

 

[Zaptruder]

And you'd have to call it Spider, because Strider wouldn't fly.

 

[wobedraggled]

I owned the ACD Strider, it made me cry.


I wrote a fanzine at that time for the Duo, and there was a "beta" of the sg version of strider floating around the TTI offices, I would love to get my hands on that....

 

[Apharmd Battler]

<This thread had made Apharmd Battler extremely nostalgic so he leaves work early to go home and play Strider, one of his all time favorite action games>.

 

[stewy]

How come no one's talked about the wonders of Strider 2 on the Genesis yet?

 

[eso76]

How come no one's talked about the wonders of Strider 2 on the Genesis yet?

Please no.
Actually i need to play Osman.

 

[xexex]

Strider was love at first sight for me.
I first saw a single picture taken at some Japanese arcade exhibition on a magazine.
At the time, it was still called Falcon / Eagle, the caption was "the way this giant moves is incredible", i remember reading about the main character acrobatic skills, and thinking he kinda looked like Ryu (from the original Street Fighter) in that he looked as detailed and more or less the same size, which was impressive for an action game at that time.
Then i saw it at my local arcades; the first thing i saw was the battle with the mechanic dinosaur at the end of stage 4; never before had i seen a videogame character moving so gracefully; the way strider jumped and flipped around this huge monster had me floored..
The next thing i saw was the section where hiryu runs down the snowy mountain; it's breathtaking the way he sometimes recklessly leaps down the mountain side, and you can't see where he's going to land (also, the second layer shows mountains which seems to float, you just can't see the bottom) i remember holding my breath thinking he just jumped off the cliff and falling to his death, but then you'd see him landing somewhere and running downhill faster and faster; and then the section with the animated mass of clouds where you only get to see the sprites and foreground's silhouette's...
What struck me was the way hiryu recklessly moved at such incredible heights and the sense of height, reminding of some Miyazaki anime. The theme of man against machines, fighting alongside animals; the eagle and the panther -although mechanical- helping hiryu, the dinosaurs and the whale he lands on when credits roll...
This game deserves a proper sequel, dammit, they could further expand those themes in real 3D. But they'll never do it : (

Why not do it ourselves ? i can design a new strider game, i have great ideas, all i need is a couple programmers, 3d artists and musicians : )

whoa, you have a vivid recollection of when arcade Strider was completely new in Japan! so it was called Falcon / Eagle initially ? interesting. hey, at the time you saw it for the first time (it was the 3rd CPS game) had you see the previous two CPS games, Ghouls 'n Ghosts and Forgotten Worlds?

 

[eso76]

whoa, you have a vivid recollection of when arcade Strider was completely new in Japan! so it was called Falcon / Eagle initially ? interesting. hey, at the time you saw it for the first time (it was the 3rd CPS game) had you see the previous two CPS games, Ghouls 'n Ghosts and Forgotten Worlds?

Yes, the game was initially called Falcon and Eagle (i even had a picture of the title screen showing one of these titles) and there was maybe a third name for it, but i am not sure and i can't remember. I'll try to find that magazine tomorrow.
At the time I saw strider i had seen G'n'G and loved it, but Strider's action was so much more..dynamic ? and intense...G'n'G was gorgeous but Strider was like nothing i had seen before.
And i had looked everywhere for Forgotten Worlds (i used to drool over a picture showing first stages' boss) but i couldn't find it until 1995, in a small town's bar in italy
I remember being impressed by the graphics (6 years later !) and finding that the controls worked pretty well, despite various magazines bitching about it.

 

[jarrod]

any one know which people from the Strider team were involved in the creation of Cannon Dancer (a.k.a. Osman)?

Or whether that story is rubbish or not?

It's certainly an "homage" at least....

It was made by Mitchell, who also made the Pang/Buster Bros and Puzz Loop games for Capcom. They recently did Polarium on DS for Nintendo.

Mitchell and Capcom used to be real close, in fact Mitchell designed one of Capcom's better pre-CPS boards. I've always heard Strider and Cannon Dancer shared the same core staff too.... it'd make sense considering how close the games are. Too bad we never got a Saturn/PS1 port (and the ROM's encrypted). Same goes for Charlie Ninja, which was a great looking run & gun from Mitchell. :/

 

[eso76]

any one know which people from the Strider team were involved in the creation of Cannon Dancer (a.k.a. Osman)?

Or whether that story is rubbish or not?

It's certainly an "homage" at least....

It's the truth, same designers and same team..at least according to several websites.

Jarrod, i remember someone at capcom mentioned being interested in a 3d remake on xbox...i remember you wrote something about it; did they ever show an alpha or something or it was only in the developer's mind ? and are there chances the project will be revived ?

 

[jarrod]

Jarrod, i remember someone at capcom mentioned being interested in a 3d remake on xbox...i remember you wrote something about it; did they ever show an alpha or something or it was only in the developer's mind ? and are there chances the project will be revived ?

It was Production Studio 6, and it was actually in production. They closed down though due to Chaos Legion totally bombing on PS2... and I'm guessing the Strider revival went with them. :/

 

[xexex]

"Yes, the game was initially called Falcon and Eagle (i even had a picture of the title screen showing one of these titles) and there was maybe a third name for it, but i am not sure and i can't remember. I'll try to find that magazine tomorrow."

cool, looking forward to it



"At the time I saw strider i had seen G'n'G and loved it, but Strider's action was so much more..dynamic ? and intense...G'n'G was gorgeous but Strider was like nothing i had seen before."

my first look at Strider was in EGM when they showed pictures of the MD-Genesis version early in 1990, and then again in mid 1990. I had never heard of Strider before 1990. I think the first time I saw the arcade Strider was in an arcade in a mall in Florida, in or near Orlando, in 1993. I think I played it, but don't remember. the next time I played arcade strider was on MAME in 1999 or 2000.


"And i had looked everywhere for Forgotten Worlds (i used to drool over a picture showing first stages' boss) but i couldn't find it until 1995, in a small town's bar in italy
I remember being impressed by the graphics (6 years later !) and finding that the controls worked pretty well, despite various magazines bitching about it."

I had the Genesis Forgotten Worlds in 1990. my brother and I were nuts over that game. I had initally got Forgotten Worlds for Genesis that April, as my free game for buying a Genesis. but I took it to Toys R US and got store credit which i used to purchase Phantasy Star II. I got Forgotten Worlds again later that year and loved it. didn't get to see the arcade until MAME, and for me that wasnt until 1999 or 2000. I've never seen an actual FW arcade machine.


looking over the pictures of Strider in EGM, man it looks so good in the EGM magazines

and

 

[FortNinety]

I mentioned this in another recent Strider thread, but when the game "pauses" in the Genesis version, is it actually "loading" info? Sounds crazy, but considering how no one had any experience with such large memory at the time, plus the game was really pushing the system, I would have to assume that was the reason.

I also recall load time for a cart game for certain Jaguar titles.

 

[eso76]

It was Production Studio 6, and it was actually in production. They closed down though due to Chaos Legion totally bombing on PS2... and I'm guessing the Strider revival went with them. :/

That can't be !

ALL SONS OF OLD GODS DIE..............DIE !!

 

[jenov4]

Great thread, brings back tears of joy whenever I recall my first Strider experience. I remember seeing this game at the local donut/coffee shop and being awestruck by the awesome graphics, music and sound effects.

The sound of Strider's blade swinging was so cool (and still is) at the time.

Thanks for reminding us about the poor programmer who cracked under pressure. This just shows that EA isn't the only company treating it's employees like SHIT!

 

[shantyman]

Strider is one of my top games of all time too. They threw set pieces at you with regularity.

I loved running down the hill in Siberia.

 

[xexex]

I mentioned this in another recent Strider thread, but when the game "pauses" in the Genesis version, is it actually "loading" info? Sounds crazy, but considering how no one had any experience with such large memory at the time, plus the game was really pushing the system, I would have to assume that was the reason.

I also recall load time for a cart game for certain Jaguar titles.

yeah I agree that Strider was probably pushing the MD-Genesis pretty hard, and the pauses, yep they do seem to be because of loading. i'll try to find some mention of that on the web. i'd love to see a developer interview on the development of Strider. you know, the MD-Genesis conversion was originally only going to be 6-meg, but got upped to 8-meg so that all (or most) of the levels could be included.

however I disagree (respectfully) about what you said: "considering how no one had any experience with such large memory at the time" ....that simply isn't true.

there were other games of that size and larger. other 8-meg games were being made on MD-Genesis at the time (Midnight Resistance, Darius II / Sagaia) and Strider wasn't the first 8-meg home video game, SuperGrafx DaiMakaiMura / Ghouls 'n Ghosts I think was the first. it released in July 1990 in Japan. And eariler, Sega and Capcom both had experience with much larger arcade game roms during the late 1980s, including the original Strider CPS arcade game (something like ~42 meg). Also, older computer games were larger than 8 meg. Plus there were NeoGeo home cartridges in Japan in early-to-mid 1990. (and i think U.S. in fall 1990) with 44~62 megs. And the 6-meg Phantasy Star II, was released in March 1989 on the MD, a whole year and a half before MD-Genesis Strider. MD-Genesis Strider was just 2-meg more, about 18 months later. not a big deal, really, IMO. So, I think the whole so called "first" 8-meg home videogame and that being incredible and unheard of, well, the whole thing was blown waaay out of proportion and simply not true. complete sensationalism. Strider was simply the first 8-meg console game to be released in the U.S, not counting NeoGeo AES games which i believe came out in fall 1990 in the U.S.

If anything, the 6-meg Phantasy Star II released in early 1989 in Japan was more of a feat than the 8-meg Strider in fall 1990.

eee gads, sorry for my mini rant there. hehe. :lol you are definitally right about the pauses-loading. so far i have not been able to find anything solid on the web about it. still looking

 

[Dsal]

Seriously, it's so cool to see that other people have so much love for this game. It makes me feel happy. I am going to go play me some Strider this afternoon to celebrate my day off.

... that is all.

 

[eso76]

definately in the top 5 most important videogames in my life

 

[xexex]

Seriously, it's so cool to see that other people have so much love for this game. It makes me feel happy. I am going to go play me some Strider this afternoon to celebrate my day off.

... that is all.

cool cool. hope you enjoyed your day off playing Strider

 

[PC Gaijin]

I'm not familiar with the technical details of programming a console game, but why would there be "loading" on an 8 megabit game (or any cartridge game for that matter)? What was the memory layout on the Genesis? How big was the address space (20 bits? 24 bits?) and how much of that was the cartridge mapped into? Bank switching shouldn't have introduced very long pauses, although if anything on the cartridge was compressed that might take some time to unpack. I dunno why "large memory" programming would have been harder; it seems having more ROM space would have made things easier.

 

[Warm Machine]

Isn't this StreetFighter 2010?

I have the Genesis Strider and I've never liked the game very much. That said, I think I've completed it about 100 times. The controls and motion in the game are just so buggy and the feeling of attacking and hitting enemies is like hitting air.

I was pretty impressed with it when I first got it but I quickly realized that it is a very easy and empty experience.