Strider II Longplay (Sega Genesis) [QHD]

Game Info
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Developer: Tiertex
Publisher: US Gold
Year of Release: 1993
Game Review & Impressions
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The original Strider is one of Capcom's best-known arcade titles from the late 80s. The sword-slashing acrobatics and platforming were quite unlike other coin-ops at the time, and whilst it's not my favourite Capcom game, there's no denying it had a cool aesthetic.
What we have in Strider II, however, is a sequel developed exclusively for home computers and consoles of the day. I think US Gold had secured a publishing license with Capcom which allowed them to develop and publish conversions of the arcade giant's games, but also to develop titles based on their IP.
Strider II was developed by Tiertex in association with US Gold, and while that might set alarm bells ringing, the Sega Genesis version of the game isn't as bad as you might think. In fact, it's a pretty faithful extension of the original arcade game; not as innovative or as adventurous, but most of the features from the original make a return in some form, and it certainly looks the part. The home computer versions of Strider II are far more dubious in terms of quality, but to give Tiertex their due, if you wanted more Strider, the Genesis sequel might just scratch that itch.
Chapters
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TBC

[@inceptional]

An interesting game that actually does something rare on Genesis, which is display a basically full-screen-width HUD entirely made of sprites rather than using the window feature or even just a few sprites for the HUD that don't cover basically full horizontal width of the screen. Doing the HUD with sprites like this allows the game to always have two proper background layers behind the HUD, which it might surprise some people to know is not otherwise technically possible on Genesis, not even when using the window feature. And the developer just took the chance that there won't be too many instances where the sprites go over the per scanline limit and cause some dropout/flickering. It doesn't look that bad even when it does happen here though, because the Genesis can prioritise these HUD sprites over any other sprites so only sprites on the same horizontal lines as and/or passing behind the HUD will dropout/flicker. And, since those sprites are usually behind the HUD anyway, it makes any dropout/flickering on them less noticeable. You can see a couple examples of this in practice with the wasp boss at 15:13 and the orb boss at 25:11, although it's usually much less noticeable during the rare instances when this is happening in the rest of the game. Just something I learned about Genesis recently and now I suddenly see an example of it here.

[@Pinovski]

Thanks

[@jakeconer]

I find it kind of weird that TierTex is actually pretty good with technical accomplishments, but are not good at making good games.

[@inceptional]

@@jakeconer I've seen that quite a lot in my time. I think that's possibly sometimes a case of programmers calling the shots over actual talented game designers maybe. There's so many extremely skilled programmers out there, but that does not automatically mean they will be great game designers too. Sadly, too many of them can't seem to accept that in my experience of interacting with a whole lot of them over the last few years, and they create a bunch of meh stuff that's technically impressing some other programmers or whatever but is ultimately not really fit for anything beyond that. This is especially rampant in the modern SNES indie/homebrew scene imo, while seemingly nowhere near as much of an issue in the modern Genesis indie/homebrew scene. Great for all the Genesis fans, but not so great for all the SNES fans. Hopefully that will improve in the future.

[@persona83]

Interesting. Thanks for the info and the time marks.

[@aqarius5740]

​@@inceptional its interesting you see this as a rare bit of ingenuity rather than the naivety it probably was.

[@venom74799]

Best thing about this game is the intro music.

[@Windavinci]

Capcom don't recognise this game so it says a lot

[@Marvel-Rogue]

I ONLY had part 1 which was 🆒 👍🏼

[@guillermoconesa5549]

friends ! Remember to let the videos run from start to finish so we can help a little! subscribe, like, comment and share 👍👍

[@murder.simulator]

Why did they mess with the sword attack animation? Looks more like a lightsaber swing than a flash of steel

[@SamArt6607]

True, it’s sucks compared to original

[@savageboi1994]

In the settings, there is an option to switch the sword attack to the original.

[@darkerfalcon3747]

Despite being developed by these: 0:38 incompetents, the Genesis version is the most decent version of Strider Returns.

[@northprime_unlimited]

This is definitely not Capcom quality. I would take the NES version over this one. The saber swing alone looks cheap.

[@Longplayforever]

Good Old strider you Can never go wrong With This game i really dont understand why there is so much hare about This game

[@ecernosoft3096]

tiertex sucks, that's why

[@linogroff841]

Un cyber Tyrannosaurus? Io volevo intendere un boss.

[@persona83]

I never understood the hate against this game. It's a nice and faithful sequel to the original. Something I like a lot is the devs were careful to let the player choose between the classic sword and the new reimaginated one.

[@venom74799]

It chugged like crap, the gameplay is lazy and slow and the environment is bland and forgettable.

[@Bloodreign1]

It wasn't Strider, Capcom would thankfully come to the rescue in the late 90's with the first games true sequel that played much like the original game, and a choice of 2 playable characters once Hiryu finished the main game.

[@ACLMSC]

Strider was so awesome this game just didn't compare. Strider 2 had more depth but you had to reset your expectations to enjoy it.

[@Amethyst_Friend]

Rather like Switchblade 2, but with more climbing abilities for the player.

[@mikef8846]

So dark . . so ugly. It looks like the backgrounds were originally designed for a different game, then they slapped the Strider license on it.

[@mikaelandersson1288]

The graphics looks like crap compared to the previous game.

[@museeass1496]

❤❤❤❤😊😊😊😂🎉 hi 😊👋🏻

[@Antonio-hx7yh]

what a trash of a game, programmed only to take advantage of original's Strider fame. Everything is unprofessionally done, the final boss is Meio standing still, even the "the end" screen is bad