If only we were playing the Sega Genesis version.
PLAYERS: 1
PUBLISHER: Capcom
DEVELOPER: Capcom
GENRE: Action/Adventure
RELEASE DATE: July 1989
Strider should be great. Capcom developed it. It stars a sweet ninja with a boss sword. There’s rollicking music, enemies everywhere, world travel, power-ups, upgrades, friggin’ magic. But the controls – mornin’ glory, the controls! During the intro level, Strider seems to do alright. He can jump, move, and slash when appropriate. Once you get into the meat of the game, however, his move list falters. Sliding is awkward enough, but the Wall Jump (also known as the Triangle Jump) will stop your progress in the game if you fail to learn it quickly. Like with Samus in Super Metroid, Strider has to jump towards the wall, then hit the D-pad in the opposite direction and jump to perform it successfully. It’s a key move in the game, thus it should be simple to pull off. Certainly many have, as evidenced by the retro community’s relative fondness for Strider. I did the Triangle Jump one time, then never again. And yes, I “practiced,” as many gamers have said to do; much longer than needs be, in my opinion. I don’t expect NES controls to be perfect. Even certified classics like Castlevania have their issues with jumping. But for Hiryu’s sake, Capcom, tighten the controls. Up until the point in Egypt where I became stuck, Strider had been a fantastic blend of arcade action and console adventure, and a worthy companion to its arcade brother. If anyone has any solid tips for me, feel free to leave a comment because I want to love this game. For now, Strider is broken.
C-
Latest posts by Dylan Cornelius (see all)
- By Request – New Ghostbusters II - April 4, 2014
- The 86 Worst NES Games – Part 4 - April 1, 2014
- The 86 Worst NES Games – Part 3 - March 29, 2014
14 replies on “#615 – Strider”
boy, I wish I could remember this game being terribly frustrating – I rented it for a weekend and beat it. It was tough… but I honestly haven’t touched it in like 20+ years. I recall liking it quite a bit – like you said, it has a great pedigree, but then I never got stuck either.
I have a tip….play one of the other versions not the NES. This game is liked in retro circles because its a great game, tough but great. The NES version is not well liked.
I actually beat this game a few years ago…I remember two things about the wall jump: First, it is more difficult to pull off than other games that have a similar jump, like Batman, but it really can be done with practice! You have to push the opposite direction on the control pad of the wall you are jumping off of, and the jump button, at exactly the same time and at the moment you make contact with wall. And second, I recall that the wall jump rarely had to be used, only a handful of places in the game.
@Esoteric: If that second part is true, I’d be happy to give Strider another go and a re-review. But I need someone to help me play the wall jump portions. I suck!
Personally, I love this game but agree that the clunky wall jump can be very frustrating. Like Esoteric said, the key is to push the direction and the jump button simultaneously. I haven’t played the game in a number of years but if I remember correctly, I found success with the following method:
Don’t do the jump while you’re still in upward motion. Wait until Hiryu descends for a moment, then perform the jump.
I would give the game another go. It may not change your grade of it, but it was still a pretty satisfying game to complete.
@Halibut: Thanks! I definitely will play Strider again. I do so want to love it.
If you have turbo A, it makes that wall jump a little easier to pull off. Make the jump, hold down turbo and use the DPad
OH MY GOODNESS. I will try this, Mr. Ruley. Thank you!
Yeah, much like the first comment I played this when it first came out and I can’t seem to remember having an issue with the wall jump myself, but like I said it’s been a long time.
I do remember loving the crap out of this game though. It had a good story, locations that you could visit again and it had that crazy sword attack that I loved so much.
Maybe it’s rose tinted glasses for this guy, but I’d wear goggles for this game I love it so much.
Sleepyweasel
Did you play this game when it came out?
I 100% disagree with the review
Everyone loves this game!!
I don’t hate the game. In fact, I really enjoyed my time with it. But I hated getting stuck and that brought the score down. Haven’t had a chance to replay it yet, but trust me, I look forward to it.
You know theres a GBA port of the exact same game and thank God they improved the controls!
That is a blessing.
Was just playing this emulated on my laptop with a Logitech control. I had to do the triangle jump on several instances on the Egypt level in order to progress through, and found that its easy to do if you do not position yourself parallel, up against a wall first. If you jump a curved 45 degree angle across toward the wall, then press Jump again while simultaneously pressing the d-pad, (if timed right, or pressing Jump repeatedly) you should bounce right off to the next wall jump, and the next 75% percent of the time or almost all the time. With giving yourself room to make the jump (DON’T JUMP UP AGAINST THE WALL, just jump toward it,) it shouldn’t take you so many tries.