izigame.me

I understand why you might not enjoy this title nowadays. Hiryu's movement is a bit stiff, not good for improvisation. Lots of deaths will come from either the occasional jank or getting hit by something fast before you'd have a chance to think. Even when you figure out a consistent strategy for something, it doesn't always feel like the intended solution. Despite all of these things I've noted my first time through, I still found myself coming back for more, and checking my time clocked in on this collection on both PC and PlayStation, Strider has the most time by a long shot. What did this game do that the other titles in this compilation didn't?
Strider feels like it was designed like a roller coaster. Rising up, reaching the peak, falling down, maybe even a calm before the next storm - these occur in every stage, but not always in the listed order. Add that with how the game never really repeats the same idea twice and Capcom's signature look and feel to make a game that feels very cinematic and yet doesn't take control from the player away once the stage begins. It has been a hot minute since my last playthrough, but I can still remember all of Strider's stages and setpieces. In the last stage, riding the first stage's boss to the final confrontation with the background blacking out, and the main villain reading the caption "all sons of old gods, die" will probably stick with me for the rest of my life even if it's not that deep and just what the Japanese thought was cool (and they were right).
The other major thing is that the game just feels satisfying to play. This is something that is consistent across the main Strider titles (this game, Strider 2 Arcade/PS1, and 2014). Completely obliterating the first mini-boss in the game and watching them literally explode, as everything in this title seems to, will activate the neurons. Even cutting it close and barely pulling something off feels good. And, in contrast to something like Ghosts N Goblins, it doesn't actually require much precision. Just positioning - stand in a good spot. This is what I've noticed is the key to succeeding in Strider for the most part. Keep moving forward, positioning, and maybe knowing what's in that next item box. Then you consider the game's continue system, where losing all your lives only resets your score and you continue at your checkpoint upon putting another credit, You will find Strider is a bit more forgiving than other games of it's era... which isn't saying much yeah.
https://youtu.be/4c6yzteSkaY?si=R3r295mNym5HN9Hm
The game is far from perfect and does show it's age, but I still find it a lot of fun going back through it every so often. Even 1CCing it and placing high on the leaderboards on both PC and PlayStation for some of the challenges. The game is easier to digest than at first glance and as long as you keep pumping credits (or the CAS's rewind, I won't judge), you'll see the ending in less than an hour so it's something that is worth a try since it goes for as low as $1 USD. I haven't played a game quite like Strider.