Thursday, August 13, 2020

Jack Red reviews Strider (classic & reboot games)

 Hello everyone I'm Jack Red, I figured it's time to review a few Strider games. I played two of them last year with the classic being the very last game I beaten prior to 2020 hit. Strider is a futuristic ninja series that is very straight forward action. More recently people know the character from his appearance in Marvel vs. Capcom series.

1. Strider (1990)

Strider is a port of a classic arcade game that has five stages. You mostly quickly go through enemies in each stage. There's a couple of bosses with a couple rematches later on. Keep in mind, parts of it's mechanics aren't as nicely done as some games that followed like Run Saber on SNES. There is a few spots you can easily die.

The music itself is one of the high lights of this game. Some of the audio isn't that bad either. Some parts are virtually up to luck if you survive like taking on a machine that constantly spinning you around. If you are too low in health by the time you get sent flying, you'll die. The boss fights for the most part are easy to figure out.

There's a notable variety of enemies you'll run into. Yes there's parts of a story being told where Strider goes after the Grandmaster to stopping his tyranny. I do like moving up walls mechanics very much. The forced reverse gravity can be a bit frustrating due to parts of the jumping mechanics was done. You have to land a little sooner not later or you'll fall off screen upwards.

Overall, it is a good game I just can't call it a great one. Sega Genesis has a couple better games of theirs. Like Saturday Night Slam Masters or Ghouls 'n Ghosts. I just felt with it's flaws for me it's debatable how often I would come back. Let's be honest it isn't aging very well either. I will say using his weapon especially powered up is awesome.

2. Strider (2014)

Believe it or not, I'm a huge fan of this game. I originally won it from a contest on Twitch for Steam. I later bought it on Xbox One during the Christmas season a few years ago. Strider is vastly different from the classic game. It plays more like Metroidvania style game. Basically, there's a couple of maps that works like mazes.

Within them are bosses as well as some great stuff that could help you later if you take the time to search. Saving took me some time to understand how it worked. Yes, you get a nice variety of enemies at times. Some bosses you will face more than once with clear differences. Each location will test you in different ways.

This makes you feels like you're actually Strider exploring. You get some great moves to help you out. Some boss fights can be frustrating at times. One annoying problem is you do have to rewatch cut scenes after you die. Sometimes trying to figure out where to go can be confusing. I would say the audio is way better than the classic game without question.

There is also voice acting that mostly gets the job done. It is far from being terrible so that's technically a good thing. Strider put a lot of work into the overall map designs. This game rewards you for being creative at times to get through some sections. This is much longer than the classic game, in this case ends up being a great thing.

I felt trying to locate most stuff wasn't a problem. Yeah, sometimes it can be frustrating to figure a few things out. Once you do not much is slowing you down man. Strider is packed with a lot of hidden areas too. You will feel very much like a master shinobi from the future here. Despite some difficulty spikes, it is a solid game.

I liked they did more to help you out in comparison. The overall design of this game is just more interesting. Some of the bosses are among my favorites in this franchise. They really made Strider himself stand out in such a great way. You have to think like a ninja to get far in this game. Plenty of chances to improve your skills while you play I love that.

No comments:

Post a Comment