I have a bit of history of hearing about this particular Capcom series as I've caught a few glimpses of the title and the character itself, whether it's through re-releases via smaller arcade machines or in compilations, or character appearances like Marvel vs. Capcom. I first picked up Strider 2014 for my PS4 and was fascinated by its gameplay, but never got far into it, and I wanted to experience the 1989 arcade release. After wasting money by purchasing the game individually from Capcom Arcade Stadium, I delved into the whole game, and my thoughts on it... eh.
First things first, I love the setpieces and cinematic flair that was implemented in the game, and probably for 1989 standards, it looked impressive visually. Strider himself looks impressive too as I love his acrobatic nature when he jumps and flips in the air, swinging his plasma sword toward enemies, but controlling Strider himself is a different story. It's not terrible, but Strider feels stiff to control as some of the enemies are a chore to hit without dying several times to finally strike them down, including the bosses in the second half, and don't even get me started on the final boss. The stages themselves are ok albeit kind of cheap in areas like the crusher in the Air Fortress stage where you think you'll reach the top with no problem until a drone comes to ruin your day, and the majority of the final level as examples. At least the checkpoints are lenient so you can continue where you left off. When I beat the game, I never felt a sort of satisfaction when clearing the levels I'd overcome, more of a sign that I was done with the game entirely.
Strider might've been impressive for the time but it has its issues, and while I'm not a big fan of the game, I can see why others have a soft spot for this one.
First things first, I love the setpieces and cinematic flair that was implemented in the game, and probably for 1989 standards, it looked impressive visually. Strider himself looks impressive too as I love his acrobatic nature when he jumps and flips in the air, swinging his plasma sword toward enemies, but controlling Strider himself is a different story. It's not terrible, but Strider feels stiff to control as some of the enemies are a chore to hit without dying several times to finally strike them down, including the bosses in the second half, and don't even get me started on the final boss. The stages themselves are ok albeit kind of cheap in areas like the crusher in the Air Fortress stage where you think you'll reach the top with no problem until a drone comes to ruin your day, and the majority of the final level as examples. At least the checkpoints are lenient so you can continue where you left off. When I beat the game, I never felt a sort of satisfaction when clearing the levels I'd overcome, more of a sign that I was done with the game entirely.
Strider might've been impressive for the time but it has its issues, and while I'm not a big fan of the game, I can see why others have a soft spot for this one.