Originally released for arcades in 1989, Strider, also known as Strider Hiryu in Japan, become one of Capcom’s early hits. A year later it was ported to the Sega Genesis and became a hit there too. Although multiple systems received a port of Strider, the Sega Genesis port became the most beloved. It was a pretty damn good port too only entirely outdone years later when an arcade perfect port was made for the Sony Playstation. This is the Japanese cover art featuring a “manga” style painting of the young ninja hero Hiryu with his enemy The Grand Master and his robotic minions in the background.
Strider does a lot of things right starting with simple, timeless gameplay. Hack n slash action coupled with smooth, acrobatic movement and controls were a winning combination. Hiryu can also slide under dangerous obstacles as well as grapple onto walls and climb them. Strider was also packed with strong visuals for the time that still look distinct and artistic to this day. To top things off is the fantastic soundtrack which utilized the Yamaha sound chip on the Sega Genesis to its full potential.