User Review : Strider

Strider Hiryu is back.

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Story
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The story takes place in a distant future. Strider Hiryu is tasked to kill Grandmaster Meio at Kazakh City. However, many enemies are fighting him back and Strider needs to dispatch them in order to get to his target, Grandmaster Meio.

Very basic and straightforward plot, with not much plot twists to make it more entertaining. As this game is quite short, not much story can be told however. None of the characters are memorable, except Strider Hiryu himself due to his fighting prowess and cool design.

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Gameplay
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This game is a 2D styled action game like the previous Strider games. Your main weapon is Cypher, a powerful sword wielded like a tonfa and can be used to slash at enemies repeatedly. You can jump, run, climb walls, and slide to avoid enemy attacks as well. Since you cannot guard against enemy attacks, you have to strategically jump or slide to avoid enemy attacks. Health can be obtained upon defeating enemies or breaking containers that have health.

Progression is rather simple, as a marker will be shown in the game's map to indicate where you need to go next. Most of the time, you need to collect certain upgrades to progress in the game. There are many areas in this game which are connected to each other, and you have to backtrack to certain areas to progress, or to collect optional collectibles.

All of the upgrades that you find in the game are useful in combat, such as the powerful Explosive Cypher. Reflect Cypher and Kunai. All of the new upgrades that you find are necessary to progress as some obstacles require you to use it as well as getting collectibles like health upgrades. Some of the upgrades are optional, but can be helpful in combat if they are obtained.

There is a variety of enemies to be fight in the game, such as shield-wielding soldiers, turrets, and many more. In some cases, some enemies are immune to a number of your attacks, and you have to switch to the correct weapon to defeat it.

Bosses are the tougher enemies that you will encounter in the game, and they can be quite challenging even in Normal difficulty if you are not careful enough. If you die while progressing or fighting bosses, you will restart at the latest checkpoint.

The gameplay in this game is much more varied compared to previous Strider games. It is a good game, but it has issues such as imbalance difficulty when fighting bosses or when progressing in the game. Backtracking is generally a must in the game, so it can divide between players who like or dislike backtracking in the games.

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Graphics
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The 3D styled graphics look good, making Strider looks both modern yet stylish like most 2D styled games. Framerate is rather solid, with not much bugs or glitches present when I played the physical copy of Strider.

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Sound
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Not much to write about the voice acting, as it is used very sparsely in the game. Overall, the voice acting is acceptable.

The soundtrack is decent, but the sound quality is pretty poor as the music can be barely listened even if you max out the volume in the audio settings, Sound effects are generally still good, but the background music quality is just poor.

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Replay Value
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This game has low to moderate replay value. You may start collecting all collectibles, complete the game in Hard difficulty, or attempt the Challenges in the game. Getting all Trophies in this game is easy, so it increases the replay value slightly if you are interested to do so. Oh, you will not be able to carry over your upgrades once you have finished the game and start a new playthrough.

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Conclusion
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Overall, this is a decent 2D action game, with brand new ideas like weapon upgrades, a variety of abilities to be used, and etc. However, the backtracking in the game can be a major issue, depending on players. Level designs can be both creative as well as challenging. I highly recommend interested players to get this game when it is on sale as this game has not much replay values. Strider fans may enjoy this game a lot, however.

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Score
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Story: 6/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Graphics: 8/10
Sound: 6/10

Final Score: 7.0/10.0 or 28/40

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Pros and Cons
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Pros
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- Strider is back.
- Cool upgrades and abilities to be used.
- Intense 2D action.
- Clever platforming sections.
- Nice boss fights.
- Solid framerate.
- Lots of collectibles.

Cons
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- Generic storyline.
- Backtracking can be an issue.
- Minor imbalance in combat at times.
- Some level designs feel bland.
- Poor BGM sound quality.
- Low to moderate replay value.