Strider - Sega Mega Drive - 1990 / Strider Hiryu - Sharp X68000 - 1992

Strider (or Strider Hiryu as it is known in Japan) is a hack ‘n’ slash platform game released into the arcades in 1989.  I acquired it for my Atari ST and like R-Type and OutRun it was a disappointing conversion.  I’m guessing the same is true of the other European home computer releases as none of them appear on my shortlist. 

The two versions that are on my shortlist are Strider for the Sega Mega Drive from 1990 and Strider Hiryu for the Sharp X68000 which was released in Japan in 1992.  The X68000 arguably hosts the most faithful conversion of Strider including some nice speech between stages.  The Sega Mega Drive release has larger sprites, slightly inferior graphics and a different ending but is equally as playable.

Mecha Pon on the Sega Mega Drive (left) and Sharp X68000 (right)

The game is set in the near future – 2048 to be precise – and the world is ruled by a tyrannical dictator known as the Grandmaster. You are cast as Hiryu, a member of an order of ninja-like agents known as Striders.  It is your task to fight your way through the games five stages in order to bring an end to his reign.

The basic aim of the game is to traverse each stage from left to right.  Hiryu is controlled by the d-pad and two buttons.  One button allows him to jump and the second to attack.  The main means of dispatching enemies is the plasma sword.  Pressing down and the jump button simultaneously makes the character slide to get under obstacles and take out weaker opponents.

Strider Hiryu is very versatile character.  He can climb sheer walls, hang from ledges and platforms and perform a long cartwheel jump.  Each stage has been designed to make the most of these abilities seeming as tall as they are wide.

Part of the second stage involves leaping between aircraft (X68000)

Power ups can be found scattered around the stages and are dropped by certain enemies.  These include increasing the range of the plasma sword, adding to the health bar and providing extra lives.  The power ups can also include robotic helpers.  These comprise an eagle that can dispatch aerial enemies and droids that can take out ground based opponents.  There is also a robotic tiger that follows Hiryu but didn’t seem to help much.  The final power up gives Strider a couple of short-lived doubles that make him invincible.

The robot eagle helps take down airborne enemies (X68000)

Every time Hiryu is hit his health gauge is decreased.  When this is depleted he will lose a life.  He can also lose a life if he falls off the bottom of the screen or when the time limit runs out.  When all lives are lost each version contains a couple of continues.

Although these two games represent the best versions of Strider at the time, neither is perfect.  Both suffer graphical glitches when the screen gets busy (though not as glitchy as my example gameplay video).  I also found Strider starts to get very difficult during the second level, but I guess that’s the nature of the coin-op original.  It’s still a great game and I am finding it difficult to separate the two versions.

At the end of stage one the Russian Parliament forms into a hammer and sickle wielding centipede (Mega Drive)

Example gameplay from the Sharp X68000 (a combination of my screen recording software and youtube makes the graphics more glitchy than normal (especially at the end))....

Splatterhouse - NEC PC Engine - 1990

Splatterhouse is a 2D side scrolling beat ‘em up published for NEC’s PC Engine and TurboGrafx-16 consoles.  It was converted from Namco’s 1988 arcade machine.  I have opted for the PC Engine release as the North American version has been toned down slightly including the look of the main sprite.  Gameplay is otherwise identical.

The hockey mask is better suited to this game than the red one in the US version.

The story is set when Rick and Jennifer, two parapsychology students, enter the mansion of mad Dr West to take refuge from a storm.  The mansion is known locally as Splatterhouse due to rumours of gruesome experiments being performed by West.  As they enter, the door slams shut behind them, Jennifer vanishes and Rick is rendered unconscious.  Rick later awakens in a dungeon wearing a possessed mask that bestows superhuman strength and sets off in search of the missing Jennifer.

Gameplay is ‘by the numbers’ side scrolling beat ‘em up with Rick able to jump, punch and kick his way through the seven levels of the mansion.  Weapons such as meat cleavers and spanners can be used to help dispatch the multitude of undead, possessed and/or just plain unpleasant nasties that stand in your way.

Getting attacked by possessed furniture

You start the game with three lives but can take several hits determined by the number of hearts remaining in the life meter.  Losing a life means you restart the current level from the beginning.  If you lose all your lives there is an option to continue.

WTF?  Ewww

Although Splatterhouse courted some controversy on release, it is pretty tame by today’s standards.  The game still plays well with tight, responsive and simple controls.  The graphics are good and the sound is fine, if not memorable.  It’s also not a difficult game so doesn't become frustrating and you always believe you can do better on the next go. Besides which, stoving in the head of a zombie with a length of 4x2 never gets old.

You're not even safe from your own reflection.

Example gameplay.....

 

Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe - Commodore Amiga - 1990

After producing a sequel to their debut game, Xenon, the Bitmap Brothers turned their attention to creating a follow up to Speedball.  Although Speedball won the best 16-bit game at the 1989 Golden Joystick Awards, it has largely been forgotten as Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe surpasses it in every way.  The pitch has been enlarged, the graphics and sound improved, there are more players on pitch and the single player game has been greatly expanded.

Even with the pitch only being one screen wide, the original Speedball (left) looks and feels a bit sparse against Speedball 2
The best of the initial releases were for the Atari ST and Commodore Amiga.  Graphics are up to the usual Bitmap Brothers high standards with both versions looking and playing identically.  Aurally, Speedball 2 on the Amiga is streets ahead of the ST version with some excellent effects and speech.

Speedball 2 is a futuristic handball game played in an enclosed arena with two competing teams of armour clad players.  Each game is played over two halves, each lasting 90 seconds.  The teams swap ends at half time.  The object is simply to score more points than the opposing team.  Each team consists of nine on-field players and three substitutes.

Speedball 2 can be played either as a single player or as a two player competitive game.  In the single player game you take control of the titular team Brutal Deluxe and can take part in league and cup matches among others.

The game starts in the gym where you can train your squad by spending money on improving their attributes.  You can also use your credits to buy star players to greatly boost your team.  Additionally, the gym allows you to change your player’s position on the pitch (midfield, defence, goalkeeper etc).

It's easy to distinguish my four 'star players' in this team.

There are eight customisable attributes for each player – Aggression, Attack, Defence, Speed, Throwing, Power, Stamina and Intelligence.

When playing the game you control the player who is nearest the ball.  If you are in possession of the ball you can pass it at waist height or choose a higher, longer throw.  If you do not have the ball your player can tackle opponents or attempt to intercept the ball if it is airborne.  If you win a tackle, your opponent loses energy and vice versa.  When a player’s energy is reduced to zero they have to be substituted and are stretchered off.  The energy bars for the active player is shown at the bottom of the screen.





The aim of the game is to score more points than your rivals but, unlike it's predecessor, this does not necessarily mean to score more goals.  Although scoring a goal awards 10 points there are plenty of other ways to improve your tally.  There are two bounce domes on the pitch with 2 points awarded every time you hit them with the ball.  Each team has a cluster of five stars at the edge of the arena.  Lighting each star garners 2 points with a 10 point bonus awarded to the side which lights all five (2 points are subtracted from your score if an opponent turns a light off).  You can also gain 10 points for every opponent who is stretchered off.  The amount of points you accumulate can be increased by up to 100% by throwing the ball up the score multiplier ramp.  Like the stars, this can be cancelled by the opposing team who can also use the multiplier.

Using the 'multiplier' to boost my score.


Finally there are four electro-bounce units in the arena.  Throwing the ball against these electrifies the ball and it will knock over the first opponent it touches.  If you retain possession of the ball it will remain electrified.  The effect is cancelled if the opponent gains possession or the ball stops moving.





On the pitch power ups regularly appear consisting of tokens and armour.  Picking up tokens have varying time limited effects such as freezing or slowing an opposing team, making your team immune to tackles or reversing your opponents joystick controls (in a two player game).  They can also change stats for the entire team such as increasing all attributes to maximum or reducing the opposing teams attributes to minimum.  Armour affects individual attributes for a single player depending on the item picked up. Coins can also be collected to be spent in the gym. 

The single player game is fairly solid but, as with most sport sims, Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe is best played against a human opponent.  This is how I mostly played it back in the day and it was particularly nail biting if you and your friends are evenly matched.  I would go as far as to say is probably my most favourite two player video game of all time.





Example gameplay...