Developer: Mitchell Corporation, Ratalaika Games
Publisher: ININ Games
Genre: Action, Platformer, Arcade
Price: $29.99
Release date: Feb 13, 1996/ April 13th, 2023
Where to buy: SWITCH, PSN, XBOX
* I would like to personally thank the developers/Publishers for a free copy of the game to cover the game.*
When Ex-Capcom developers set off to make a unofficial sequel to Strider, they mean business. However lost to the waves of time. This one fell into the void of time, until now. Standing into the realm of fast, and brutal insanity, the game ranges off into a veteran of Striders wet dreams. granting you insane speed, and really well done and beautiful locations to explore. With some tongue and cheek to what seems to be inspiration of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, with the usual action platformer.
Because Strider was so uncommon and the NES adaptation was really a pale imitation, youngsters in the early 1990s could only dream of playing it. Run Saber, released for the SNES in 1993, was the closest game resembling it that players could find. That game, while enjoyable in and of itself, was unable to equal the speed and spectacle of an arcade.After leaving Capcom, Strider’s designer Kouichi Yotsui attempted to create Cannon Dancer as a spiritual successor. Although it would be simply referred to as Osman in the United States, arcades started to go out of popularity in the mid- to late-1990s, and Osman cabinets would end up being less well-known than Strider. How has this fabled arcade action game fared over the years?
The game breaks down fast with difficulty, with at points way to much enemies on the screen at once. Which poses at times where the scale of challenge uneven generally here. Which is a shame, as with games like Strider 2 even on PS1 felt just the right temperature. Both the original Japanese and North American releases are included, and there are two ways to play the game, one of which enables useful convenience features like rewind and save states. Trophies are deactivated in this simpler alternative, in contrast to the rest of Ratalaika Games’ catalog, thus you must complete Challenge Mode to obtain the trophies. In this case, you do have a choice between two improvements, which are either additional credits or double leaps. Luckily you can toggle on cheats if needed if things get to hot to handle. *Makes sizzle noise*. Bosses in the game have a odd challenge to them, and they feel like a puff in the wind, while others feel over the top insane to combat. Great flow sometimes require you to feel it even down to the end cap of every level, with the set piece bosses. If you desire to cheat in the game, and you fight lets say the doppelganger boss, you can also soft lock yourself. Meaning if you are playing in kiddie mode where you just want to get through the game without the pain. It will screw you over. So with the nice quality of life, also spreads a painful side effect. It is advisable to not use the cheats all of the time. Specially with boss encounters.
The story in the game takes a dive for the best, and we get a weirdly dazzling story told to us. Even for the genre of it being a arcade game. Sometimes stories are just set pieces and you just have a zany theme to see as you play. With this one some of the spark of Strider’s even bizarre story shines into this game. Even for really more so being cousins for discussion here. Bosses deliver their usual boasting dialog and attack you. Adding to the arena like vibe as you kick the skulls off of their shoulders. Or spam your super ability. Which I did often to get through.
In closing:
For about 15 dollars per version of the game (30 in total USD), I felt the price tag was a bit high here. I can understand the effort into the revival, but also really many will see that price as a level high. As a possible once through. Unless a speed runner plans to take this game on. The games difficulty felt random in several places. At points also if you decide to use a cheat mode you could brick your progress. Luckily the game offers save states in the normal mode, which of course if you want achievements. You have your work cut out for you. I personally really enjoyed the game quite a bit. It is absolutely still a gem for sure, just be advised with the quality of live items aforementioned.
