Author: Chris Moon
E-Mail: camoon@radiks.net
Please contact me with any questions, comments or corrections.
OUTLINE:
1. About this FAQ/Credits
2. A brief overview
A. Strider Hiryu
B. Power-ups
C. Game System
D. Strider Hien
E. Comments on PSX version
4. Game Play
A. Level 00
B. Level 01
C. Level 02
D. Level 03
E. Level 04
F. Level 05
5. Secrets
6. Updates
7. Legal
1. About this FAQ/Credits:
You might ask 'Why write a Strider 2' FAQ, since it has infinite continues, and
you can get through the game in under an hour even if you are terrible at it.
But that, I reply, is precisely the reason why someone needs to write a Strider
2 FAQ. Like Strider 1, you aren't going to be getting a fraction of what this
game has to offer when it comes down to real fun factor unless you pick up some
mastery of the game. And if you don't have any interest in taking the time to
master it, don't even bother purchasing it--this isn't the sort of thing that
will draw you back if you're doing badly. What keeps me coming back is that I
can get through all the levels except the last without using a continue, and I'm
trying to improve on that. This guide is really meant to help share some of the
strategies several of us Strider fans have discovered in the few months since
Strider 2 came out, so that you can start getting what you should be out of the
game--namely the rush of smashing through a level at record speed, your heart-
beat loud in your ears! You aren't getting any of that if you just continue
over and over.
OK, so maybe that could be said about a lot of games, but Strider has always
been special. Back in 1989, there was simply no other game like Strider,
nothing that could deliver the same rush, and in the year 2000, I dare say that
I have yet to see a game that delivers what Strider 2 does. This game is not a
clone of something else, a poor man's 'fill in the blank'. Strider is a unique
game concept that fuses anime style art and atmosphere with a cinematic feel and
kamikaze-type game play. It need not be debated whether Strider 2 is good
enough to belong to this tradition, Strider 2 IS this tradition, unlike the
heretical Strider Returns. So for those who say that Strider is just another
platform jumper...you are missing what makes Strider such an awesome gaming
experience. I've seen Strider compared to Castlevania and Metroid, and while I
don't abhor these comparisons (both are amazing series in their own rights) they
are not Strider. For all these reasons, I think Strider 2 really deserves more
attention than the luke-warm reception it has received...and maybe a good walk-
through will get a few more people excited about this game. Well enough
excuses...
Special thanks is due to Mohammed Daud's hidden bonus guide (only covering level
01) Also some credit should be given to J.T.Kauffman's mini faq both for his
early coverage of controls and documenting all that other Strider merchandise we
can't get a hold of here in the states. Much thanks also goes to Mr. Bueno who has suggested strategies for some of the most
difficult areas. As in my previous Strider FAQ, a great deal of the material
here comes from Strider Ishmael who has helped uncover the best way through
Strider 2 and pushed me in writing a FAQ for this amazing game.
Also (and this should be a given), if you have any suggestions, strategies, or
have found other secrets, PLEASE e-mail me. It is not uncommon at all that I
find something new, and this is after having put hours and hours into the game.
So please send those e-mails in! (camoon@radiks.net)
Lastly, I'd like to dedicate this FAQ to Dean Thompson, the man who taught me
everything there is to know about living the legend that is Strider.
2. A brief overview:
"In the future, one man controls the world. Calling himself the Grand Master,
he rules with an iron fist of tyranny. Plagued by his insane dictatorship, the
world spirals toward cataclysmic annihilation, but somewhere within the
insidious corruption, a hero rises from the shadows. With the fate of the
entire planet in his hands, he strives to complete his mission of destroying the
Grand Master!"
A. Strider Hiryu:
You control Strider Hiryu, a somewhat more involved rendition of his appearance
in the 1989 arcade. You have only two buttons, attack and jump, however these
can now be used with greater versatility than before. Your weapon (and you
cannot lose it) is a plasma sword or Cypher called Falchion, which you can swing
as fast as you can hit the button, but has limited range. You can attack while
running (though strangely you cannot attack and walk at the same time), jumping,
sliding and climbing (though unlike the original, attacks are not slowed while
climbing). Attacks with falchion can now take on another form as the 'savage
slash' or midi-giri slash, an aerial special move that causes Hiryu to whip his
sword about him striking several times. Consequently, Hiryu hovers in air for a
second while also rendering him momentarily invulnerable.
Much improved is Hiryu's jumping ability. Strider can now double jump and can
push himself off walls in an air-dash like move called the hassou jump (opposite
direction of wall + jump.) Both these moves add a considerable amount to
Strider 2, as you can now easily cover the width of the screen in a second
(especially if you are running and then jump). As before, Strider can slide by
holding down and jump. As an addition to this move, you can now back flip out
of a slide (hold back and jump).
One of Hiryu's most dynamic abilities, and the one which really makes the game
is his ability to crawl/climb on anything. This means you will find yourself
dangling from the ceiling, the bottom of moving craft, etc. This is an integral
part of game play and makes Strider 2 significantly different from any other
platform games other than Strider 1 of course.
Another aspect of controlling Hiryu that confused many players in 1989 was the
existence of 'reverse gravity' rooms, meaning that the ceiling becomes the floor
and vice-versa, so that you are playing upside-down. This is hardly worth
mentioning to the savvy players of the 21st century, however being able to deal
with upside-down playing, or even spinning around a gravity core are imperative
to mastering Hiryu and Strider 2, just as it was in 1989.
B. Power-ups:
Life power-up: There are three types of life power-ups (always found within
canisters or hidden throughout the games). These appear as Kanji letters, and
since I can't read Kanji, it has mostly come down to learning what each symbol
does, though in the rush of battle, who cares right? According to the
instruction manual these are Ryu, Hi and Hiryu, but all you really need to know
is that of the three, one restores one unit of health, one gives you a new unit
of health and a third fills your life-bar completely. I should mention here I
have found only one full life-up bonuses in the game, why not more?
Sword power-up: This is just called 'power-up' in the game. If picked up, you
will have considerably more range on your swings with small, very limited
projectiles shooting from it. Also, you will do greatly increased damage. When
Hiryu has a power-up, he will glow with a purple aura. If he is hit even once,
he will lose the power-up, however these are plentiful throughout the game.
Lastly, more than one power-up may be acquired but it seems to only add points.
Boost: Instead of robotic companions, Strider can use a Sword boost, a super
move that will both increase the damage of his hits and cause projectiles to fly
from his sword, seeking out targets. If you try the boost cheat (see the
secrets section) you will quickly find how powerful boosts are. Save these for
bosses or areas you have problems getting past. Each boost lasts for a limited
time but you may collect as many boosts as you can find within a level and they
are not lost when hit.
Hidden Bonus Items: Again, I would like to direct you to Mohammed Daud's FAQ
which discusses these bonus items in greater detail. I will occasionally point
them out, but don't expect me to give them all away. I'll more frequently make
mention of them if they require going to hidden areas (like the underside of the
satellite dish in level 01), or more regularly if they are hidden life-ups or
power-ups. Still, some of these have been hidden pretty cleverly so I can't
help but share.
C. Game system:
(1) Difficulty level: At this writing I am not sure what difficulty effects yet.
Comprehensive testing is awaiting.
(2) Life-units: This system works in a nearly identical way to that in Strider
1, though you start with more life-units than in the first game (5 versus 3.)
In the PSX version you can adjust this, starting with as many as 8 or as little
as 1. When you are hit you use a life-unit, and when you run-out, you die.
Once again, Strider 2 utilizes a system by which you can add more life-units to
your health (see the Power-up section above) with the right life-up item, while
other items only refill your current health units and do not add additional
health.
One additional note here. Unlike Strider 1, additional life-units added cannot
be carried on to the next level. In my mind this is one serious drawback to
Strider 2 and encourages you to skip levels as you really have nothing to gain
by completing them (other than getting more points). If, on the other hand you
could keep adding more life units/collecting more boosts, this would add a
continuity between the levels sorely missed from the first game.
(3) No Life system: Strider 2 uses a 'no life' system, which is to say when you
run out of units, you not only die, but you must choose whether or not to
continue. In the arcade, you'd have to stick in another quarter. This is
different than Strider 1 where you started with three lives, and when you ran
out of life-units, you used one of your lives. Note, that if you continue, you
will get all your life-units back (including extra ones you acquired through
game-play) and you will keep all your boosts.
(4) Rapid: This is a new option for Strider. To keep attacking with your sword,
just hold the button down. This is something like Ryu's insanely fast ducking
short kick he could perform in the first few SF2 games, far exceeding the
ability of human players in button pressing speed. Now you can take part in the
fun yourself--just hold down 'attack' and slash away!
(5) Variable difficulty of levels: Unlike the setting in the options menu, here
I am referring to the difficulty of levels depending on which one you decide to
run through first. 01, for instance, is challenging but still relatively easy
when you go at it as your first level, but if you take it as your second level
it becomes significantly harder.
(6) Scoring: Score is broken down into five categories, the first called simply
'score' and the remaining being 'bonus' scores. I don't know how the score for
the time bonus is calculated however for the life bonus you are awarded 100,000
for each bar of life you have. The item bonus is apparently determined by all
the hidden bonuses you pick up. The final and somewhat mysterious bonus is the
'special' bonus. Don't be expecting to get this one soon because it requires
going through the level without getting hit once! Doesn't matter if you have
full health at the end of the level, if you got hit once you will not get any
bonus here.
Total Score and Strider Rank are then listed at the bottom of the screen. If
you cleared the level without continues and aren't doing terribly on health
you'll receive an A (always seems to be somewhere around 2 million points plus.)
Rank is from A to E (where E is in general worth less than 1.5 million). What's
really interesting is that if you are able to complete the level without getting
hit and pick up the 'special' bonus score, you'll receive a ranking of 'star'
(better than an A) and receive an additional 1.8 million points. The last two
levels seem to be worth more since my miserable E ranking on the third moon
still warranted almost 2 million points.
(7) Multiple paths: Unlike Strider 1, you can to a limited extent chose which
levels you want to play and in what order. This will be immediately evident to
anyone who has so much as turned on the game, however I felt it worth mentioning
that while levels 1, 2 or 3, once completed will open up level 4, level 0 does
not open up level 4. Also, you need to complete level 4 to open level 5. This
may explain why levels 1-3 seem to be scored identically (though they are by no
means of the same difficulty) and level 0 is a sort of bonus level (it isn't
very hard, and you really don't run any risk of dying.)
D. Stider Hien:
This is an excerpt from Strider Ishmael's E-mail:
> There doesn't seem to be much out there about Strider Hien, which is sort
> of odd. I'm sure you've noticed all this, but here's what I've seen for
> the guy: He can throw two cyphers, except when he has the power-up -then
> he can throw three. The only actual in-close move he has is the savage slash,
> which can be done even when he's tossed all his cyphers [does he hit
> people with the scabbards?] Each cypher will target a different enemy, and
> if there is only one enemy on the screen, only the first cypher will home
> in on the target. If the second one is thrown it will aimlessly fly off
> the screen. The second one will home in on the same target, however, if it
> is thrown after the first one has already connected and not destroyed the
> target. The cyphers will damage any object that crosses their flight
> path, whether it is their intended target or not.
Beyond this, Hien plays exactly the same as Strider Hiryu with only one other
exception--for some reason Hien is not allowed to select levels, and must play
through the game from level 00-05. I am not sure what level it starts with if
you have not unlocked level 00 yet.
One more note with Hien, namely that you may wish to turn Rapid off with him as
you will find yourself accidentally throwing that second cypher before you know
it.
E. Comments on PSX version:
There are currently rumors that there will be a version of Strider 2 for the
Dreamcast system, and I mention it here because there are several places in the
game where the limitations of the PSX are evident. Don't get me wrong though,
Strider 2 may be among one of the very best PSX games--it is graphically
amazing, and MOST of the time the controls are well above average. But
unfortunately the PSX doesn't deliver anytime a large boss is on the screen or
there is a lot going on. It tries, mind you, but the slow down can be enough to
really mess up your game. For this reason, there are times I've recommended not
using your boost, for instance, during the match against the hydra-type boss in
level 02--this will turn the otherwise insanely accurate controls into mush, and
you'll find that when you hit jump it will only work half the time. Also, in a
Dreamcast version, should we expect any slowdown at all? The boost slows the
mammoth down to a snail's crawl...probably more than it should--it lets you take
advantage of it, running in and out before it can even react. Likewise, on the
emperor dragons, you'll find your boost noticeably slows down game play. Now
this in no way ruins Strider 2, but having not played the arcade, I am
suspicious that this lag is not part of the original game play, and that a
Dreamcast version might give us a rendition that would be truer to the original.
4. Game Play
A. Level 00 -- Investigate the Ancient Ruins
two special notes about this level. Unlike level 01-03, the health bonuses
remain health bonuses and do not turn into point bonuses. Other things do get
more difficult though--at least faster and more annoying. For one, the guards
in the first scene seem a little more aggressive (especially the guys with flame
throwers), and the flying snakes in scene two become faster. Also, Strider Hien
becomes more of a pain to kill.
The second point that you should keep in mind is that completing level 00 does
NOT unlock level 04 as does completion of all the other levels.
(1) Scene 1: South America - Guyana Guaykinima falls
Fairly straightforward level populated by several soldier types--some hanging
from ropes tossing grenades and others with flame throwers (watch out for the
latter.) Proceed right as far as you can taking out a guard with a flame
thrower. Up, dodging a boulder. There is a barrel bonus to your right in a
bush, but you want to head left (collecting a sword power-up along the way)
until you get to a cliff. Go up to the top then left again taking out three of
those spore shooting blobs. Retrieve a life-up here then head right, jumping
the first gorge. At the bottom of the next is a cow life up. Climb up taking
out more of the spore-shooters and carefully take out the soldier with the
flame-thrower (another alternative is to just jump the gorge and end it with a
savage slash, potentially taking out the whole lot of them.) Following the
flame-thrower guard there is yet another gorge with four cow bonuses along the
left hand side and a red star bonus at the bottom. Climb to the top again and
proceed right for the end of this scene.
(2) Scene 2: Mysterious region - El Dorado
You will be starting on a small platform with vines to each side and several
levels above you of similar vines crossing a wide gorge. Directly underneath
the platform you are on is a red ball bonus. Up a couple levels (directly above
the owl-like bird) is a life-up on a small platform. If you double jump
straight-up from that platform is a sword power-up), also introducing you with
the flying 'snake' creatures which are much more annoying than the snakes that
crawl on the vines. From the same platform where you picked up the life-up,
there is yet another small platform to the right--on top of this is a hidden
Capcom spaceman bonus. There are many routes you can take here, and it is a
pretty easy area but be careful of the green flying creature that occasionally
turn invisible, as it can spit at you vertically! There is also a boost power-
up at the very top of this area: just move all the way to the left then climb
the wall to the very top. When you are done here, just move to the right wall
and climb to the top and over the edge.
When you move into the next area you'll see a short video of a series of
platforms you will need to navigate to a small bridge. Now something very very
strange should happen, but its taken me a long time to see how truly weird it
is. Two snake creatures will appear and almost any gamer will destroy them
immediately. If you do not however, they will start acting very strange--in
fact they will mutate right in front of your eyes. Each snake will grow four
legs and they will start jumping around very oddly, attacking you with their
scorpion like tails. I can't believe how much work they went to for some
creature that no one will ever see--so sometime give these guys a chance, they
are pretty amusing.
After taking out the snake creatures, jump to the first platform and double jump
straight up twice to collect another life up. Then walk off the platform so you
are on the bridge again. Carefully jump to the log to the right and get the
hidden boost item here. Jump up to the platforms again and proceed right. At
the last one double jump again for a red star. Do not go down to the log below.
Double jump to the right to make it to the bridge and the next scene.
(3) Scene 3: Tunnel to the ruins
This and the next scene seem more like episodes from Strider Returns than a real
Strider game. Definitely no awards won here, on the other hand, they are easy.
Stay away from the very left as rocks will fall down on you and hurt you. Very
shortly you will be facing the first of two booster tails. If you have a power-
up you should easily be able to take out the lower booster just by
running/walking along with it. Once it is gone, carefully jump toward the other
booster (don't double jump or you'll grab the ceiling and be hit by rocks as you
move toward the left side of the screen!) and execute your savage slash in the
air. As soon as the first booster tail is dead, another one will appear. Use
exactly the same technique to destroy that tail as well. Boring.
The next tail is the Cannon tail. Destroy this using the same technique as the
two booster tails, however before you are done a large central cannon will
appear. just be careful to avoid its blast by running ahead of it. Again, take
it out with lots of savage slashes. If you take too long the tail will start
issuing several mines along the bottom and the top. You can either dodge these
or keep running right slashing at the same time--this will destroy them.
Slightly more interesting is the Snake Tail. You will face two sets of two
tails, then one primary snake tail. All of them are easy. Just avoid their
strikes (the top head strikes first.) If you have kept to the same strategy of
staying to the bottom and jumping occasionally to use the Savage slash, you
should destroy these snake forms easily. Again, if you have the power-up, this
will go very quickly. Also, once you learn their pattern, you will find they
are no threat at all.
The Carrier Tail is the hardest of the tails and the most stupid. Since you
should have three boosts by now, this is a good place to use it. With either a
boost or a power-up you should be able to run up to the bottom segment and kill
it before it thrusts out. Let the second one thrust out and then jump up and
kill it with a few savage slashes (if you have the boost on, you won't even need
to jump up and kill it). If you are not able to kill the bottom segment right
away, you will have to carefully dodge it, possibly grabbing on to the roof.
Note, there are absolutely no power-ups or hidden items in this stage.
(4) Scene 4: Interior of the El Dorado ruins
Yet another lame-o level. Here you must kill a Drill Cruiser. First double
jump to the right and keep hitting the hemisphere until it dies. Don't pay
attention to the rocks falling down, if you moved far enough right they won't
hit you. Next proceed left to a sort of 'nose' with three jets of fire coming
out of it. Stand as far right on it as you can without being pulled back by the
drilling mechanism, then duck and attack it over and over.
Lastly, you will need to proceed down and to the right. There is a eye-like
apparatus that will periodically shoot lasers. Attack from as close as you can,
making note which parts of it light up. To be safe you might try running to the
left and up when it is going to fire, but if it is shooting from the central
eye-like opening, all you need to do is duck.
Once again, there are no power-ups in this level whatsoever.
(5) Scene 5: The bottom of the El Dorado ruins
Here at last is an interesting scene. The master appears and pits you against
Strider Hien. Watch out because Hien has several computer-only moves, on the
other hand, he isn't that smart. If you see him 'charging up', jump out of the
way since this will either be his rush or a move where he fires out a big beam
of plasma. Also, be careful not to get too far away as he'll throw his cyphers
out at you and they are hard to dodge. Best to stay on him, especially when he
does his 'block' move. This is another good place to use up all those boosts.
Once Strider Hien has been defeated you will hear a conversation between the two
where Hien tells Hiryu to give up because the Master 'made this world'. Hiryu
refuses and tells Hien that the next time they meet he should fight him with all
his strength.
B. Level 01 -- Take out the terrorists who are occupying the city
(1) Scene 1: Neo Hong Kong City
This scene feels very much like a tribute to the first game. It is a basic left
to right scrolling level. You can also see much of this scene if you watch the
'how to play' section displayed when the machine is left to idle. Proceed right
taking out about three guards and grabbing a power-up in the process. Climb to
the top of the building and again proceed right taking out three helicopters on
the ground and one in the air along with a few guards. To the right is a gap
you can climb down to collect a point bonus, but ultimately you'll want to jump
over this gap and proceed right, down a declining section of road way (taking
out a couple helicopters and guards). At the bottom of this is another gap you
can again climb down for a point bonus (be careful not to fall down these).
Again proceed right, this time climbing up another section of roadway--if you
jump up around the 03 marked on the road you can get some additional point
bonuses. The hardest to get is a red star which is very high up and every time
I've got it, the resulting jump places me directly down the gap between the two
road sections so I'd avoid it.
At the top of the road is a junction point to a level roadway where you will
confront the Transport. OK, that is about as exciting as it sounds, still you
get to meet one of your most annoying foes here. As to killing the transport,
just stay to the right of the screen as its turret is pointed to the left. A
few hits with your savage slash will kill it. The real foe here are those
little imps that keep dropping from the sky. They're a pain because as you'll
find later they can climb walls like you, thrust their swords while hanging to
walls and do a spinning attack that can easily catch you off guard and has high
priority. If you are playing level 01 as any other level than your first you
may want to turn tail and run from them here, but if not, wipe 'em out just for
fun. Also, note the point bonus hidden in the scaffolding above.
From here you can either double jump right or climb down the side for a point
bonus. Once you've leapt over to the next platform on the right side (the
canister before the burning car contains a life-up if you are playing this as
your first level) you'll face your first boss of any real significance, and he
is nothing to brag about.
The Terrorist is slow and your best technique will be to simply slide to his
backside before he makes his attack (you may need to switch sides several
times). Be careful of those imps creeping up on you in the process.
(2) Scene 2: the slums of the city
Not quite as pretty as the first scene, there are still some dynamic parts in
this section. Proceed right, taking out several guards in the process. If you
wish to collect two hidden point bonuses, do not proceed right past the large
red up arrow as you can double back on yourself and pick up a red star (along
the ceiling) and a spaceman right where you started. Again proceed right being
careful to avoid incoming missiles from the first spider form. I typically
stick to the ceiling here, picking up the life-up bonus and dropping down on the
spider-form. After a few hits, it will fly up the shaft. Take out the flying
cannons here and a few guards. There is a power-up at the bottom of the shaft
and a cow bonus right above the doorway (note, there is a trick to getting even
more bonuses in the shaft by timing your ascent perfectly--but I'll leave that
to Mohammed Daud's FAQ.) Ascend the shaft (I suggest taking the left side),
then vault off the wall to the right side (where you see a poster of a giant
head.) Climb up this until you see a canister floating in air (its another cow
bonus.) If you still have a power up, you can open it from here, then vault to
the left, combined with a double jump so you can land a hit on the first spider
form. After you've triggered it off, jump on to the moving cart where you
should be able to easily dispose of the spider form either by just holding down
the sword button or a couple savage slashes.
From here you'll see a sequence showing the second spider form up in a second
shaft. Run to the left taking out several guards and picking up a boost and a
life-up. Watch out for incoming missiles from above. Climb the shaft and take
out this ridiculously easy boss. The biggest challenge here are the imps that
climb up and down the walls--make sure and stay out of their way.
(3) Scene 3: A dirty passageway
This room has got three hidden point bonuses in it. Proceed left up the
escalator, taking out guards along the way. At the top of the stairs you'll
face a new opponent. No idea what this mechanistic looking thing is called but
while it dies easy if you play this as your first level, if it is played later
these guys can be a pain--flying off with an explosion of flames that tend to
hit you. From here, jump right (or climb up the ceiling careful not to ascend
up the shaft) and proceed right until you have reached the extreme end of the
room. Take out two imps and collect a power up. Proceed left again to the end
of the platform and climb down to its underside where a canister will have
appeared (life-up). Keep climbing all the way to the right end of the room for
a hidden point bonus. Now you'll be where you started the level and a new
canister will have appeared at the base of the escalator. Take it and then
proceed up the shaft.
After taking out several imps that are falling from the sky you'll find yourself
in a room with four floating platforms. There are a couple point bonuses
here...I'll let you find them. To the left side of the room at the bottom
should be a life-up. Also, on the uppermost flying platform is a power-up.
You'll face several imps and helicopters here along with that weird mechanistic
enemy I told you about. Nothing that hard, but those imps can be annoying.
Head to the top of the room to proceed to the next level.
(4) Scene 4: The high society residential area
Not a lot to say about this very short scene other than to comment on how great
it is--and that it is TOO short! Here you'll face 'Tong Poo' the three girls
from Strider 1, but now you must fight them on the tops of moving air-cars. Be
careful not to fall off, and note that you can't deflect their energy attacks.
Also, there are plenty of bonuses here--points, health and power ups. Might
even be worth letting the last one jump around a while to collect more goodies,
but don't mistake these girls as anything other than dangerous, so be careful.
(5) Scene 5: The wealthy area of the city
The first thing you'll see is a crane being raised (What? Am I playing an Eidos
game?), so obviously you'll need to do something to lower the crane. Because
this is a Capcom game however, the only thing you'll need to do is kill people,
not solve box puzzles.
You'll be starting on the top of a building. Immediately start attacking to the
right as there will be a couple imps dropping down here, and they tend to jump
into their spinning attack right away. Proceed to the right where you'll see a
helicopter with a point bonus. The moment you go beyond the extreme right edge
of the building though, the first of the most silly bosses in the game will show
up. Yes it is the dreaded Tiger form!
For some reason, these guys thought it would be cool to get air cars that looked
like tigers. They are absolute wimps and good only for a laugh. Kill the first
one and here you can decide to screw around on the scaffolding (there are some
bonuses on the underside, including a potential life-up), or keep proceeding to
the right, inciting the second Tiger form to appear. There is yet another point
bonus if you climb up to the top of the crane before it lowers (killing the
second tiger form will make it lower). Destroy the Tiger geek and proceed right
across the crane (there are bonuses on the underside.) There will probably be a
helicopter and a flying cannon here to destroy. Jump right to satellite dish
(point bonuses for climbing down) and climb up and over onto the dish itself
(there is a hidden bonus here too, up and to the right directly from where you
have dropped down onto the dish.) Here you'll face the first and weaker version
of Solo. He only has his three shot gun for now, and he dies very easily. The
best technique seems to be running up to him and whomping on him until he dies
or flies away. You can stay out of his range by just standing under him. There
is also a point bonus canister here.
After Solo has fled, climb to the top and proceed right. You'll find a place
where the floor curves down, and so as to avoid landing on an imp, I suggest
jumping right here, and then dashing in from the left where he is guarding a
life-up. From here, proceed right (taking out a helicopter in the process) and
fight Solo a second time.
This fight is the hardest in the level because Solo is really pumped now, and
being able to fly makes this a lot easier for him. Also, Solo can fire off
these 'death frisbees' which can target you anywhere on the screen (though if
you time it right you can evade them.) Fortunately he has to charge them up so
you have aren't going into this without warning. The fight itself can be very
hard or ridiculously easy depending on how you set it up. If you still have a
power-up, get him in a corner and just keep attacking him (don't bother
jumping). Your attacks should be enough to keep him from getting off more than
one round of the death-discs, and you can often time a slide so he completely
misses.
To the right is a second building (a sky scraper actually). At the level you
are at you will find another power-up there. If you lost your power-up before
the fight with Solo you will have time to quickly grab it before Solo starts
doing much of anything. Also you will find near the bottom of the screen a
life-up bonus. At the top of the screen are two score bonuses. Once again, if
you can just pin Solo in a corner and whomp on him, this is a much better
technique than jumping over to the sky-scraper where Solo will manage to fly out
of reach and bombard you with his weaponry. Also you may risk time running out
if you do this.
(6) Scene 6: The skies of Neo Hong Kong
In another fantastic scene directly inspired by Strider 1, you will find
yourself riding on the back of the Emperor Dragon. Watch out because this
mechanical beast can turn around and attack you as well as running a bolt of
energy down its spine. The combination of this and the fireballs it can project
from its mouth often work in deadly combination. This is of course the perfect
place to whip out your boosts and let the dragon have it. Running up to its
head and laying on it will make short work of the dragon, just be careful to
dodge his attacks. If you have a power-up, it will die even faster. Just don't
forget to check out the amazing background while you're here, and the fantastic
detail on the dragon.
C. Level 02: Invade and attack the armed fortress
(1) Scene 1: The outside area of Fortress Wahnen
You will be starting outside the castle with the wall to your right. Climbing
the wall and then vaulting off of the very top to the left, followed by a double
jump will yield you a cow point bonus. Once you climb this you will note a
guard immediately to your right. Kill him and drop down the other side of the
wall. At the base you'll find a point bonus (monkey), go right, underneath the
building, however note that there is a pad along the ground that if touched will
trigger a trap, forcing you to backtrack and climb up over the building where
you'll be forced to fight a guard with a morning star--a tougher battle than it
sounds like. Pick up the power-up and point bonus.
From here go to the right, climbing up the 'tower' where you will get a 3 second
film or so (I don't know why this needs a film). Double jump to the right
(dodging the incoming shots of the 'Skewer Cannon'), then destroy it. You
should actually land directly on top (or in) the cannon, which is a new strategy
in Strider 2 that you could not use in Strider 1 (merely touching your enemies
in Strider 1 was enough to suffer damage). If you drop down and to your left
after destroying the cannon you should be able to grab a point bonus (this is a
life-up if played as first level.)
(2) Scene 2: The weapon storage area of Fortress Wahnen
In this scene you will face Metall Hengst, and he is a VERY easy boss, though
this again requires an understanding of the new system Strider uses. Unlike
before, you can run and slide through bosses, so use this to your advantage
here. Metaal Hengst has a large arsenal of attacks (given he's just a guy on a
horse), but you can avoid them all by just staying behind him. Whenever he
turns, just slip around behind him again. Don't jump to the ceiling, though you
might want to collect some of the bonuses here (hidden in the boxes at either
end). If played as the first level you can also find a power-up and a life-up
at either end of the room along the ceililng. Hopefully you've gone through
this much of the game without getting hit.
(3) Scene 3: The bridge of Fortress Wahnen
The ease of this scene depends on how much the game likes you. Basically you're
running from a big tank that is indestructible, so all you need to do here is
RUN, or so it would seem. Be careful to keep your sword swinging because you'll
encounter occasional obstacles, and if you're unlucky you'll find a mine layer
at the top one of the hills--though this seems to be random. At the end of your
route you can jump for a life-max item (the only one I've found in the game.)
The tank will drop into the water, bringing you to yet another 'easy' boss:
Sturngeschutz V: This machine may seem fearsome but if you have a power-up,
it'll drop as quick as the cybermonkey from Strider 1. The moment you have
control, slide so that you are directly under or 'in' it, or just right behind
it. Start slashing the crap out of it, and if you have a pow, it will probably
not even have a chance to move before it dies. If it does, keep on it looking
out for the little blue mines it lays (your sword slashes should take care of
those.) Whatever you do, don't stand anywhere in front of it, as this machine
has a number of missile type attacks.
(4) Scene 4: The prison tower of Fortress Wahnen
Here's where the level actually starts getting difficult. Directly above you is
a point or life bonus but you'll need to proceed right a little bit to jump up
to the railing. Once you have that, proceed right, timing your progress with
the flames. There are two bots here with rotating blades that you will need to
patiently hack away at, carefully avoiding the pit-fall trap. Nothing that
challenging. As you get to the end of the flame-jets you will find a point
bonus along the top of the screen.
Coming up next will be your first encounter with the weaker version of the
Armored guard. These guys take a lot of hits and wield a fearsome ax, but they
are also slow. Dash right in on this guy so that you are once again occupying
the same space he is. He'll die before he even has a chance to swing his ax.
Proceed up and to the left for a power-up.
Continue up this tower. Platforms will either have a guard with shoulder
mounted rockets, armored guards, the weird armored ninjas or nothing. The
armored guards have larger platforms, and you'll notice under the first one are
two cow bonuses and behind that armored guard is a life-up bonus. At the final
level there will be a wizard. You don't even need to attack him if you don't
want to, just proceed up through the top. If you get anywhere near him or hit
him he'll disappear. After a few seconds you'll be taken to another room to
fight Dullahan.
You'll see the wizard summon a rather nasty looking headless knight with a HUGE
sword. Then, rather humorously the knight kills the wizard and now its your
chance to duke it out with him/it/whatever. The name is Dullahan, and I've
certainly lost a few battles to him, but in true Strider tradition, if you know
what you are doing you can take this guy out with no problem.
The secret (as provided to me by Strider Ishmael) is to stay on the ground.
Dullahan is very slow but he can summon four flying skulls that spit out
fireballs. Although you will need to worry about both of them, jump only with
great caution as even touching Dullahan's sword while he's getting ready to
swing will do damage to you. The best strategy I've found is to keep behind
Dullahan and slash away at him, while sliding under incoming fireballs from the
skulls. Once trying this strategy I found it easy to beat Dullahan flawless. A
few rounds of slashing him in the back and sliding under skull-fire was enough
to put an end to Dullahan. Make sure and grab the power-up in the left-hand
corner before you go on to the next scene.
(5) Scene 5: The walls of Fortress Wahnen
This is a rather large area and there may be several good ways to approach it.
You will start out climbing up a wall. If you descend just a little you can
find a cow point bonus. Proceed up timing your ascent with the firing of
several wall mounted electrical discharge units. Once on top you will fight
some guards which look alarmingly like a large MegaMan. These guys shoot the
rockets you probably remember from Strider one that are fired up and then arc
back down. Given the good placement of these guards this can work to very
lethal effect. You'll also be fighting more armored ninja--and all this on top
of a turret. BTW, there is a hidden gold star point bonus right above the
turret.
Once done here, proceed down the other side. This next scene is nothing but
chaos. Directly below you is another MegaMan guard. There are more in-house
ninjas and you'll also note another of those guards with the shoulder mounted
cannons. Beware. Also, you may not wish to jump right from the turret as you
will find the air is filled with a hoard of aerial explosives (still, you can
use your savage slash to cut your way through some of those.) All and all, I
don't know precisely how to advice you and I tend to experiment a lot with this
area. Ultimately your goal is to get to the next wall, so whatever manner you
have to use to dispose of these folks is fine by me.
Climb the wall taking out some of those aerial bombs I warned you about (you may
have also encountered these in the previous scene), and when you've reached the
top you will have a chance to grab an extra boost--and you want it. Watch the
cross-hairs that you see on the ground and be careful not to be there when the
incoming shots land. The boost will be directly above these, so grab it and be
quick.
Proceed down the other side, and here you have a choice of descending (while
dodging some more of those electrical discharge thingies) and grabbing a life
up, or proceed to the right. Either way you'll eventually find yourself facing
another armored guard and his ninja buddies. This is the weaker one so take him
out quickly. Climb another wall with discharge units and climb over a weird
extending pole with a light shining out of it--if these thing targets you, it
will shoot you. Once to the top you will again be on another turret, nothing
new. Kill the ninjas and guards and proceed right to fight the stronger version
of the armored guard I've been warning you about.
This is the "shin" armored guard. One really tough dude. I suggest using one
of your boosts here as this will take out the guys in the back ground who are
shooting at you. Once they are gone this is an easy game of stay-behind-the-
guard, a trick you should have perfected by now.
(6) Scene 6: The dungeon of Fortress Wahnen
Among one of the coolest bosses in Strider 2, this is a giant cyber-hydra
commanded by Herzog Schlange, a man floating about on a platform. Your
objective here is to kill him, and the technique is pretty straightforward--jump
up and clobber him with your savage slash. The problem is he tends to 'run'
away, so you'll have to pursue him. The area is a giant ring (though watch out
for the pitfalls), so you can just keep following him in circles. Fortunately
he stops to command the hydra, so you'll have your chance. I've found the
remaining boost marginally useful though it can also unbalance you here as
between the mecha-dragon and your sword-missiles, the PSX can really start
dogging down and you might find the controls worsening momentarily (this has
caused me to fall into pitfalls a few times even though I hit jump.)
Another interesting thing to note is that the heads of the hydra can be killed.
If you kill all the heads and leave Herzog alive, his platform will start on
fire and he'll drift around aimlessly, but you still need to kill him. Also,
when you beat the level, instead of seeing the heads fall down into the lake at
the center of the ring, you'll see the dome the heads came out of burst into
flame. This is just another example of how many things Capcom thought of in
programming this game, since it really takes a lot of work to kill all the heads
before bothering with Herzog.
D. Level 03: Infiltrate the research facility
This is a beautifully rendered level, capturing some of the spirit of the second
level of Strider 1 ('I've got you.'), but this time set in Antartica.
(1) Scene 1: The Antartica Ross Ice Shelf
You'll start this scene out by navigating your way from iceberg to iceberg. If
you jump left you can get on an iceberg with a penguin and a hidden point-bonus
at the water-line (also a canister with a barrel bonus flying in the air--but
not present if this is done as your first level). Return to where you started
and jump right where you'll encounter one of those imps from Strider 1--no real
threat here, though if you give them time to react, their attack is rather
funny. Double jump to the next berg and take out two of them. Drop down to a
small iceberg to the right of that one and collect a power-up, and to the left
is a cow point bonus.
From here you can dash through the rest of the scene. After a small ice
'walkway' you'll climb a hill and on the other side you'll meet up with several
bird-faced would be hockey players. There is a fair share of humor in this
level, and these guys are part of it. If you want, just dash through them
taking them out as they get in your way. At the base of the hill you'll come
across another atrocity--the bad guys here have taking to mounting bombs to
penguins, and then hurl the penguins at you. Again, just dash through them,
carefully timing your jump so you don't land in the water.
Climb the wall, killing the flying guns as they hover around you. At the very
crest, if you swing to the left you'll find another cow bonus.
Once on top you'll confront the dreaded Missile Mobile! OK, I'm just kidding,
this thing is probably the easiest 'boss' in the game. Just slip behind him and
let him have it. After he drops, all the freed penguins (who I guess now don't
need to worry about being strapped to bombs) sing out their praise to you.
Actually, if you play around here walking back and forth you'll find they follow
you! Yup, Capcom is just as weird as ever.
Anyone know what determines the number of penguins you get, or is this just
random? (I've seen between 2 to 5)
(2) Scene 2: The Olaf Wall Base
This is in a lot of ways the hardest scene in the level, but only because of
those round bots that shoot energy balls. I've had times I get through this
scene flawless and other times they chop me into little pieces, but I think I've
found some strategies that will help.
Start by going to the left and climbing down a pipe where you'll find a canister
with a point bonus, and if you climb up a little from here and attack to the
left you'll find another hidden point bonus (red star).
Clamber up to where you started and climb the wall. Here the fun begins. Take
out the guard and flying gun, then jump to the wall on the right. The best
strategy for taking out any other flying guns, since they can only shoot
downward is to get to the same height as them and just let them come to you.
The problem now are the two round bots above you that are doing the best they
can to knock you off the wall. The best strategy I've found is to wait until
their volleys are clearly grouped (they've moved farther up the cliff)--this may
require dodging a couple volleys, but that shouldn't be a problem. Once their
shots are grouped, clamber up the wall and take out the last flying gun. From
here jump to the ceiling and wait for the bots to fire another round...you
should be well out of their range with them harmlessly firing into a wall. Once
they've exhausted themselves, climb over to them and take them out...you'll
probably end up taking a guard out with them as well.
Once you've passed them you'll flip up on a ledge with some sort of metal
scaffolding along it with an electrical charge running up and down its length--
be careful to avoid that. At this point Beluga F (a large blue helicopter) will
show up. Jump on to it, attacking it as much as you can. It will take you to
the top of this scaffolding and actually to the top of the cliff if you let it.
You may wish to jump off at the top of the scaffolding though as there is a
life-up here, and there is also another round bot who seems particularly good at
taking pot shots at you. If you are quick, you can take care of both these
items and jump back up to Beluga before its gotten too far out of range.
Another alternative is to stay on the cliff. There are a few power-ups there,
but I'd rather take the damage of Beluga then go after points (and I'm not to
fond of it shooting at me while I'm on a wall.) Well the choice is up to you.
At the top of the cliff you'll actually have to fight Beluga F, so if you kept
attacking it you'll notice it only starts with half its health. The strategy
here is very simple. Beluga F has three basic attacks. It has a rear laser
which cannot hit you unless your on the ground. If you are hanging from its
mid-section, you can safely attack this unless its front guns are pointed back
at you (its second method of attack.) When these guns swing around, drop to the
ground and run to the front of the helicopter and jump onto its nose. Climb up
farther (out of reach of that gun) and attack the very front of Beluga F. Its
third form of attack is the missile launcher mounted here, but your sword swings
are faster than these attacks, so they won't hit you if you are attacking it.
In short, two main attacks (one from the mid-section and one from the front)
should completely obliterate Beluga F.
But that isn't the end. The helicopter crashes causing a series of explosions
you'll have to out-race. Sure, it isn't as realistic as the mountain-side mine
field in Strider 1, but remains a nice tribute. This is pretty straight-
forward. Run right, jump where the cliff ends. If you keep your sword engaged
you'll find some hidden point bonuses along the way. You'll land on a small
platform with a boost power-up. Hopefully you haven't used your other boost at
this point as you'll need booth of them to get through the next scene in one
piece.
(3) Scene 3: The entrance to the lab
You'll start by facing a strange metal structure with some more of those hockey
players on it and some flying guns. One of the guns has a life-up bonus in it
(save it for after the boss), and on top of the scaffolding is a power-up.
Also, there is a hidden boost if you go to the top of the scaffolding and to the
very right end...double jump straight up and you'll find it there.
Destroy all the folks below you to fight the hardest boss in the level--
Instead of the fondly remembered Cyber-Monkey, you'll have to fight a Frozen
Mammoth, and were this boss any less annoying I'd probably have fond memories
for this guy down the road too, but...
The best strategy I've found is to use two boosts on this guy and do a lot of
running back and forth. Be careful though, his tusks, trunk and feet can be
used as weapons, what's more, he can shoot fireballs at you (lots of them), so
this makes for a REALLY tricky fight.
Here is a strategy offered by Mr. Bueno:
>For the Mammoth, you have to REALLY put your double jump to good use. You
>might also want to use a Boost for him as well if you have any since he's
>harder than the actual stage boss. Go right beneath him at first and hit
>him with all you've got. If he shoots spheres at you, that's the signal to
>run away or do d little slide to avoid getting hit. Don't stay too close to
>his front or rear cause he'll either hit you with his trunk or kick you.
(4) Scene 4: The research section of the lab
You start out in a cave. In the upper left corner you'll find a hidden score
bonus. To your right will be a pair of round bots and these laser shooting
ceiling mounted devices. No real strategy here, just wait for the first bot to
shoot and destroy it. Jump to the ceiling and take out the laser contraption.
Then drop back down and repeat. Note that sometimes this can be quite hazardous
as the bot will be within the range of laser thingy.
After you've destroyed them you'll come into a gravity reversal room. Before
you do anything else, pick up the power-up and then face-off against the
Antartic Guard! This is another one of those humorous build ups, because he is
no challenge at all. The worst thing he can do is throw out another bot, and
he'll do that in the opening scene before you get anywhere near him. Just go
slash him to pieces.
Now you have a choice as to whether to proceed or to get all the bonuses in this
room. I strongly recommend you do the later, as this room is really worth
clearing out. On top of the weird floating tubes you'll find a boost and a life
up, while beneath them (IE toward the top of the screen) there are many hidden
score bonuses. Just be careful not to get hit by the round bot.
When you're done, jump back to the ceiling and proceed right. You'll enter into
a rust-brown tunnel. Stay along the ceiling and proceed into a steel walled lab
for one of the funniest scenes in the game.
Here you will meet up with two researchers who upon noting your arrival
transform into hyper versions of a walrus and an Arctic wolf. The wolf has
moves like John Talbain and the Walrus can do Blanka's spinning ball. Just keep
your sword engaged and you'll defeat them easily without getting hit--run to
either side and corner them for lots of damage. Each should pop out a life-up
bonus.
I just need to comment how amazingly Capcom this scene is. Really, what other
company has made so many games with people stuck in tubes and evil scientists
that either create or they themselves become monsters? Look how similar this
scene is to the scene in Captain Commando where an evil scientist summons a
monster that looks EXACTLY like a Hedra from Nausicaa! What I am amazed at is
how much humor they seem to derive from it too--it isn't like this is done
seriously (you try to take a Walrus that does Blanka's roll seriously!) What's
more, neither of these animals even exist in Antarctica! So if you step back
from this for a moment, 'evil' scientists are using their trade to turn
themselves into super-powered north-pole critters? And when they aren't doing
that, they are strapping bombs on to penguins? Honestly, if science was this
silly, I'd be a scientist in a second!
After defeating the researchers, follow the tunnel, taking out round bots as you
go until you meet up with a ventilator fan (it actually has its own life bar).
You may still be dodging shots from round bots, so be careful. Destroy the fan
and proceed to the next scene.
(5) Scene 5: The gravity testing section of the lab
Although the basic strategy is quite simple, it can be rather hard to pull off,
and you might just want to use one of your boosts here. The Gravity Core will
first shoot out a small pulse that will run along the ground--unfortunately it
will do this in the opposite direction of the four beams that it will
subsequently shoot out, rotating in a clockwise direction. The trick here is to
run in a clockwise fashion so as not to be hit by the beams--never mind that you
run faster than the beams, and that you have that pulse running counter-
clockwise. This is more than enough to make me just want to use a boost, but
you'll need to take out one of these later, so perhaps it would be wise to get
practice here.
After you've done enough running, the core will turn red and pull you in as did
the gravity core in Strider 1. Now you can circle around it striking with your
cypher. Between this and your earlier attacks (you did attack it earlier,
right?), the gravity core should be done for. Off to an even more annoying
stage.
(6) Scene 6: The experimental area of the South Pole
This is a pretty weak boss--at least in the sense of originality. Looking
something like a cross between some Lovecraftian elder god and a giant cucumber,
you must now destroy the Kraken. It has six knobs that can fire horizontal
energy beams, and you need to destroy all of them. To complicate matters it has
four arms with which it can attack you and can also spit out vertical energy
beams. Best strategy I've found is to attack from a distance first, taking out
one set of its arms, then get in close to destroy the knobs. When arms regrow,
focus on them instead of the knobs. There is also a power-up on the other side
of the screen but I wouldn't worry about it until you've taken care of the left
side first. Oh and did I forget to mention you should still have a boost or two
left? Use them here.
Use the same strategy on the other side until dead. Be wary of those vertical
energy beams. Ouch!
E. Level 04: Pursue the Flying Battleship Balrog
This along with level 01 is my favorite of the entire game. There are many
tributes here to the first Strider while also simply being a gorgeous level. It
is also among one of the most challenging in the game--you will find it very
difficult to complete without using a continue.
(1) Scene 1: In the skies of Equator Malay Island
This seems directly inspired by the helicopter sequence in Strider 1, though not
quite as challenging as dealing with all those bombs. You'll be jumping from
helicopter to helicopter, and if you're observant you'll notice that you can get
onto higher tiers of helicopters above you. There is a second tier with a
power-up, but you'll notice that as a helicopter quickly ascends out of reach so
you have to drop back down to the first. If you are quick though you can get on
this helicopter, and then you will be treated to the real visual spectacle of
this scene--something that all those people who burned through the game on
infinite continues have surely missed. Once on the third tier you will get this
awesome shot of the Battleship Balrog and every helicopter you get on will have
a bonus of some sort. I found a second power-up, a life-up and lots of point
bonuses. Just the visual treat alone though is worth the effort to get up here.
The best strategy, since you often can't see where you are jumping, is to use a
running jump then wait until you can see the next helicopter (really these
aren't helicopters are they?) and skillfully time your double jump. Still, it
isn't very often I don't fall down at least once in this scene.
At the end you'll face off with the Squad Leader, requiring you jump over to his
craft. Is it just me or does this guy look like Sabretooth? Plop down on his
head with a savage slash and continue to slash him on the ground. No strategy
needed here as he doesn't even fight back (at least not while your sword is in
his face.) Your biggest enemy here is gravity--be very careful in how you move
around on his craft as it is small and easy to fall off of.
(2) Scene 2: Outside the tail of Flying Battleship Balrog
This scene will having you hanging on for your life as you dash across the hull
of the Battleship Balrog. If you want to move at all you'll have to dash as
there is so much wind.
Proceed right taking out a small turret (there seem to be point bonuses in every
turret.) Keep your cypher out because there will be mines flying at you
constantly in this scene. Continue right, taking out a guard, then run down
into a small ravine where you'll find a power-up. Without moving farther right,
take out the turret and wait for an opening in the mines.
Double jump straight up onto a scaffolding like platform and flip onto the top-
side. Again proceed right taking out mines along the way until you come to a
ship. Carefully double jump over it using your savage slash to sustain your
air-time. After landing, collect the boost bonus and continue right. You'll
come to the end of the platform. Jump down and destroy the turret to your left
for a cow point bonus. To your right you'll find a life-up bonus. From here
you'll see a second or two of Strider advancing and there will be a guard in
front of you. Destroy him/her/it and now you will be confronting what has made
this level so frustration, the Minelayer itself.
My strategy has been to get in its face (???) and slash it until you see it
start shooting out mines. At that point retreat as the Minelayer can fire a
bolt that will make them all detonate. Destroy these mines as rapidly as
possible--at least any near you. After the minelayer detonates the remainder,
jump back up and go at it again. Repeat until dead.
(3) Scene 3: The gravity transformer of the engine room
This scene is the worst conceived scene in this level and could easily be
removed without any loss to the game itself. Basically you are in a square room
with a track that runs to all four corners along which 'Scarabee' (a big cube)
can move. Along the borders of this room there is an electrical pulse which
rotates, and in the center are two squares you can leap up to and climb about on
(though they also have electrical pulses running about their surface.)
Sound like one big pain? Yeah... Well here is my suggestion. Jump up to the
space between the two squares, latching on to either one--you'll see this
immediately because there is a canister there (power-up). Once there (carefully
dodging the electrical pulses), engage your boost and let them find Scarabee.
When it passes under you, drop down and follow it to either corner (carefully
avoiding the pulse along the ground if it's there) while attacking the whole
time. Slashes combined with the boost will make short work of Scarabee, but be
ready to retreat if necessary. Repeat until dead, though I would only waste one
boost on this 'thing' as you'll have good use for your other boosts later on.
(4) Scene 4: The development dock area
This is rather large scene and one that will keep you swinging your sword almost
constantly. Dash right until you come to a door with some researchers on the
other side. You should hit it with a few slashes but don't take the time to open
it now--immediately retreat where you'll see some ninja suddenly appear. These
guys are an absolute pain because they have good range and they're pretty fast.
Take them out and return to the door, destroying it and the researchers. (Why
are you killing researchers? I have no idea, especially since they are locked
up, but they give you points, so go for it! Strider needs no morals.)
You'll also notice another kind of foe--these weird robots with treads. They
move fast and they can extend an electrical bolt in front of them. Again, if
you dash about with your sword activated, you should eliminate these guys before
they hurt you.
Continuing right and up a ramp you'll find a life-up. Jump left and continue in
that direction where you'll come to another door. Repeat the same technique as
before. After you've killed the ninja and researchers (actually, you'll find
the researchers can't even attack you), continue left up a ramp where you'll
come to the top level. Proceeding right again, you'll notice a door and part of
the ceiling going upwards. As before, take out the ninja that appear, but this
time proceed up the wall, jumping and slashing left for another point bonus
(incidentally, there is also a rather good side-view of Goliath here, so if you
wondered what you were destroying, here is your chance.)
Continue right, you'll find a place where the floor drops off. Drop or climb
down to a small platform where you'll see a canister. This is a boost, so get
it! When you do drop down there however, another ninja will appear, dispose of
him quickly.
Double jump right (or alternatively climb up the scaffolding and grasp hold of
the ceiling and climb right) where you'll come to Goliath. I'm not quite sure
what this is, but we need to break it. When you cross the highest point of
Goliath, it will suddenly become vulnerable, weak points will be marked and
several ninja will suddenly appear. To make matters worse, those weak spots
also shoot lasers that can reflect off other surfaces and come back at you. Be
careful. I've found the savage slash does a LOT of damage to these spots, but
don't make yourself too vulnerable.
No real strategy to suggest as I don't know if there are any patterns. When you
finish with Goliath, move swiftly to the right. Along the ceiling is a canister
with a gold star bonus, while in the doorway is a red star bonus. Note that
these lab-coat wearing guys in the doorway have guns, though they scream like
women. It would be embarrassing if you got hit by one of them, wouldn't it?
(5) Scene 5: The central engine room
Rather breathtaking and a fine improvement upon the gravity core that you had to
destroy in Strider 1. Here you'll find yourself standing on a platform with two
sets of rotating platforms on either side (yellow.) Above you is the Reactor
Core--a strangely humanized core I might add, as it talks and screams at the end
when you kill it. It also looks as though it's a tube with a woman stuffed into
it. I know how much Capcom likes shoving people into tubes, so I'm not
surprised, still I don't understand how a ship would be powered by a woman
stuffed into a tube? Psycho-power?
Well anyway, as you might imagine, get on one of the rotating platforms and use
this to strike at the Reactor Core. You should have two boosts left, and this
is a great place to use one of them. You should be able to get both a series of
strikes and then a jumping savage slash off on the core just by one pass of the
platform.
Be careful though, the reactor core has several forms of defense including some
energy balls it can hurl out at you (though quite humorously, you can deflect
these--often right back into the core itself), it can electrify the platforms,
and it can cause a giant column of yellow energy to materialize--so be careful.
Still, a little practice and that boost will make quick work of the engine room.
There are a couple point bonuses here in either upper corner but I don't think
they are worth going for. Also, there is a power-up along the right hand side
of the reactor core in a canister--something you might find useful.
(6) Scene 6: The satellite escape ship
This is in my mind one of the coolest scenes in the game, completely capturing
the spirit of Strider 1 and ending with an awesome duel. The music is also
completely appropriate here and makes one wish they could get their hands on the
import soundtrack.
Like the Balrog scene in Strider 1 (directly following the destruction of the
gravity core), you'll be racing to get out of the ship and to an escape pod
before the Balrog blows. You'll need to proceed right across two platforms and
one escape pod that literally crumbles as you climb over it, coming at last to
the admiral's escape ship.
Along the way you'll find a few soldiers and some mechanized turrets and so
forth. Just keep running and take them out as you go. You should also find a
power-up and some point bonuses, though I don't know how much you really want to
dally here.
The basic strategy with Admiral Wilhelm is this: When he is standing on either
left or right 'wing', move directly below him where his descending 'sword-wave-
attacks' can't hit you. When he move to the floor of the ship, he can attack in
two ways, either with his giant swing attack or his 'pulse' attack that sends
two pulses of energy along the surface of the ship. When he moves to the floor,
stand directly on top of him and time your attacks. When he charges up for
either one of these, jump up and do your Savage Slash, rendering you
invulnerable to his slash and putting you out of the way of his pulse attack.
This pattern should allow you to beat the Admiral without much difficulty.
Oh, and don't forget you should still have one boost left--so use it to make
quick work of this guy.
F. Level 05: Terminate the Grand Master
(1) Scene 1: The Spaceport of the Third Moon
This scene along with 3 and 4 are the only areas I don't always get slaughtered
in. It is possible to get a perfect here, but will take some time to learn the
layout and patterns.
First thing to note is this scene's use of zero gravity. The way it works is
that if you are on the ground or the ceiling, you'll walk along it as if in
normal gravity. If you jump though, you'll continue in that direction until you
reach another surface. It is possible to change direction with the double jump.
You will start in a tall rectangular room with Solo and three of his green
imitators. The best strategy I have found is not unlike what I use in level 01.
Basically stick to the ground and lure Solo down, trapping him in a corner.
Note, that this will not always work and you may need to do some crazy stunts.
Because the room is several screen tall, you can also do some weird vertical
jumps, getting a few stabs at Solo along the way. Still, this room can be
either maddeningly difficult or surprisingly easy, depending on Solo's behavior.
Moving up and to the right you'll come to a smaller room with some canisters
mid-air and a few baddies. Notably, up along the ceiling is a larger creeping
machine capable of firing a three way laser and also running over you. Take it
out quickly before it hurts you. Also, along the ground should be two or three
mutants (well, guys that the Master has grown to take over the earth.)
Typically these fellows aren't much of a threat, but wait until the next scene!
Jump up and down collecting the two point canisters and the life-up bonus. When
done, proceed down to the next area where you'll meet up with a weird bouncing
machine. It takes a lot of hits, but has no attacks, so destroy it. Beyond it
is a spinning gun with three lasers on it. Fortunately these things only take
one hit. Destroy it and proceed down again, this time to the right. Destroy
another bouncing thing, some more guards and from here you'll come to an opening
in the ceiling with another rotating laser gun above you (actually there is more
than one.) A good strategy here may be to jump straight up, swinging your sword
all the way...with luck this will take both of them out. You'll now see that to
your left is another one of those crawling machines...and don't take them
lightly, they are very very bad. Destroy it then move to the wall along the
right (yes, the one that ends--don't jump past that!)
Clamber over the top of the wall and down a little bit (I'll let you be the
judge here), and then do a vaulting jump (hassou jump) to the right where you'll
latch on to another wall. Climb up slightly to get a power-up, then climb down.
If you wait too long a large flaming butterfly will pursue you! Woah!
Once you come to the bottom of the wall, wait for one of those huge tanker
things to pass you, then drop/jump to the ground and quickly move to the right.
There will be another rotating gun. Move directly below it, then jump straight
up annihilating it. You will be clinging to a ceiling above you (don't ask me
why you cling to this one), move left until you get to the end. Again, time
this with the passing of those tankers, flipping up into a hallway.
To your right is the door to the next room, but you'll see a hoard of bouncing
machines and guards. Don't hesitate--just run through them. I'm not sure why
this works here, but it does, and it seems your only chance!
(2) Scene 2: The new bio development section
With this room I'm going to leave you in the hands of Mr. Bueno. I really don't
have any other suggestions and there is SO much going on here I can't take time
to describe it all. In general, you will be proceeding right, with many gravity
changes that come at the sound of an alarm, at which point parts of the floor
will move as well. This is a scene I really struggle to get through as there is
so much trying to kill you all at once. Be ready to fight more of those
crawling robots with the three way guns and also, there are these hovering bots
that may not sound like much, but depending on which way the gravity is, they
shoot out a jet of flame. You'll need to be cautious and time your advances.
There are also really only two bonuses I heavily stress picking up. When you
get to the vertical shaft you will find a boost bonus on the top-side (which
side is top these days?) of the first platform. Also at the very top of the
shaft is a life-up. These might seem like tiny consolations at the end of a
very tough scene, but you WILL need them--especially the boost.
Here is Mr. Bueno strategy:
>In the Bio Development station, you have to take your time but be sure not
>to pace too slow so that your time limit will diminish. Keep in mind that
>your time counts for points as well! Take out a few enemies and then move
>on. Avoid ones that take too long to kill and try not to get hit. Keep on
>the look out for bonuses that are lying around and collect any power ups that
>are there even if you're already fine. Extra power ups can mean extra
>points as well. Also, don't use your boost just yet. Save it for Caduceus
>as he's the real challenge in the stage and it slows down the game when you
>use it in this room.
(3) Scene 3: The gravity control device area
Use the same strategy you used in the first gravity core room. This one is even
easier because the energy pulse runs the same direction as the beams. If you've
practiced with the first gravity core, this one should be toast.
(4) Scene 4: The central entrance
This is an awesome scene, though one that can seriously cost you some life if
you aren't careful. You will be riding the back of a plainer (though no less
cool) emperor dragon, on top of which stands Strider Hien, ready now to fight to
the death. The only thing which might have made this scene cooler (though would
have been too much) is if this had actually been the emperor dragon and it still
shot back at you. Clearly though, this scene really demonstrates the very
limits of the PSX's ability. I really hope when and if the Dreamcast version
comes out that we will be able to see this and other scenes with no lag!
Well my suggestion here is to spend a lot of time running through Hien, though
again be careful for his moves he charges up and when he throws his cypher. A
very cheap trick I have found is to knock him off the tail of the dragon and hit
him every time he tries to jump back on. This can take a lot of time, but given
Hien's ability to block your moves, I'd rather beat him flawless than worry
about how long it takes to do it.
Mr. Bueno's suggestion:
>When fighting with Strider Hien for the second time, be sure not to use your
>boost. Once again it'll cause slowdown to the game and you'll want to save
>it for Caduceus. Attack Hien methodically and carefully. His dash attack
>can be really easily avoided, but be sure to remember that when he throws
>his cypher, that it can hit you when it returns to him. As for
>his laser attack, get a running start if you're far away from him to avoid
>the laser.
(5) Scene 5: The control section
Here you will again fight the Grand Master as you did in Strider 1. Even the
layout of the level is quite similar. Take your time to collect all the bonuses
(especially boosts and life-ups). The Master, given time will summon various
body parts of the next boss (I know, weird...), and finally summoning a strange
translucent fish. These things are tough to kill, so try if you can to avoid
them and focus all your energy on killing the master and collecting enough
goodies to make it through the next stage!
(6) Scene 6: The throne room
Instead of ending as this game should have, you now come face to face with one
hugely cheap boss. Caduceus (literally the name of the symbol used by the
medical profession--you know, the staff with the serpents coiled around it?) is
so massive that in perspective Strider looks like a dot, you'll no doubt be
putting a few continues into beating this thing. The only things I can tell you
for beating Caduceus is 1) His head is the only part of him that is vulnerable
and 2) you can turn off his arms with repeated slashes, but they will eventually
turn back on.
The reason for turning off the arms should be obvious since you can stop a good
chunk of Caduceus' attacks, but this doesn't end the death-beam attack (Caduceus
literally covers the entire screen with energy blasts), nor does it (as far as I
know) stop his massive fire-ball attack. My suggestion is to climb up his arm,
turn on your boost and hit him in the head until he knocks you off (and probably
kills you.) Fortunately when you continue you'll get another boost and you can
use this to finish the giant bug off. Also I have found I can use Hiryu's
savage slash to avoid some of Caduceus's attacks, but this requires precise
timing and is easy to miss.
Lastly, if you have played through this level wisely, you should be facing
Caduceus with three boosts--you should be able to unload at least one of them
into its head before the giant bug starts getting mean, so it seems possible if
you have enough life and can dodge a few of his attacks you could beat Caduceus
without getting killed, though I haven't done it yet.
Again, here is Mr. Bueno's strategy--
>For Caduceus, you have to be really tricky with maneuvering. When those blue
>spheres appear, you have to stay still in one spot and then move out of
>there before anything hits you. Same goes for the Electricity attack he
>has. As for the fire, that's telegraphed by his arm movement. If you're
>hanging somewhere near Caduceus' weak spot and slashing at him, you'll have
>to drop down and avoid being hit. If you're a master of the double jump,
>you can double jump to either arm you're closer to and climb up so that you
>won't have to start from the bottom of the screen. For that shower of
>lasers that he does when he flies off the screen, you'll have to go to the
>sides for it. You'll notice that the farther you go outwards,
>the larger the gaps are between the lasers. This is the last fight, so be
>sure to use as much Boost as you possibly can.
5. Secrets
Special Bonus: Don't get hit at all and receive the 'star' ranking, worth an
additional 1.8 million!
The following are all relatively well known:
-Play through Strider 2 and save your game to make Strider Hien playable
-Save the completed Strider 1 game and Strider 2 game to the same card and
unlock level 0.
-Play through Strider 2 and unlock 'infinite boost' option.
6. Updates
The following are additions I would like to see in future versions of this FAQ:
-What EXACTLY does the difficulty setting change? For instance, in Strider 1,
projectiles were slowed down drastically when difficulty was turned down.
-Add the text shown between each level. Too lazy to do it now.
-Will there be a Dreamcast release? What will the differences be between the
two games?
-What are the differences between the PSX and the arcade version? (Does the
arcade lag like the PSX version does?)
-More hidden items!
-Better strategies!
-And just what's up with those penguins?
7. Legal
Strider, Strider Hiryu, Falchion, Strider Hien and all other related
names/trademarks are copyright/trademarked Moto Kikakaku and Capcom Co., Ltd.
Playstation is copyright Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
This document is copyright Chris Moon 2000 and cannot be reproduced for profit
in any form. It can be freely distributed over the internet as long as it is
unaltered and is only distributed on free (i.e. non-subscription) sites. If you
do choose to post this document on your site, please email me to let me know.
