Strider 2

I have started the month of February with a more recent game then those I have been playing with Strider 2.  Developed and published by Capcom, Strider 2 was released in the United States in July 2000.  It was released with a second disc which held the arcade game Strider, but they were mislabeled and displayed as each other. 

So the story of Strider 2 is very simple: the evil Grandmaster has taken over the world and it is up to Strider Hiryu to defeat him.  And the game begins with giving you the choice of three missions to accomplish, so I of course start with the first one: Destroy the militia group.  I'm given the orders to take out the terrorists who are occupying the city.  So your sent into the city to free it from the terrorists grasp. 

And one thing you learn quickly with the game is there isn't all to much to it.  You move through the level for a bit and then face a mini-boss.  Go a bit further... face a mini-boss.  And while some of them don't even justify being looked at, there are some that are actually very entertaining.  Such as the first mini-boss in mission one: the terrorist.  He's just this fat guy standing in a robe with a hand that looks like a a giant wrench... because it is.  He starts off the fight by raising his second hand (a gatling-gun) and shots off a few shots at you.  I took the opportunity to jump in and slash a few times before he lifted his wrench hand and tried to smash me.  The battle continues like that until you've taken half of his health where he begins to use a new attack: where he lifts his shirt and shoots rockets out of his belly. 

So the game continues on like that, a bit of level and then a mini-boss.  Most of them are simple in both name and appearance and difficulty: Spider Form and Tiger Form being two of them.  Neither are that impressive so I'm going to move past them.  The most entertaining mini-boss of the level are a set of three obnoxious girls who leap into the air and try and kick you a lot.  They attack as a team and throw kicks towards you with blasts to attempt to knock you out.  The entertaining part isn't actually the girls, but more correctly the area, you are riding across some flying vehicles in a self-scrolling section of the level.  The most likely way to lose a life is by falling off, but it becomes fun to crawl under the cars and hang on the bottom of them. 

But the level still isn't over, there is one more "big" mini-boss and then the final boss.  The final mini-boss goes by the name of Solo.  He is a guy flying around in armor with an arm-cannon that shots a spread shot at you as he hovers around.  Defeating him is simple, a single hit does a lot of damage so he's simple to defeat.  But he's not done yet!  After moving a bit further you get to face Solo version two... the only different that is initially noticeable is he has two energy rings around his shoulders.  Solo now moves faster, has more defense and throws the energy blades at you. 

And then there is the final boss of the level: the Emperor Dragon.  It's a flying dragon which you are on the back of.  It has a few moves, but it is a very simple one.  It turns and shots fireballs at you as a main attack.  Also, when it is horizontal, it runs electricity down its back to try and damage you.  Finally, when it's vertical, it turns and swings some clubbed fists at you to try and damage you when you're near its head.  And of course, the head is the only place you can damage it, so you are likely to take a bit of damage, but never enough to warrant any worry. 

And so I've started a new month and have played another game.  Keeping with how I have been playing, I'll go with Strider tomorrow and finish what I have of the series, and then it will be even closer to the weekend and the Superbowl.  Adios for today though.