Old Games: Encyclopedia Bombastica: Strider (NES)

Vinny "Lord Weeaboo" Caravella putting Giancarlo in his place about pronouncing manga

Whatever, I think if you're around somebody who would bother correcting pronunciation that'd probably just lead to "Um, it's called 'manga' " instead. Like calling Anime 'cartoons'.

I stridently agree!

Manga > Monga

Awesome. I absolutely loved NES Strider, but even back then I knew the game was all sorts of jank. But it was just such a cool little world.

I admit I was never able to beat the final boss until many years later. Guy is tough.

This cart is still in my living room for my 3-in-1 Retro, along with Blaster Master and a few others. Great game. I still like the arcade Strider more, even though this one is great too.

But Jeff... Ikaruga just came out on Steam... time to do another Bombastica on that amazing arcade game.

Mang-ga is a totally acceptable pronunciation if you're speaking English. If a Japanese person asked to get a "biru" with you, you wouldn't say "It's pronounced 'beer' idiot."

Jeff: thanks for sticking-up for NES Strider.

(Watch the whole video, people; 55:16 he says "It is the most ambitious.")

It was one of the first games I played which encouraged visiting areas multiple times with different power-ups to advance, and I was really disappointed with the arcade version for being a one-dimensional button-mash. I was even more disappointed when "Strider 2" came out, and it was a sequel to that arcade version.

I get that people are saying this didn't stand the test of time, but a lot of older games are that way, and I think it's more a statement about the evolution of the computer interface, and not a statement about how good those games are. Old games made for antiquated hardware are necessarily going to be less user-friendly than new games, and that's just because of advances in the various user-interfaces. For example: modern gamers going back and playing Pong on an original Atari would likely say that Pong sucks, but that experience doesn't mean Pong is not an important game, and wasn't great in its time. I think older games need to be analyzed in their proper historical context, and I think it's a mistake to compare those games to the games we have today.

I agree that Arcade Strider did stand the test of time; it was a one-dimensional and uninteresting game then, and it's still an uninteresting and one-dimensional game now.

Though I agree (with Jeff's statement) that there is a better game there somewhere, I did enjoy 2014 Strider (especially for a $15 game) and definitely prefer the Strider series to go in that direction -- and to celebrate that kind of game design -- than to harp-on the tired arcade version. Even though it may not be the best game to come out in a while: 2014 Strider is the best of the Strider games because it combines the ambition of the NES game with the stylistic flair and control of the arcade game.

Just imagine if you had played it as a kid; there were almost no games with those features, especially in this style. I remember this fondly, and really wish they had continued to evolve/refine the series in this way instead of celebrating and re-hashing the tired arcade romp.

Fortunately we have the new Strider, which is definitely worth playing, even if Jeff didn't give it 5 stars; it's only $15, and is plenty enjoyable. I wish Jeff had played it on "Hard" mode, which makes a few more of the encounters less manageable with button-mashing, thus demanding a little more thought/skill.

This is definitely an interesting debate to have. As someone who would only have the retroactive perspective in playing these games on an emulator on my PC today, I would easily give the edge to arcade Strider. It's funny because I think the increasingly popular trend of shorter and tighter experiences in favor of padding out games for value sake has left the argument even better in arcade Strider's favor if you just look at it as a short and sweet action game.

There is respect due to NES Strider for its structure and ambition and to Nintendo's credit the game is better designed around the concept of a home game. However as far as playability is concerned, I'll take a game that plays well for about 2 hours over one that plays kinda like shit for twice that or more.

I think the odd duck in all this is Genesis Strider which has some of the strengths of the arcade version but the weaknesses of an arcade port to home consoles. If anything I think we can all agree Genesis Strider is the problematic one from a value perspective.

The first time I saw Strider Hiryu was playing Marvel vs Capcom 2 and he was pretty good in that so it gets my vote for best Strider game.

Jeff taking the wrong tube is my favorite thing in a while.

From my vague remembering of how the NES worked, I bet they had to pull some real tricky business to make it so screens could scroll in every direction like it does here, which probably accounts for a lot of the wonkiness. Mega Man 'n Metroid could only scroll up/down or side/side at right angles, for example. Plus some unusual physics stuff with those sloped surfaces which I wouldn't be surprised to be somewhat related.

Giancarlo is correct re Mega Man 9 having flicker/slowdown, glad someone said what I was thinking. I'm pretty sure they took that feature out of MM10, though. I kept it on 'cause I thought it was pretty charming and wasn't nearly as egregious as most actual NES games.

Yep. You're almost there. Keep going.

@pudge: I'm 23 which means the NES was over before my life began. SNES is as vintage as I can truly aprecciate and even then the number of SNES games older than 1994 that I appreciate I can count on one hand. That's how I've always felt. That also lines up with Paul Barnett's Golden Age theory which I happen to agree with 100%.

Genesis Strider all the way. I remember the problems with jumping and hit box detection this game had. That just killed this game for me. It was certainly interesting for it's time. When the PS1 Strider 2 came out I hoped it had gone in the NES version's direction. That could have been great instead of an arcade game that has to load every few moments because of the limited RAM on the PS1.

The arcade Strider still has the best and most iconic art design and music.

The gameplay is another story, but the arcade/Genesis versions had a super cool atmosphere that the 2014 game seems to lack, at least for me personally.

Edit: The Australia level was pretty much real-world accurate. Dead within a minute of getting off the plane.

Was more like a retro Quick Look than a Bombastica entry, but I'll take what I can get.

five stars

You can't fool me, I know a quick look when I see one.

OMG BJAP PEAN ANOB! Flashbacks to childhood! I memorized that password, I'm pretty sure that's as far as I ever made it.

@brad Mega Man 9 and 10 had simulated sprite flicker in its options.

I hope @brad will take some time out to do a TIE-Fighter or X-Wing vs. TIE-Fighter bombastica since he pumps up those games so much (deservedly).

Strider? Yay! :D

... oh, it's the nes one. :(

@cale: Just showed to me how crappy Tomb Raider's VO directors were that they weren't correcting the voice actress on that stuff.

Let this be a lesson to all those who blindly trust Jeff's negative opinion on Yoshi's Island and Super Metroid. His childhood memories can't necessarily be trusted.

I still prefer Space Egypt to Jazzy Egypt.

Woah that game is super shit, and when you learn that Ninja Gaiden, Contra and MegaMan were already out by then, it's even worse.

Looks alright. Yeah wall collisions seem rough, never played it though.

Hey, that's 8-bit gaming. The real thing, and a bit above average for the era in my opinion.

main guh

You're all the worst, this is so good!

Game Cop finally weighs in. Also drag him on the podcast sometime.

Second watching the whole video. Tempered glass!

I'm always conflicted about how to pronounce manga. On the one hand my desire to pronounce things correctly is telling me to say "mahn-ga", but my desire to not feel like a total weaboo feels better just saying "mang-ga". It's like pronouncing karate "ka-ra-tay".

@themasterds: Having read up on what that is, I can't say I agree with you at all. I'm 24 as well, and I played Super Mario Bros. as soon as I could crawl over to the TV since my dad bought a NES in 88. A majority of my favorite movies were made before I was born and I love arcades as much as anyone around despite growing up in their great decline.

But beyond that, you have to appreciate media for the time it came out in. Drawing a line in the sand and saying that anything past that line just isn't for you is what teenagers do when they refuse to watch movies in black and white and miss out on the comedy of The Marx Brothers. It's what elderly people do when they don't want to learn how to use a computer and tap into the wealth of information just beyond their reach. Age has nothing to do with it.

But whatever, I know, I'm just some dude. I just find that attitude you express so deflating.

Man they really did make these games with the idea that overscan would take care of the garbage at the edges. I mean the game has some crazy stuff going on at the edges of the screen at times.

giant bomb needs more gamecop.

Nope Brad, your cartridge/console isn't messed up. This game was glitchy and buggy as Heeeeeell. I finished it back in the day, I can confirm that. :)

@pudge: I guess there's more to it than simply these games being old. I've always resented the NES since it seemed through the 00s people romanticized it but not the SNES nearly as much. Retro gaming in the early 00s played up the NES, post Rare buyout, the DKC trilogy started to get a bum rap. Could've used a little mid 90s nostalgia then.

Still those days are long done. SNES and even N64 nostalgia begun some time ago and Kickstarter is making even the most shit upon of genres return given enough people who still love them. Donkey Kong Country has long since returned, things are good. There's still probably an element of that that lingers in my distaste for "classic" NES games that makes it more hostile than it otherwise would be purely from disinterest. Just like how the robot saying PlayStation irritates me despite having a PS3 and a PS4 now.

Still though golden age rules sort of doesn't apply to you as you played NES first. They sort of apply to what you play rather than what is out. For instance I started with a SNES after the N64 was out. While I didn't start in 1994 when games I love started to come out from since I started from it it didn't really matter. It was like all games from before I started came out at once. Makes for some really unforgiving comparisons to like holding Mario All Stars in one hand and DKC in the other. One of them really looks like they didn't try at all if you don't take into account time difference.

I really like how

A) This Bombastica has the game 'full screen'.

B) Jeff is involved in this Bombastica

C) It's basically a quick look with an old game

Sweet!

Luke

Man, when old games are garbage they're really painful! XD

After all those years, at least even garbage like Ride to Hell Retribution looks more worth a play than this.

Wait.

I thought his name was John Carlo

It is. "Varanini" is the stage name he uses while doing magic shows for kids on the weekends.

Not a fan of Bombastica done solo (same as quick looks), but it's a great feature when presented with a group. Hope there are more in-studio Bombasticas like this one. Thanks for the video!

awesome, especially when Jeff looses his enthusiasm for the game

It was fun watching Jeff come from a place of enthusiasm and quickly be reminded of the reality surrounding most NES games, i.e. they haven't aged so well.