Game #1270: Strider(2014)

 As related to Aragorn as The Rings of Power is related to Middle Earth. 

 While I don't much care about the original, Strider 2 is one of my favorite games on the original PS1, and considering how much I like Metroidvanias I've always been somewhat interested in Strider for the HD consoles, however, it being download only made me forget about it... until I learned that it had a physical release in Japan that is fully translated, hence, here we are.

 Unlike the previous Arcade Games, this is a 2.5 D Metroidvania in which you are thrust into the enemy base, conveniently divided into about 10 areas, and allowed to explore... as far as your abilities allow. Strider's abilities start fairly basic, jump, slash and cling and climb walls, but you'll eventually unlock a second jump, a catapult move that works as a third jump, a charged attack, the ability to throw Kunai and different types of swords to open doors with! If you search hard enough, you can even find costumes, which even though they are simple recolors, they are really cool, you can even make Strider look like Warzard's Kenji!

 Combat is a bit lackluster, for starters, you can't use the DPAD for movement, and the analog stick doesn't feel very good for this kind of game, particularly considering how fast everything is. Pretty much every enemy drops health, and stages are peppered with health capsules, and there's a reason for that, enemies will shower you with bullets to the point that it's impossible not to take damage, that said, as long as you kill them quickly, you'll get back any lost health. It's a bit brutal at first, when your health bar is short, but if you find the Health Extensions you'll be OK.

 There are a few other tools to aid you, for instance, an energy gauge. As you explore through the game you'll earn abilities that use energy from this gauge, such as summoning an Eagle or a Wolf for an attack, or even better, the Satellites. The Satellites are incredibly overpowered, and will allow you to easily defeat every single boss in the game as long as you mash hard and fast, while learning most of their patterns. Landing hits without getting hit also fills a third gauge, that once full will make you faster and stronger for a little while.

 Then there are the Sword/Cypher variations that you'll also find through the game. There are four types, Reflective, Explosive, Ice and Boomerang. Each one has a different property, and you can also unlock enhancements of these for other moves, for example, Ice Kunai and Reflective Kunai, or add explosions to the catapult jump! One small issue... you'll find enemies sporting colored shields, and you can only break these shields with the appropriate Sword, fair enough, right? Well, you swap swords with the DPad, and when fighting enemies with different shield types swapping weapon type in the midst of battle feels very cumbersome.

 The exploration is alright, using Strider tools feels nice enough, and once you get the third jump/catapult vault it gets better(If you find the reflect ability for the catapult it's EVEN better), however, I always hate it when Metroidvanias don't have a decent Map system, and this is yet another example of an inefficient map. For starters, the map is divided into zones, that alone makes it unnecessarily tough to figure out how each zone connects with each other, since you can't be sure if the 'global map' shows two zones touching each other if you can make it from one to the other. The map also fails to properly convey the limits of each are, I remember at least one zone that looked as if it was incomplete, but there's an invisible border if you try to jump of the edge. The map also doesn't tell you where a zone ends, so you might think you are entering new areas... only to find out it was simply a zone's exit and you had been there before. Where the Panther pads and Eagle pads take you isn't shown on the map either, so you have to take the gamble. I liked the game enough as to want to get every collectible, but once I figured out that I'd have to chance my way through the maps I gave up on it. Oh! And they added two planes to certain areas who knows why, it only helps to confuse you further.

 Strider is alright, it was a fun time, but the whole map thing is unacceptable. In a game about exploration, making it easy for the player to plan their routes and what not is key for making backtracking fun. And while you can get used to the analog controls, it's suboptimal for this kind of game, really. Regardless, I don't want to end on a sour note considering the game is actually pretty decent, and slashing enemies to death was pretty dope.

 6.5