Past Masters, Vol. I: Agrios
Agrios is the former webmaster of Agrios' Striders Guild. He contacted me by email a few years back. When I got the idea for doing this interview series, I wanted him to participate. He agreed, but life and general busy-ness almost kept this from being more in-depth like I'd hoped. It was my fault. I dropped the ball, though the circumstances were really beyond my control. However, he came through in the ninth hour and we were able to get a pretty decent interview together. Thanks for picking up the slack for me, Agrios.
Agrios, for his part, would like to apologize in advance to anyone reading for his "broken grammar or silly mistakes", as he puts it. English isn't his mother tongue.
LSCM: What's your first Strider-related memory?
Agrios: I remember seeing an ad from Capcom, for the NES version, on a Gamepro magazine. It showed Strider and Codename: Viper. It was 1989 I guess. From the first time I laid my eyes on the screenshots I told myself: I will play this game, oh yes, I will play this game. Blue is my favorite color, I can't help it.
LSCM: So really, you were attracted to Strider's character design?
Agrios: Sure. The "hi-tech-martial-artist" look. It's awesome even now.
LSCM: Oh, definitely. What do you think about games like the PS2 Shinobi and Ninja Gaiden Sigma, modern games that obviously draw influence from Strider?
Agrios: I liked the red scarf of the Shinobi, very fluid, looks like its alive. Ninja Gaiden is very fast and brutal. But I never played those games enough.
LSCM: Which is your favorite of the three (Strider, NES Strider, Strider 2), and why?
Agrios: [That's] a hard one. But NES is my favorite, because of the history and RPG-like elements (level, skills, etc.). Arcade comes close in 2nd for the stunning graphics, music and gameplay.
LSCM: Did you follow the lead-ups to any of the home releases? Which home release were you looking forward to, in particular?
Agrios: No, never. The home release I was most anxious about was Strider 2 for the PlayStation, since the arcade never made to my country.
LSCM: What led to the creation of your fansite?
Agrios: I was excited about the Internet, fanpages, emulation, and, of course - Strider. I just had to do something.
LSCM: What was the Strider Internet scene like, in those days? Was there a lot of communication between webmasters, or was it each man for himself?
Agrios: Dunno about the others, but from my point of view I didn't see much communication among the webmasters. I remember e-mailing the people from the Strider Army. Later on I got a bit more close from the webmaster from Strider Island Moralos.
LSCM: How did that come about?
Agrios: It was kinda natural, once in a while some people mailed me about the site. Bueno was one of them.
LSCM: So he contacted you first?
Agrios: I may be wrong, but its the way I remember.
LSCM: There was (and is) a lot of cross-pollination between Strider fansites, in terms of content. Where did you come by your site's original content?
Agrios: Good question. My original content was some fanart I got from Japanese fans: Kinua and Inumaru. And the idea for a Strider-like RPG character in the AD&D rules setting. I think I was the only one in that time trying to mix Strider and RPG. I was also working on a visual walktrough of the NES version. Got dozens of [screenshots] but never managed to finish it.
LSCM: I remember you mentioning that to me in an old email. I believe you said Bueno was involved, somehow?
Agrios: After I've taken dozens of snaps and decided I wouldn't finish it, I donated the files to Bueno.
LSCM: And he never did anything with it, either. That's disappointing.
Your site had the most innovative and unique design of all. How did you come up with it?Agrios: Thanks, I feel honored by the compliment. That was not my [doing]. A very good friend of mine, Sama, did all the [work]. The only thing I came [up] with was the idea for the logo.
LSCM: Ah, the mysterious Sama, the Ninjamaster. Is this one of your real-world friends?
Agrios: Yea, he's a very close friend since early 90's....maybe even before that, we used to live in the same street.
LSCM: Well, tell him I said thanks for designing a kickass website, whenever you see him next.
Agrios: Sure I will.
LSCM: Did you have any plans for your site that you left unfinished?
Agrios: Yes, a few. Finishing the visual walkthroughs and FAQs for all versions of the game. Creating more strider-based RPG stuff.
LSCM: You know, I've never seen a Strider site that had that kind of content. Would you have done a walkthrough for Strider 2, also? I know in an older email you sent me, you said that Strider 2 disappointed you so greatly that you decided to abandon your site.
Agrios: If Strider 2 was a good game, sure I would work on it.
LSCM: Also, which RPGs would you have adapted Strider for?
Agrios: The games I had some knowledge at the time.: AD&D, WW Storyteller, maybe GURPS.
LSCM: Other than your website, did you ever make anything else (artwork, fangame, tweaking a create-a-character mode to put Hiryu somewhere he didn't belong...)?
Agrios: Sort of. As a RPG fan, I once gamemastered a capcom themed one-shot adventure. That was kinda weird, but the players loved it. Hiryu was on it of course. The plot evolved all heroes thwarting M. Bison and Matic's plans on using the Zain mind control device.
LSCM: That sounds like it would've been a lot of fun, actually. How long did that session last?
Agrios: Something like 3 hours or so, it was kinda messy. To tell the truth, I wasnt enjoying it too much. But the players loved it.
LSCM: I'd imagine so, considering how you had to have been compiling all of the Capcom storylines and adapting the RPG's rules to allow for the outlandish stuff that happens in Capcom games... at the same time. Would've been fun to play, but a nightmare to GM.
Agrios: Sure it was.
LSCM: What is/was in your Strider collection? Do you have any memorabilia left over from those days?
Agrios: All the Strider stuff I got is still on digital media.
LSCM: Well, that's no good. I need to hook you up. We can't have one of the O.G. Strider Webmasters with cribbed digital paraphernalia. What kind of Strider collectibles would you like to own, if you could get your hands on them?
Agrios: Well... an action figure would be sweet.
LSCM: I'll see what I can do.
Agrios: Thanks in advance.
LSCM: What else are you interested in, besides Strider?
Agrios: Lots of things. To name a few: music, RPG, technology, PC gaming, emulation, you name it. Now I'm married and have a kid, only a year and half, thus my time of leisure got severely nerfed. In the last 3 years, I've been a casual player of Guild Wars.
LSCM: Oh, cool. What character class?
Agrios: Well, many. I had two accounts, but when extra slots became available I donated one for a friend. Right now I have 8 RP characters from all classes except for Monk and Ritualist. My [primary] character is a Warrior called Agrios Invictus.
LSCM: Now we know who to PVP, huh?
Agrios: Feel free to contact me in-game, it will be a pleasure. Though I'm much more of a casual PVP'er. It's easier to find me in the weekend afternoons. I'm at GMT -3 time.
LSCM: You mentioned that you like music. Who do you enjoy listening to?
Agrios: Basically Rock, from Deep Purple to Linkin Park, guitar heroes like Satriani and Vai. Lately my fave style is Prog-metal (Pagan's Mind and Symphony-X, mostly). I like to listen soundtracks too.
LSCM: Ah, a fellow rock aficionado. Any thoughts about Rock's loss of popularity and the rise of hip-hop?
Agrios: Rock will always have his space, true rockers and true rock will always exist. Sometimes there will be a wave of rockers that will break through mainstream and attract non-iniates, but these will vanish when the newest flavor comes in. Nowadays, hip-hop.
LSCM: Tabletop or video game RPGs?
Agrios: Both. In tabletop I played a few sessions of AD&D, D&D3rd, GURPS, Street Fighter StG, DC Heroes...
LSCM: I played a few rounds of DC Heroes in college. That was fun, for killing time during finals week. Didn't know there was an actual Street Fighter RPG, though. How does that work?
Agrios: It uses the storyteller system, from White Wolf studios. The combat system is complex, crafty and shines when it comes to strategy. The ugly thing of is that it requires many props (hex maps, move cards) for working correctly.
VGs I played many titles most for PC, Super NES and PS1. My favourite games on the genre are Baldur's Gate 2, Chrono Trigger, Valkyrie Profile, Star Wars KotoR 1, to name a few.LSCM: You'd have to have been living under a rock to have not played Chrono Trigger. Yet another classic 16-bit game that got a PSone sequel. What'd you think of Chrono Cross?
Agrios: I tried Chrono Cross, but I found the beginning extremely boring and quit playing it.
LSCM: Do you enjoy being a father?
Agrios: Yeah. Its kinda total different experience. There's a lot of emotional attachment and responsibilty involved, but yeah. It's rewarding.
LSCM: It's good that you see it as a responsibility. A lot of men don't, these days. Do you have a son or a daughter?
Agrios: Its a boy.
LSCM: I have another question for you: recently, Keiji Inafune did an interview with 1up.com where he said Strider was "one of the franchises that I have an interest in reviving, so I think there's a real possibility that we will make another Strider game". Then Seth Killian over on Capcom-Unity asked... "Could a Strider in 3D recapture that same magic? Would it have to invent new magic? [...] a lot of the best mechanics of the fights were very 2d-centric. I can already think of cool ways you could recreate that in 3d, but what do you think as Strider fans?" So what do you think? if they did a new Strider game, which would be the better way to go?
Agrios: I guess 3D action games evolved a lot and they can be as fun as their 2D counterparts, maybe even more. They can even do 2.5D, like [Strider 2]. Can a new Strider game be good? Definitely. But will it? I have my doubts.
I can explain. A friend is writing a paper for his master degree about games. And this is what he found: the games for the current and next generations are too expensive to make. So, when some studio starts to make a game, its is needed that this game can be pleasant for the majority of the gamers and even non-gamers, so it can pay itself off and make profit. So, this is what happens: they try to make a game that pleases everyone, but they came with a just average game that hardcore fans will probably dislike. I don't think there will be a another good Strider game in the future. And I pray to God to be wrong.
One very good way to do it, is the way it has been done with Bionic Commando: ReArmed. It's basically the same game from NES/Arcade with buffed graphics and sound that the current technology can offer. Yeah... and just like in BC: Rearmed a few tricks wouldn't hurt.
Now think: NES strider + Nextgen punch = BEST.GAME.EVER.LSCM: I'd have to agree. Thanks for participating!
Agrios: I'm the one to thank you for bringing good times back to my memory.