Past Masters, Vol. II: NeoStrider
This interview's subject should surprise no one. NeoStrider, creator of NeoStrider's Strider Zone, was the first of the old-school webmasters to contact me, by showing up on the first iteration of the Nexus completely out of nowhere. Since then, we've spoken regularly, if intermittently, and when I told him about the interview series, he was eager to participate:
LSCM: What's your first Strider-related memory?
NeoStrider: I remember seeing a Strider arcade machine in a pizza place in Ft. Bragg. It was a bigger than normal cab, which was unusual for a Strider, come to think about it. Kind of like the big marquee SF2 cabs that became popular later. Of course, it made quite an impression on me.
LSCM: Those SF2 cabs were everywhere, weren't they? Ahh, memories.
NeoStrider: Sure, but this was at least 3 years before SF2 hit arcades!
LSCM: Which is your favorite of the three (Strider, NES Strider, Strider 2), and why?
NeoStrider: Of course the original, because it's the best game of the bunch naturally. If I had to pick ONE reason it'd be amazing level design.
LSCM: Which of the levels did you find the most innovative?
NeoStrider: All the levels are amazing, with Siberia (2) being just a bit better than the others to me, and the Amazon (4) being a touch worse.
LSCM: Oddly, I like the Amazon stage the best, myself. Why did you feel it was a notch down?
NeoStrider: It's all in the jungle... all the other stages have big environment changes, and the Amazon is just the jungle. I do like the vines, but the rest of the stage is done better elsewhere in the game in my opinion.
LSCM: Did you follow the lead-ups to any of the home releases? Which home release were you looking forward to, in particular?
NeoStrider: I bought my first Genesis in large part because Strider was coming out for it. I remember hearing it was going to be a 6 meg cart missing the Amazon level, and being stoked when they bumped it to 8 megs and kept it intact.
LSCM: Huh. I don't remember this.
NeoStrider: It was a blurb in an old EGM (RIP) I read to tatters as a kid. I loved that mag... they did make Strider their game of the year in 1989 after all!
LSCM: That I do remember. Any thoughts on EGM's passing?
NeoStrider: I guess it's that time, with progress and whatnot, but as probably the most important video game magazine in history losing it feels like a blow to the gaming culture... and the loss of EGM leaves us with what? GamerPro? Game Informer? No thanks. Retro Gamer is a hell of a mag tho, I'd like to see it come stateside.
I sorta stumbled into my NES version (in a swap or something) but I do remember the ads for the NES version and the Nintendo Power article and was very interested... and I bought Journey From Darkness: Strider Returns secondhand, so those two I didn't really follow before release...LSCM: What were your initial impressions of those games, after playing them for the first time?
NeoStrider: The NES game was just confusing to me until I learned there was a triangle jump and finally finished Egypt. After that I kinda liked it, it had a great story, and Matic was such a bastard I wanted to take him down bad! Most of my internal Strider narrative is kinda based off of the NES game, as it was years before I learned of a manga even existing.
LSCM: Good to know I wasn't the only one who got stuck in Egypt. Wasn't that Triangle Jump absolutely frustrating to pull off?
NeoStrider: Yes.
As for Strider Returns, once I turned off the "sweep" sword I kinda liked it, but obviously it didn't hold a candle to the original. I never took the manual's story too seriously (it was really really bad of course) and just figured that Strider (Hiryu, any name like Hinjo HAD to just be a bad translation, but whatever... it's obviously non-canon...) saving his girlfriend was kinda lame, but that's how video game storylines went. Maybe the Master was bored that day, and didn't want to make a fansite. =)LSCM: To this day, I've never finished that game. I get disgusted with it halfway in and just shut it off. So if you actually managed to get an enjoyable experience out of it, you're a more determined Strider fan than I.
NeoStrider: There was less to play then. And remember, that WAS Strider II for a time. Don't worry tho... you didn't miss anything.
Strider 2 on the other hand, I counted the minutes!! I imported it, and it arrived at my apartment on the day after we moved out so I hung around an empty apartment for hours waiting for the delivery. I also reserved the US version of course!LSCM: That's dedication! I still don't have the Japanese version, myself. Since you imported, did you have any issues with the mod-chip lockout they put in the Strider 2 discs?
NeoStrider: Yes, I had a modded old style PSX system with a Game Killer in the serial port to bypass the mod chip detect and Strider 2 was still a problem child... but it didn't take me long to figure out that the trick was using the wonder game as a loader... that game being The Raiden Project! Don't ask me why, but it loads anything. I have an import PS2 now, as well as a PSone with a better chip, so no more issues. Still have that funky old PSX too. I'm kind of sentimental...
LSCM: My buddy Rob would've greatly appreciated that tidbit of information. He wasn't even able to play his US version of Strider 2 because of that modchip lockout.
How do you think Strider 2 holds up, since it's been almost ten years?NeoStrider: Like I felt about it at the time... it's a bit of a wasted opportunity. It's a very good game, but the way the levels are designed was just not up to snuff. But Hien is cool, and I like the art.
LSCM: That seems to be the general consensus among Strider webmasters. Not so much casual fans of the series, though... if the Capcom-Unity boards are any indication. What, in particular, did you feel they could've done better?
NeoStrider: Level flow. Why am I in the rooftops, then a sewer, then a building, then up in the sky? How did I get there? The first Strider was SO good about moving you from place to place I guess I got used to it. It was a worthy sequel, but I like Cannon-Dancer better. That game just kicks ass. It feels more like Strider than Strider 2 does.
LSCM: It would've been interesting to hear your reactions to Strider 2 when it came out. It just seemed like no one was really commenting on it but Bueno, and that's including the major video game sites.
NeoStrider: Yeah, I really thought Strider 2 was going to get me so pumped I'd redo my site, but really by then other guys had better sites and really, I just didn't see any reason to go through thr trouble.
LSCM: What led to the creation of your fansite?
NeoStrider: Boredom.
LSCM: (laughs)
NeoStrider: Well, that and I had free space through AOL... then the guy who ran Cybermillenia (cool dude, I forget his name tho) offered to host me, then he got shut down for having a ROM site I think and I was back to AOL.
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?
NeoStrider: There were 2 sites, and I did email Mike Varley a few times, but really that was about it.
LSCM: So really, "Strider Internet scene" is kind of a misnomer, huh? Some things don't ever change. *L*
NeoStrider: Yeah, well, ninja-like future super-agents probably tend to be loners by design.
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?
NeoStrider: I wrote all of the text (badly) and pulled and edited almost every image (also badly) from my emulators, scanned a few covers and things, and my wife did a couple of the more ambitious images on the site for me. It was pretty innovative in it's own way. It did have text AND images! I think I even had a MIDI, didn't I? Yep, awesome. =)
My site was crap, but it had one thing going for it... very little competition!LSCM: Your site was the only Strider site on the net that had any images concerning the SuperGrafx version. What do you think about all the SGX rumors? Do you think someone actually killed themselves over it?
NeoStrider: Yeah, I doubt it, but you never know. Japanese people can be very intense. I think SGX Strider would have been just about what SGX Ghouls 'n' Ghosts was... a great arcade translation for a basically 8 bit system. But it may have been just a little too much for the SGX... it wasn't really all that powerful of a system. I still want one tho. =)
LSCM: So you don't think it would've been "arcade perfect", despite the rumors?
NeoStrider: Watch a YouTube vid of SuperGrafx Ghouls and Ghosts and you'll see. It was an 8 meg version of a 4 meg (I think) Genesis arcade translation and it wasn't THAT much better overall.
LSCM: Did you have any plans for your site that you left unfinished?
NeoStrider: Plans? That's giving me too much credit. I just kinda made it up as I went.
LSCM: Just askin', man! *L* You didn't have any questions about the series you wanted answers to? Any leftover artwork or features you never got around to putting up?
NeoStrider: Nah. I just kinda lost interest someplace between MvC and Strider 2 as I remember it. I think I actually forgot my FTP password. Sigh, so lame.
LSCM: What is/was in your Strider collection? Do you have any memorabilia left over from those days?
NeoStrider: I have Strider games for NES, Genesis, PCE, GBA, PS1, SMS, GG... uhhh... probably some others. My best piece is the PC Engine CD-ROM version of Strider Hiryu, and my most treasured is the one my best friend gave me the day I met him once I told him how I lost my original TWO copies... sold one (with the Genesis, against my will) and one was traded off (against my will again!) for a copy of Shadow Dancer (at least it was a cool game.)
LSCM: I loved that PCE version, too. Obviously, it can't hold a candle to what might've been (the SGX version), but still...
NeoStrider: I think the PCE version is okay, but overall I prefer the Genesis version, even kind of over the arcade. Probably because it was my most played version, and man, I ADORED the Genesis. But the PCE version, being on CD, did some cool things with the storyline. That desert stage was a big let down tho. C'mon NEC! Great music tho, and the cinemas were very nice.
I also have a couple of the Marvel vs. Capcom Strider figures around here someplace. Yep, I'm awesome.LSCM: I think ALL of the Strider webmasters have that figure, gawky and awkward as it is. (laughs)
NeoStrider: In it's defense, it has about 2 good poses. And they did include the sickle hook, a nice touch.
LSCM: I'm just glad we got a toy, period. Although, those Rhesaurus Street Fighter toys sure were nice. Did you see the Nathan Spencer toy made for the new Bionic Commando?
NeoStrider: No, but I must! I preordered a copy so I'd get a free BC lunchbox tho.
LSCM: If Capcom were to make a current-gen sequel, would you prefer 2D or 3D, or some hybrid of the two?
NeoStrider: 3D. Something like the PS2 Shinobi Overworks did a few years back would be nice. Less Devil May Cry, more Prince of Persia. LISTEN UP CAPCOM!!
LSCM: Ah, a man after my own heart. Do you think a game like that would stand out? Would it distinguish itself from Capcom's other sword-swinging platformers like DMC and Onimusha?
NeoStrider: More movement. Combat would be short until the boss fights. Longer, more diverse levels.
If you're gonna do a 2D game, do it all the way. HUGE levels, easy on the 3D crap, and make it epic, kind of like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, probably the best 2D game ever made... besides Strider, naturally.LSCM: I've always said that Symphony of the Night is the best Strider game ever made. (laughs)
NeoStrider: I don't think I'd say that, but I could see Strider adapted to the Super Metroid format as well.
LSCM: What are you interested in besides Strider?
NeoStrider: Classic games, muscle cars, and pinball.
LSCM: Cool. You prefer modern muscle cars, or the classics?
NeoStrider: Classic (I have a '69 Mustang, my first car) but the new retro ones (Mustang, Challenger, Camaro) and some of the tuners (Lancer Evo, WRX, GTR) are cool too.
LSCM: My wife, oddly enough, is into classic muscle cars. She'd kill for that '69 Mustang of yours.
So do you have an arcade setup at your house, or what?NeoStrider: I have a room and one wall of my garage full of pinball machines, and an unfinished arcade cab in the kitchen. Yep, so awesome.
LSCM: What pinball machines do you own?
NeoStrider: I have several pinball machines, but my favorite one is Twilight Zone, and I also have a The Simpsons Pinball Party.
LSCM: Where else have you lived, besides Ft. Bragg?
NeoStrider: I'm a west coaster, pretty much lived in California my whole life.
LSCM: Anything other biographical data you'd mind sharing with the readers?
NeoStrider: I gotta keep some info classified, but I'll tell you I operate out of Sacramento, California, the capitol and (not) home of the Governator. I'm a lifelong gamer who owned his own game store once (it was a dream come true in a odd kind of way, but alot of work) and still works in the game industry (not in any meaningful, cool way, though) and is a big fan of Capcom and SEGA, two names that Strider fans owe a hell of a debt to!
LSCM: Thanks for being a good sport (and for doing this interview).
NeoStrider: No problem. It's fun to remember this stuff and think about those days (no so far gone, but far enough) and to know that somehow someone was interested it what was at the moment my little corner of the web.
NeoStrider out!