YEAR: 1994

HARDWARE: Custom Dual HuC6820 Central Co-Processors

DEVELOPER: Capcom / NEC Avenue

PUBLISHER: NEC

Following the demise of the Super GrafX version, Capcom scrambled to put together a Turbo Duo version to fulfill their contract with NEC, who had promised "better-than-arcade" graphics with their SGX version. The fact that it was incomplete weighed heavily on their consciences (thereby proving that they are better than the suits at Capcom), so they slapped together a bonus level: a desert stage, to be placed between Kazakh and Siberia.

The game suffers only slightly from being on the Turbo Duo instead of on the SGX. The colors aren't quite as diverse as they would be on the other system, but that's about it. In all other respects, Capcom has improved upon the arcade version. The animation is fluid, the cutscenes add to the plotline rather than opening up new holes, and that CD-quality soundtrack is something to be lusted after.

Strider 2 cribbed its ideas for wireframe mission guides from this conversion. There's a LOT of similarity between the way the PCE/TG-16 Strider and Strider 2 handle their cutscenes. The scenes are mostly still shots, for starters, although there are some animated shots.

Some shots, like the one of Hiryu gliding into Kazakh, are animated using layers and scaling. Others, like the one of Hiryu's hijacked airship maneuvering over Ballog's landing strip, are animated the traditional way.

The only problem with this game, as far as I'm concerned, is that you have to have the Arcade Card in order to play this game on the Duo. If you don't have the card, it displays an error message that's kind of an in-game mini-comic. Here's what it says in English (thanks to JSB-kun for the translation):

Hiryu: "Here we go! Grand Master..."
Hiryu: "Ah! There's not enough memory!"
Grand Master: "GWAHAHAHAHA!!! (sadistic laugh) Hiryu! Without an Arcade Card you can't go any further!"
Hiryu: "So, if only I had a Arcade Card I could.... GHUUUUUUU!!!"

Like all good pieces of Strider merchandise, this game is rare. It doesn't take a whole lot of searching on the internet to find someone who has it, though. Don't go the eBay route in getting this game, as you'll pay upwards of $100 in the process. Go with a Japanese game vendor...they usually only charge you about $50. With shipping, that's only about $60...not bad for a rare game.

While I wouldn't consider the cutscenes canonical (they were NEC's invention, after all), their inclusion in the game really makes it stand out. If you can't get the arcade machine, get this game. If you can't get this one, get the Genesis version.