Strider Hiryu has always seemed like the Boba Fett of the Capcom universe - iconic looks, massively popular with fans, yet has never really had a chance to fully deliver on his enormous potential. Double Helix’s 2014 reboot of the flashy platform series fleshes out the 1989 coin-op original and gives it a light Metroidvania-esque layer of exploration. While its slightly unbalanced design holds it back from being a genuine classic, it nonetheless does enough right to put a swagger back in Strider’s step for the first time in decades.
From the moment you hang glide into Kazakh City, it’s clear that Double Helix has nailed Strider’s eye-searing sword slash, perpetual dash, and acrobatic panache. Strider simply feels wonderful to control - particularly in the smoothness of his signature slide and cartwheel moves, his silky manoeuvrability in scaling walls and ceilings, and the way he can slash his Cypher sword essentially as fast as you can enthusiastically pump the attack button. Tearing through enemy grunts and drones and leaving them to bleed sparks in the wake of Strider’s purposeful deathmarch never failed to satisfy over the six-hour duration of my playthrough.
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