Strider for NEC SuperGrafx

[Adrian M]

I've always found the short-lived NEC SuperGrafx system to be strangely appealing. Yes, the library of games is meager (some 6 games developed for the system and 1 or 2 hybrid games that played in "enhanced mode" on the SG), but what's there is phenomenal. Capcom in particular turned in some stellar efforts with the superb Ghouls N Ghosts port and the near-faithful translation of 1941.

 

A SG port of Strider was listed as a game due out for the SG in 1991 and hardcore gamers alike salivated at the thought of yet another better-than-Sega Genesis port of Strider, much like what happened with Ghouls N Ghosts!

 

I'll never forget those 2 screenshots of the supposed Strider SuperGrafx port that were rumored to be in development. EGM showed them and they surfaced from time to time as a game that time forgot, and now I'm hearing whispers that perhaps this port never even existed?? Some sources indicate that the blurry screenshots weren't even of the fabled SuperGrafx version, but instead, simply scaled down screenshots of teh coin-ops screens! Others suggest that the early source material was later released as the crap conversion of Strider that came out for the PC Engine CD ROM drive later on in the system's life.

 

I offer up this topic for discussion to the masses at AtariAge. What do YOU think happened with the SuperGrafx version of Strider?

[Tempest]

I heard the programmer was under so much pressure he committed suicide and the project was cancelled. Don't know if this was true or not. I also think the screenshots that have been posted are from the arcade version.

 

Tempest

[Adrian M]

I heard the programmer was under so much pressure he commit suicide and the project was cancelled.  Don't know if this was true or not.  I also think the screenshots that have been posted are from the arcade version.  

 

Tempest

 

Hm. Interesting insight. Can't say that I've ever heard about the programmer suicide (I know this happened during the development of one of the Virtua Fighters), but the screenshots are what intrigue me.

The screenshots admittedly are a little blurry, but the Hiryu sprite in those photos looks more "squat" than his arcade sprite, plus the "clouds" in the stage 2 electric factory look different than the coin-op. I know this could be the result of early 1990's era photo doctoring, but for some odd reason I'm apt to believe that those screen pics are not of the arcade version.

 

Then again, from what I've read a version of STRIDER exists for the X68000 gaming system (a floppy disk-based 16-bit computer/game system that was popular in the Japan during the late 1980's and early 1990's...some of the Capcom ports are literally arcade perfect)...perhaps those rumored SG screens are really from the X68000?

[Adrian M]

Here are some pics for comparison purposes. Note the subtle differences and scale in each pic:

 

Strider for SuperGrafx pic

 

Strider for PC Engine CD (released)

 

Arcade coin-op version

[Adrian M]

And here's an actual pic from the Japanese X68000 system version of Strider:

Damn near arcade perfect if I say so myself, aside from that small black letterboxed score data section at the top of the screen.

 

More info on the X68000 can be found here: http://nfg.2y.net/sales/html/EpZpyFpupEpfGBQqfm.html

[chrisbid]

that black letterbox makes it look very close to the genesis version

[Adrian M]

that black letterbox makes it look very close to the genesis version

 

Yes, at first glance it does appear to be the Genesis version, but scope out the other Strider X68000 pics on the ngt site...the resolution and detail in the levels is far greater than the Genesis iteration.

[Adrian M]

My research for this elusive title brought me to this interesting accessory.

http://assembler.roarvgm.com/Supergrafx/su...supergrafx.html

Apparently, this is some kind of all-inclusive "Driving Wheel" for the SG system! The entire SuperGrafx system would slide into the back of the driving wheel, vaguely reminscient of the failed Konix Multisystem!

[Tempest]

Yeah I hear some guy has the prototype and wants a ton of money for it. Not sure what use it would be or if any games support it.

 

Tempest

[Adrian M]

Yeah I hear some guy has the prototype and wants a ton of money for it.  Not sure what use it would be or if any games support it.

 

Tempest

 

Wow, regardless if the proto unit works or not, that's one hell of a collectable! Any idea as to who the owner is and how much he/she's looking to sell it for?

[NFG]

The X68000 version of Strider, like Ghouls n Ghosts, is more or less a pixel perfect port of the arcade. Capcom handled it in-house, so it figures they had access to all the original sprite data. There seem to be fewer colours used in the X68 version of the game, (PSPro counts about 80 vs 90 in the arcade) and the colours are noticably muted, tho that's possibly an effect of the emulator (the same effect was noted on GnG).

 

Here's a few direct comparison shots for you. Sorry they're so huge. You can probably figure out they're in order: Arcade, X68 + Genesis. [edit] Putting the 3 together made a mess of the whole page, so I put the genny ones last. They're pretty obviously inferior.

 

 

 

 

[Adrian M]

That's a great photo spread of the various versions, NFG! It's pretty amazing how faithful the X68000 ports were to the coin op...something pretty rare during that era where poor translations of arcade hits was the norm.

 

Closely comparing the various elements of the arcade and X68000 versions to the supposed SuperGrafx pic does appear that SG pic is indeed just a poorly processed screenshot of the coin-op/X68000, however, I'm still kind of unconvinced in some ways. Mainly due to the Hiryu sprite. Maybe it's the dark unclear photo, but the Hiryu sprite still seems somehow different.