Strider 2 "Hien Mode" in 14:10.12

Run objectives

• Takes damage to save time
• Uses an alternative character
• Luck manipulation

Comments

• Strider 2 is a very interesting game in comparison to the original Strider for the NES. I think it modernized how the game would look like during the PS1 era, especially with the revamped movement set and attacks. That said, it's still linear and suffers from a lot of down time moving from phase to phase, which hinders the entertainment a bit (hence why I removed them in my encode lol). Still awesome overall
• Now, this run uses Hien instead of Hiryu. Hien is the alternative character which you obtain after you beat the game once. Hien shares almost all features with Hiryu, where they both run, slide, double jump, and even perform an Air Spin attack. However, the key difference is in their main weapon. Hiryu has a quick slash that can be repeated infinitely, but Hien throws up to three spinning blades at once. These blades chase enemies automatically, making them very useful for early attacks. Though, unlike Hiryu's quick slashing, you can rely on them only for taking down bosses quickly enough, so Air Spinning is the fastest method for multiple attacks.
• Despite this difference, in most cases, Hien performs very well against most bosses, as they all have a range of i-frames (alternating between 16 and 26 frames), giving a bit of breath to not lose any frame!
• Hien also doesn't have the Boost ability, which Hiryu benefits from. It essentially allows the quick slash to throw some projectiles that chase the enemies as well. They're laggier in comparison but effective!
• Hien clears all five main stages linearly, which is why this run seems longer than the current Any% run, as it only plays through three of them. I tried to optimize as much as I could every fight by starting the fights with throwing blades for early multi hits then follow up with air spinning attack. This strategy proved to be very effective but sometimes it is less optimal.
• The final in-game time for all stages is 06:39, while the in-game time for missions 1, 4 and 5 is 03:29 which is 9 seconds faster compared to current Any% Hiryu in-game time, which is 03:38.
• Here is the verification movie that unlocks Hien Mode. Plays on same BizHawk version. And for encoding purposes, here is extended input file that enters my name at the end.

Special Thanks

• EZGames69 for his Any% run as Hiryu. Having something as reference is definitely helpful while making a TAS and this one didn't disappoint!
• You for watching!

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