Strider brought an audacious combination of visual style, gameplay mechanics, level design and sound design to unsuspecting arcades in 1989, creating a dazzling spectacle that would influence countless games to come. Based on contemporary manga Strider Hiryu, the game puts players in the shoes of a ninja on a mission to assassinate the Grandmaster, who rules over the dystopian future world. Strider's constantly changing setting, moving from gleaming fortresses to sprawling airships and beyond, sets the stage for one of the most acrobatic platform/hack and slash games of its era — it requires both careful timing and constant judgment of exactly what you can run, climb and jump on in your relentless push forward. Its high level of difficulty, creative bosses and even the hero's iconic arc-shaped blade animation have helped make it an arcade legend that still deserves attention.