BADCP - GPOW Tribute

Oppression Olympics

DATE:
25 YEARS AGO

GPOW 25TH
A N N I V E R S A R Y



XBOX ONE	BAD	STRIDER (2014)


			My history with Strider is similar to its Socialist theme. Like the world's relationship with Socialism, it goes back farther than the world remembers. I never knew what Strider was really about when I was young. I just knew it was difficult because it didn't really telly you where to go. It was't linear-enough for me to really understand. I quickly lost interest and had a later encounter with it, but didn't know it. I got the 8-Bit Nintendo Entertainment System first, but played the 16-Bit Sega Genesis version Japanese import later and didn't even know it was the same series! Of course, back then I couldn't read Japanese. I couldn't even fathom a future where I would be able to speak that exotic language, let alone read it. In both forms, Strider would become just a memory for me...

...until I found Gouki's Page of Whatever. Devoted mostly to Capcom fighting games (and the reason this tribute site exists), Gouki's Page of Whatever (GPOW) also had news Capcom games in general. Those who frequented the site weren't just fighting game fans, but fans of Capcom and other Japanese game developers. Many were Capcom enthusiasts, though, including myself. Some were far more knowledgable than myself at the time, with more expansive collections and histories with the developer and its products.

	01
	FREEDOM
	Fighters.

	02
	VIROLOGISTS
	Our new Gods.

	03
	THE FUTURE
	Dystopia is now.

	04
	PEOPLE
	Divided.

	05
	LOAN
	Forgiveness at the cost of freedom.

Several of GPOW's fans were tied to Strider-related sites. Those sites were part of what was called a web-ring; a sort of organization of sites devoted to a specific game or company. They had formed a family of sites all devoted to Strider and/or Capcom games. In 1998, there were few sites like these. I was honored to be amongst them back then, and still honored now. Their devotion to Strider and his games never waivered, and never faltered; they remained die-hard. So, when someone at Capcom must have been listening, and Strider was announced for the very first Marvel VS Capcom game (with Ton-Pooh), the GPOW Strider fans went crazy! Now that I think about it, that was quite possibly one of the first instances of corporate social media demand acknowledgement. The emphasis here is on GPOW and how it renewed my interest in Strider. Its fans loved Strider and their continued devotion got me back into it.

	06
	WOMEN'S
	Rights, except in sports.

2014's Strider is a true evolution of its parent series. It embodies everything that the originals were known for; metallic mayhem, splashy effects, mind-bending bosses, gruesome deaths, oppresssive future regimes, perfectly-themed audio, cutting-edge weapon tech, and a ray of hope in darkness. It is nearly the perfect game that we were blessed with when Strider 2 came out in 1999. That doesn't detract from the 2014 Strider, however, as it is definitely one of the best games of its generation. While Strider 2 depicted perfection in Japanese animated storytelling, design, and sound, this newest 2014 Strider depicts the series' theme of tyranny almost as if it were a warning of possible outcomes in our real world on the brink.

	07
	HATE
	Speech is worse than murder.

	08
	WORLD
	Freedom beacon of 245 years.

	09
	EMPLOYMENT
	Opportunities doomed from returning.

	10
	BLESSINGS
	From above.

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