El Dorado (unused stage)

El Dorado was initially a planned stage for the Arcade release of Strider 2, but ended up being scrapped and eventually finished for the PlayStation port. This article details what's left of the scrapped stage in the Arcade version.

General overview

• El Dorado is found under the stage ID 03, placing it between the Antarctica Research Lab (3rd stage, ID 02) and the Flying Battleship Balrog (4th stage, ID 04). This seems to suggest El Dorado was planned to be the 4th stage and part of the stage selection at the beginning.
• None of the artwork pieces (intro, ending and epilogue) appear to be found within the code.
• None of the stage's original music appears to exist either. All scenes load the first theme from Fortress Wahnen ("Armed Fortress Invasion 1") instead.
• The wireframe map before the stage starts is still there, but incomplete. The grid appears to not be in its proper place and appears all twisted, and the camera quickly goes haywire before ending abruptly. Briefing text is missing as well, with each version displaying different messages:
  • The English version of the game loads the briefing text from Neo Hong Kong City.
  • The Japanese version instead loads a large string of placeholder katakana: "Ka ki ku ke ko sa shi su se so ta ku chi su tsu te oo o to na ni nu ne no te ha hi fu he ho ma".
• The stage's areas or scenes are not linked together, no exit points are programmed in any of them so the player is stuck once one of these areas is loaded, the only way out being either resetting the game or getting a Game Over.
• All scene titles are garbled up version of the titles from the Flying Battleship Balrog stage. In the Japanese version, all the correct titles are displayed except for the first and last scene, both of which draw a blank title instead.
• There are no item boxes or items to be found in any of the scenes. The few enemies encountered do drop Zenny when killed, however.

Glitched wireframe map

Placeholder text on Japanese version's cutscene

Scenes overview

Scene 1

• The title in the English version is "In the skies of Equator Malay Island".
• The camera is set much closer to the stage than in the PlayStation version. It is also not properly adjusted yet, making the void behind the 3D model and its boundaries visible in certain sections. For one example, Hiryu can actually step outside the 3D model at the beginning (as pictured).
• Hiryu can climb the cliff at the right-most edge of the stage and reach the (non-working) exit, easily bypassing the entire stage. Due to this and certain visual oddities as Hiryu climbs the wall (such as clipping into the rocks), this wall was made unclimbable in the PlayStation port.
• The pitfalls with water at the very beginning are not programmed properly, and Hiryu can step on the water as if its solid ground.
• The top left-most area is slightly longer and the camera is angled differently, allowing the player to see the edge of the 3D model and the void behind it. A part of this area was cut in the PlayStation port.
• The falling rocks coming down in front of the waterfalls are missing.
• This scene is the most complete in terms of enemies, presenting the same enemies featured on the PlayStation port (Commando Troops, Flying Chameleon, Poisonous Horned Frog and Mushrooms) in the same positions. Enemies, however, have a tendency to disappear if moved off screen.

Title and starting point

Working enemies

Cutoff area with the Mushroom enemies

Hiryu climbing the right side cliff

Scene 2

• The title in the English version is "The Outside the tail of Flying".
• Hiryu spawns right at the swamp water instead of at the platform above it.
• The whole area is very incomplete. None of the vines during the first half have collision and Hiryu can't cling on them, and as before all the water is not programmed and Hiryu can walk over it as if it were ground. The large plant platforms over the swamp also lack collision and Hiryu can phase through them as if they don't exist.
• The only enemies in this area are two Flying Chameleons at the top of the ascending part and a single Poisonous Horned Frog near the large tree. The frog's placement here was removed in the PlayStation port.
• The panning shot of the swamp leading into the entrance to the ruins doesn't play out.
• The half-sunken trunk in the swamp doesn't tilt over nor falls when Hiryu steps on it.
• As there's no exit programmed, reaching the end of the stage leaves Hiryu stuck in place, as he can't climb the waterfall back.

Title and starting point

Non-working swamp water

Invisible plant platforms

Stuck in the final section

Scene 3

• The title in the English version is "central Battleship Balrog".
• The Boost Tail is coded as a normal enemy instead of a boss, showing no health bar and each of its parts being destroyed after 2 hits. It performs none of its attacks, and drops large Zenny when destroyed.
• The Cannon Tail performs its attack animations, but no projectiles or lasers come out of them, making it harmless. It is also coded as a normal enemy and destroyed in few hits.
• The Snake Tail lacks the central big head, and all other heads perform a simple animation where they slowly move back and forth in a loop. They lack collision detection, so they can't harm Hiryu nor Hiryu can hit them, rendering this part unpassable on normal circunstances.
• The falling rocks constantly dropping at the left-most edge of the screen are missing.

Title and starting point

Unfinished Snake Tail

Scene 4

• The title in the English version is "engine The gravity transformer".
• This scene goes entirely unused in the PlayStation port, resulting in El Dorado having only 5 scenes instead of 6 like all other stages. In the Japanese version this area is called "El Dorado Ruins Outside Perimeter" (エルドラド遺跡外縁).
• The area is unplayable, as Hiryu spawns inside an invisible box floating in front of the area's 3D model. Hiryu can move back and forth within this box, but can't leave it or interact with the area itself.
• The 3D model for this area consists of a heavily damaged stone bridge standing over a chasm. The left side consists of a large piece of the bridge serving as a platform, with two stone arches overlooking it, both engraved with red markings. Following it stand eight small footings which are the remains of the bridge's foundation and a piece of another arch floating in the middle. Five pillars showing different amounts of damage stand in the background of the model.

Japanese title and starting point

Hiryu standing on the invisible box

First half of the area

Second half of the area

Scene 5

The wall texture floating by itself

• The title in the English version is "room of the engine room".
• The area is nothing more than a black void with the texture of the wall background floating ahead of Hiryu's spawn point. Moving beyond a certain point makes the camera go completely haywire.
• The Drill Cruiser is either missing or doesn't load properly.

Scene 6

• The title in the English version is "The development dock area".
• No cutscene plays out at the beginning with Meio leaving.
• The camera is off-center and closer to the area than in the PlayStation port, and as a result part of the void behind the model under the floor and beneath the walls is visible.
• Strider Hien is semi-functional: His health bar loads up and he performs all his attacks and actions correctly. His attacks, however, lack the plasma effects and have no hitboxes, making him completely harmless to Hiryu. Throwing his Cypher Boomerang doesn't produce any projectile either.
• Hien's defense move is glitched, and produces several shields floating around Hien when used.
• Hien dies properly when his health is reduced to zero but the stage clear message and score tally aren't triggered, leaving the player stuck here.
• Tricking the game into loading a stage clear, however, makes it load a slightly glitched version of the stage 1 epilogue cutscene (showing Tong Pooh's face earlier and with wrong colors), and then the ending art from the third stage (Hiryu and a bunch of penguins overlooking the destroyed laboratory).

Title and starting point

Hien's attack missing its effects

Hien's glitched defense

Glitched epilogue cutscene