Piranha (ピラニア) is an enemy from the first Strider and most of its ports.
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Appears in Stage 4 (Amazon) and Stage 5 (The Third Moon)
Piranhas are a type of omnivorous fish native to South America, being particularly infamous for their high aggressiveness and voracious appetite, assaulting in large groups and devouring large prey within minutes. Hiryu discovers Piranhas infest the Amazon river while on his mission, and deals with them in both the tree-ascending area and the riverside area of the Amazon.
Piranhas react whenever Hiryu comes close to the water's surface and jump out in order to bite him. Unlike other enemies, however, they are completely inofensive and just cling to Hiryu, being easily shaken off or destroyed with one strike of the Cypher. If Hiryu falls into the river's waters, however, he will be swarmed by a large number of hungry piranhas as he slowly drowns.
Piranhas are later used by Grandmaster Meio as one of three enemies he summons with his life powers. Meio can summon six Piranhas at the same time, which will fly away in erratic patterns to both left and right, seeking to strike Hiryu. As with most of his moves, this is mainly a tactic to limit Hiryu's aerial movement.