Gyro laser

The Gyro laser is a weapon featured exclusively in Strider II as part of Hinjo's equipment.

Overview

The Gyro laser is described as a "high-velocity" weapon given to Hinjo by the Magentans in return for his aid in rescuing their world leader. The Gyro laser only comes up when the player presses the attack button while standing still. When used Hinjo whips out the rifle and shoots sharp needle-like bullets straight ahead at a rapid pace. This also works if Hinjo is crouching, but if he's running or jumping he performs a Cypher Attack instead.

The Gyro laser has infinite bullets but can't be aimed at any direction but straight forward. It can be used to clear out enemy clusters from afar, a very common occurrence since enemies tend to constantly spawn, gather on the edges of the screen and attack from every possible angle.

Shurikens

The Gyro laser is only present in the original home computer versions of Strider II, with the Master System, Mega Drive and Game Gear ports replacing it with throwing shurikens. The shurikens work in roughly the same way as the Gyro laser.

In the Master System and Game Gear ports, the player uses shuriken the same way the Gyro laser: by pressing the attack button while standing still, which makes Hinjo throw small shurikens in a straight line. They are unlimited in use but aren't as effective as the Gyro laser due to their slower fire rate and the fact only two shuriken can be on-screen at any time.

The Mega Drive port, on the other hand, changes their function entirely. First of all, shuriken are now assigned to their own button (the A button by default), so they can be used together with the Cypher. Shuriken are no longer unlimited and must be gathered by picking up the "power-up" item found in the stages. Once picked shuriken can be thrown by standing or crouching, but not while sliding or jumping.

Each power-up picked grants around 5 shuriken and increases the amount Hinjo throws with each use. Hinjo starts by throwing a single shuriken in a straight line, and can upgrade to throwing up to three shuriken in a spread pattern. Shuriken total is indicated by a number at the top-right corner of the screen, and the small shuriken symbols next to it display how many Hinjo can throw at once.