Rascal (ラスカル) is a minor stage enemy from the first Strider, most of its ports and Strider 2. Its name was translated Scoundrel in the English manual for the Mega Drive port.[1]
Information[]
Strider (CPS-1)[]
Appears in Stage 1 (St. Petersburg)
A high-performance, humanoid bipedal defense robot designed to serve the defense of the capital city of Kazakh[2][3], designed by the Rascal Research Staff over the course of 12 years[4]. Rascal's designer proclaimed that since no other machine like this exists on the entire world (probably in reference to Rascal's human-like design), this made it the "final ultimate weapon"[4]. Grandmaster Meio, however, was less than enthusiastic about the staff's derailment of its development, and this would eventually make him select their rival team, the Mosqueman Research Staff, to work on a major project.[5][6]
Rascals are small humanoid robots wearing raccoon skin hats and wielding a downsized Assault Rifle. When ascending or descending slopes they don't walk normally but instead move slowly while doing small hops. Once they are close to a target, they start attacking with their blades, stabbing from their position. Despite wielding what appears to be a firearm, they never use it to shoot.
They are usually found moving in groups. Their small size works as an advantage to them, as normal attacks go right above them, and one needs to crouch down in order the destroy them. One can also collide with them while they attempt to attack and send them tumbling down inclines uncontrollably.
Strider 2[]
Appears in Stage 3 (Antarctica Research Lab), Scene 1.
An updated version of the Rascal developed as a defense robot for Light Sword Cypher's Antarctica lab, possibly by Kraken Chemical. They are seen wandering around the ice chunks in the lab's outside perimeter. They now move normally without any hopping around, and once they are in range of their target, they attack by doing a jump forward with the weapon thrust ahead. This, however, tends to send them flying straight into the cold waters around them.
Design Notes[]
Rascal wearing a furhat is the only leftover in-game of a scrapped idea Isuke had for a set of enemy robots wearing clothes[7].
An early sketch of Rascal shows the robot not wielding a rifle but a strange, three-pronged weapon it held with both hands. It is hard to discern what this object is, possibly some kind of three-barreled firearm or maybe a set of missiles it carried around.
References[]
- ↑ Sega (September 1990, Mega Drive). Strider (English). Instruction manual, Pg. 13
- ↑ Capcom (October 2006, PlayStation). Gamebook: Strider Hiryu (Japanese). Pg. 13. ISBN 4-86233-076-2.
- ↑ Sega (September 1990, Mega Drive). Strider Hiryû (Japanese). Instruction manual, Pg. 18
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Strider Development Staff (March 1989). "Strider Hiryu Characters Original Image Collection". Gamest (30). Pg. 98-99.
- ↑ Staff (October 1992). "Capcom Game Street". Gamest Extra: All Capcom (81). Pg. 45.
- ↑ Staff (May 1989). "Strider Hiryu: Val-Rogue" (Japanese). Gamest (05). Pg. 4-5.
- ↑ Scion; Dire 51 (April 24, 2010). "Interview with Kouichi "Isuke" Yotsui". LSCM 4.0. Translated by Gaijin Punch. Accessed October 6, 2015.