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Sky thunder art

Official Arcade art

Sky Thunder Mk-II (轟天改丸, lit. Sky Thunder Revision) is the name given to a vehicle found in the original Strider and most of its ports, a flying airship that serves as the scenario for the final section of the game's second stage.

Overview[]

The Sky Thunder Mk-II is a two-tiered flying airship used by the Kazakh Federation[1]. A large bomber aircraft using a fan-propelled engine to fly[2], it is capable of attacking by deploying parachute bombs in quick succession at targets directly below it. The Sky Thunder Mk-II is the Kuniang M.A. Team's favorite aircraft due to the front of its fuselage resembling a Chinese bao or steamed bun.[2]

Striderairship

Sky Thunder Mk-II in-game

The ship has a rather irregular form and consists of two different sections: the lower area houses both the propeller engine and the bomb rack from where the bombs are deployed, located right below the cockpit. The engine consists of a very large propeller installed on the ship's underbelly, a small one above it and four more at the left. There's also a seesaw-like flight control surface on the back of the ship, a tricky platform that moves erratically and can throw Hiryu to his death, but is required to reach the upper portion of the ship. The main deck in the upper area is a long section with a cannon battery, which ends in the door to the ship's cockpit, which as stated above has a rounded out shape making it resemble a bao.

The Sky Thunder MK-II flies high above the Siberian Power Plant alongside a fleet of Flying Tortoises, its crew consisting of the Kuniang M.A. Team and a single Russian Infantryman serving as pilot. After leaving from the Power Plant, by using a number of Flying Tortoises, Hiryu eventually reaches the airship, confronts and defeats the sister trio, and in removing the pilot finally completes the second stage.

Parachute Bombs[]

Parachute Bombs (落下傘爆弾) are the explosive weapons dropped by the Sky Thunder MK-II, and the main obstacle for Hiryu in his ascent throughout the area[3]. There can be up to 5 bombs falling onscreen at a time, the number of bombs being determined by the game's preset and dynamic difficulty settings.

They can be hard to dodge as they randomly crowd the screen and fall rapidly leaving little space for movement or time to react. While destroying the bombs can provide some breathing space, attempting to destroy them can also turn Hiryu into a target due to the number of hit points they have and how quickly other bombs are falling from above.

Trivia[]

Recycled sprite001

Strider and Sonic & Knuckles Parachute Bomb comparison.

As the Mega Drive/Genesis conversion of Strider was handled by Sega, their redrawn version of the Parachute Bomb sprite appears to have been reused, in part, slightly modified for inclusion in their 1994 Genesis game, Sonic & Knuckles.

The bombs can be found falling in "Flying Battery Zone - Act 1", which by coincidence is also reminiscent of Strider's Stage 3 (Flying Battleship Balrog).

Mania bomb

The bombs also return in the stage's reimagined version from Sonic Mania.

The Sky Thunder Mk-II is mentioned by name in Tong Pooh's card bio from SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS. This nod is lost on the English version, who simply refers to it as her "skyship".

References[]

  1. Capcom (October 2006, PlayStation). Gamebook: Strider Hiryu (Japanese). Pg. 28. ISBN 4-86233-076-2.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Strider Development Staff (March 1989). "Strider Hiryu Characters Original Image Collection". Gamest (30). Pg. 98-99.
  3. Capcom (October 2006, PlayStation). Gamebook: Strider Hiryu (Japanese). Pg. 26. ISBN 4-86233-076-2.
Strider
Hiryu
Equipment: CypherOptions (ABC) • Climb SickleGlider
Moves: SlideCartwheel JumpBig JumpCypher AttackBunshin
Stage Enemies
Russian InfantrymanRascalFlying MosquemanMosquemanShadow Tag Bullets SoldierDesert Soldier
Giant SandwormArmy JeepSiberian WolfWall CrawlerFrogBalrog Marine CorpsTurretLaser Turret
Giant Main GunMr. ElephantHit MouseFloating MineAmazonessPoison MushroomDinosaursPiranha
Bosses
StrobayaNovoOuroboros (General Mikiel) • Giant AntlionSovkhoz Я (Tank Driver)Mecha PonSoloKuniang
Anti-Gravity DeviceCaptain Beard Jr.LagoGrandmaster Meio
Locations
St. PetersburgOil FieldsSiberiaFlying Battleship BalrogAmazonThe Third Moon
South American Base
Related Articles
StridersKazakh FederationResearch StaffsMinor groupsMinor StridersFlying TortoiseSky Thunder Mk-II
NavigatorAssault RifleGiant FlamethrowerPlasma WhirlwindSummoningThe Third Moon PlanEurasiaEarth
† = Exclusive of the PC Engine port
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