Following on from Capcom’s retrospective of Strider over the last 25 years, the latest video is showing secret Easter Eggs and references to their titles, past and present. The outfits of Hiryu are probably the most obvious unlocks with fans of the bad-ass ninja recognising some of them, like the white robe that is from Strider 2. Also included is the pastel purple suit, which was first seen in the original arcade game back in 1989.

The references don’t stop there either. Eagle-eyed fans will notice the traditional, white ninja dogi outfit of Ibuki from Street Fighter III, Final Fight‘s Guy red ninja gi, and the blue cougar costume of “weirdo-fighter”, Red Earth. The references go back further than that, as in the game you must find hidden items shown as the tradition Pow icon in 3D. This power-up icon was first seen in the vertical scrolling shooter, Vulgus, released in 1984 by Capcom. Then it appeared in various other games of that style, including 1943 and Gun Smoke.

References to audio are also present and those with keen ears will have no problems detecting them. One of the more notable ones is the sound that you hear when collecting the hidden Pow icons; you hear the pause jingle from the original arcade game. You will even hear a remixed version of the NES soundtrack from 1989. Hiryu’s moves have also been brought into this reboot, with his famous charge move, first seen in Marvel Vs Capcom and his double-fisted launcher seen for the first time outside of the MvC universe.

Last but not least is for all you trophy and achievement hunters out there. Looking at the achievements, you will see the infamous Resident Evil quote “Masters of Unlocking.” Reference is also made to the urban legend of Sheng Long from Street Fighter after defeating Xi Wang Mu. Overall Capcom have created a reboot that is not only fun, in a modern way, but with enough references to Strider and other franchises to satisfy even the most hardened fans of the series. I tip my hat to them as they have delivered what appears to be a perfect comeback to our gaming screens.