Story-liners: Strider (1989)

Game: Strider
Release: Retail, 1989
System: Nintendo Entertainment System
Starring: None
Directed by: Masayoshi "Patariro" Kurokawa
Next in the series: Strider 2
IMDB page: None
Description: In the dark future of 2048, a criminal cartel of highly trained ninjas known as the Striders operate throughout the world. The youngest ever member of the elite-squad named Hiryu uncovers a conspiracy that will change the organization forever.

Hans' thoughts:

Ah, the NES. Bringing back gaming from the horrible aftermath of the legendary crash of 83, the Nintendo Entertainment System became one of the only consoles on the market and the best-selling one for a substantial period of time. One of the superstar companies of the NES was Capcom, who created such well-known properties as Mega Man, Street Fighter and some of the best Disney games to date. However one of their lesser known franchises is the action science fiction of Strider. Strider broke ground at the time by being one of very few games that had much in the way of an actual storyline that wasn't just slapped together for the sake of convenience. Strider is a tale of aliens, ninjas and nefarious plots all centered around some kinda wonky but ultimately fun gameplay. You take control of Hiryu, an expert in most forms of weapons use but with focus on the quickness of his blade.

The designs of the game, while poorly animated even for their time are absolutely gorgeous. Monsters will look threatening despite their lack of movement and human characters will be simplistic but easy to tell apart. The game was released in tandem with a manga based on the storyline and you can tell that a professional comic book artist has been behind the designs as it takes cue from classic manga conventions of the era. The sci-fi setting, while not plausible at all is a least a little reserved from potentially going completely off the chain and just inventing all sorts of stuff that you could see no practical usage of. Hiryu will go around several locations in the world, from Australia to Kazakhstan. 

The music while a bit melancholic is designed to get you pumped for the adventure you're about to embark on. Capcom was an absolute powerhouse for video game music at the time and it is very present already when you listen to the title screen. The many different sets of locations combined with the many secrets to uncover sets the scene for a ton of exploration which is why the music being actually good and not too repetitive is extremely important. Thankfully it keeps the Capcom tradition through and through, the upbeat rhythm makes you pumped for fighting soldiers with your short ranged but highly effective weapon.

The characters, while not fleshed out in the slightest are strangely enough compelling. I'd actually argue that the low amount of information we receive in the game speaks for the validity of this being a shadowy organization with little time for lengthy explanation. You do what you're told and you do it without question. The villains of the game works with an alien race known as the Zain, creatures that can take over the minds of others and make them insane. Their creepy designs really serve to make this backstory into a real threat worthy of our capable hero. While definitely aged, the story of Strider is a fun action/adventure science fiction that encompasses a game that could just have been a bunch of nonsense as was the norm for the era, which makes it a great little extra touch on an otherwise fun experience.

Dragon Ball Z: The Dead Zone (1989)

Film: Dragon Ball Z: The Dead Zone (Doragon bôru Z: Ora no Gohan wo kaese)
Release: 1989, theatrical
Starring: Sean Schemmel, Stephanie Nadolny, Christopher Sabat
Directed by: Daisuke Nishio
Previous in the series: Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure
Next in the series: Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest
IMDB page: Link opens in a new window
Description: One day a mysterious group of fighters kidnap the son of Son Goku. It turns out to be the work of the powerful Garlic Jr., a villain with a connection to Kami's past.

Hans' thoughts:

The first of the Dragon Ball movies to be based on the adulthood era, the only one of the movies to directly affect events in TV-series and the first of the movies to not continue the storyline in the alternate movie universe. The Dead Zone takes place between the fight against Piccolo at the Martial Arts Tournament and the appearance of Raditz on Earth. Years after barely defeating Piccolo and saving the world, Goku has married his fiancé Chichi and had a child whom he named after his grandfather, Son Gohan. Most people who know of this era of the show know it as "Dragon Ball Z", it's a direct continuation of the original series and draws from the latter half of original manga but the "Z" was added to the title of the animated series as a reference to the distinct change in tone the story would have beyond this point, the humor would be greatly downplayed in favor of longer fight scenes and more drama-driven storytelling. The Dead Zone pretty much exemplifies this change, most of the characters that until now have been mainstays of the series have been put on the backburner. The character designs are also more humanoid - the details come more from their battle armors and hairstyles. 

Plotwise we have a pretty epic tale, it's not often we hear of events on Earth prior to Goku's landing as a small child so it's nice to get some insight, even if it is unofficial. Hundreds of years ago the unnamed Namekian that would later be known as Kami fought a man named Garlic over the succession of the former Kami (Kami being a word for "God" or "Spirit" in the Japanese Shinto mythology). Garlic's greed got the best of him and he was sealed away, in the present his son known as Garlic Jr. is gathering the Dragon Balls in order to wish for immortality and take revenge for his father. This of course causes the involvement of our hero, as one of the Dragon Balls is attached to the hat of his son and he gets kidnapped by Garlic Jr.s elite warriors in the process. The stakes feel pretty high and Goku's newly adopted serious demeanor does make for a very cool action hero. The humor of the previous movies is nearly completely gone, while there are some rather silly moments in the movie (such as a drugged hallucination sequence) the new focus is very visible. Where exactly this movie is supposed to take place in the plotline other than "before Raditz landed" is a bit of a mist however, as some of the vents directly contradict the way things go down in the main series.

Thankfully the villain of this movie is a lot better than the previous movie-original villains we have seen until now. Garlic Jr. being directly involved with characters of the main storyline makes us interested in him as a character and as opposed to original villains that would delve into fanfiction territory in later movies, he doesn't feel like a tacked on side-villain at all. As far as his minions go, while they're not particularly fleshed out they do manage to seem threatening enough for our heroes to take on.The action scenes also take up more of the movie, and thankfully they're a bit better handled than even some fights in the main series. I don't really have much to report on the side of the english voice cast, they're not doing bad jobs at all but they're not being fantastic either. The best performance in the movie is Christopher Sabat, he voices several of the characters but the one he did best with was Kami if only because of his monologue.

Animation-wise the movie is a bit of a step up from any of the former movies, the colors feel more streamlined and not nearly as blurred together with the lineart as in the others while a trippy drug sequence made for comical effect showcases some fun imagery if only briefly. Garlic Junior's "final form" is also a lot more threatening looking design-wise. While certainly not the best Dragon Ball movie, it manages to hold your attention for the duration and like the other movies the short running time of around 40 minutes makes it so it doesn't outstay it's welcome. While I'm personally more fond of the childhood tales of Goku and friends you also can't deny the utter star power of the Z series and it's version of the characters.