Cho Dengeki Stryker All Ages Version
Gameplay 9
Graphics 8
Sound 10

Cho Dengeki Stryker is a visual novel that is packed to the brim with great visuals, awesome audio and an engaging storyline. You’ll encounter a few clichés and plot holes, but overall the storyline is stellar and very engaging. It is also much longer than most visual novels and the additional routes boosts the replay value dramatically. If you are a fan of the genre you owe it to yourself to check this game out.

Gameplay: Thanks to an engaging storyline and great characters this visual novel is definitely worth the investment in time and money.

Graphics: The resolution is a little low, but the artwork and animations are top notch.

Sound: The voice acting is superb and there are tons of audio tracks

Summary 9.0 Outstanding
Gameplay 0
Graphics 0
Sound 0
Summary rating from user's marks. You can set own marks for this article - just click on stars above and press "Accept".
Accept
Summary 0.0 Terrible

Cho Dengeki Stryker All Ages Version

Developer: OVERDRIVE | Publisher: MangaGamer | Release Date: 2015 | Genre: Visual Novel, Adventure | Website: Official Website | Format: Digital Download

Like most young boys Yuuki Yamato has a superhero character who he absolutely idolizes. In fact, Yuuki would love nothing more than to grow up to be Imperial All-Terrain Strike Support Ranger Codename: Stryker Zero. However, in reality Yuuki is rather wimpy and despite trying to protect his best friend, a girl named Haruna, often ends up soundly beaten by bullies. This all changes one day when after another thrashing Yuuki is confronted by a mysterious man who seemingly has the power to grant wishes. All he wants in exchange is memories and since Yuuki is so young he ends up sacrificing all his memories in order to become that which he desires most, Stryker Zero. Because Yuuki loses all his memories and in essence “becomes” Stryker Zero he spends most of his childhood feeling very confused and isolated. It is only ten years later when an army of cyborgs from the Balbora Empire, sworn enemies of Stryker Zero, shows up and causes havoc that Yuuki can fulfill his destiny.

Cho Dengeki Stryker is definitely a far cry from the usual romantic visual novels and features a much more action oriented approach. The story follows the adventures of Yuuki as he tries to deal with the fact that he is a super hero who has to deal with ordinary life as well as school while constantly guarding against threats to his country. The writing is very good and while there are a couple of obvious plot holes it doesn’t detract from the overall story. The game starts out very light hearted and humorous, but definitely features some dark moments as well, especially towards the end. As this is the all ages version of the game all the explicit adult content has been removed, but in all honesty this doesn’t make much of a difference as the sex scenes were never the focus in any case.

Cho Dengeki Stryker is actually the upgraded version of the original Dengeki Stryker and features three new routes which expands the storyline considerably. The original release already boasted three different routes, so be prepared to spend a lot of time with this visual novel. Although not a kinetic novel, Cho Dengeki Stryker is still a little light on choices, so you will be spending the majority of your time reading. Thankfully the writing is very engaging and the scenes are described very well. All of the characters, including the bad guys, are fleshed out and there are plenty of great scenarios. The location of the “Balbora Imperial Vanguard Headquarters in relation to the “Japanese Imperial Army Outpost” is hilarious, although it is hard to swallow how the heroes and villains are incapable of recognizing each other outside of battle. I don’t want to say any more about the plot, but suffice to say this is easily one of my favorite “non-romantic” visual novels.

As far as I know the original Japanese version of the game was released in 2012 and unfortunately this means that the visuals are restricted to a resolution of 800×600. When playing in fullscreen mode you can choose to stretch the visuals instead of retaining the original aspect ratio, but obviously this leads to distortion. Even with big black borders the visuals still look good and the art style is great. The characters are all well drawn and their designs definitely match their personalities. The game features a ton of locations and quite a large cast, so there is definitely more visual variety than what is found in your typical visual novel. Although the normal character sprites during conversations are static the game does feature a couple of very nice animated cut-scenes. Compared to the original Dengeki Stryker the game also features more event CGs, character sprites as well as graphical enhancements for the combat scenes. The game also features a CG gallery and scene replay mode to view the content you have already unlocked.

Overdrive is known for stellar audio and Cho Dengeki Stryker certainly doesn’t disappoint in this regard. You’ll hear plenty of vocal tracks, including the theme song “Fight for the Future” as well as the usual high quality background tunes. The amount of tunes in the game not only put most other visual novels to shame, but most of them are very catchy as well. Like with the visuals, the audio can be replayed using the song as well as music library. In addition, the game features full Japanese vocals for all the characters and the actors all deliver great performances. Rounding off the audio are some great sound effects which further adds to the immersion. As it is a visual novel the controls are a breeze and text can be advanced by either left-clicking or pressing “Enter.” You can also set the text to advance automatically at the speed of your choosing if you simply want to sit back and enjoy the story.

Even if you have played the original Dengeki Stryker, Cho Dengeki Stryker is a worthwhile purchase as it offers plenty of additional content. If you have never played the game before prepare yourself for hours of superhero themed shenanigans. The story definitely kept me hooked all the way through, even during the slower parts and some of the best scenes are found in the additional routes, so playing through everything is a must. Although the price tag is a little higher than most visual novels on Steam there is more than enough content here to justify it. If you want to experience the game with all the adult content intact you will have to purchase it directly from Mangagamer though.

System Requirements

  • OS: Windows XP, Vista, 7 ,8
  • Processor: PentiumIII 1GHz
  • Memory: 1 GB RAM
  • Graphics: 32MB
  • DirectX: Version 9.0c
  • Hard Drive: 5 GB available space
  • Sound Card: DirectSound
  • OS: Windows XP, Vista, 7 ,8
  • Processor: PentiumIII 1GHz
  • Memory: 2 GB RAM
  • Graphics: 32MB
  • DirectX: Version 9.0c
  • Hard Drive: 5 GB available space
  • Sound Card: DirectSound

Related posts

Devil May Cry® 4 Special Edition

Devil May Cry® 4 Special Edition

Devil May Cry 4 does a much better job than the usual shoddy console ports and is hugely entertaining to play as well. You will want to invest in a good gamepad to get the most out of the game and the amount of backtracking is a bit disappointing, but overall this is a solid offering. Gameplay: Nero makes for a nice change but Dante is still playable. Graphics: Much better looking than the usual console ports. Sound: Good voice acting although the music can become slightly repetitive.

Alan Wake’s American Nightmare

Alan Wake's American Nightmare

American Nightmare offers more action and less atmosphere than the original game, but it is still a compelling addition to the series. With only three locations to explore, it lacks the depth of the first game, but the story is still very interesting. It is important to remember that this is not a sequel but a bite-sized addition to the Alan Wake saga. Gameplay: A more action-oriented approach than the original game. Graphics: Good, but the wide-open areas make it less creepy. Sound: Overall good, but some of the voice acting could have been better.

The Culling Of The Cows

The Culling Of The Cows

The Culling of the Cows is an action packed arcade experience with a nice visual style. Blasting the enemies requires a quick trigger finger, but the inclusion of assists and upgrades ads a strategic element to the gameplay as well. If you can appreciate a good shooter with a rather dark sense of humor you will find a lot to like about The Culling of The Cows. Gameplay: A challenging arcade shooter that requires some strategic thinking as well. Graphics: Nice hand-drawn visual style with plenty of detail. Sound: The music and sound effects match the gameplay perfectly.

Serment – Contract with a Devil

Serment - Contract with a Devil

Serment is an interesting hybrid of visual novel, dungeon crawling and dating sim style management elements. It actually ties all of these genres together nicely, but the dungeon crawling definitely takes center stage. You do get to choose between four different heroines and all of the dungeons are hand crafted instead of procedurally generated. The fact that you are on a strict time limit to earn enough cash to pay back the devil who resurrected you can make it feel like you are forced to fight in the dungeons most of the time. However, the game does give you the freedom to continue playing after completing the main story. Gameplay: Plenty of dungeon crawling along with some visual novel segments and even a bit of dating sim style time management. Graphics: Beautiful character designs and backgrounds, but the dungeons look a bit bland in comparison. Sound: The game features no voice acting and the music is decent, but unmemorable.

Trek to Yomi

Trek to Yomi

Trek To Yomi is a side-scrolling action game steeped in classic samurai movies' cinematic style. It features an eye-catching black and white art style along with an authentic soundtrack. However, even with the inclusion of multiple combos, the combat never encourages players to move beyond the same basic attacks to win. This is a pity as it can make enemy encounters repetitive instead of exciting. Nevertheless, samurai fans, especially those familiar with the movies of Akira Kurosawa, should definitely check out the game. Gameplay: The game is very short and quite linear, with plenty of combat sections interspersed with brief bouts of exploration. Graphics: Fans of vintage samurai movies will love the black and white aesthetic of the game and the cinematic camera angles. Sound: The music is authentic and filled with Japanese musical instruments from the period in which the game is set.

To Be or Not To Be

To Be or Not To Be

To Be or Not to Be is a faithful recreation of the original book by Ryan North, only enhanced by the Gamebook Adventures Engine from Tin Man Games. This means there isn't much here that's new for people already familiar with the book. Anyone who has yet to experience the over-the-top interpretation of the famous tale should have lots of fun with To Be or Not To Be. The story is humorous, and the artwork contributed by some very well-known artists is great. Gameplay: The story is great, and with so many different endings to discover, there is plenty of replay value. Graphics: Great presentation and brilliant artwork. Sound: The music is good, as is the narration, although the latter can become repetitive.

Leave a comment

six + 10 =