Strobaya (ストロバヤ) is a character from the original arcade Strider and all its ports. He serves as the very first boss of the game, facing Hiryu as the mid-boss of the first stage.

Strobaya is a muscle-bound cyborg man working for the Kazakh government^[1]. Also called an "Enhanced Human" (強化人間), his weapon is his entire body, whose functions have been considerably boosted by the administration of drugs^[2]. He appears to be a brute of few (if any) words, and has a fondness for shouting out loud warcries during battle.^[2]

While he has no actual dialogues in the original game, his dialogue in the PC Engine port has him telling Hiryu he's been awaiting in anticipation for his arrival^[3], indicating he enjoys fighting strong opponents, much like Commander Keith from the manga and Kodiak from the NES game.

Story

Strider

Strobaya patiently awaits for Hiryu within St. Petersburg, in a large room located below the main path, while he's hooked up to a yellow backup machine that prepares his body for battle by pumping him full of special drugs. As soon as Hiryu drops into his room, a retractable ceiling closes above them, forcing Hiryu to fight Strobaya. Strobaya greets him as he flexes up his upper body muscles, the strength of this action enough to shred off his red tank top and obliterating the backup machine standing behind him. He then launches at Hiryu to attack.

Despite his physical strength and speed, Strobaya is completely outmatched by Hiryu's technique. After receiving enough damage, Strobaya's body rips apart, and he violently explodes, causing a shockwave strong enough that it brings down the ceiling in flames. Hiryu avoids the burning pieces of debris by standing under Strobaya's platform and then continues moving forward.

Alternatively, if Hiryu uses the momentum of the descent before Strobaya's room to perform an Acceleration Jump, he can clear out the room and bypass Strobaya's battle.

Abilities

Strobaya possesses great physical strength thanks to the enhancements he's been subjected to, most notably in his legs, which allow him to thrust off walls with great force. But in contrast to this, however, he has a very single-minded and repetitive battle strategy^[2], making him a very easy enemy to defeat in battle.

His main method of attack consists of grabbing his enemies with either his arms or legs to throw them violently against the opposing wall. He can either approach his target by impulsing himself off the ceiling with the strength of his legs^[1], or by doing a ground Rolling Attack, his signature technique^[2]. If he fails to grab his enemy during either approach, he'll quickly turn around and thrust himself at the enemy again, doing it continuously until he makes contact or is hit out of the move. Hitting him during this time interrupts his movement, throwing Strobaya off and making him move away in order to start attacking again.

Strobaya can also block the Cypher Attack with his muscular arms and can even push Hiryu back momentarily with them in a sort of parry, but this is only a brief respite since the fast repeated strikes can easily break through his defense.

Design Notes

Strobaya bears quite a close resemblance to Ivan Drago, the main antagonist from Rocky IV. They both share similar designs, clothing, hairstyles and their use of drugs to enhance their performance. This resemblance is made clearer in the face portrait created for the PC Engine port.

His name is derived from "Stolovaya" (столовая), a Russian word which can be translated into "dining room", "restaurant" or "canteen", and is also a brand of vodka (written "ストロワヤ" in Japan) Isuke really likes^[4]. There's also a Japanese Russian-themed restaurant called "Storovaya".

Other Appearances

Other media

Gesen Owarae
Strobaya makes an appearance in the 2nd story of this short gag manga published in Gamest. In it Strobaya attacks the Kazakh council out of frustration over being skipped by Hiryu, and the council head decides to allow him to join Ouroboros in battle. The next panel shows Strobaya being literally part of Ouroboros' body as if he were one of the officers, as he screams "let's do this!" much to Ouroboros' discomfort, all the while Hiryu watches from above.

RYU-TMR no Retro Game Kaitai Gekijō
Strobaya makes a brief cameo in this video game-centric manga, in the chapter where its two protagonists (Iria and Risetto) join Hiryu in his quest. Strobaya appears in his usual spot in the 1st stage, blocking Hiryu's path. He shows off his enhanced muscular body and rolling technique, only to be comically defeated by a single strike of Hiryu's Cypher, much to the girls' disappointment.

Gallery

Official art

PC Engine portrait

Strobaya as part of Ouroboros in Gesen Owarae

Stroabay in RYU-TMR no Retro Game Kaitai Gekijō

Trivia

• Strobaya was one of six Strider characters to rank in the "Best Characters" category of Gamest magazine's "3rd Gamest Grand Prix", ranking in 39th place.^[5]
• In Isuke's 1991 game Nostalgia 1907, the Russian spy Kirikov (キリーコフ) bears a striking resemblance to Strobaya. As another nod to his inspiration, at one point in the story Kirikov can be found at the bar and he orders a glass of Stolovaya vodka to drink.^[4]

References