The Underground (地下世界, lit. Underground World) is one of the locations in the 2014 Strider.
Story
One of the five main districts in Kazakh City, the Underground district is a large cavernous area that extends beneath the city itself. A large portion of this area is taken up by a massive water treatment facility and a refuse disposal center which takes the brunt of the organic and chemical wastes dumped in the Underground by the Research Facility. As a result of this, the whole district is infested with mutated creatures and giant insects.
The Buried Temple
Even deeper below, scattered across the city's underbelly, stands the Buried Temple. A relic of the past, no information about its original purpose has survived and details such as the reason behind its construction, or who was worshipped within its walls, is entirely unknown[1]. Currently, the west side of the temple is under the jurisdiction of Meio's Army, and holds the prototype Gravitron, whereas the east side has been taken over by Grandmaster Meio's enforcer Juroung to serve as his headquarters.[1]
Hiryu visits the Buried Temple at first to find and destroy the first Gravitron. Much later in his mission he's thrown into the Underground Dump by Meio, and meets again with the Black Marketer, who sends him to reclaim a "key" (Magnetic Cypher) from Juroung Hiryu needs to continue his mission.
Layout
The Underground Temple (地下寺院)
The entrance of the Buried Temple, the area starts with a large corridor with a Novo-locked door. The temple's entrance is a large open area with a circular opening in the background, from where lava comes out forming a river in the middle of the room. Using a switch to activate platforms from beneath the lava, Hiryu reaches the other end and unlocks the Kunai-locked door to access the temple.
Temple West Wing (地下寺院 西棟)
The west wing of the Buried Temple, occupied by Meio's Army. This area consists of six rooms with similar forms and designs, including a domed ceiling in th center. Most of these rooms are run by water in the middle or have complex fountains in the background, but atleast two of them are filled with lava flowing in from the exterior. The army has installed several traps in these rooms, including metal doors that open up after destroying all Turrets in the area and electric pistons.
The Grand Ascension (通気孔, Ventilation Hole)
A long, vertical room set in between the rooms of the West Wing, formed by four tiers. Water can be seen flowing in the walls into an altar in the background, and the floor is filled up with lava. Using a Option-A Interface in the previous room, Hiryu activates a set of Plasma Rings that will carry him upward across the ventilation hole, leading back to the Military Prison.
The Magnetic Nexus (特異磁場発生エリア, Unique Magnetic Field Generation Area)
A wide, long shaft with a strong gravity distortion, giving it a distinctive purple hue. The ventilator at the top is opened by a switch in a small, adjacent room. Floating all across this shaft are several Small Gravitrons, whose own magnetic fields allows Hiryu to use them as stepping stone and travel down. At the bottom there are two large pits with electricity running and the door to the next area.
The Gravitron (グラビトロン)
The Gravity Control Room for the prototype model. Preceded by a long ascending room with a sun-shaped icon at the top. Once Hiryu enters, the door closes behind him and he's pushed upwards by the Gravitron's gravity force. Once destroyed, Hiryu gains the Plasma Catapult and can leave the room through two Plasma Warps.
Refuse Sorting Center (廃棄物分別センター)
The name of the facility that receives most of the garbage from the Research Facility.
The Underground Dump (地下廃棄場)
A large cavernous area dimly lit with several lamps installed on the ceiling, this area is where most of the refuse from Professor Schlange's Rsearch Lab ends up, and is because of that is crawling with Insect Troopers, Insect PNUTs and Severnsi crabs. The area is formed by two large rooms, the first is a huge cavern with plenty of metallic containers and other trash piled up in the background. Hiryu lands here with the remains of Mecha Pon and continued forward until he reached a small terminal station, where he met the Black Marketer again.
The second room is another cavern, but filled up with lava. This area connects into early parts of the Refuse Sorting Center, where Hiryu needs to break through a few grates and go through a trap-filled corridor in order to activate a switch that opens up the path to the center itself.
Refuse Processing (廃棄物処理場, Refuse Treatment Plant)
The area of the facility that process the dispose material. The area begins through a few darkened rooms filled with Troopers, and leads into a long vertical room with several platforms blocking the path. Hiryu needs to find switches found in small rooms at the sides in order to move the platforms and continue downwards. The bottom is a river of lave where containers are being carried away.
The next room is a similar vertical area with lava flowing at the bottom. This time Hiryu needs to climb upward while facing several PNUTs and Wall Crawlers to reach the Ultra-Cold Door at the top. This leads to a small rocky room filled with lava, with only three rocks serving as platforms. Hiryu faces the Magmapede here.
Underground Post (地下世界 辺境地, Underground World - Frontier Area)
A set of corridors and a large, open cavern form this small area. The whole are is barely lit and almost devoid of enemies. There's a small room at the bottom-west which houses a small shrine for Grandmaster Meio, and another room east of there holding the Novo that unlocks the door into the next area, and activates a set of piston.
Temple East Wing (地下寺院 東棟)
The east side of the temple, which Juroung uses as headquarters. Hiryu arrives at a water-filled room where he destroys two Ognemets. This room follows one filled with lava and a two multi-directional turrets. The next area is another four-tiered vertical room with a bed of lava, where Hiryu must defeat enemies and charge up Novos to proceed. At the west side stands a final water-filled room which leads into the center of the temple.
Juroung's Chamber (教祖の間, Founder's Chamber)
This room stands at the center of the Buried Temple, and is Juroung's personal room. This area is overflowing with water everywhere, which Juroung uses to his advantage during battle. There's what appears to be a shrine in the background, with a giant sun-shaped icon overlooking the whole room. The room follows into a final four-tier vertical room that leads back to the Magnetic Nexus.
Stage Enemies
Enemies present in this stage include:
- Light Trooper
- Military Trooper
- Military PNUT
- Reinforced Shield Trooper
- Turrets
- Boss: Gravitron
- Insect Trooper
- Insect PNUT
- Severnsi (fire subspecies)
- Ognemet
- Mid-Boss: Magmapede
- Molot
- Peirazmoz
- Wall Crawler
- Boss: Juroung
Item Locations
Note: Check out the area map in the Gallery section for more specific in-game locations.
| Pickup Cradles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Location | Information |
| Upgrade - Plasma Catapult | Underground Temple West Wing |
Requirements: None Activated after defeating the prototype Gravitron. |
| Health Upgade 10/10 | Underground The Underground Dump |
Requirements: Plasma Catapult In the first room with lava, rather than continuing down the shaft, jump over it to the other side to find the upgrade standing next to the rock wall. |
| Energy Upgrade 10/10 | Underground Refuse Processing |
Requirements: Ultra-Cold Cypher There's an Ultra-Cold Door right across the first descending shaft in the area. The upgrade is right behind it. |
| Upgrade - Explosive Plasma Catapult | Underground Underground Outpost |
Requirements: None In the room right after defeating the Magmapede. |
| Upgrade - Magnetic Cypher | Underground Juroung's Chambers |
Requirements: None Activated after defeating Juroung. |
| Kunai Number Upgrade 4/4 | Underground Juroung's Chambers |
Requirements: Charged Cypher In the long room following Juroung's boss chamber. The upgrade is found at the top of the room, behind a Novo-locked door. |
| Item Unlock Pickups | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Location | Information |
| Concept Art #28 Juroung |
Underground Refuse Processing |
Requirements: Magnetic Cypher In the long ascending room east of the Magmapede boss room. The POW item is behind the lowest Magnetic Door out of two in the east wall, near the bottom of the room. |
| Concept Art #34 Underground Temple |
Underground The Underground Temple |
Requirements: Plasma Catapult Retreat back to the first room of the area with the Plasma Catapult, then use the Plasma Ring there to propel Hiryu upwards to reach the POW item floating above. |
| Concept Art #35 Underground Dump |
Underground The Underground Dump |
Requirements: None At the western-most corner of the first room with the lava pools. |
| Concept Art #36 Mecha Pon |
Underground The Underground Dump |
Requirements: None Climb down the west wall/ceiling all the way, until finding the POW item floating in the middle of the path. |
| Concept Art #43 Meio |
Underground Underground Outpost |
Requirements: Slide Assault In the cavern close to the area's Save Room, there's a small vent southwest at the bottom of the room. Break through to find the POW item. |
| Character Intel #13 Molniya (Military Lieutenant) |
Underground The Magnetic Nexus |
Requirements: None West of the really long vertical room, going through the door at the bottom. It's a room with water crossing it and filled with Magnetic Shield Troopers. The POW item is floating high in the center of the ceiling. |
| Character Intel #16 Pierazmoz (Magnetic Shield Trooper) |
Underground Refuse Processing |
Requirements: Down Strike At the bottom of the long room east of the Magmapede boss room and west of the Save Room. At both sides of the small lava pool are secret switches that must be hit with the Down Strike. Doing so will make a platform rise from the center of the pool containing the POW item. |
| Character Intel #19 Insect Trooper (Infected Symbiotic Carcass) |
Underground The Underground Dump |
Requirements: None Right after crossing the first Explosive Door in the area, ignore the path down and continue east, up a narrow shaft into a cavern. Run west into a hall filled with fiery Severnsi to find the POW item at its end. |
| Character Intel #23 The Gravitron |
Underground Temple West Wing |
Requirements: Plasma Catapult In the very first room after destroying the Gravitron and using the Plasma Ring. It's floating in the middle of a lava pool. |
| Character Intel #36 Magmapede (Fiery Millipede) |
Underground Refuse Processing |
Requirements: None Awarded after defeating the Magmapede. |
| Character Intel #37 Juroung (Devoted Shaman) |
Underground Refuse Processing |
Requirements: Magnetic Cypher In the long room east of the Magmapede boss room and west of the Save Point. It can be found behind the top Magnetic Door out of two in the east wall. |
| Story Intel #8 The Buried Temple |
Underground Temple East Wing |
Requirements: None Floating near the end of the east wall in the first ascending room before reaching the Gravitron, in plain view. |
| Beacon Run #3 Tunnel Trouble |
Underground Refuse Processing |
Requirements: Slide Assault In the first long vertical room there's a hidden ventilation shaft in a ledge above the west exit. Slide throught to snatch it. |
| Beacon Run #10 Opposites Attract |
Underground The Grand Ascension |
Requirements: Plasma Catapult Found in the west wall atop a small platform. Avoid the Plasma Rings and catapult to the west side of the room and climb the wall to claim it. |
| Large Canisters | ||
|---|---|---|
| Canister | Location | Information |
| Large Canister #35 | Underground The Underground Temple |
Requirements: None In the first, large room with lava. Climb through the eastern wall all the way to the ceiling, to find the Canister floating at the corner. |
| Large Canister #36 | Underground The Magnetic Nexus |
Requirements: None Atop in the ceiling of the room with the switch. |
| Large Canister #37 | Underground Temple West Wing |
Requirements: Plasma Catapult Following the Catapult warps after destroying the Gravitron, it can be found floating high above in the second room, just above an Option-A interface. |
| Large Canister #46 | Underground The Underground Dump |
Requirements: None Right after the Explosive Door, ignore the grate and proceed east, climb up the wall and continue a bit more to find the Canister flying there. |
| Large Canister #47 | Underground Refuse Processing |
Requirements: None When entering the second long shaft west of a Save Room, its just below the entrance and floating above one of the two secret Downstrike switches. |
| Large Canister #48 | Underground Temple East Wing |
Requirements: Plasma Catapult In the lava room after the two Ognements. Its floating in the middle of the ceiling with two Spread-type Turrets at each side. Use the Plasma Ring in the middle of the lava pool to reach it. |
| Large Canister #49 | Underground Juroung's Chambers |
Requirements: None Above the entrance to Juroung's boss room. |
| Fallen Striders | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Location | Information |
| Strider Hoen | Underground Refuse Processing |
Requirements: Magnetic Cypher Found in the large room with the river of lava in its center, in the second room on the left wall, behind a Magnetic Door. |
Series references
- The Buried Temple is likely inspired by El Dorado from Strider 2: both are ancient ruins of unknown origin and purpose, found underground and with a mysterious connection to Grandmaster Meio.
- The Japanese name of the Magnetic Nexus (the "Unique Magnetic Field Generation Area") is named the same as the "Magnetic Field Generation Antenna", a component of the Balrog from Strider, related to the Anti-Gravity Device.
- The cutscene in which Juroung speaks with Meio ends with him crushing a water construct in the shape of Earth. This is likely a nod to the intro of the Arcade original, where Meio appears holding the Earth in his hands.
Gallery
Trivia
- The logo that represents the Underground district, which resembles a blazing sun, can be seen in the backgrounds of the Buried Temple, emblazoned on walls and decorations, plus large versions seen in the ceilings of certain rooms. This logo is also used as the achievement icon for defeating Grandmaster Meio, possibly hinting Meio is somehow connected with these mysterious ruins, perhaps similarly to Meio being found in the El Dorado Ruins in Strider 2.
- Possibly to reinforce the connection above, observing the map of Kazakh City (either the concept art or the in-game one) one can see the Buried Temple is located directly below Meio's Tower.