 One of the best games exclusive to the Genesis was Strider, a ninja on a one-man crusade with tons of cool weapons, power-ups, and abilities. It was like a futuristic, next-generation upgrade of games like Shinobi and Ninja Gaiden. The closest Super Nintendo owners got to a classic like Strider, arguably, was Run Saber, a game that at first glance comes across as a cheap Strider rip-off. But to be fair, it rips off a bunch of games. But that's fine. I'm not slagging the game for that. It does a nice job taking elements from games like Strider, Contra, Super Metroid, and Super Turrican, and it results in a perfectly decent game. Really, if anything, I wish more games were influenced by the craziness of a game like Contra 3. I mean, look how absurd this is. I love it. What the hell is even going on? Oh, you know, hanging with one arm onto a fighter jet traveling 3,000 miles an hour as it spins uncontrollably? Unfortunately, Run Saber shares another trait with Contra 3, and that it's way, way too short. Only five levels? Jeez. Contra 3 had six. But not only that, the game is very forgiving when it comes to lives and continues. You respawn right where you died, even with continues. I guess that's good in that the game doesn't waste too much of your time, but with only five levels, the game goes by too fast. You can beat this game in less than 45 minutes, no problem. But the game is fun while it lasts, however. The levels are big, and there's a helpful arrow at the top of the screen telling you where to go. The game's biggest strengths are the graphics and the artwork. The bosses just look cool as hell, like the zombie angel thing here. Holy shit. Another positive is the multiplayer feature, and that's always a fun time in an action side scroller like this. It should be noted real quick that in single player mode, you have your choice of either the male or female character. The differences are mostly aesthetic, however. But yeah, the action in this game is quality. You have a lot of abilities, you've got Samus's screw attack, you can climb walls, you can climb platforms, and there's a full screen attack. It's good fun. Normally, the story in games like this doesn't matter at all, but I thought this one was actually kind of interesting. The Earth's natural resources are nearly used up, and as a result, everything is polluted to hell, so an evil scientist invents this chemical that he claims will reverse the effects of pollution. And that it turns every living thing into a twisted mutant creature instead. Whoops. Now that's some quality depressing dystopian shit right there. I wish they hadn't made the scientist evil, though. What if it was some well-to-do, good-natured guy who really thought he was saving the planet? How'd you like to be that scientist guy? I'd like to see another game or even another story where he or she deals with the horrible stomach-wrenching guilt, like something out of Dostoevsky's crime and punishment. Or maybe they just snapped under the stress and wanted to murder the Earth all along. Yeah, that's going to be my interpretation of why the scientist dude is evil. Anyway, I'm getting way off track. There are different ways to spin Run Saber. You could derisively call it a Strider ripoff, but it's better than that. Or you could praise the game as kind of a Strider contra-Metroid hybrid, but it's not quite that good either. And it's too painfully short to be in that classic pantheon. Well told, Run Saber is a very good action side-scroller with fantastic graphics and a fun two-player option. And even if you finish it in less than an hour, and you probably will, that's time well spent.