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FireStriker is known for its unique gameplay mechanics and genre-straddling stylistic features. Often described as The Legend of Zelda meets Breakout (with a little pinball thrown in the mix), Fire Striker for the classic, full size Super Nintendo System (SNES) challenges players to bounce a ball through a hole at the top of the screen using their sword. For survival, the ball must also be kept out of the hole at the bottom of the screen, for which there is a secondary player character, operated with the L and R buttons, to keep guard. With hostile enemies, power ups, a map screen to select levels, and additional characters who can join the player character, Fire Striker on the SNES is the type of game that looks and feels a lot like a classic role-playing survival game (RPG) right from the start. There’s even an engaging backstory. The four elemental kingdoms each sought control of the Tria-Light (the ball), a powerful weapon created by the archmage Wylde. The wind kingdom was ultimately victorious, winning the Tria-Light and uniting the world, while also incurring the anger of the archmage, who sent in four monsters to create disharmony. Assuming the role of Slader, the final Fire Striker, players are charged with the task of defeating the monsters and liberating the kingdoms for survival in each level. This task requires the player to make their way across the world, defeating enemies, unlocking levels, and securing the four elemental crystals, which they must search for and unite, in order to defeat the final boss. Players also have to search for the key to open the goal gate. Although centering on a single player character right out of the box, some levels can only be passed by assuming the role of other characters using their special abilities, such as the quick hawk. Two player co-operative play is enabled in Fire Striker, which means players can tackle the quest mode with a friend. In two-player co-op mode, one player controls the main player character, while the other keeps guard of the bottom hole to ensure survival, making sure the ball does not get through. Alternatively, two players can battle it out in versus mode, a multiplayer game akin to soccer, where each player attempts to get the ball through the hole behind the other. Playing alongside another human player becomes especially useful in the more challenging later levels. With more indomitable bosses and difficult levels, having someone to control the ‘goalkeeper’, when the main character dies, keeps the game going. Fortunately, a sharp second player character can jump into the game at any time by pressing the START button. Visually reminiscent of games like Final Fantasy and The Legend of Zelda, with a health meter represented by individual heart shapes and an overhead retro RPG-style perspective, Fire Striker is a gem of a find for fans of the genre looking for something more accessible. Levels are many and varied, with luxurious indoor palace levels, dungeons, outdoor spaces, caves and so on, and the sound is good too, adding action sound effects and a nostalgic soundtrack to the mix. Extremely rare among SNES games, long garnering it a cult fan following, Fire Striker was released in Japan in 1993 as Holy Striker, prior to its 1994 release in North America under its revised title.