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This article describes the country that serves as a backdrop for several entries in the series. For other uses of "Kazakh", see Kazakh (disambiguation).
Kazakh Half-star

The half-star, symbol of the country

The Kazakh Federation (カザフ連邦国) is a country that appears in the story backdrop of the original coin-op, manga and NES game. The country plays a central role in both games as supporters of the antagonist, while in the manga it serves as an early enemy force before Hiryu focuses on the true antagonist of the story, Enterprise. In real-life history, the Kazakh SSR (Казахская ССР, as seen in the arcade's first stage intro) was one of the republics of the Soviet Union and is today known as the independent state of Kazakhstan. This change occurred in 1991, a few years after the release of both games and the manga, which accounts for the discrepancy of its name still being used in the 2040s, the years the story is set.

In the localization of the Mega Drive port's manual, the country's name was translated as "Kazafu"[1], the romanization of the Japanese katakana word for Kazakh (カザフ). In the translation of the Strider 2 manual, the reference was updated and the country is referred to by its current name, "Kazakhstan".

Overview[]

Flag of Kazakh Federation

Kazakh ensign

Kazakh is an Eastern Europe country that at some point has become the Imperial Capital of Russia[2]. It's capital city and center of power is St. Petersburg[3][4], a traditional historical city that has plenty of mosques and Russian Orthodox onion domed churches and cathedrals. Despite the difficulty of creating defenses for such areas[3], the whole city is well protected by an army of men and machines, and the Kazakh government has boasted of having an impenetrable defense.[5][6]

The Kazakh Federation is a perfectly regulated society under its government's total control, a dictatorship oppressing its own people[3]. This dictatorship has progressively worsened the country's condition, with the domestic economy about to crash and public dissatisfaction reaching its peak[7]. This reckless driving of the country's administration eventually led to the creation of rebel factions, which clashed in conflict with government troops[2]. In both versions, this led to the involvement of the Striders in the situation, setting the story into motion.

By the year 2048, the Kazakh Federation has complete control over Eurasia[3], ruling over the largest landmass on Earth.

Organization[]

Dictator[]

The dictator (独裁者) is an unseen figure in the manga, only mentioned once by a member of the rebels exclaiming they can't properly deal with "the dictator and their minions at the Secret Police"[8]. It is assumed this refers to the absolute leader of the federation.

In the Arcade game, this position is filled by Grandmaster Meio in his capacity as the ruler of not only the Kazakh Federation, but the world at large.

Kazakh government[]

Council

Kazakh's council

The ruling party of Kazakh, also unofficially called the "Politburo", is comprised of a council of officers that govern over the entire Eurasian continent with an iron fist[3]. It consists of a total of 24 officers[3][9], who are gathered in a chamber within the Grand Mosque, an oval-shaped building in the heart of the capital. General Mikiel is the head officer of the council. The council is fully devoted to the regulation of society, but in turn, they can't do anything unless all 24 officers are gathered.[3]

Likely through Grandmaster Meio's manipulations, all members of the council possess the ability to merge themselves into a centipede-like creature known as Ouroboros, the Iron Ruler[9]. The nature of this creature, whether it is still human or a full machine, is unknown.[9]

Although the council only appears properly in the coin-op, the uniform used by the Commander from the manga and NES game is identical to the one used by Mikiel and the other officers, and the Kazakh Institute Director makes a reference to "High officers of the Kazakh government" (カザフ政府の高官)[10], likely in reference to the council.

Secret Police[]

Main article: Kazakh Secret Police

An underground force created to deal with the rebel uprising product of the handling of the Kazakh government. This police force is given complete freedom of action to subdue the rebels, and is shown to be capable of killing them in order to avoid paying court fees[11]. They also have access to heavily armored vehicles, including the T-48 model tank and an anti-tank stealth chopper.

The group appears as an early antagonist force in both the manga and NES game, although the uniform of the grunt soldiers is the same one used by the Russian Infantryman enemy from the Arcade game, described below

Armed Forces[]

Infantry green

The country's primary military is comprised of trained soldiers belonging to the larger Russian Army[12], drafted into military service after reaching 18 years of age[3]. Soldiers' uniform consists of a long winter uniform, brown boots and gloves, a fur hat and a visor, and their primary weapon is a rifle with an attached bayonet blade. Basic grunt units wear green uniforms, whereas higher-ranking soldiers working as aides or advisors wear a red variant uniform[2]. As regular human beings they run the gamut of personalities, from bold and brave, to crazy, to cowards that crawl back when in Hiryu's presence.[3]

The Kazakh's military most powerful asset is the Flying Battleship Balrog, an invincible flying airship whose unmatched firepower helped ensure Grandmaster Meio's total control of the world. Soldiers serving on it as crew wear body armor and carry Laser Rifles with a grenade launcher add-on. Soldiers with the same equipment are also the main defense personnel in The Third Moon, the center of Meio's dictatorship.

The Kazakh military is also outfitted with several mechanical robots of varied designs, product of the country's renowned research teams and the Grandmaster's guidance. Most of these robot units are developed to serve different defensive purposes at important locations.

A different military group appears in the exclusive extra stage in the PC Engine port, set in a desert camp. Soldiers of this military force wear olive and camouflage uniforms, and wield similar Laser Rifles to the Balrog's crew, and bazookas. They also own at least one gun-mounted army jeep. Hiryu runs into this camp while pursuing a runaway soldier driving the Sovkhoz Я, a tank reminiscent of the T-48 model.

Research Teams[]

Main article: Research Staffs

Mentioned in supplementary material for the coin-op[3][12]. The Kazakh Federation houses a worldwide famous research academy, and within it there are two specific rival research teams known as the "Mosqueman Research Staff" and "Rascal Research Staff"[3]. These research groups were employed by Meio and his subordinates, and under his direct orders developed the machines that form part of Meio's army.[12]

Machines developed include:

  • Mosqueman: First designed defense machine by the Mosqueman Research Staff, created to protect the rooftops of St. Petersburg.
  • Flying Mosqueman: Second designed machine by the Mosqueman Research Staff, an upgraded variant of the above.
  • Rascal: A city defense machine created by the Rascal Research Staff.
  • Anti-Gravity Device: third designed machine by the Mosqueman Research Staff, a computer capable of controlling gravity.
  • Mecha Pon: Fourth designed machine by the Mosqueman Research Staff, an experimental robot based on a gorilla.

Besides those, other robots such as Novo, Frog, Mr. Elephant and Hit Mouse are also part of the defense systems created for the Kazakh Federation by research staffs.

Trivia[]

  • The text appearing on buildings in the Arcade's first stage shows the Russian acronym and description for the "Women's International Democratic Federation (WIDF)", "Международная демократическая федерация женщин (МДФЖ)". This is a concurrent international organization working for women's rights that was founded in Paris in 1945. During the Cold War years, it was described as Communist-leaning and pro-Soviet.
  • While identified as the capital of the Kazakh Federation in-story, in reality Saint Petersburg was the capital city of the Russian Empire up to 1917 and it was unrelated to the Kazakh SSR. Isuke's scenario draft states the "Man" (Meio) moved the Soviet Union's capital to "Alma-Ata in Kazakh" after taking over, which was the capital city of the federation at the time of the game's making.

References[]

  1. Sega (September 1990, Mega Drive). Strider (English). Instruction manual, Pg. 13
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sega (September 1990, Mega Drive). Strider Hiryû (Japanese). Instruction manual, Pg. 18
  3. 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 Strider Development Staff (March 1989). "Strider Hiryu Characters Original Image Collection". Gamest (30). Pg. 98-99.
  4. Capcom (October 2006, PlayStation). Gamebook: Strider Hiryu (Japanese). Pg. 18. ISBN 4-86233-076-2.
  5. Ishii Zenji (April 1989). "Introduction: Strider Hiryû". Gamest (31). Pg. 105.
  6. Capcom (October 2006, PlayStation). Gamebook: Strider Hiryu (Japanese). Pg. 5. ISBN 4-86233-076-2.
  7. Wada, Tatsumi (November 10, 1989). Strider Hiryû, Chapter 1, Pg. 5. Kadokawa Shoten. ISBN 4-04-713009-5.
  8. Wada, Tatsumi (November 10, 1989). Strider Hiryû, Chapter 1, Pg. 6. Kadokawa Shoten. ISBN 4-04-713009-5.
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 Sega (September 1990, Mega Drive). Strider Hiryû (Japanese). Instruction manual, Pg. 23
  10. Wada, Tatsumi (November 10, 1989). Strider Hiryû, Chapter 3, Pg. 85. Kadokawa Shoten. ISBN 4-04-713009-5.
  11. Wada, Tatsumi (November 10, 1989). Strider Hiryû, Chapter 1, Pg. 21. Kadokawa Shoten. ISBN 4-04-713009-5.
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 Capcom (October 2006, PlayStation). Gamebook: Strider Hiryu (Japanese). Pg. 13. ISBN 4-86233-076-2.
Strider
Hiryu
Equipment: CypherOptions (ABC) • Climb SickleGlider
Moves: SlideCartwheel JumpBig JumpCypher AttackBunshin
Stage Enemies
Russian InfantrymanRascalFlying MosquemanMosquemanShadow Tag Bullets SoldierDesert Soldier
Giant SandwormArmy JeepSiberian WolfWall CrawlerFrogBalrog Marine CorpsTurretLaser Turret
Giant Main GunMr. ElephantHit MouseFloating MineAmazonessPoison MushroomDinosaursPiranha
Bosses
StrobayaNovoOuroboros (General Mikiel) • Giant AntlionSovkhoz Я (Tank Driver)Mecha PonSoloKuniang
Anti-Gravity DeviceCaptain Beard Jr.LagoGrandmaster Meio
Locations
St. PetersburgOil FieldsSiberiaFlying Battleship BalrogAmazonThe Third Moon
South American Base
Related Articles
StridersKazakh FederationResearch StaffsMinor groupsMinor StridersFlying TortoiseSky Thunder Mk-II
NavigatorAssault RifleGiant FlamethrowerPlasma WhirlwindSummoningThe Third Moon PlanEurasiaEarth
† = Exclusive of the PC Engine port
Strider Manga/NES Series
Main Articles Manga (Gaiden) • Strider (NES)Moto KikakuTatsumi WadaMasahiko Kurokawa
Characters AranaCommanderFaceas ClayHiryuKainKubiraKuramotoMaticPolice ChiefScientistSheena
Game only: BadgerDragon FiendFlash BladeKodiakRyuzaki
Manga only: Commander KeithDr. HoganFlower GirlDirectorMariyaMinor StridersRinYuriZangi Brothers
Stage Enemies BirdClawed StridersDobermanEgypt SoldierGiant RobotMachine CannonMechanical SnailRobot Arm
Robot ClawRobot FrongRussian InfantrymanScuba SoldierSharkmanSky WingSpark Machine
Turret/Laser TurretTwin Bats
Technology Assault RifleBootsCypherKaliKunaiPhantom TrainRescue AircraftShadow Tag BulletsStealth Chopper
SystemT-48Transport TubeZAIN Project (ZAIN TerminalZainsYggdrasil)
Locations AmazonKazakh Federation (KazakhMental Institute) • Los AngelesMongoliaStrider Headquarters
AfricaAustraliaChinaEgyptJapanRed Dragon
Techniques Acceleration JumpBoomerang ThrowCypher AttackPlasma ArrowSlide InTriangle JumpTricks
Groups EnterpriseKazakh Secret PolicePhantom UnitRebel ArmyStriders
Strider Matic UnitSpecial Forces
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