Space Harrier
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Space Harrier | |
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| Developer(s) | Sega-AM2 |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Designer(s) | Yu Suzuki |
| Release date(s) | October, 1985 |
| Genre(s) | Scrolling shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Game Boy Advance, Game Gear, Nintendo Entertainment System, PlayStation 2, Sega 32X, Sega Dreamcast, Sega Genesis, Sega Master System, Sega Saturn, TurboGrafx-16, Virtual Console, Xbox, ZX Spectrum |
| Input | Joystick, 1 button |
| Arcade cabinet | Standard and sit-down |
| Arcade system(s) | Unique |
| Arcade display | Raster, standard resolution horizontal orientation |
Space Harrier is a forward scrolling shooter game, released by Sega in 1985. It was produced by Yu Suzuki, the man responsible for many popular Sega games. It spawned two sequels: Space Harrier 3D (1988), Space Harrier II (1989), and the spin-off Planet Harriers (2001).
Space Harrier was originally made for the arcades, and later saw ports to many home game systems (see below). Space Harrier's release on the Sega Master System is notable: there were two versions. One was just like the arcade, while the other, entitled Space Harrier 3D, supported 3D glasses.
Space Harrier is set in "the Fantasy Zone", a surreal world composed of bright colors and checkerboard-styled ground. The enemies are also unique, featuring prehistoric animals, Chinese dragons, and alien pods. The player is forced along the levels, running or flying (via jetpack) around enemy fire, while shooting back with fireballs. The character graphics are sprite-based, though the level backgrounds are faux 3D. The 3-D Battles of World Runner by Square bears more than a slight resemblance to the game.
The arcade version of Space Harrier used digitized voices. When starting the first level, for example, you would be greeted with "Welcome to the Fantasy Zone!; get ready!".
Like Afterburner, Space Harrier was among the first (perhaps the very first) arcade game to feature a console in which the player sits, and which moves according to the joystick movement. There is also a non-moving sit-down version and a standard upright version.
The arcade version has a total of 18 levels, each containing a boss at the end. Three exceptions are the bonus levels (5th and 12th), and the 18th level, where you have to defeat a collection of the previous bosses.
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[edit] Ports
The game was ported to various home computer systems and consoles. For many years, the most faithful port to exist was for the TurboGrafx-16 (PC Engine). Ported to this system in 1989, the home version features near-arcade-quality graphics. Colors are just as vibrant as in the arcade and graphics are just as detailed, though the sprites are slightly smaller. The port was near-perfect, with fantastic scaling (for the time) in a venerable reproduction of SEGA's 3D technology. The biggest downfalls of this version were digital voice clips which were unintelligible ("Get Ready!") and the lack of the popular checkerboard floor, replaced by a striped one. It's worth noting that the sequel, Space Harrier II, released exclusively for SEGA's own Genesis console, featured graphics and scaling inferior to the TurboGrafx port of the original -- it was the third title to be released, and the Genesis's power had not been fully tapped. Some years later, the SEGA Saturn port of Space Harrier took the crown as the most "arcade perfect" port available, as it remains to this day.
The game is also playable on the Sega Dreamcast (within Shenmue, Shenmue II and Yu Suzuki Game Works Vol. 1) and Microsoft Xbox (within Shenmue II). It is included in Sega Arcade Gallery for the Game Boy Advance and the Sega Classics Collection (a compilation DVD including other games from the same era that were remade for modern audiences to negligible success in the US and big success in Japan) for the PlayStation 2.
Space Harrier II was released for Nintendo's Virtual Console on December 18, 2006.
Notable ports
- Space Harrier Complete Collection. This collection offers the arcade version of Space Harrier, the Genesis version of Space Harrier II, and Sega Mark III versions of Space Harrier and Space Harrier 3D. Also included as an easter egg was the Game Gear version of the game. It was released for the Playstation 2.
[edit] Sequels
Three full-fledged sequels continued the series.
Space Harrier 3D for the Master System, utilizing its LCD glasses for a 3D 'virtual reality' experience, Space Harrier II for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, and Planet Harriers in the arcades.
[edit] Complete Series
- Space Harrier - Arcade Game
- Space Harrier 3-D - Sega Master System with 3D Glasses
- Space Harrier GG - Game Gear
- Space Harrier II - Sega Mega Drive/Wii Virtual Console
- Space Harrier - Sega 32X, Sega Saturn
- Space Harrier Sega Ages Edition - PS2
- Planet Harriers - Arcade Game
- Sega Ages 2500 Vol. 20: Space Harrier Complete Collection - PS2
[edit] External links
- The Space Harrier Absymbel
- Killer List of Video Games
- Arcade hardware
- Sega-16's retrospective on the series
- Space Harrier at MobyGames
- Space Harrier at World of Spectrum
Categories: 1985 arcade games | 1986 video games | Amiga games | Arcade games | Atari ST games | Commodore 64 games | Dreamcast games | Game Gear games | Nintendo Entertainment System games | PlayStation 2 games | Scrolling shooters | Sega 32X games | Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis games | Sega Master System games | Sega Saturn games | Sharp X68000 games | Tiger handheld games | TurboGrafx-16 games | Virtual Console games | ZX Spectrum games
