Space Harrier 3D - Sega Master System (1988)
American Cover
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Japanese Cover
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Space Harrier 3D
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Despite what the title may suggest, this is not merely a remake of Space Harrier with 3D effects - rather, it's a new title created to take advantage of Sega's 3D glasses. The effect is pretty remarkable - although nothing flies out of the screen, it gives the playing field a sense of depth that is incredibly cool. The unfortunate tradeoff is that the scrolling and movement is even choppier than it was in the Sega Master System version of the first game. Since it's not as smooth, it's also far more difficult than the original. Still, it is an interesting experience, even if the fundamental gameplay hasn't changed at all. There's a whole new array of monsters, and some of the color schemes used in the later levels (especially the dark red and pitch black) are a far cry from the pastels of the original. The plot is that Uriah, the good dragon from the first game, has been kidnapped, and it's up to you to save him. This accounts for why the bonus stages are gone. The Space Harrier main theme song is back, along with a handful of new songs during regular gameplay. The Japanese version also supports FM synth.
There is an option to turn off the 3D functionality, although it requires that you play the game to get a high score, then enter a code to enable the selection. Both the PS2 port and certain emulators allow you to turn off the 3D effect from the beginning, in addition to viewing the game with the traditional red-blue glasses used in other media for years. Although a lot of the visual impact is lost, it's the only way to really get the experience without shelling out for the real hardware.
MP3s
Main Theme
Bright Rays
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Space Harrier 3D
Space Harrier 3D
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Space Harrier 2 - Mega Drive/Commodore 64/Amiga (1989)
European Cover
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Space Harrier 2
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Space Harrier 2
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Space Harrier 2 was one of the first titles out for both the Mega Drive and Sega Genesis when released in their respective territories. Although the 16-bit Genesis was able to emulate other arcade titles like Altered Beast, the lack of any hardware scaling meant that it still wasn't quite capable of delivering an arcade-like experience. The scrolling is definitely smoother, and the horizon view actually changes as you move up and down - lacking in most of the home ports of the original - but it's not quite as snazzy as one would hope.
As far as the gameplay, not much has changed, other than some interesting new enemies (the promo materials get extremely excited about the "Dark Harrier" enemies) and some cool bosses (like the winged tiger, who runs around the landscape hurling bullets after you've hit him enough.) You can choose your starting level at the beginning of the game, although you still need to conquer all of the stages to beat it. The dragon bonus stages are gone, instead replaced with levels where you ride on top of a jet. It's pretty much like a regular level, except you're invincible - kind of underwhelming, really. The new main theme is actually pretty catchy, even though it doesn't quite hold a candle to the original. Some of the sound effects are a bit odd, as it seems like the programmers hadn't quite mastered how to put the Genesis' sound chip to good use. Overall, it's a decent game, although it still remains a shadow of its predecessor.
Although originally released on the Genesis, it was ported to the Commodore 64 (not well, as you can imagine) and the Amiga (which was actually pretty close to the Genesis version.)
MP3s
Main Theme
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Space Harrier 2
Space Harrier 2
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Planet Harriers - Arcade (2000)
Cabinet
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Planet Harriers
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Planet Harriers
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In 2000, Sega decided to resurrect the Space Harrier name with a completely new arcade game, dubbed Planet Harriers. Featuring a two-player cabinet with separate screens, Planet Harriers plays much more akin to Panzer Dragoon than any of the old Space Harrier games. You have a regular shot and a lock-on laser, and can earn gold to buy extra life or upgraded weapons. If playing with another person, the two players can share energy and increase each other's life meter. The game features a bizarre cast of selectable characters, including a nurse, a baseball player and a rock star.
Planet Harriers runs on Sega's Hikaru board, which features some gorgeous 3D graphical effects. There are unfortunately only five stages, but all of them look gorgeous, ranging from rolling green mountains to autumn forests to lava-filled caverns. Most of the music is, unfortunately, kind of lame, with the exception of the "shop" theme from Fantasy Zone. It's a pretty cool game - unfortunately, it never saw a home release. There were rumors of a Dreamcast port, but that was quietly canned along with the system.
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Planet Harriers
Planet Harriers
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Space Fantasy Zone - PC Engine Super CD (Unreleased)
Advertisement
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Space Fantasy Zone
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Space Fantasy Zone
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Space Harrier and Fantasy Zone were always kinda related - both had cracked out characters designs, both took place in the same world (the "Fantasy Zone", natch), even the high score
themes are similar. So someone took the natural step and combined them into one mega game, Space Fantasy Zone. All of the levels and bad guys are favorites taken from both games, and some of the Space Harrier baddies have been given cutesy makeovers..
The gameplay is exactly like Space Harrier, although you have a shield meter and only one life. Shooting them will give you gold, while taking out whole waves of yields extra money. In between
stages, you can buy tons of different power-ups at a store cleverly named "Weaponalds", including several kinds of speed-ups, power shots, extra weapons, shields, bombs, options, and all kinds of stuff. The variety of weaponry is
far larger than any of the Fantasy Zone games. You can also spend your time poking the
chest of the store clerk, if you feel so inclined.
The graphics capture the pastels of the original game, although since the PC Engine CD
can't handle scaling, the movement isn't as smooth as it could be - it's about on par with Space Harrier 2 for the Genesis, The main theme is a combination of the famous songs from both games, although all of the music is disappointingly banal. It's fun, although somewhat short games (only 9 short stages, compared to the 18+ of the Space Harriers.) But the biggest tragedy? This game never saw an official release - it was on release lists, it was
advertised (with designs by famous artist Satoshi Urushihara), but it was ultimately canned. No one knows why for sure - some people claimed legal disputes over the properties, although this is unlikely. The title screen even mentions the copyright by Sega, although the game was made by NEC Avenue. Thankfully, beta copies have been leaked to the Internet,
and with a bit of scavenging, you should be able to find an ISO to run on emulators.
MP3s
Main Theme
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Space Fantasy Zone
Space Fantasy Zone
Space Fantasy Zone
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Compilations - Space Harrier 2 - Space Harrier Complete Collection - Playstation 2 (2005)
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In 2005, Sega released the "Space Harrier Complete Collection" as part of the Sega Ages 2500 series. Included are emulated version of Space Harrier for the arcade, Master System and Game Gear (the latter of which is hidden - just highlight "Mark III" in the selection menu and hold Right until the Game Gear option appears), as well as Space Harrier 3D and Space Harrier 2. The emulation is pretty good, although not perfect - there's a bit of slowdown in the arcade version (which appears in other ports as well); there are some weird sound effects in Space Harrier 2, especially during the explosions; and there's odd redrawing issues with Space Harrier 3D. Despite these glitches, they're about the same quality as you'd find on a PC emulator. There are plenty of options to change display resolutions, at least, if upscaled and filtered graphics bother you. Also included are sound tests, artwork galleries, and a perfect runthrough of the arcade game. The manual also includes interviews with some of the original staff. There's also a demo of an error message built into the BIOS of certain Japanese Master Systems, which has a scrolling checkered field and the Space Harrier theme playing in the background. It may not be as robust as many Western released retro compilations, and it's not perfect, but it's a must have for any Space Harrier fan, especially considering the rarity of Space Harrier 3D.
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Clones - The 3D Battles of World Runner - Nintendo Entertainment System (1988)
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The most well-known Space Harrier clone is a little Squaresoft game called "The 3D Battles of World Runner" for the NES. The checkered landscape should look familiar, but the gameplay is quite different - you can't fly or shoot, although you can jump pretty high. You pretty much just run forward, dodge bad guys and jump over pits. When you reach the boss battles, the game, you magically gifted with the power of flight and gun, wherein you need to kill a boss much like the dragons from Space Harrier. Except much small and dorkier. 3D Battles of World Runner is a technical achievement, especially for a game from 1987, and it's quite a bit better than the Famicom version of Space Harrier. There's also a 3D mode using normal red/blue 3D glasses, which technically beat Space Harrier 3D to the punch. Unfortunately, it's just not a whole lot of fun.
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3D World Runner
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Typing Space Harrier
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As a prelude to Sega's masterpiece "Typing of the Dead", someone where decided it would be cool to combine Space Harrier with a typing tutor. So it's much like watching someone play a game of Space Harrier, except when enemies pop onto the screen, you need to type some Japanese words (in romaji) to shoot them down. Too slow and you'll get killed. Quick single letters will also occasionally pop up. Pretty interesting idea, I guess, but I can't imagine why it'd retail for 4800 yen (a bit over $40.)
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Typing Space Harrier
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