Space Harrier

Space Harrier
European arcade flyer of Space Harrier.
Developer(s)	Sega AM2 Sega AM4 Dempa Shinbunsha Elite Systems Rutubo games
Publisher(s)	WW Sega JP Dempa Shinbunsha JP Micomsoft JP Takara JP/NA NEC EU Elite Systems
Distributor(s)	NA Mindscape
Designer(s)	Yu Suzuki
Composer(s)	Hiroshi Kawaguchi
Platform(s)	Arcade Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Game Boy Advance, Game Gear, Nintendo Famicom, Handheld electronic game, PlayStation 2, Sega 32X, Sega Master System, Sega Saturn, TurboGrafx-16, Virtual Console, ZX Spectrum, Nintendo eShop (for 3DS)
Release date(s)	October 1985 Arcade Revision A 8751 315-5163A WW October 1985 8751 315-5163 WW October 1985 Sega Master System JP December 12, 1986 NA 1986 EU 1987 Amstrad CPC EU 1986 Commodore 16 EU 1986 ZX spectrum EU 1986 PC-60/66 JP March 1987 Sharp X68000 JP September 1987 FM77AV JP December 1987 Commodore 64 NA 1987 EU 1987 PC-88 JP July 25, 1988 PC Engine (Turbografx 16) JP October 14, 1988 NA 1990 Atari ST NA 1988 EU 1988 Nintendo Family Computer JP January 6, 1989 Amiga NA 1989 EU 1989 Handheld Tiger Electronic JP 199? Game Gear JP December 28, 1991 NA 1991 EU 1991 Sega 32X JP December 3, 1994 NA 1994 EU 1994 AUS 1994 AS 1994 Sega Saturn JP July 19, 1996 Virtual Console Master System JP July 23, 2008 PAL October 17, 2008 NA November 3, 2008 VC Arcade JP March 26, 2009 PAL May 29, 2009 NA June 15, 2009 Nintendo 3DS eShop JP December 26, 2012
Genre(s)	Rail shooter Third-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single player
Cabinet	Standard and sit-down
Arcade system	Sega Space Harrier Hardware
CPU	2x 68000 (@ 10 MHz) Sound CPU: Z80 (@ 4 MHz)
Sound	YM2203 (@ 4 MHz) Sega PCM (@ 31.25 kHz)
Display	Raster, standard resolution, horizontal orientation, 32,000 colors

Space Harrier (スペースハリアー, Supēsu Hariā) is a third-person rail shooter game, released by Sega in 1985. It was produced by Yu Suzuki, responsible for many popular Sega games. It spawned several sequels: Space Harrier 3-D (1988), Space Harrier II (1988), and the spin-off Planet Harriers (2001).

Space Harrier was originally made for the arcades, and later saw ports to many home game systems. Space Harrier's release on the Sega Master System is notable, as there were two versions: one was just like the arcade, while the other, entitled Space Harrier 3-D was actually a sequel.

It was one of the first arcade games to use 16-bit graphics and Sega's "Super Scaler" technology that allowed pseudo-3D sprite-scaling at high frame rates, with the ability to scale as many as 32,000 sprites and fill a moving landscape with them, along with over 32,000 colours displayed simultaneously on the screen. It also introduced a true analog flight stick for movement, with the ability to register movement in any direction as well as measure the degree of push, which could move the player character at different speeds depending on how far the stick is pushed in a certain direction. The game was also an early example of a third-person shooter; it was influenced by the earlier 1982 Sega game Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom, and Space Harrier in turn influenced later 3D shooters such as Nintendo's Star Fox in 1993.

Gameplay

Gameplay of Space Harrier as the player is seen fighting what appears to be a cyclops mammoth.

Space Harrier is set in the "Fantasy Zone", a surreal world composed of bright colors and a 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 around enemy fire, while shooting back with fireballs via the character's under-arm cannon (which doubles as a rocket-esque device allowing the character to fly). The character graphics are sprite-based, though the level backgrounds are pseudo-3D.

The arcade version of Space Harrier used digitized voices. When starting the first level, for example, the player would be greeted with "Welcome to the fantasy zone!; Get ready!". After defeating a boss, the player is assured that "You're doing great!"
Like After Burner, 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, which is a boss rush containing some of the bosses encountered up to that point.

The 3-D Battles of World Runner by Square bears a blatant resemblance to the game.

Ports

Reception
Review scores
Publication	Score
Computer and Video Games	68%
Crash	77%
Sinclair User
Your Sinclair	9/10

The game was translated to various home computer systems and consoles. The game was runner-up in the category of Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards. Among the home versions, the ports for the Sega 32X, the Sega Saturn and the Sharp X68000 (the latter being a Japan-only) are considered to be the most faithful to the original arcade version.

The game is also playable on the Dreamcast (within Shenmue, Shenmue II and Yu Suzuki Game Works Vol. 1) and Xbox (within Shenmue II). It is included in Sega Arcade Gallery for the Game Boy Advance and the enhanced Japanese Sega Ages vol.4 PS2 remake is included in the Eur/NA Sega Classics Collection (a compilation DVD including other games from the same era that were remade for modern audiences) for the PlayStation 2.

Space Harrier II for the Sega Mega Drive was released for Nintendo's Virtual Console on December 18, 2006 while the first Space Harrier for the Sega Master System was released in Europe on October 17, 2008 and in North America on November 3, 2008. The arcade version was released on the Virtual Console in Japan on March 26, 2009, in the PAL regions on May 29, 2009 and in North America on June 15, 2009.

The arcade version of Space Harrier is available as an unlockable game in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection, released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles. While the port's emulation is accurate to the arcade original, there are off-pitch voices and music in the port's sound emulation.

A port of the game is currently in development for Nintendo 3DS via the Nintendo eShop, featuring stereoscopic 3D and widescreen graphics.

Sega Superstars Tennis features a minigame based on Space Harrier. Bayonetta also features a level section inspired by the game as well.

The main theme of the game is remixed for Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed and used as the soundtrack for the course Race of AGES, a track that is a representative of SEGA as a whole.

Notable ports

• Space Harrier Complete Collection. This collection offers the arcade version of Space Harrier, Space Harrier II, the Sega Master System version 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 as the 20th volume of Sega Ages.

Complete series

• Space Harrier - Sega Master System, Sega Game Gear, Sega 32X, Sega Saturn, Sega Dreamcast, various other non-Sega systems
• Space Harrier 3-D - Sega Master System
• Space Harrier II - Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Virtual Console
• Space Harrier Sega Ages Edition - PlayStation 2
• Space Fantasy Zone (Fantasy Zone/Space Harrier spin-off) - PC-Engine
• Planet Harriers - Arcade
• Sega Ages 2500 Vol. 20: Space Harrier Complete Collection - PlayStation 2

External links

• Space Harrier at the Killer List of Videogames
• Space Harrier page at arcade-history
• Arcade hardware
• Sega-16's retrospective on the series
• Space Harrier at MobyGames
• Space Harrier at World of Spectrum
• The Space Harrier Absymbel - dead fan site viewable through archive.org
• IGN Space Harrier Retrospective
• The Space Harrier Page