Space Harrier

Space Harrier
Publisher: Sega, Dempa, Elite Systems, Mindscape (US), Takara, NEC Developer: Sega AM2, Sega, Dempa, Elite System(s): Sega Hang-On hardware, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Game Gear, NEC PC-6001, NEC PC-8801, Nintendo Famicom, Sega 32X, Sega Master System, Sharp MZ, Sharp X1, Sharp X68000, TurboGrafx-16, Virtual Console, ZX Spectrum ROM Size: 256kB, 128kB, 2MB Genre: Shoot-'em-Up Release Date RRP Code JP 1985-12[1] ¥?  ? World 1985  ? JP 1986-12-21 ¥5,500 G-1310 US 1988 $?  ? EU 1987-09 £24.95 7080 KR 19xx ₩? GB-2310 TW 19xx NT$? G-1310 JP 1991-12-28 ¥3,500 G-3212 US 1991 $?  ? EU 1991 £24.99  ? BR 199x $?  ? JP 1994-12-03 ¥4,980 GM-4005 US 1994 $? 84505 EU 1994 £?  ? AS 199x $?  ? US 1989 $49.95  ? EU 1989 £19.99  ? US 1989 $49.95  ? EU (Disk) 1988 £19.99  ? EU (Cassette) 1986 £8.95  ? EU (Disk) 1986 £14.95  ? US 1987 $29.95  ? EU (Cassette) 1987 £14.95  ? EU (Disk) 1987 £?  ? US 1989 $?  ? JP 198x ¥?  ? JP 198x ¥?  ? JP 198x ¥?  ? JP 198x ¥?  ? JP 198x ¥?  ? JP 1988 ¥?  ? EU 1986 £?  ? JP 1989 ¥?  ? JP 1988-12-09 ¥?  ? US 1990 $? TGX040025 JP 2008-07-23 500 points  ? JP (Arcade) 2009-03-26 800 points  ? US 2008-11-03 500 points  ? US (Arcade) 2009-06-15 800 points  ? EU 2008-10-17 500 points  ? EU (Arcade) 2009-05-29 800 points  ? {{#ifeq: 0 | 3 | ESRB SEGA PEGI OFLC CERO

Space Harrier (スペースハリアー) is a rail shoot 'em up game developed by Yu Suzuki and Sega AM2 which makes use of Super Scaler technology. It is one of many A-list arcade games developed by Sega during the 1980s, placing Sega firmly on the map and inspiring numerous sequels, starting with Space Harrier 3D.

Space Harrier and its sequels are set in the "Fantasy Zone", the same setting as the arcade game with the same name. This relationship was explored further with the Sharp X68000 port of Fantasy Zone, which includes a Space Harrier level, and the cancelled TurboGrafx-16 title Space Fantasy Zone, which was a hybrid between the two games.

Gameplay

In Space Harrier the player controls "the Harrier", a blond-haired man with a jetpack who travels across the Fantasy Zone shooting at enemies and objects. It is a third-person "on the rails" shooter, in which the Harrier is constantly travelling into the screen - the player can move horizontally and vertically, but has no control over the speed travelling forwards. Similar to Fantasy Zone, the Harrier can traverse either on-foot or in the air without issues. The object of the game is simply to survive, the chances of which are increased by shooting down enemies and avoiding obstacles.

Space Harrier contains 18 levels, each with a boss at the end. The 5th and 12th levels, however, are bonus stages with no threats, in which the player rides a friendly dragon known as "Uriah" with the objective of destroying as much scenery as possible. The 18th level, similar again to Fantasy Zone, is a boss rush, where the Harrier needs to defeat all the bosses he has encountered so far for a second time. The game relies solely on a joystick and fire button - arcade versions have the joystick self-center if not in use, though many home conversions lack this.

The game is also notable for its use of digitized speech and its sit-down arcade cabinets affected by the movement of the joystick, both of which were still quite rare things to see in 1985.

Ports and Rereleases

Space Harrier has been ported to over 20 different home systems, including those not cut out for such complex games. This is the NEC PC-6001 version.

Space Harrier's arcade success led it to become one of the most ported Sega games in history. Sega themselves would handle Sega Master System and Sega Game Gear ports in 1986 and 1991, respectively, the Master System game in particular being a top seller for the console and one of the more accurate, readily available versions of its day.

In Europe, Elite would pick up the home computer rights for the game, releasing Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum ports across 1986. Curiously the Amiga version was originally split into two halves due to disk space restrictions, only to be combined once more at a later date. The Amiga, Atari ST and Commodore 64 versions were then picked up by Mindscape for retail in North America, with minor alterations. A IBM PC port was also released in 1989 by Mindscape.

Elite had originally planned to go further by releasing copies for the aging Acorn Electron, BBC Micro (on both cassette and disk) and Commodore 16 computers - start-up instructions are mentioned in the C64, CPC and Spectrum manuals, but no physical copies of the game have been found. The Commodore 16 version was also extensively advertised, having been set to retail for £7.95 in the United Kingdom and L18,000 in Italy.

In Japan, Dempa held the home computer rights, producing ports for the Fujitsu FM77, NEC PC-6001, NEC PC-8801, Sharp MZ, Sharp X1 and Sharp X68000. Many of these versions are notable due to the inadequacies of the hardware - Sharp MZ range, having debuted seven years before the arcade release of Space Harrier in 1978, can hardly handle graphics, so huge cutbacks were needed. Conversely the Sharp X68000 was brand new at the time of Space Harrier's release, and so its version was widely regarded to be the most accurate arcade conversion for many years.

NEC brought Space Harrier to the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 with Takara also bringing it to the Nintendo Famicom in 1989. Squaresoft's NES game The 3D Battles of WorldRunner is often considered to have been heavily inspired by Space Harrier also.

With the release of Space Harrier for the Sega 32X (originally known as Super Space Harrier during development) in 1994, the full arcade experience was finally available in the home. This was followed by the Sega Saturn release of Sega Ages Vol. 2 Space Harrier in 1996, and as part of multiple compilations since, including the Game Boy Advance's Sega Arcade Gallery, the PlayStation 2's Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 20: Space Harrier Complete Collection and the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360's Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection. A remake and port was also released in Japan under the Sega Ages 2500 as Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 4: Space Harrier, which came to the west as part of Sega Classics Collection.

The game was included as a minigame in both Shenmue and Shenmue II, and more recently the Master System version of the game was made available via the Wii's Virtual Console service in 2008, followed by a Virtual Console Arcade release a year later. It has also appeared on the Nintendo 3DS as 3D Space Harrier.

Production Credits

Gallery

Artwork

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  Rolling Cabinet

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  Sit-Down Cabinet

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  Upright Cabinet

Physical Scans

Arcade Version

Arcade, EU
Flyer

Arcade, JP
Flyer

32X Version

	59	Sega Retro Average
		Based on 7 reviews
Publication Score Source CD Consoles ­† 32 №5, p118/119/120/121 Consoles + 70 №41, p104 Joypad 72 MAN!AC 68 Mean Machines Sega 49 №29, p88/89 Player One 77 Sega Pro 43 №41, p67

32X, US
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Cart

32X, EU
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Cart

32X, JP
Cover
Cart Manual

Master System Version

	81	Sega Retro Average
		Based on 8 reviews
Publication Score Source The Games Machine (Italy) 92 Joypad 72 MAN!AC 68 MicroMania 80 №2/24 Sega Power 80 №23, p59 Sega Pro 87 №6, p29 Sega Force (UK) 92 Tilt 80

Master System, US
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Cart

Master System, EU ® variant
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Master System, EU "no limits" variant
Cover
Cart

Master System, JP
Cover
Cart

Master System, TW
Cart

Game Gear Version

	82	Sega Retro Average
		Based on 4 reviews
Publication Score Source Hobby Consolas 87 Joystick 90 №23, p144 Player One 80 Sega Pro 71 №5, p59

Game Gear, US
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Game Gear, EU
Cover
Cart

Game Gear, JP
Cover
Cart

Game Gear, BR
Cover
Cart Manual

Amiga Version

	81	Sega Retro Average
		Based on 3 reviews
Publication Score Source ACE 73 №20 Computer & Video Games 82 №90 The Games Machine (UK) 87 №17, p25

Amiga, US
Cover

Amiga, EU (All 20 Levels)
Cover

Amstrad CPC Version

	79	Sega Retro Average
		Based on 3 reviews
Publication Score Source Computer & Video Games 87 №63 Computer & Video Games 70 №100 Joystick 80 №2, p127

Amstrad CPC, EU (Disk)
Cover
Disk Disk (back)

Amstrad CPC, EU (Cassette)
Cover
Cassette

Amstrad CPC, EU (Cassette) (Encore)
Cover

Amstrad CPC, ES (Disk)
Cover
Disk Disk (back)

Amstrad CPC, ES (Cassette) (MCM)
Cover

Atari ST Version

	73	Sega Retro Average
		Based on 3 reviews
Publication Score Source ACE 73 №15 Computer & Video Games 60 №83 The Games Machine (UK) 85 №12, p59

Atari ST, US
Cover
Disk 1 Disk 2

Atari ST, EU
Cover
Disk 1 Disk 2

Commodore 64 Version

	46	Sega Retro Average
		Based on 1 review
Publication Score Source Computer & Video Games 46 №100

Commodore 64, US
Cover

Commodore 64, EU (Cassette)
Cover
Cassette

Commodore 64, EU (Cassette) (Encore)
Cover

Commodore 64, EU (Disk) (Encore)
Cover

DOS Version

FM77 AV Version

Fujitsu FM-7, JP
Cover

NEC PC-6001 Version

NEC PC-6001, JP
Cover

NEC PC-8801 Version

NEC PC-8801, JP
Cover

NES Version

NES, JP
Cover
Cart

Sharp MZ Version

Sharp X1 Version

Sharp X1, JP
Cover

Sharp X68000 Version

Sharp X68000, JP
Cover

TurboGrafx-16 Version

	89	Sega Retro Average
		Based on 1 review
Publication Score Source Computer & Video Games 89 №90

TurboGrafx-16, US
Cover
Cart Jewel Case

TurboGrafx-16, JP
Cover
Cart

ZX Spectrum Version

	77	Sega Retro Average
		Based on 2 reviews
Publication Score Source Computer & Video Games 85 №63 Computer & Video Games 68 №100

ZX Spectrum, EU
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ZX Spectrum, EU (Encore)
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ZX Spectrum, ES
Cover

ZX Spectrum, ES (MCM)
Cover

External Links

• Sega of Japan Virtual Console pages: Master System, Arcade